RB7 - Winter Wonderland

[Griselda]

T - 12 turns

Parts In Production-

Cockpit - in TImbuktu
Stasis Chamber - in Walata
Thrusters (third) - Tekedda
Casing (fifth) - Awlil

Parts needed, but not being produced -
Engine
Docking Bay
Life Support

We're two turns from plastics, and need to grab robotics still as well. Qin has platics and ecology, but lacks radio , so we should be OK.

(1) 1966 AD - Antium revolts. Fine, so maybe we don't want to make room for any of you snooty Romans on our space ship.

(2) 1967 - Stasis Chamber and all 3 Thrusters are complete. Walata will build the Engine, so that Kumbi can finish the Internet and be available for the docking bay.

(3) 1968 - Cockpit and last casing are complete. The Mongols raze Frankfurt. Elizabeth completes a casing. It will take her 5 more turns to build another in her capital.

(4) 1969 - Elizabeth has completed another casing somewhere else. She still has 4 turns to go in her cap.

(5) 1970 AD - Qin sails a frigate and a galley into Agades. Is he trying to bring over a spy?

(6) 1971 AD - We invent the internet, but only get flight out of it. Could you imagine looking up how to fly on the internet?

(7) 1972 - Robotics is in. Start docking bay in Kumbi, due in 11.

(8) 1973 - Mongols capture Cologne. Liz completes a casing and starts a thruster.

(9) 1974 - We get a great artist. However, we're only 1 turn away from the last tech we'll ever need, and I don't know that I care about those turncoats in Antium anymore. Dwip can send him somewhere if he wants.

(10) 1975 - Liz completes two casings. Looks like our best bet for life support is 12 turns in Timbuktu. It doesn't have any shields to it, since we just got the tech this turn, if you see anything that looks more promising.

Say hello to Alpha Centauri for me, will you?

 

[Sirian]

Dwip, take us home (in overtime, apparently.)

 

[Jaffa Tamarin]

*bump*

The monkeys have their bags packed. When is the spaceship scheduled to launch?

 

[Sirian]

Apparently, they are waiting for warmer weather. Something about "O Rings" and "this time we're heeding the warning of the engineer."

 

[Dwip]

Foolish email updating, not, well, updating me.

I'll have it done tonight. Sorry 'bout the wait.

 

[Sirian]

Just a note to everybody in general: DO NOT rely on "subscribing" to an SG thread. It's your responsibility to check the thread yourself and stay involved. I generally make a note of players who lose track of SGs for missing/deleting/not-getting an email notice, and avoid those players in future because they stuff up the smooth progress of games. ... We'll give Dwip a pass on that, since he's the first one to do it in one of my games and the game is over in all but name now, but the rest of you out there, take heed.

FYI, I also now tend to avoid accepting players who feast a lot. "I'm up in three other games" is not a phrase I want to be reading while my game sits and waits for a couple of days.

I will give a pass (in RB games) for RB Tournament Closing Days, though. Only so many hours in a day!

Of course, after Dwip launches, I'll have zero SGs running. Waiting on the next patch to launch the Always War event.


- Sirian

 

[Sirian]

More thoughts on SG stuff in general...

There are so many things that lie outside our control. Work loads sometimes increase. Family obligations hit peak times. Stress, travel, vacation, exams, emergency... You name it, it will come up for somebody.

A good SG has to be flexible up to a point. Rules about how often you are expected to play a turn... The point is to enable the fun, and where necessary to protect the fun of the many against the problems of one.

Dwip and Gris had some times where they couldn't play until a weekend. That was OK by me. I had a time or two where I need an extra day. Everybody does. So it has occurred to me that in needing to remain flexible for stuff we can't control, that it's important to line up all the things that we can easily control. That's all I'm trying to say.


I know there are some people who only want to play SGs, who aren't enjoying single play. ... They want to keep a steady rotation of games going, but Murphy's Law will always see that every game they're in is going to come up at the same time. There is a point where more is not better. That didn't happen here but I see it happening in a lot of games I'm lurking.


I had a good time in this game. We overcame some obstacles, made do with some weak cities. ... I got to pound on Caesar a bit set up by Dwip and Gris lining up the forces for me. ... I think this is the first time I've had a chance to have a Hydra and it didn't happen. It was more like a one-religion game in that regard. Shields were always in short supply.


- Sirian

 

[oldbustedjorn]

Lurker Comment/Question:

As a relative SG n00b (1 finished, 2 playing), I've found the most discouraging part of SG's is toward the end when it takes SO long to play. My first couple of turnsets that occured in the late middle ages took 3 hours to play. I can't do three of those a week!! As a result, I've had to change my reporting style to try to get it done in an hour...

How do you guage how many SG's you can handle?

 

[Griselda]

I notice that it seems like there's a lot more idle RB games these days, and that's a shame. SG's are all about momentum, otherwise it's too easy to click through your turns in a daze, because the team's goals aren't really fresh in your mind, or because you've been up in too many games and really just want to get it done. The trouble is, sometimes a good scenario idea gets "used up" on an idle game, although it never gets the fair try it deserves.

I'm really not trying to come down on one game or person in particular though. I know that I need an extra day (or two ) more than my share of times. I just hope that things will settle down now that the game's not so fresh and people have a better idea of what they're signing up for.

One nice thing I've learned from this game is that, at least on Prince, it's possible to come out OK in the end despite some loopy and disjointed moves. No, we didn't have all our priorities straight all the time, but we were able to do enough in other places that it worked out.

I know I'm still becoming a better player with each game. Hopefully I'm also learning to relax and have fun, too.

As far as telling how many SG's is enough, I guess the question would be- if you were up at the same time in all of your SG's, what's the likelihood that you could play your turns in all of them within 48 hours? If your answer is less than "sure, most of the time", then you're probably signed up for too many.

I think that some people have a slow week or two and decide to take on another game. Unfortunately, a SG is not usually a two-week commitment, and they could end up in trouble as turns take longer to play.

I know that I can't do more than one SG at a time at the moment, but I'm hoping that will also leave me some time for tournament play after the patch.

 

[Sullla]

FYI, I also now tend to avoid accepting players who feast a lot. "I'm up in three other games" is not a phrase I want to be reading while my game sits and waits for a couple of days.

Also known as Charis feast-night syndrome. Avoid at your own peril!

I agree with Gris in that far too many of the Realms Beyond Succession Games are stalling out or being left incomplete. Obviously that's up to the individuals involved, but I think part of the problem is that a lot of players with no previous experience running Succession Games jumped into them all at once. Possibly without understanding how much time they can often take up. It's also the responsibility for a SG to have a clear captain, someone who will take charge and prod people along when turnsets are late in coming. I try to post something after every turnset if possible in my games, just to get discussion going - nothing's worse than a SG where no one says anything to each other! As more newcomers get used to the SG format, I expect (hope) we'll see fewer of these issues.

That danged event logger also sucks ALL the life out of SG turns, but that's another issue altogether.

 

[Griselda]

I think that an involved captain is the key to a successful SG.

Although I write too much like an event logger, but with less color, I am in full agreement there. If you can't even tell who is attacking whom, and why, it can be really hard to follow. They "why" is so critical in SG turns.

 

[Sirian]

I think part of the problem is that a lot of players with no previous experience running Succession Games jumped into them all at once. Possibly without understanding how much time they can often take up.

Even more than the time is the responsibility. It really is harder than it looks.

I think having Alternates around has been a successful innovation. We never had them in Civ3 SGs, or at least not any where I played. It gives you room to lose some players (temporarily or permanently) and not stall out.

Some might think that I'm blessed to have lots of signups for my events, but it's a chicken and egg question. When you are known for leading successful games, you get more signups because more players are confident in trusting where you will take them.

Having your first game stall out on you is a bad sign. However, even that can be turned to advantage if you learn from your mistakes. Better is to do the learning "the easy way" by figuring out why things work for those who have been around doing this for years. ... Some people prefer trial and error, though, and some of those are bound to end up with a lot of error. Some will do well and build new SG franchises. ... Like the game itself, you have to wait and see where it goes.

SGs are the easiest things to jump in and lead successfully, compared to any other form of organized group activity. However, "easiest" and "easy" are not the same. It's even harder to organize regular MP activity.


- Sirian

 

[ThERat]

Lurking:

Griselda, Sulla and Sirian, I agree mostly with what you have said about SG's. I try to take a leading role in games that seem to stall, but it should be the thread starter. LK's games are always very strict and I like that. It keeps the game going.

And one thing, though I am in zillion games according to Sirian , I would always make sure I can handle them. Otherwise, I wouldn't ever sign up.

 

[LKendter]

That danged event logger also sucks ALL the life out of SG turns, but that's another issue altogether.

I agree 100% - that is why I stopped using it myself. I am still debating banning it in the LK series. Reading those turns, especially without user comments, puts me to sleep.

 

[Dwip]

Well, it's over. I'd love to tell you about my exciting turns just before launch, but...they weren't. Ah well.

Launch in 1987 AD, 7930 score, and we rank as Ivan the Terrible.

I'm far too exhausted to post the customary end pictures, but they're right there for the more graphically inclined of us (Sirian ) to take advantage of if they like.

A fun game and a fun crew. Apologies for being the one to hold things up on far too many occasions. Hopefully we'll all meet again in the future, when I have more time to play.

 

[Griselda]

Well, I for one think it's funny that the last thing that happens in-game is that Fred asks us for peace. I don't know what Dwip told him, but I wasn't going for it. He had Qinnie and Kublai to worry about, anyway.



An interesting thing that I note is that we really weren't that far off the pace for founding our second city, even though we had three religions.


We are Ivan the Terrible!


Anyway, thanks to everyone for making my first CIV SG a positive experience.

 

[oldbustedjorn]

Great win!!! Congratulations - and even the lurking experience was good!!

 

[Steve2000]

Great game - congrats.

Someone involved the very interesting little SG etiquette discussion should think about posting all of that in a new thread in the SG forum or RBCIV forum, so that the general population might give it a read. Really good points made by Sirian, Griselda, and Sullla.