RBD13 SG - Cretan Army Variant

[Arathorn]

What happened to the rule...and I quote....

After a save is posted a player may post "Got it!" and must post the result *within 8 hrs* (you take the game when you actually intend to play it)

???????

I don't see how a "Got it and will get to it tonight likely, or tomorrow night if not" quite fits that "rule".

Now, this is your game, Charis, and, as such, you can change the rules, but if the time limit had been lessened as you're doing, I might well have tried to sneak in another time along the way.

With all the slippage over Easter -- people being gone, forums down, etc. -- a lot has slipped, but I'm very much in favor of trying to keep the SGs going as set up in the "rules". For the LotR games, they're pretty generous playing-time rules, but this one is quite different, no?

Arathorn

P.S. What war-monger game were you indicating you were going to be starting soon, over in the joespaniel, knight-dragon thread?

 

[Charis]

Eek! :eep:

Thanks for the reminder Arathorn, I got thrown off by Meldor's "Are you swamped?" with thinking "It's your turn, what's taking you so long??"

Wasn't intending to either change the rule or override it for my own sake...

Don't "got it". Have another game to play tonight, and hope someone else is free. Sounds like a good time to be king.

(As far as the warmonger game, it's one I've started but saw such an usual start and AI reaction, I may just solo it. There's an added element to the game that prevents making it 'public' just yet, even if I go in that direction. More on that later )

Thanks,
Charis

 

[Zed-F]

A warmonger game, and no-one signed up for the Mongols? I'm shocked.

Well, Charis, I may join yours instead, depending on the parameters, of course. Everyone seems into large maps lately. I'm only in RBD23 & RBD19 right now, unless by some minor miracle I get another turn in RBD9...

 

[Sirian]

Hey, Large Maps can be a blast, Zed. Sure the game last longer... but if you are having fun playing, isn't that a GOOD THING? More of whatever was fun to begin with? Right?

I'm all for small maps, too, though. I'm at a loss as to what to do now for RBD12, and since that was the Blockbuster Tiny Map scenerio and it somehow got corrupted, and there is nobody but crickets and flies-on-the-wall inhabiting the tech support forum, I don't know what to do there. And it's fading seems to have taken the wind out of RBD momentum for small maps.

Still, there is RBD23, as you say. You just picked the wrong moment, I think, for your idea, plus the concept of Deity Variants may be premature.



POINT OF ORDER:

Regarding the "An Army must Attack First" rule for this game, that would be once, not once per turn. If an attack happens to stretch out over more turns, how is that different than a larger attack on the same turn? It probably wouldn't make a big difference either way. The main point was to require an army to be there. However, if our forces pull back or otherwise CEASE FIRE for a turn or more, then I'd consider that attack to be ended, and require an army to make the first move again with a new, future attack on a capital.

Sorry for any ambiguity in the rules. Hope this clears it up.


- Sirian

 

[Zed-F]

Well, of course that would be the point, Sirian. For me, moving 40 thousand units all over creation and having to consider whether to apply the veto stamp or what to build next in hundreds of cities is an exercise in frustration, not fun. It IS possible to have too much of a good thing. Actually, for me, a total turn length of 1-2 hours is optimal; after that I'm looking for something different to do or have to quit anyway. I find it much easier to focus on and have fun with a relatively smaller, faster-paced game -- like the kind where I can hit "next turn" more than once a day...

I agree, a big shame about RBD12. My vote would be to hope the problem was a one-off thing and try again, or, failing that, restart it with a similar idea/map size but different/no mods. I'm pretty sure the game/thread could be resurrected if we wanted to, since AFAIK there *still* have been a grand total of zero Tiny succession games, RBD or otherwise, not counting RBD12. If you don't want to do the honors, but are interested, let me know and I can try to put something together as far as an interesting scenario goes.

And, you're also correct that the timing for RBD25 seems to have been off; it's going into torpor for the nonce, but I may revive it again later if circumstances seem to warrant it. It'll probably remain at Emperor even so, since more people seem to be comfortable with that thought.

 

[Jaffa Tamarin]

Originally posted by Zed-F
AFAIK there *still* have been a grand total of zero Tiny succession games, RBD or otherwise, not counting RBD12.

Not quite zero. There was SUL1, at least

 

[Schnarrd]

Got it.

 

[Schnarrd]

In a bedroom at Foul Odors, a page gently shakes the sleeping figure of Schnarrd. Schnarrd stirs, snorts, rubs his nose, then abruptly comes awake.

"Hey, shouldn't Schmutzig be ruling instead of me?" he demands. "I don't want to rule. I'm still recovering from laryngitis."

"Sir, the doctors say you're over that," the page responds. "Besides, Schmutzig is too embarassed to rule."

"Embarassed? How could someone as smelly as he be embarassed?"

"Sir, if you'll just get dressed and come with me, I'll show you why."

 

[Schnarrd]

"How dare they!" Schnarrd shouts. "Those unwashed fools!"

"It's true, sir. The Romans have less culture than us."

"But how does that relate to Schmutzig?"

"Well, sir, they say that the Roman leader, Caesar, being even less cultured than the Cretans, smells even worse than Schmutzig. When Schmutzig heard this, he became so embarassed that he went into hiding and has not been seen since."

"This is something that must come to an end at once! The Romans must die!"

"Does this mean you'll take over leadership of the Cretans?

"Um . . . my laryngitis . . . "

ZAP!

"Meldor! So you were the page!"

"Oh, shut up! Just lead the country already!"

"Fine, fine! Gimme a break!"

 

[Arathorn]

Schnarrd,

I've got a rare afternoon to play and I was hoping to get in a bit of Cretanism in before the window of opportunity closes. Could you get the save file posted ASAP, so I can rule the unwashed mashes. I'd much appreciate it.

Arathorn

 

[Schnarrd]

Inherited turn: Wow, all these cities, and yet no temples? We've got to change that! We also need libraries, cathedrals, universities . . .

ZAP!

Oh, thanks meldor. Guess I haven't played this one in a while.

Well, might as well renegotiate a couple deals. Oh, and I should build a couple more settlers, too. We're going to need them once the bull hits the fan for Rome.

1: Between turns, the spearman in the last Chinese city of Hangchow fights off three Egyptian knights. On my turn, I'm almost afraid to send my bull army at him. I close my eyes, push down . . .

Ah, good! Hangchow razed! We have destroyed the . . .

Oh goody. China must have respawned. We didn't get a message from our military advisor. Oh, well.

On to the Romans.

"Hello, Caesar? We've recently noticed that the Romans have less culture than us. This is intolerable."

Caesar turns a peculiar shade of brown (it happens when you're as dirty as he). "Now just what is that supposed to -" Caesar is cut off by an enormous shower of bull.

Next I call up the other leaders. Japan, America, Egypt, and India ally against Rome for a combined 1200 gold (a drop in the bucket for us!).

On the Roman front, Nicodemia, New Littos, Lutetia, and Eburacum are all razed (Good job by Jaffa setting up the Roman front! EDIT: Sorry Jaffa. When I checked to see who was up before me, I saw your sig but I typed Zed by mistake. Is it just me or do I seem to make a lot of those sort of mistakes? Must dyslexic be or something :crazyeyes: ).

At this point, I nearly go apoplectic because of a MASSIVE amount of inherited goto's (nearly a full minute's worth). I know this has been repeated several times by various people, but if you've got to use goto's, please at least warn the next person that you're doing so. Most of the rest of this turn is spent chasing down all the units on goto.

2: Yuck! The Roman counter attacks are brutal! Fortunately, the Romans do not have cavalry and the counter attacks leave a bunch of knights exposed. They are bull-bait (well, actually cavalry-bait, but bull-bait in spirit).

In the Roman borders, four cavalry attack Antium. All four impale themselves upon the defending musket and all four lose their retreat roll. The musket is unharmed. Ummm. I guess I'll have to wait before I raze any more cities.

3: The Roman counter attacks aren't nearly as bad this time. Has Rome run out of gas already?

More cavalry batter against Antium. These have a bit more luck. Two defending muskets are killed, one more to go. A 9 hitpoint knight army attacks the last remaining injured musket. It loses! Drat! There's nothing left to attack with! Wait! There's one 2 hitpoint cavalry that will reach. He attacks! He loses one hitpoint and the retreat roll. However, he wins the next two rounds. Antium is razed!

4: The only sign of a Roman counter attack is a single exposed knight that ventures into Cretan territory. I attack it with a bull army, which goes from 19 hitpoints down to one before killing the knight.

5: A Roman knight ventures into our territory and kills an exposed cavalry unit. Otherwise, nothing.

Only one city, Caesaraugustus, is razed this turn.

That's it! Good luck to the next leader (sorry again, Arathorn, for not getting the save posted - I attached it to this post when I hurried out of here, but I guess the forum ate it)! There's still lots of Cretanly goodness to be spread.

 

[Jaffa Tamarin]

Originally posted by Schnarrd
On the Roman front, Nicodemia, New Littos, Lutetia, and Eburacum are all razed (Good job by Zed setting up the Roman front! ).

That would have been me, actually

 

[Schnarrd]

Apparently the save file didn't post. Sorry, Arathorn!

 

[Arathorn]

No problem, Schnarrd. I should have enough time to play tonight. I'm at least gonna download and see how much I can get in. I've got a craving to spread some good old-fashioned anti-culture -- and spend some treasury.

Arathorn

 

[Arathorn]

I only took five turns. If nobody claims Friday before about 3 EDT, I shall reclaim and finish out my other five.

Basically, kept the pressure on Rome, razing ~10 cities and positioning to raze more. Once Pompeii fell, the floodgates opened. Pompeii, on a hill, nearly completely surrounded by rivers, took some maneuvering.

Lost one knight army. Formed a cavalry army.

Egypt destroyed China.

A better summary will follow tomorrow morning, when I'm not quite so tired.

Arathorn

 

[Arathorn]

Ar-Thorny, called the Sharp One, poked his way into office as the head of the Cretans in 1300 AD. Apparently, his skin was so dry and ratted that it actually felt like thorns. No Cretan could resist the leadership of such a man.

(0) 1300 - Ar-Thorny looks around at the other so-called leaders of the world, their washed masses, and shudders. "Such people need to be taught of the Cretan way" he muses. "But first, I shall take what I want from them." With this in mind, he purchases Theory of Gravity for 1 shiny gold piece. He then notes unhappy Cretans and knows what is needed to make them happy -- furs. Yes, wrapping their flesh in the skin of dead animals (preferably unwashed) is preferable to going around in their own skin. So, Bizzy gets 2500 gold and a world map for 20 turns of furs.

We begin researching Steam Power at a full 100% to science. Our empire is so spread out that the thought of instantly shuttling from one corner to the other almost causes the Sharp One to wet himself. After moving lots of units through roads, maybe he should have!

The Roman counter-attack consists of a longbow, two knights, and one cavalry. This was their only "offensive" during Ar-Thorny's reign. A single cavalry was lost.

Many cities complete many projects, including a few with rushed cavalry/settlers. Ar-Thorny notices we've not even srtated Newton's or Smith's. "What were the previous leaders think..." -- ZAP!!! "Right! More UNITS!"

Berlin finishes Smith's. WLTKD all over. Double palace expansion gives a place even FURTHER away from Cretans for visiting dignitaries to stay. Suggestions that baths be installed are met with horror.

(1) 1305 - Massive movement of troops toward Roman cities. A fair few Romans in the open are caught and killed. Hills/mountains make getting into position difficult. Most other nations cascade to Newton's -- wasting time and effort on their so-called "culture". HA!

(2) 1310 - Viroconium razed. Troops position themselves in one of the two squares which can attack Pompeii not across a river and cannons finally get near enough. Pompeii is on a hill nearly surrounded by rivers with at least three defenders. [Nice defensive position, AI! Way to go, Soren.]

Some random excess luxuries are sold to random AI civs.

(3) 1315 - Pompeii was bombed mercilessly -- two muskets and two pikes defend it. It cost a cavalry and a fair few hps, but the darn thing finally falls -- and is razed. Without it clogging up the path, advance is now much quicker. Palmyra and Nicopolis fall shortly thereafter.

Ghandi tries to cancel our spice deal. Ar-Thorny offers one arm and one leg, to which Ghandi reluctantly agrees (something like two luxuries, iron, and some up-front gold).

In other news, the rampaging Egyptians destroy China. This gets them put on THE LIST, as no one rampages but the mighty BULLS of Crete. Ar-Thorny starts looking to maneveur Cleo out of power and into the dungeon he calls home. Our fleet was almost ready to go, too.

(4) 1320 - Boy, it takes a long time to cross our nation -- even for bulls and cavalry.

The pagan worship that happened in the Sistine Chapel of Pisae has finally been put to rest. The roof, in particular, sent beautiful sparks skyward as it burned. Aurelianorum and Rome were also put to the torch. A few settlers began arriving in the area to fill in the empty spaces. Final gaps in mainland Crete were also filled, letting the Cretan influence cover nearly every square in the immediate region!

More units pour towards the front ... err ... trickle. There might be a few go-tos still happening -- mostly to get through the dyke between main Crete and the Roman sub-continent.

(5) 1325 - The defenders of Veii are courageous. A slightly-injured knight army is lost attacking the musketmen inside. Fortunately, the leader of the army survived and was rescued by the cavalry regiment that burned the city to the ground. He immediately demanded to lead BETTER troops, so an army of cavalry was put into his control, with orders to not lose them!

Hispalis and Ravenna were razed, too.

Nationalism has made the rounds and could be purchased for ~1300 gold. Ar-Thorny, sensing disquiet in the crowds, fears to pull the trigger on this deal, as the treasury has sunk dramatically during his reign (down to about 5k, I believe).

All other nations are in democracy, where the PEOPLE have a say. What nuttiness is this? Clean, educated throngs deciding on national policy. INSANE! It should halt, but, again, images of prods dance near Ar-Thorny and no triggers are pulled.

With that, Ar-Thorny falls asleep. Will he awaken soon? Or be cast aside by the next ruler? Time will tell.

Arathorn

 

[Arathorn]

Re-claiming and will play the rest of my turn.

Back in a few (several?) hours.

Arathorn

 

[Arathorn]

(6) 1330 AD - Arretium razed. The twice-cursed Americans form a city in what was once Roman lands. It greatly destroys our pattern and MUST go. However, I leave that to the next leader.

(7) 1335 AD - Moving around hundreds of troops. Workers start teaming up for RRs coming soon. Neapolis and Cumae are now just puffs of smoke in the distance.

(8) 1340 AD - Tarentum razed. The penultimate Roman city, the capital of Byzantium is attacked by our mighty bull army. Shots ring out from the defending muskets, but the bulls continue on, heedless of the possible damage. All too soon, it is over, and Byzantium is flattened.

The Egyptians raze their last city....and no message of destruction is found. Re-spawn? Settler on a boat? Caesar is definitely MIA.

More importantly, Steam Power finishes. Industrialization is begun at 0% -- slower research means more time for our cavalry HORDE to dominate. Feel free to ZAP! that decision.

(9) 1345 AD - Workers work. Settlers move as fast as possible towards the vast open areas where Roman cities once stood. A few more are in production in various places.

Egypt and Rome sign a peace treaty. Barbarians appear and kill one of our slave workers.

(10) 1350 AD - Not one but two of the latest barbarian camp dispersals in my experience, netting 50 gold, which is completely lost in the vast treasury. Ghandi sells nationalism for 1080 gold and our world map. It would cost 2160 gold to upgrade 108 muskets in cities to riflemen, not counting the others roaming around. Up to the next leader, because the Sharp One managed to put a thorn through his eye into what passes for a brain.

Japan and Rome make nicey-nice.

Rome will give us peace, 3 gold, and 2gpt. I have no idea where they are.

America is probably the next target. Peace with Rome would cancel our alliance with Abe (7 turns left). RoP still has one turn to go and then could/should be cancelled. We're not quite in position to attack them, yet, but we're getting close.

One ship with a settler is headed to settle/share an island with the Germans. We have one city on one Japanese island. Very, VERY bare beginnings of a RR line -- actually a few beginnings in different places.

Ar-Thorny

Save at http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/rbd13-cretans-1350ad.zip

 

[Jaffa Tamarin]

0) 1350AD Ummm. Yeah. Where are the Romans?

Okay, science up to max, put a few random cities on building ironclads, and hit next turn. Hopefully the AI knows where the Romans are, and one of the other Civs can wipe them out

Rome signs a peace treaty with Japan. Egypt destroys a barb camp.

1) 1355AD I spot a Roman caravel. Is that where Ceasar is hiding?

Railroad, railroad, railroad. Aiiieeee!

Upgraded 107 musketmen to riflemen.

2) 1360AD Roman knight and settler land off the caravel. "Vini, vidi, vi-aaargh!", declares Ceasar.

"We have destroyed the Fragile Romans, Sire."

We cancel all our trade agreements with Lincoln (who would apparently never accept those deals, anyway).

4) 1370AD Okay, Lincoln, we're now at war. Say goodbye to London, San Diego, Minneapolis, Jerusalem, Lugdunum and Los Angeles.

And, by the way Lincoln, you're also at war with the rest of the world. Hope you don't mind

5) 1375AD Our Cretan horde rampages through America.

6) 1380AD Our Cretan horde rampages through America.

7) 1385AD Our Cretan horde rampages through America.

Minos of the Cretans 1385AD

 

[Arathorn]

Rescuing from page 2.

Somebody besides Jaffa or I should go next. Schnarrd, Sirian, Charis, meldor?? Others???? Hate to see this one die...

Arathorn