Civ 5: GMR part 4 - Needs salt!

[thirsting]

Welcome to a fourth Civ 5 Giant Multiplayer Robot thread!

Even though I did want to join one of the earlier games in these forums, I lacked the courage to even try because it required the use of Giant Multiplayer Robot (http://multiplayerrobot.com/). My reservations were in vain though, there's nothing difficult about it, and now I regret not joining. GMR is really easy to setup. (This just in case there's some else like me who would like to try, but knows nothing about Giant Multiplayer Robot.)

What I'm trying to set up here is an entertaining, spectator-friendly game. This means anyone reading the thread should be able to easily identify which player controls which civilization. I'm suggesting colour code based on civilization: I'm planning to play as Byzantium, therefore always using turquoise for my text when in character. (if this is a bad idea, let me know!) (that idea was not that good after all.) Politics, scheming and drama between nations encouraged, as long as it's in good OOC spirit. As usual, let's use this thread for all that, and remember to spoiler things not intended for everyone to see.

Set up:

Both expansions, Gods&Kings and Brave New World. No mods, no DLCs. (check here which civs are DLC only (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ5/civilizations))
To differentiate the game from the (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?297390-Civilization-5-Giant-Multiplayer-Robot-in-the-Playground) first (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?318178-Civilization-5-Giant-Multiplayer-in-the-Playground-II) three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?323747-Civ-5-Multiplayer-3-Swimsuit-Edition) GITP GMR games, the map type will be Pangaea.
World size: Large
Game pace: Fast.
Turn timer set to 24 hours
Social policy and unit upgrade saving allowed, otherwise standard rules.
All victory conditions available.


Game started!

Turn order:
thirsting - Byzantium
Closet Skeleton - Persia
Illven (previously Driderman) - Maya
OrcusMcP - Morocco
Luzahn - Rome
The_Snark - Carthage
Dhavaer - China
banthesun - India

[Dhavaer]

I'd like to join as good old China, although as I'm already in another game I'm happy to bow out if there is a lot of other interest.

[Luzahn]

I'm the same; interested, but in two games already. I'll play if there isn't enough interest by new players. I'd probably be wanting to play the Inca.

[OrcusMcP]

I can be on hand to play as Morocco! I'll have to double check how GMR works with Mac, since last time I looked it wasn't as automatic as it would be if I was on PC.

[thirsting]

I'm the same; interested, but in two games already. I'll play if there isn't enough interest by new players. I'd probably be wanting to play the Inca.

Have you increased your game limit beyond what's available for free? Because otherwise you are stuck with your two older games. And Incans unfortunately are a DLC civ.

Here's a list of all the civs. (http://www.civfanatics.com/civ5/civilizations) If it says "DLC" after the name, I have to reject that choice.

Edit: I hope this didn't sound like I'm rejecting you, Luzahn. Just your nation of choice, out of necessity. :smallredface:

[Luzahn]

Ah, missed the DLC civs bit. Noted.

I'll be looking forward to you guys starting the game, then. Should be fun on the spectating side for once. :smallsmile:

[Driderman]

I'm interested, although since I'm already at my 5-game limit I'll wait on donating for additional slots (although I'm probably going to need a couple for Beyond Earth regardless) until I know if there's room for me.

[thirsting]

I'll send links to you two, too, just in case. Join if you feel like it, as I don't think room is going to be a problem...

[Driderman]

It doesn't look like it, no. I got me some more slots, I think I'd like to play the Mayans.

[Luzahn]

...Ok, more slots it is.

Hm...which non-DLC civs are fun...Ooh, they upgraded Japan's racial? I should play them sometime we're not on Pangaea. I love aquatic civs.

I think I will go with Rome.

So let's see, is Byzantium a long-lost brother, or filthy rebels? :smalltongue:

[Closet_Skeleton]

I'm the same; interested, but in two games already. I'll play if there isn't enough interest by new players. I'd probably be wanting to play the Inca.

I wanted to play Inca too. Or Denmark but they're also DLC only.

I'll play as

Venice, Germany or Iroquois.

Which isn't a choice.

A game with China, Rome and Byzantium would feel weird without a Persia in there somewhere. Or I could play Russia as the Third Rome or Austria as the Holy Roman Empire.

Which is 6 choices.

1. Venice
2. Germany
3. Iroquois
4. Persia
5. Russia
6 Austria.

I rolled a 4. So its Persia then.

[Mx.Silver]

As some advice, keep an eye on the victory conditions, we've had a bit of a foul-up in the first game due to the diplomatic victory getting accidentally deactivated.





So let's see, is Byzantium a long-lost brother, or filthy rebels? :smalltongue:

A filthy long-lost rebel brother.

[thirsting]

I think it's better to use secondary colour for Maya (teal), or it would be even harder to read than mine. Nevermind, Golden rod seems distinct enough. Either.



As some advice, keep an eye on the victory conditions, we've had a bit of a foul-up in the first game due to the diplomatic victory getting accidentally deactivated.

I'll try to pay extra attention, to prevent such surprises.


If no one else shows interest soon, I guess I'll start the game as soon as everyone has used their link.

[OrcusMcP]

Just as a point of curiosity, will there be AI civs as well, or is it player only?

[banthesun]

Hi, I've never played a Civ5 multiplayer before, but I am kinda interested (I did find vs AIs to be pretty dissapointing). I'm thinking of either playing India or the Netherlands, if anyone has preferences either way.

[thirsting]

Just as a point of curiosity, will there be AI civs as well, or is it player only?

There are enough of us now that we don't really need any computer players. And diplomacy is MUCH better between humans. Usually. :smalltongue: Some city states are in, of course.


Hi, I've never played a Civ5 multiplayer before, but I am kinda interested (I did find vs AIs to be pretty dissapointing). I'm thinking of either playing India or the Netherlands, if anyone has preferences either way.

I'll send you a link in few hours, when I get home from work.

[Driderman]

Luckily the guy who would have won by diplomatic victory in our other game is also the guy who failed at enabling it, so I can only blame myself for not already having won that game :smallsmile:

As for AI civs I'm very much against the idea, since they're generally easy to conquer and/or abuse, which kinda upsets the initial balance of power. Get an AI neighbor and you'll have easy pickings neighbor that'll trade you all his gold, luxuries and cities as soon as he calculates that he's losing.

[Luzahn]

Luckily the guy who would have won by diplomatic victory in our other game is also the guy who failed at enabling it, so I can only blame myself for not already having won that game :smallsmile:




Look, "Operation: Nuke the crap out of the city-states" was all set up to deny you that win anyway. It wasn't a suicidal plan at all. Nope. :smalltongue:

But yeah, AI players would really mess things up. Honestly, I'd even prefer that people not capitulate until the game is actually over, but I understand that you might want to free up a game slot if you're in no position to recover.

[The_Snark]

I'd be interested in playing, if I can figure out how GMR works in time. Most likely as Carthage.

[Academia]

You know I'd love to join you all in a LAN game sometimes. Usually I play pubs with some of my friends and we win ~90% of the times and stalemate ~5% of the times. We all play on Emperor or Immortal vs AI. Though usually we play 2v2s in LAN.

I'd love to be in a group without leavers! Hm... I think I replied to the other Civ5 thread on GitP before but I think it's closed now.

I can only play long games on the weekends though because I'm in training for the military.

My steam = mmk2me (I'll have to double check if that's the right account, will confirm tonight)

Aca

[Driderman]

Look, "Operation: Nuke the crap out of the city-states" was all set up to deny you that win anyway. It wasn't a suicidal plan at all. Nope. :smalltongue:


And a faulty plan as well since the amount of votes required for Diplomatic Victory is dynamic and dependent on the number of city-states alive, as far as I remember. The best bet would probably have been to spend Portugal's vast amount of gold to remove my influence. But of course, moot point. Now it's The World War To End All World Wars, or Poland Can Into Space :smallbiggrin:

[Closet_Skeleton]

I'd be interested in playing, if I can figure out how GMR works in time. Most likely as Carthage.

Its really simple so I'd just give it a go.


Now it's The World War To End All World Wars, or Poland Can Into Space :smallbiggrin:

You shouldn't give away your plans in another thread. But on that note you still have a chance to make me an offer I can't refuse.

[Luzahn]

Look, it's tradition that we all make thinly veiled threats in the other Civ threads. :smallbiggrin:


One concern I might have is player count; I know game three in particular runs a bit slowly due to its number of players. Being an island map doesn't help, but we may want to consider reducing the turn timer a bit, to speed things up.

[Driderman]

Its really simple so I'd just give it a go.



You shouldn't give away your plans in another thread. But on that note you still have a chance to make me an offer I can't refuse.

Hardly giving anything away, it's endgame and either Poland builds a spaceship or they get stopped by a war and the winner will be whoever has the most points at 2050. Assuming that particular victory condition is in, of course... :smallredface:

Anyway, concerning player numbers and timer, I find that around 6 players and a 24-hour timer tends to work fairly well so long as the players are ordered by timezone. It's hardly a perfect system but it allows for "streaks" if several are available to play at the same time, which is generally more likely.

[thirsting]

Time zones... Should have thought of that a bit earlier.

I'll try to reorganise turn order a bit before the game starts. Could everyone tell me where they live roughly? I think knowing which continent you are on is enough. Can be PM'd to me, if uncomfortable sharing otherwise. I'll also set the turn timer to 24 hours.

I already got OrcusMcP and Luzahn, both North Americans. I'm from Europe, and everyone else's profiles are a bit unhelpful. :smalltongue:

Setting the map size for large.

And I think about 24 hours from now would be enough of a warning for the rest who have not signed in yet.'


Any objections to any of these? Is turn timer now okay at 24 hours?

[Dhavaer]

Eastern Australia here.

[banthesun]

I'm Eastern Australia too. I'm generally available between 02:00-15:00 GMT, if that helps.

[thirsting]

Alright, everyone has used their link now. Little bit of detective work revealed the areas the rest of you live in, so now we're ready!

Updated turn order on first page.

And I'll be late for work because of this! Aaargh! *rushes off*

[Driderman]

Meh, I would have suggested a standard size map instead, due to the whole "number of religions dependent on map size" thing. Oh well.

[Closet_Skeleton]

4000 BC - Persopolis is founded.

A pretty good location with lots of potential for early production and a mountain for later. On the minus side, Ivory is kind of bad since the only thing that boosts them is the Goddess of the Hunt Pantheon and you only need one of them to unlock the ability to build a circus. 3 silver and 1 ivory would have been a lot better. I might also be a bit low on food for a while so will probably need to build a granary straight away before thinking about a shrine once pottery is unlocked.

I've started researching pottery, which will give me the option of going for either Stonehenge or the Great Library soon enough.

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/580149529161578190/11EA92508FC8671CEB73EE3D0F1DA7847731F0B2/

[thirsting]

Meh, I would have suggested a standard size map instead, due to the whole "number of religions dependent on map size" thing. Oh well.

Aw, didn't know that. Stricter restriction on number of religions would indeed have been more ..er.. suspenseful. At least there's lots of room to expand now...

Social policies and unit promotions CAN be delayed, by the way. Otherwise standard rules, and all victory conditions enabled! Hopefully I did remember to set the map type to Pangaea again (screwed up number of players and order of players, so had to redo the start a couple of times).

Seacoast, a river, fertile grasslands. Distant mountain range just barely visible above horizon. Scouts report two kinds of stone nearby to build temples with. This is where we build a new, better home.

But what is this? Commoners went and named MY new city without MY permission, even before we were properly settled down. This will not stand. Renaming ceremony will be held soon.

[Mx.Silver]

[stuff]
Can I ask that you don't use that colour for your spectator updates? It makes them quite hard to read.

[Driderman]

To spectators:
My initial area has 3 sugar (in marsh :smallfrown:) and some incense 2 tiles away. The terrain is a bit of a mashup of marsh, jungle, plains and some desert with the aforementioned incense and an oasis, to the north. Quite uncharacteristically, I've chosen to spend my first turn moving my settler rather than settling immediately, following the river northwest to settle next to the oasis and the desert tiles (mostly hills) and moving towards some plains and forest, away from the marshes. This also means that I won't actually have any luxuries within my first "culture ring" of the city, hopefully it won't be a decision I regret later.
Techwise, I haven't made any choices yet but I will, probably not surprisingly, be going straight for pottery so as to build my special building as soon as possible and take full advantage of my Civ.

[OrcusMcP]

Ahmad al-Mansur climbed to the top of the hill to look west, and before him lay bountiful seas. Already he was hearing reports of valuable ruins in the eastern desert, and the silk forest of the southern river valley would keep his people warm in winter and cool in summer. This was the spot. This would be the seat of a mighty mercantile people, a great city at the centre of a vast empire, this would be Marrakesh.


http://imageshack.com/a/img843/6125/pw5v.png
While I would normally try to settle beside a river, I'm a sucker for chokepoints. Plus, by the river would be surrounded by hills which is not good defensive thinking. This way I have access to the sea from north and south, good defensive hills, and lots of good fertile land in which to expand.

[banthesun]

Hey Driderman, what colour are you using (I don't want to crack open that spoiler and try to only look at the colour :smallwink: ). If you're not using the goldenrod, I might take that instead of the bright green.

[Mx.Silver]

Hey Driderman, what colour are you using (I don't want to crack open that spoiler and try to only look at the colour :smallwink: ).

He's sticking with black, from the looks of it.

[Wookieetank]

MMM delicious salt. Looking forward to more shennanigans!

[Closet_Skeleton]

He's sticking with black, from the looks of it.

I'm not using any colour in spoiler boxes and from my ability to glance at things and not read them I don't think at least one other person is either.

[Driderman]

Unless it's somehow very important, I don't really want to bother with using any color other than regular black for my postings.

[thirsting]

Yep, I've had doubts about that colour thing working all this time. Just an idea. But it would be nice if there was some indicator which country you are leading, in your posts. A signature at the end of post, for example. I don't mean the forum signature, but like a nation leader signing their missive.

Just something for everyone to easily notice which nation you represent, which ever way you go about it. How's that?


Editing this here. Had no time to add starting spot last time:

Byzantines, friends. I will speak shortly. Feast has been abundant. Generous gifts have been given. Empress has given our city a name, Marble Wharf. Use it proudly. Use it, as if there never was any other name. As there never was. Now drink, and eat! http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Marblewharf_zps82a2aa39.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Marblewharf_zps82a2aa39.jpg.html)

[banthesun]

India, Turn 1

Ventilation has failed in sectors 4 and 13 again. Food shortages continue through sectors 5, 9, and 16. Repairs were unsuccessful.

We've been raised by machines, and now that they're failing no one knows what to do. All the scientific discoveries of our ancestors are lost, the data corruption is too severe for even our brightest scolars to recover. The council has decided we can put it off no longer, we must begin our plans to reclaim the surface.

A group of our strongest and bravest citizens will be sent to the surface with only the most basic knowledge to ensure their survival. Despite the corruption of the main records, the researchers have been able to piece together a basic outline of our history, and the things we discovered along the way. The hope is that by starting at square one we will be able to re-engineer all the lost technologies from scratch, though failing that, establishing a safe haven on the surface would at least allow for the continued survival of our people.

For all we know, we might be the only survivors left. The fate of humanity may well rest on our shoulders, and we do not intend to let them down. Wish me luck, we're departing.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/GMR1_zps1c9bee77.png
So, here's my starting spot; marble, truffles, a cow, and a large looking lake. Not exactly what I was hoping for, especially with all that jungle I'll have to clear to make farms around the lake, but I couldn't see anything better and I freak out if I take more than a turn to settle my first city. At least we're on a hill for that early defensive bonus.

[Luzahn]

Rome:

Today is a great day, my people! By the grace of the gods, the glory of Rome has survived the onslaughts of the foul barbarian hordes.

The rivers once again teem with fish and the plains with game. We are prepared, now, to regain contact with our lost empire. The light of Rome will be brought into the hinterlands, and all the world will be united under our banner.

Augusus Caesar

I've spent one turn getting into a better position, but the current start seems to be a good one. Plenty of salt tiles and plains for production boosts, and some wheat for early growth. Liberty policies will be the first choice, I want to snatch up a lot of early land and go wide.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Exploring to the north, we came across a burning settlement at the foot of a mountain. We agreed to take the survivors in, though we had not much food for them.

The barbarians that raided the settlement are not far from here. We can take them on!

-Darius of Persia 2820 BC

[OrcusMcP]

"My Sultan, Lord of Morocco and Servant of the Most High, we have not yet found further settlements along the desert coast, and lack the resources to press further inland. We will continue North.
However, having found an ancient set of maps at an abandoned trading camp, we know that a deep forest with many rivers lie to the east. No mention of other settlements, but if it was mapped then there must be trade routes along the rivers. I humbly recommend sending a dedicated commission to map these riverlands further.

With all respect,

-Ibn Khaldun, Captain, 1st Heavy Infantry"

[banthesun]

Quick question, does GMR automatically automate your units? This is the second turn in a row I've had my units start the turn by auto exploring, despite never selecting it, and deliberately making sure they weren't set to auto explore at the end of last turn.

[thirsting]

Pretty sure it should not do that. If you try to make your units walk further away than what their movement speed allows, then they make the rest of the way the next turn. Can't think of any other reason for autonomous movement... hopefully it is just that and not a persisting glitch. :smalleek:

Did you push the cancel action button already? Telling them to "move" to the exact same hex where they currently stand should stop them as well.

[banthesun]

Yup, pushed cancel at the end of last turn and at the end of this one. So far they've gone exactly where I would have moved them, but hopefully it doesn't continue. I can only imagine what it would be like to have a full military wandering around doing whatever it likes and ignoring orders.

[Dhavaer]

Even if GMR did automate your units, shouldn't they do the auto-move at the end of your turn? That's how it works for me.

[Driderman]

GMR shouldn't do anything with your troops that you haven't told it to, as far as I know. And yes, automated units move at the end of your turn.

[banthesun]

Normally planned movement happens at the end of my turns (haven't tried it with GMR, but that shouldn't change anything), but auto explore has always executed at the start of my turns for me. Perhaps there's a glitch in my version of the game or something.

[Driderman]

Normally planned movement happens at the end of my turns (haven't tried it with GMR, but that shouldn't change anything), but auto explore has always executed at the start of my turns for me. Perhaps there's a glitch in my version of the game or something.

I'm going to go with an empathetic "shrug" here. I really don't know.

[thirsting]

Just tested hot seat game and auto-exploration. Yes, they move right at the start of the turn. Tried to manually give them orders to move, after they had been on auto-exploration for a while, and it made them drop out of the auto-mode; They just moved to where I told them on the subsequent turn, and stopped waiting for instructions.

You could try that on your next turn. Instead of trying to cancel, see if your units obey you at all if you tell them to move. Can't see the result until a turn after that, of course.

Asked help (http://steamcommunity.com/groups/multiplayerrobot/discussions/0/540743213224904483/) in GMR forums, too.

Edit: Tazzik's post from above link seems like it could be helpful! Try changing your in-game password at GMR site to something which does not contain "e"?

[OrcusMcP]

Point of order:

Though I don't think anyone has met each other yet, seeing the final epic breakdown into nuclear fire of the first GMR game in the forum leads me to consider whether we might want to have a protocol for.....not iron-clad agreements, but at least some kind of mutual respect.

While I'm not suggesting that you can't scheme or backstab or do any kind of dirty dealing, that's supposed to be part of the fun after all, we should be able to make treaties that actually mean something.

I propose the "Illuminati" rule, so called because I am lifting it completely from the Illuminati baordgame. Plus, considering we are sort of playing as mythical Gods/kings in the mountain/national zeitgeists/etc it seems thematically appropriate.

1) Any agreements that take effect immediately are generally handled by the game engine and can't be reneged upon, but it's not uncommon for people to work out trade deals ahead of their turns. Thus, if two players agree on a trade, then when it comes up in the game it must be proposed and agreed as written in order to avoid wasting time.

2) Any agreements that have a delayed effect (I give you something now, you give me something in return later) must be honoured if the initial price is delivered. Whether its buying votes, negotiating treaties or whatever.

3) Any agreements that are theoretical/conditional/only apply in hypotheticals are worth the paper they are printed on. That is, nothing.

[Driderman]

This is probably a good idea. I know I certainly feel ready to "flip the board" in the other game :smallannoyed:

[banthesun]

Edit: Tazzik's post from above link seems like it could be helpful! Try changing your in-game password at GMR site to something which does not contain "e"?

This solved it, thanks.

I'm not fussed about whether we set rules of interaction or just allow backstabbing, so I'll just go with what everyone else wants out of the game.

[thirsting]

This solved it, thanks.

Excellent!

...

Luzahn, if you get a chance internet access -wise, maybe consider vacation mode if you are still unable to do your turns?

[Mx.Silver]

Backstabbing makes for a more interesting game to watch...

[Driderman]

I'm all for backstabbing, but we should probably codify the rules a bit. Like, for example, "Anything not put 'in print' on the forum officially isn't the final version of the deal."
I can't help but approach Civ as I would any boardgame, since it's so similiar. That includes dealing with one rival to snatch a win from another, but if I do so I expect people to be fair about it.

The situation that sparked this entire debate, to me at least came off pretty much like this:

Two people, looking at a complex strategic position in the endgame of a long boardgame

Player 1: "Okay, so we need to contain Player 3 as soon as possible, or he'll win. We both know we're both contenders to win as well, but if we help each to stop him from winning now it'll improve our odds of doing so later".

Player 2: "Alright, since I'm his ally I can't help directly, but I'll hold back on assisting him once the war starts".

Player 1: "Great, then I attack". Attacks Player 3.

Player 2: "Sucker!" Immediately attacks Player 1.

Player 3: "SCIENCE!"

While I'm sure Closet Skeleton didn't intend to be a jerk about, it came off as a rather jerk player move to me. Mostly my own fault since I thought our agreement was "valid", while he obviously thought differently.
Anyway, the three rules as suggested by Thirsting, with the addendum that if it's not written on the forum, it's not binding, should probably be fine for setting a framework.

[OrcusMcP]

Anyway, the three rules as suggested by Thirsting, with the addendum that if it's not written on the forum, it's not binding, should probably be fine for setting a framework.

I didn't realize my name had changed :smallwink: Late-game boardgames are almost always tricksy beasts of backstabbing and careful negotiations anyway, hence why I took the rules from Illuminati (though slightly modified) where this happens ALL THE TIME.

But yeah, anything not "in print" on the forum should not be binding in anyway.


Backstabbing makes for a more interesting game to watch...

I agree, but there's backstabbing and then there's backstabbing. Realising that you are Kingmaker means you should simultaneously be less public about your dealings, but more public about your decisions. It's more dramatic that way. :smallbiggrin:

[Driderman]

Ah, I was sure it was Thirsting who posted said rules. My point still stands :smallsmile:

[thirsting]

Want me to edit those three points plus addendum to the first post? I'm uncomfortable setting them as hard rules, but rather as sort of guidelines for gentlemanly interaction between players.

[OrcusMcP]

Want me to edit those three points plus addendum to the first post? I'm uncomfortable setting them as hard rules, but rather as sort of guidelines for gentlemanly interaction between players.

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea. People can/probably will still backstab other players, but having a baseline of interaction should at least let people know WHAT honour is being tarnished and what won't be forgotten.

[Luzahn]

Ah, sorry about that everybody! I'll vacation mode as soon as I get the chance; previous places have unexpectedly lacked wifi access, and I focused on game 1 when I had the opportunity to play.

Y'know, because if I skip there, apocalyptic mad science is released/all of my guys run headlong into Shoshone fortifications. :smalltongue:

Edit: Actually, I will have reliable internet from tonight onward, so I might just chance it. Any objections to that? I could soak the AI turns if others want to guarantee speed.

[thirsting]

I don't mind waiting, it doesn't really affect the overall length of this game in any noticeable way. Just good to know you are not away for weeks.

[OrcusMcP]

Marrakesh grew almost to bursting with the refugees found in the wilds, but they were hard working and al-Mansur was nothing if not generous. The scouts were reporting contact with some hostile tribes in the forests, with one particular tribe menacing a small state in the cold south, at the mouth of a mighty river. The city was called Milan.

With so many ravaging tribes nearby, al-Mansur thought it prudent to return the infantry from their ranging, to better defend the home city.

Screenshots will come within the next couple turns, worry not. :smallwink:

[thirsting]

Chased a thief. Bastard was out to steal our food. Tried to hide in some old ruins. Interrogated. After first finger, revealed where he came from. One of our boys recognised the place. Whole village of aggressive bastards. Marauders. After second finger, he could not tell more. Gave up after third.

The other group sent runner. Boy told they found a cache of weapons, made of wood and hide strings. Hide string weapons. Considered giving him a little beating for coming up with such nonsense.

(Sigh. Ancient ruins of disappointment.)

[Luzahn]

Legio I Roma continues to secure the borders of Rome, but so far no barbarian invaders have shown their faces. The land's emptiness is curious, and somewhat disturbing. Our scouts will soon embark on an expedition to seek out lost Imperial cities, with any luck more than the mere ruins discovered so far have survived.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/468685438479592960/C37A4E29D42E599AC32938313A6530EFE56FABD7/

[Closet_Skeleton]

Our scouting party set off east after being trained. A century or so ago they came across a strange old man in a ruined city. They thought he was made at first, but then he taught us the secrets of the strange clay tablets he carried with him from the ruins. I did then decree that a suitable structure must be built to contain these wondrous tablets for our civilisation. The old man mysteriously disappeared after 7 days, 7 months and 7 years of being with our people, he will be remembered as a god.

After traveling north many miles from our capital, our brave soldiers entered a land of jungle. They soon came across a great mountain that billowed smoke high into the ground. Then they heard the gods speak to them that this would be the perfect place to train to move swiftly across the hills."

- Darius of Persia, 3340 BC

[OrcusMcP]

After many years, Ibn Battuta returned from the 1st Great Scouting to deliver his first report to Al Mansur. The great traveller kneeled before the First Consul, gave the customary honours and began to report.

"Great Consul, our ranging has found that while the forests to our east are indeed rich and full of rivers, there are no more high civilizations aside form the Milanese. Passing through the forest, the scouts have come across a vast desert, not unlike the one to our north. With your command we will continue scouting."

[Closet_Skeleton]

In 3220 BC, the nascent Persian civilisation hit a crisis. There simply wasn't enough food in the forests or the plains to support growth. Our brave scouts found cultural artefacts but none of the available policies were directly capable of producing food. We were forced to purchase grassland to the north and our great King Darius proclaimed that we would build turn to agriculture to support our nation. Our new policy of citizenship allowed us to produce a worker to begin this new project."

[OrcusMcP]

The Great Consul was perplexed. While it was clear that the land was vast, it was just as clear that was resourceful. Were there no other nations? Could Morocco and Milan truly be the only advanced peoples?

The immediate vicinity of Marrakesh was starting to be developed, and the eternal thirst for adventure of the Moroccan people needed quenching. It would soon be time to start settling the frontiers, both along the northern coast and into the wooded interior.

[thirsting]

Apologies for picking large map instead of standard. :/

Scouts sent another runner. The group saw a ragtag band of people from a distance. Did not appear equipped for battle. Our boys did not dare to approach yet, in case they turn out to be hostile anyway. Good decision.


(tell me if this colour is too hard to read even outside spoiler boxes... and hello Bird of Purgatory/The_Snark!)

[OrcusMcP]

Apologies for picking large map instead of standard. :/

Large is fine, I'm just surprised I haven't met ANYONE aside from Milan so far, considering how wide I've already scouted. Lots room for a big Morocco!

[Closet_Skeleton]

I just came to the edge of someone's territory without actually meeting them. Don't think they're Morocco though. Someone pale yellow? Maya or India maybe.

[Luzahn]

India's green, believe. That's gotta be Driderman's Mayans.

[OrcusMcP]

If you only saw the border rather than owned land, than yellow likely means India.

[The_Snark]

Good evening, strangers! We come from the lands of New Carthago to the far south, where the immortal Queen Dido rules with a fair hand; in her name we greet you. If this city here is your home, rest assured that we intend no harm and will be traveling on shortly. If not... then good evening to our fellow wanderers! From where do you hail? It would be our pleasure to exchange stories of the lands we have seen in our travels.

In the interest of neighborly courtesy, we feel we ought to inform you that we are being chased by the savage natives of this land. Should you wish to avoid them, flee east, or west, or north, but not south; should you wish to face them in battle, you might catch them off-guard while they cross the bogs, but know that there are more amassed on the far side of the river, hunkering in their crude palisades and venturing forth only to draw the blood of civilized folk.

[banthesun]

Wanna trade maps/talk territory?

[Closet_Skeleton]

Turns out it wasn't as yellow as I thought, just against plains.

Greetings! I see that you have also discovered the art of writing, might we trade embassies?

In 3040 BC, our first farm was established and our agriculture was greatly boosted, but it was not enough. If we are to truly become a great city and then a great nation we must grow further.

[OrcusMcP]

The Great Consul was most surprised when the 1st Heavy Infantry returned from their ranging from the west. Thought to simply by a peninsula, the mapping had shown that the desert coast extended far to the west, and the northern waters were merely an inland sea.

[Dhavaer]

That would be acceptable.

[thirsting]

Greetings, people of New Carthago. We come from Byzantium Empire. Our beautiful and beloved Empress will want to hear from you and your ways. She has been looking for trading opportunities, but surrounding tribes are so very small and poor. Perhaps Carthagians have goods they are willing to part with in the future?

Unfortunately I cannot return the favour of revealing the location of our empire at this time. Dear Empress is concerned this information might find it's way to hostile spies. Personally I believe her greatness to be a wee bit on the paranoid side, but what can you do? We have been ordered to attract as little attention as possible to our dear home, for the time being.

However, if your group needs help getting rid of any savage pursuers, we are more than happy to help. There are several barbaric groups in the North East as well, I would not go that way with as few men as you have.

Who are you people? You have strange features, and clothing. But it is good to finally see people out here who do not try to rob and murder us on sight. On behalf of our beloved and beautiful Byzantine Empress, we wish you good fortune on your travels. We will also offer you advice. There are several groups of barbaric marauders in North East, it might be wise to avoid going that way.

[Driderman]

To Thirsting:
We may not be trying to rob you, but we are the harbingers of your end nonetheless. Although, to be fair, it's going to be a while from now. Immortal Pacal, He Who Sees The End, greets you and would suggest that you stay away from the lands where we reside, west of here, so as not to impede the settling of the glorious cities of the Apocalypse.

[Luzahn]

You're playing India, correct? Greetings, and welcome to the Roman Empire. To be honest, we're not at our best at the moment. The Empire has faded somewhat. Although I don't remember your people as one of our vassal states...

And I'm afraid we would be of little help when it come to mapping the area, our armies have been busy with Barbarian incurions

-Caesar

[thirsting]

What's with all these stonemasons going through? Is she building another palace for herself?
Didn't you hear? She's had "visions" again.
Visions?
Rumour is, she sees faces of dead people in stone walls. This time it was her mother's.
Oh, for the love of gods.. So all these builders and stonemasons going through our gate are..?
Yes, happily getting rich, building monuments for the spirit of her dead mother. Now, go back to guard your post and stop asking stupid questions!

[Closet_Skeleton]

Maybe Dhaevar has given you better pics than this, but here's Persia's knowledge of China.

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/577899631093941269/BB61504A8403FB3728A0325C90427D0C06A4A242/

[banthesun]

Sorry to hear about your barbarian troubles, we will continue to focus our exploration on the area north of your territory for now.

Our achives have experienced significant corruption, but none of the recovered data so far seems to include history of interactions with your empire.

On the possibility of territory negotiations, how would you feel about having Ragusa serve as a buffer area between our civilisations?

[thirsting]

Did anyone get skipped while GMR was malfunctioning? And if I have to revert turn, does it revert everyone's latest turn, or just the most recent player?

[OrcusMcP]

I never got any kind of alert that it was my turn, so I don't think I got skipped, but that's assuming their auto-emails were working while everything else was not.

[thirsting]

Actually it seems like people in our game got to make their turns normally, according to Recent turns pages (unlike some people in game 5 who got skipped). So should be your turn now as normal, OrcusMcP.


I set the turn timer to three days, just in case there are further problems.

[OrcusMcP]

All is well.

Just need to stop getting the "It's your turn" emails right when I get to work :smallwink:

[OrcusMcP]

After venturing through wooded valleys, frozen wastelands, extended deserts and rolling hills, Ibn Batutta finally came to a fertile river valley, where there were finally signs of civilization! Only time would tell whether these people would prove friend or foe to Morocco, but the Great Consul al-Mansur is always willing to extend the hand of fellowship and trust.

As-salamu alaikum to you, mighty Ceasar! May this day be the start of deep friendship.

[Luzahn]

After venturing through wooded valleys, frozen wastelands, extended deserts and rolling hills, Ibn Batutta finally came to a fertile river valley, where there were finally signs of civilization! Only time would tell whether these people would prove friend or foe to Morocco, but the Great Consul al-Mansur is always willing to extend the hand of fellowship and trust.

As-salamu alaikum to you, mighty Ceasar! May this day be the start of deep friendship.

Ah, hail emissaries of al-Mansur, Welcome to Rome. How intriguing....like those Indians we recently encountered, we don't appear to have much record of your people. Regardless, we are willing to accept your kingdom as a friend of Rome. There is much to reclaim.

[OrcusMcP]

Ah, hail emissaries of al-Mansur, Welcome to Rome. How intriguing....like those Indians we recently encountered, we don't appear to have much record of your people. Regardless, we are willing to accept your kingdom as a friend of Rome. There is much to reclaim.

India? We have not heard of such a people. There are other great nations in this land? You are the first we have found! To your west and south lie miles of unclaimed land, though there are many barbarian tribes that will need a firm hand before you can settle. Marrakesh itself lies far to your south-west, past a wooded river valley on a desert coast. We have mapped much land to our north and west as well.

In the spirit of sharing and peace, would you also be able to offer some insight as to what lies to the north and east of your borders?

[thirsting]

There's the creepy doomsday cultists again. Keep your distance. No socialising. No eye contact. Absolutely no secret meetings involving drinking games with any of them. Looking at you, Gaius. If they try to reach us, inform boss immediately. No talking to them yourselves.

I'll be on vacation mode for the next ~48 hours. And back.


Arch chancellor. We know you do need your vacation from her presence every now and then, but I trust you do understand our dear Empress can not be left conducting administrative duties alone. During this short absence of yours, she already managed to disturb the projects she herself put in motion earlier, causing expensive delays and nearly getting some of our troops killed. Please do find a substitute advisor in time the next time you are to go on a sabbatical, for the sake of the Empire.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Glory to the Great King Darius, the Great Library has been built to honour the Great Tablets of Knowledge.

But out people still need food. Our Great King has declared that with the Library finished, construction of a granary must resume.

[OrcusMcP]

Glory to the Great King Darius, the Great Library has been built to honour the Great Tablets of Knowledge.

But out people still need food. Our Great King has declared that with the Library finished, construction of a granary must resume.

The Great Consul, Ahmad al-Mansur, received the unfortunate report that the library he was building to house scholars form across the world had been destroyed by earthquakes. He was very upset.

The insurance covered earthquakes, but that was cold comfort.

[Dhavaer]

Something's wrong with the save file; GMR is telling me to create the game instead of play my turn. If I try to load the save anyway it loads for India. Reverting.

[thirsting]

Timer removed, just in case... report here whether Dhavaer's revert fixed the save.

[The_Snark]

No such luck, I'm afraid. The save file loads for China, which seems to be the same error Dhavaer is getting (accounting for the fact that I'm on a Mac, and therefore don't have the GMR app). I happen to have a save file from right before I took my last turn, but when I try playing and uploading that it gives me an error - sometimes the "file is bloated" bug, and sometimes "you saved before finishing your turn". Neither of these is true; I've run into the bloated file bug before and the usual restart-Civ-and-replay fix isn't working, and I have clicked Next Turn before saving.

I can see two options - one, I could revert the turn and hope Luzahn doesn't get the exact same error, or I could simply download the file for China and upload that. I do remember taking my turn yesterday, so that shouldn't actually entail skipping me; having said that, I'm not sure if the file would upload correctly (haven't tried yet, as it would be irreversible if it worked).

Or we could contact the GMR people for help, I guess. Thoughts?

[thirsting]

I just sent them email, thought that would be the safest route.
GMR site seems really, really slow today by the way, might have something to do with this...?



Sorry for the trouble, I'm not sure how your game got into that state but reverting the turn once more (back to the Rome player) seems to get the save file aligned with the turn order again. Let us know how that progresses for you.

[thirsting]

The game skipped me after banthesun/India, so GMR site showed it was Closet_Skeleton's/Persia's turn. I tried reverting (as that's all what the GMR people seemed to do last time), but now site shows it's my turn and save file, when loaded, says it's Persia.

I reverted it again, back to banthesun. If that didn't fix it, I'll contact the GMR admins again...

Eeedit: Apparently works now, yay?

Moar edit: GMR finally stabilised enough, so setting the turn timer back to 24 hours, soon. Nevermind. Too soon.

[thirsting]

Luzahn's turn... are you able to play your turn? Or is there still something wrong with GMR, or our game?

I'm itching to turn the turn timer back on already.

[Luzahn]

Oh right. Sorry, I had missed that we hadn't talked about hiatus here as well. My turn is doing to bug where it doesn't recognize it as my move, resulting in the waiting for other players message.

I had assumed we were going to wait until GMR sorted out its issues before continuing.

[thirsting]

Reverting back to Orcus, then. People are doing their turns a lot in public games at least, so there's some hope it doesn't break again every few turns.

[OrcusMcP]

The save says it's Rome's turn.

[thirsting]

GMR works again. 24h time limit back in.

Removed the player kicking after enough turns skipped -thingy, don't think it really served any other purpose than cause stress here. :smallyuk:

[thirsting]

We did not mean to barge in uninvited, our wayfinder just appears completely incompetent. But now that we are here, may we offer help with those savages lurking right by your borders? Somehow it seems trying to negotiate with them would be futile... just say the word, and the savages are needle cushions.

~ Commander of Byzantine scouting party

[The_Snark]

Your assistance fending off the primitive brutes on our southern border would be most welcome, or, as our queen so aptly put it, "that would be, like, way cool." One encampment lies to the southwest; we suspect there is another encampment somewhere to the east, as our land has been besieged by more savages than one camp should be able to house, but our forces have been too busy defending the borders to locate it.

Your aid, should you choose to extend it, will be remembered.

[OrcusMcP]

FYI, going on vacation for a week. Hopefully the AI doesn't mess me up too bad.

[thirsting]

The savages have been softened up, you should be able to get rid of their camp with very little effort now.

We also got a word from back home; leadership of Byzantine empire feel ready to reveal our empire's location, and would like to set up embassies with our new friends, Carthagians. Carthagoans. Carth.. agese? Uh, with you people.

~ Commander of Byzantine scouting party


No one in the council remember agreeing on exchange of embassies with your people. Even our beautiful empress, who no one would even dream of accusing of making a lighthearted decision after a night spend with beverages, does not remember agreeing to anything on her own, without hearing the council...

We hardly know you yet, but the done is done, there's no getting the ambassador spirits back into the bottle. We hope the Persians prove to be trustworthy and useful friend to Byzantine empire.

~ Apprentice book keeper from Byzantine embassy, on behalf of Byzantine ambassador

[Luzahn]

The reconstruction of Rome progresses swiftly. A second outpost has been constructed towards Morocco, to better pave the way for eventual reintegration of their cities into the Empire. Praise Caesar, glory to Rome!

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/29590816043606061/1D5CB24DC96240948493C171450EAD9065295E3A/

Antium is a bit closer than I would have liked, but I needed that iron relatively quickly to support some rushes, and the areas to the south were swarming with barbarians. (Plus, I like that my only port is defended by a large bay.)

[Driderman]

The game bugged out on me and I forgot to take my turn afterwards due to real life. Hopefully the AI hasn't ****ed up my settler... :smalleek:

Edit: No crisis, luckily, just a lost military unit.

[OrcusMcP]

Praise! Praise for the Great Consul! Having adopted extensive fertility festivals to celebrate the bountiful harvests around Marrakesh, adventurous settlers have now founded a new city in the east, while intrepid sailors have set off the map the coasts of the west!

[Dhavaer]

Curse you all for not beating me to Stonehenge. What am I going to do with this pile of rocks?

[OrcusMcP]

Curse you all for not beating me to Stonehenge. What am I going to do with this pile of rocks?

After getting beat to the Great Library by 1 turn, I got a little soured on wonders. At least for now.

[banthesun]

Following the completion of the New Old Dehli Hydroponic Gardens, I feel perhaps I should negotiate wonders OOC. I'm still interested in Parthenon or The Oracle to get the most value out of my marble. Alternatively, I wouldn't mind converting some hammers to gold if someone's nearly got Parthenon done. Is this something we should openly negotiate anyway. Oh, and is it bad that I'm not really doing spectator updates, do we really have any spectators?

[Illven]

Following the completion of the New Old Dehli Hydroponic Gardens, I feel perhaps I should negotiate wonders OOC. I'm still interested in Parthenon or The Oracle to get the most value out of my marble. Alternatively, I wouldn't mind converting some hammers to gold if someone's nearly got Parthenon done. Is this something we should openly negotiate anyway. Oh, and is it bad that I'm not really doing spectator updates, do we really have any spectators?

Yes. You have spectators. :smalltongue:

[banthesun]

Yes. You have spectators. :smalltongue:

Eep! I'll give a tour on my next turn :smallredface:

[thirsting]

Following the completion of the New Old Dehli Hydroponic Gardens, I feel perhaps I should negotiate wonders OOC. I'm still interested in Parthenon or The Oracle to get the most value out of my marble. Alternatively, I wouldn't mind converting some hammers to gold if someone's nearly got Parthenon done. Is this something we should openly negotiate anyway. --

I enjoy the thought of making my opponents weep delicious tears when I beat them to a wonder by one turn. I also like the much more likely case of getting the dissatisfyingly minuscule amount of pity gold when someone beats me instead.
But I don't mind if others do want to negotiate that.

[banthesun]

Welcome, one and all to your tour of the New India Empire. Having freshly emerged from the bunkers, you must have plenty of questions about the world above, and this tour will aim to answer them. Photography is not allowed in the seminar room, and please keep all questions till the end of the tour.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour1_zps7de1203d.pngThis is a map of the current area claimed by the New India Empire, and it's sister state M'Banza-Kongo. Our scouting forces have recently secured this area from the savages occupying it, so be assured of your perfect safety within this region.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour2_zps61776dba.pngThis is the fine city of New Old Dehli, or Dehli for short. Of particular note is the newly completed Hydroponic Gardens, providing a bounty of food for all citizens, safe within the city walls. Please disregard the plumes of smoke coming from the west. The culprits have already been dealt with.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour3_zps70364f00.pngIf life in the big city isn't for you, never fear, a settling party is being gathered to establish a new seaside resort town, at the location shown. Located near the spectacular natural beauty of Uluru, now inexplicaply close to the sea, this new town will be the perfect get away from the hustle and bustle of New Old Dehli

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour4_zps0b007e37.pngFor those of you interested in the diplomatic situation of the New India Empire, we have prepared this slide showing our southern neighbours. The area south seems to be heavily populated, both by permanant settlers and travelling vandals, and fierce fighting between these groups is common. The New Indian Empire is currently considering a peacekeeping mission into the southern lands to assist these poor peoples.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour5_zps1fe5bdc1.pngFor the more adventurous of you, you might consider joining the Recon Corps, a joint military operation between the NIE and MBK forces ((they gave me an archer at the end of my turn)). Expeditions into the wild lands to the west are being considered, after the initial exploratory forces gave their lives to rescue a holy man from the bandits of the region ((I chose Godess of Love, since Fertility Rites was taken and lolhappiness)).

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour6_zpsf64e43d3.pngFor those of you of a more intellectual bent, the New India Empire is rediscovering technologies at a rapid rate, and our scientists would be happy your help. Current projects include the developing towards a system of Civil Service and Irrigation techniques. Old technologies are being rediscovered by the day!

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Tour7_zps3a394295.pngAnd finally, we have the options for the NIE political organisation. Developments towards a Monarchical system and the implementation of large scale public works projects is under way, but we still need your voice!

Wow, what a time to be alive! As we have seen, the New India Empire is rapidly evolving to be the centre for arts and sciences in the surface world, and with your support I'm sure we have an even brighter future ahead of us!

Glory, Loyalty, Diligence
-The New India Empire

[Illven]

Yay tours!! :smalltongue:

[Driderman]

Spectator update:
If all goes well, I should settle my 4th city in 3 rounds and have a 5th settler ready 4 rounds after that. I'm skipping the early wonder rush to spit out settlers as I managed to snag the Fountain of Youth (+10 happiness tile, doesn't need to be worked) and will likely also get Mt... Kailash I think it is (+2 happiness, +6 faith). Already generating decent faith with my Desert Folklore and my Pyramids, from next turn onwards I'll be rolling for my first prophet so with a bit of luck I'll be first to get a religion. In which case I'm probably going for Tithe and Religious Community as they're very solid picks in any scenario. Secondary Follower choice is probably Feed the World, as my cities will need a growth boost. With a bit of luck, I'll get a Great Person from my Mayan Calendar pretty quickly for the second Prophet.

I've also managed to spot Lake Victoria. It's somewhat far away from my other cities, but grabbing a third Natural Wonder, especially one as good as Lake Victoria (+6 food, basically a Hanging Gardens) would be pretty sweet (and make me regret not taking the One With Nature Pantheon after all) so my 5th settler is probably going in that direction. Even if somebody manages to settle it before me, there's plenty of good land in the area so it wouldn't be completely wasted. I've pretty much already scouted out potential spots for my next 3-4 cities.

Still haven't actually built a worker, but I should have one before long. My happiness is going to dip low soon with the additional cities, but I have access to a good handful of different luxuries so I should be able to make it, and once I get some more culture generation I can finish up Liberty for an additional faster worker, more happiness and a Golden Age.

All in all, I think my prospects are good. I have a handful of military units to protect my expanding empire and while I won't be dominating the demographics for a while, I should be able to grown into a powerful position in the mid-to-late game if I can continue to expand into the lovely lands around me. I may also consider building the Borodurur and creating a religion snowball since I'm currently working on Theology, but that would mean spending production on that instead of more cities and the infrastructure to support them.

(this is where I'd place a screenshot of my lands if I could figure out Steam and it's horrible screenshot system)
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=300023570

[Illven]

Good explanation, bad tour (No pictures) :smalltongue:

[Driderman]

Good explanation, bad tour (No pictures) :smalltongue:

Can't figure out how to make Steam screenshots available

[Luzahn]

I might have mentioned it before, but they seem to not work when brought up through the steam client. I've had luck logging in to the steam website and finding my screenshots there.

[OrcusMcP]

My people overflow, and will need to settle in the river valley rich in horse and iron to your southwest. I trust this will have no bearing on our future friendship? I plan no more settlements in your direction.

Screenshots will have to come after my next turn. I've been in big rushes my last few chances to play.

Rough outline, though, Just got my second city going, about to have a 3rd settler finish. Getting beat to the Great Library hurt. There are not a lot of city states very near to me, and I've only met Rome so far. This will hurt my trade route bonuses, at least for a while.

The good news, is that I have a lot of room to expand, but not a lot of great city locations. I may have to spread thin along the coast. Lots of desert, which will be good for my Kasbahs once I have them.

[banthesun]

Can't figure out how to make Steam screenshots available

If you tap Print Screen it'll save a screenshot to your My Documents/My Games/SMC5/Screenshots folder. :smallwink:

Edit: Thought people might like to see this:
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/SoClose_zps4e1250a6.png

[Driderman]

To Carthage:
Well met.
We see that you have settled by the fertile waters of the Great Lake. As a token of peace, we allow this but know that all lands west of Utique belong to Pacal. We urge you to not settle any further west than you already have, or you shall face The Doom That All Men Face sooner, rather than later.

To spectators:
Well that solves the Lake Victoria consideration for me. Carthage just settled it. No big problem, the whole idea was making me feel overextended anyway. I'll do my best to deter him from settling any further west though, but unless that settler has been in route for a long time it'll likely be while before they produce another one. Unless, of course, they have the same plan as me and want to settle as much as possible as quickly as possible. Hopefully not.

[Luzahn]

The Roman people would be displeased to have another city expanded in our direction, and request that your people refrain from colonizing any more of our abandoned lands.

[OrcusMcP]

The Roman people would be displeased to have another city expanded in our direction, and request that your people refrain from colonizing any more of our abandoned lands.

I am not unreasonable, but most of what surrounds me is barren desert and the ocean. I can only settle in so many places. I would be most pleased to allow some beneficial trading to occur between our peoples, and as I mentioned, once this city is settled I plan no more expansion to my east(your west, south)

[Luzahn]

The site in question is still too close to provinces currently under imperial control. Settle if you wish, but know Rome disapproves of such action. We ourselves value those iron supplies highly.

[OrcusMcP]

The site in question is still too close to provinces currently under imperial control. Settle if you wish, but know Rome disapproves of such action. We ourselves value those iron supplies highly.

That is fair. I will just have to prove reliable and trustworthy that this might be forgotten. There is much salt and iron in the rivers to your south if you seek such resources.

As-Salaam Alaikum, fair Dido. It is a fair sight to meet another mighty civilization, we ourselves have felt very isolated, and knowing you are not far as the ship sails bodes well for our future trade opportunities. There is much barren desert between our lands, so messengers are slow.

As-Salaam Alaikum, beauteous Theodora. The great Consul greets you. I am confused, however, I have already met an "Augustus of Rome". Are you also cut of the Roman cloth?

[Closet_Skeleton]

Got lost a while after the first game ended. Here's a quick update. Lots of barbarian problems but I've build the national college and just founded a second city.

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/39725256737334004/9584D8032C060AE1A117D082BAE598A2A863DDA2/

[thirsting]

As-Salaam Alaikum, beauteous Theodora. The great Consul greets you. I am confused, however, I have already met an "Augustus of Rome". Are you also cut of the Roman cloth?

Ah! We were mixing you up with the creepy doomsday cultists, Mayas, and dared not respond. But as it seems you are not them, we are relieved. Greetings! Apologies about the mix up, please don't hold this against us, they really are worrisome folk.

The old tales and lies about us sharing roots with any other people should be ignored. Byzantium has been here always, and always will be. In fact, we have not even heard of this Augustus before, nor of Rome.

~ Byzantine representative

((Edit: I'm not sure why I got confused OOC - doesn't make sense, in retrospect. Chalk it up to tiredness, and the less than healthy level of sanity of my nation's leadership))

[thirsting]

Byzantine empire would like to share with all the peoples and nations of the world the Warmth of our Empress's all-permeating love, the comforting Warmth of quality stone ovens our dedicated masons produce, and the promise of terrible, searing WARmth for anyone who threatens our peaceful empire.


Pantheon: Stone Circles (+2 faith per quarry)
Founder: Papal Primacy (+15 influence resting point with city states following this religion)
Follower 1: Pagodas (get to buy +2 faith /+2 culture / +2 happiness buildings with faith)
Follower 2: Mosques (get to buy +3 faith / +2 culture / +1 happiness buildings with faith)
Enhancer: Holy Order (missionaries and inquisitors have 30% cheaper faith cost)
Bonus belief: Itinerant Preachers (religion reaches and spreads to cities 30% farther away)
Reformation: Jesuit Education (can buy Universities, Public Schools and Research Labs with faith)

[banthesun]

Quick heads up, my turn said it didn't upload, but now it's thirsting's turn, so hopefully everything worked out.

[thirsting]

Worked fine.

I'm bit worried about having to set myself to vacation mode this coming weekend, as I have a settler out... I'm going to give a stern stare at the imagined GMR robot playing my turn, if it decides to settle without my permission.

[Driderman]

Worked fine.

I'm bit worried about having to set myself to vacation mode this coming weekend, as I have a settler out... I'm going to give a stern stare at the imagined GMR robot playing my turn, if it decides to settle without my permission.

I *think* that, unless your settler is mucking about areas that the computer has recommended for settling (you know, the ones with the yellow city icon), you should probably be safe. At least, my settler didn't do anything stupid when I missed my turn. However, if the settler is standing on, or near, a recommended spot I'd guess that the AI will probably put down a city or move towards doing so.

[banthesun]

Alright, the issue was coming up again, and the file wasn't slipping through this time, so I posted on the GMR forums. Turns out it was a file bloat issue, and I was pointed towards a mod to fix the bloat. That works, but it seems to have reverted everyone's ruler names back to the default. :smallfrown:

[Luzahn]

Alright, the issue was coming up again, and the file wasn't slipping through this time, so I posted on the GMR forums. Turns out it was a file bloat issue, and I was pointed towards a mod to fix the bloat. That works, but it seems to have reverted everyone's ruler names back to the default. :smallfrown:


You know, I'm ok with that. Hail Caesar! :smalltongue:

[OrcusMcP]

You know, I'm ok with that. Hail Caesar! :smalltongue:

Ahmad al-Mansur was getting confused any way. He did not understand the "Orcus" nickname everyone seemed to know him as. Was it some kind of fruit?

[OrcusMcP]

Mighty Ceaser, I see you have sent a Legion to my settlement frontiers, may I ask what you intend?

[Luzahn]

Mighty Ceaser, I see you have sent a Legion to my settlement frontiers, may I ask what you intend?

Barbarian activity has been particularly high in the region of late. We wished to make the area secure for a future colony and to secure our western frontier.

[OrcusMcP]

Barbarian activity has been particularly high in the region of late. We wished to make the area secure for a future colony and to secure our western frontier.

Very well. If you can trust me, then it would be the height of rudeness not to trust you in return. As our borders converge I would be more than happy to arrange wealthy caravan routes between our might peoples.

[The_Snark]

Hello, spectators (should we have any)! I haven't given you any updates for a while. More accurately, I haven't given you any updates since ever. I meant to, I even took a few screenshots in the early game, but at some point I persuaded myself that it would be clever to wait until my civilization discovered Writing before I began posting its history. However, Writing was not high on my priority list at the time, and I think I had forgotten or was busy by the time it came around, and long story short it never got done.

Until now! Behold, the glorious city of Carthage! http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn1-TheCapital_zpsaf988e3f.jpg

"But wait, Dido," you may be protesting, "how can your capital be so tiny at this moderately advanced stage in the game?" An excellent question, fair spectators. This is a screenshot of Carthage as of Turn 1. It didn't look like an especially promising spot at first: three luxuries (two of which are somewhat distant from the city) and a couple of nearby stone deposits. It's coastal, which is good, but only one sea resource means I won't be hauling in a lot via lighthouses and seaports. No river (meaning no water mill), and I chose to found the city on a hill, which means no windmill - that said, it appears that founding the city on a hill offers a slight production advantage. It's trading a small early-game boost in production for a larger late-game boost, but better than nothing at all.

And now, the same city some 3000 years later:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn56-Capital_zps75192804.jpg

Suffice to say, the location has grown on me. Two quarries (plus stoneworks) and a pasture gives me a respectable amount of production at this stage in the game, and the grassland keeps the city's growth at a reasonable rate.

I have, of course, elected to pursue the course of Liberty, allowing my people to spread freely in this new land. Early explorers discovered several city-states, but distressingly, they also discovered that we had settled near the shores of an inland sea. Not ideal for a would-be maritime power, though it at least gives me easy access to internal sea trade routes.

Behold, the Carthaginian Sea and surrounding expanse: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn56-Overview_zps739a4aa0.jpg

All is not lost; as you can see, the inland sea comes very close to the outer sea near Malacca, and I have already begun plans to build a canal city there, allowing my capital access to the high seas. In the meantime, my explorers made one other valuable discovery...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn56-Utique_zps24598f9d.jpg

This is the small but rapidly growing city of Utique, fed by the bounty of Lake Victoria. Between the luxury resource and the natural wonder, I wanted to stake a claim to this spot before anyone else did - unlikely, maybe, but my nearest neighbors aren't that far away. I have plans to settle the rest of the inland sea, too; there's enough sheep, cotton and fish on the northern shores to make two to three cities worthwhile, and given that I'm pursuing Liberty with a coastal civilization in a Pangea map, I had better take what I can get.

Indeed, my next Settler set out not long ago, but unfortunately...
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn56-Settler_zpsb7aee534.jpg

... I was careless enough to send them out without a guard, and they passed near a barbarian camp which had spawned since the last time I'd sent a scout that way. Fortunately, their escort was only one or two hexes behind, and by sheer accident I had an archer in position to flank the camp. Not a disaster, merely a handful of turns' worth of delay.

The Colossus should be finished soon, at which point I plan on starting work on the Pyramids (my population is growing fast enough that I could use the spare workers, and it's not usually a hotly contested wonder). I'll start boosting my new cities with trade routes, secure the luxury resources within my territory, found that canal city and then start exploring along the coast for new trading spots. That's about as far as I've planned! My neighbors don't seem too bad; Byzantium is likely to try and convert me, but I'm not putting a lot of effort into getting a religion, my pantheon bonus gets weaker in the late game, and Warmth doesn't look too bad (Pagodas and Stone Circles are both something I could benefit from). Morocco is solid, likely to be more interested in trading than feuding, close enough for cargo ships but not so close as to be a threat. And Persia... well. There might be trouble there, depending on whether Closet Skeleton is feeling expansionist. I'm going to settle along the coast where I can, which should minimize territory squabbles, but we'll see.

Honorable Consul al-Mansur, Queen Dido the Immortal has received your emissary and would like to convey the following reply:

"Well hi there to you too, honey. I’m afraid our navy is having just a teensy bit of trouble finding its way out into open waters, but once we’ve got that little problem sorted out we’d be happy to send a few ships your way."

(Note - I overlooked your message earlier, and while you've evidently spotted my territory I don't think I've met you in-game yet. Still...)

The honorable Queen Dido the Immortal would like to convey the following missive:

"Well hey there, sweetie. It's nice to meet you too, even if my boys seem to have missed spottin' your boys somehow. As to your kindly worded request... define 'west'. Y'see, Utique happens to be sort of on the eastern edge of our land, we're already west of it. I'm afraid I've got to give a categorical No to any demand that we give up claim to the shores of the Inner Carthaginian Sea, which we consider to be ours by divine right, practical right, and right of havin' seen it first. That said, if you're eyeing a spot on the coast, we could maybe see about coming to an agreement - might be handy to have a trading partner sittin' right there. And if you're not eyeing the coast, then go right ahead. I hear there's some nice land up north: gems, jungle, sugar, cotton."

"So where exactly are you lookin'?"

[banthesun]

Well, if no one has any problems, then everything's great. I now know how to debloat save files, so I should be able to fix that if it comes up again.

Also, Orcus, I think I can see the edge of your territory, but I don't have any scouts presently nearby. Would you be up for opening communications before we've officially met?

[OrcusMcP]

Also, Orcus, I think I can see the edge of your territory, but I don't have any scouts presently nearby. Would you be up for opening communications before we've officially met?

Eh, I suppose it's ok.

[OrcusMcP]

As Morocco grew, Ahmad al-Mansur commissioned a tour be organized for visiting dignitaries, now that the various heads of state were in diplomatic contact.


http://imageshack.com/a/img537/1449/wuXbvj.png
Marrakesh. It's not at the size I would like it to be by this point, but I went Liberty and getting beat to the Great Library so close to the finish line hurt. I only have one worker, but I'm confident I will finish the Pyramids and that will give me a leg up. I will keep my Liberty Great Person in reserve until I can use a great engineer to rush build Petra in my next settled desert city. I will be needing all the trade and resource help I can get.

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/318/v0KQ8t.png
The frontier cities. Casablanca and Fes have just been settled, and they are not far from the Roman border. I'll be going North and West of Marrakesh for my next settlements. Fes is in an ok spot, defensively, but Casablanca is super vulnerable. I straight up settled there for horses and iron, and warned Rome I would do so, promising to not settle any further to my east. And there is a lot of Iron and Salt to his south that looks really juicy to me, but I can't risk antagonizing Rome when he has Legions near my borders. If he has those, he probably has Ballistas already. He'll want to use them on someone. I hope it isn't me.

"But Orcus, why didn't you settle in a ring?" you might ask. My area is very luxury resource poor. I have a lot of silk from where I've already settled but that's pretty much it. There is a LOT of barren desert around me. I'm waiting until I have a decent economy worker/trade-wise before I try to settle there.

As far as longer term strategy, I'm not sure. With everyone being super spread out it will be hard for me to take full advantage of my boosted trade routes, but Rome is right beside me so they will see a lot of trade from Morocco. I have to stay on their good side.

Also, not having many city-states near me will hurt. A lot. Rome is beside a few, Byzantium is beside a cluster, Carthage is beside a cluster, but all I have is Milan.

[banthesun]

Sorry for asking to chat and then leaving you hanging. The New India Empire is located above Rome, if you're interested in paying us a visit.

The reason I wanted to get in touch with you is because my forces are currently engaged with barbarians just north of the Roman capital. I noticed your concern with Roman passing nearby your lands and thought it might help if my troops leave the barbarians for Rome to deal with, to occupy their troops for a while.

Please let me know what you think.

[OrcusMcP]

Sorry for asking to chat and then leaving you hanging. The New India Empire is located above Rome, if you're interested in paying us a visit.

The reason I wanted to get in touch with you is because my forces are currently engaged with barbarians just north of the Roman capital. I noticed your concern with Roman passing nearby your lands and thought it might help if my troops leave the barbarians for Rome to deal with, to occupy their troops for a while.

Please let me know what you think.

Greetings! I currently do not have any forces in place to come visit you at present, but I am to the south-west of Rome.

And while our dealings with Rome have been tense thus far, due to our proximity and their legendary prowess in battle, they have been fair. Your offer to leave the barbarians alone is acceptable, but I still fear that Rome will turn their legions and ballistas on one of us sooner or later. We should meet as soon as we are able and discuss more formal friendship.

Salaam al-Laikum, mighty Darius! The people of Morocco greet you warmly!

[thirsting]

Score! Oracle was the only early game wonder I really, really wanted, as I've spread my social policy points thin between Tradition and Piety. Everyone else I've met seems to have gone Liberty exclusively. (I just learned you can view everyone's policies and wonders and some other info in diplomacy panel.) Great Wall would be sweet too, but I think there's no way someone won't beat me to it.
http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Oracle_040914_zpsc3bc4149.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Oracle_040914_zpsc3bc4149.jpg.html)

Known world according to Byzantine cartographers. To get some sense of scale; there's six or seven tiles between my two cities (North-East corner). I'd estimate there's at least four times more land area yet to be found. Exploration is difficult though, so many barbarians everywhere. There'll be a third city slightly to the south next turn. I've managed to get them all by rivers, which later on means extra gold from trading.

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Map_040914_zpsecfa1393.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Map_040914_zpsecfa1393.jpg.html)

Getting religion and my first wonder seems to have pushed my score all the way up to the top. This is not good, I was planning on being the unnoticeable small guy who no one finds threatening. Oh well..

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Points_040914_zps5cd5f6c4.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Points_040914_zps5cd5f6c4.jpg.html)

[banthesun]

My forces are currently needed to defend our city state allies from barbarians, but we'll send scouts to meet up with you as soon as possible.

[OrcusMcP]

The unveiling of the Consular Pyramids was a joyous event, both for al-Mansur and all the peoples of Morocco. The wealth and prosperity of Marrakesh along with the natural adventurous spirit of the Moroccans had led to the founding of the frontier cities of Fez, Casablanca, and Rabat, but now more of the citizens were preparing for an explosion of infrastructure. If the Consul could commission a Wonder of this magnitude, what else might be in store?

[thirsting]

Why are you people lurking in and around our lands? Who are you, and where do you come from? Know that the Byzantine Empire has nothing but Warmth to offer to outsiders, but it is up to you whether this Warmth is of the friendly, inspiring or the searing variety.

~ Byzantine Representative

Dear neighbours! We have a bold offer, just for you, and we wish you carefully consider our proposal before outright rejecting it with a kneejerk reaction. Think of all the trading opportunities that would rise if we traded the ownership of two of our lesser cities! We are willing to offer Citrushills in exchange for one of your cities around the great Carthagean Sea.

Citrushills, as the name implies, offers a great bounty of fruit, both oranges and bananas, as well as quite a promising spot for an iron mine. It also is located conveniently right along the long Citrusriver, making trading that much easier and profitable.

And yes, this is a serious proposal. This agreement, if realized, would most profoundly affect our relationships, strengthening the friendship between our two empires and perhaps better shield us against the agressive forces of this dangerous world.

Empress eagerly awaits your response.

~ On behalf of the Byzantine Empire and our dear Warmth radiating Empress

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Citrushill_160914_zpsce63baf1.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Citrushill_160914_zpsce63baf1.jpg.html)

[The_Snark]

Your offer is intriguing! Queen Dido the Radical would like to make it clear that she totally approves of strong friendships and trade opportunities.

That said, we have doubts about this particular offer. Our people traditionally live by the sea, and we are hesitant about the prospect of moving so far inland. (Rivers are nice, but it's just not the same.) Furthermore, we aren't sure that a fair exchange is possible at this time - our newest city is located in a position of strategic importance to our empire, and our other two lesser cities are at present somewhat larger and more promising than Citrushill appears to be.

We appreciate the logic of your offer in a general sense, however. An ideal trading city (from our point of view) would be placed along the coast, not too close to the others' cities, but within cargo ship distance. The northern shores of the Carthaginian Inner Sea are not yet completely settled, and while the Queen does have plans to build cities there eventually, we are open to the possibility of foreign settlement there - somewhat closer than ideal, perhaps, but a possibility nonetheless. Our navy is currently scouting the nearby coastland and will report if we discover other suitable locations. Regrettably, our scouts have yet to reach your lands, so we cannot search for favorable spots near your borders - please let us know if you find a suitable location you would be willing to cede to us.

We look forward to future collaboration and co-planning.

[Luzahn]

You are from Constantinople, then? The grand capital of the East, the lost city of the Empire? Hail brothers, we come from Rome, far to your south. We would like to send a diplomat to your city, to better rekindle the bonds once held between our kingdoms.

[thirsting]

Empress... she ... just kept staring, face void of any expression, when told you did not immeditialy accept her plan as is. I dare not quess her emotions about the situation.

But otherwise, on behalf of the Byzantine Empire, let me assure that your friendly, co-operational intentions are encouraging. Let us indeed see where this friendship between our nations leads to in the future.

- Byzantine Representative


We do not understand where these rumours of our two nations' shared past come from. Those same rumours have been circulating for some time now, repeated by representatives of some other states as well. We deny any such connection though. Byzantines have always been their own people.

If you are here to initiate trade connections, we can talk, but otherwise... no lollygagging around our borders.

- Byzantine Representative

[OrcusMcP]

I am building a new scout to meet you officially. Rome has been quiet to me, and I have seen no troops. He may be continuing to have barbarian trouble to his south, because I am having trouble to my east.

I see you have built a city on the coast, and I will be happy to have new trading partners. Should we possibly set up military checkpoints(like, we each send a warrior/archer) along the coast to ensure no pirates spawn?

[banthesun]

I've cleared up the barbarians in my territory, and I'm sending my archers down towards the encampment Belgrade has targeted. Perhaps Belgrade should be the meeting point for our two empires.

A few turns prior, Ceasar approached us wishing to sell his salt surplus to help pay for his army. We reached an agreement to trade truffles for his salt, but the last I'd seen his army upkeep was still crippling his civilization. As it is, I think there's little to fear from his military, for at this rate it wont be long before they're woefully ill equiped.

Greetings Queen Theodora, the New Indian Empire sends its regards. We are interested in a trade of maps and the possibility of opening discussions of territory, religion, and history.

[thirsting]

The Byzantine Empire is not interested in trading information with New Indians at this point. The lands around our empire are our greatest asset and wealth, and we are wary of revealing too much to those we do not yet trust.

That said, however, we have already put in motion the plans to initiate trading with your people. The Empress herself expressed her sincere wish you do not oppose these plans. If you prove to be a reliable and at least somewhat valuable trading partner, we might consider other forms of co-operation in the future.

~ Byzantine representative

I has flamethrower boat (It's a Dromon, which replaces Tireme and is the earliest ranged attack ship in game. Not that useful on Pangaea map, but it's good at keeping my trading vessels safe, as well as frying an occasional barbarian unit near shore)
http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Flamethrower_230914_zps986066fc.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Flamethrower_230914_zps986066fc.jpg.html)

[Luzahn]

By the decree of Augustus Caesar, Rome wishes to announce its invasion of Moroccan lands. Despite our previous requests, the Moroccan leaders have insisted on settling in Roman territory.

Moroccan citizens are encouraged to cooperate with Roman authorities; those who comply with the laws of Rome shall be granted full and immediate citizenship in the Empire.

[OrcusMcP]

Let it be known to all the lands of the world that the Great Consul, Ahmad al-Mansur, unequivocally denounces this Roman aggression. He calls on all true defenders of liberty, honesty and truth to sever ties with Rome.

We have only ever been honest and fair in our dealings. That Rome sees land that is rightfully and naturally a part of Morocco as their own speaks to their intentions to all of their neighbours.

All is as God wills it, and Inshallah, we shall be victorious.

Curses. I had a feeling this would happen. It happened later than I expected, so I may have gotten complacent. I'm not completely defenceless, and have a few archers to defend my land, but this will not be a fun war. Legions and Ballistas are mean.

[banthesun]

The New Indian Empire urges, with the strongest possible terms, for Caesar to find a diplomatic solution to the current situation. While it is clear that the lands around the Roman Empire are densely populated, it is the sincere wish of the NIE that Rome uses its military might to support the sovereignty of its neighbours, rather than to impose its will upon them.

[Closet_Skeleton]

The Persian people have no comment on events far outside of the immediate civilised world. They are far too concerned with the current war against the barbarian hordes.

[OrcusMcP]

Ceasar, you have taken Casablanca uncontested with overwhelming force. This city was to be the meeting place for our empires, but not like this. I can only hope your lust has been sated and that no further blood need be spilt.

[Driderman]

To Morocco:
We've never heard of these "Romans" or this "Caesar", are you sure you simply did not misplace your city?

Or perhaps it is The Doom That Comes To All Men which have begun.

[banthesun]

On the 30th of the previous month, a holy man decended from the lands around Uluru, and through his songs taught us a new creedo. Today, a new religion is born in New Old Dehli, founded on the three principals of Peace, Love, and Understanding. The New Indian Empire has decided to celebrate by declaring this event Year Zero, and we hope the rest of the world will adopt our new calendar and join us in the celebration of our new religion. (Spoiler, you're adopting the new calendar whether you like it or not. :smallamused: )

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/heart_zps4590989b.png

Just a turn prior, our data recovery experts announced that we were now officially in the medieval era, so I feel this is the perfect time for an update on how the Surface Reclamation Project is performing. So, glorious backers, relax, try the truffles and wine, and enjoy our demonstration.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update4_zpsf2350c02.png
Here we see the current extent of the New Indian Empire, containing three major settlements, and our permanant allies M'banza-Kongo.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update1_zpsf657ef9b.png
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update2_zps67f178ee.png
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update3_zpscce10a25.png
While our two newer settlements, Mumbai and Vijayangara are still in the process of basic development, we can see that New Old Dehli has only continued to grow and improve, and to mark our entry into the medieval era, we have begun the development of the New Old Dehli Party Pyramid, which we hope will improve citizen morale by roughly 50%, with equivelant increases to productivity.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update5_zps262a533e.png
Here you can see a map of the borders of NIE territory, occupied by barbarians, primitive settlements, and contested by a nearby empire. Soldiers have been dispatched to clear the barbarian infestations and bring the small settlements into the NIE, but the incursions of the neighbouring empire may require a different tact.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update6_zpsa8510214.png
Here we see the currently known extent of the land-grabbing Byzantine Empire. Despite our attempts to negotiate mutually benefitial settlements, they have decided to go ahead and settle in lands within our sphere. While presently, no military action is being taken, if they continue to advance towards NIE territory we will be left with no choice but to engage them in battle.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update7_zps342555f9.png
Here we see the southern extent of the territory our scouts have mapped, an unruly land home to warring empires. The highlighted horse plains is where our reports indicate the Morrocan Empire is settled. We have been engaged in unofficial diplomatic comminique with them and have so far developed good relations, so their current engagement with the Roman Empire is of great concern to us. However, we have been prevented from taking any direct action so far.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update8_zpsb5f43ca9.png
Our response has been hamstrung by previous back channel communications, however. We had hoped to push the Roman Empire towards a path of peace, but instead it seems they have treated this as a show of weakness, allowing them to invade their neighbour. Our best diplomatic minds are currently working to resolve the situation, but we fear our southern neighbours might have to be considered a write off. (Also, I just noticed Luzahn apparently doesn't have Honor 1 for his Zeus Statue. What's up with that?)

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update9_zpsb676a88b.png
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update10_zps5af3a64f.png
Currently our researchers are working on developing a way to clear the dense jungles around New Old Dehli, but we are certain that will soon be resolved, leaving us to focus on our next project, the development of a proper education system. Politically, the NIE is focused on the development of the arts. So far, we have not required any of our population pacifation measures, but we feel that implementing the infrastructure to support that now will lead to the best results into the future.

Thank you for your attention, ladies and gentlemen. The New Indian Empire remains strong, and we are certain the Surface Reclamation Project is only going to grow from here.

Glory, Loyalty, Diligence

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/Update11_zpsdf630b12.png

[Closet_Skeleton]

AD 40, a middle aged scholar walked down the steps of the Great Library. He declared that his name was Charles Dickens and that the birth of a new Persian literature was upon us. His work will be enshrined in the Great Library until the end of time.

[Illven]

Ha. As a spectator let me say that Banthesun's religion founding date is hilarious. :smallbiggrin:

[OrcusMcP]

Congrats, you got me with my pants down. :smallwink: Are there any terms we can come to before I lose more cities?

I truly apologize that my meager resources forced me to encroach on your lands, but you have SO MUCH SALT to your south that what I have can't possibly be worth much to you.

[Luzahn]

(OOC) Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much we can use from your resources. Mostly, I was feeling pressured by your rapid expansion.

Of course, now that I've proven willing to go to war, I can't really leave you with many cities left, or else I'll constantly have to worry about an enemy at my back. (OOC)

*Ahem* Of course, Rome is always in need of capable leaders. We would be perfectly willing to keep you on as a governor of Mauretania. Do keep the offer in mind, your advice would be invaluable.

[OrcusMcP]

(OOC) Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much we can use from your resources. Mostly, I was feeling pressured by your rapid expansion.

Of course, now that I've proven willing to go to war, I can't really leave you with many cities left, or else I'll constantly have to worry about an enemy at my back. (OOC)

*Ahem* Of course, Rome is always in need of capable leaders. We would be perfectly willing to keep you on as a governor of Mauretania. Do keep the offer in mind, your advice would be invaluable.

OOC: Morocco is fundamentally a defensive trader, but only once I have kasbahs. I'm still at my precarious build-up phase. And I really don't have much in the way of resources. You have permission to look around my tour a few posts ago if you like./OOC

Al-Mansur does not seek war. That so many have suffered already is a travesty. The Great Consul is willing to make any deal that will prevent further loss of life and territory. The Berber peoples are not strangers to overlords, so if we must sacrifice our sovereignty to save our lives, that is a price we are willing to pay.

[The_Snark]

At the urging of her people, Queen Dido the Immortal would like to announce the foundation of the Carthaginian state church!

Sadly, our queen received no divine visitation, nor have any prophets or sages come forth to dispense wisdom; in point of fact, nobody in Carthage has ever witnessed any sign of a higher power's existence, leaving the state frankly rather puzzled as to why her people insist upon bothering with religion. Nonetheless, the people have spoken, and she answers. The faith will focus wholly on worldly affairs, neglecting so-called ‘spiritual’ matters in favor of cold hard cash reality.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn77-Materialism_zpsf830ee00.jpg

The newly-appointed High Executive would like to urge all followers to celebrate this historic event with a day of industriousness and productivity, followed by a day of lavish spending. For further details, consult your local representative to discuss probationary membership (for a very modest fee)!

State of the empire update! I really need to remember to do this more often. To start with, let's revisit the capital:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn77-Capital_zps2488579e.jpg

Nothing really new here; the Colossus is complete, the borders have spread, the population continues to grow.

Here's a look at the new cities...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn77-HippoRegius_zpsa1ad5803.jpg

I'm quite pleased with Hippo Regius; it turns out that two sources of fish (and a Lighthouse) plus two sources of sheep (and a Stable) plus marble (and a Stoneworks), plus a cargo ship to boost early growth, makes for an impressive city - it's nearly as productive as the capital despite being half its size, and it's not small. Its only luxury resource would have eventually fallen within the capital's sphere of influence, but it would've taken a while, and the city itself is worth it. I've just started work on Petra - this is sometimes a contested wonder, but on the other hand the estimated construction time is pretty brief.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn77-Gades_zps62a05419.jpg

My newest city is less impressive, partly because it's new, and partly because the location is unexceptional - there's one iron deposit, which is nice, plus cattle and fish nearby, and not a lot else. The important part is that it gives my other cities access to the ocean - definitely worthwhile. I'll probably see about getting a cargo ship there to try and boost its growth, there are enough hill and forest tiles there that it has some potential once it can work those squares.

And now let's pull back for an overview...

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y286/secondrandom/Turn77-Overview_zpsdcd32d76.jpg

As you can see, I've spread out to cover most of the inland sea I started on. Thanks to Malacca my happiness is doing very well despite the expansion (I just got out of a double-length golden age thanks to finishing Liberty just as I hit my first one) - I plan on settling another city soon, either on the northern edge of the Carthaginian Sea or down on the coast south of that mountain.

Bit of barbarian trouble in the south, but it's under control at the moment. I also founded a religion - I wasn't really planning to, but I had a couple of friendly religious city-states and the map size is slightly bigger than the number of players offered, so it just sort of happened. I have at least one evangelical neighbor, possibly two if the Mayans are close (I haven't seen them in-game but they've sent one message, apparently their scouts visited the place where Utique was before I founded it?), and given that I've founded one of the last religions I don't expect to make a lot of headway converting people, so I picked beliefs with an eye towards short-term benefits. Neither of the beliefs I picked scales well, but I'll get a bit of bonus production off my Markets, and because my founder belief gives a one-time boost for converting rather than maintaining lots of worshipers, I won't really mind if Byzantium or somebody else decides to start proselytizing.

[Driderman]

To spectators:
Excited for my next turn. Got a Great Engineer from the Calendar just after I get Currency and my capital has a fair amount of desert so I used him to rush Petra. Hopefully I'll get it, I'm going to assume Morocco (being an obvious rival for having a desert city) is otherwise occupied what with his war with Rome. It'll really help me, I may have overextended a bit in my initial rush to settle a lot of cities (and I'm going to settle my 6th soon) so my capital is only a population 6 city but with the bonuses from Petra (and the caravan sending food to my capital from another of my cities) it should really flourish.

[thirsting]

Ehm.. India is showing up as an AI player in game, I even could talk to Gandhi. I wonder if this is a self sorting kind of visual glitch and nothing to worry about? I could revert the turn back to you, banthesun, if you are available now? (India got turn timer -skipped, but it was only little while ago, so..)

[banthesun]

Ah, sorry, sorry! I went away for a day and a half, but didn't set it to vacation mode because I thought I'd be back in time to take my turn. I don't know what the deal with AI India is though...

Edit: I'm gonna be away for about about an hour now, so don't bother reverting unless you think there's a problem

[thirsting]

Alright, leaving it as is.


Byzantine traders have expressed their interest in Roman salts (rumoured to be of extraordinary purity and quality). We have delicious oranges your people would surely find desirable in exchange.

Our dear Empress has expressed concerns though. She has heard rumours of Roman armies conquering smaller nations. She strictly forbids trading of any kind with warmongers.

We do not really care who it is you are warring against or why, but trading can not initiate if hostilities of any kind persist between you and your neighbours. It would be a shame if our peoples were denied this opportunity to expand their dietary variety.

~ Byzantine representative.

[Driderman]

I think I've consistenly observed a "bug" (more like a limitation of the system) where a player Civ who had it's turn taken by the AI will show up as an AI in negotiations etc. until the player has taken a turn himself again. That's probably what you guys are experiencing.

[OrcusMcP]

Things are not looking good for Morocco.

Lost Casablanca, about to lose Fes. Got beat to Petra. I have no realistic way to halt the Roman advance.

I think I may have lost the game.

[Luzahn]

Unfortunately, It looks like I'll have to be putting on vacation mode for a bit. My video card appears to have gone out, and it will take a bit to have a replacement.

So go, AI Caesar! Don't do anything stupid!

[banthesun]

I'm away for one turn and suddenly my empire is swarming with barbarians. How does this even happen? :smallfurious:

While we are unimpressed by your unwillingness to negotiate agreed territorial boundaries, we still hope for a continuing peaceful relationship.

On lighter matters, we have recently discovered the land of Zurich, and were wondering what your pre-existing relationship with them is.

[thirsting]

Zurich is a trusted friend and trading partner. Let it be known that Zurich, along with the two other small cities right beside it, are, while not official part of Byzantine Empire, still entirely under it's sphere of influence and protection.

Other than that, what deals you have with our lesser neighbours is not really our concern in any way.

The recent expansion of Byzantine territory might seem overtly aggressive in your eyes, but look at it this way; Nomen est omen. Founding of Trader's Rest will surely mean a lucrative future for both of our empires, enabling easier trade between our peoples. At least, as soon as we get all these savages disrupting our caravans out of the way...

Bask in the glow of Empress' Warmth

~ Byzantine representative


So go, AI Caesar! Don't do anything stupid!
Don't eradicate Morocco completely, AI Caesar. :/

[Driderman]

I'm afraid eradicating people completely is just what AI Caesar does... :smallannoyed:

To spectators:
Joy, my construction of Petra is complete. Also, so far my Atlatlists and Warriors have managed to protect me against barbarian incursion. It's by no stretch a grand army but I have enough to keep the barbarians down and protect my 3 workers (two of which are courtesy of city-states).
I've also managed to make a city-state ally which is currently keeping me at a comfortable 20 happiness. However, with my plan to settle a 6th city soon (settler is done in 3 turns) and my plans to fast-grow my capital Sarnath with caravans (I should be able to manage 3 food caravans from my other cities to Sarnath in 4 or 5 turns) I'm going to tear into that happiness pretty soon.

I also have some pictures
http://i59.tinypic.com/iopuo6.jpg
A strategical overview of the current Mayan Empire. You'll likely notice the copper deposits west of Tikal which is where I plan to settle my next city. I haven't had much contact with China so far but hopefully they won't mind.

http://i62.tinypic.com/16ishmf.jpg
Pretty much the same area just in regular map mode, for those who like it like that.

[OrcusMcP]

Morocco may, in fact, be completely boned.

[Luzahn]

OOC: If you're concerned about the AI disrupting things, I was planning to eliminate Morocco anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think I'll miss more than a couple of turns, but it all depends on how fast we go. I should have a replacement that can run Civ this weekend.

[Driderman]

OOC: If you're concerned about the AI disrupting things, I was planning to eliminate Morocco anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think I'll miss more than a couple of turns, but it all depends on how fast we go. I should have a replacement that can run Civ this weekend.

OOC: I figured. Btw, I guess I should thank you for distracting Morocco while I finished Petra :smallwink:

[banthesun]

Idea to save Morocco: if everyone agrees, we could turn off the turn timer until Luzahn gets back. If it's only till this weekend it shouldn't be such a big deal.

[Driderman]

I would leave that up to Luzahn. He did initiate the attack after all.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I don't see how Morroco is safer fighting Luzahn unless he's already surrounded with his capital on half-health. Its not like the AI is good at fighting.

[OrcusMcP]

Morocco has had some very bad luck, coupled with getting caught with his pants down. He will fight on, though.

[Illven]

Morocco has had some very bad luck, coupled with getting caught with his pants down. He will fight on, though.

The spectators request pictures! :smalltongue:

[OrcusMcP]

The spectators request pictures! :smalltongue:

I'll do what I can, but I am in crunch time with work/show week/thanksgiving/all myriad things conspiring to take up my time.

[Illven]

I'll do what I can, but I am in crunch time with work/show week/thanksgiving/all myriad things conspiring to take up my time.

Ah. Yeah, I understand.

[Luzahn]

To be honest my biggest concern is the AI somehow deciding to capitulate / suicide my troops. I was managing those guys carefully.

Although I'll leave it up to everybody else; It's a problem on my end that's causing the AI to be required, and I don't want to inconvenience anybody else because of it. If the AI is moving troops stupidly, the player should be able to capitalize on it. Just no exploitative trade deals, please. :smallbiggrin:

[Illven]

To be honest my biggest concern is the AI somehow deciding to capitulate / suicide my troops. I was managing those guys carefully.

Although I'll leave it up to everybody else; It's a problem on my end that's causing the AI to be required, and I don't want to inconvenience anybody else because of it. If the AI is moving troops stupidly, the player should be able to capitalize on it. Just no exploitative trade deals, please. :smallbiggrin:

~Exploit, Exploit, Exploit, Luzahn for all his money! :smalltongue:

[Driderman]

To be honest my biggest concern is the AI somehow deciding to capitulate / suicide my troops. I was managing those guys carefully.

Although I'll leave it up to everybody else; It's a problem on my end that's causing the AI to be required, and I don't want to inconvenience anybody else because of it. If the AI is moving troops stupidly, the player should be able to capitalize on it. Just no exploitative trade deals, please. :smallbiggrin:

I don't mind if we wait.

[OrcusMcP]

I for one welcome the new Roman AI overlords. :smallbiggrin:

[Luzahn]

They're like the Borg, but with Aquila!

[OrcusMcP]

"The Moroccans, being a people more prone to trade, comfort and 'family planning', were caught completely off guard by the sudden invasion by the Romans. While relations had never been warm, al-Mansur was certain that with time the tense early days of the two empires would simply have been the beginning of a beautiful friendship. But those hopes were dashed as Casablanca was sacked in a matter of days, the speed and ferocity of the Roman advance shocking the rest of the world.

Despair became the dominant mood in Marrakesh, and many prominent merchants fled to found a new city to the north, away from the rampaging Legions. Al-Mansur, ever the diplomat, tried in vain to assemble an army that could halt the advance, but with Morocco being so spread out, it was difficult to rally anyone.

All seemed lost as the Romans advanced on Fes, al-Mansur prepared to offer anything to get the Romans to leave, but then the strangest thing happened: The advance stopped. The Moroccan generals were flabbergasted as the once formidable Legions just held their postitions outside Fes as the Desert Archers formed up around them. They couldn't have known this, but Rome was suffering from severe leadership problems, succession and political infighting among the higher ranks in the society had led to a purge of the officer class, and soon the invaders found themselves without orders, with many of their prominent captains dead or hurrying back to Rome to save their fortunes.

Fes had been saved, but through no brilliance or honour on the part of the Moroccans. Al-Mansur was deeply ashamed that the people had suffered so on his watch, and so he made a promise to his empire: Casablanca would be returned."
-excerpt from A History of the Late-Classical Period

[Illven]

Woo! ~Fight, Fight, Fight for our entertainment! :smalltongue:

[Luzahn]

Damn you AI Caesar! The City had one health last time!

Damn yooooouuuuu! :smalltongue:

[Driderman]

I guess this explains how the Roman Empire collapsed: Vacation mode :smalltongue:

[OrcusMcP]

State of Morocco

http://imageshack.com/a/img631/1719/GkVk4n.png
This is the front of the war. Only the AI being terrible at war saved me. I likely could have still hung on to Fes if Luzahn was controlling, but not in as good a position I am now. I can likely take Casablanca back in a couple of turns. I don't really want to press my luck and advance on Rome, so I will try to arrange a peace after I get my city back.

http://imageshack.com/a/img746/7100/oVEMTA.png
Tangiers. This was supposed to be my awesome Petra city, and my Great Engineer was all ready to rush build, but then one turn away someone else got Petra. My exact words were "DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!"

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/7735/tovXt2.png
Marrakesh itself. I really need to get the war over and start getting my income back up. There's another city I want to found to my west soon, but there's a barb camp in the spot.

As far as long term plans, I don't know. I got beat to the Great Library, I didn't get Desert Folklore, I got beat to Petra and Colossus, I had to drop everything to try to stay alive, I probably won't be able to found a religion, I'm not liking my odds to actually win this game. My hope at this point is to become kingmaker. Once I have my Kasbahs and Berber Cavalry I will be very hard to crack open, so I hope to just get ton of cash and use it to buy favours and stir the drink of the other big powers.

[banthesun]

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/1TURN_zps080cc159.png
One Turn.
ONE &*#%ING TURN!
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv245/banthesun/justyouwait_zpsb6ce3430.png
Just you wait...

[OrcusMcP]

OOC: I have taken back Casablanca, and then I immediately offered the AI peace. I don't know what they have said yet, since it's not my turn and no one else has commented. I don't know if the AI would even accept it.

However, if you are jumping back in soon, it would be helpful to know: Do you want peace? Or are we going to race to the bottom?

[Closet_Skeleton]

King Darius of Persia sat happily on his throne on the royal observation platform, looking down on the fields that were at last safe from barbarian incursions, when a member of the newly created bureaucracy came up the stairs and coughed for attention.

"What is it, asked the King?"


"Its this balance sheet, my lord" replied the bureaucrat as he passed a tablet to the King.

"Balance sheet? Are you sure? It doesn't look balanced."

"That, oh great king and lord of all the lands of the two rivers, is the problem."

"Oh dear."

"The good news is that China finished Chitzen Itza before us, so we have a windfall before we go bankrupt. The bad news is that we wasted time on Chitzen Itza we could have spent on trade units and markets."

"What? I thought you said you'd be-lined for bureaucracy so we could build Chitzen Itza before everyone else?"

"Yes, but then you said you wanted more Immortals before we became unable to built them, so we delayed a little."

"Oh."

"Then you had our engineer build the Terracotta army instead, which has put us even further into the red."

"What, so you're saying we don't have Chitzen Itza because China built it and we are about to go bankrupt because we have too many soldiers?"

"Yes..."

"Isn't most of our army on a training exercise on Kilimanjaro?"

"Yes..."

"Oh dear."

[Driderman]

That Chichen Itza is a cheap knock-off anyway :smallamused:

[Luzahn]

OOC: I have taken back Casablanca, and then I immediately offered the AI peace. I don't know what they have said yet, since it's not my turn and no one else has commented. I don't know if the AI would even accept it.

However, if you are jumping back in soon, it would be helpful to know: Do you want peace? Or are we going to race to the bottom?

Unfortunately, it looks like my chances in this game have been ruined. The plan was to eliminate you entirely and then build from there, which honestly I should have been easily able to do if I had been in control; I can produce a Legion every three turns in most of my cities, my production was ridiculous. Without that conquest, my early economic situation puts me far too far behind.

So, I'd say do whatever you'd like, at this point I honestly wouldn't mind being eliminated, especially since it looks like it will take a few more days for my replacement computer stuff to arrive.

[OrcusMcP]

Unfortunately, it looks like my chances in this game have been ruined. The plan was to eliminate you entirely and then build from there, which honestly I should have been easily able to do if I had been in control; I can produce a Legion every three turns in most of my cities, my production was ridiculous. Without that conquest, my early economic situation puts me far too far behind.

So, I'd say do whatever you'd like, at this point I honestly wouldn't mind being eliminated, especially since it looks like it will take a few more days for my replacement computer stuff to arrive.

Alright, if you insist.

[OrcusMcP]

Moroccan diplomacy!

We are most pleased to allow our peoples to pass un-molested in each others empires. Have you had a chance to think about our other proposal of anti-pirate outposts along the coast?

After much toil, we are in a position to finally ensure that you are the only Rome in town. However, I do not want to take any such action if it will be to the detriment of the opinions of my neighbours, and our coffers are beginning to run dry. Can you please advise if having the pretender gone is worth something to you?

So, Rome is basically giving up, and is offering his lands up for spoil. I haven't quite met you yet, but I have a scout on the way.

I have a very daring proposal for you: We divide Rome up between us. I am willing to let you have Rome and Antium, so long as I get his third city which is closest to me and preferential settling rights to Rome's south. We obviously cannot make this deal public until we have formally met. When we meet, I will send you a friendship request. I will take acceptance of that as an acceptance of this deal.

I was feeling pretty low about my chances in this game, but now I feel a lot better. If this deal goes well, perhaps we might consider a more formal arrangement.

[thirsting]

Please stop perpetuating the lie of Byzantine people sharing any history with the Romans. There never was such history.

We would like any hostilities ceased, in what ever manner possible. Safe trade routes are what we want, and any war-like events that disrupt them are not to our liking. In other words, please do end the war between your people and Rome in any way you see fit.

~ Byzantine representative

[OrcusMcP]

Very well. Hostilities may need to continue for a short period as the demands for revenge of my people are sated, but al-Mansur seeks a swift end to the war as well.

As to trade, Morocco is more than pleased to offer trade! The northern coasts of the Moroccan sea have had to be left to themselves for the duration of the war, but if you are able to clear them of any barbarian tribes then we will be able to accommodate trade before long. Tangiers and Trader's Rest seem close enough to begin the process.

[The_Snark]

Your proposal seems sensible.

Our navy has established that the waters between our respective territories are clear of pirates for the moment, but there is a small band of brigands encamped along the desert coast, and it will take us some time to assemble a patrolling force. If you manage to eliminate the camp before we can do so, let us know so that we can begin sending trade ships; we will likewise inform you.

Our Queen would also like to inform you that our recent treaty allows you access to the Inner Carthaginian Sea via the canal city of Gades. We have several prosperous cities along the coast, including our capital - these will likely be more lucrative markets for your traders than Gades.

[Closet_Skeleton]

An open letter to China

"For economic reasons we have decided to downsize our army and replace it with a smaller, more elite force. However sadly the supply of nomadic barbarians our troops have practised on so far is much reduced, therefore your co-operation in this training exercise is required.

Yours sincerely, King Darius of Persia"

((yes, this is a war declaration))

[Illven]

Yay War! Fight for our amusement. :smalltongue:

Pictures will be appreciated. :smalltongue:

[OrcusMcP]

"So much death and devastation, all for what? Though we are far removed from the conflict, the suffering of our own peoples bring to mind horrible visions of what will come to pass as Persia sees conflict as the way forward against their neighbours. Is the world so small that we must squabble like children over a toy? May Peace be Upon You, Persia."
-The response of Ahmad al-Mansur to the Persian ambassador announcing the invasion of China.

I have cavalry riding out to deal with these barbarian pirates as we speak, and they should be dealt with soon.

As to the Carthaginian Sea, I have yet to witness its splendor, and I hope that my ships may indeed pass through your canal to behold its glory.

[banthesun]

After consulting with our allies, we have decided we would be able to incorporate the citizens of Rome into the New Indian Empire, but the city of Antium may still lie outside our political reach. The people displaced by this conflict are of course of great concern, and we anticipate further negotiations. Our exploratory force is on its way through the deserts near Belgrade as we speak, and we look foward to the establishment of offical communication channels.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Yay War! Fight for our amusement. :smalltongue:

Pictures will be appreciated. :smalltongue:

here you go

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/36352556752009286/8AB387453422AF8B520637F2F2156B1D9A217B92/

[Luzahn]

Incidentally, I'd appreciate a PM if my input is needed here. The game's a bit stressful to keep up with while I can't participate directly, and I've been avoiding the thread. :smalltongue:

[OrcusMcP]

The plan is cancelled. Luzahn is coming back, and while he will be coming back to an empire in flames from barbarians, at least I'm alive with all my cities.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Do not be quick to burn bridges between us. You might be against military expansionists today, but you never know when you might need one around.

[OrcusMcP]

Do not be quick to burn bridges between us. You might be against military expansionists today, but you never know when you might need one around.

Burning bridges is an active thing, and our Great Consul merely offered his thoughts. Should a man who has had to watch his nation burn and his people scattered be joyous at the news that another people will suffer the same fate?

[OrcusMcP]

Show week has mad it very difficult to keep up with my games, but I am managing by the skin of my teeth. Sadly, however, I have no screenshots for all you lovelies.

I will however, offer some insights into my situation:

RE: Rome. Luzahn is apparently coming back, and I am willing to just let bygones be bygones. It'll be a better story/game with him in it than with me/India getting all his stuff. He will be in rough shape when he comes back in, since barbarians are wrecking all of his stuff, but Rome as a civ gets better as time goes on due to their ability.

RE: My situation. The army I had to field to stay alive was costing all my money. Now, my income is neutral, and no one besides Rome and Milan is yet close enough to trade with. This is very frustrating. Carthage is not too far away by boat, and both of us are trying to clear the coast between us of barbs so hopefully we can get some trade boats going before long.

RE: India. We have finally met! I originally thought to split Rome down the middle with them (again, better story then me taking everything) but decided against it when Rome cancelled his surrender. Hopefully we will stay friendly.

RE: My plans. I am too far behind to actually win, and lost too many valuable beliefs and wonders to be a dominant player. I have 3 more cities I want to found, one on the northern coast of my sea, one to my west along the coast to Carthage, and another on the coast to my south east, past Milan. They will have to wait for the moment, as I am waiting to finally hit Medieval age. I have been saving up my policies and want to get Commerce up and running.

Long term, I still think my best bet is to be a subversive kingmaker. Persia, Maya, Carthage and Byzantium are all going to be the big players this round, and they are all very close to each other. If I can be seen as an "honest broker" that needs to be swayed to one side or another, then I will be successful. If I can use my (hopefully) vast cash reserves to bribe/subsidize belligerants, then so much the better.

My spite for this game, after digging through who got what wonders/beliefs, I may have to ensure that Maya dies. Seriously? You're going to get Desert Folklore AND Petra when you live in the jungle? Screw you, Pacal. There's no way you didn't do that just to piss me off.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I will be away between Thursday and Monday. This will probably cause the AI to send my army to its death in my current war.

[OrcusMcP]

The announcement was strange, but the Great Consul was clear: He had fallen to the sway of that Old Black Magic, and he intended for all the lands of Morocco and beyond to do the same!

[Luzahn]

I will be away between Thursday and Monday. This will probably cause the AI to send my army to its death in my current war.

The AI is...bad at that. :smalleek:

[Closet_Skeleton]

The AI is...bad at that. :smalleek:

Turns out that having a worker sent off in a completly different direction is even more annoying. I now have a bug where I can't change some of my unit's orders and they move at the start of my turn before I can tell them not to.

[thirsting]

I had that too long ago. Can't remember what exactly I did to fix it... but at one point I did try choosing the non-responsive unit, then clicked it to 'move' to the spot where it already was, which should make it cancel it's last orders it's stuck with. Try that next time, might do it.

Edit: Oh, right. Banthesun had this problem too earlier in this game, but changing or removing turn-password helped. Read Tazziks' post here: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/multiplayerrobot/discussions/0/540743213224904483/

[Illven]

I had that problem in one of my games as well. I think clicking on the unit under the military overview (Where you see all your units) allowed me to cancel it's orders. I'd need to play another turn to be sure.

[Closet_Skeleton]

It's fine now.

Not in the mood for a big post, but I'm currently retreating in the face of too many Chinese composite bows. He has walls on his cities now so my chance to take any of them is probably over. Should have prepared better.

Not having enough archers compared to spearmen and no cavalry has made taking out enemies too difficult.

[thirsting]

Yes, we built a Great Lighthouse in Pangaea map. With only one coastal city. And with only one tiny flamethrower boat benefiting from it.
http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Capital_221014_zpsdec79bbd.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Capital_221014_zpsdec79bbd.jpg.html)

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Happiness_221014_zps25dcb3fc.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Happiness_221014_zps25dcb3fc.jpg.html)
Our empire and revealed map still look almost exactly the same as in these screenshots from 20 turns back. We are traditional, and dislike destabilizing change.

[banthesun]

Just thought I should let you know, there's a barbarian camp between Tangier and Fes, if you haven't spotted it yet.

[thirsting]

Now that you have, however temporarily it might be, stopped the hostilities between Yourself and Morocco, we have finally been given permission to start exporting our surplus oranges and other fruits, in exchange for your quality salts. Do we have a deal?

~unofficial leader of the unofficial trader's guild of Byzantium

[OrcusMcP]

Just thought I should let you know, there's a barbarian camp between Tangier and Fes, if you haven't spotted it yet.

Oh I'm sure there's a couple, I'm cleaning up one to my south right now. I'm still trying to get my economy properly under control after the Roman war.

[Luzahn]

Now that you have, however temporarily it might be, stopped the hostilities between Yourself and Morocco, we have finally been given permission to start exporting our surplus oranges and other fruits, in exchange for your quality salts. Do we have a deal?

~unofficial leader of the unofficial trader's guild of Byzantium

This arrangement would be most welcome. We can dispatch a caravan at once.

[OrcusMcP]

Moroccan Diplomacy

Warmest of Greetings to the Warmest of Queens, the Great Consul has some of that Old Black Magic to discuss with you!

As you know, our war with Rome has ended with reasonably equitable terms, and Morocco is once again prosperous. We are prepared to soon build trading outposts. One will be to our west along the coast towards our fellow Mercantalists of Carthage. We also wish to found an outpost on the northern coast of the Moroccan sea, which would be close enough to your territory for trading. As I am sure you are aware, founding a new city is not cheap, but you must also know that Moroccan trade is particularly juicy. Therefore, if you would be willing to subsidize some of the outfitting of the colony, you would have access to our trade that much faster. We ask only for 150 gold, and I would also owe you aminor favour to be called upon later, perhaps in a diplomatic argument. Thoughts?

Great India! We now have the means to offer proper diplomatic contact rather than simply using clandestine backchannels!

As you know, our war with Rome has ended with reasonably equitable terms, and Morocco is once again prosperous. We are prepared to soon build trading outposts. One will be to our west along the coast towards our fellow Mercantalists of Carthage. We also wish to found an outpost on the northern coast of the Moroccan sea, which would be close enough to your territory for trading. As I am sure you are aware, founding a new city is not cheap, but you must also know that Moroccan trade is particularly juicy. Therefore, if you would be willing to subsidize some of the outfitting of the colony, you would have access to our trade that much faster. We ask only for 75 gold, as well as owing you a minor favour to be called upon later, perhaps in a diplomatic argument. Thoughts?

Well, Ceasar, at least we now have an agreed upon border. Can we at least bury the hatchet for now and talk trade?

Beauteous Dido, our Old Black Magic is finally letting us become prosperous again, and our trading outpost on the coast should be built soon and the pirates cleared. However, we are still rebuilding form the ravages of the war with Rome, so the colonial expedition is moving slower than expected. Would you be able to spare 75 gold to help us along? The sooner the outpost is built, the sooner you can enjoy enhanced Moroccan trade. We will also owe you a minor favour to be call upon later, perhaps in a diplomatic argument. Thoughts?

[thirsting]

Warmest of Greetings to the Warmest of Queens, the Great Consul has some of that Old Black Magic to discuss with you!

As you know, our war with Rome has ended with reasonably equitable terms, and Morocco is once again prosperous. We are prepared to soon build trading outposts. One will be to our west along the coast towards our fellow Mercantalists of Carthage. We also wish to found an outpost on the northern coast of the Moroccan sea, which would be close enough to your territory for trading. As I am sure you are aware, founding a new city is not cheap, but you must also know that Moroccan trade is particularly juicy. Therefore, if you would be willing to subsidize some of the outfitting of the colony, you would have access to our trade that much faster. We ask only for 150 gold, and I would also owe you aminor favour to be called upon later, perhaps in a diplomatic argument. Thoughts?

We wholeheartedly wish we could aid you, but in the words of our minister of finances:
"Mwahaha *snort, pause* .. huahahaha!".

I got the impression our empire is currently unwilling to invest in much anything, building all those marble palaces simply have eaten too much into our resources. We would need trade routes before we could help you with securing yours.

Our dear Empress had an idea though. Bold, radical idea. Perhaps we could trade the control of whole cities to make the trade between our empires that much easier? Unable to sway her mind, our ministers have reluctantly decided to offer a settlement called Trader's Rest for you. Perhaps you have a city you would like to give under our control, in exchange for this one of ours? As a bonus, you would get easier access to New Indian markets, as well as to few of our smaller city state friends. Here in the Warmth of our Empire you would also have some added security against future invasion attempts.

~ Byzantine ambassador

(Old screenshot. It's size five or six city now, by a river. Comes with truffles, horses, wheat and lots of jungle. India's capital just some dozen tiles to East.)
http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y382/thirsting/Byz_Tradersrest_111114_zps60630353.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/thirsting/media/Byz_Tradersrest_111114_zps60630353.jpg.html)

[banthesun]

We're afraid we'll have to decline your offer at present. Despite the substantial development the NIE has been undergoing, we currently have little trade infrastructure available, and what little we have is currently dedicated to our sister states.

We continue to wish you all the best in your endeavours.

[OrcusMcP]

That is indeed a bold offer, and one worth considering! However the Great Consul believes the city lies too far from the center of our authority to properly administrate, and we would not have a city of equivalent value to offer in return. Thank you, though, it is good to know that trade negotiation is not dead in this world.

Ah, that is most unfortunate. Hopefully we will have our new city up and running soon, so that we may begin our trading before long.

[The_Snark]

We would be happy to extend you a loan of 75 gold; however, our accountants insist that certain diplomatic formalities be completed before we trade lump sums of money. We've forwarded you the appropriate paperwork.

[Closet_Skeleton]

My army is currently in retreat, but two new cities have been founded. The unhappiness should be temporary until the nearby luxuries can be exploited

I am aware that a new frontier settlement of my people has made our borders very close. It is my hope that we will be able to trade harmoniously but I am also prepared to implement severe reprisal if my interests in the area are threatened.

I consider this settlement to be the limit of my current territorial ambitions in your direction, but I felt it was necessary to mark my borders in such a way in order to make such things clear and tangible.

I apologise if you are offended by a lack of any prior notification of this settlement, but felt that your lack of settlement in this direction was evidence enough that it was free for whoever would make the first move.

[OrcusMcP]

The Great Consul, Ahmad al-Mansur wishes it to be known that Morocco has a substantial surplus of silk following a bumper crop in the plantations. He is offering the surplus to anyone interested in trading for it.

[Luzahn]

Caesar desires some of your excess silks, as a sign of our continued cooperation. We should have excess salts, though a little purge of barbarian interlopers may be required first.

[The_Snark]

Happily, your assumption is correct: we have no designs on that territory and do not object to your settlement.

[OrcusMcP]

We would be happy to extend you a loan of 75 gold; however, our accountants insist that certain diplomatic formalities be completed before we trade lump sums of money. We've forwarded you the appropriate paperwork.

Many thanks for your gift of friendship and loan of 75 gold. If you need any diplomatic support in the future, let me know. The city should be founded within the next 10 turns.

[thirsting]

You are the people of that end of the world cult, aren't you? Your boat seems to be leaking. Badly. You may use our docks to repair it, as long as you promise to not proselytise while you are here.

~ Byzantine authorities

(Declaration of friendship and open borders trade sent)

[OrcusMcP]

Driderman has missed a few turns, anyone heard form him?

[Driderman]

I'm here, I just have a lot on my plate these days due to working retail (and we're starting to prepare for christmas) along with a rather badly planned (by the University) exam project for my studies. Also, the ph.d who was supposed to be our "guide" just killed himself this weekend so it's a bit of a mess right now :smalleek:

[OrcusMcP]

I'm here, I just have a lot on my plate these days due to working retail (and we're starting to prepare for christmas) along with a rather badly planned (by the University) exam project for my studies. Also, the ph.d who was supposed to be our "guide" just killed himself this weekend so it's a bit of a mess right now :smalleek:

Oh ****! Best of luck dude!