[SPOILERS] Roland and Suboptimal Team Up

[suboptimal]

This doesn't work. Anyone who is in a DoF or alliance with the target of the resolution cannot vote on the resolution (and therefore would not participate). Note that we have a DoF with Archduke (via my own agreement) and that you cannot add any votes to that resolution (or can you?)

There was an emergency declared when I took Australia's capital and the only people that could vote on it were myself, Russia and Australia. Red/White and Bruise couldn't vote on it as the target (me) had active DoFs with one or more members of each of those teams. China, likewise, couldn't vote on it since he (well, you) are my ally.

[Bruindane]

I'd say breaking DoF by an emergency is against the spirit of a DoF which is meant to be 30 turns of enforced peace

Thank you for the input.  With reflection, I agree that convoluting game mechanics to achieve a tangential outcome is a bit iffy.  What we really want is for our allies to declare on Russia, maybe they can be bribed with .

In a different iteration of the game, I'd make DoFs act like Canada, preventing the declaration of surprise wars.

[suboptimal]

Turn 136

I expect to see that I’ve lost Hearts & Bones back to CMF upon opening the save and this is indeed the case:




The city wasn’t doing much from a perspective but it was generating almost 4 per turn, which is a bigger slice of that pie. It’s also cost me a jong. The city is under loyalty pressure, though, and will revolt in three turns despite the governor being in there. He’s also started to attack Mother and Child Reunion. Going to have to figure out what to do about that. He’s also got another frigate over at Under African Skies – he attacked this past turn to prevent a wall rebuild. Lastly, he’s gone full in on attacking at Have a Good Time:




That city will likely fall next turn.

Bruindane, the wonder notification is CMF completing the Great Lighthouse. The game also keeps trying to get me to call the World Congress despite having a diplomatic favor count of ZERO. I do take the from China and upgrade another galley at Al. I then pull Professional Army and put in Serfdom.

I take my potshots at the Russian navy, sinking one of the wounded galleys at Have a Good Time. The galley there hits the least defended galley just for kicks. My jong in the middle of Norway inches northeast then south, finding two Russian traders and a caravel. I plunder a trader for 260 and will either shoot or run and promote next turn. The caravel is alone so I’ll be able to get away for another day.

Not much else to do. Harvest a jungle at Fifty Ways to help speed the Commercial Hub along. That gets me another population in the city that can’t work any tiles.

Bruindane, where are you in upgrading your fleet? We’re going to have a hard time with the Russians but I think something needs to be done to put them on the defensive, no? The big issue is the combat strength difference – this is one of my caravels against a Russian caravel:




CMF has also spent a bunch of and his milpower is up to 1660. I’m guessing he’s got some upgraded land units en route to Big Island. Archduke may have lost a city – his empire score went down by 7. I look around and…




Looks like Writing on the Wall was (is) Akkad.

[Bruindane]

China is looking into the possibility of declaring a city state emergency declaration against Indonesia   

We need to channel Ichabod's Brazil from PBEM18 and chop everything we can, hold as long as possible, until others can join the fight.  We can sign a military alliance in 25 turns.  

You could cede the Big Island and Have A Good Time to macropolothefraud for 10 turns of peace.   Peace is the only possible diplomatic option as we can not declare war or ask others to join our war.   They might accept due to poetic symmetry.  I am not sure when all the relevant alliances and declaration of friendship expire, but I suspect it is longer than 10 turns, and then the war will the continue.  I'm kidding, they won't accept, but you can provide them the pleasure of rejecting it.

Our ships will be sunk but we might be able to buy a few turns at You Can Call Me Al.  Alternatively, we can retreat them on the hope that their continued existence gives us future options and better combat odds. I'll be in a second golden age, so Chinese cities can be razed but not held, and I can liberate your capital if need be.

On review there was a path to get the Great Lighthouse last turn, but I think it required harvesting deer, 2 forest chops, and  starting on my first multiplayer game turn.

[Bruindane]

Turn 136: The Calvary Isn't Coming

Timely civic changes.




Uncovered some ships while defogging Mitla.  Our canon balls bounce off their hulls. Upgrading walls everywhere.




100 salvaged and harvested the copper mine for that battleship.



Cries for help.

[suboptimal]

Cede Big Island? That's five cities. Not sure what you mean there. Have a Good Time will be lost before I get the turn around so I could just offer white peace and get the same effect as ceding. However, CMF will want back Mother & Child Reunion at a minimum. Chopping on Big Island is a bit of a pro/con - coastal chops are bad because it opens up the cities to more sightlines for sea bombardment. Once the save comes around I'll see what I can get done with builder labor.

[Bruindane]

suboptimal, your fair-weather team-mate was going through a thought exercise in what it might take to get 10 turns of peace. I’ll be saving gold to fund troop upgrades for the big island. Eurekas for Gun Powder and Printing are coming.

Russia has 7 frigates, 3 caravels, and 7 galleys visible boosted by +4/9 combat strength with 1/2 extra moves relative to China, with more in the fog. I might be able to draw their fleet away from the big island, but if I try to move the fleet there, it buys only the time it takes for them to sink.  In ~8 turns, this combat advantage will be reduced by 6 assuming no civic changes on Russia’s part.

China has little undeveloped to chop, there are few places to harvest in emergencies. Do I chop lumber mills? Not an area of past experience.  I’ll try to stockpile faith, with an occasional unit purchase if needed, to give Roland an option to eventually buy an Admiral.

The Great Library will be done in 2 turns for its 3 era score. Need to find another 1 era point for the Golden Age.

[suboptimal]

Turn 137

Open the save expecting to have lost Have a Good Time (formerly Brussels) and seeing land units in striking distance of Mother and Child Reunion. Expectations met?




Not yet.




Yup. As can be seen above the Achelous River flooded, giving Proof a bit of a boost. That knight, by the way, is CS 60. Then there’s Under African Skies:




Crossbows all shoot, redlining the chariot from the north and doing about 34 points of damage to the knight. I do evacuate the crossbow in the city before firing as the city is forfeit next turn. Fifty Ways and Proof cannot be attacked from the sea except for one tile 2W of Fifty Ways, so I’m not that concerned. However, I do upgrade the walls at Fifty Ways and Graceland, just in case. The courser is stuck – it can’t effectively attack the knight so I move it into Fifty Ways for cover. Builder goes to plantation the wines and finds two caravels off the coast:




I back off to the Holy Site and will send the builder up to Graceland. The city attack at Mother & Child does 47 damage to the knight and the man-at-arms does another 22. Outside chance I can kill the knight if I still have a city attack next turn (not likely). Galley at Good Time attacks the weakest galley, merely redlining it. That city will be lost next turn. The larger problem here is that once the dark age settles in I’ll likely lose Proof to loyalty. I move Liang over there now so she’s active by the time the age rolls over.

Elsewhere, my wandering jong was attacked by that caravel. The jong is under 50 health so I move southwest to one less movement than I have available and take its waiting promotion, taking Preparatory Fire.

Over at Lake Mackay there’s an Aussie settler about:




So long as we’re at war with Australia and they don’t settle on the lake I’ll be able to sit there with Confucius.

Looking at the milpower I see what Archduke meant in the tech thread (he loaded the save and hit end turn, supposedly). His milpower is down to 207. He hasn’t lost any more cities, though.

[Bruindane]

Turn 137: And two in time of war

We lost a galley and a quadrirereme, but see a picturesque battle line.




Japan and Norway accept our panicked offer of open borders-- a gesture of goodwill I suppose.  I do get a trade deal in response from Phoenica, which I accept.




We return the favor by sinking a caravel and a galley.  I think these are China's first non-barbarian kills.




The fog of war along with fast ship movement definitely favors the attacker.  Having city walls, and improving them, makes it less stressful, even if more ships is always better.

[suboptimal]

Good to be drawing some blood. I'll see what condition I'm in when I get the save - likely down 2-3 cities on Big Island.