[spoilers] Commodore is actually pretty inept: August in Peru

[Commodore]

I forgot how much fun airships are.

[Ceiliazul]

It's a pity. I think if I was paying attention I'd be in this to win this, actually. Artillery in four more turns; then it's time for Combustion and a massive Destroyer-building spree.

That'd be impressive if you could. What's stopping you?

[Commodore]

It's a pity. I think if I was paying attention I'd be in this to win this, actually. Artillery in four more turns; then it's time for Combustion and a massive Destroyer-building spree.

That'd be impressive if you could. What's stopping you?

Hrm, beyond the fact that I've been playing five minute turns for the last 200 turns, and so my empire is terrible and tiny and health-crippled beyond belief? I guess nuthin'. Oh, looks like 2mn is mad, bro in the tech thread so I'll just be razing and holding most likely. Still, it's turn 250...might as well do a massive international update on the game PB9 (motto: almost as forgotten as the RB demogame!)

[Commodore]

Heh, so from civstats it looks like 2mn took back one of the cities. I'm not going to be weeping about it in any case; I noticed the emptiness just two turns ago so it's not like I'm highly invested. 2metra, on the other hand, spent three hours on this last turn. He's losing but he's still pretty invested it seems. It does make me think about Ceil's question a bit more, I think I have several reasons why PB9 never really caught my attention:

-PB8 was way cooler, and got busy fast. Then other games got interesting. I think I'm best with about two games as my limit. I figured if I was sharing the load it might help, but...

-I am a terrible team game player. This isn't you, Brick, it's me. I just need to be active in the planning, execution, and map-oggling aspects of the game...frankly I'm a control freak. Brick is a great friend and a fine teammate, but my interest just wanes when I'm not solely responsible for the fate of the civ. More than anything else, that's why I've been playing checked out for the last two hundred turns, I just never fell in love with the Good and Loving Empire when it was young, and now its all ugly and awkward and mismanaged and neglected. My fault entirely! But it is what it is.

-Tech trading is very distorting to the game. I like the even-ing element, and don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have experimented with it, but it's just rewarded terrible economic development and my empire is awkward, as mentioned, largely because of the weird pacing.

That being said, there are elements I really liked about this setup and would definitely want to try again.

*Events are fun! Seriously, I know they're unbalancing, but logging in and getting a cool new event perks interest even in the most moribund player. Bad ones two...gives a man something to bitch about. Slave revolts are an exception, and BtS techs from huts...yeah.

*I likely the map. It's not perfect...Azza seemed to have to really reach for his metal, I am really awkwardly placed vis-a-vis the seas...but it's a cool script and looks lovely.

*The narrowed list, normalized combos, is really fun and gets some interesting leaders and civs into the mix, all the while maintaining some decent spread. If I could set up a game like this again I'd push for RBmod, limit 9 players, and then give each a selection of two from a list of 18. Still, for BtS this is great.

[Commodore]

So, it is the year 1700 AD. The planet Pitbosnine is a lush, violent, and crowded place. There were once seven civilizations on the planet; now six with one a reduced nubbin, one a militarized backwater, and one more possibly showing signs of weakness. It is a world on the cusp of modernity, as rail lines span from the major cities and airships can be seen in most corners of the world.


It is also a world at war. The Zulu infantry slowly advance to the last bastions of the Native Americans, while in the north France and Mongolia are locked in a titanic struggle, with the Incan Good and Loving Empire joining in with a strike at the exposed underbelly of Mongolia. The Khmer watch and wait, while the tired lands of old Rome are filled with French and Zulu soldiers looking warily at one another.


With active espionage and technological trades, the overall advancement of the world is fairly homogenous, with the backward Natives slightly behind and a few standout advances seen in the big four empires. Repeating breech-loading rifles, water-cooled machine guns, steel cannon, and bomb-laden war zeppelins represent the latest and greatest of military technology, with ships still mostly wooden and horse cavalry relegated to a secondary role. Factories belch smog and smoke over some cities, challenging even the abilities of biology-boosted farms to feed the huddled and hacking masses in the big cities.


The globe is largely sectioned into five major centers of power and culture, while the former domains of the Natives are split between the Zulu and French, mostly Zulu, and old Rome is largely French with some Zulu holdings in the south and east. The Native Americans are rapidly on the way out with the modern Zulu army bent to destroy them utterly; they should soon be gone from the world.


Rome was crippled early by the aggressive Zulu, but in a world war where Mongolia and Inca mostly suffered and died, France swept in and captured much of their old lands. It is the primary reason for France's current small advantage in the game of nations.


Core France is a very good area, healthy and well-watered. The seas around the French core were very conducive to a rapid expansion, helped by the French leaders' expansive and spiritual traits. The more marginal tundra was settled almost by default, but is by now a productive and efficient part of the largest superpower in the world. The coastal cities of the west fell to aggressive Mongolian strikes, but were swiftly retaken to no-one's surprise.


The Zulu are the other world superpower, owning by far the highest quality farmland in the world. Their sprawling, central empire is rich and prosperous, with heavy infrastructure within their large cities and probably the best town network in the world. Although they are strategically exposed, their ships are the fastest in the world and their armed forces the most modern.


Sitting isolated and estranged from the other empires of the world are the Mongols, advanced and aggressive. Attempting to rally others into their war with France, after failing diplomatically in their alliance efforts they chose to fight alone, stripping their voluminous southern equatorial holdings. Their southeastern territories in particular are remarkably polyglot, not only Incan but influenced by the Khmer beyond.


The Khmer Empire is the smallest of the healthy Five Powers, supported by their patrons in France to be a prop against Incan or Zulu expansion in their lush imperial lands. Lacking the assembly-line produced repeating rifles of their near rivals, the Khmer nonetheless have a good rail network and their cities are well protected by grenadiers and machine gunners. The small skirmishes have marked the edges of the empire form time to time but for most of history the Khmer have been remarkably sacrosanct.


The Good and Loving Empire of Inca crouches along a vast region of long and winding seas and cold tundra. The economy of the Inca leaves much to be desired and crippling health problems mean that smoking factories are few and far between. The military of the empire is a hodgepodge, ranging from ceremonial battalions of Quecha warriors serving as military police in the interior to all of the most modern units seen on the borders. The navy of the Inca is largely small and defensive, though with experimental combustion warships currently in trials that may change. The Inca are in the process of modernizing the old model cannons into advanced Artillery; the technology will probably be traded with other empires for other advances in medicine and electricity.


The economy of the Inca is decidedly second-world; perhaps three cities in the whole of the empire have the network of towns that are seen elsewhere. The large cities are hubs of scientist-driven research, the representation-style government and caste system of the society making such specialists incredibly productive and powerful. There are golden ages going on elsewhere in the world, but even when the other empires are functioning normally they tend to outstrip the Inca in all measures. Still the Inca muddle on, much as people do elsewhere in the world.


Pitbosnine is a world wracked with problems; the small planet is already experiencing global warming due to the vast amounts of smog the past hundred years' revolutions have produced. It is a planet that could easily see humanity to the stars, however, its inhabitants seem determined to bomb each other into a new and darker stone age first.

[Ceiliazul]

Excellent report! Sorry you never really took to this game...

[BRickAstley]

It also probably didn't help that I'm really bad at being a teammate as well.

[spacetyrantxenu]

Ha. Hahaha In fairness you said at the outset in 11 that you wouldn't do too much there. What promises did you make to Commodore?

[Krill]

You know Commodore, you've bitched about The Torusworld map script being a pool of vomit, but looking at this map I'm struck by how much this one looks like multiple pools of vomit...

[Commodore]

Ah, but it is chunkier vomit, with nice white ice rails on either side providing sanity. Cylindrical is more aesthetically pleasing, what can I say?