[Spoilers] SleepingMoogle's thread

[novice]

Great update.

I know that Serdoa is whipping himself into the ground in order to deny me victory. I can't say I enjoy that style of play (similar episodes in the Pitboss 2 game almost ruined lurking there), but it's what we'll have to live with.

What are you referring to? I don't really see the analogy here.

Here is a quick technical question to any lurker btw: Does me researching Astronomy obsolete scooter's Great Lighthouse, or will he need to research it himself before the wonder is gone?

He has to research it himself.

[SleepingMoogle]

What are you referring to? I don't really see the analogy here.

I was aiming at the gifting of cities to the opponents of the team that's invading you, throwing away your army, funding another team's research in a non-tech trading game.

It might come of as a little odd coming from me; A couple of posts up I noted I play for fun before playing to win. But I did enter this game intending to do my best to win and it irks me that may not be a universal opinion. Even if Serdoa's massive whipping generates an army that defeats mine (doubtful, but I'm not ruling out anything), he has to know that he has no chance whatsoever against scooter after that.

As to whether or not his actions are justified, I suppose that is a matter of personal preference. I can't fault Serdoa for being pissed at how the events turned out, but he could have teamed up with scooter, and dogpile me once my NAP with scooter expired. At the very least, he would still be in a position where victory was a possibility for him. Now it simply depends on whether I can take out Serdoa before scooter declares. Had the situation be reversed, and had Twinkletoes surrendered his southern cities to India, I can say with a straight face that I wouldn't be whipping my cities down to nothing.

[Tatan]

Here is a quick technical question to any lurker btw: Does me researching Astronomy obsolete scooter's Great Lighthouse, or will he need to research it himself before the wonder is gone?

He has to research it himself.

Actually, he has to research Corporations himself, because that is when the Great Lighthouse obsoletes. Astro obsoletes the Colossus.

Still on that night shift, Moogle?

[SleepingMoogle]

Actually, he has to research Corporations himself, because that is when the Great Lighthouse obsoletes. Astro obsoletes the Colossus.

Still on that night shift, Moogle?

For another week, yep. Not to worry though, I generally catch these errors right after reporting on them to ensure I must seem like an uneducated buffoon to everyone.

The bigger error was trusting Twinkletoes to report on troop movements so I could reposition if needed. And then I made the even bigger error of not asking him for an update before playing the turn because I didn't want to hold up the game.

Long story short, I had a quick look at the latest turn no longer have an eastern stack. Thanks to that blunder, TT is in danger of losing his capital as well. I'm currently playing my turnset for the Civ5 succession game so it's unlikely I'll have time to play the turn tonight, but I'll need to work out a plan with Twinkletoes first anyhow. I'm not going to repeat my error, even if that means holding up the save for a week.

[Ilios]

I must seem like an uneducated buffoon to everyone.

Nope, you seem like a pretty educated buffoon to me (j/k!)

[SleepingMoogle]

Nope, you seem like a pretty educated buffoon to me (j/k!)

I'll take that as a compliment.

So I dialled up Twinkletoes and asked for an update before I'd decide what I'd do next. His reply was.. well, let's just say that he didn't respond too well to my emperor Kellanved routine. In the end I dropped the act and apologized if he took any of the messages personally, but I haven't heard anything back since. Maybe pseudo-roleplaying a pragmatic calculating bastard wasn't a great idea after all. *cough* Hopefully he will respond soon because I can't hold on to the save for too much longer.

Here's a screenshot I sent TT to show the current situation:



Serdoa's stack is on the tile marked X, since that's the only tile he could hit me from that I don't have visibility on. I can hit the tile with my mounted units, but it will probably cost me a HA just to find out if that is a good idea or not. I want to know where Serdoa's slow movers are. Are they with the stack, pushing to his capital, or still at home and was this a blitz attack to take out my stack?

I'm inclined not to take the gamble by moving to the circled tile as Serdoa can spot it by climbing the nearby hill, and because I can't support the attack with Cats (the few I have left) or other slow movers. But perhaps I can work out some sort of plan with TT. He still has a number of Catapults at his capital and we might be able to do some serious damage, but I'm reluctant to chance my mounted stack on a big question mark.

So here's to TT responding soon. I want this turn played by the evening at the latest.

[Krill]

Maybe pseudo-roleplaying a pragmatic calculating bastard wasn't a great idea after all. *cough*

Worked for me.

[SleepingMoogle]

Worked for me.

Well, it definitely backfired in the case of Twinkletoes. We are now almost 48 hours since his last message. And he's played his PBEM3 turn so I know he's around.

Whatever his reasons are, I was not about to chance my mounted stack for a sulking ally. I withdrew towards Actium (the Hindu Holy city) where I upgraded most Horse Archers to Knights, and offered Serdoa a white peace on the off-chance he'll accept it.

Sorry TT, but if you're not willing anymore, then neither am I.

[MWIN]

Can you post the emails that you sent to TT? Would be interesting to see what ticked off TT....

[SleepingMoogle]

Sure:

Twinkletoes,

Perhaps our opinions differ on this, but I consider a significant massing of Knights within striking distance of Malazan forces to be noteworthy enough to communicate. It looks like I erred in trusting you to report significant troop movements without requesting them, and wanting to hold up the game, but this oversight has cost us both dearly. Suffice it to say, I no longer have ground troops stationed near your capital, they have now been replaced significant concentration of Indian Knights. Before I consider what kind of response to make for this, I would like you to review your last turn and forward any pertinent information about the position and composition of Serdoa's forces as they were then, including screenshots. I also expect similar updates for every turn from here on, because I have no wish for this event to be repeated.

-Emperor SleepingMoogle I

Emperor Moogle,

Do not be so ridiculous. Do you think that if I had seen a mass grouping of Knights I wouldn't have told you?

I checked my save and they were out of sight. So a little trust may be in order, and perhaps an apology?

TT

Twinkletoes,

These Knights were Horse Archers near Silarus springs two turns ago, and with no updates that was where I assumed they were stationed. That they moved elsewhere was something that would be pertinent information to relay.

If I need to apologize for anything, it is for not requesting regular updates earlier. That was my mistake in this. But since we cannot turn back time, we now need to assess what will happen next. And we will both need up to date information for that. For one, what are his visible forces like, and how do they differ from the previous turns? We do not see them, but that does not mean we can't extrapolate their likely location. And as noted, screenshots tell more than a thousand words.

-Emperor SleepingMoogle I

I'm sure that the first message felt hostile, but I was pissed (both at TT and myself) at the time and wanted the message to reflect that. I doubt the second message helped much though, so after most of a day went by without a response, I dropped the roleplaying and sent him this:

Alright,

I think it is time to drop the Emperor Kellanved routine from the diplomacy. Pseudo-roleplaying a cold-hearted, pragmatic bastard seems to rub a number of people the wrong way and it may now hinder the game itself as well. So first of all, my apologies if any of my previous messages were offensive in any way. None of it was meant to be, though looking back at the most recent batch I certainly understand if they were interpreted that way.

At this point I am reluctant to move forward without at least an idea of the location and composition of Serdoa's forces. I attached a screenshot of the current turn showing the battlefield, where the cross is almost certainly the location of the remaining Knights. The circle is a possible location for me to move through so that I can intercept the stack if it moves on your capital. What is vital to know right now is where his other forces are. A screenshot you sent me a few turns earlier showed a number of catapults and various slow-moving units. If Serdoa is bringing them along, then this is basically his final attack and his cities will be empty save for a MP unit or two. Attacking that stack without support would be near suicide though. The odds would be much better if we can soften it up with Catapults first.

-SleepingMoogle

Unfortunately I haven't heard from TT since the pasted message, and he sent that 48 hours ago. He has played his PBEM3 turn and I assume he's had the time to respond if he was inclined to do so. I played the turn a few hours ago and wished him the best.