[SPOILERS] - PBEM27 Lurker thread

[Ceiliazul]

Serdoa appears to be off to a good start, but he's feeling the pressure of the super barbs.

From the outside looking in, it does appear that the barbs are going to outtech the players all the way through. Could this be the first MP game won by AI?

[Lewwyn]

Is it possible they won't figure out the treasure islands are there?

[haphazard1]

If they start warring with each other, then the game might be settled (for the human players anyway) before they ever realize just what is out there. I think they know (or have guessed, even if not stated outright) that there has to be something sizable out there somewhere powering all the barb progress.

But unless the barbs invade the mainland, this may turn into an early, low-tech fight among the human players. The super barbs may not really play much of a role at all.

[Ruff_Hi]

The super barbs may not really play much of a role at all.

I would challenge that.

Ok, I will give you 'may not really play much of a direct role at all' ... but if it wasn't for the Barbs, then the humans could just play the game as per normal (NAPpy happy until someone is too far ahead ... then pow!). At least this is something different.

[haphazard1]

We will have to see. The AI tends to be so incompetent at actually winning that the humans can play things out as they normally would, and then deal with the AI afterwards. The presence of the barbs will affect things indirectly, like founding all the religions (compounding the early happiness issues). But having them out there in the fog won't actually change much directly for the human players.

[Gaspar]

I would challenge that.

Ok, I will give you 'may not really play much of a direct role at all' ... but if it wasn't for the Barbs, then the humans could just play the game as per normal (NAPpy happy until someone is too far ahead ... then pow!). At least this is something different.

Nothing that couldn't be achieved with a CTON as well though. I think having the barbs be an AI as opposed to actual barbs nerfed the impact.

[Ceiliazul]

Nothing that couldn't be achieved with a CTON as well though. I think having the barbs be an AI as opposed to actual barbs nerfed the impact.

Another possible impact is that instead of always war, Barb could declare and invade just 1 team at a time. The widely separated barb holdings might lead to interesting troop flows... I'm imagining galley of axemen traveling for 1000 years from big island only to be smashed by players' maces.

I'm still totally interested in the variant aspects of this, and hope Ellimist wil continue to report.

[Ceiliazul]

Wow 1) Am I the only still interested in this game?

Wow 2) All civs have only 3 cities on t60? The barbs aren't really slowing down the players yet, so why aren't they expanding better?

[Commodore]

Wow 1) Am I the only still interested in this game?

Wow 2) All civs have only 3 cities on t60? The barbs aren't really slowing down the players yet, so why aren't they expanding better?

1. Updates slow, makes lurking sad.

2. Normal speed.

[Ceiliazul]

2. Normal speed.

Ah, forgot that... but even then, on a flat map I'd expect more REXing. 4 or 5 cities by now seems attainable. The land doesn't completely suck.