Superdeath wants to be the very best Piñata.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

If one of you micro-loving nuts want to swing by and do my first ~35T of micro in PB54, I'll name my capital anything you want, including your username if you so desire. This is a 100% serious offer.

Unfortunately, my micro in PB54 will probably involve sending keshiks at you.

[Fintourist]

I've done micro spreadsheets or micro on pen and paper for every pitboss i've played here - it's for what to do the micro that's always been the challenge. Getting to a goal is just an optimization problem, determining the goal is harder. That being said, mastering whip overflow and whip chaining, lighthouse/granary dilemma, worker allocation and other "Micro 200" topics would be great to cover.

In any case, I'd like to "actively observe" the micro if possible, for me, the early game simming is probably the most fun. (Probably because I lose sight of what I'm doing unless I'm steamrolling like in PB45)

Sure thing, happy to share the spreadsheet (or save stack) for improvement ideas/criticism and discussion. Btw, when I came up with this idea I had not actually noticed that you already had joined to dedlurk superdeath, so please just say if I'm stepping on toes or anything.

If one of you micro-loving nuts want to swing by and do my first ~35T of micro in PB54, I'll name my capital anything you want, including your username if you so desire. This is a 100% serious offer.

 Sorry scooter,  joining in for the micro duty might already be a silly idea so I don't dare to double the stakes already before turn 0..

And I think this PBEM is also a bit of a special case. I like the idea of trying to support superdeath into a position where he can inflict maximum chaos for these old-timers   (fingers crossed that this is not the game that superdeath will be playing always-peace style until the spaceship launches)

[Fintourist]

Just wish i knew more about them. No idea if they are TBS/Mackoti level, or more Commodore/Pindicator level of elite. Also what "type" of elite they are as well... Relentless aggression? Master micro? Everything?


Should be fun.

I can provide some quick thoughts re oldies/opponents and Sunday reading for those, who want to browse through some old RB classics..

Favorite to win

Rusten & Hitru

Rusten is not a favorite by a large margin, but he is a favorite. Strong player, who has recently been active and as Hitru does not have other games going at the moment, he might be an active dedlurker, which would be a big asset.

Rusten has played Civ forever, but I only know him from his RB appearances. PB 38 was Rusten's first game at RB. A huge game, where he got an excellent start that he unfortunately did not manage to convert into a leading position. In later games he has been stronger. I did not follow PB 41 in which Rusten won with Hitru as a dedlurker, but I've read through PB 46, which was a widely followed game epic game where Rusten competed for the win until the very end. I know that OH and Hitru have a lot of respect for Rusten due to that game alone.

Hitru has not played a game as a turn-player here, so it's maybe hard to get a feel of him, but I can assure you that he is a strong one. When Hitru joined our team in PB 38 he already had super solid Civ fundamentals/micro from playing deity-marathon civ challenges and now couple of years later he can be considered a multiplayer veteran with a number of won Pitbosses. When I read through Hitru's and OH's PB 42 I just remember thinking, how on earth did those guys manage to turn this game into a win.. I do not know how Rusten+Hitru team functions, but if Hitru is an active member, this will be a hard team to beat.


Strong oldies

Serdoa

Couple of Serdoa games that I remember well:

PB 8. An absolute RB classic that some posters in this thread remember well.. Serdoa's story in PB 8 was not the most dramatic, but still an impressive one. IIRC, he turned a totally atrocious start into a leading position.

PBEM 47. Maybe the strongest PBEM lineup ever at RB. Unfortunately the game ended prematurely due to technical issues. You can also look here to get a feel for Gaspar and Lewwyn..

PBEM 46. Not Serdoa's strongest showing, but I followed the game closely. Somehow Serdoa ended up in a greens game and welcomed Old Harry to Realms Beyond by rushing him.. But OH did not want to die..

Lewwyn

If you browse old RB games it's not hard to find Lewwyn. Aforementioned PB 8 and PBEM 47 are good reads, but you might also want to check RB's most epic team game PB 6 or enjoy a Lewwyn-Azza matchup at one of the RB classics: PB 13

NobleHelium and Gaspar

I have lurked less these guys, but here is another of the top lineup PBEMs, where these guys participated: PBEM 29. Sadly the images are broken, because otherwise this was a well-reported high quality game.

***

Overall all these guys are strong players with enough skills to take this game home. Out of the three players/teams, I would put my money on NobleHelium and Gaspar, because I think whenever these guys play, they don't half-ass it. They put proper effort into the game and stay engaged.


Wild Card

Bob

Bob is mostly here, because I think he has not participated in the big pitbosses that I used to mostly lurk back in the days. So I can't really state a strong opinion on what to expect. In any case Bob has enough completed PBEMs to be a respected opponent in any game at RB. However, with this lineup, let's see if that will be enough..

***

Btw, this definitely does not free superdeath from opponent analysis duty!

[superdeath]

Btw, this definitely does not free superdeath from opponent analysis duty!

It doesnt?

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Btw, this definitely does not free superdeath from opponent analysis duty!

It doesnt?

I want  a "who I want most and least as my neighbor" analysis.

[Cyneheard]

Just wish i knew more about them. No idea if they are TBS/Mackoti level, or more Commodore/Pindicator level of elite. Also what "type" of elite they are as well... Relentless aggression? Master micro? Everything?


Should be fun.

Lewwyn

but you might also want to check RB's most epic team game PB 6 or enjoy a Lewwyn-Azza matchup at one of the RB classics: PB 13

Go read PB6. If you don't remember how that game went, don't read the spoiler.

PB6 is one of the best "know your role, pick a plan and execute it to absolute perfection" examples I've seen on RB. (Side note: this was one of Sullla's weaknesses in multiplayer play. His technical skills were incredible, but his plan was very much "I'll figure out how I'm going to win the game later" and OOPS).

Also keep in mind: I have no idea how well these players have maintained their skills, as well. I'm not the player I was in 2012, and I was a level or so below Pindicator back then.

[scooter]

To be fair on PB6... Spoilers, definitely don't look if you plan to find out yourself:

IIRC they saw the cultural attempt coming from a mile away, and tested it early on in WB. The mistake was they tested it by making 3 teamed cities legendary on T0 and letting the turn roll. The problem with this is the game does not check win conditions in the first 5 turns in order to prevent a mistaken "conquest" win/loss when you wander with your settler. If they had waited 5 more turns, they would have known it was possible, and I seriously doubt the attempt would have worked with a dogpile.

[pindicator]

Here is your starting position




Anything in fog is subject to change.

[superdeath]

including the deer which is technically currently in fog?

[pindicator]

Very true. The unfogged fog is good fog, but the fogged fog is bad fog.