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PBEM #3 - Raul the Runt starts as Portugal

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Raul The Runt

Raul The Runt

goat-herd
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Nov 6, 2000
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www.101thingstodowithagoat.com
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Sheesh! I've got to start using a spreadsheet to keep track of all these games. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

OK, we've got the original 4-player game starring Backpack, Boehm, myself, and Storey. Taking some interesting turns and twists, I must say.
Multiplayer thread

Then we've got the mrlifford game with 5 players at the moment - Mrlifford, me, Sharur, Boehm, and Chilambalam.
Play-By-Email starring Mrlifford

I was planning to let a sixth person join that game, but then I got two new requests - one by email and one in a post, so it's really kind of pointless to try to determine who's first. Besides, I'm starting to come around to the idea that 5 is probably the limit for the game with the rules we have now.

So this leads to the inevitable conclusion that a third game is due. I never knew this would be so popular. We have three players so-far.

I rolled a die, and here are the starting positions for the game so far. Let me know if you want to join in. By-the-way, if any more games are to form, someone else will need to organize it - I can barely keep up.

Players, play order, and country
1. Raul the Runt - Portugal
2. Majderson
3. Ulver
I'll start this evening as Portugal and pass the game on to Majderson by Monday. OK, honestly, I'll probably send it off around 3am, just before I collapse from exhaustion.

Raul the Runt
 
Game Rules, Guidelines, and Settings

Settings:
Difficulty: Hard
AI Aggressiveness: Normal
Forced Annexation: On
Fog of War: on
Dynamic Missions: off
Base Victory Points: off

Win Condition:
The player with the highest victory points at the end wins (though I doubt any of us are too concerned about that).

Rules:
- Player turn order and first player is up to the players or the organizer. - Each player selects their country during their first turn.
- Each turn lasts at most 5 game years (it can be less). The player must save the game at 5 years or before.
- Each player has up to 2 days to complete as much of their 5-year turn as they can.
- At the end of a player's turn, that player will email the zipped save game all players. The next players turn then begins.
- Until we know better, there are no restrictions on gameplay (feel free to annex or ally your neighbor or whatever).
- NO GAMEFILE EDITING IS ALLOWED! period! (I guess that should be "exclamation!")
- No cheating.
- No reloading.

Logistics:
- We will use EU2 v1.04
- Save games should be zipped. A zipped savegame is about 300Kb.
- Save games can be found under <EU2 directory>\Scenarios\Save Games\
- Include "EU2 Mafderson PBEM" somewhere in the subject for emails about this so that everyone (like me) can create email rules for them.

Other:
- New players (up to 5) will be allowed to join the game in progress. Once a new player announces their country choice, all current players will have exactly one more turn to play before the new player starts. This gives everyone a chance to prepare for the new player.
- An existing player who loses their country (or is simply put in an impossible situation) can join the game as a new player (see above).
- Diplomacy outside of the actual game mechanics is legitimate and encouraged - especially if they include me:D
 
Surely we can play with base victory points on? Otherwise no on will score any victory points at all. (Personally I like mission victory points as well but I can live without them)

Should we start a separate thread for an after action replay? Or is it OK to write such things here? While waiting for my first I’ve scribbled a prologue. This is assuming I get to play China.

I might as well confess I took a look at the turn (even though it’s no my move yet). Is that kind of spying OK?

Could we try to condense the time between moves to 24 hours? (I realise that may not always be possible and I’m quite willing to live with 48 as a hard limit. But we might agree to try to get our moves in sooner.)

Thanks for starting up yet another new game.
 
Oops

OK, base VP's on.

Second, I had Ulver's email associated with Majderson's name in my email. I knew I would screw up with it somewhere. I'll resend the game to you, Majderson.

As for the game speed. If the first game is any indication, the turns tend to move through several turns in a couple of days, then gets stalled because someone's real life happens. I know it's hard to wait, but it's sort of the nature of this monkey. And besides, it is sweet anticipation. If you need you fix more often, please start more games. I can't coordinate any more than the three I've got, but there's no reason to wait for me.

RTR
 
In the future why don't we post it here as well when we make a turn? We could also include a link to the saved game file, thus allowing anyone interested to take a look at how things are going. (Assuming that's OK)

Personally I prefer to upload files to the web and include a link rather than including attachments with mails. I hope no one minds.

BTW, couldn’t we come up with a more epic name for this game? If I get to play China I’d suggest “clash of civilizations”

Waiting with bated breath.


ulver
 
Ulver turn 1 mailed (China)

Right. My turn finished.

Being far too lazy to zip it. (Late night over here in Europe) I’ve just placed the file on my computer at. http://www.ulver.dk/files/PBM_China_December_1433.eug

Ups. Big file. Zipped version at http://www.ulver.dk/files/China1_PBM.zip

Short story. Began at war with Manchuria, Japan and some Muslim Mongols in the Chagatai Khanate. Made peace with as many as possibly in a hurry. (Planning to NOT isolate China I knew a major civil war was coming) Informal with Chagatai Khanate and Japan, long drawn out with Manchuria as I arrived from time warp with my forces in control of most of Manchuria. The refused all demand for a province and I had to wait for them to offer me three. Sometimes the AI is weird.

Jerked China away from Isolations and introduced new ideas in ’32. The max centralisation, -6 stability and +8 revolt risk for a generation meant I spend the rest of the time fighting rebels. End with –3 stability and much of China in rebellion. Hope the AI knows what to do.
 
Re: Problem

Originally posted by ulver
I had a curious problem while I played. I couldn’t change the percentage of my income going to stability or treasure. Have any of you had the same problem?

Ulver
Click to expand...

try double clicking the slider to unlock it? ....or perhaps its because u earn less money than your force upkeep so that u just dont have any money to allocate?? ;)

claus
 
Right. Double clicking locks and unlocks a slider. You learn something every day. I suspect some cunning doubletalk by the relevant civil servants when I tried cutting their budgets. :)

Thanks for the help. BTW, you are not playing in this game as well are you? I’d think you’d have your hands full by now.
 
To my dear Christian vassals.

To my dear Christian vassals.

It has come to my attention that taxes from the newly discovered lands in Europe have failed to arrive. No doubt this is due to some sort of oversight on your parts. I assure you I would never cast you out of the shinning radiance of the celestial kingdom. Even if most learned scholars are of the opinion that Europeans are all a bunch of ignorant ill smelling hairy foreign devils I feel a benevolent ruler must have a more enlighten approach. Dear minor monarchs, such as yourselves, may come to the imperial court and kiss my golden slippers anytime. Just please make sure to wash first.

You may want to leave your females at home, I always finding it embarrassing when daughters of vassals plead and beg to be allowed to become my concubines upon seeing the splendour of the imperial palace. I suppose we really can’t blame little dears but there is only so much water in the imperial fountain.

I understand many of you are currently involved in wars against the Muslim barbarians. An insolent bunch of savages if ever there was one. Never trust anyone until you’ve drunk him under the table in rice wine I always say. Their religious intolerance is positively nauseating. These deity-deprived people only have one god, imagine the silliness of that!! At any rate, this impractical god forbids them to drink and – worst of all – they won’t pay proper respect to other gods. You may have my permission to eradicate their childish sect.

I’m sure you are (semi) civilised people without any such silly superstitions. What kind of primitives only has one god anyway? I wouldn’t want my less fortunate subjects to suffer from lack of spiritual nourishment.

I understand your Christ is some sort of Buddha figure. Please accept these jade Buddha statues to replace the rather poor artwork on your wood Christ figures. I suppose you may want to customize them a bit. Please don’t be embarrassed to do so. I fully understand the need to engrave some body hair to make it easier for your simple people to identify with Buddha. (You may want to drop the Christ title)

I’m also sending a few copies of the teachings of Confucius to replace your so-called bible. Seems a bit incoherent and contradictory to me. I’m sure you’ll agree that Confucius makes a lot more sense. Please tell your priests to change their practice accordingly.

I remain your most illustrious and godly ruler,
Ming
 
I took a look at China. It is humbling to realise that the AI may well have done a better job that I would have. When I was yanked thru time due to instability in the temporal displacement device half the provinces were in rebellion and I was rapidly running out of manpower.

Now I find China without a single rebellion and waging a rather successful war on Dai Viet in alliance with Myanmar and Korea. Both of those allies have also accepted vassalage, no doubt eager to join the modern world of the middle kingdom.

Perhaps best of all, I’ve successfully completed my first conversion to the wisdom of Confucius. Not that I mind Buddhism you realise, but I consider it good practice for ridding the world of Islam- I’ve always hated the intolerant women-hating, slave trading scum.

Sure, there remain flies in the ointment: Stability remains low at –2 and the province of Nakkodka have defected to Manchu. No matter, they will soon learn the terrible price of their folly.

In many ways the massive rebellions were understandable. During my short reign I instituted sweeping changes in virtually every aspect of Chinese society. Consider the current policy sliders. We have a China with Maximal centralisation and fully free subjects. No wonder the nobles attempted to overthrow the central government. (What do you mean we can’t behead the peasants at our leisure anymore? We got to pay workers wagers? Citizens are entitled to a trial? This is tyranny, tyranny I tell you!!!!)

In keeping with the new spirit soldiers in the imperial army are now well-paid professionals instead of pressed peasants. Expensive but reflected in battle effectiveness. (The max quality setting may not be as good an idea for a huge empire as the cost in manpower is prohibitive – but they sure look good at parades)

Free trade and full navel setting reflect the new the newfound eagerness of the sleeping dragon to stir itself to wakefulness and explode upon the world. The one slider I don’t like is a noticeable lack of narrow-mindedness. Sure, I love the new ideas, the spirit of intellectual exploration, and the budding scientific worldview, but those mosques aren’t going to burn themselves you know. I need somebody to get out there and preach intolerance.

Are we going for some sort of AAR? I really think we should. I do enjoy reading that sort of thing and it would force us to think about the personality and motivations of the personage we’ve choose to play. I realise that sort of role-playing element isn’t for all but at least some sort of hit as to our goals would be helpful in making diplomacy more enjoyable all around. Personally I like to take on different personages depending on the situation. For instance the current emperor is possible the worst diplomat in the world. (Rating 1) I tried to reflect that in the message I send to the European powers. Hope you got the idea.

It should be fairly obvious to you from my suggested prologue to an AAR that my main character’s primary goal is to prevent European supremacy. I deliberately requested player slot number three to allow me to choose the momentous “expansionist scientific China event” to see if a non-European power can stem the tide. This event as placed China in the Moslem tech group. Not nearly as good as the Latin most of you are in. (Poland is relatively handicapped by being in the orthodox but that is still better) but still one hell of an improvement from the exotic I’d otherwise be stuck in. Confucianism remains a crappy state religion in most ways of course but the inherent tolerance means I’m much better at administrating a multi cultural multi religious empire. In this I’m helped by that fact that I start of with five sliders to adjust. (Having no Christian areas anyway on know maps I wonder just why I get a bonus for using Christians as scape goats.) My dislike of Muslims is strictly optional. You guys do realise the huge stability penalty catholic/protestant/reformed incurred for holding non-Christian provinces? My analyses suggest that it almost certainly is far more expensive that any income you gain. I suppose you guys are planning massive conversions in North Africa? Perhaps we should start a “burn a mosque a month club”?

I’d also be very interested in hearing something about the (non-secret) strategy thinking going on elsewhere.
 
RTR finishes second turn as Portugal

Majderson, you turn. Good luck to you.

Players, play order, and country
1. Raul the - Portugal
2. Majderson - Castile (Currently Turn)
3. Ulver - China
4. Mrlifford ] - France
5. EvenFlow - Poland

Turn summary,
Portugal spent the entire 5 years building infrastructure, putting down rebellions, and attempting to explore new lands - all with moderate success. Portugal ended 1448 highly centralized with a stability of +2, and a new alliance with France and friends.
Castile seemed to be doing the same infrastructure building.
I have no idea what China was doing, except that we heard they annexed someone.
France and Poland are also doing well.

It was a pretty boring turn, but that's OK by me at this point.
 
PBEM3

Sense raul is having to deal with so much, to make it a little easier, how about all of us in the PBEM3, label the subject of the email as PBEM3, when we send the emails out to each other, so we all know which one it is.
-Evenflow

(As for the game itself, why do i have this really bad feeling lithuania is gonna get me in a wars vs hungary, austria, muscowy, sweden, and the ottoman empire very soon?)
 
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