Giants and Dwarves [MA; CBM ; Noob friendly] [Full 12/12]

[Zywack]

I haven't watched the battle yet (I just loaded my turn), but C'Tis has been destroyed and you have a whole lot of leftover troops from the battle so I'd say it went swimmingly for you!

[legowarrior]

So, anything fun happening in the world? Not much to say in my area. Just chilling with my homies.

The battle was a success, but my grand strategy didn't work out like I wanted it too. I must consider my future options.

Also, if you come across one of my Scouts, just realize that it is my way of showing that I care! I just want to know what is going on.

[Yskonyn]

I am sorry guys. I have to resign from this game.
As you can see by the frequent stales I just can't find the time to run it anymore.
Caelum lies in shambles anyway, so the best thing for you guys would be me handing over to the AI.

Who wants to host?

[earcaraxe]

im still happily admin the game from now on, im quite frequently online too.

i think its ok if u turn urself AI. please do it if u want, its just a very quick turn to make.

[parone]

sorry to see you go ysko. hope to play again.

[Yskonyn]

Ok I have sent earcaraxe the needed info.
You guys have fun and go out with a bang!! :D

Sorry I couldnt see this out till the end.

[Zywack]

Thanks for the game Yskonyn, and good luck with whatever else you are doing! :)

[legowarrior]

So, what is up in the world. I see that some one grab the well of misery. Not cool people.

[Groundworm]

Monkeys are wretched, miserable creatures. We fling poo at each other for entertainment. Our lands are hot, lazy, humid swamps filled with screeching.

We see no reason that the rest of the world should be any less miserable, so we used the one thing we could to accomplish this: magic.

Spread the misery! :)

[earcaraxe]

but unfortunately for ur plan, the well of misery sucks away the suffering from the world. :P

[Zywack]

Well of Suffering is all fun and games for everyone until you get piles of tartarians thrown at you because of it...

To be entirely fair, Shinuyama had a distinct lack of swamps: Some of our national magic doesn't work anywhere else. In order to make your lands less miserable, you could always give a few swamps to us! Win-win!

[Groundworm]

Zywack- I would have loved a few less swamps in my starting area. I've been struggling for gold this entire game! Besides, you seem to be pretty effectively working your way to my swamps now...

And, earcaraxe, you have a good point. It's possible that my monkeys may now be more miserable than ever. Ah, well, live and learn!

[legowarrior]

Thanks for the update. Maybe things will get a bit interesting soon.

[parone]

guys, i can't tell you how embarrassing it is how many commanders i have lost vs AI caelum. i gotta stop doing my turns when i am bombed...

[legowarrior]

The next turn should be cool.

[parone]

sent in my turn, but shows i staled. anyone else get this?

[parone]

none of my orders were executed...

[don_Pablo]

none of my orders were executed...
It happens sometimes..

Hi. On trying to host Giants_and_Dwarves just now, Dominions crashed. This is not a LlamaServer issue, but rather Dominions itself crashed with a "Nagot gick fel" error.

These errors are normally caused by a (generally inexplicable) problem with one of the players' 2h files. Therefore the LlamaServer moved all your 2h files away before hosting again. This is why you will receive a new turn file in which you've staled.

There are two options from here. Either you can treat the stale turn as a random event and carry on with the game, or you can roll back the turn and try to host again. If you try the latter your game admin will have to do the rollback via the admin options on the LlamaServer website, and you will all have to do your turns again. Note that in this case it is _really important_ that you actually do redo your turn, rather than just sending in the same one again (which people sometimes seem to do because they don't believe me). If you just send in the same file, hosting will simply fail again.

[parone]

well, what r we gonna do? im ok with either solution

[Zywack]

Hmm... I suppose that either solution's fine for me too: The missing turn wouldn't destroy anything on my side personally. But if you guys prefer to rollback, I don't mind redoing my turn either.

I guess Legowarrior was right: Something "cool" did happen this turn! :)

[legowarrior]

So we stalled. It took me a long to set up my orders so if there is kittle or no risk, It would be better torollback, but if there are issues and it happened to everyone we can move on.

[Zywack]

According to the message that was sent in our e-mail box, if we rollback, we HAVE to redo our turns from scratch. Sending our already completed turns will just break the game again. So either way, we are stuck redoing our turns, no matter if we rollback or not.

[parone]

if we roll back, though, we all have to redo our turn. can't just send in the existing 2h, as one of ours is corrupt.

[legowarrior]

Oh, well than bevermind. I little research wasted but nothing too bad I guess.

[parone]

so no roll back? we can look at it as a kind of mid game intermission.

[earcaraxe]

we treat it as a random event that had mostly the same effect on everybody. im convinced nobody profited from this (more than the others), so there will be no rollback.

[legowarrior]

Fine.

[legowarrior]

Actually, after going over the order I that were being given, I'd prefer a rollback. Over half my mages had just arrived at a province with a lab, so they couldn't research, and on top of that, I had just made my research goal, so all the research I did was wasted. If it is possible, I definitely in favor of a rollback.

[parone]

hmm. already resent last turn. don't worry lego, it messed all of us up.

[legowarrior]

Alright, but darn! Well, Mine is sent in too. I hope everyone enjoys the next turn.

[Zywack]

I'm expecting to fight the first of Bandar Log's Tartarian next turn... so I doubt that'll be too enjoyable!

[parone]

i wasted several hundred research points and got another affliction on my pretender cus i didn't get a chance to put on his hydra armor.

ahh well. party on, wayne...

[legowarrior]

So, the party has started!

[Zywack]

So it seems that everyone's going to have some excitement... Fun for everyone!

On the other hand, I sadly have to report the death of the worst scout in the world, Wossan. He's been caught (and fled) for 8 turns in a row by a smallish patrol. However, due to an enemy raid last turn, his path of retreat was cut and he actually did die. It's pretty sad, since I was looking foward to see how many fails he could possibly get in a row before succeeding in entering the province... Now we'll never know. *snif*

[legowarrior]

Yeah, well, that scout didn't have his passport up to date. Also, you didn't see what you saw, got it? That just happens to be a few tourist going to the beach. Nothing more. Okay?

[parone]

more than a few. it must be vacation land. my boys say there are near 1000...

[legowarrior]

Well, it is a popular tourist spot. Great weather, nice beaches, and you can visit all kinds of neat places from that one spot. I hear that there is a group rate for people travelling south east, but they have to act soon.

[Zywack]

Yeah, everyone wants to go to the beach during beach season... Even Bandar Log took the long trip all the way to Shinuyama's only beach. It's a good thing that most of our monsters prefer haunting people in the night rather than spending time relaxing in the sun, else we might find ourselves with a ton of disgruntled citizens!

[Groundworm]

Yeah, sorry about that, Shinuyama. Monkeys love sitting out in the sun, and we don't have any beachfront property. They've tried sunning themselves in the plentiful swamps of Bandar Log, but it's just not the same for them. So we had to take yours. :)

[legowarrior]

So, this game has become really exciting.

[legowarrior]

Sorry about that Ulm, my men demanded a vacation down south, you know, warm weather and all, and I just couldn't stop them. When they get an idea in their head, especially, Norm, they just start rushing around, trying to have a party.

Also, I see that little army of yours...

[Zywack]

Whoa, I just noticed... Abyssia is AI? Since when?

[legowarrior]

Yeah, that is lame. You should definitely inform the thread before going AI. Also, let's get this turn going people!

[Groundworm]

Sorry... been very busy at work the past few nights. Will try to get my turn in later today, but may I have a 12 hour extension in case I don't?

Thanks!

[earcaraxe]

sure!

[parone]

not trying to suck up, but i think the handle 'trigger hippie' is just awesome

[legowarrior]

Having some trouble with Anodyur Ulm?

[parone]

what is anoduyer?

[legowarrior]

It's a magical place were nothing gets built, that's all.

[parone]

oh. ok. i think we can take care of that.

gonna be afk tommorrow. hope i can get an extension, or nothing is gonna get done in all of ulm.

[earcaraxe]

parone, what would u like exactly?

[parone]

will be afk till wednesday a.m. will try to get it done then, if that's possible.

[earcaraxe]

how many hours of delay would u like?

[legowarrior]

I need 6 hours myself.

[earcaraxe]

postponed by 6 hours.

[legowarrior]

Parone might need a little more time on the clock. I'd keep an eye on the buzzer, and if it isn't in on time, give it some more.

[earcaraxe]

i was thinking the same. i extended it by 9 hrs more.

[Zywack]

Yeah, better safe than sorry... I doubt anyone can really afford to lose a turn at this point in the game.

[parone]

thanks guys. got it in this a.m. i did a really lousy job, but i got it in! back to back 18 hour days at work makes dominions tough

[Zywack]

Well...

That's the kind of turn that's pretty scary... The new turn is in my inbox, the file size is big, I didn't order any major attack this turn and I don't have access to the game for around 10 hours. Which means it's going to be 10 hours of anxiety wondering just how bad the turn went. I guess I'll just try to mentally convince myself in the mean time that the big file size is due to seeing a big battle between T'ien Ch'i and Ulm and not one of my own. I suppose that it still beats having two 18 hours work day in a row :)

[legowarrior]

Yeah, the battles weren't mine. You had a lot going on this game though.

Also, my bad. rest assured, punishments will be had by those in charge. Also, I think the compensation package I'm sending you will help you out.

[Zywack]

Nyeah... Well, I've had a pretty good record of correctly guessing my opponent's moves so far in this war so I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on myself for messing up last turn. I knew that sword would screw the upcomming fight over ever since I learned of it's existence with my assassin (I would have danced in joy if it had worked)... To boost my morale up, I'll consider the battle a draw since there's only been a difference of 4 casualties between the two sides :)

Regarding the incident, no major harm done so it's all good!

[earcaraxe]

i just like to remark that zywacks enthusiasm always lights my mood up.

[Groundworm]

Zywack's enthusiasm and general good spirit is excellent- I could take a lesson from it myself. You've definitely added a lot to the game since you took over for Shinuyama, and it's been a pleasure to have you.

You've also been kicking my butt, and playing very well. It's been difficult to even hold against your armies. But... well: what happens when monkeys stop flinging poo? what happens when monkeys invest in death magic? what happens when you make death monkeys angry:evil::?:

[Zywack]

That one is easy! You get dead death monkeys!

... if everything goes well anyway :)

I'm pretty disapointed that the monkeys are resorting to such evil, despicable ways. Us from Shinuyama only use honorable and honest ways to conduct wars, such as using tons of bandits and sneak attacks.

I'm pretty glad to be part of this game too: It's a good and fun learning experience! A quick unrelated question: Is there death matches in multiplayer too? Including this game and the other game I'm part of, I've played around 70 multiplayer turns and I haven't seen a single death match yet. Is that normal or is it just "bad" luck?

[earcaraxe]

just luck as far as i know. no difference.

[parone]

had two death matches in my last three games. even won one. not that it did me too much good...

[Zywack]

Ah, well, that's unfortunate... I always have a lot of fun watching those even with the AI, so it'd be swell to see what actual people come up with.

Not that I'd likely send a serious contender this game though: From what I can see so far, I'm definitively better at "sneaky *******" warfare style than head-on fighting, and there's not much space for surprise attacks and other nasty stuff inside the arena :) Still fun to watch, though!

By the way Groundworm, I got to say I'm amazed at the amount of death magic you got everywhere, especially for a nation that doesn't even have native death magic! In theory, Shinuyama should be the premier death nation with the players we have left, and the only death things I've ever sent at you are those three musketeers fellows... I'm going to have my death-using license revoked if I don't do something more drastic, but our Shinuyama is a kingdom of peace-loving, life worshipping monsters in general... Decisions, decisions!

[parone]

actually, most players feel as you do, and either send nothing or a very weak commander. if the match is early in the game, i think it is worth sending someone fairly good. i sent a SC pretender once, and got the fire helmet, which would have been very useful had i not got killed two turns later.(i suck with SCs).

just food for thought.

[Groundworm]

I've lucked onto several of Bandar's national heroes this game... one of the ones I got very early is a D2 mage (my very first death monkey!). He got my death gem economy rolling pretty early, but with only one death mage I was just stockpiling death gems. So I constructed some death boosters and cast some spells and... yeah, lots of death mages. This is the first time I've really invested heavily in death magic, and I'm *very* pleased with the results. It's not just about Tartarians- there are a whole bunch of really nasty things you can do!

I'm working on more surprises for you as I write this, Zywack. :)

[Zywack]

Well, to be entirely honest, that wasn't much of a surprise. I've been expecting that since the first days of the war so the main surprise is that it took this long for it to happen :)

I unfortunately can't say that I'll be able to pass the next turn as a draw... But as I mentionned in my very first post, the main reason to have joined this game is to gain some multiplayer experience and it certainly did that, so mission accomplished! *pats self on back* What I wanted most to experience was the end-game part: I did read a bit about it in AARs, but the vast majority stop before reaching there, and the few that does reach it kind of skip over it (Like making entire turns a few lines). It's also not something you can actually experience against the AI, since it's tactical acumen stops at "Buy stuff, send stuff".

It kind of sucks that I'm not at end-game level and that my opponent is, but hey! I get to experience at least half of it :) Before I took over on turn 12, there's been some research done, but from turn 12 to 19, I gained a grand total of ZERO research point: I needed to throw 100% of what I had in a frantic attempt to expand in all directions before it was too late. Then the Machaka war started, and all my mages were required in battle until the 2nd victory. It's also where I learned to gain a new appreciation of the Slime spell: It may be my favorite spell since it's saved me against Machaka, but it's not terribly effective at this point in the game! The total amount of research points gained from turn 12 to 30: Around 60 points. I knew it was going to shoot me in the foot hard eventually, but hey! Goal was to survive so it's all good. Beside, from what I can see even on my best days from a new game I'd be badly lagging behind on research (On my SP games I'm never at the research state you guys are at by turn 60), so that's definitively something I will need to improve in my next game. I also now know that my warfare style can definitively be effective in the right situations, but that it's not enough by itself to win a war when the end-game nasty stuff rolls along.

Thinking back on it... The objective in the Bandar Log campaign was to burn temples so that I could die from fun military battles instead of dying lamely from being dominion killed. It's certainly looking good for that objective too! :) New objective is to make as many death monkeys dead as possible. It's really starting to look like Germany vs Russia in WW2: Unexpecdly favorable beginnings, reach the gates of Moscow/Bandar Log capital, get stopped and lose the war. But in between the last two states, there's been a lot of hard-fought battles, so I'll do my best to give you that!

Thanks for swell war Groundworm, it's certainly fun!

[legowarrior]

We this is the most exciting game I have been so far. Several conflicts going on. We have a few globals up and running, and some tarts in the game. A lot is going on. I cant wait to see the turn brought me.

[Groundworm]

Zywack: don't underestimate yourself, you've been playing quite well. I'm quite sure that you'd be doing significantly better if you'd had a chance to design your own pretender and play the early game for yourself.

You can reach certain elements of the end-game if you focus on it. I wasn't initially planning to go death-heavy, but modified my strategy when I realized that it would be advantageous for me to do so. And since Bandar benefits greatly from conjuration research anyway, I recruited large numbers of mages and focused the vast majority of my research efforts on it. It's not difficult to generate a huge number of research points if you recruit mages out of most/all forts each turn, I'm discovering. You were, regrettably, handicapped in this effort by needing your mages to fight. Shinuyama, though, is a potentially excellent research nation with their Bakemono Sorcerers being recruitable anywhere and sacred, with a large number of research points each.

And your research is getting better. I haven't missed the number of zmeys you have flying around, and I'm not looking forward to dealing with them!

And legowarrior, I agree- this is a good game, with good players. :)

[Zywack]

You don't seem to be terribly Zmey-deprived yourself!

I scratched my head for 10 minutes wondering how the **** your tartarian escaped. I rechecked his equipment a few times, went through the entire spell list in the game and couldn't figure out how that was possible... Until I finally noticed that my province actually had a lab: An abandonned lab site that I probably missed when looking through site-search spell result list. That sucked, but at least the mystery is solved!

Regarding the "main event"... I wasn't sure if it was mechanically possible for that plan to work so I figured I'd at least give it a try to know for future games how viable it is. I kind of overdid it a little, but I have to admit it did work even better than my best expectations... It's good to know! Upon seeing what Ulm and T'ien Ch'i are bringing to their war and just how badly we are clobbering each other, my current prediction is that neither of us have a snowball chance in hell of winning this game. Doesn't make it any less fun, though!

Regarding Bakemono Sorcerers and research... It's definitively a mistake on my part, but I have a huge dislike of Old Age mages in general. I did hire some Bakemono Sorcerers for research early on, but all of them beside one got Diseased in the first winter after my takeover, and they quickly catch feeblemind and mute and other things making them useless. I know that they are blessed, but I figured that Ubas were much more reliable and didn't need replacing each year at 300 gold a pop... It's most likely been a big mistake, but what's done is done. That's also the reason why I highly prefer to play nations that don't have Old Age for main mage.

Regarding having my own god instead... I'm no expert, but it would at least be better than this one. You've seen my borrowed god in "action" this turn. 3 Fire (on a nation whose mages go to 3 fire already) and 7 death (on a 3 death nation) isn't exactly the best usage of design point I could imagine!

[parone]

well oceania and tien chi, i guess i can understand the two on one and sneak attacks, but did you really need to lie to me when i asked you a direct question so that i'd move all my forces out of postion and not take time to script commanders/mages so that you would meet no resistance?

i would have gladly given it my best effort to fight the two of you(you would have beaten me, but i'd have been glad to give it a try. but if you need to win so badly you'll lie about your intentions, then i guess i'm done with giants vs dwarves.

congratulations on a win achieved through lying. you must be very proud of yourself.

au revoir.:up:

[legowarrior]

Hey, you never asked, nor gave me a NAP. Hell, we've were neighbors for several turns and never extended the olive branch. For me, you were the logically choice. A quiet neighbor is a deadly neighbor in my book. That is why I have had strong diplomatic efforts with my neighbors when possible.

[parone]

sorry lego, should not have included you in that blast. you have been totally cool. me lumping you in there was UNcool. my bad.

the other dude though...well, the less said the better, i suppose. good luck all. for the most part, this was an enjoyable game.

[Zywack]

Uh? I think my spies missed something... I saw one intact massive T'ien Ch'i army and one intact massive Ulm army one province away from each other, but I didn't see anything more than that... What happened, if it's not secret?

[parone]

tien chi not the problem. he and oceania in alliance vs ulm. oceania assured me of peace so i could move north to engage, then backstabbed and attacked as soon as i had moved forces out of his sphere.

no biggy. apparently he is afraid to fight someone, so will only engage while part of a 2 vs 1 or 3 vs 1 alliance, then lie to the person he is attacking so as to have an overwhelming advantage to open the already uneven conflict.

[earcaraxe]

I would like to add, that i didnt break NAP.
(And even when I offered it, ulm refused it.)

So the accusation is: im not being straight and telling u about my plans of attacking u five turns later. I guess this kind of behavior from me is well within the boundaries of the norms of a gaming-community like this.

Also: I find being straight much more easy from the (ur) position of power: as u stated about urself in one of our negotiations: "nobody can stop me, so do what i say" (paraphrased).

U ask if i am proud of myself for gaining advantage through deceiving my opponent in a strategy game? I am, yes.

[earcaraxe]

i also would like to thank u for participating, regardless of this issue.

thanks!

[parone]

bandar and shinyu, just so you know:

asking about on the boards, lego and earaxe often play in games with one another and never attack eachother. EVER. there is a bit of conjecture that they may be the same person(personoally, i don't think so)

since, earaxe, you tried to organize a 3 on 1, and apparently join games with sham alliances with other people, i must surmise that you are an absolute coward. you are afraid to fight anyone 1 on 1 on the off chance you might lose, and back this up with phoney negotiations and lies.(personally, i think in a war with me, you'd have won if you had gone at if fairly, but hey, we'll never know, will we)

but i'm gonna give you your dream game here, buddy. i won't go ai. that pesky ai has a tendency to buy new units and 'gasp' move armies around. so what i'm going to do for you is, just send in my 2h whenever i get a turn. see the beauty? since im not scripted you should suffer near zero casualties! sure, this will ruin the game for everyone else except you and tien chi, but hey, who cares? that was your intention from turn one, right?

[Zywack]

Well...

While it certainly was a cheap move on Oceania's part, I can't really see it as unfair. The rules on the first post states that diplomacy is non-binding in this game: While it's in my nature to do things by the book, we always have to keep in mind that others might not do so. 2vs1 or 3vs1 is the name of game from what I read about this game: 1vs1 is a rarity, and they usually don't stay that way for too long.

For example (maybe I'm too paranoid), but I kept expecting T'ien Ch'i to attack me after the Bandar Log war started: Even though we had good relations and that I knew it wouldn't be anything personal, I was the obvious target in my mind. Already involved in what would definitively be a costly war, and without a big economy, and it made sense geographically speaking. So even though I would have obviously been utterly doomed, I did have some plans in place to fight them off as best as I could and make them pay.

Since T'ien Ch'i decided to attack you instead, Oceania really had only two choices: Either they attacked T'ien Ch'i or they attacked you, sitting around doing nothing simply meant that whoever won the T'ien Ch'i/Ulm war would be the undispusted winner of the game. If I was in their shoes, what I would have done is to attack whichever of the two side was the stronger one: Winning the war alongside the weaker side meant that they could be of relatively equal strength to the other nation, whereas if they sided with the stronger nation they'd be doomed since that nation just got even stronger. As far as I can currently see, Ulm is stronger than T'ien Ch'i right now (That may be innacurate however since my spy network isn't as good as hoped). If that's correct, I believe that Oceania's decision was the right one strategically speaking and I would have done the same in their place with the only difference being making a proper declaration of war and less sneaky dealings.

I mean, I've had excellent relation throughout the game with both T'ien Ch'i and Ulm. My long term plan was simple: If I win the Bandar Log war, I attack whichever side is currently winning the Oceania-T'ien Ch'i-Ulm war (while following NAP terms of course). I both consider you to be good neighboors and I would hate to fight either of you, but that's the only way I could have even a remote chance of winning the game. Heck, I even consider Bandar Log to have been a good ally and a pleasant neighboor (and a great opponent), but I had to declare war on them to both survive short-term against the temples (Upon seeing what happened my fears were definitively warranted) and it also made sense long-term for the territories and the corner if I wanted to stand a chance. I still feel a bit bad about attacking them since they had been my most helpful neighboor, but it is a strategy game where the goal is about being the only winner in the end. (I don't feel bad about beating Machaka though since they've been a jerk since the start)

So what I'm saying is... If you were indeed the strongest nation on the map, Oceania's decision to attack you is the only one that makes sense to them if they want to win the game. The way they did it is certainly cheap and not very honorable, but they were within the rules to do so. If T'ien Ch'i and Oceania decide to do a joint victory together and that they've already done so multiple times in other games, then I can see it being a concern. If that's not the case, then I can only see this as Oceania's only viable strategic option to win the game (The method might have been really sneaky, but the war declaration in itself makes sense).

[legowarrior]

bandar and shinyu, just so you know:

asking about on the boards, lego and earaxe often play in games with one another and never attack eachother. EVER. there is a bit of conjecture that they may be the same person(personoally, i don't think so)

since, earaxe, you tried to organize a 3 on 1, and apparently join games with sham alliances with other people, i must surmise that you are an absolute coward. you are afraid to fight anyone 1 on 1 on the off chance you might lose, and back this up with phoney negotiations and lies.(personally, i think in a war with me, you'd have won if you had gone at if fairly, but hey, we'll never know, will we)

but i'm gonna give you your dream game here, buddy. i won't go ai. that pesky ai has a tendency to buy new units and 'gasp' move armies around. so what i'm going to do for you is, just send in my 2h whenever i get a turn. see the beauty? since im not scripted you should suffer near zero casualties! sure, this will ruin the game for everyone else except you and tien chi, but hey, who cares? that was your intention from turn one, right?

WTF Parone! This is my second MP game in Dominions ever. And I'm currently in only 3 games. And I've never played with Earaxecar before. Ever!. I don't even know what other games Earaxecar is in, but it isn't TheAscensionWars (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=48330) or HappyKatanakka (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=48552), the only others games I am in.

So, as you can see, your facts are wrong. And as others have stated, being #1 puts a giant bulls-eye on you. Congrats on being seen to be on top. Now you have to pay for it. This isn't AI, this is MP, and I'm sorry you are having making trouble with that transition. Please don't blame us for your folly.

[Groundworm]

I'll respond with a longer post later, but for now... Zywack- to say that our battle (which I was confident I would win) was devastating to my war effort is a massive understatement. Very well played.

[parone]

good luck all. perhaps we will all meet again in better circumstances.

Strength and Honor!

[Zywack]

To be bluntly honest, in the future I don't think I'll be joining a game you are a part of, Parone. I genuinely liked you throughout the game, but this pretty much destroy the game entirely. You might be having a setback but that's part of the game.

Machaka stayed until they had 1 single commander left. Abyssia stayed until they were 2-3 turns away from being game over. C'Tis stayed until the very end. That's what was agreed upon at game start and it's also what I was intending to do myself. You are going to quit when you have a massive army intact and around 1/3rd of the map? That just screws up the game entirely for everyone else involved.

Everyone here spent a ton of hours on this game, and all that time just gets invalidated by that single action. Is that what you are going to do every time things start not going your way?

[parone]

as have i. the game is ruined for me as well. it is your perrogative to not play again with me, and i respect that. so you know, i am currently in two other games, in the midgame, where i am losing, and have no chance, and am playing them to the bitter end. not only do i not mind losing, i am actually enjoying both those games very much.

it's not winning and losing. it's choosing not to spend my leisure time with someone who openly boasts about being proud of accompishments made through lies and deceit.

quite frankly, i get enough of that in real life. and i can't avoid it. here, i can.

as i said. good luck, whether we cross paths again or not.

[earcaraxe]

if the reason for u leaving the game is that i said i was proud of deceiving u, then how is it possible that the first time u said u quit the game happened in post #325, while my statement about that was 330# (=later)?

[Zywack]

So... What's the plan now? We give the game to Oceania and call it a day?

T'ien Ch'i is mostly blocked by Ulm's army and will have to pay heavily to get through, Shinuyama and Bandar Log are stuck in war with no possibility of reaping any benefit from Ulm quitting, and Oceania has full uncontested access to the entire Ulm empire that they can consume in extremely short order.

[legowarrior]

Yeah.... I'm not sure. Damn, I really enjoyed this game too.

[earcaraxe]

im curious about groundworms opinion about that topic. I would like to add, that i already own about half of the map (the pangaean and half the ctissian lands, about the whole southern continent now and of course the waters), and many ulmian provinces are up for grabs and (easily reachable from the waters), since parone really didnt leave defense in the south. i think it i would have taken those even if he didnt leave.

we can continue playing, but im not sure it would make much difference.

[Zywack]

I didn't know you were that big (T'ien Ch'i auto-PD thingy is a black hole for spies), but just with basic geography it certainly looked really, really bad. I assumed that the southern continent was in Ulm hands and not yours, but considering Ulm's decision, it really would have made no difference at all.

It's really up to Bandar Log if they want to continue our slugfest for the sake of continuing it... As long as for lore sake that Shinuyama is allowed to exist and that there's no temples built for 500 miles around our lands, I don't mind considering my war with Bandar Log a draw and to give Oceania the victory and overall leadership. If Groundworms prefers to continue the war though, I'll indulge them and fight until one of us win or until T'ien Ch'i or Oceania gets bored and clean us off the map.

[legowarrior]

Yeah, not liekly that I will win though. Made some poor decision when it came to making my pretender and Oceania will eventually get through my pd. I am for calling it and setting up a new game.

[Zywack]

I'm honestly a bit tired myself of having to deal with the Dominion... It's been a sword hanging over my head with no solution.

Do you know what Dominion score my inherited god have? 2.

Two. I have TWO points in Dominion. This means that I had to spend an inordinate amount of time dedicated to priests instead of mages and troops. My war with Bandar Log was motivated by their big pile of temples (around 10 right on my borders): Even if I were to build as many, I'd have gotten wiped out soon. My war objectives were not territories, but just to blow up temples (The actual trying to win the war came a few turns later when I decided to risk it by combining my two armies to march north and just harass Bandar Log main army to hold it down by threatening it with a cut path of retreat and other perceived threats).

And then T'ien Ch'i dominion started creeping in beside temples and priests on the border. I'm pretty sure that wasn't intentional at all, but just a by-product of my utterly attrocious dominion score. So even though I killed around 50 mages in the last two turns, a tartarian and a Zmey, I'm still doomed by something I can do absolutely nothing about: Even if I beat Bandar Log before dying a dominion death, it's only going to buy me a tiny bit more time. It's not as if the war is going perfectly anyway: My storm staff anti-tartarian group failed pathetically mostly due to the storm staff itself last turn, and the multiple Ghost Riders cast each turn do put a strain, alongside with the southern front probably going back to it's locked front, and the mass-luck artefact sword still being in Bandar Log's hands despite our best attempt.

I knew the 2 points in dominion made a win impossible, but I never expected to reach that late in the game... Reaching turn 25 was my goal. My win over Machaka was simply a last-ditch defense by doing a lure and using the militia mercs and slime spam. It surprisingly worked, and my guesses regarding his movements were spot-on so I managed to get a castle for free by cutting his path with small armies with a bit of decoy help from Bandar Log. The war went flawlessly beside the actual "finish off their capital" which turned out be pretty painful.

For Bandar Log, I expected an early loss but I thought I'd bring down some temples at least. I expected massive amount of Mind Hunts from the first turn: If you are wondering, the reason why I've been trading for hundred of nature gems is because Kitsunes were my only potential source of Astral magic as a counter to it. Well, also because the entire Shinuyama lands produced a meager 5 nature a turn, despite it fully Haruspeced and having Machaka's capital...

Oh, quick question: can Bandar Log actually blood sacrifice? I thought they couldn't, but I've assassinated a Daikini that had a Jade Knife last turn so I'm not so sure now...

As a side note, I'm simply amazed at my three musketeer squad: It's a trio of Ghost Generals equiped with nothing else but a gold shield and a brand (depending on which). They've taken down piles of PD early on, fought in three big battles, sieged the castle housing Bandar Log's god... And all three are still alive somehow. Those were the best gem investment I've ever made in Dominion beside the "anti-60 mage communion" squad. That was a Master Enslave communion I assume?

[Groundworm]

Sorry, long post incoming.

Regarding the game in general: I didn't know Oceania was that big either. My spy network really never made it to the south. Or the west. Or anywhere outside Shinuyama's lands, for that matter. And, as Zywack has stated, neither him nor I are contenders for victory after our war. So if T'ien Ch'i feels that he's out of the running, then I'm fine with giving the game to earcaraxe.

Regarding the war with Shinuyama: I don't feel the need to continue the game just for fighting this war, as I'm now rather confident that you'll win, in the end. It will still be a long war and hard-fought, but you've been playing *far* better than I have, and your superior strategies have allowed you to do vast amounts of damage to me. I've done far less to you with better gem production. The ghost rider spam is inconvenient, I'm sure, but you're dealing with it just fine... it's not actually gaining me any provinces. And you'd get the Sword of Aurgelmer next turn, because it's trapped on one of my Yogis with no adjacent friendly province to retreat to. All of my armies are smashed; I'm down to just raiders. Your overwhelming victory last turn killed well over half of the mages I've recruited this entire game. I couldn't Mind Hunt you until this last turn, as I never researched evocation heavily because Bandar is not an evocation nation. I also spent most of my early astral pearls on Gandharvas (useless), and my later ones on artifacts and Rudras (much better, but very expensive).

Bandar can't blood sacrifice. You didn't assassinate a Daikini with a jade knife- you assassinated an Asrapa with a blood thorn.

No, it wasn't a master enslave communion- see above re: evocation research. I did research enough evo eventually to communion my E and W Rishis, and that was a mass-evocation spam communion.

In sum, I have no objection to ending the game. In fact, I'm not really sad to see it go. Shinuyama and I had an excellent war and you've all been great to play with, but I made numerous major mistakes, several serious tactical and strategic blunders, and I'm not sure I like Bandar Log after having played with them.

[earcaraxe]

thank Zywack for the input! that dom score of 2 is hilarious :D
and congrats for the achievement from ur starting position!

I understand it was a game mostly for inexperienced players, but it was my first MP game with oceania, which is perceived a weak nation. I certainly could do much better, for instance putting just a little earth and water on my pretender would have made difference. An other factor is i planned to amass lamia queens (baalz's guide), but chose cold3 (cold blooded :doh:), so eventually i gave that direction up and put the water gems into unfrozen warriors and mages. which proved to be absolutely powerful/economical/synergical. I chose a rainbowish master lich.

This is the story from my perspective: I aimed to grab some land provinces fast thinking that i get get the water ones later, even at the cost of war and mother oak couldnt be cast from under the water. Pangaea was the only one who didnt answer my messages, and also had pathetic early expansion, so i teamed up with ctis and attacked. the war was nearing its end when i agreed with TC to attack ctis, so i ended up with all of pangaea and half of ctis's territories. in the northwestern corner i have found an 20% enchantment site wich gave a nice boost to my unrozen-factory later in the game. In the south abysia defeated vanheim, and thanks to caelums ineptitude for expanding, owned the bulk of the southern continent, however i thought he didnt have the forces to defend that, he massively overextended. And by that expansion he put a crosshairs on his back. while the last of my northern wars were chiming down, i have sent some troops to the southern continent to grab some provinces there too. abysia also didnt respond to my messages, so i just attacked him here and there. he managed to defeat my first weak tries, but at the very beginning he teleported his pretender to the battle to help out with astral fires, where my cavalry broke thru and killed him before routing, costing him his global enchantment. caelum didnt do anything not then, not later. in the meantime ulm defeated ashdod, then messaged me that he wants vanheims capitol while i defeat abysia alone. saying if i disagree he will just attack me too. so i ceded every province to ulm he wanted to leave me alone for a while and began my full-scale war versus abysia. It was my first war where my full army participated (actually not my full army, since i had so many territories even then that some of them were too far up north). I reached abysias capitol without resistance, i was surprised to learn how weak the abysian amred forces were. there was a HUGE battle at the capitol however, but storm/fog warriors and numerical superiority was enough to win. then TC attacked ulm, and parone retreated almost all of his forces north, so i spent the next 3 turns getting my armies into position. I have also found a 20% conjuration site next to former abysian capitol, there i summoned about 300 animals, and 4 elemental royalties, and marched eastward (ulm has conquered caelum in that 3 turns).

I also managed to be on good terms with almost everybody, and even before the start of the game i knew it was more optimal strategy to be expansionist, since no graphs will be seen, so one can grow unnoticed with a little luck, that i managed perfectly.

My long-term plan was (had parone not given up) - after defeating ulm, when i already own half of the map - to shoot up burden of time for which i have been amassing the D gems. capricorns, and all my summoned mages are basicly immune to BoT, but it would have killed most of TC's, shinu's and bandar's.

I have found ma oceania a very capable nation, the sirens (which i used for search and combat too) and the new selkie summons gives a quite strong and very maneuverable air-dimension to it.

this is the map of the world as i see now: http://www.math.bme.hu/~simon/giants.bmp

thanks all for this great game, i really did enjoy it too, i hope we meet soon in another one.

im very curious about ur aspects!

[legowarrior]

Nasty indeed. I hadn't realized how much of the map you owned. Glad I took a grab for C'tis when I did. I have nothing except tons of money to my name. I took Death and Nature on my pretender, but really got little in return (very little in nature income). After C'tis, it took me forever to move my forces to face Ulm, because I had to swamps to move through. My summons are pathetic, but I do have a lot of Crystal Shields and a communion to work with. Shinuyama was nice enough to send me a fire skull, but it took him forever to send it, and then I was all about Zmeys.


Finally, my income was super high (tons of site search) but I just didn't have the paths to get much of the good stuff.

Yeah, I would have lost to Oceania, even if Bandar and Shinuyama teamed up with me.

[Zywack]

Oops! Sorry about the Aspara/Dakini mess up: I had just checked the turn result very quickly before going to sleep.

I'm very, very sorry about how long it took to send you that skull legowarrior: I did send you one as soon as I possibly could. In fact, Construction is actually the first thing I've reached level 6 in... My top research speed was around 210 RP, and that lasted for maybe 2 turns since that's the time it took in between finishing off Machaka and panicking at Bandar Log's temples. I had started making some Skull Mentors, but I only ended up with 3 of them since I had to trade away everything to Oceania to buy some Nature gems. I greatly feared Mind Hunt, and getting Astral Kitsunes was my topmost priority... I ended up with one Astral Kitsune on the first turn of the Bandar Log war to protect my capital, and a second one the turn after to sneak around the northern army... That one did actually get 2 astral points, so it's been extremely useful. One kitsune got air magic, and it was my first air mage (even though I have decent nation-only summons...) so I did a tri-trade to get a bag of wind for her. It's definitively proven useful!

But yeah, back to research... During the Bandar Log war, my research speed was usually around 120rp per turn. I just never could afford to even have a big core of researchers. Mages were bought and sent to the front all game long since they were desesperately needed every single turn, and the few Bakamono Sorcerers I had at home always caught diseases and were busy either site searching with spells or crafting stuff. My highest research was Evocation at 7 for Storm of Thorn for my nature Uba, and I was aiming for Frozen Heart to counter the Zmeys for next research goal. Since my anti-Tartarian Squad with the storm staff that failed stupidly due to the staff making them miss all their Dust to Dust (and then they decided to switch to Decay...), I had a grand total of 37rp last turn. I didn't lose the mages, but 37rp at that turn isn't terribly fun! :)

Regarding Oceania's size... Damn! On the north west continent, I pretty much had spies that scouted every T'ien Ch'i province, and they died one single step away from Oceania's lands... So I had assumed that the North continent was all T'ien Ch'i beside maybe a few lands. On the southern part of the equation, I had a spy 1 step away from the southern continent... So I would have known next turn, but it obviously wouldn't have changed anything. I really value information, but T'ien Ch'i just screwed over my scouting attempts on the western side. If at least one of my western scout had reached Oceania's lands (I nearly sent some assassin to scout due to their better sneak scores but I figured that diplomatically it wouldn't be a good idea if she's caught) I would have been more wary of Oceania... But realistically-speaking, beside trying to convince T'ien Ch'i and Ulm to unite against them, I couldn't do anything either way. Our borders consisted of a single province, and beside trying to slooowly go down the river, I couldn't fight them. Plus, the army going downriver would be in stupidly large amount of danger since there'd be no retreat paths anywhere ever since I didn't own any of the river banks. Thanks for telling me what you were using all the water gems I sent you: I was genuinely curious :)

It's been a great amount of fun, thank you very much everyone!

[Ragnarok-X]

So, my gifts to Oceania and Ulm were not in vain after all. Great.

[earcaraxe]

it was put to good use :)

ragnarok-x, did u destroy a good part of abysia's military strengths before going down?

[Ragnarok-X]

i killed almost no normal troops, they had too high protection and i did research wrong (no good evos on my vans). However, i did kill 9 or 10 demonbreeds, but thats about it :D

[parone]

oceania would not have been a cinch winner had he played straight, and he knows it. he owns LESS than half the southern continent. had he been confident in victory, my guess is he would have neither lied about his intentions, nor would he have tried to build a 3 nation alliance to take ulm down.

incidentally, earaxe, i'd really love to play another game with you. this was my first MP game. from what i hear, you've played many, but still troll solely in the newbie section. what, exactly, does that say about you?

[parone]

just read my last post and i sound like a petulant little child. the smug, self congratulatory nature of Eaxe's message was a bit much to handle. suffice to say the other player in this game got under my skin a bit.

i want to apologize to the other three players for bailing. you guys didn't deserve it, and i did ruin the game for you, i suppose. that said, i'm glad to be rid of it.

just received my third message from a veteran player, two of which i have never talked to before, this one with several links.
they all told me my good friend earaxe is a known Dbag who plays only vs newbies even though he has played for a long time. the thing that got me, though, is that they said he is a known "bailer" meaning as soon as he thinks he can't win, he leaves the game or stales. and i realized that i did the same thing. not because i couldn't win, but because i didn't want to deal with earaxe.

so i guess i will have to work on that. i won't bail again.

[earcaraxe]

parone, it seems to me its not the first time u contradict urself or perceivable/consensual reality. first u say "i think in a war with me, you'd have won if you had gone at if fairly" then now "oceania would not have been a cinch winner had he played straight, and he knows it". (i know, literally its not a contradiction, but in practice it is)

u also hinted that either we are best buddies with legowarrior ("after asking around in the forum") or we are even the same person, and we always allied in our games. u dont seem to be bothered by the (easily checkable) fact that it was our first game together with lego. it says a lot about u that u always seem to discover this kind of conspiracy in ur games (in 4 out of 3 as u wrote in an other topic).

now u state: "(u) troll solely in the newbie section". Again, proof is missing, mainly because of contradiction with what is observable. this game was an exception in my average opponent level, as one can check. in this game it was allowed for veteran players to join, and they were asked to choose a weaker nation, which i did. I wasnt the only veteran either.

[earcaraxe]

since u seem to be unable to let this feeling/experience go, and i am a psychologist and dont want to block my own impulses about that, let me share u some of my perceptions regarding ur behavior. Even before the game, i noticed ur tendency to mix asking for information with self-depreciation. then once, in-game u answered one of my offers twice, within short time: the first one was an indignation, an outcry mixed with threats (an infantile reaction), and the second one which arrived soon after was like the more controlled, polite version of the first, with apologies. This tempts me to think u are aware of people's usual reaction to you when u give in to ur impulses. After that, when TC attacked u, u sent me a message asking "are we at peace?" (all these quotations are paraphrazed). Obviously this isnt the question u wanted to ask (but perphaps "do we have a nap?"), since we didnt fight at the time, that was obvious. And u didnt ask anything other, not a single hard detail about our peace. I have the feeling that (i might very well be wrong here) out of lack of self-appreciation u didnt dare to ask what u were really curious, so u settled for less, and saw what u wanted to saw: "ok, he wont attack me for sure". These observations led to I, writing legowarrior before my attack on u, that i expect a "tirade on the forums" from u after u notice what happened.

Ur following behavior (quitting the game, then threatening to ruin it by not quitting, fabrications about me and legowarrior) is usually called (somewhat inaccurately) an acting-out. I admit i am bordering fantasy here, but ur assumed "i see what i want to see" strategy might have made u coping with ur negative feelings about being attacked by me a lot harder: the disappointment raises insecurity by threatening to invalidate the "others (the world) operate the way i want them to"-mentality.

(to sum up in a nutshell: low self-appreciation --> inhibited behavior --> tension from repressing urges, chasm between observed and wanted reality --> delving into fantasy --> eventual confrontation with consensual reality --> insecurity, lower self appreciation)

[parone]

WOW. are you really trained in psychology?

[parone]

that would actually make sense, now that i think about it...

[parone]

by the way, friend. do you find it at all odd that other players would reach out to me to say "earaxe is a Dbag, don't play games with him, he is a bully and a pain" (not paraphrased). i noticed you didn't respond to that, Dr.

you have really made quite a reputation for yourself in the forums. i wonder if it makes you feel better about yourself to crap on others? what would your psychobabbling self say about that? or is self evaluation not one of your 'talents?'

[parone]

the fun thing about verbal sparring is, earaxe can't organize a coalition(well, maybe he can, we'll have to see). also, when it comes to making D bags look like D bags, i am not a newbie. you see, i get to deal with D bags almost Everyday!!!

[earcaraxe]

so it is said by someone that i:

1) am a "dbag"
2) quit games before defeated
3) quit games when cant win

in order:

1) i cant argue about that because its more of an attitude of him (however it was) towards me then a statement about my behavior.

2) this opinion formed (in the corresponding person, i wouldnt say "forums") one and a half year ago, when i - as a beginner - enthusiasticly dived into many games, and found myself overwhelmed by the time and energy requirements of (multiple) endgames, and jumped out of many within a short period, then took a half year off. all of the games that tried to, found replacement.

3) it was calahan's theory about my reasons for quitting (some kind of projection, i guess). my in-game position wasnt among the aspects i considered when was about to quit. its hard to check now, but in most of the games i quit then, i was in about second-leading, good position. interesting fact, that calahan (who is in my opinion is at the root of it) wasnt participating in any of my games, yet he got touched by it emotionally most.


yes, i have a degree in psychology.

[parone]

incidentally, lego, hope you don't get caught in the crossfire. as i stated before(but Dr Dbag here must have missed it as he was parsing for clues as to my mental state) i was mistaken when i said you were allied. so for the record(and the second time) i have no prob with you.

in honor of you, Dr Earwax, i have decided to roll play the rest of my remaining games as if i have gone insane! you can even check them if you don't beleive me. since this game became no fun, i am going to use your assertion that i am not ok mentally to make the other games a blast!

incidentally, i should thank you Dr. SelfAgrandizement. you did teach me a bit about being more cautious in diplomacy. also, i met some nice people that had some funny stories.

[parone]

wasn't one dude Dr. was more than one.

[Calahan]

I feel honoured that I'm worthy enough for the great Dr to mention me by name. Never felt so humbled. And since you called...

...yes I am one of those who PM-ed parone, award yourself a cookie, but as he points out I am just one of those who did. And I did so as I thought he might be interested, as others may, in knowing about some of your own glorious playing history.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showpost.php?p=772004&postcount=5

And it's odd you should say...
...interesting fact, that calahan (who is in my opinion is at the root of it) wasnt participating in any of my games, yet he got touched by it emotionally most.
As I was playing in the Preponderance 2 game when you bailed, as such I was directly participating.

I was the organiser and admin of the newbie game GreenShoots that you tried to join while having 3 wins under your belt, and so clearly not a newbie, even though you made pathetic claims you still were. So while not participating, I was certainly heavily involved in that game.

I was the player who eventually had to take over your Mictlan position in the Pyrite game which you bailed on, shortly after Blackguard kindly subbed for you. And neither of us would have needed to sub if you hadn't walked out on the game. As such I became an unwilling participant in another game you tried to de-rail.

So to say I wasn't participating, and thereby infering, I wasn't involved in any of the many games you bailed on is just another of your many lies.


And for the record I do not believe any of the reasons you are claiming for bailing on those games, as none of them match what you were saying at the time, and in each game I know details about you walked out either instantly after a heavy battle loss (Prep 2) or once you realised you couldn't win (Pyrite). And I have no reason to think your real reasons for walking out on the other games were any different to those, because that is the type of player you are, as your playing history demonstrates. You also have no creditable record for telling the truth, as all your history is littered with lies. So as far as I'm concerned that is the default starting point for anything you say. You have a huge collection of black marks next to your name, so why you think anyone should believe your side of things is baffling.


But I'm sure you don't care what I think just like I don't care what you think. Plus you are likely too busy to care since you need to pad out your HoF win total by playing in more newb games, or by organising small private games and only inviting players you have beaten in the past.

As it's interesting that there seems to have been several mid-level games arranged over the past 18 months on these forums, and yet you didn't sign up for any of them, preferring each and every time to stick to newb games and hand-picked invitationals against players you've beaten several times before. Surely an up-coming player like you should be chomping at the bit to play against the better players in the community. Or maybe your plan is to get to the top of the HoF without actually ever playing against a single decent player? Certainly seems that way, but then I've heard beating up newbs is mega cool and lots of fun, so I have no doubt you'll just continue to do that. If you're not too busy psycho-analysing people that is. (check the mirror for your next patient, and try and get him to stop lying)

[parone]

that was quite a blast calahan. i think i'll try to stay on your good side...

[parone]

also, i like that you say calahan was 'touched emotionally' by your actions. man, that is some great stuff. what would you charge me to come sit on your couch and get an assesment?

i actually know a guy who is a psychiatrist who is one of the coolest people i know. other than the fact that he is very empathetic an helpful you'd never know he is a mental health professional.

on the other hand i used to go to these dinner parties with my ex(yes, Dr EarAss, i am divorced. more ammo for you) and there was a woman there that was a licensed psychologist. different animal, that girl. she had a tendency to psychoanalyze everyone and thought we were all very impressed. we weren't of course. since i don't know you really, i guess i won't hazard a guess as to which one of these people you resemble.

well, ok, i already guessed. but i'm sorry. i shouldn't have. i just couldn't help it!

anywhooo, let's all put this ugly thing to bed. although i must admit, i've gotten some great laughs the last 48 hours or so from a lot of different directions(one guy was in south east asia i think, that's a long way!)

and to all those that went on the anti EarAxe rampage on the IRC, i have to say, that was fun. but you guys were a little brutal, even for me.

[Calahan]

that was quite a blast calahan. i think i'll try to stay on your good side...
History suggests you'd do well to heed your own advice ;)

Edit -
and to all those that went on the anti EarAxe rampage on the IRC, i have to say, that was fun. but you guys were a little brutal, even for me.
What!!! Why didn't anyone fecking call me for this? I'm only an email away you know, and I would have been there within seconds for a good party. You selfish b'statds know how much I like a good rant, and so you all purposely kept me out of the loop. Geez how could you treat me like this, call yourself my friends do you. I'm hurt guys, I'm hurt. Emotionally so.

[earcaraxe]

omg, calahan, here u go again. this topic has been discussed a year ago with ur false statements and misinterpretations already.

[parone]

wasn't part of the 'year ago stuff' as i am a newbie. that said, calahan's unsolicited opinion seems to parallel your current behavior.

and the fact that you troll newbie games in search of ez wins is undeniable(even though you are trying to deny it)

therefor, i must conclude that you are exactly who you appear to be(and who you have been painted as in this thread)

you know, there is always the option of trying to be less of a jerk. instead of trying to pretend you aren't a jerk. saying that not to be mean, but because it IS a legit option. and while i don't have a psych degree, i know that you'd probably like yourself better if you acted a little better.

finishing on a positive note here(mom always says to try to say something nice in these situations): i really did think the name trigger hippie was cool.

[Hrum]

finishing on a positive note here...Are you telling me I should put the popcorn away now? Because I've got more popcorn if you guys aren't done yet... :D

[parone]

LOL. popcorn.

[Calahan]

omg, calahan, here u go again. this topic has been discussed a year ago with ur false statements and misinterpretations already.
Yes this topic was (briefly) discussed a year ago, but then, like now, you have not provided any evidence to suggest that any of the statements I make against you are false. Nothing has changed during that time, and the charges against you still stand. That of being a bailer who was, and likely still is, only interested in playing in games with newbs to obtain easy victories, and someone who abandons positions once any chance of the overall win has gone. The passage of time has had no effect on these charges, as they have not gone away just because a year has elapsed since they were last mentioned.

I on the other hand have provide evidence that your statements are false (re: your statement claiming I had no participation in any of the games you bailed on), and I have provided several links to backup what I believe to be my correct interpretations of you as a player based on your actions. I am confident I can provide further evidence if needed with save game files (with llamabeasts permission and cooperation) that show that the timing of your abandonments was anything but random. As at the time you were abandoning some positions, you were also simultaneously continuing to play in several others, specifically in those games in which you still maintained winning chances, meaning you were selectively bailing on games you could no longer win. This MO is easy to spot as several players with regular bailing habits have also adopted the same MO in the past.

But perhaps we will see who is right as your future choice of games to participate in will also have bearing on the value of the assessment several people, not just myself, hold of you as a player. If you continue to only play in newb dominated games, or small hand picked invitationals with only players you've defeated on several previous occasions, then that will simply serve to reinforce all the negative opinions that are held of you as a player. And while you may well consider those opinions to be wrong, your own opinion of yourself means nothing compared to all the contrary evidence available that weighs against you. So if you dislike the opinion of you that many senior players hold then it is only your future actions that will count towards you at this point, and not your continual reliance on mere words and excuses.

Oh and maybe showing even the slightest hint of remorse for the many problems you caused with your past abandonment of several games would help, and perhaps even going so far as to offer an apology for your actions. As you haven't even had the common decency to apologise to the many players whose games you ruined by walking out on them, perhaps because I would guess that the opinion you hold of yourself is one of being whiter than white, and so you feel no cause to apologise for anything. But then being prompted to apologise only ever leads to a fake apology, as genuine apologies only occur when it is unprompted, and you have had plenty of time to do so of your own free will, but haven't.