tones (4/19/2008)

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Heh heh heh!

I still haven't received a save file from tones, so this score is still an unofficial one until I received the email.

I haven't done this before so I am being incredibly thick....

Is "my username" YOUR username (Mongoose) or mine, and do I have to rename the file tonesApril08.Civ etc.,etc.? It's not clear to me.

Also I must confess I was so surprised to actually win the diplomatic vote, I don't have a save for that year, only the subsequent (post victory) year or one about, I dunno, 20 years earlier. Which one will do, if either?

I feel like an idiot

Not quite a winning score but, oh well. Also this can only count if we allow reloads due to Civ crashing - giving errors about display drivers?? Had to reboot and was not paticularly happy.

Took plenty of time to post my result so I guess I might as well make it worth the wait:

After the way my game panned out I now fully agree on the annoying nature of having Permanent Alliances as a prospect in the later game. Though I had the opposite experience with them. After having dropped the delicate early game period like an expensive vase  ...I managed to recover and was sitting pretty at the top of the pile, enjoying myself immensely when Persia (#2) and Babylon (#3) researched the right tech and decided to merge into one big all powerful permanent super civ. Easily overtaking me with one single press of the enter key!!! They proceeded to race ahead in technology with their combined resources and I had no chance in keeping up with them.

As I knew I had very little chance of anything but a military victory I was forced into a race with them to conquer the "third party" lands. Literally a race with me coming in from the west coast and them driving across the land in the other direction. Very interesting as we met almost simultaneously in the middle in a dead heat, fighting for the last couple of cities! My favourite point in the game came when one city switched hands and was held by 4 seperate civs in the space of 8 turns!! Originally Aztec -> conquered by Persia -> the honourable Persians gifted the city to the Americans -> then my even more honourable Cavalry stopped the madness, stuck a flag down and called it Plymouth!!

When it came down to me and them, I told them the world just wasn't big enough for that! ...and it turned into an absolute gore fest.  One of their counter attack turns lasted long enough for me to leave the room and have them still attacking when I came back some time later. A few epic turns in and I was on > 2000 war weariness and was eventually facing a rediculous amount of unhappiness. And I had the Statue of Zeus!! I had to plough on regardless though and eventually broke them, winning in 2003.

After 3 turns of fighting:

Ouch!!! (No prizes for spotting where I built the Globe Theatre in that mess)

(Very ) Long story short, I think I would have won this much earlier and more easily (SO much work!!) if they hadn't gone and merged on me. I haven't had to bludgeon my way to victory like that for a long time.

...I enjoyed it!!!