Peaster vs. SlowThinker Fast PBEM duel

[SlowThinker]

This thread explains what Fast PBEM is:
Fast PBEM duels - a try to start a new kind of Civ2 entertainment

We are usually exchanging saves by e-mail, but we dccided to publish some saves also here so that
1) we attract more people to PBEM duels
2) you can laugh at the loser

You can kibitz here but be aware that you do not reveal secret things to players.

Since I know Civ2-ers are lazy I will create also my 'personal' thread with screenshots:
P vs. ST Fast PBEM duel (NOT for PEASTER)
I will post also my log and plans and you can talk with me there (on condition that you do care not to indicate anything about Peaster's position).
Peaster's personal thread is here: P vs ST (not for ST)

(The starting save is in 3rd post here - after the rules)

You can load the saves as a hotseat or a SP game.
With hotseat you can switch to Zulu position by ending my turn.
With SP you can switch to Zulus by switching to a scenario mode (and so a cheat mode) and using shift-F3. In cheat mode you can also reveal all the map and so it may be more comfortable for you.

[SlowThinker]

rules for a PBEM duel: Peaster - SlowThinker, started May 2005

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Settings

The map was prepared by debeest. Thx again.

Deity
1x1x
35x49; round map; random world;
no starting techs, direct tech research (scenario flag is on)
no AI,
no barbs,
no huts popping 8 squares from the starting positions
years are numbered 1AD, 2AD, 3AD... (oedo years are 4,8,12...)
each civ has two starting positions; each starting position comprises of 1 settler + 1 warrior
100 gold in the beginning for a quicker start

Changes related to rules.txt

Great wall costs 500 shield
Oracle expires with Industrialization (from 'rah rules')
Courthouse 10 shield, 0 maintenance

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Rules

Turn procedure

We play in a hotseat mode
Don't open the Demographics window (by either the F11 key or the menu). If you want to see the window content, then do it in a separate game load that will not be used for gameplay.
Turn 'High Council' OFF. (this is not saved with a game, but the last setting affects all Civ2 games)

See Comparison of .hot and .net PBEMs for details

Logs

The players write logs, that will be exchanged after the game ends.

Reloading

You can reload typos and similar mistakes ONLY under following conditions:

1.	You can take back only 1 'action'. An action is
		a movement or another order to one unit
		rushbuild
		improvement sale
2.	You didn't intend that action, you did it by mistake.
3.	The action cannot be taken back if ANY kind of new information is revealed by that action (new terrain is revealed, a new unit is detected, a formerly revealed square has changed (an irrigation is built on it, a foreign city has changed size etc.)...).
4.	You can NEVER take back fortuitous actions: combats, hut popping, tech stealing, movement with deficient movepoints etc.
5.	You must correctly repeat all actions between the last save and the mistake that is taken back. The game cannot be reloaded if there is any fortuitous action (combat, hut popping, tech stealing, movement with deficient movepoints etc. ) among actions that are to be repeated (so I suggest saving after combats, hut popping etc.).

Getting info from saves

Reloading/opening savefiles of passed turns in order to get some lost information (info that you could have written down, but didn't) is legal. But only in hotseat mode, so that players don't see numbers of cities and units.

Reports

Players must report combats (square of attacker, square of defender, type of attacking unit), bribed units (square of briber, square of victim, type of briber), all actions of dips/spies against cities (stealing techs, city investigation etc.), wonders built.

Notice that PBEM has one disadvantage: you don't always see enemy units that pass near yours.

Diplomacy

That's easy in a duel. Only one rule is required:
Any diplomatic contact with AI is forbidden. You may never initiate a contact and you must always refuse all diplomatic contact with the other civilization.

Tricks and ploys

Not allowed:

• city bribing
• black clicking:
  (1. Right click on a black area - it reveals the continent number - try not to look at that small numeral in the status window that represents the continent number.
  2. Double click on a revealed area - it reveals cities and units (terrain help is not shown on a city or unit) - don't double click in unknown areas
  3. Left click on black or revealed areas - reveals cities (map is not centered on a city) - center map by the right click only)
• unsinkable boats and non-crashing aircraft
  (this is done by just moving your boat/craft 1 less space than its available movement and pressing Wait followed by using the End turn keyboard shortcut)
• caravan re-homing
  (unlike normal units you cannot hit the 'h' key to change the home of a caravan - however the 'support from this city' option is available from within the city screen. This way it is possible to build caravans in small cities and to rehome them to large ones.)
• stealing shields and immediate tech use (management of cities in pre-turn stage, see Using 'Zoom to Home City' to adjust production) The principle: Before your turn, Civ2 shows your cities where an improvement or a non-combat unit was built. In this stage it is possible to try some tricks.
• renaming cities
  Initially you can choose any name (but different from other cities), but later you musn't rename cities (except adding personal notes after the city name end that help you to remember your plans).
  This could be useful to confuse an opponent using the 'near city' exploit, but such 'renaming wars' are very time-consuming.
• automated settlers (to irrigate with no adjacent water)
• airbases on city perimeter are not allowed; if outside of city perimeter, 'movement distance' between any two airbases must be at least 2 (a warrior must not be able to move from one airbase to another in one step)
• further production of warriors after discovery of gunpowder production (for the owner of Leo only)
  Explanation: If you discover Feudalism you can no longer build warriors, because you have pikes. The same should happen when you discover Gunpowder, but it doesn't. So if you get Gunpowder without Feudalism you can use Leonardo to exploit the loophole. You build warriors and they are upgraded with every new tech. Using this trick with other units is forbidden too: for example you could get Monotheism without Polytheism, produce chariots, and upgrade them directly to crusaders.
• blatant cheats
  (revealing the map through the cheat menu, editing stats in rules.txt, reloading hut and combat outcomes, cheat-o-matic (this is a tsr that allows the game parameters to be changed on the fly while the game is running.), hexediting etc.),
  

Allowed:

• unit bribing
• incremental buying
• pre-worked settlers
• food caravans (any use is allowed (except rehoming))
• ship chaining (transfer cargo from ship to ship in 1 turn)
• diplo-guiding (using a diplomat or spy (or another unit that ignores ZOC) to lead other units through an enemy's zones of control.)
• reading 'near city' notes (to use 'near city XX' notes in a city window to locate unknown cities)

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If you break a rule by a mistake nothing horrible happens. But you should announce it and warn the opponent.

[SlowThinker]

This is a start.

[SlowThinker]

Peaster, Carolux Rex would like that you open your own thread...

And in my thread I speculated where I should build next city ... what do you think, should spectators be allowed to pronounce their opinions and so advise (on condition that they won't use their knowledge of other civ)?
It would be more atractive for them ... from other point of view it should be a duel and not a corporate game ... but I think we have both our own thinking and I suppose we wouldn't get influenced...
I don't know ...
"Where to build a city" is a theoretical question and is OK IMO, but later suggestions about "where to attack" could be subconsciously affected by knowledge of the opponent's position...

[Peaster]

OK - I will open a thread soon. IMO general Civ2 advice about city sites, productions and priorities is acceptable. Any advice based on knowledge of the opponent's position is not. The line is hard to draw, so I guess we'll just ask people to be careful about what they say.

[Carolus Rex]

Hi!

I hope I'm not causing you guys more work. I cruised 'Poly yesterday and found ST's thread...

Found it interesting; would be fun to watch the game unfold, but I hope you don't go out of your way for my sake!

Carolus

[SlowThinker]

26 AD

Originally posted by Peaster
Nice work up north by the way

Now I should draw near some heavy artillery though.

[SlowThinker]

So that you understand what are we talking about...

[Carolus Rex]

Re: 26 AD

Originally posted by SlowThinker

Now I should draw near some heavy artillery though.

This reply (and Peaster's line, which it replies to) confuses me... Referring to the action on the map, displayed in your individual threads I suppose...

I have some catching up to do Sunday evening!

Carolus

[Peaster]

ST surrounded my Archer with warriors on mountains and brought in a diplomat to bribe it before I could do anything.

I must admit that I don't understand the combat formulas very well, but my testing showed that an Archer against a warrior on a mountain lost 4 out 5 times, so I didn't take that chance.

[SlowThinker]

Hm, I guess a chance to win should be about 45% (if both are non-vet, so it is attack 3 vs. defense 3).
Did you try Boco's calculator (link in GL)?

[SlowThinker]

That son of a b*tch (could anybody teach me a harder english abuse?) ... this is 2nd time I was looking forward to grab a hut next turn ... and next turn I found a Zulu warrior on the square.

[Peaster]

Hee Hee! Was it just a coincidence this happened twice? I thought you might be using some weird hut-guarding strategy!

[SlowThinker]

I must remember a bit ... yes ... I remember some Archer ... a helpless Archer

[SlowThinker]

Peaster's thread has more views, I suppose it is because I am behind the reality - only now I moved my thread from 20AD to 30AD. And it is 39AD now.

But I keep a post with a brief log quite fresh.