Multiplayer PBEM AARs/war stories

[Hendrik]

I have participated in multiple IP games but only a handful of PBEM games... they just try my patience, especially in the very early years when you move a unit or two and hit "turn". All the same the PBEMs I have played in and seen seem to have a lot more strategic depth, I have seen other people show me their PBEM saves and I just enjoyed looking at them and how different factions interact when played by humans.

There are a lot of PBEM veterans around here who I am sure have participated in many interesting games... any reports on these games would be nice, in whatever format you want... attached save files would be an added plus.

I don't have time tonight but if there is interest in doing this I might post some save files from games I have played.

[Flubber]

I have played a few barnburners. The best was AXT042 with thread here http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...0&pagenumber=4

I was the drones and had a great little continent in the north and some good open land. I got lucky by popping the commlinks to the cyborgs early and they gifted and traded me a number of techs. The human controlled cult started an ill advised war in 2172 and killed a few units but then started to be pushed back. I was really starting to crish the cult ( I had he neural amplifier) when the player disappeared without a trace. A new player, northswordsman took on the semi-hopelss position and I took a good few cult bases before agreeing to peace.

We entered into a detailed peace treaty that bound the cult to help me in a number of ways. He wanted a pact and pledge to go co-operative victory but I refused Meanwhile the gaians (tenchatsu) and morganites ( walt) were doing well but I was the largest.

Around the time I built the CBA and Cyborg factory, I was accidentally copied with an email that outlined the other 3 players plans against me. It was a reply to a reply and had emails from each of the 3 in the body so I knew I faced an alliance. I again jumped the cult and let slip some quotes from the email. Each of them thought the others were playing dirty with thier alliance and it got a little testy. Northswordsman realized his diplomatic plans had been blown and eradicated his few remaining bases.

I occupied the cults terraformed lands and began to take on walts morganites. My choppers were too much for him as he did not have AA. While I was doing this, the Gaians were munching the AI all across the south.

The gaians and drones met in the middle with my drones being the slightly larger and better armed but I made a crucial mistake. I captured a gaian base thaty was a trap and saw units and techs probed away before he recaptured it. We then later entered into a truce which held until I sneak attacked.We were roleplaying to the hilt the whole way and he wrote

-------------------------------------

Year 2242 to Stephen.
_______

Gaia's Tribune.com
Feature Editorial
G. Gordon Giddy, Author of "I'm Smart, You're Dumb, and Other Laws of the Universe"

ALL DRONES DESERVE TO DIE

I don't know about you, the reader, but I'm pissed. I'm pissed not only at the Drones who attacked our defenseless bases and raped our homeland, but also at the doves, those idiotic, tie-dyed, tree-huggin', and weed-smokin' hippies who ignored my cries for a stronger military.

Anyone who's watched my talk show knows exactly what I've been saying for the past ten years. We cannot simply toss away our guns and expect other nations to do the same. I've received criticism after criticism for what they called "radical, extremist" views. I've been called a "barbarian," a "warmonger," hawk, baboon, you name it. I've even received a death threat or two, supposedly from the same people who hypocritically preach non-violence.

Well guess what? The same four words that I've said countless times before come to mind: "I told you so." But that's beside the point.

Now we have Lady Deirdre "Pie in the" Skye stubbornly holding onto her pacifist views. She tells us not to retaliate, that somehow it's only a minority of the Drone nation that supported this blatant attack on us. By implication, she is saying that the majority of Drones are peace-loving and disapprove of this travesty.

To that I say one word: Bull. And here are three reasons why:

1) The Drones are still a Democracy.

By the propaganda coming from the Foreman's Headquarters, you'd think that the Drone government has switched to a fundamentalist military regime all-of-a-sudden, no? But that is not the case at all. They are still a Democracy, which by definition is a government "of the people, for the people, and by the people." Whatever the government is responsible for, the people are responsible for, because the government is the people, and the people are the government.

2) No Drone is ignorant of current events

We now live in an age where information is free-flowing and freely exchanged. It is obvious that each and every Drone citizen knows what just happened in Gaia, despite the Foreman's obvious attempts to play dumb. If they were somehow sheltered from the news or denied access to such information (if that's even possible), I could understand. But their economy and their societal values tell otherwise. Their economy remains a Free Market, which itself depends on a free-flow of information. And up until recently, their societal values revolved around Knowledge, which depends even more on the same free-flow than a Free Market.

3) The silence coming from the Drone population is deafening.

So now we can conclude that the Drones know exactly what is going on. But instead of feeling sorry for us, they go on with their business. That means they approve of the rape of our nation.

Now as a former law-enforcement officer, I know that if you are present with an acquaintance, and your acquaintance commits a crime, you are also guilty of that crime by association, even if you did not directly carry out the act yourself. I state the obvious: Each and every Drone citizen is guilty of this heinous crime against our Gaian nation by association.

So I call upon each and every red-blooded citizen and patriot of our Gaian nation and ask him or her to make life extremely difficult for the Drones. Bomb their Children's Creches, poison their waters, refuse to comply with anything a Drone wants you to do! The only good Drone is a dead Drone!!!
_______

Personal Log, Year 2242
Druid Tenchusatsu, First Advisor to Lady Deirdre

I remember a quote from old America. Their revered general and first President George Washington said, "To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."

However, we followed another slogan, one that is almost the inverse of what Washington advised. The slogan goes like this, "You cannot simultaneously prepare for both war and peace."

Now I know who was right.

I just had lunch with the Defense Minister in his quarters on Alpha Prime, home of the Command Nexus. Though I wondered if he even had the time to chit-chat considering our dire situation, he insisted on this meeting. And what he told me was shocking, something that, if true, would suggest that our offer for peace with the Drones was a fatal miscalculation.

He claims that we were on the verge of a major strike which would have tipped the odds of the war in our favor. But before he could give the order, Lady Deirdre called for peace, and he was forced to withdraw the attack. Although he was just as weary of war as I or the Lady was, many of his immediate subordinates were not. Some of them even said that his order to withdraw was the hardest order they have ever had to obey. They were obviously very eager to press the advantage that I did not know we had.

(For the purposes of security, I won't record the details of the planned strike. Suffice to say that there was nothing the Drones could have done to stop it.)

As for the here and now, I am overwhelmed with a sense of despair. As much as I'd like to kill each and every last citizen of the Free Drone empire, I must admit that we were not entirely without fault in this tragedy. Obviously we were naive to think that a cease-fire could hold up if they have a stronger military than we do. I think we even took our Citizen's Defense Force for granted. But more than that, I think we became blinded by our own greatness and arrogance. We should have known that the Drones were jealous of our progress. We should have known that they desired our medical technology so much, they would have killed for it. The occupation of our Cloning Vats and the stealing of our Human Genome Project prove this theory. And we should not have traded prudent defense for speed in research.

Now I am faced with the daunting task of rebuilding our broken nation. Right now we are at the mercy of the Drone military occupying our former capital. The Foreman claims that the attack was not carried out by his orders, that it was actually the result of a military coop. I don't know why he continues to stick to that story, since practically no one in our Gaian nation believes it. But what choice do we have?

He promised the return of those bases in three years, along with their projects, but I no longer trust his word. This time, we are building up a massive military to hold him to his word. Even if our military buildup is belated and hopeless, we will not go down without a fight.

Yet I know that Lady Deirdre ordered me not to retaliate, and I understand her position. Retaliation would get us nowhere. But this time, we will bring about peace through strength. Even if our efforts seem futile from a militaristic point-of-view, perhaps our sheer willpower will make up for it. I can only hope ...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
About 15 years later he capitulated and I wrote

--------------------------------------------------------



Foreman Flubber addressing the world

" Today I am pleased to report that the Gaians have capitulated. As we speak, Free Drone forces have begun occupying the military installations of the Gaians and disarming their troops. These gaian troops will be permitted to return to their homes and their families.

This Planet has known war and threats of war for far too long. It is time to reacquaint ourself with the benefits of peace. We can no longer think of ourselves as 'Free Drone' or 'Gaian' but must begin to think of ourselves as a United Planet. I am pleased to report that the Council of Supervisors in an unanimous vote declared the United republic of Chiron. Lady Deidre has agreed in principle and it is hoped that elected representatives from the southlands will join the legislature within 180 days.

From this day forth there shall be no citizenship other than that of Chiron and every man, woman and child is entitled to the full benefits of citizenship regardless of ethnic background or ideology.

My fellow Chironians . . . I am blessed to lead a united Planet with a multitude of talents. By working together we can maximize industrial output in a way that incorporates both efficient and eco-friendly policies

Thank you and God Bless"


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Journal of Foreman Flubber 2251

Well we have won. It is such a pleasant thought to realize that tomorrow, no one must die. The leadership of the Gaians have been moved to Free Drone Central for debriefing. Many of them have a vision for the future of a united Chiron and I would not be suprised if many of them get elected to the new government.

The issue now is to reflect on the events of the last 150 years.

I think the defining moment for our society was the massacre of 2172 perpetrated by the Cult, a cowardly assault on first meeting with a group of our scouts. The Free Drone society was unprepared for war. We had few units and our technology had stressed peaceful application.

In that period we had to trade many of our secrets for the necessary science of war. Our entire focus was on dealing with CUlt menace. The Cult went through some governmental upheaval and we, attempting to be peaceful, stayed our hand, in circumstances where we could have decimated the Cult. But I truly wanted peace.

The peace treaty was reached with the Cult but even from the beginning, it seemed their loyalties were elsewhere. I suspected collusion and made certain to arm myself accordingly. In 2206 the collusion became a certainty as our intelligence service intercepted a secret message in which the Cult, Gaians and Morganites plotted our downfall. From my point of view the die was cast.

Intelligence manipulations led to a Cult decision to fall on their sword, as it were, and mystically evaporate into the Planetmind. Then the war began. The morganites fell as did the Spartans and Consciousness. The Gaians busied themselves attacking the Spartans,Consciousness and single-handedly decimating the Peacekeepers. For a time when there were only two nations on Planet. our war was largely unfought

Just before the last of the Spartans and Conciousness passd into nothingness, I did manage to get a solar shade raised. This was a key as the gaians ruled the seas.

The war continued, broken only by a brief truce. By this time I had developed in excess of 60 bases and in the end almost half were producing attack choppers. I was glad to accept the surrender of the gaians.

Now to the future. . . a period of healing must ensue. I have obtained a copy of the "Gaian Histories" which the gaians are attempting to set up as an alternate history for their citizens. This cannot be permitted, the divisions between us must be closed. This history is riveting and must be read by all Chironians not passed as contraband from former Gaian to former Gaian. Likewise the Drone accounts must be read by all. I envision companion volumes " A Tale of Two Nations" with exerpts to be studied in the schools so that the children learn there are two points of view in every dispute.

It is within my power to do these things and I shall see them done before I retire.


Was this the type of stuff you had in mind??
If you look at the threads you will see that there was intense roleplaying from all involved. It really added to what was a great great game

[Hendrik]

Thanks! That is really great. I haven't played in many games with really active roleplaying, it is fun to see how they pan out. What tech level were you at when you conquered the Gaians?

[MariOne]

Originally posted by Flubber
..., I was accidentally copied with an email that outlined the other 3 players plans against me.

this kind of "accidents" are occurring all to often in pbems!
They usually lead to the most entertaining pbems, ridden with triple-playing!

[Uchuu-kun[SM42]]

You know what's an interesting scenario? Players are different facs, but the AI is composed entirely of one faction - the Spartans, for example. I once did that in an SP game against the Uni x 6, and had about half of the "University-2" factions declaring vendetta on me for no reason...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MariOne


this kind of "accidents" are occurring all to often in pbems!
They usually lead to the most entertaining pbems, ridden with triple-playing!

I did think they were trying disinformation on me but it turned out that one of them had two email groupings for the game( one for their alliance and one that included me) and he sent to the wrong group. It could have been a double cross of his allies but they were no real threat standing alone and he was better off with them continuing as allies.

After I got the message I looked very very hard at their military capabilities and could not see that they were trying to sucker me at that point. In any event I knew that hitting 2 of them was better off than facing 3 players techsharing and only biding their time till they tried to get me. Taking them out made my win almost certain. I should have won much earllier but did get suckered into capturing what looked to be a soft target only to see MCC assisted probeships swoop in to kill my defensive probes, steal tech and probe away the base and with it some of my strike force

[Xian]

that was awesome

[Hydro]

Hendrik,

MasterBuilder and I are on our 5th role playing PBEM. Each year we write up what is happening and then e-mail it to each other. Each writeup is put in story format with the central characters (faction leaders) and minor characters created to fill in the plot, which incorporates internal developments, diplomacy, and wars. I've kept and edited these accounts and posted them in the Fiction forum. Of late I've been a bit lazy and I never posted the end of the 4th PBEM. The other three are there. I'll bump them tonight, and get my butt in gear to finish the 4th PBEM.

As I recall, the thread names were: Conversations (Gaians and PKs), Unlike Minds (Gaians vs Hive), Among Friends? (PKs and Uni). The last one was Cult and Gaians. The current PBEM (unposted) is Morgan vs Spartans.

I'm not sure if that is what you want, but if it is then I hope you like it!