Most stupid thing i ever done in MP

[Curumbor Elendil]

No kidding. For a while I experimented with turning off the option that warns you (after all, when I switch like that I usually no what I'm doing), but the risk of making a huge mistake just isn't worth it!

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Curumbor Elendil
jason.sorens@yale.edu
ICQ 56126989

[Ming]

Well Berzerker...
I was the one that gave you Communism, and even suggested that you build it since I was going to be a long away from building it, and I didn't want Xin to get that too.

You never did tell me your real goal was the Hoover Dam... You just said you couldn't take electronics, so I suggested we leap frog techs...

What did you think I was going to do


<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by Ming (edited May 25, 2000).]</font>

[KenThur]

Granted, I'm in self(reality)-imposed exile from this addiction, but does mean i don't sneak a peek in the "liquor store" window / forum occasionally with painful longing.
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On this topic, I am not just a "Prince", I'm a King-of-Fools.

Sad to say, CapTVK is correct... I probably have the distinction of having made the most costly screw-up in the most important game to date... the Great Diplo II; 7-player, worldwide game of 1999.

My little Viking civ based out of Australia had the chance-of-the-game to jump into being a contender. Don't remember what the actual age was but it was soon after most of us had gotten industry & the race was on to ramp up production in anticipation of modern border "clashes" & more importantly, the next century's space race. Pollution was getting to be a problem & in that game, we had agreed there would be drastic actions taken if necessary to curb polluting civ's.

If havn't figured out by now, the Wonder to do it all = the Great Hoover Dam!
I had spent a decade tech trading(begging?), caraven building, chatting openly, privately, & on the forum about how bad-off us Vikings were how we didn't have nothin'.
All the while monitoring via Marco Polo's, what wonders the others were building & not showing any wonder-building of my own. U'll know the drill; build as many caravens as possible, until just a few turns prior to final build.
Of course, i wasn't ABOUT to let those w/ embassies see that i was going for THE BIG DAM so i had it set to the UN (ya know, that really useful MP wonder).

The BIG TURN finally arrived! I spent my hoarded trading gold to finish filling the build box after my waves of camels poured in their shields.
BUT! As intense & close as this huge game was ol' Klever Ken(Milo to them) wasn't about to show his hand by switching wonders to The Dam until just before the Viking's next turn. Plus with the #1 Aztecs ruled by Master Civer Nappy(inherited as the Great Croat civ from S'Fart) on the verge of completing it in a turn or 2, according to my embassy staff, we didn't want him to rush his to completion during HIS turn.
Besides in a game with 6-7 humans, i'd have plenty of time for that, right? Even had the production screen for my Wonder city open & the "Change Production" window hi-lited. I mean, were the lowly Vikings clever & ready to surprise the world or WHAT?!?!

Well, guess WHAT? U can easily conclude what the Not-So-Great ruler Milo DID NOT do before the Viking turn came around.
Yep, I pulled my head out of my ass* just in time to see that Wonderful Wonder Build announcement popup & hear the cheers of citizens for the UNITED NATIONS!!

There's dumb & then there's DUMBER. Guess where "Milo" fit in!!!!!!!!!
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* there WERE a number of extenuating circumstances / major distractions. They're all "documented" in the forum "news reports" along with the story of President Milo's "fall from grace" with his Viking citizens over "The DAMN Blunder".
Cap; U R welcome(?) to reprint that sad (humorous?) report from the archives U so thotfully saved for Civ II MP posterity.


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"Hm-m-m, doubt me you will?"

[CapTVK]

I'll dig it up out of the archives and show it in it's former glory Milo!

I think we can safely say that Milo walks away with the big prize this time. Nobody and I mean nobody can match or even come close to this!
<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by CapTVK (edited May 28, 2000).]</font>

[CapTVK]

Original date: sept-9-1999
As Milo told previously all players at this point in time were starting to industrialize and the Dam-race was on. I didn't actively take part in the dam race. I decided to focus on building up my super science city, and BOY was it a SUPER science city!


Finally! The year of completion arrives. It all comes together like a precision machine:
1] Science Minister Testla announces we had perfected “electronics”.
2] Commerce Minister Rockefeller moves the caravans & freights directly into our capital “V”, where the “UN” wonder is being built.
3] Finance Minister Richie Rich calculates & recalculates how much gold is needed to complete this masterpiece in 1 dramatic payment; WE HAVE ENOUGH goes up the word!
4] President Milo waits patiently before giving the final, last-minute word to complete the wonder; lest the other world leaders be alerted with by a “Vikings have nearly completed the United Nations” news flash. He knows full well, that among this distinguished group of civ leaders most know it takes the same amount to complete THE DAM as the UN.
5] At last, we’re in the decade prior to completion. Of course what Milo didn’t know, was how many of the leaders had noticed we Vikings had just mastered “Electronics”. So as a ruse to, hopefully, divert the other leaders’ attention & keep them from checking their intelligence on the Vikings, Milo engaged them in lively chat session. All the while watching time tick away until the final decade began with the Russians. 1710AD, the year of completion was here at last!.
6] The (then) Great Milo gives the command, “Make it so.”
The gold flows & our capital’s production box is filled completely with shields!! It was glorious folks! Secret congratulations go out to our great business leaders for making our civ the great economic power that could do this great deed!
We are almost there.
7] Still no announcements of THE DAM being completed! Just 1 more civ to go, but it was THE civ to watch… the powerful, rich, & well-run JTF’s turn. Though our embassy intelligence reports showed they were still building the “Cure of Cancer”, we knew that could mean as much as us building the “UN”. The Jap timer ticks down ever so slowly, closer & closer to release…
8] OH NO! Customer aliens approaching! Oh, my god, they want to land & actually buy something! Don’t they know, this is a critical moment in our world’s history?! What can I do? I can’t tell them to bugger off. They are upon us, looking over the counter at Diplo world on the screen! We can’t ask for a stopping of time, GG the masterful leader of the JTF would surely suspect something & he still had the ability (we assumed) to switch wonders & complete THE DAM. To protect our doing’s & do the deal with the aliens, Milo switches the civ screen over to wife-god’s alien customer-trading software.
9] Milo the shopkeeper’s face is flush with stress. Trying to put on a happy face for the aliens. All the while consumed with the fear a window awaits his return to this world… “The Japanese have nearly completed the Hoover Dam”. Milo’s thinking,” Hurry customers, give me the damn gold-oops, I mean credit card!
Alas, the Customer aliens are satisfied, the wife-god will be pleased, & Milo the shopkeeper can return to being President Milo.
10] Diplo world switches back on the screen… Milo slowly opens his eyes… NO wonder announcement. Whew! But the Japanese still have a minute or so to move. A quick check of their cities; they are still building the “Cure”! YAHOO!! We are on the verge of one of the greatest feats of all civ history, we have come from centuries of 2nd class status to THE Civ to Beat as we enter the modern era!!!
11] The top map bar finally announces “Vikings Moves 8:00”.
Now all the world will know… “THE VIKINGS COMPLETE HOOVER DAM”. We did it!
But wait, what the… ?
What!? What is this, “…complete the United Nations”!! NO-NO-NO, this cannot be! It’s supposed to be THE DAM!
The UN, so what. That’s nothing, we already have embassies in most civ’s & another on the way. We didn’t do all this work & make all these sacrifices for the damn UN, we did it for THE DAM!!
12] Instantly answer came to the Viking leaders. Milo the MEATHEAD in all his stress, chatting, & shopkeeping (not to mention having his head up in the self-congratulatory clouds or up something!) … FAILED TO CHANGE PRODUCTION ORDERS TO HOOVER DAM!!!

All these years, all these resources, all for naught. This will forever be remembered as; “Milo’s Dam Blunder”.

[Smash]

it hurts just to read that story.I can imagine the tension as each clock ticked down bringing him closer to glory.

I can also imagine the tension after the fact

[cavebear]

I remember that. I was, what, the Sioux? A lorn and bereft civ licking the dregs of the barrel of gruel (and even that with help from others).

Then, there was this civ/psychic shock wave of horror and pain through the Nations of the world!

[iadkins]

Well, this is the most stupid thing I ALMOST did!!

The other night in the "Big Aussie Game" I was pre-building Darwin
Darwin is a 400 shield Wonder and I could only build a 300 shield wonder - yes Smartfart, like The Oracle! I had around 250 shields when I switched my lovely mined Oil square to a sea square to slow down the building; then as I 'approached' the discovery for Darwin I switched that square back again.

BUT too soon.

I noticed I was ONE shield away from producing Oracle or KRC and changed ALL squares to no shields but guess what? You can't change the city square which produced... yeah, one shield;(

Ok, PANIC!!! - what to do... the thing has left my turn and next time for me I produce a useless wonder

Our alliance had not been exchanging techs so as to stop AHorse from getting them through GL. But thank goodness hydey ho, my terrific allie, had GRAVITY!
Yes, quick hydey give me gravity....
thanks mate, you are a life saver...
quickly I change to Isaac.... get Rail....

A few turns later I had Darwin

This could prove to be a pivotal moment in this game.... to be continued in the other thread

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*THE DEITY*
#8388924


<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by iadkins (edited May 28, 2000).]</font>

[berzerker]

Ming, I was not accusing you of unethical behavior - and yet you felt compelled to defend your action. Is that your conscience you're fighting? Every person here would have done the same thing as you - but only some of us would have thanked their benefactor . But you are right, you did give me communism, however, the city building UN waiting for Hoover was already building a wonder when I switched it to UN - so communism was inconsequential. What I am very pissed about is the computer software - I had the req's for electronics and it stuck me with something else, something I could not get thru trading as I remember. Why does this happen? How does the damn software 'know' to stick it to someone? I was ready to build the best modern wonder and the software screwed me - this random act of software terrorism is very frustrating...

[Ming]

Defend my actions?... Heck, I thought my post was filled with HEAVY sarcasim

[Ming]

Defend my actions?... Heck, I thought my post was filled with HEAVY sarcasim

[Ming]

Defend my actions?... Heck, I thought my post was filled with HEAVY sarcasim

[SmartFart]

Deity: I had similar problem with city square shield more than once.
Since i usually have roads at the time,i rehome one unit from nearby city and production stop completely.

[iadkins]

Yeah, I know SmartFart, but I'd already hit return Thanks though.

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*THE DEITY*
#8388924

[Smash]

I think what choices you are given is affected by what you researched before.It seems like you can't research techs from the same epoch consecutively.Or it may be 3 in a row.Something like that.