DIPLO: Glory of War contact LOG

[Cort Haus]

from MZ

Well now that this turn is over with...

First, the news. We isolated Abeline entirely. By entirely I mean that not even Lego's damaged tanks can move in next turn and hope to heal. Jackson was also isolated but only against 1-move units, it's quite likely therefore that Lego's 11 tanks in Dye Fields (most of which are probably highly damaged) will move in if they expect Jackson NOT to be taken. Of course this would make them lose 1 turn of healing for those tanks so it's also likely that they'll choose to keep them at Dye Fields.

We will have 35 tanks to hit Jackson with next turn, that's 20 in place in the city plus 15 which can be chained, Lego will likely cut the road from Port Sacrifice to the interior which means that our other tanks will be isolated. We built a fort city near Abeline (Fort Spinebreaker) which holds the Arty which we used to isolate Abeline plus some tanks, if you think it could be useful for your own later assault on Abeline you may have it at any time.

Now on to more juicy subjects...

This whole war has gone so fast that we must begin discussing the "post-war situation" immediately. The main questions on my mind:

1) how will we split Lego?
2) what will Vox's role be in it?
3) will any other countries besides us have a piece of the pie?

Another issue that is important, at least for us is that we cannot allow the bulk of our army to stay in Legoland too long. Because of the diplo bug I can't check when our RoP with ND ends. Before it had automatically renewed but with the corrections Trip made I don't know if that might continue. ND is not the type to do a RoP rape which is the only reason I dared to send our forces overseas, but without a RoP who knows.

Hence, we must try to "end the Lego question" ASAP.

I'll write more when I have more time (with pics too)

-MZ

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

Dear Glory of News Editor,

We are sorry to hear of the disruption caused by the war to your normal distribution channels. The Gathering News Agency would like to subscribe to the special courier service as advertised. We have Electronics, if the Boulder Dam powering our cities is anything to go by, and I think we've built an airport by now.

Regards

Hurricane Hearst
Gathering News Editor.

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

Congrats on the turn!

On the territory - of primary interest to GS is the rubber, but the Dyes are obviously a key site for both of us. One idea we are knocking around is for a minor civ to be the Stewards of the Dyes.

Would GoW be strongly opposed to a modest claim by RP for some spoils? They have committed themselves to this war, even if it may be nearly over before they can arrive. RP's economic contribution has also been valuable to our alliance's technological edge over Lego.

Vox's free tech will obviously come into play. Beyond that is certainly something we need to consider and discuss.

We too would like to get our troops home soon. Once we get Lego's battle report we can consider the best next moves. Do we need any kind of agreement on what troops we both keep on Legoland once this war finishes?

Also, perhaps we should consider a mutual protection arrangement in case ND tries something silly.

Regards,

-Cort

[Cort Haus]

to MZ, UnO

- Lego 1/4 IR at Zargonia 6.
- Lego 4/4 BB at Castlea 888.
- Lego 1/4 DD at Castlea 888.

[Cort Haus]

from MZ

CACTUS 1280 and the Future
Well not much to report, just a destroyer and a sub sunk in our side of the pond.

I've been thinking of the best way to split Legoland and I think I have the best answer: we draw the border exactly through the middle from a SW-NE axis (following the isometric grid). Basically from each diagonal row we count the tiles and the border gets drawn right in the middle. I will draw a map and send it your way. Obviously some concessions can be made for example, I assume GS will want some of the dyes so a GS city on "our side" will not be a problem. With respect to third parties settling on Lego, I guess after we split each side, each team gets to decide who to allow to settle on his part of the continent. Thus, we have no problem in RP settling on Lego as long as it's done on GS's side. Likewise ND has kind of been asking for a role considering they helped us with tech and if the war had dragged on they would have joined in (or so they say).

Some parts of Lego might prove tricky to split: mainly the isthmus and the "hammer" up north. I suggest we give these parts to Vox as a show of thanks for their neutrality in the conflict.

Finally, what about Lego? It's obvious they will try and hide forever. The turn we took Invoice we saw 3 Lego transports to the west of the isthmus. We don't have a spy in Legoland but perhaps they still have troops and will try a nuisance raid, maybe in our north which they might think is undefended. We have a couple of destroyers north of Roleplay trying to hunt them down.

Oh last thing, again, we didn't accept Computers last turn, we'll accept it on 1290 AD. We also offered you Fort Spinebreaker since we have no use for it anymore.

-MZ

[Aeson]

Hello MZ.

I just wanted to send you a quick note explaining what we did this turn in case you get the save before the official diplomatic channels are around.

We settled 6 new cities on Lego. Our unit support costs have been a bit much lately and we wanted to plant some cities with the spare Settlers that didn't see any action to ease the costs a bit. We tried to place the cities so they would conform to your suggestion in case that is what is agreed upon. In any case the cities are by no means permanent. If GoW has any concerns about any of the city placements please feel free to let us know.

[Aeson]

To MZ

I will post this for the team. Cort Haus is still the GS diplomat to GoW.

I will send Computers on 1295AD then.

Have fun in Rome.

Hello Aeson

Sorry for the late reply but I was waiting to get the save so I could also mention a few other things. First of all regarding the settlements, they are perfectly acceptable to us. I think we should, however, "formally agree" to a split by now if our proposal is satisfactory:

- Vox gets the Isthmus and the Hammer
- The rest of the continent is split at the middle with the Demarcation Line being exactly half the number of tiles on each SW-NE row. In case of rows with an odd number of tiles, the Demarcation Line will be the entire middle tile so as to give each side the same sized territory.
- No cities may be built touching the Demarcation Line, they must be built at least 1 tile away so that the initial cultural boundary fits within each side's territory.
- An exception will be made for GS's city on the dyes. We have no objection to allowing this city even if it rests on "our side".
- Each side can decide what to do with their half and who to allow to colonize.

Given that ND helped us with techs for the war and they also want a share I have no objections in theory however perhaps we should insist that only GS and GoW are allowed to have anything more than defensive forces in Lego. I for one don't mind ND colonizing part of Legoland... I sure as hell don't want them militarizing it.

Changing subject: I forgot that new technology automatically upgrades city builds so we'll need Computers until 1295 AD instead of next turn.

One last thing, will you be handling diplo issues with us from now on or should we keep PMing Cort Haus? Well, I'll be away for the weekend, see you guys later.

-MZ

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

Hi MZ,

Thank you for Spinebreaker.

The described split sounds fine to us - though as we'd like a city on the rubber, could we trade a few tiles in this area for some others elsewhere?

We agree that each team is free to give land from its portion as they see fit. For Vox, we can each offer them an equivalent slice, and the Hammer and Isthmus seem to be appropriate gifts from each of us respectively.

Beyond Lego, GS are looking forward to continuing the good relations established between our teams over the last several months into the future. We hope GoW feels the same.

(btw/fyi - I understand the outstanding balance on Computers to be 1070g.)

Regards,

-Cort

[Cort Haus]

Before our official message to GoW, I also sent a short personal (and slightly-drunk) note to MZ raising a glass to our alliance. In a PS I mentioned ND's Marines.

MZ's reply is interesting ...

Well I wish I could raise a glass myself but alas, I have none in front of me but next time I do, I will also give cheers to the great Gathering Storm. I do not know who's going to win this game but undoubtedly each team will leave its legacy in some way or another. GoW, of course, will never be known for its feats of micro-managing perfection but I think our unique diplomatic style got us this far and was what gave us our defining psyche. And well, all our attempts at humor will perhaps make us the PTWDG's Darth Helmet rather than Darth Vader but who cares, we had fun.

GS on the other hand is the epitome of efficiency and honor. If we're the dark mare, you're the white steed... making our current alliance all the more surprising. Perhaps there's a subtle lesson learned here, that no matter what issues arose in the past, it is possible to work together when you have people receptive to each other's interests. You, DeepO, Aeson and all the others I've had the privilege of working with during my prolonged stint as Emperor have all been great people. Ok, this part's "official" now (though you can post all of this message,
I don't mind),

Well, game's not over yet, and I have no clue what ND is planning with "all those Marines" (how many do they have?). Considering how many Mech Infs you likely have now I'm not sure they'd be foolish enough to attempt something against you. Also, regarding the PM you sent me, GoW will likely give Vox some of the Northern part of "our side" (i.e. probably everything north of the the former Legopolis-Jackson axis), whatever GS plans to donate to them (besides the isthmus and hammer) is an issue that you two should settle independently.

Btw, I've "heard" of the possibility of ND trying to go for a diplo
victory, or at least thinking of it. Seems a bit odd. There would be 3 UN candidates: us, ND, and you. Roleplay will likely vote for you, Lego will probably vote for ND or abstain, and Vox might vote for us or abstain. No clear majority unless two of the superpowers vote for another one (ok, I'll admit it, I wouldn't mind these votes at all hehe).

Finally regarding Lego territory, I thought there was already a rubber tile in your side... I could be wrong so I'll check the save early tomorrow (was a bit busy and couldn't play today).

Cheers,
-MZ a.k.a. Darth Helmet

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

Hi MZ,

Do you have a map of the intended division of Legoland? Maybe we can settle the border before our next turn.

Cheers,

-Cort

[Cort Haus]

from MZ

Here's the first proposal for the Lego split. I decided to split it as simple as possible (with as many straight lines and perfect diagonals as can be). The split begins south at the right edge of the last SW-NE row and heads straight NW until the tile before the mountain upon which it goes straight up until it reaches the Cloudburst column, from there it goes NW until it touches your borders upon which the border flows naturally around the already-established GS cities.

The red line indicated the territory which is to be assigned de facto to Vox. The total tile count on the GS side is 162 plus 8 additional tiles for Aurora Aequatoris bringing the total to 170. GoW's side is 175 tiles minus the 8 AA tiles for a total of 167.

Any further territorial offers to Vox are at the discretion of each side and at the expense of each side's territory. We plan on giving Vox all the land north of the two cities which we founded this turn (I reloaded the save to make this map so they are not shown) which are roughly in the former Legopolis-Jackson axis. Regarding our respective "clients", each side decides how much of its assigned land it wants to give to others as long as it respects the split. We may consult each other, however, in case one of us ones to build a city that might overlap some tiles on the other's assigned area, in this sense the split is not 100% definitive but can be slightly flexible. (I'd prefer though if this only be done between GoW and GS cities... not anyone elses).

http://apolyton.net/upload/view.php?file=26621_LegolandSplit.jpg

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

Hi MZ,

1. Thanks for doing the map. GS agree with the division of Legoland as you proposed.

2. You asked about ND's Marines - well, you might as well see the entire picture.

ND Forces:

3 Settler
38 Worker
20 Marine (+8)
14 Cavalry
64 Infantry
40 Tank (+2)
1 Mech Infantry
1 Frigate
17 Transports (+3)
1 Sub
5 Destroyer
1 Battleship
18 Bomber
4 Ansar

As we do not expect that the amphibious buildup is in preparation for an invasion of Vox, this forces GS to withdraw naval units from the persuit of Lego to be sure that ND cannot land on Stormia. This makes it easier for ND to keep Lego alive (for whatever their nefarious purposes might be), but you will understand that in the light of the evidence, defence of the homeland is paramount.

Regards,

-Cort

[Cort Haus]

to MZ

As the recent Rubber transaction between us was very quickly anulled by the game on settling our own source, would it be reasonable to ask if the Rubber we had purchased could be sent instead to RP? We understand there may be a couple of turns less than the full twenty left on the deal, but if this is a problem a balancing sum could surely be arranged.

[Cort Haus]

from MZ

The previous message had a 'PS - did you get our reply about the map?'

Yep, got the reply, thanks. There's a few other things I want to discuss but it's a bit late so I'll get back to you tomorrow hopefully. As for the rubber, we were already sending Roleplay rubber - it was part of a pre-war deal for Navigation if memory serves me right - don't know if the deal expired already though, I guess I'll check next turn and we'll send them some if it did.

Cheers,
-MZ

[Cort Haus]

to MZ by email (pm box full)

Hi MZ,

It seems ND have seized the GS side of Lego. Do you, erm, happen to know anything about this?

-Cort