Vox Controli - correspondence & foreign affairs

[Kloreep]

I agree, might as well cash it in now. I'm not sure how much use Vox will have for hospitals anyway; I don't think the lux will be all that effective if they wait. And it would definitely be good to see what GS will do.

[vondrack]

This is what I emailed to Rhothaerill yesterday before going to bed:

Hi Jared,

We'll keep on going at 100% science.

Good, thanks.

Just this one tech and we'll be happy to let you slow down... but The Flight is of a principal importance to us. It's the hammer we need to properly welcome any invaders.

Hmm, just had an idea. Now that we're about to hit size 12 in many of our cities we need either a luxury, an entertainer, or the lux slider to maintain the happiness in our cities. I don't really want to get another of our stockpiled luxury options quite yet so I am using entertainers at the moment, but I wonder if I should ask GS for one of the luxuries they owe us. If they refuse then we'll know what's up. If they give it to us and attack later then they're reneging on a deal and will catch some nastiness in the main forum.

This is actually an excellent idea. 20 turns is a loooong time (we'll be entering modern times in ~20t) - not sure if it is wise to keep saving the lux option(s) "for later times". IMHO, the game will be decided in ~40-60 turns maximum.

I am going to post your email in our forum and ask other guys what they think, but as for me, I believe it's just plain brilliant.

BTW - how many such options do you have stockpiled?

Our new settler will be finished soon as well so that emergency city we had talked about will be ready if needed.

Great. Our caravels-to-be-upgraded-to-transports are already on their way to The Legoon. Everything should be in place within ~5 turns (well, at least the first 3-4 transports... but that's 24-32 units to be transported in case of an emergency).

Take care,
Radek

And found this in my mailbox this morning:

Hi Radek,

That sounds good. I will wait to contact GS about the luxury item until after our next turn. It would look a little suspicious if we did it right now, and I want it to look natural.

We have five more options stockpiled with ND, and two with GS. Hmm, that's actually enough to keep us going without need for the lux slider for roughly 50 more turns counting what we have going right now. I'll definitely be
asking them for a luxury item then.

Jared

If they have 5 options stockpiled, I believe it's a no brainer... they will barely be able to use them all in a meaningful way until the game is over.

Leo is right that we should not read all that much into GS' response in case they do not refuse. Who knows, maybe even GS can learn a (backstab) thing - after all, they sorta owe one to Vox.

But I would still lean towards considering their Code of Honorâ„¢ pretty much unbreakable (especially after they advertised it so heavily in the public forum) - and a chance that their reaction might suggest something to us and Vox more than negligible.

Anyway... I'm glad there are things we can discuss and plan for with Vox, even if they are nothing major. I hope that this way (and with all the gold , tech, & population support), they feel sorta part of the grand plan and will not start getting thoughts...

[Tiberius]

Any news about this "GS luxury" story?

[vondrack]

Oops, sorry, forgot to post. GS sent the luxuries Voxes asked for.

[Tiberius]

So they may not involve Vox. That's good.
Of course, It could be GoW attacking Vox. Who knows ? We better prepare for all eventualities, even the most unlikely ones.

[Tiberius]

I imagine that the next goal for Vox will be Amphibious Warfare? If yes, I'd suggest to let them do it on a 0 gpt deficit. There is no rush to get it, I suppose.

[vondrack]

Yes, that's the current plan, already prediscussed with Rhothaerill. After finishing the Flight, Vox shall go after Amphibious Warfare at 0+gpt, so that they do not need any extra funding from us.

[vondrack]

I have had an unexpected chat with Beta and Rhothaerill yesterday late night (Beta invited me). Nothing crucial discussed and a lot of OT stuff, but here is a quick summary:

Voxian military as of 1200AD:
1 settler
13 infantry
10 artillery
4 caravel
1 ironclad
3 destroyers
1 battleship
1 bomber
1 immortal (Beta - their palace guard )

Not bad - especially those 10 arty pieces are a nice addition to ours.

Amphibious Warfare coming from them in 4t (as of 1200AD), they will then go 100% tax and save as much as possible, so that they can research a Tier 2 tech at 100% once in modern times, while needing no extra funding from us, at least for few turns.

We have agreed that they will grow Hope (their only city not at max pre-hospital pop yet) on her own not, needing no workers from us (we've got better use for them, plus Vox are too fast for us research-wise anyway... at least until modern times).

Hmmm... that's about it. Geeze... and it took me over an hour of lively chatting to get this info??? Too much OT stuff...

[Kloreep]

From Beta.

Here is the message I sent earlier today. I guess Vondrack and Tibi are stepping out.
----- Original Message -----
Hello gentlemen. I know you have heard it from us before, but let me say how sorry we are as to how things have turned out for Lego. We really were pulling for you; and it went beyond the natural obligation we felt for you having saved us.

But, the game moves on, and we are now trying to tip-toe our way thorugh the diplomatic minefield that exists. We are also wondering what Lego plans on doing next. Do your transports need a safe haven? Do you want a Vox city to work with? Would you like us to try and negotiate a homeland for you somewhere? Or are you on a final suicidal run at GS? You don't need to answer the last if that's what it is, but if you need our help with any of the other options, please let us know.

We are also negotiating tech deals, and so far it looks like we would be able to keep you at tech parity (I am embarassed to say that given our reversed relationship in the past) as long as you do not use the techs to do further dealings with. At least that was ND's position. I am not sure where GoW and GS stand. As I find out more I will let you know.

As I am taking over from Rhothaerill for awhile, please do not hesitate to contact me, or if I am slow in responding, try conmcb25.

Regards - and looking to hear from you. ...Beta.

Here's the reply I sent:

Yep, Vondrack and Tiberius aren't active anymore. ZargonX is heading Legoland now, and I and some others like Jack_www are still active as well.

Thanks for the city offer. The team agreed we don't want to stay in the game once we're ultimately defeated. That doesn't rule out city gifting, but we aren't looking for a permanent home. Thanks for the tech offer too, but that probably won't matter either. (Unless the world already has Nuclear Power, in which case I'm sure our ships could use more movement.)

One thing I would like to ask... what would you think about Lego forces landing in Vox with a RoP and coming on to the Legos rail network via your territory? It would probably be fairly obvious where they came from to GS and GoW, so if you don't want to risk what are no doubt delicate diplomatic relations with them, that's understandable. I wouldn't want you guys to put yourselves at risk unless you're okay with it.

-Kloreep