Gathering Storm

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by DeepO
Don't you think the Voxian and the Bobian war were handled very differently than the Lego war, and the Lego war was a much better one there? I know we acted from a feeling of respect towards Lego, and got the same in return. I certainly did not get the same expression from Vox.

I can't completely speak for Vox before I joined it (at the end of the war with GS), but after that I guarantee Vox did respect GS as a team. From some of the posts I read in the forum before that I believe that Vox respected GS before and during the war as well.

There was too much, this was too smal to completely remember what you are talking about. Mind you, I'm not making judgement here: I know we probably have made the biggest mistakes, we certainly were the suckers of round one where Beta absolutely floored us with his "Vox public statements". We hadn't learned our lesson yet when the Bobian war broke out. Which is why it was such a big mess. I certainly hope we have learned by now, and this means no public loose cannons, period.

DeepO

As to Beta's Vox statements, I believe those were made as much to add humor and fun to the game as anything. I've gotten to know Beta fairly well for all that we've never met in person and I don't believe he ever had any malicious intent toward GS. He's a competitor and I would think when he realized that they were unbalancing GS as at team then he kept using them against you that way too, but it wasn't with malicious intent.

[Aro]

Originally posted by DeepO


PS: I'll try to do my best in spelling correctly, Rhoth, please don't take it personal if I miss from time to time

DeepO

A simple rule: use copy&paste if the name has more than four letters...

[UnOrthOdOx]

Leave it to UnO to add humor. However, don't you try calling me a smelly b*stard like when you chased MWIA for half the game

You'ld be surprised the great lengths I go to when writing anything. Any time I mentioned anyone, they, or in large numbers of a particular team, a representative of that team was invited to review it (or even post it on their forum) before I publicly posted it. This is a tradition that goes way back to the old Gazette days. Even WIA was warned of the nature of the jab in that final edition, if not a full preview of the kickass cartoon...hey, it's still in my upload...

There was too much, this was too smal to completely remember what you are talking about. Mind you, I'm not making judgement here: I know we probably have made the biggest mistakes, we certainly were the suckers of round one where Beta absolutely floored us with his "Vox public statements". We hadn't learned our lesson yet when the Bobian war broke out. Which is why it was such a big mess. I certainly hope we have learned by now, and this means no public loose cannons, period.

DeepO

I'm not digging through the archives, but I nearly quit, certainly became much less active, and wrote this of the whole event (in this case theseus was asked to post it on GS's forum for approval a week before I posted it publicly):

How the Glory of War Stole the Peace Deal
By the Glory of War

Every Stormian
Down in Estonia
Liked their peace deal a lot...

But the Warmongers,
Who lived just West of Estonia,
Did NOT!

The Warmongers hated Peace Deals! The whole peaceful posting!
No, they all liked their wars, and War Chickens for Roasting.
It could be that their heads weren't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that their armor was too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason to date
May have been that their stomachs lacked food on their plate.

But,
Whatever the reason,
Whether armor or tummy,
They went riding for chicken, it looking quite yummy,
Staring out from their hills with rumbling belly
At the plump clucking War Chickens and Stormian jelly.
For they knew that the enemy shared similar vices:
Honor, Pride, original herbs and spices.

And they've called for a meeting!" Aggie proclaimed with a grin.
"Claiming a wish to ally, to help us to win!"
Then he growled with a curse mocking this greeting,
"I MUST find a poor soul, perhaps two, to attend to this meeting!"
For, the meeting, he knew...

...All those attending, Stormians or not
Would be stuck in the chatroom. Patiently awaiting to talk.
And then! Oh, the Talk! Oh, the Talk! Talk! Talk! Talk!
That's one thing he hated! The TALK! TALK! TALK! TALK!

Then the Stormians, and Warmongers alike, would sit down to hash.
And they'd hash! And they'd hash!
And they'd HASH! HASH! HASH! HASH!
They would start on the border, and who got the west or the east!
A concept that he knew some warmongers would not stand for, at least!

And THEN
They'd do something most appalling of all!
All Stormians present, or active at all
Would stand firm in their stance, no sign of bowing.
They'd stand so steadfast. "Roleplay must live" they'ld be vowing!

They'd vow! And they'd vow!
AND they'd VOW! VOW! VOW! VOW!
And the more King Aggie thought of the Stormian-Roleplay-Vow.
The more that he thought, "Why is this happening now?
"Why twas not long ago we gave them a chance or two!
I MUST send someone to keep their cool
...But WHO?"

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
KING AGGIE
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know just who to send!" King Aggie grinned making for his PM box.
And he made a quick message to Master Zen and to 'dOx.
And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Warmonger team!
"With UnOrthOdOx and Zen, what info we could ream!"

"I'll make up the outline..."
UnO exclaimed with some pride.
Believing in his heart, on organization all would ride.
And they sat there for hours....
when UnOrthOdOx finally said,
"Can we get to a point, I need to get to bed!"
For several hours he sat, digesting all that he read
Where GS took hours, UnO took five minutes instead.

THEN
With the chat all finished
The proposals wrote up
The Warmongers went home
And they slapped a vote up.

Then Ghengis cried out
"I can't live with this junk!
Just look over at Roleplay,
All Spain smells like skunk!"

It was outside of Pamplona, down in some trees
GS forces had gathered, responding to Spain's pleas
But soon ND forces ran down and slaughtered with ease.
"Look down on all those chickens" Old King Aggie spat
"They're ripe for the plucking, we can't miss on that."

The warmongers flew from the Alamo with glee.
And joined in with ND in the mass killing spree.
They fought possessed, spurred on with hunger pain,
and soon the WarChickens were falling like rain.
Donegeal looked over the carnage, he knew what to do.
"These Chickens," he grinned, "Will be just great in a stew!"

They felt not but respect, as the War Chickens they plucked.
GS had fought hard, their choice of allies just sucked!
Nuggets! And Stews! Ratatouille! Buffalo Wings!
They ate Curry! Marsalla! Dijon! a la King!
And they stuffed all their faces. It all tasting quite yummy.
And they went to bed that night, each one with a full tummy!

And Darekill went out to the forum, with a poem he wrote.
He posted it up, not of ND meaning to gloat.
But OPD was watching and as quick as a flash.
"Why" he replied "do you guys keep posting this trash!"

This angered UnOrthOdOx, enough to make his lips quiver.
"Oh GS!" He went and shouted, "Go cry me a River!"

And GS gathered 'round OPD, perhaps some thought it a sport
And soon sides were exchanging each in fiery retort.
As the forum errupted for all out there to see!
It gained the attention of all, even the one known as NYE.

And both sides lobbed volleys by those who were bitter
Or perhaps from a few not wanting to be dubbed as a quitter.
Asleepatthewheel attempted to get some sanity back,
As he called out for peace and to pass the prozac.

But, you know, that old UnO was just an ornery old grouch
“Removing GS is my quest” he did vouch
"I’m tired of them, as they save whereitsat’s life”
"It’s even come to a point where they’ve pissed off my wife.”
"I made them an offer I felt fair not long ago.”
"I wonder if it’s looking better to them yet, or no?"

And not many seemed to care for this recent upheaval
Nor of UnOrthOdOx or of his portrayal of evil.
In the end what they thought he could care less,
And only the slightest remorse did he feel for starting this mess!

To the game all minds turned
The situations to assess.
And the Glory of War sought at last to progress.
And the fled from the Alamo praying to the RNG for success.

And they found forces of GS
All camped out on a hill
They went into the fight, hoping for more chickens to grill.


Then
They enjoyed once again
A feast of chickens and jelly

And they smiled
And they laughed
Once again with food in their belly!

It was back on the forum...
The old bastard spoke
MrWhereItsAt, still in hiding
and he posted a joke,
A plea to “save roleplay! The Pope! And the squid!
The stench! And even that woman with beard! Let none forbid!”

And there in the forum, the one that is secret,
Ennet rode in wearing his allecret.
Sounding quite eloquent with his rhymes and his prose.
And Donegeal there a suggestion did propose
And Ennet went to the public with a fine dissertation
And posted it up before every nation
Then waited to see whether met with contempt or elation.

"Oh brother," grumbled UnO,
with a grimace and a growl.
”As soon as they see it all of GS will cry foul.”
And he watched and he waited, looking for any reply.
That would in some way wrong doing imply...

But the replies weren’t mocking!
Why, they sounded quite pleasant!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS, at least from those present!

He stared down at Estonia!
Old UnO popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Stormian down in Estonia, the short and the grown,
at least all of those who made themselves known
They didn’t seem to angry it seemed!
They laughed!
And it appeared that they actually sat down for a draft!

And old ‘dOx, with his brows furrowed in a row,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
I don’t see complaints! I don’t see any flames!
"They aren’t so much as calling out names!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then Old UnO thought of his tattered rapport,
"Maybe this forum," he thought, "I don’t need to ignore.
"Maybe...perhaps...I just got a bit too grumpy before!"

From whence would this poem come...?
Well...in GoW they say
That UnO’s bottled anger,
just seemed to melt right away!
And when he saw all the others delight,
He locked himself in the private forum to write.
Inspired by the likes of WhereItsAt and of Ennet!
that he...

...HE HIMSELF...!
UnOrthOdOx sat down to pen it!

[Aro]

[Krill]

You go away for 2 hours and this is what happens...

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by Krill
You go away for 2 hours and this is what happens...

And the automatic response is...."don't go away".

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Rhothaerill
As to Beta's Vox statements, I believe those were made as much to add humor and fun to the game as anything. I've gotten to know Beta fairly well for all that we've never met in person and I don't believe he ever had any malicious intent toward GS. He's a competitor and I would think when he realized that they were unbalancing GS as at team then he kept using them against you that way too, but it wasn't with malicious intent.

The problem here, is that at a certain point we realized that Beta had asked for everyone's permission for most of his announcements, except for ours. Not that it was needed in any way, but it was the proverbial last drop. Of course we were publicly getting hammered from all sides, and nothing we could say was sparkling any sympathy (on the contrary, it felt like a free-for-all let's-bash-GS thing to us). It felt like a set-up. After that, we polled (or least discussed, I don't know if it came to an official poll) if we wanted to continue as a team given such a hostile environment. Knowing Lego, RP, GoW and perhaps ND too were all in on the 'joke' and were all too eager to participate was a bit much.

You may have respected us, but that certainly was not what we felt. And the Bobian war didn't exactly help either.

No grudges, though. I know that memory is very coloured by your own perception, and we certainly didn't perceive the whole affair in the same way as the others did. I don't think there was malicous intent, but the fact remained that it was no longer fun to participate, and most of us who carried on did it more from a duty feeling than purely for fun. At least the first few months, the atmosphere has improved a lot in PTWDG, and it was a much more pleasant place afterwards.

DeepO

[DeepO]

Originally posted by UnOrthOdOx


You'ld be surprised the great lengths I go to when writing anything. Any time I mentioned anyone, they, or in large numbers of a particular team, a representative of that team was invited to review it (or even post it on their forum) before I publicly posted it.

I know you do. Beta didn't. In fact, he did just the opposite. And as you say yourself, you got involved in less than humorous flamefests too... one tiny misunderstanding is sometimes enough to launch them.

I'm not digging through the archives, but I nearly quit, certainly became much less active, and wrote this of the whole event (in this case theseus was asked to post it on GS's forum for approval a week before I posted it publicly):

Look, I don't want to be holier than the pope here, but you are citing one single event. I can at least remember 5, and there might be 10 more I can't name which became too much for me. Honestly, who has had to put up with most garbage, you or us? I simply do not want to get into that same atmosphere again.

For you, it seems to have been OPD... someone I would consider the most gentle poster of GS at that time. He more or less left soon after, obviously you weren't the only one who was offended. And I know the more troll-like your posting style, the more chance you've got to being misunderstood, or being at the basis of flames. I know I make a lot more chance of creating such an aversion than OPD, which is why I want to be careful.

DeepO

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by DeepO

The problem here, is that at a certain point we realized that Beta had asked for everyone's permission for most of his announcements, except for ours. Not that it was needed in any way, but it was the proverbial last drop. Of course we were publicly getting hammered from all sides, and nothing we could say was sparkling any sympathy (on the contrary, it felt like a free-for-all let's-bash-GS thing to us). It felt like a set-up. After that, we polled (or least discussed, I don't know if it came to an official poll) if we wanted to continue as a team given such a hostile environment. Knowing Lego, RP, GoW and perhaps ND too were all in on the 'joke' and were all too eager to participate was a bit much.

You may have respected us, but that certainly was not what we felt. And the Bobian war didn't exactly help either.

No grudges, though. I know that memory is very coloured by your own perception, and we certainly didn't perceive the whole affair in the same way as the others did. I don't think there was malicous intent, but the fact remained that it was no longer fun to participate, and most of us who carried on did it more from a duty feeling than purely for fun. At least the first few months, the atmosphere has improved a lot in PTWDG, and it was a much more pleasant place afterwards.

DeepO

I'm purely speculating here, but perhaps what you suffered wasn't a lack of respect, but an abundance of respect. Like it or not, GS had an "insta-reputation" because of being composed primarily of strat-forum people. You were perceived early on as the strongest team simply because of your membership and everyone always wants to be the one to "take down the big guy". Was that fair to you? Of course not. But public perception and reality aren't always the same.

Perhaps that is not as much of a problem for this game as many more people could be considered "strat-forum people" now than back at the beginning of PTWDG. Plus the concept of a multi-team demogame was a lot newer then, and perception of demogames has also changed since PTWDG started.

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Rhothaerill


I'm purely speculating here, but perhaps what you suffered wasn't a lack of respect, but an abundance of respect. Like it or not, GS had an "insta-reputation" because of being composed primarily of strat-forum people. You were perceived early on as the strongest team simply because of your membership and everyone always wants to be the one to "take down the big guy".

Although not called for, this was what made everyone so eager to have a bash at us. The beauty of it all though, and I say this because I respect this skill as much as another, is that it was all based on propaganda on Beta's part. Everyone we talked to said we were in deep trouble because of the surpirse attack, and there was no help anymore as Vox' superiour force would quickly take down our empire. GoW even granted us Feudalism, more or less because they feared Vox was going to run over us, and have the same amount of land as on Bob, just to themselves.

WTF?
- we had double the amount of cities of Vox, most of them bigger too.
- Vox gave us 5 or 6 warning turns by attacking Grog. By the time the first immortal could have hit us, we were stronger defensively. There was simply no way to get through.
- Moreover, you left us an option to spawn our GA, a couple of turns after going republic.

I personally couldn't understand why people thought I was crazy when I told them in private we were maybe going to lose 1 city, 2 if things went very badly.

And later on, the opposite happened: somehow we were perceived by Lego as the biggest threat, while we were 4th in most stats.

DeepO

[Krill]

Break Stuff.

And do it quickly.

and we did

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by DeepO

And later on, the opposite happened: somehow we were perceived by Lego as the biggest threat, while we were 4th in most stats.

DeepO

Well you were the hammer that destroyed Lego so they had something there.

To be honest though I'm still surprised the game ended as it did. GoWND was an obvious threat with their combined amount of land. I know Lego was a threat to you with their island, but the better thing (hindsight being 20/20) for both of you would have been to ally and hit Bob with a multi-pronged attack, and then fought amongst yourselves with Lego winning because of their superior ally.

[Golden Bear]

Wow!! Here we are, concerned about carryover from our little Demo game fuss... and you folks are still chewing over the events of a preceding one!!

This promises to make the upcoming game an interesting event with many cross interests. I'm looking forward to this new mix.

I am also looking forward to watching everybody try to be polite to each other in public posts. Much fun is brewing.

Should we start a pool on how many turns will pass before the first flame war breaks out?

[Krill]

Rhoth, I would leave that topic. you don't want to start any of us on Shared Victory, now, do you

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by Krill
Rhoth, I would leave that topic. you don't want to start any of us on Shared Victory, now, do you

Oh no, definitely not.

Originally posted by Golden Bear
Should we start a pool on how many turns will pass before the first flame war breaks out?

Turn 20.