Day 1

"Aah, the sun is bright, the people's alright... Time for a little trip."

I bet you that was what Big Brother was thinking... So I got my orders from Minipeace: go and liberate Eurasia once and for all. Well, that's easier said than done.

The people of Airstrip One are hungry, so my first idea is to make sure they are properly fed. Now, that wouldn't need to be a problem, if it weren't for the ungoodfull decision of Minipeace of giving me the command over a bunch of unworkfull lizards, hmpff...
I guess those unthinkers are starting to believe themselves what they put on those telescreens.

Let's see if I can make a plusgood situation out of this minusnongood pickle...

TS

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-09-2010 @ 07:48 AM).]

By the way, what is your favourite comic strip, Nyar?

Goldstein, day 1

We beat up on some dumb Animals at the Farm. Two legs good, four legs bad!

Day 2

"...Massive amounts of food have been liberated from the Eurasian continent and are right now being shipped to the workers in need. Further on, the people are cheering for the major conquests..." -zap-

Oh yes, massive amounts, sure... Barely enough would be my choice of words, but I'm no part of Minitrue. Still enlisted with Minipeace, so that's where I have my responsabilities. And it were quite a few.
While the circle of unthinkers which are my bosses normally make minusnongood decisions, they have had a moment of clarity. Today I had a plusgood surprise, a guy named Kitus or something like that rapped at my officedoor, said that Minipeace had sent him to help me. And he did! A bunch of rebels were rioting at the outskirts of Airstrip One, but we quickly subdued those troublemakers.

*ringring*
"yes? Hmm, you're sure? uhuh...ok..." -sigh-

Damn Minilove and their tampering! Now that we have some food for the people, they want me to annex some city... Ah well, they'll see how good their influence will be on the battlefield... I can't work for two ministries at the same time...

TS

OT: Think it's Asterix & Obelix... Not a great comic-fan though.

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-09-2010 @ 07:51 AM).]

Goldstein, day 2

Conquest and recruiting. And now the big question: north or south?

***************

It looks like the game was set up with Surrender On. I had a city garrison surrender to me, and it may well have prevented me from losing units, so I wanted to check that this is okay with you. I can replay the turn if you wish, ignoring any surrender opportunities for this game.

If they surrender to you, they can surrender to me too, so no problem

Day 3

Those Eurasians sure have weird customs. Today there was this guy who passed by the earlier conquered farm, asking for "protection money". Well, that's the last time he did that... Big Brother provides and protects, so we gave him a quick hit on the head and send him to Minilove, let's see if he proves a valuable citizen in the end. Anyhow, Miniplenty can be proud to say that the food keeps coming in in "overwhelming" quantities.

Anyhow, we followed the instructions of Minilove, and annexed a city, full of dwarves. It's marginally better as the lizards I have to work with, but they're so slow...

So, I hope that was the last time Minilove got into the affairs of Minipeace. Getting orders from 2 ministries spells up a recipe for disaster.

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-09-2010 @ 07:56 AM).]

turn sent

ts

serious log will follow

Goldstein, day 4

Frog attack on Brussels!

And beyond...

Goldstein, day 5

Today we took Brussels in force. And the Frog Attack continues in the North Sea!

Day 5

The meddling of Minilove will cost us dearly... Not only did we lose troops by taking in the city of Brussels, but we also lost that city to the traitor Goldstein. We retook the farm, but it won't stay long in our possesion, I fear.
Goldstein's army has settled in Brussels, so Big Brother sees everything... But it won't do any good. Those frogs also are a sour note in our swansong. No, this battle is not going the right way. So the only thing left for us to do is a tactical retreat, and hope for a miracle.

Anyhow, Minitruth has now a fix on me too. They are accusing me of doublethink, and gave me a warning. Apparently I give out too much valuable information...

TS

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-12-2010 @ 02:30 PM).]

Goldstein, day 6

Marching on the Channel!

As long as the bastard Goldstein doesn't have a means of transport to cross the channel, we're good. And as they say, it's not over untill the fat lady sings. Time for one last daring plan.
And don't forget the old rulers of the strip once called England, as Minitruth has not deleted every fact of history:

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old."

Goldstein, day 7

Are O'Brien's flyers trying to do an end-around? We are on it.

Well, he might have killed one flyer, but there's more from where they came. Goldstein still has to cross the channel, and that's no easy feat if most of your real army is landlocked, ha!
There's only the frogs that can harass Big Brothers couse, but we will not give up! Takng in that gobbo village of Berlin would give him a certain edge though, but balloons are slow & easy to slay.

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-14-2010 @ 06:15 AM).]

Goldstein, day 8

To help us pass the time, we went to the circus! Very enjoyable indeed.

We keep up the frog harrassment.

I sense the end is near for another O'Brian... Who incidently just voided himself, hmpfff... 3 units are stil standing on Airstrip One's walls, but will it be enough if Goldstein sends his swimming troops over?

TS

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-14-2010 @ 06:03 PM).]

Goldstein, day 9

Such things we found at the circus! Who has ever heard of a swimming Mammoth?!

After O'Brien voided himself against our beachhead, our many frogs, our swimming Prowlers, and most of all our brand new mammoth overwhelmed Airstrip One and its defenders. O'Brien's trip to the void has become permanent.

The island is ours!

******************

Thanks for the game, Nyarl!

Day 9

Huh, what is this place? Is this room 101? Seems rather cold and empty... What did just happen? Auw, this thinking gives me a headache... Oh yes, now I remember, stupid watchtower, taken in by the traitor Goldstein. Which was guarded by a frog and a slither, whom were nigh invisible. That slither gave me a good bump on the head.

Nurse! Nurse!!!

Hmmm, no answer...

Guards! Guards!!! Why is nobody answering my call?

Big Brother, have thou forsaken me? Oh wait, what's that noise?

- Winston?!? What are YOU doing here?
-Well, that's easy, we died. Airstrip One has fallen, Goldstein has secured the Island. We could not defend ourselves against the overwhelming numbers he has sent against us.
- So that means we're NOT in room 101?
-Nop, this is it, O'Brian, this is the eternal void, this is...

THE END
=================================================
Congrats HenryVI, and good luck with the rest of your games!

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-15-2010 @ 06:21 AM).]

Great logs!


Ladies and gentlemen, live at the scene where H6 defeated Nyra... *cough* his opponent within 10 days. H6, congratulations, what was your strategy for this match? Nyralo... *reads off paper* N-y-a-r-l-a-t-h-o-t-e-p, *phew* it was reported you played without TC battles. Would that have changed the outcome of this match for you?

Well, my last 2 or 3 turns were finally with TC enabled, but I hardly used it, only during the battle for the Northern fishing homlet. Not that it actually helped me, as I lost a hatchling there and the accompanying hero was reduced to a measely 2 HP.

If I would have started the game with a proper install, Brussels would have surrendered, but I don't think the loss of 1 unit there would have greatly influenced the outcome. Maybe Henry would have to wait a day or 2 more, but that's it.

The main problems I faced were the imbalance of the map which is biased towards Goldstein - if there would be no roaming indies in the channel and the interesting sites on the island were not so strongly guarded, O'Brian would have a better chance- my own noobishness of playing against humans, and the silly tactical mistake I made just after conquering Brussels.

I did split 1 Flyer from my invading army to take a look at what was going on at the other side of the Alps, and I should've let him go on & try to conquer Goldie's capital and that one Tigran city, especially knowing that the following turn I could summon a birdie.
Still, Henry's Chopper was closeby, silver-medalled and that flyer was wounded due to the storms hanging over the Alps, so I chose to flee...

[This message has been edited by nyarlathotep (edited 09-15-2010 @ 09:29 AM).]

Thanks, Swolte!

Well, my strategy was quite straightforward: Expand and gain strength while moving towards O'Brien. I studied the map before beginning, though not in great detail, and it seemed to me that Goldstein should have an advantage across most of the mainland as long as he doesn't spread out too fast and leave himself vulnerable to Flyers.

Two points about this map:

-There are so many random elements to the map that any strategy has to be modified by the reality a player encounters. For example, I was able to pick up the Tigran inhabitants of the north-central campsite, which meant my main stack was extra secure against any surprises from Goldstein. And the fact that the towns closest to me were Dwarves and Tigrans as opposed to mana- or research-bonus races meant that I was building and spending gold rather than making much use of magic.

-Goldstein is able to simply do a general expansion: main stack explores and moves from target to target as opportunities appear. It's the style of play players often use in SP or large blind PBEMs where there is a lot of time before first contact. It doesn't require any strategy, really, and as long as your tactics are good, it's definitely viable on this map. So in that sense Goldstein is indeed easier to play.

If O'Brien does the same, however, he's at a disadvantage because he can't get his whole force to the mainland, so a) he's less effective at building up (especially using only FC - Yikes! That is tough.) and b) when the two wizards meet in the middle, Goldstein will have the advantage. So I think O'Brien really has to think about how to win while avoiding a large, early battle. There are many ways to do this, I think, but a general expansion towards the middle just won't work on this map.