Diplomacy Dreams

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Yeh bestie

Looks like we're at seven.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

It would probably make things easier for everyone, Jesse included, if we do everything here, as long as security issues aren't a concern. I am also very flexible, however.

And yes, for the initial negotiations, a 48-hour period or so should kick off after all the powers have been assigned. That's assuming we're going with 24-hour turns.

I also want to echo a sentiment GeorgiaModerate expressed in the other thread: this is a long game, and also one that people are encouraged to play until they are eliminated, a draw is voted on, or if a person gets a solo win with 18 centers. As long as you have at least one army or fleet, you're still in the game. Even if you're about to be wiped out, surrendering is highly discouraged unless life circumstances require it and those who are less confident about time or commitment should look for a substitute.

One of the advantages of using ProtonMail is that accounts can be transferred and the original player's correspondence will be accessible. But surrenders always change the dynamics of the game and hurt everyone who's not one of your immediate neighbors.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Oh, is jumping in now too late?

Sorry. Actually Tim, you would have priority (over GoTfan) since you already expressed interest in the initial thread. Kuumo also gets in because he posted before GoTfan. Still, if we have more than seven willing participants, that means finding a substitute won't be difficult if someone does quit mid-game.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Oh, is jumping in now too late?

Sorry. Actually Tim, you would have priority (over GoTfan) since you already expressed interest in the initial thread. Kuumo also gets in because he posted before GoTfan. Still, if we have more than seven willing participants, that means finding a substitute won't be difficult if someone does quit mid-game.

Okay.
Please let me know when a spot is available.

You have a spot already. I just miscounted and forgot your name when Jesse sent me the draft of the OP.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

>Austria


Here are the links:

Diplomacy rules: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Diplomacy/Rules
This wiki is very helpful; the rules are perhaps the most concisely compiled of any guide I've seen. The other articles even have openings, tactics, advice, etc for the new and experienced player to peruse.

Diplomacy map: https://i.imgur.com/esgCrs6.png
This is the map we will be using. I will place symbols for the Armies and Fleets on it and colour in the territories as needed throughout the course of the game.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

">Austria"


I'm so sorry, Scott. It was literally the first draw I made, too. Does everyone know your Austrian history? 

I mentioned it in the other thread. Whether I overperform my expectations or not at least I can expect a cordial game like that one, bad as it went for me as a first-time player.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

>First-time player
>Italy
I’ll try my best to put Mussolini to shame.

If you can conquer even one African territory without making a laughingstock of yourself you're already doing great!

You might even get a solo.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Jesse's too modest (and unable) to post it himself, so I'll do it for him:



This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the Italian Renaissance.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Another question: could we make the deadline time a bit earlier, say 9 PM EST, if everyone is agreeable?  10 PM is getting a little late for this old man in the Eastern time zone.

No objection from me.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

How about you play a variant with this map that redraws Italy:


Makes the game more balanced.

With respect, can we give Jesse a break, please? Getting to where we are now with the maps was painful enough.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

We're going to need to set a policy sooner or later about non-responses, which is something I anticipate. If you miss two phases, you're probably not that interested in the game and your power would be better played by someone else.

This shouldn't be a stressful game, but game moderation is an art in and of itself.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Tim, you were the only player who did not respond to my intro. There certainly are reasons players might not be as talkative with you, but at the very least some dialogue should be established amongst all players in the initial negotiating period.

And I'm saying this not just to Tim but in general: always contact every power regardless of which one you're playing. Everything ties together, and you want to get an idea of what people are thinking and what they want to do.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Tim, you were the only player who did not respond to my intro. There certainly are reasons players might not be as talkative with you, but at the very least some dialogue should be established amongst all players in the initial negotiating period.

And I'm saying this not just to Tim but in general: always contact every power regardless of which one you're playing. Everything ties together, and you want to get an idea of what people are thinking and what they want to do.

I saw the message but didn't know how to respond because I wasn't sure which country you were playing as. I only actually saw the post showing who was playing as who long after I received your message.

I included "Austria" in the message title and signed off as such...


Anyway, Jesse has exceeded his post limit as a newbie, so I am posting this on his behalf:

Fall 1901!

The next adjudication will be at 9:00 PM EST tomorrow night, February 25th, 2024. Keep in mind that after this Fall Phase comes the Build Phase!

There are no retreats to be resolved here so that is all for tonight. In the future, it may be necessary for one or more of you to give me a retreat order should a unit be dislodged by an attack.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

A little inspiration for the players.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

This new turn is just for construction orders, right?

We are in the Build phase, yes.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Is there any update on when the game will resume?

AFAIK GoTfan hasn't responded. Hopefully we get a substitute fast. If it's not him, we'll need to find somebody else.

As my good friend has expressed, these delays are unfair to everyone involved in this game. In this and in all future games, we need to establish the importance of commitment and deadlines.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Well, hopefully we hear back before tonight...

In related news, I finally scored my first winning draw as France with 12 centers. Russia had proposed a three-way draw for me and Turkey, as far back as 1904 or so when Germany and Italy were still in contention. He did so again in 1906 when it was just the three of us left, but Turkey ended up auto-surrendering after not making any builds or moves in the Spring. I had assured Turkey Greece, which was not necessary since he could have supported himself there. Then Russia decided to stab both me and Turkey and try for a solo at the last minute. I was ready to tear him a new one had we made it to the Fall since he said he was, and I quote, "a drawist, not a soloist" and "not some lying c#nt." Well, we can see who upheld their end of that bargain, at least. Turkey missed out on a win in his first game simply by being inactive at the end.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Congratulations, Scott, but if I were Russia I wouldn't have taken a draw there (at least not yet).  There's a lot of play left in the position.

Yes there was, but he set the draw himself with a game between three players and hadn't revoked his vote, so even if that was a ruse you'd expect him to cancel his vote. I guess he just wanted to end strong since it didn't matter. I'll note this was an unranked game. Not sure how that typically plays out psychologically.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

If YPestis's friend doesn't join and you don't have any other volunteers, I suggest changing the thread topic temporarily by adding "Seeking New Player" or similar.  (To do this, go to your original post in the thread, click Modify, change the title, and Save.)

It's probably worth doing this sooner rather than later, also. I'm concerned that as time goes on, more people are going to lose interest or forget about the game. We need a substitute ASAP, and the game should resume the moment a new person signs up.

It never ceases to amaze me how niche this game is even for Atlas. We're a site centered around political maps, FFS!

Since muon2 was in the last game, I'm going to reach out to him as well.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Any news?

NOVA Green said that he wished he had known about the tournament before, and I explained that the slots filled up pretty quickly. No further correspondence from him or Cathcon.

This isn't even like playdiplomacy where people surrender just as they're about to get wiped and leave any potential substitutes with one or two home centers about to be taken. France is off to a great 1901 start, so needless to say I'm frustrated.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

OK--- amazed that I was never contacted to participate since I played what I believe were the last (2) games that Muon2 hosted on Atlas and was consistently on the end.

So please somebody provide links to the rules and current maps, etc...

If there is a (24) hour TO time per move, might seem like a bit of speed chess on meth, especially considering all sorts of different time zones, time to do the whole behind the scene negotiating etc... which after all is what made it a bit different from even your standard early War Games from back in the dayz... (Thinking of you Avalon Hill with much love...).

I understand that France is open and it is 1901 build... if so am extremely interested so long as I don't need to be on a (24) hour gaming mode.

I was a little concerned about the 24-hour turns going in, but so far I haven't had a problem with it (we've only played two turns, though, and the first one was 48+ hours). 

Perhaps a compromise would be to move to 48 hours for movement turns, but keep retreats and adjustments at 24?

I think that's a fair compromise and will discuss it privately, but I'm giving our esteemed game moderator the final word on any changes.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

While waiting for the next turn, here's something you all might find interesting.  The very first game or two of Diplomacy I ever played was at the house of a college friend in the mid-1970s -- and he had the original 1958 set, which had very different rules!  Among those that I recall:

1. Convoys, as they exist in the modern game, did not exist.  A fleet could still transport an army, but it would require them both moving to the same coastal space (this was allowed), the army boarding the fleet, and the fleet carrying it to another coastal space to disembark.

2. Switzerland wasn't impassable; in fact, it was a neutral supply center.  So was Albania, IIRC.

3. Some of the borders were different.  There were more spaces, both land and sea (the map territory was somewhat larger) and some of the existing ones were differently shaped than in the current game.  There was an extra sea space (Kattegat) around Denmark and Sweden, which made getting out of the Baltic even more of a pain than it is now.  I don't think Helgoland Bight existed.

4. Finland was bicoastal (north and south), which meant that Norway and St. Pete didn't touch.

There were very likely other differences that I've forgotten.

Did the original map have the redrawn Italy with Milan?

It definitely would be interesting if Switzerland were kept a neutral supply center. I'd imagine that having two powers with armies directly adjacent to it and two powers only separated by one non-neutral center could make for an interesting dynamic, or even give Italy a fairer advantage by putting that within reach besides Tunis.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Order submitted. Sorry about that!

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Hey y'all - wanted to raise that I'm about to hit finals season here which may make my continued play a bit more difficult. I'm happy to continue for the time being, but was wondering if anyone had any interest in subbing for me in the near to medium term (next 1 to 2 weeks). Not a crisis now, but wanted to raise for the future.

Happy to hand over whenever a replacement is found

Would you mind reaching out to people for a replacement? If they accept, give them a run-down of your strategy and leave it at that. But Jesse's stressed enough about this game and if we don't find a replacement in time, the game will be on hiatus once again. Ideally, we'd avoid that.

I do appreciate you bringing this up now rather than later.