I made the moves above, but Italy was all over it. Total defensive posture. Here are the large-map summary results for Autumn '03:Trigfea63 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:03 pmThere are two possible options: TRI-->VEN supported by ADR, or the other way around. So, which support will Italy cut? In Autumn '02 he cut TRI, and in Spring '03 he cut ADR. Is the Italian bot-brain alternating between the two movesets? Is it more likely to repeat the last moveset? I have almost no basis on which to predict. I suppose all things being equal, the safer course is ADR-->VEN supported by TRI, and VEN-->TYR to cut that support. Then at least if I don't capture Venice, Trieste is at least protected from an Italian attack (the cut-support defense). Unless some other brilliant plan appears, that's what I'll do.
https://webdiplomacy.net/map.php?gameID ... Type=large
Two interesting developments in my part of the world: Turkey ordered AEG-->GRE. I don't view that as overly hostile. It looks mainly defensive, in case I ordered SER-->BUL with support from GRE. Still, had I succeeded in moving from Greece to the Ionian, Turkey would have claimed Greece. The other development: Russia ordered RUM support SER-->BUL. It's a tempting offer. I need a way to break the current pattern, before I'm whittled down by Italy and the maybe-hostile Turkey. And Russia seems to be set in "docile" bot mode. (At the start of a game, each bot is randomly assigned either a more docile or a more aggressive "personality," in addition to their regular trained responses.) On the other hand, of course Russia would love for me to distract Turkey from its attacks on Russia. Do I want to go there? Hmmm.
Around the rest of the board, France's move BUR-->BEL succeeded, taking Belgium from Germany, and England got into the North Sea from EDI. As a matter of fact, those are the only two units on the entire board to have successfully moved last turn!
My tentative orders for Spring '04: : VIE support-hold TRI, SER support-hold GRE, and ADR-->ION supported by GRE. I don't particularly like moving out of the Adriatic. Italy could move in behind me with APU-->ADR. I guess I'd then be in the Ionian though. Another possibility is VIE support-hold TRI, GRE-->ION, ADR-->APU (to cut support for TUN-->ION), SER-->GRE. And then there is the idea of SER-->BUL supported by GRE (and hopefully also by Russia), in which case VIE support-hold TRI and ADR-->ION to try to bounce. I'll mull these options more. Maybe I can come up with something better, but I'm feeling pretty restricted in what I can try.