robert, what you forget is not everyone who plays this game plays it to "win" a failing endgame system, the closest our players got to quitting was having to sit an NOT fight an enemy for a month. A huge portion of us believe winning is being there at the end, not the empty simmers paradise you call "victory". For us split wonders is a victory, now you have to play our game or lose.
I get your point, Kadjayuni. And although it may be a failing endgame system to some, it is the endgame. Lots of people didn't like the first score wins rule in overtime in the NFL, but until they changed it a few years ago, that was the rule, and you had to learn to play by it. I don't like how the game is weighted so heavily in favor of gold users. With all the special bonuses and contests, instant harpy nukes and erinys and extra spins for gold, anyone willing to spend enough money can have 100+ cities the way the game is now. But it is what it is.
And you also forget, its not like we started on the rim. We started dead center in O55, so we never got a chance to sim and grow bigger unimpeded. We were the target from the get go. When everyone else was staking out their territory, we were fighting on four fronts. The first fights we had were actually with Nordic Warriors. Since then, we've been the target of every alliance that arose in 55,54,64,65, and onward. And yet we survived. And NO ONE wants to give us any credit for that whatsoever. We get called a bunch of simmers. We've had our share of setbacks, and made our share of mistakes. Still doesn't take away from the fact that we're still here, and they're not.
You say now we have to play your game, or lose. I'll make you a deal. Give me 80% of the server, including the top four players in the world, and you take the other 20%, and lets just see how well you do. Its a sheer numbers thing at this point. You call split wonders a victory. Why? With the sheer numbers stacked against us, there's no excuse for us getting one wonder, much less three. That's a victory to you?
And being there at the end, what is that? Crimson will be there at the end, they're sitting back on the rim with no enemies. So will half a dozen other alliances. And it really doesn't matter who gets the crown for 7 wonders first, because eventually any alliance that wants it will get it. LegionC, QueenofDark and their group wont sit here for a year fighting nobody. Eventually they'll move on to another world, their wonders will break, and Crimson will get crowns, and Swans will get crowns, and Malicious Fluff will get crowns, and even maybe White Horsemen. And even TOTL if we choose. Being here to the end proves nothing. Being the first to build four when you're everyone's target would be a much better achievement in my book.