The next opportunity to participate in a 1v1 tournament game is here: Sign up for the 5th round of the Legendary Level League now! It’s only a 1-game-commitment 
@TheLastHero - @Keeves - @Cryptious - @ignaloidas - @Zatoc - @Tanktress - @Karmadrome - @SimonMiaou - @gaz123 - @Dysp - @wint3ermute - @DarkDragonwing - @FinrodFelagund - @LeDazz
I joined game 1. Seems alright to me.
Sorry for the delay…
No problem. I was busy for the last few days, I just jumped in myself. Should be more time tomorrow and afterwards to get things going.
Thanks for starting your game @panblanco and @Dysp - I have updated the OP to reflect the stalemate in the first game and that you are battling in a 2nd game.
A reminder @Trucriot that @plug is ready for 'ya in your game here.
@Karmadrome and I are 444 ticks into our LINK FIXED game here. I just got back from a week of travel and very limited Internet connectivity, so I can submit on a more timely basis now.
Opps ! wrong link. 
It is important to wear your safety helmets. LOL
The question is who of you represents which: PHL PA32 or EVY HELO*? 
Joining my game tonight.
Congrats @panblanco … especially since @Dysp is a worthy foe.
You will play the winner of myself and @Karmadrome - our game is currently in tick #504 and while I’ve had the lead in stars for a couple of hundred ticks, I haven’t been able to put the HULK SMASH on him yet, although I did get ANGRY in the NE sector!
I generated several games before I ended up with this one - please take a close look and let me know if you think that is playable - i.e. likely NOT to end in a stalemate.
I think the map looks alright. Let me know when you two wrap up 
Thanks for checking that game @panblanco.
@Karmadrome and I are at tick #540 and while I’m holding my lead in stars, he’s putting up a heck of fight despite my HULK SMASH attempts which have yet to yield a breakthrough.
The next opportunity to participate in a 1v1 tournament game is here: Sign up for the 6th round of the Legendary Level League now and influence its settings via the polls! It’s only a 1-game-commitment
@HULK - @TheLastHero - @Keeves - @Cryptious - @ignaloidas - @Zatoc - @Tanktress - @Karmadrome - @SimonMiaou - @BelSon - @Dysp - @wint3ermute - @LeDazz
I’m done, just conceded to @HULK
I thought I had him at one point, with a big ship advantage, but I just couldn’t break down his defences. Well played yet again @HULK
It’s kind of fitting that I got beaten again by @HULK as this may well be my last NP game.
I’ve had so many years of enjoyment playing this game all the way back to NP1, so a big thanks to @JayKyburz for that.
Time to move on, but of course I may have to check back once in a while if I’m feeling nostalgic, or to reignite old rivalries, or just if I realise I’ve made a huge mistake in leaving 
Finally, good luck to the rest of the 1v1 competitors!
There is a lot of work on the map, you are good, I wish you successful completion!!
I finally (!) defeated @Karmadrome in a game that could easily have gone either way for the longest time. It was certainly a top-10 game and definitely set the record for longevity at 678 ticks - I think if he had kept playing, it may have taken me a 1000 ticks to finally defeat him!
This was over four months of intense play - and a LOT of hours analyzing the map and trying different strategies - some worked (HULK SMASH!), a bunch of “Damn @Karmadrome, I didn’t see that coming!”, a bunch of “wish I hadn’t changed my moves - coulda/woulda/shoulda”, and numerous “just barely won’s” that kept me in the game.
I’m sorry to see @Karmadrome take a break from NP as he is a very worthy foe and we have had countless battles. A great long-time resident of the NP Universe.
@panblanco - Thanks for patiently waiting for us to finish. I send you a PM to see if you are ready for your semi-final match against the Jolly Green Giant! 
I’ve been chatting with @panblanco, and RL has gotten super-busy for him, so unfortunately he won’t be able to finish the tournament and play against @HULK in the semi-final. He agreed best to post in the forums … so as his opponent (plus the defacto tournament organizer), here’s a couple of choices.
We can further delay the start of our game, but @panblanco is not sure when he’ll have more time to properly devote to a game. Plus it looks like @Trucriot is close to winning against @plug in the other semi-final match.
@panblanco can simply concede and we’ll just call it a “no-game” for ranking purposes.
@panblanco recently defeated @Dysp who could take his place in the semi-final game.
Radical idea is it looks like @Trucriot is pulling away from @Solfyre in the Finals of the December/2020 game … so would @Solfyre be interested in subbing in for @panblanco?
Any other ideas that people think is the “right/best” thing to do?
I’m fine with any of the options 1 to 3. Don’t mind waiting for the final game. As for option 4, both Solfyre and I are quite busy which is why progress in our (very open, the stats lie on this btw) Dec game is also slow.
I think I feel that option 2 would be best, in case any of the other options set precedents that turn out to be challenging in the future. If @panblanco doesn’t have the time to play he should probably just concede.
That way the final can get underway fairly soon - assuming @Trucriot has the stamina to beat me in the other semi!
Wouldn’t want to skip on all the fun we’re currently having, even though you do make me lose more carriers than I’d usually feel comfortable with 
As for the options: We could go with Option 1 and have Option 2 as fallback once the other party in the final is ready to go and panblanco is still too busy to play at that point in time. Personally, I’m not planning to play two top players simultaneously again - I’m getting too old for that haha.
@Trucriot: Looking at your game against @Solfyre, you lead in every statistic … plus have almost 4,000 ships whereas he has under 2,700. @Solfyre is really, really good … but so are you … so it will be very, very difficult for him to turn the tide.
@Solfyre: Any opinion from you or does @Trucriot speak for you?
@Dysp: Any thoughts?
@plug: @Trucriot has almost 50% more stars and Industry, almost 2X Science and Ships, and almost 3X Economy … so even if you keep destroying his carriers, if you can somehow win, that will be the greatest comeback of all time!