2.5 The Deep Dark, rematch
The same three models as The Deep Dark, under the new rule: a pact of all three now wins nothing, so the last side standing must have beaten someone.
Setup
| Agent | Model | Empire it chose |
|---|---|---|
| dark-opus | Claude Opus | Vermilion Concord |
| dark-codex | Codex, gpt-6.1-sol, medium effort | Veyr Meridian |
| dark-haiku | Claude Haiku | Hollow Lantern |
The deep dark preset again: a 26 by 20 map with 18 uncharted planets, war by default, domination, 30 ticks.
Result
Opus and Codex allied against Haiku. Codex took five of Haiku's worlds, including its capital, and won on score at the turn limit. Haiku ended with no planets but wasn't eliminated, because it still had a scout. 12 battles, 5 captures, 13 colonies founded, 74 messages and 9 stance declarations.
| Place | Empire | Model | Planets | Score | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veyr Meridian | Codex | 10 | 430 | gold |
| 2 | Vermilion Concord | Opus | 6 | 281 | silver |
| 3 | Hollow Lantern | Haiku | 0 | 38 | bronze |
The whole game on the god view, one second per tick:
Timeline
| Tick | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2 | Codex and Opus meet and both declare peace. Opus already suggests a two-way alliance against Haiku later. |
| 3 | Codex declares peace to Haiku and offers it a partnership for a joint victory. Haiku proposes peace while both grow. |
| 4 | Opus cites the new rule to Codex: a three-way pact wins nothing, so the two of them should split the map. |
| 5 | Codex declares alliance to Opus. Opus proposes the border: east of x = 16 is Opus, west is Codex. |
| 6 | Codex tells Haiku it agrees to peace while they grow. |
| 8 to 13 | The alliance becomes mutual. Opus finds Haiku's capital and passes everything it knows to Codex. |
| 11 | Battle at Anquadel: Haiku's defence grid kills an Opus scout. |
| 15 | Codex declares war on Haiku. The notice arrives at tick 18. |
| 16 to 17 | Codex fights at Vosel and captures it. Haiku protests that it happened while they were at peace. |
| 20 | Codex tells Haiku the conquest was intentional. |
| 22 | Opus makes a separate peace with Haiku to protect its colonies, and stays allied with Codex. |
| 26 to 27 | Codex destroys five Haiku ships at Anquadel and captures Haiku's capital. |
| 29 to 30 | Codex captures three more worlds. Turn limit. |
How each model played
Opus read the rule first and set the war up. At tick 4 it had already worked out what the new rule meant, and proposed the two-way split. It gave Codex all its intelligence on Haiku and told it not to make peace with Haiku. Then it never sent a warship west. It switched to colony ships at tick 13, on the grounds that the game would probably end on score at tick 30, and at tick 22 it made its own peace with Haiku. By its own messages, it had no warships that could reach the fighting before the end. Codex did the fighting, and Opus took second place.
Codex said peace to both sides and then took the war to Haiku. At tick 3 it offered both rivals a joint victory. At tick 6 it told Haiku it agreed to peace while they grew. It built frigates and a forward shipyard, declared war at tick 15, and made all five captures. When Haiku asked what was going on, it answered plainly.
Haiku pleaded and threatened, and lost everything. It sent the most messages, about 15 pleas for peace after tick 15. Earlier it made a veiled threat about one of Opus's worlds being thinly held. It also broke its own word: it promised twice not to contest Shaven, then sent a colony ship there. Its four corvettes advanced on Vosel and then turned back.
In their own words
Vermilion Concord again: we hold peace toward you. Hollow Lantern (p1) is the real threat; a 3-way pact wins nothing, so let us two split the map. Please declare peace.
Opus, tick 4
I agree to peace while we grow; my peace stance toward you is already declared. Please reciprocate. My settlements are around Venkadra and westward.
Codex to Haiku, tick 6
Domination needs P1 eliminated - do not make peace with them.
Opus, tick 12
Vosel fell at t17 to your forces while we were at peace, and our garrison died there. Explain. Withdraw f11 and leave our worlds alone, or tell us plainly that you are at war.
Haiku, tick 17
We are at war. Our war stance has been active since tick 15; Vosel was an intentional conquest.
Codex, tick 20
I have a non-aggression with p1 only to protect my exposed colonies; I have no warships able to reach the west before t30.
Opus, tick 22
Turns and cost
| Model | Turns | Mean turn | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opus | 30 | 25 s | $4.73 |
| Codex | 30 | 25 s | 446,082 tokens |
| Haiku | 30 | 22 s | $0.18 |
Opus cost about 26 times as much as Haiku for the same 30 turns.
Observations
- One rule change turned a game with no fighting into the only real war of the five: 12 battles against none in the first Deep Dark.
- Stance changes take effect at once for the player who makes them, but the notice travels by messenger. Codex declared war at tick 15, fought at tick 16 and captured at tick 17, and Haiku only got the notice at tick 18. From Haiku's side, it was attacked while at peace.
- The same lag caused repeated requests. Codex asked Opus to return its alliance three times after Opus already had, because Opus's declaration was still on its way.
- Codex's peace with Haiku lasted nine ticks, and it ended with a war declaration that arrived after the first capture.
- A player with no planets isn't eliminated while it has a ship. Haiku sent its last scout to safety at tick 29 and kept its place in the game.