The Off Topic Topic

[Barrister]

I remember I found a copy of EU1 at a store.  I'd never heard of it so I researched it, found they were already making a EU2, went back to the store and bought it.  That was 2001.

[Valmy]

I bought the EU board game in 1996 and eagerly followed the development of EU1 once it was announced.

I was sure it was vaporware and would never see the light of day. I am still kind of amazed EU1 was actually made and was successful.

[celedhring]

I used to lurk at home of the underdogs, where Hartmann had glowing praise for the game. It wasn't available in Spain, but lo and behold, my regular game store eventually had a few imported copies. That was summer of 2001. So not 20 years yet.

[viper37]

I remember I found a copy of EU1 at a store.  I'd never heard of it so I researched it, found they were already making a EU2, went back to the store and bought it.  That was 2001.

I remember reading about it somewhere...  I think it was a gaming online magazine that no longer exists, they were better than Gamespot/IGN because they covered games that weren't exactly AAA titles that would be sold out the day they were released.

So, there was a text about this weird game, Europa Universalis, a grand historical strategy game.  It caught my eye immediatly.

Of course, living in very small town, no store had it stock, I had to make a special order for this one, directly from a supplier for the computer store where I worked part time.  Even though it was published by a Montreal company for North America, it was extremely hard to get.

Shortly after that, I became beta tester for EU2, then moderator for the tech support board, the bug forum and the French forum.  I beta tested Legion (ouash), Victoria and HO1, but didn't play much of these games, I mostly handled tech support until I had to quit to go back to university and deal with other shit irl.

[DGuller]

I remember posting on Civfanatics forum about some ideas I would like to see in the future games that would make Civ a more tidy and nuanced game.  Someone responded sarcastically that maybe I'm just looking for Europa Universalis.  In some way it turns out that I did, although it took a while to warm up to real-time nature of the game.

[Tamas]

I chanced upon the news of EU1 being made as I was browsing for strategy games, can't even remember if board or PC ones. During that time my eyes were just opening to the fact that there was this whole wargaming thing out there.

When it got released I asked a lorry driver friend of my parents' friend to buy it for me in Germany. Played it in German at first, too.

[viper37]

If only Spielberg had helmed Orca instead of Jaws, maybe the world would have recognized the true danger of the Killer whale!

Pods of orcas are ramming boats off Spain and Portugal and scientists don't know why

'They really just were going for us,' says sailor Victoria Morris. 'There was definitely no playing'



Victoria Morris has had her fair share of orca encounters, but nothing quite like this.

The recent biology grad was among the crew of a 14-metre sailboat off Spain on July 29 when they found themselves surrounded by a pod of nine orcas.

At first, she says, they were "being lovely and playing around" — something she's experienced several times with orcas when she worked as a sailing instructor in New Zealand.

Then suddenly, their demeanour changed.

"They just started surrounding us in a circle, coming for the rudder and the keel," Morris told As It Happens host Carol Off. "They really just were going for us, and there was definitely no playing."

It's one of at least four reported instances this summer of orcas ramming into vessels in the Gibraltar Strait near Spain and Portugal, reports the Guardian newspaper.  The area is home to a major shipping lane, whale watching tourism and a commercial fishing industry.

Scientists who study the animals say they are baffled by the dramatic change in behaviour of marine mammals that are known to be friendly and playful.

Ramming the boat for more than an hour

The orcas, Morris said, were ramming into the keel, which is the flat blade beneath the boat that keeps it right-side up, and biting the rudder, which is essential for steering.

It felt like a co-ordinated attack, she said, and it lasted for more than an hour. The boat was spinning around wildly, and the autopilot became disengaged, setting them adrift in the shipping lane.

Below deck, the experience was even more intense, Morris says, as you could actually hear the orcas communicating.

"It was like a whistle, like a very, very loud whistle, and there was lots of them, maybe about four or five of them were doing it at the same time. And it was just so loud," she said. "It was actually quite amazing to hear."

When the crew called for help, Morris says "it was almost like they didn't believe us at first."

"They asked us to repeat a quite a few times," she said. "Like, 'Can you confirm that you are actually under attack by orcas?"

Eventually, they were rescued and towed to the nearby town of Barbate, she said. There, they were able to assess the damage: The keel was covered in bite marks and two-thirds of the rudder was torn right off.

"All the people around us just were so gobsmacked and couldn't believe ... what happened," Morris said.


'I've never seen or heard of attacks'
Neither could Rocío Espada. The University of Seville marine biologist has long observed the Gibraltar Strait orcas and says she's never seen anything like this.

"For killer whales to take out a piece of a fibreglass rudder is crazy," she told the Guardian. "I've seen these orcas grow from babies, I know their life stories, I've never seen or heard of attacks."

Her only theory — which she noted is "just a hypothesis"  — is that the animals are stressed out. And they have plenty of reason to be.

The Gibraltar orcas are endangered, with fewer than 50 remaining. Their calves often die before maturing, and projections for the future of their population are grim.

The area is home to a popular shipping route, which means there's a lot of marine traffic bringing noise and pollution.

The orcas come to the area between July and early September to hunt bluefin tuna, which is also becoming more scarce, and for which they have to compete with humans.

That means they are sometimes injured by fishing vessels, or entangled in nets. And in some cases, there have been reports of fishermen attacking the orcas.

But none of these stress factors are new for the orcas. So why would they suddenly start behaving aggressively?

Jörn Selling, a marine biologist for Firmm whale watching, suggested they may have gotten used to quieter waters during the COVID-19 restrictions and are upset to see the traffic levels spike again.

He and some other scientists suggested to the Guardian the orcas are more than stressed — they're angry.

It's something Morris says sounds entirely plausible, especially if they're protecting their young. She noted there were two babies among the group that rammed and bit her boat.

"They do have the capacity to be angry and they're very, very intelligent creatures and so it is very possible. But if that is true, then, you know, something needs to be done," she said.

"I think as bad as it is that all these attacks have been happening, especially to us, but I think in a way it's also a good thing because it's turned the spotlight on the fact that there is a problem. Something has changed that's causing them to do this."
Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Lisa Bryn Rundle.

Oh, and on that note, here is Hollywood next great horror at sea movie Sharks vs Killer Whales, starring Sam Worthington

[Valmy]

Probably mad about Sea World.

[Sheilbh]

I used to lurk at home of the underdogs, where Hartmann had glowing praise for the game. It wasn't available in Spain, but lo and behold, my regular game store eventually had a few imported copies. That was summer of 2001. So not 20 years yet.

Basically the same I think.

[crazy canuck]

I bought the EU board game in 1996 and eagerly followed the development of EU1 once it was announced.

I was sure it was vaporware and would never see the light of day. I am still kind of amazed EU1 was actually made and was successful.

I found EU1 through the Strategy First website.  It had just been released.  I went to the Paradox website, saw the England AAR and was hooked.

[HVC]

i saw EU1 on the shelf and decided to take it home. it was the old days of giant boxes.

[Iormlund]

IIRC I read a multiplayer AAR on the forums of a spanish gaming website.

[derspiess]

I remember searching around for a cool world map-based game and saw EU1 on the shelf at Electronics Boutique.  Looked up a couple reviews on it and bought it next chance I had.

Then I met you guys 

[Barrister]

What I remember about EU1 is that you couldn't play as any country you wanted - you had to download and run a 3rd party hack to enable you to play as anyone.

[Valmy]

Yeah you could only play as the major powers.

Also having things go historically was practically impossible as there were no events or mechanics to sort of help it along. And the areas outside of Euroland were seriously bizarre.

But it was amazing at the time.