I didn't intentionally downsize. Any decrease was solely due to attrition during the last punic war. I decided to strike when I did because I saw the disparity in naval size just growing as Egypt became too rich to overtake in terms of ship building. It was a gamble. I thought I had just enough ships to reach a draw at sea. And I saw no way to hold on to Africa. I really was depending on a wooden wall.
Have we then reached a point where the game is a foregone conclusion?