OSG 24 - The Guns of Sssla
- Thread starter RefSteel
- Start date
I'm a bit pressed for time atm as I have some other things I need to attend to today.
But a couple of things caught my attention and I wanted to comment. First:
Whoa, hold the phone! You didn't say earlier that you got US allied to the Sili. That changes the equation. IF the Sili remain allied to us and not to the Meklar, then they WILL vote for us (100% chance).
Second: can you fit a better battle computer on the small bombers if you take the IS off? Attack level I is very low. I think missile bases have an inherent defense of 1, so with the humans' ECM 4 (+4 defense) they will have a defense 4 levels greater than our attack level = 10% hit rate = jmas
.
Third: it's already done, but I don't think I would have traded Atmospheric Terraforming to the Meklar. If they have any soil enrichment tech (they didn't in Ref's last report) and several (or more) hostile planets, it just contributes to them having too much population and production.
Also, in an earlier post you said you weren't crazy about maneuverability for missile boats, but remember that ship combat speed contributes to initiative. If we're going to build ships that have battle scanners on them (+3 to initiative) then it is worth at least considering any further hardware that might be necessary to gain initiative over alien ships, especially since we're not up against the Alkari or Mrrshan who have +3 and +4 to initiative respectively.
(FYI, each ships initiative is its battle computer level + 3 for battle scanner if it has it + either combat speed or maneuverability level (the strategy guide says maneuverability, but I think it is actually combat speed, which is usually a slightly lower number). And ties go in favor of the AI, so your ships have to exceed the initiative of their ships to go before them.)
Last, how do you make your screenshots so large in your post? I've been wanting to know how to do that for years!
But a couple of things caught my attention and I wanted to comment. First:
Whoa, hold the phone! You didn't say earlier that you got US allied to the Sili. That changes the equation. IF the Sili remain allied to us and not to the Meklar, then they WILL vote for us (100% chance).
Second: can you fit a better battle computer on the small bombers if you take the IS off? Attack level I is very low. I think missile bases have an inherent defense of 1, so with the humans' ECM 4 (+4 defense) they will have a defense 4 levels greater than our attack level = 10% hit rate = jmas
.Third: it's already done, but I don't think I would have traded Atmospheric Terraforming to the Meklar. If they have any soil enrichment tech (they didn't in Ref's last report) and several (or more) hostile planets, it just contributes to them having too much population and production.
Also, in an earlier post you said you weren't crazy about maneuverability for missile boats, but remember that ship combat speed contributes to initiative. If we're going to build ships that have battle scanners on them (+3 to initiative) then it is worth at least considering any further hardware that might be necessary to gain initiative over alien ships, especially since we're not up against the Alkari or Mrrshan who have +3 and +4 to initiative respectively.
(FYI, each ships initiative is its battle computer level + 3 for battle scanner if it has it + either combat speed or maneuverability level (the strategy guide says maneuverability, but I think it is actually combat speed, which is usually a slightly lower number). And ties go in favor of the AI, so your ships have to exceed the initiative of their ships to go before them.)
Last, how do you make your screenshots so large in your post? I've been wanting to know how to do that for years!
Sorry about the omission, we did indeed become allies with the rocks. Good to know that we're safe, and thanks for the lecture
Yeah, I had a bad feeling about this. Removing IS would only give us access to BC mk2, though. IIT6 is about to land, but since we already have IIT5 it'll be a minor boost. We can put BC mk3 on a Medium with 4 bombs at 85 BC or mk5 with 3 bombs at 96 BC.Second: can you fit a better battle computer on the small bombers if you take the IS off? Attack level I is very low. I think missile bases have an inherent defense of 1, so with the humans' ECM 4 (+4 defense) they will have a defense 4 levels greater than our attack level = 10% hit rate = jmas
I tend to be trigger happy with tech trades
This one was a bad call, I got excited.Good point. For our missile ship, it's either 29 rockets with speed 2 at 559 BC or 26 rockets with speed 4 at 572 BC. I'll likely need a new missile design soon due to the recent rush of technology, I'll keep this in mind.
I do Alt+Print Screen from DosBOX, then paste it in Paint.
EDIT: New bomber design. Does this one meet with approval? I forgot completely about ECM on the previous design, that can take us up to missile def 10 on a medium vessel (vs +5 targetting at human bases).
RefSteel
Pacifistic Technologist
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 257
I've been swamped for the last few days and now have just a few minutes on my break, but the discussion looks terrific! Just a few things to add to the latest thoughts:
1) Alliance with the Silis is very intriguing. It's also another way to get into a war with somebody (if the 'coids ask us to Honor our Alliance) which is potentially another good thing!
2) Human missile bases actually get +6 to hit: +2 for battle computer +1 for Battle Scanner (all bases are fitted with one) +3 for Stingers. This means 10% of the base missiles will hit this type of bomber, killing 5-6 per turn.
3) The latest bomb design looks good, but I'd lose the duralloy armor unless it's very cheap and you expect the bombers to get shot by fleets. Stingers do 15 damage with no carry-over, so killing a medium Titanium hull (18 hp) takes 2 hits, whereas killing a medium duralloy hull (27 hp) takes ... 2 hits.
1) Alliance with the Silis is very intriguing. It's also another way to get into a war with somebody (if the 'coids ask us to Honor our Alliance) which is potentially another good thing!
2) Human missile bases actually get +6 to hit: +2 for battle computer +1 for Battle Scanner (all bases are fitted with one) +3 for Stingers. This means 10% of the base missiles will hit this type of bomber, killing 5-6 per turn.
3) The latest bomb design looks good, but I'd lose the duralloy armor unless it's very cheap and you expect the bombers to get shot by fleets. Stingers do 15 damage with no carry-over, so killing a medium Titanium hull (18 hp) takes 2 hits, whereas killing a medium duralloy hull (27 hp) takes ... 2 hits.
I would not be too sure about that. I seem to recall that every time I have made a fleet, huges tend to cost more to maintain for the same investment. I think there may be a factor that relates to the number of HP as well as cost.
Forgot about Battle Scanner, thanks.
It is cheap, but you're right that there's no need for it. I'll remove it and commence production!
I didn't know that at all, interesting information. Could have a big impact on my design planning, I'll look into it. Thanks!Zed-F said:
RefSteel
Pacifistic Technologist
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 257
Actually, thinking about it further, it might be a good idea to leave off the ECM unless it's very cheap and you can't fit something useful (e.g. another bomb, even Fusion) in its place. You'll lose three times as many ships per turn without it, but if you're building enough to kill the planet in two volleys anyway, the cost of the extra lost ships will probably be smaller than the cost of all that extra ECM.
(Also, incidentally, piecemeal reports are fine with me!)
2440
- Forged an alliance with the Silicoids, and made them drop their alliance with the Meklar! This ought to keep us secure in the next election.
- Tried getting tech from the Silicoids, turned down IRC4 for Atmospheric Terraforming as I want to see if we have IRC5 in our tech tree. Decided to accept IIT5 for it, lets us skip a whole Construction rung. Also got Deep Space Scanner for BC mk3.
- The Meklar offer me IT+40 for Atmospheric Terraforming, not enough to convince me. I thought about giving them Fusion Bomb for Controlled Dead, until I realized they have no bomb currently
- Klackons offer me Neutron Blaster for Mass Driver. I don't particularly want to use it, but I like miniaturization and don't see the harm in giving them Mass Driver technology. They also offered Dotomite Crystals and Deflector V, but wouldn't settle for anything less than Atmospheric Terraforming.
- I send our scanner vessels off to visit our new Silicoid friends, greatly appreciative of their hospitality. Lots of extra micro film is procured for the expedition. We will now be able to strike at Rigel from Silicoid refuelling bases at Moro, if we so choose.
- I raise research a bit, reducing factory construction at a few planets. Keeping IIT6 at 12% chance with minimal investment.
2341: Humans are about to invade Nitzer. Maybe we can steal their prey.
- I leave Propulsion at 11% and start seeding Advanced Soil Enrichment.
2342: Fusion Drives hits, options are range7/8/9 and Warp Dissipator. I pick Range 7, figuring that higher advances aren't a priority for the time being and 7 should be plenty. In other news...
Looks like they got Stinger, Omega-V, Class X Planetary and Cloaking Device! Their missiles are now at +5 accuracy and speed 3.5.
- I really want a small bomber to go up against that, but I can't fit in a BC yet so I'm waiting for IIT6 and Advanced Space Scanner to hit. In the meantime, I design a missile boat:
10 are produced at Dolz and sent to the front lines.
2443: Scanners arrive at Cryslon and Yarrow, I send them to other systems.
- I send the missile boats to Sol to see if we can wipe out some humans.
2444: Advanced Space Scanner hits, choices are ECM 3/4/5/6 and BC 6. I decide to grab ECM 6 as we currently only have ECM 2 and I want to break into the next rung. Still can't make a good small bomber. Another 2 missile ships produced.
- I trade Silicoids Hyper-X rockets for BC mk2. Could also have given them Fusion Bomb.
- I trade Meklar IIT7 for Duralloy Armor, and give them Atmospheric Terraforming for Impulse Drives. IIT7 was a bad trade, as I later found out to my surprise that they didn't have a single IIT tech yet.
- Tried to trade with Klackons, they kept offering crap and making exorbitant demands.
- I cease making missile boats at Dolz, awaiting miniaturization next turn.
2345: Humans offer peace if we break our alliance with the Silicoids. No thanks. Humans develop new terraforming tech which is +40 or higher.
- I finally start building bombers:
Beta Ceti is set to produce 384 of them, Dolz is set to produce 116.
- I (over)confidently scrap the old fleet, reasoning that we can easily put out ships as needed in a pinch. They're worth 1674 credits and we save 138 credits per year.
- I scrap the bomber design and use this instead:
Producing them at Beta Ceti and Dolz. Removed Duralloy per RefSteel's recommendation.
2446: Battle at Sol! The Warship design is obsolete, has ion cannons and retro engines. I fail to take out a dread as the missiles don't reach it before I have to retreat or be pummeled by stingers. IIT6 hits, I get to choose from RIW80, Armored Exoskeleton and Andrium Armor. I choose RIW80 for sake of miniaturization and avoiding stealing it. 72 bombers produced.
2447: 26 bombers produced.
- 98 bombers sent to Sol with missile escort, hoping it's enough.
2448: Infiltration of the Humans! I get to choose from Computer, Construction and Planetology tech. I choose Planetology and get Enhanced Eco Restoration. Looks like it boosts our research from 2750 to 3000 RP, not bad. 26 bombers produced.
- 26 bombers sent to Sol, ceasing bomber production.
- I lower Planetology spending (maturing)
and seed Dotomite Crystals
2449: No news
2450: Battle at Sol!
1) I target their dread and advance my bombers¨
2) They target my missile ships
3) I target Warship with missiles and pull back, wipe out all bases with a single barrage!
4) Both of my missiles miss, seems they run out of fuel But all enemy fleets retreat after bases are wiped out!
In other news, Deflector V hits. I pick Personal Absorption Shield over Deflector VI. And census rankings are in:
Election time! 60 votes total, we're nominated with the Meklar.
1) Bears, 7 votes for us.
2) Silicoids, 11 votes for us.
3) Meklar, 15 votes for themselves.
4) Humans, 5 votes for Meklar.
5) Klackons, abstain with 10 votes.
6) We abstain with 12 votes.
Meklar compliment us for our brave assault at Sol.
Everybody loves us, wonder what those humans did to piss off the whole galaxy.
Sorry to be brief, didn't have much time. Good luck codehappy! Save attached.
- Forged an alliance with the Silicoids, and made them drop their alliance with the Meklar! This ought to keep us secure in the next election.
- Tried getting tech from the Silicoids, turned down IRC4 for Atmospheric Terraforming as I want to see if we have IRC5 in our tech tree. Decided to accept IIT5 for it, lets us skip a whole Construction rung. Also got Deep Space Scanner for BC mk3.
- The Meklar offer me IT+40 for Atmospheric Terraforming, not enough to convince me. I thought about giving them Fusion Bomb for Controlled Dead, until I realized they have no bomb currently
- Klackons offer me Neutron Blaster for Mass Driver. I don't particularly want to use it, but I like miniaturization and don't see the harm in giving them Mass Driver technology. They also offered Dotomite Crystals and Deflector V, but wouldn't settle for anything less than Atmospheric Terraforming.
- I send our scanner vessels off to visit our new Silicoid friends, greatly appreciative of their hospitality. Lots of extra micro film is procured for the expedition. We will now be able to strike at Rigel from Silicoid refuelling bases at Moro, if we so choose.
- I raise research a bit, reducing factory construction at a few planets. Keeping IIT6 at 12% chance with minimal investment.
2341: Humans are about to invade Nitzer. Maybe we can steal their prey.
- I leave Propulsion at 11% and start seeding Advanced Soil Enrichment.
2342: Fusion Drives hits, options are range7/8/9 and Warp Dissipator. I pick Range 7, figuring that higher advances aren't a priority for the time being and 7 should be plenty. In other news...
Looks like they got Stinger, Omega-V, Class X Planetary and Cloaking Device! Their missiles are now at +5 accuracy and speed 3.5.
- I really want a small bomber to go up against that, but I can't fit in a BC yet so I'm waiting for IIT6 and Advanced Space Scanner to hit. In the meantime, I design a missile boat:
10 are produced at Dolz and sent to the front lines.
2443: Scanners arrive at Cryslon and Yarrow, I send them to other systems.
- I send the missile boats to Sol to see if we can wipe out some humans.
2444: Advanced Space Scanner hits, choices are ECM 3/4/5/6 and BC 6. I decide to grab ECM 6 as we currently only have ECM 2 and I want to break into the next rung. Still can't make a good small bomber. Another 2 missile ships produced.
- I trade Silicoids Hyper-X rockets for BC mk2. Could also have given them Fusion Bomb.
- I trade Meklar IIT7 for Duralloy Armor, and give them Atmospheric Terraforming for Impulse Drives. IIT7 was a bad trade, as I later found out to my surprise that they didn't have a single IIT tech yet.
- Tried to trade with Klackons, they kept offering crap and making exorbitant demands.
- I cease making missile boats at Dolz, awaiting miniaturization next turn.
2345: Humans offer peace if we break our alliance with the Silicoids. No thanks. Humans develop new terraforming tech which is +40 or higher.
- I finally start building bombers:
Beta Ceti is set to produce 384 of them, Dolz is set to produce 116.
- I (over)confidently scrap the old fleet, reasoning that we can easily put out ships as needed in a pinch. They're worth 1674 credits and we save 138 credits per year.
- I scrap the bomber design and use this instead:
Producing them at Beta Ceti and Dolz. Removed Duralloy per RefSteel's recommendation.
2446: Battle at Sol! The Warship design is obsolete, has ion cannons and retro engines. I fail to take out a dread as the missiles don't reach it before I have to retreat or be pummeled by stingers. IIT6 hits, I get to choose from RIW80, Armored Exoskeleton and Andrium Armor. I choose RIW80 for sake of miniaturization and avoiding stealing it. 72 bombers produced.
2447: 26 bombers produced.
- 98 bombers sent to Sol with missile escort, hoping it's enough.
2448: Infiltration of the Humans! I get to choose from Computer, Construction and Planetology tech. I choose Planetology and get Enhanced Eco Restoration. Looks like it boosts our research from 2750 to 3000 RP, not bad. 26 bombers produced.
- 26 bombers sent to Sol, ceasing bomber production.
- I lower Planetology spending (maturing)
and seed Dotomite Crystals
2449: No news
2450: Battle at Sol!
1) I target their dread and advance my bombers¨
2) They target my missile ships
3) I target Warship with missiles and pull back, wipe out all bases with a single barrage!
4) Both of my missiles miss, seems they run out of fuel
But all enemy fleets retreat after bases are wiped out!In other news, Deflector V hits. I pick Personal Absorption Shield over Deflector VI. And census rankings are in:
Election time! 60 votes total, we're nominated with the Meklar.
1) Bears, 7 votes for us.
2) Silicoids, 11 votes for us.
3) Meklar, 15 votes for themselves.
4) Humans, 5 votes for Meklar.
5) Klackons, abstain with 10 votes.
6) We abstain with 12 votes.
Meklar compliment us for our brave assault at Sol.
Everybody loves us, wonder what those humans did to piss off the whole galaxy.
Sorry to be brief, didn't have much time. Good luck codehappy! Save attached.
STATUS UPDATES
MILITARY
1) We're poised to conquer the humans, they offered little resistance. A transport invasion fleet will need to be sent. They didn't have class X shields on Sol yet, but it wouldn't have mattered much if they did.
2) We can make some really nice ships now, codehappy will get to decide about designs as I haven't really committed to anything yet.
3) Our defenses are very thin, I'm sure Maniac will have a fit once he sees them.
4) Just noticed that the humans have managed to take Artemis way down south, a very nice terran planet that we definitely want our hands on before anyone else takes it. I recommend leaving humans with Rigel to avoid diplo penalty and maybe let them do some research for us.
RELATIONS
1) We dodged the election safely
2) We're now allied with the Silicoids, and Meklar + Klackons love us too for beating up the humans
3) Provoking a war with the Meklar or Klackons may prove difficult, seeing as how they love us.
4) Trade with Silicoids probably needs to be upgraded, I suggest leaving Meklar trade as is.
5) The Bulrathi are marked as owning Ukko, Exis, Hyboria and Imra on the main map but these systems are marked as empty or Meklar on the mini map. They may also be a potential target, although we'll need contact with them first according to our rules.
It seems like the markings are the result of our alliance with the Silicoids.
6) We may be able to get an alliance with the Meklar and/or Klackons, if we think we'll benefit from that. Will that make them more willing to trade us good stuff?
7) All races are available for talks, haven't talked to them for a while.
8) Spying reports are a bit outdated.
ECONOMY
1) Advanced Soil Enrichment will be done in a few years, will boost our economy massively and further help us launch ground invasions.
2) We need Robotics badly, I made the mistake of trading away Atmospheric Terraforming to everyone without making sure to get Robotics from someone.
3) Factories are maxed everywhere but Kailis, I suggest we don't plan on building any.
RESEARCH
1) No major projects are underway except for Advanced Soil Enrichment.
2) We'll get some nice goodies from the humans soon, including Stinger Missiles and Class X Planetary Shields.
MILITARY
1) We're poised to conquer the humans, they offered little resistance. A transport invasion fleet will need to be sent. They didn't have class X shields on Sol yet, but it wouldn't have mattered much if they did.
2) We can make some really nice ships now, codehappy will get to decide about designs as I haven't really committed to anything yet.
3) Our defenses are very thin, I'm sure Maniac will have a fit once he sees them.
4) Just noticed that the humans have managed to take Artemis way down south, a very nice terran planet that we definitely want our hands on before anyone else takes it. I recommend leaving humans with Rigel to avoid diplo penalty and maybe let them do some research for us.
RELATIONS
1) We dodged the election safely
2) We're now allied with the Silicoids, and Meklar + Klackons love us too for beating up the humans
3) Provoking a war with the Meklar or Klackons may prove difficult, seeing as how they love us.
4) Trade with Silicoids probably needs to be upgraded, I suggest leaving Meklar trade as is.
5) The Bulrathi are marked as owning Ukko, Exis, Hyboria and Imra on the main map but these systems are marked as empty or Meklar on the mini map. They may also be a potential target, although we'll need contact with them first according to our rules.
It seems like the markings are the result of our alliance with the Silicoids.
6) We may be able to get an alliance with the Meklar and/or Klackons, if we think we'll benefit from that. Will that make them more willing to trade us good stuff?
7) All races are available for talks, haven't talked to them for a while.
8) Spying reports are a bit outdated.
ECONOMY
1) Advanced Soil Enrichment will be done in a few years, will boost our economy massively and further help us launch ground invasions.
2) We need Robotics badly, I made the mistake of trading away Atmospheric Terraforming to everyone without making sure to get Robotics from someone.
3) Factories are maxed everywhere but Kailis, I suggest we don't plan on building any.
RESEARCH
1) No major projects are underway except for Advanced Soil Enrichment.
2) We'll get some nice goodies from the humans soon, including Stinger Missiles and Class X Planetary Shields.
No other factor, maint is just 2% of cost, as per Guides plus verified in-game and in save file.
RefSteel
Pacifistic Technologist
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 257
Looks great, Catwalk! (Though I see I was both correct and too late with my suggestion to drop ECM from the bombers.) We should be able to shred the Humans from here!
(On the other hand, it might just seem that way because of attrition: A dread with outdated weapons sits around eating maintenance until it's killed or scrapped. Fighters are killed slowly over time, so by the time they're obsolete, there aren't nearly as many around as there were at first....)
I wonder if the maintenance you noticed is a miniaturization effect. When obsolete fighters are running around, their current/new construction (and therefore maintenance) cost might be a smaller percentage of their original cost than for a dread with similar numbers of weapons.
(On the other hand, it might just seem that way because of attrition: A dread with outdated weapons sits around eating maintenance until it's killed or scrapped. Fighters are killed slowly over time, so by the time they're obsolete, there aren't nearly as many around as there were at first....)
Turns out that our relatively small fleet was way overkill, I could have taken them out much faster. The battle was made even easier by four factors:
1) The base fired at my missile ships on turn one instead of my bombers, meaning that my bombers got to attack once before being fired at
2) Their dread ran back as soon as I fired at them, letting my bombers roam freely
3) As predicted by someone, their fleets ran as soon as the bases were wiped out so we didn't even need anything other than the bombers
4) The humans didn't have Class X Planetary Shield up yet, making it way easy to destroy all bases in one go
Does anyone think we're ready for war with one of the big powers if presented with the opportunity? Meklar and Klackons are still puffing around with warp 1, that renders their fleet completely harmless.
1) The base fired at my missile ships on turn one instead of my bombers, meaning that my bombers got to attack once before being fired at
2) Their dread ran back as soon as I fired at them, letting my bombers roam freely
3) As predicted by someone, their fleets ran as soon as the bases were wiped out so we didn't even need anything other than the bombers
4) The humans didn't have Class X Planetary Shield up yet, making it way easy to destroy all bases in one go
Does anyone think we're ready for war with one of the big powers if presented with the opportunity? Meklar and Klackons are still puffing around with warp 1, that renders their fleet completely harmless.
Small ships are particularly well suited for bombers, as it's all about maneuverability and their low HP doesn't matter much. Missile ships can actually be done on large hulls with pretty good cost efficiency if you need high accuracy on your missiles. For lower tech boats, small and medium win out.
codehappy
Chieftain
Got it, will play this weekend.
ToddMarshall
Maniac - Stellar Wingman
Oh wait, that means I was right again
The biggest thing here is we hit 5x more with the battle computer difference. Usually that's not the case. The other advantage to smalls is that you can parcel them out into smaller groups or bring them together into a larger fleet as needed much more freely, but in this case, it doesn't override other concerns.
Actually, since we have adv scanner, everyone loves us, and they are moving at warp 1, it's not that bad YET, but a few more bases wouldn't hurt. Once we get Planetary X, we should make sure to build that everywhere. I debated if I should even bring this up. No one else has said anything about this, so I'm probably the only one who was a little bothered by it, but, while not expressly forbidden by the letter of the rules, I feel like asking the Silicods to break their alliance with the Meklar is a bit against the spirit of the intent of honorable diplomacy. If we were at war with the Meklar, or even had poor relations with them, it probably wouldn't have bothered me, but that wasn't the case. I'm not going to make a big deal about it, and it's definitely not forbidden by the rules as written, it just strikes me as a bit shady. (Then again, so does the old jedi mind trick, so I'll just shut up now)
While I'm thinking of it, the reason I brought up the bit about growing pop was that it WAS in my original proposal for this rule-set that we couldn't do that, and I never intentionally took that out, but it did (inadvertently) disappear from the proposal. I'm perfectly fine with us not having that restriction, just wanted to make sure it was ok.
Wild and probably inaccurate guess. The Bears are erratic, declared war on someone, and the humans were dumb enough to join the wrong side, although, the Bears might be kinda scary if they've taken 4 planets off the Meklars
We'll find out once we have Sol and Range 7. that will bring Ukko into contact range.Oh, and not that it matters, but the humans have had Artemis for some time.
EDIT: Just noticed this...
Depends. How badly do we want to keep Sol.
I'm of the opinion that 12 H-X boats and whatever else we could cobble together on short notice won't stop whatever is in that fleet, and I don't think they'll run either... Only way we keep Sol is to invade before that fleet gets there and be allies with the Meklar unless I'm mistaken...
ToddMarshall
Maniac - Stellar Wingman
You really think we can kill that big of a fleet? We'd have about 2 turns worth of production to send there before their fleet arrives. We're fortunate that they don't have repulsors, but they do have dissipators, so we'd probably be facing those. I think believing we have good odds of beating that fleet is s wishful thinking.
And, no, we'd have almost no time before their transports arrive. They have impulse drives, and a size 145 planet 1 turn away.
And if we lose, we lose Sol. The more I look at it, losing Sol would be a KILLER. The other 2 Human worlds are 8 parsecs out from our nearest colony, so if we lose Sol, we lose contact with the Humans for the foreseeable future. We also lose out on an opportunity to get contact with the Bears via Ukko (7 parsecs from Sol) as soon as nearly mature Range 7 hits. Once we have contact with the bears, the Silicoids or Meklars will soon ask us to declare war on the Bears, giving us more targets.
I think risk of losing Sol FAR outweighs any benefit from not taking an alliance and taking on that fleet instead.
Once we've taken the Bears and Humans, and the fighting stops, one of the races WILL break the alliance, and when they DO break it, it'll tank relations a great deal.
I really, really think this is a critical thing for us to do.
You just turned this into perfect debate material, I have to disagree with you now
While I do think we can take on that fleet right away, we could also simply sign a NAP with the Meklar. That means our fleets will coexist peacefully over neutral or third party systems, letting us get transports en route to Sol. Their ground combat tech is not impressive, so we can easily put enough colonists there to at least buy us some more time to handle their fleet. Furthermore, we'll remain in range of humans if Sol is taken because of our Silicoid alliance. So it would just be one system lost, not target access.
As for dealing with the Meklar fleet, they don't have Energy Pulsar or Repulsor Beam. Two design suggestions:
The small would work better if they have mediocre targeting, the medium would work better if they have decent targeting. They do have Megabolt Cannon and BC mk7, so I guess there's definitely a big risk of that. On the medium design, one level of maneuverability can be swapped for another BC level at same cost.
Do we have any info about their designs? I recall fighting the Ajax design before, and I think the Tornado has been around for a long time too. They're probably outdated.
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