Guys, I'm feeling a little beat up after having invested quite a few hours in this game and getting a little past 2500. I finally read/skimmed the reports that have been posted. I'm a little surprised by the variety of game experiences people have had (though certainly there are some similarities) and I think my experience has its own novelties. I didn't keep detailed notes, but basically, by around 2355 I was thinking it would all be over soon, even though I got the planets as far south as Dunatis (Dunatis itself being quite a prize too!) , because the Psilons had about 10 planets, which I thought was bad news enough, until the Silicoids then triggered the GNN notice that they had 12 of their own. But I hung in there, made nice with the much-superior-in-tech Psilons, and with the Silis and Klackons when we met them. By "nice" I mean trading, not sabotaging or doing espionage, and having a NAP with the Psilons, as I feared being crushed by them. For some reason, even thought the Klacks and Silis declared on me, all 3 of these races left me alone for decades, and I noticed my standings in Production and eventually Tech getting better and better (the Psilons still standing head and shoulders over the rest of us in tech though). I did persuade the 3 races to engage in wars with each other; I only asked for DOWs against races (Klacks & Silis) that had already DOWed me. However, I was not in a position to actually send meaningful fleets against my opponents myself, so I'm not sure whether that would be seen as following the guidelines of Realms Beyond folks or not; feel free to share your perspective on this.
I started to dream of seizing a Klack or Sili planet and getting good techs, especially RC V. I was able to trade with the Psilons to get RC III but very much wanted more. I was disappointed to find that Draconis appeared to have functioning shields even though it appears to be in the middle of a nebula (aside: using the battle scanner on a planet IS definitive, correct?) But eventually I had enough bombers that when the Silis foolishly sent the ships at Draconis away, I was able to rush in, take out the bases, and capture it. I was somewhat chagrined, though, when I only got one non-obsolete tech (I think it was Enhanced Eco, but do the Silicoids ever learn that, even from pointy-sticking?). I wasn't able to keep Draconis, but I did trick the Silis (by raising its pop just enough) into glassing it shortly before their troops arrive to reclaim it. Later I wasn't sure that had been a good idea because the Psilons came in and made it their planet.
After that I turned my attentions to the Klackons, setting sights on Centauri. The Klacks in the early-to-mid 2400s had a smaller fleet than other races and Centauri in particular was not defended by their ships. But whether it was actual artificial INTELLIGENCE or just lucky die rolls for the Klack decision-making...they made it really tough for me. They got Scatter Pack V, BC VIII, better shields (planetary V AND better ship shields IIRC), plus enough gropo tech to give them +40% on defense (ouch!!), all while I was trying to make this invasion happen. Also the Silicoids started actually attacking me and were suddenly developing more tech after having been stalled for a long time. In the southern "theater", I feinted at the Ultra Poor planet, repelled some ill-considered attacks by the Klacks on Dunatis and Argus, and then finally succeeded in swooping in and capturing Centauri. We were at -15% in the gropo battle and had 1 troop left (see thumbnail); though we had more on the way. Again we got obsolete techs except for slightly better range and the much-coveted RC V (thank goodness). I was able to make peace with the Klackons (I think I did that after seeing nasty incoming Silicoid fleets bound to other colonies of mine; "nasty" because of many larges with 4 anti-matter bombs each), which was OK because I wasn't yet in a position to grab more of their (Klackon) worlds anyway.
The Silis sent a fleet containing 50 of the large bombers. This fleet (at least I think it was the same one) had earlier approached Dunatis but turned back without fighting when I had 50-60 bases there. Unfortunately I didn't reckon on the possibility of seeing it sent somewhere else later. Also they added 2 huges with 12 anti-matter bombs each. They sent this fleet toward Kulthos and I could only get about 30 bases up, though at least with Planetary Shield X. That battle was really nasty, i.e. completely lost without going back a couple turns to change history. I tried trading various techs with the Klackons and Psilons, but it was only when I got lucky enough that the Klacks offered Scatter Pack V that I was able to win the battle. The packs made a HUGE difference, the Sili shields being 2 to 3. I still might go back and replay it, though, because the amoeba showed up--where else?--on MY border, on that same turn.
I'm ready to get off the computer for a while so will wrap this up. I may continue with the game but I feel a little worn out because each time I appear to make progress, or go back some turns to change events because something too demoralizing for me has happened (or I made a mistake that I never would have made if I had noticed it), I think it's going to get easier, but it really hasn't. And the vote is still a concern--last one was 16 votes for the Psilons (who have 12 by themselves), 20 for the Humans we've never met, with us having 7 votes and abstaining. Incidentally, the first time I played through the council in 2499, I voted for the Psis for the relations boost and somehow the total went to 29 votes for the Psis instead of the expected 23, and they won--anyone else ever seen this kind of Council math error / "bait and switch"?
Ready for a little rest. Kudos to the people who won this game..
