OSG 16 - Training Day
- Thread starter Snaproll
- Start date
All,
I need a skip or at least a few more days. I know a bunch of people at Virginia Tech, and haven't been able to get to this. It wasn't anyone directly involved, don't worry. I can play tomorrow night (Thursday) if people don't mind waiting.
I need a skip or at least a few more days. I know a bunch of people at Virginia Tech, and haven't been able to get to this. It wasn't anyone directly involved, don't worry. I can play tomorrow night (Thursday) if people don't mind waiting.
Ignatius, yes the AI is more reluctant to send ships to scout a planet that has a player scout in orbit over it. However, a base is about as good as a scout in this regard, especially if you have planetary shields. Once you've held a claim to a planet for a while (long enough to build a base) then the AI won't bother trying to scout it, though it might try a cold-war attack on the planet if it scouted it before your own scout got there or if it has advanced scanners.
If the northeast corner is now secure (it wasn't on my turn) then you could go ahead and scrap the scouts if you want. The amount of money we're spending on maintenance for them is trivial and definitely worth it if you aren't quite feeling secure against the possibility of AI poaching. Personally, I like to try to keep one or two slots free all the time so I don't have to scrap constructed ships if I come up with an urgent need to design a new ship; I like to plan the obsolescence of my existing fleet to some degree. I'd probably scrap the scouts if I had 0-1 free spots left, and leave them otherwise.
If the northeast corner is now secure (it wasn't on my turn) then you could go ahead and scrap the scouts if you want. The amount of money we're spending on maintenance for them is trivial and definitely worth it if you aren't quite feeling secure against the possibility of AI poaching. Personally, I like to try to keep one or two slots free all the time so I don't have to scrap constructed ships if I come up with an urgent need to design a new ship; I like to plan the obsolescence of my existing fleet to some degree. I'd probably scrap the scouts if I had 0-1 free spots left, and leave them otherwise.
Ok, inherited turn. I've read all the replies and I think I have a good idea what to do - after looking at the map I fully intend to go after the Humans as suggested.
The scanner ship sent to Sol is going to take 4 turns. I'll build bombers in those four turns. I"m not convinced I like the BCIII design over the inertial stabilizer design - inertial stablizers almost seem like they were specifically invented for bombers. But, after reading the arguments, I suppose it makes sense. Just... doesn't seem right... Anyway, I design FBOMBER 4.2 with the BCIII replacement. I also redesign the missile boat, and I don't plan to build any of the large designs so I leave those alone for now.
I set most of the planets building ships to bombers and missile boats, but leave two on repulsors.
We are already spying on kitty, but I crank it up a bit. Everything else looks good!
Turn 1 -
Lots of ships the first turn! Over 200 bombers.
Phyco starts on a shield and Zoctan finishes atmospheric terraforming and begine normal terraforming.
Turn 2 - Our spies infiltrate the Silicoids and I'm given a choice of Planetology and Propulsion. I decide to gamble on PLanetology, but pull Terraform +10. In other news, the kitties declare war. Not sure what precipitated this... (Can anyone enlightenen me?) I start building some bases at Escalon in preparation (it only had 4).
Turn 2 - No aggressive moves from the Mrrshans yet.
Turn 3 - The humans disband the non-aggression pact... I assume this is due to the hundreds of ships no amassing mere parsecs from Sol... Ryoun has 22 bases now, so I shut if off trickle base spending. Arietas also has 22, but is considerably more exposed and valuable so I'll keep building some more there.
Turn 4 - Our scanner ship reached Sol and finds:
There's nothing we can't handle with our missile boats and repulsor ships, although I think I prioritized bombers a bit much - I switch a few "bomber plants" to repulsor ships or mercs. I sure do like all the level one and 2 shields... Our fusion bombers should have no problem. No it's just a question of waiting for enough ships - should be another turn or 2...
Turn 5 - Actually, is this enough?
I don't think it's quite enough to take on Sol, but it's plenty for the other two planets. I send this fleet to Firma, the human artifacts planet, while we wait for more ships.
Turn 6 - The calm before the storm...
Turn 7 -
We make short work of those bases and I send in the troops. We have a sizeable advantage in gropo tech, so I send in 47 troops from Anraq, the Ultra Poor, which should be plenty. Note that the human fleet is on its way here... so the story isn't over yet. Nice to separate the fleet from the bases on Sol, though. Also nice is that I can send 28 more merculite ships and they'll get there in time to help defend.
Turn 8 - The Klackons have a fleet incoming to Regulus. I go max base spending augmented by planetary reserve there. Fortunately Regulus is an Ultra Rich and should be ok... I think.
Turn 9 - The Human fleet meets us at Firma. This will be the primary battle of this war...
I am forced to retreat when the missiles run out.
Is it fair to retreat the missile boats and then show up again next year? I think this might be exploiting, but I set the fleet to return again...
I empty the rest of our Resever into Regulus. I hope it's enough to fend off the Klackons...
Turn 10 - Hmmm... might be close
We almost lose the colony to the death spores (down to 10 population) but we are then able to fight off the rest of the ships with our merculite bases. That was really close!
There was some good news... The human fleet left Firma, so it was just a land battle, with this as the result:
We got controlled Tundra and Neutron Blasters, not bad.
Finally, the galactic council convened:
Strangely, the Klackons threw 5 votes our way! Lets see, by my calculations... we are only 2 votes shy of a win! We have 17, and with the Klackon 5, that gives us 22 / 36. Pretty close!
Regulus is down to 10 max population, so I immediately put all spending into Ecology - the next player should re-seed it, probably from Anraq.
In summary: I built a fleet, took the first human world, and ALMOST lost a colony to the Klackons. Note that we aren't actually at war with them.
The Game
The scanner ship sent to Sol is going to take 4 turns. I'll build bombers in those four turns. I"m not convinced I like the BCIII design over the inertial stabilizer design - inertial stablizers almost seem like they were specifically invented for bombers. But, after reading the arguments, I suppose it makes sense. Just... doesn't seem right... Anyway, I design FBOMBER 4.2 with the BCIII replacement. I also redesign the missile boat, and I don't plan to build any of the large designs so I leave those alone for now.
I set most of the planets building ships to bombers and missile boats, but leave two on repulsors.
We are already spying on kitty, but I crank it up a bit. Everything else looks good!
Turn 1 -
Lots of ships the first turn! Over 200 bombers.
Phyco starts on a shield and Zoctan finishes atmospheric terraforming and begine normal terraforming. Turn 2 - Our spies infiltrate the Silicoids and I'm given a choice of Planetology and Propulsion. I decide to gamble on PLanetology, but pull Terraform +10. In other news, the kitties declare war. Not sure what precipitated this... (Can anyone enlightenen me?) I start building some bases at Escalon in preparation (it only had 4).
Turn 2 - No aggressive moves from the Mrrshans yet.
Turn 3 - The humans disband the non-aggression pact... I assume this is due to the hundreds of ships no amassing mere parsecs from Sol... Ryoun has 22 bases now, so I shut if off trickle base spending. Arietas also has 22, but is considerably more exposed and valuable so I'll keep building some more there.
Turn 4 - Our scanner ship reached Sol and finds:
There's nothing we can't handle with our missile boats and repulsor ships, although I think I prioritized bombers a bit much - I switch a few "bomber plants" to repulsor ships or mercs. I sure do like all the level one and 2 shields... Our fusion bombers should have no problem. No it's just a question of waiting for enough ships - should be another turn or 2...
Turn 5 - Actually, is this enough?
I don't think it's quite enough to take on Sol, but it's plenty for the other two planets. I send this fleet to Firma, the human artifacts planet, while we wait for more ships.
Turn 6 - The calm before the storm...
Turn 7 -
We make short work of those bases and I send in the troops. We have a sizeable advantage in gropo tech, so I send in 47 troops from Anraq, the Ultra Poor, which should be plenty. Note that the human fleet is on its way here... so the story isn't over yet. Nice to separate the fleet from the bases on Sol, though. Also nice is that I can send 28 more merculite ships and they'll get there in time to help defend.
Turn 8 - The Klackons have a fleet incoming to Regulus. I go max base spending augmented by planetary reserve there. Fortunately Regulus is an Ultra Rich and should be ok... I think.
Turn 9 - The Human fleet meets us at Firma. This will be the primary battle of this war...
I am forced to retreat when the missiles run out.
Is it fair to retreat the missile boats and then show up again next year? I think this might be exploiting, but I set the fleet to return again...
I empty the rest of our Resever into Regulus. I hope it's enough to fend off the Klackons...
Turn 10 - Hmmm... might be close
We almost lose the colony to the death spores (down to 10 population) but we are then able to fight off the rest of the ships with our merculite bases. That was really close!
There was some good news... The human fleet left Firma, so it was just a land battle, with this as the result:
We got controlled Tundra and Neutron Blasters, not bad.
Finally, the galactic council convened:
Strangely, the Klackons threw 5 votes our way! Lets see, by my calculations... we are only 2 votes shy of a win! We have 17, and with the Klackon 5, that gives us 22 / 36. Pretty close!
Regulus is down to 10 max population, so I immediately put all spending into Ecology - the next player should re-seed it, probably from Anraq.
In summary: I built a fleet, took the first human world, and ALMOST lost a colony to the Klackons. Note that we aren't actually at war with them.
The Game
mostly-harmless
Prince
OK, I played quicky my turns.
In my turnset (accidently played 11 turns. oops)
I finished off the Humans, taking all planets.
Spies in Kittieland give Improved eco (just before advanced eco came in) and IIT8.
BCIII came in and I went for advanced scanner next (various ECMs were the options).
Made a mistake after advanced eco came in and went for terraforming +30. We already had +40. Whoops.
Capturing Zhardon gives us 5 techs. Only the ECM III is really useful.
Graviton Beam -> Fusion Rifle.
Class IV defelctor -> Personal Absorption Shield.
Things a re looking good, but the rest of the universe hates us.
No more comments, as I am in a hurry this morning.
mh
In my turnset (accidently played 11 turns. oops)
I finished off the Humans, taking all planets.
Spies in Kittieland give Improved eco (just before advanced eco came in) and IIT8.
BCIII came in and I went for advanced scanner next (various ECMs were the options).
Made a mistake after advanced eco came in and went for terraforming +30. We already had +40. Whoops.
Capturing Zhardon gives us 5 techs. Only the ECM III is really useful.
Graviton Beam -> Fusion Rifle.
Class IV defelctor -> Personal Absorption Shield.
Things a re looking good, but the rest of the universe hates us.
No more comments, as I am in a hurry this morning.
mh
I'll have more detailed commentary on Monday (busy weekend), but overall things are looking pretty good. I did want to address one thing, though:
This is why missile boats are not good at defending planets. You only get 5 shots, and then you're helpless. Holding and securing new acquisitions almost always requires a beam ship of some sort, especially in the early game where standing up new planets takes multiple turns. Why were you forced to retreat when the missiles ran out? The repulsor ships couldn't handle what was left?
dathon
This is why missile boats are not good at defending planets. You only get 5 shots, and then you're helpless. Holding and securing new acquisitions almost always requires a beam ship of some sort, especially in the early game where standing up new planets takes multiple turns. Why were you forced to retreat when the missiles ran out? The repulsor ships couldn't handle what was left?
dathon
Yes - I only had two repulsor ships at the time and they weren't even close to enough.
2461
I readjust spying and halt ship construction, as we should have enough for our immediate needs and upkeep is already above 10%. I scrap the old LR Def designs and beef up defenses at Arietis and Ryoun and put a single repulsor over each.
We need to secure the remaining two Mrrshans cols before the Ants get them; Rha, the nearby Silicoid UR is also on the shopping list
. Neither of these cols has any fleets in orbit, all are already scouted and the base counts are in the single figures.
I would like to do Rha first, but as the Coids have SP-Vs, the cats go first, so the fleet is sent to Talas + 80 Mio troopers from Anraq and Zoctan, all due to arrive in 3 turns. 80 Mio troopers from Helos and Sssla with ETA 4 are set in march for Whynil. This is risky, but we have no time to lose.
2462
2463
2464
2465
Whynil taken, gatlings and shields3 found, the cats are no more ...
Klackons declare, not that we care much by now ... I order a spontanous punitive invasion of Fierias from Talas as it has neither bases nor a fleet in orbit, our last 66 bombers go to Cryslon. Also, I do some rush spending on the antidote, as we might need it soon.
2466
2467
Fierias taken, Cryslon bombed and scouted, troops sent (ETA 3)
Obaca or Centauri next, i chose Obaca as Centauri would be an overextention and Cryslon should be enough to get the remaining Coid tech. Even if we cannot hold it, getting the tech and luring the SoD away from Ursa would be worth it.
2468
2469
2470
Our new aquisitions:
Remarks:
Obaca and Centauri have invasion troops incoming in 1 or 2 turns resp. which require air support. A second wave is scheduled for each planet, so clean up if necessary. Several of our planets are under attack, but nothing serious. Sol has 8 turns left to destroy the comet.
The invasion of Obaca should give us some intersting tech, which might be useful for new designs, also, ions are around the corner and can be rushed in a few turns. Tech sliders currently rush FF and weapons for gropo and have to be put back into a sane state.
The adv. scanners should allow us to expand faster as we can lauch the troops and ships to arrive at the same time. At the current shield levels, the missle boats are usually enough to take out a planet, but you should attack also with bombers, to draw the missle fire. Alternatively, we might try going for a conquest win in 2475 by glassing a couple of planets.
The galaxy as we know it:
Roster:
Snaproll <--- On Deck
mostly_harmless
ignatius <--- Just Played
Azoth <--- Up Now
Good luck, emperor Azoth!
ignatius
ps: I see that Vulcan is still on bases - it has 18 now, which should be more than enough. Also Cryslon has more pop incoming than it can hold, so you can send some pop to either Obaca or Centauri.
I readjust spying and halt ship construction, as we should have enough for our immediate needs and upkeep is already above 10%. I scrap the old LR Def designs and beef up defenses at Arietis and Ryoun and put a single repulsor over each.
We need to secure the remaining two Mrrshans cols before the Ants get them; Rha, the nearby Silicoid UR is also on the shopping list
. Neither of these cols has any fleets in orbit, all are already scouted and the base counts are in the single figures.I would like to do Rha first, but as the Coids have SP-Vs, the cats go first, so the fleet is sent to Talas + 80 Mio troopers from Anraq and Zoctan, all due to arrive in 3 turns. 80 Mio troopers from Helos and Sssla with ETA 4 are set in march for Whynil. This is risky, but we have no time to lose.
2462
- range9 pops, ion drives next
- another about 150 new bombers sent to Whynil, to rendevous there with the main fleet.
2463
- our UR planets now all have 30+ bases, def spending stopped
- moderate Klackong fleet incoming on Whynil but ETA 6
2464
- terra30 pops, I backtrack to Antidote to counter the spore designs
- Talas taken which triggers the domination level message
- Cryslon comes in scanner range, no fleet, so this is next on the list
2465
Whynil taken, gatlings and shields3 found, the cats are no more ...
Klackons declare, not that we care much by now ... I order a spontanous punitive invasion of Fierias from Talas as it has neither bases nor a fleet in orbit, our last 66 bombers go to Cryslon. Also, I do some rush spending on the antidote, as we might need it soon.
2466
- Rha taken, shield4, antidote (doom virus next), SP-V, ECM4 found
- Klackons defend Fierias, however the next wave is already underway
2467
Fierias taken, Cryslon bombed and scouted, troops sent (ETA 3)
Obaca or Centauri next, i chose Obaca as Centauri would be an overextention and Cryslon should be enough to get the remaining Coid tech. Even if we cannot hold it, getting the tech and luring the SoD away from Ursa would be worth it.
2468
- Obaca bombed and scouted, troops sent (ETA 3)
- Comet at Sol (10 years time) - this sucks - dispatch 1/2 of the bombers to Sol
- Klackon SoD leaves Urasa for Mu Delphi, troops sent
- Centauri next, after securing the invasions at Cryslon and Obaca, the fleet should make it to Sol with 3 turns left to destroy the comet
2469
- Centauri, a Toxic rich bombed and scouted, troops sent
- Klakkon fleet at Whynil repelled
2470
- Our spies steal fusion beams from the Coids
- adv. space scanner pops, ecm6 next
- Ursa taken
- Cryslon taken, spores, NPG, AM-torp. found
- Seem like the biggest part of the Klackon fleet is returning back to Mu Delphi, which will be hard to pick until it remains there. The detachment for Anraq is rather small and the new bases should be enough to handle it.
Our new aquisitions:
Remarks:
Obaca and Centauri have invasion troops incoming in 1 or 2 turns resp. which require air support. A second wave is scheduled for each planet, so clean up if necessary. Several of our planets are under attack, but nothing serious. Sol has 8 turns left to destroy the comet.
The invasion of Obaca should give us some intersting tech, which might be useful for new designs, also, ions are around the corner and can be rushed in a few turns. Tech sliders currently rush FF and weapons for gropo and have to be put back into a sane state.
The adv. scanners should allow us to expand faster as we can lauch the troops and ships to arrive at the same time. At the current shield levels, the missle boats are usually enough to take out a planet, but you should attack also with bombers, to draw the missle fire. Alternatively, we might try going for a conquest win in 2475 by glassing a couple of planets.
The galaxy as we know it:
Roster:
Snaproll <--- On Deck
mostly_harmless
ignatius <--- Just Played
Azoth <--- Up Now
Good luck, emperor Azoth!
ignatius
ps: I see that Vulcan is still on bases - it has 18 now, which should be more than enough. Also Cryslon has more pop incoming than it can hold, so you can send some pop to either Obaca or Centauri.
So I found some free time this afternoon, and decided to go ahead and play...
2470: Inherited Turn
Tweak the sliders on a few planets.
Prioritize terraforming/population growth, and defense spending on our new holdings. Let's try to win the next election outright, shall we?
I see that we plan to strike Obaca next turn, and Centauri the turn after that.
I direct the repulsor ships orbiting Arietis and Ryoun (which have 30+ bases each) to Sol; I want to destroy that comet ASAP.
I transfer reserve funds to our new holdings and our artifacts worlds, tweak the research sliders, and press enter.
2471
We capture Obaca intact and find six technologies: Battle Computers II and IV; Enhanced Eco Restoration; Fusion and Ion Rifles; and Sublight Drives.
Fusion Rifles are the only significant find; I select Pulson Missiles as our next research target.
2472
Enemy spies destroy ten factories on Yarrow.
Personal Absorption Shields come in; our only choice is Cloaking Device.
We capture Centauri.
2473
"Our Glorious Fleet has destroyed the comet that threatened the Sol system"
Wow, that was fast. Our bombers and Repulsors only got to Sol last turn! Maybe I overestimated how much firepower we would need...
I direct our Repulsors to intercept the Klackon fleeting incoming at Anraq, and send our bombers off toward the front lines.
In other news, we destroy the bases on Dunatis and Incedius.
2474
Ion Drives ---> High Energy Focus
We capture Dunatis and Incedius, finding Anti-Missile Rockets and Tachyon Beam.
We now know all Silicoid technologies; I redirect funding from Espionage to Sabotage. Yes, sabotage is wasteful (it costs less to directly bomb missile bases and factories), but we can afford it.
I design bombers and torpedo boats with Ion drives, and begin building them at some of our rich planets. I'll wait for High Energy Focus to design an upgraded huge ship, but we may never get to use them anyway.
During Turns:
I destroy the entire Klackon fleet at Anraq without losses.
And then the election...
Emperor n00b (us) and Emperor Sedimin (Silicoids) are nominated.
The Silicoids cast 7 votes for themselves.
The Klackons cast 4 votes for the Silicoids.
And we cast our 29 (!) votes for ourselves. 29/40 = 72.5%
"In the year 2474, the High Council has chosen n00b of the Sakkras to be High Master of the New Republic."
Conquest Victory!
In case anyone is interested, here is the save from 2474 (before I did anything that turn...adjust sliders, design ships, etc.)
- Azoth
2470: Inherited Turn
Tweak the sliders on a few planets.
Prioritize terraforming/population growth, and defense spending on our new holdings. Let's try to win the next election outright, shall we?
I see that we plan to strike Obaca next turn, and Centauri the turn after that.
I direct the repulsor ships orbiting Arietis and Ryoun (which have 30+ bases each) to Sol; I want to destroy that comet ASAP.
I transfer reserve funds to our new holdings and our artifacts worlds, tweak the research sliders, and press enter.
2471
We capture Obaca intact and find six technologies: Battle Computers II and IV; Enhanced Eco Restoration; Fusion and Ion Rifles; and Sublight Drives.
Fusion Rifles are the only significant find; I select Pulson Missiles as our next research target.
2472
Enemy spies destroy ten factories on Yarrow.
Personal Absorption Shields come in; our only choice is Cloaking Device.
We capture Centauri.
2473
"Our Glorious Fleet has destroyed the comet that threatened the Sol system"
Wow, that was fast. Our bombers and Repulsors only got to Sol last turn! Maybe I overestimated how much firepower we would need...
I direct our Repulsors to intercept the Klackon fleeting incoming at Anraq, and send our bombers off toward the front lines.
In other news, we destroy the bases on Dunatis and Incedius.
2474
Ion Drives ---> High Energy Focus
We capture Dunatis and Incedius, finding Anti-Missile Rockets and Tachyon Beam.
We now know all Silicoid technologies; I redirect funding from Espionage to Sabotage. Yes, sabotage is wasteful (it costs less to directly bomb missile bases and factories), but we can afford it.
I design bombers and torpedo boats with Ion drives, and begin building them at some of our rich planets. I'll wait for High Energy Focus to design an upgraded huge ship, but we may never get to use them anyway.
During Turns:
I destroy the entire Klackon fleet at Anraq without losses.
And then the election...
Emperor n00b (us) and Emperor Sedimin (Silicoids) are nominated.
The Silicoids cast 7 votes for themselves.
The Klackons cast 4 votes for the Silicoids.
And we cast our 29 (!) votes for ourselves. 29/40 = 72.5%
"In the year 2474, the High Council has chosen n00b of the Sakkras to be High Master of the New Republic."
Conquest Victory!
In case anyone is interested, here is the save from 2474 (before I did anything that turn...adjust sliders, design ships, etc.)
- Azoth
Well, considering everybody is dead, I don't think this will be necessary
Besides, the only comment I would make would be one I already did; the initial force against the Humans was not enough to hold planets definitively. However, I imagine mh got around that by simply invading the last two worlds and destroying the fleet that way. Well played game guys! I hope everybody had a good time, and learned a little bit in the process. I'm looking forward to playing with all of you in future SG's 
dathon