Imperium 11: Can't We All Just Get Along?

[timoteob]

Early Exploration (2300-2316)

I send my colony ship to the yellow star in the southeast. It is the closest star and it is the best spectral type. I send my scouts to green star to northeast and the second scout to red star to southwest. The stars I am scouting are not the closest ones to Kholdan, I am hoping to beat my opponents to the free tech if they are artifact worlds. This is a neat tip I picked up reading the reports of previous Imperia.

I set Kholdan to build a single scout and the rest of production is allocated to industry. I build a total of three additional scouts. I send first one to the neutron star to the northwest, the second one to the red star to the northwest, and send the third scout to red planet southeast of the yellow star that I sent my colony ship to.

Between my five scouts and colony ship exploring the neighborhood, I now have a pretty good idea of my starting position. My first discovery may be the best planet that I have ever seen on an initial exploration. My colony ship discovers a Minimal 50, Ultrarich planet at Maalor. This planet is probably the reason for the interesting scoring scheme for this Imperium. Sending a scout to the green star to the northeast paid off because it turns out that it is an artifact world. My excitement is temper by the fact that my tech discovery is BC II. I keep the scout in orbit to chase off any opponents. I also discover various other planets, see map for details.



After founding a colony on Maalor I send a trickle of 2-4 colonists per year to speed its development. I continue this until 2316. Normally I would not send so many to one planet but because Maalor is ultarich I do not want factory production to out pace population growth and because I want to stand Maalor up as soon as possible.

After 6 years of exploring I reconfigure my production at Kholdan now that I have a pretty good idea of what my neighborhood looks like. I have two mediocre planets with in range and medium sized artifact planet just beyond my range. I focus on building colony ships and technological development (since I need better range to reach Artemis). I set production to produce a colony ship in ten turns, put 12rps into technology, and I split it three ways construction, planetology, and Propulsion. My choices are RIW 80%, IER 3/1, and Range 5. Because Klackons are poor researchers of propulsion technology and because I want to colonize Artemis, I am allocating 50% to propulsion. The other 50% is going to RIW 80%. Normally I would that IER 3/1 but the Klackons are excellent researchers of construction technology. I switch Maalor from producing factories to producing colony ships and fighter escorts.

Early Colonization (2317-2344)

In 2316 Kholdan produces its first and last colony ship of game. I will switch Kholdan to full tech rerearch because Maalor will be fully developed soon. My plan is to use Maalor’s mineral wealth to produce colony ships as fast as possible. Two year latter, Maalor is fully developed and I switch Maalor from producing extended range laser destroyers to bar my opponents’ from claiming worlds.



After building 3 Beam X DDs, I switch Maalor to producing a colony ship for Primodus, although it is poor, it could be a stepping stone for future development. I colonize Omicron, and send a stream of colonist from Kholdan.

In 2324 I discover RIW 80% and my only choice is IIT 8. At this point in the game I am more interested in grabbing planets than I am in industrializing the ones I currently own so I switch to 100% propulsion. I love techs that reduce waste clean up overhead. Kholdan jumped from 78rp to 94rp. I also realize I made a major mistake, when I opened up the planetology I selected IER 3/1 without thinking. I should have selected Barren Enviro because I had already discovered two barren planets.

During this period I discovered or colonized the following planets:

Code:

Discover                            Colonize

2327 Herculis (Terran 125, Fertile)             2320 Omicron
2328 Rotan (No Planets)                    2328 Primodius
2331 Kystron (Dead 20)                    2334 Artemis
2332 Imra (Desert 30)                    2336 Herculis (Triggers GNN 6)
2333 Vox (Minimal 50)                    2344 Gion
2334 Gion (Jungle 75)
2335 Cruis (Terran 85)
2336 Arietis (Toxic 30, Rich)
2340 Dunatis (No Planets)
2341 Neptunus (Toxic 20)
2341 Nyarl (Tundra 65)
2344 Ryoun (Inferno 35)
2346 Kalis (Jungle 90) Human colony

On the research front, I discover Range 5 and select Nuclear Engines (Warp 2) as my next choice. I reconfigure research to 50% planetolegy and 50% propulsion.

First Contact (2348-2374)

Make First Contact with Humans in 2348. They are Uneasy towards me. I thought Human were relaxed with everyone to start? Maybe they are mad about my expansion or because I parked a scout over on of there planets for a turn. This is going to hurt my score. They agree to a trade treaty; hopefully this will improve our relations.



Here is how things look at 2349, 2/3 of the way to the first scoring period.






Three turns later the Humans declare war on me! Maybe because I had them boxed in? So much for the diplomatic portion of the scoring! They have a fleet headed toward my colony at Crius. I think I can handle it.



The war with the Humans turned out to be a phony war. I think the ships sent to Crius were sent before they declared war. Either way they are easily defeated.




In 2361 I send a fleet to the Human colony of Kalis. It has been a long time since I was there and I want to see if it is feasible for me to capture it. They arrive in 2366 and find it undefended. Decision time: I could try to capture Kailis, but they have many colonists there and I am not sure what their ground technology is (I should have had I spy on them). To take it will require many troops, which will hurt my score and since I am close to the election, it could cost me the game. I am also not sure if I could hold the planet if I take it. I decide against an invasion because it would take too long for my troops to get there. They would be in flight for the election and scoring. They finally agree to end the phony war in 2374.

I also make first contact with the Silicoids in 2363, I form a trade agreement with them. Because they are aggressive rather than Xenophobic I think I can improve relations with them rather quickly. But my plan failed, they declare war in 2374, right after the election. I am doomed for the diplomacy portion of the score.



Here is how I stand with the other empires in 2363:



The first election hits on 2364. It is me versus the Bulrathis.

Election: Total votes 18, need 12 to win

Code:

            RBO-11        Monch        Abstain
    Humans                4
    Silicoids            2
    Psilons                        1
    Bulrathi            5    
    Klackons                    6

    Total                11        7

A close one, but I should be OK in the long run because I very close to having greater than 1/3 of the votes and have not research any TF techs yet. The Psilons saved me; this is the second Imperia in a row were they are very weak.

On the technology front I discovered Dead Enviro in 2369. This means that I maybe able to get one or two more planets in before 2374. My choices in planetology are Toxic, TF +10, and TF +20. I should take TF +20 because of how close the last election was, but there are some Toxic planets in my neighborhood that I want to get before the Silicoids do. I also researched Sublight Drive in 2373. This will make invading planets easier. I have a tough choice for my next propulsion tech Inertial Stabilizer, Range 7, Energy Pulsar, Fusion Drives, or Warp Dissipater. Normally I would take fusion drives without question, but with range 7 I could take a few extra planets before 2450. On the other hand range 7 is overkill on a medium map and I think can get to most of the planets I want by planet hopping. The special devices are nice, but I am not ready to build a combat fleet yet. I will select Fusion drive for now and pause my propulsion research. I take the 50% that was in propulsion and divide it equally among computers, shield, construction, and weapons. I select BC III, Shields 2, and Hand Lasers.

I make one last push to colonize dead planets before the 2375 Deadline. The two planets I have in mind are Morrig and Klystron, they are relatively close to Maalor and I have Sublight Drives. I am partially successful, I colonize Morrig in 2373 but Klystron is more complicated. It is now 2375 and my colony ship will not arrive until after I hit the Next Turn Button. However, the colony graphic says the Klystron was colonized in 2375. I am not sure when the turn officially end. I will let Sullla decide.





Here are the election results for 2374:

Code:

Election: Total votes 22, need 15 to win

            RBO-11        Monch        Abstain
    Humans                5
    Silicoids            2
    Psilons                        1
    Bulrathi            6    
    Klackons                    8

I now have enough votes to block the election.




Expansion Phase 2375-2436


During this period there is not much to report. I just grabbed as many colonies as possible, whether through peace or through war. I was slowed slightly by a lack of good bombs. The AI did not put up much of a fight. I got the 3/8 message in 2389 and the 1/2 message in 2407. The main problem that I had was trying to stay on good terms with the AI players.

I focused my tech research on planetology and ground combat. I figured that this was the best way to boost my score.

Here is how I stack up with my opponents during this period:



The Elections results:

2400

Election: Total votes 30, need 20 to win

Code:

            RBO-11        Monch        Abstain
    Humans        6        
    Silicoids            2
    Psilons                        1
    Bulrathi            7    
    Klackons                    14

    Totals        6        9        15

I could have ended the game here but I wanted to see how I compared in 2450.

2425

Election: Total votes 39, need 26 to win

Code:

            RBO-11        Monch        Abstain
    Humans                4
    Silicoids            1
    Psilons                        1
    Bulrathi            8    
    Klackons                    25

    Totals        0        13        26

One vote short of voting myself emperor.


End Game 2436-2450

Here is my plan. I want to win this game in 2449. I will take a planet or two from Humans and Silicoids to boost my score. Then I will make peace with them. Then I will Bomb Bulrathi planets and because everyone is a war with them, these bombing runs will make them like me. Thus, boosting the diplomatic portion of my score.

To achieve this goal I start producing a speedy bomber destroyer packed with bombs, they can out run the Bulrathi Hyper-X missiles.

As you can see my relations are not very good.



In 2440 I grab the one last planet from the Humans and Silicoids and make peace with them. I get a small diplomatic bump as a result. I could not make a trade deal with Silicoids because their economy is too small. The Humans and Bulrathi have made peace, which will put a slight dent in my plan. But I will still help with the Silicoids and Psilons, who remain at war with them.



I razed the Bulrathi colony at Exis and my relations did not change. I always thought that bombing an AI’s enemy would boost your relations. The whole enemy of my enemy thing... I’ll try again.





I raze two more Bulrathi colonies and still no improvement in relations.



When I bomb Ursa in 2448 I finally get a boost in relations. I think the difference this time was because of the missile bases present on Ursa. Maybe you need military damage to get a relations boost?




Another interesting thing is only the Silicoids improved relations despite the fact that both they and the Psilons are at war with the Bulrathi.



Regardless of the cause, my plan did not work the way I hoped and to make matters worse the Psilons declared war on me in 2443. In a last ditch effort to salvage my diplomatic score, I make peace with the Bulrathi, which results in a significant boost in relations.

The election results for 2449:

Election: Total votes 40, need 27 to win

Code:

            RBO-11        Lasitus        Abstain
    Humans                3
    Silicoids    1        
    Psilons                1        
    Bulrathi            3        
    Klackons    32                

    Totals        33        7        0

Conclusions

Over all a fun game, not much of a challenge from the AI, but the real challenge for this game comes from the scoring against other people. It will be interesting to see if others had the same problem with diplomatic relations.


Scoring

2375


Colonist

42 or 45 for planets, depending on whether Sullla counts Klystron
24 for council votes

Total 66 or 69

Tech

38

Diplomat

Humans 8 for unease
Silicoid 0 for discord
Bulrathi 10 for neutral

Total 18

Insert Score2375.jpg

2450

Colonist

31 for planets
33 for council votes

Total 64

Tech

83

Diplomat

Humans 0 for discord
Silicoid 10 for neutral
Psilon 6 for wary
Bulrathi 6 for wary

Total 22

Code:

Grand Total

Colonists        130 or 133 (See above)
Tech            121
Diplomat        40
Victory                100
Final Total        391 or 394

Final Screen Shots

2375


2450

[RefSteel]

Very odd. Unless you were using death spores or something, or if the AIs made peace while you weren't looking, only to redeclare, I can't figure out what was gong on with those relations. Relations can't improve beyond Wary while you're at war, so you probably actually got a boost with both races when you bombed Ursa, but the rest I can't figure out, except maybe if the worlds you glassed had tiny remaining populations by the time you initiated orbital bombardment. (You don't get any relations bonuses or penalties for bombing or sporing from the combat screen, though it doesn't sound like you did any outside of Ursa anyway).

[timoteob]

Very odd. Unless you were using death spores or something, or if the AIs made peace while you weren't looking, only to redeclare, I can't figure out what was gong on with those relations. Relations can't improve beyond Wary while you're at war, so you probably actually got a boost with both races when you bombed Ursa, but the rest I can't figure out, except maybe if the worlds you glassed had tiny remaining populations by the time you initiated orbital bombardment. (You don't get any relations bonuses or penalties for bombing or sporing from the combat screen, though it doesn't sound like you did any outside of Ursa anyway).

No Bioweapons, but I think you maybe on to something with the Wary maximum while at war. When I look close at the screen shots I noticed a slight boost in the relations with the Psilons, but it was not really noticeable because they were already at Wary before the bombing of Usra. I also think you maybe right about the small populations.

[jmas]

Good game, timoteob. I'm also puzzled by the "failure to thrive" in relations which I thought I was seeing in my game for a few years (though it didn't seem as severe). I see the points you and RefSteel make, however I'm still a little puzzled about the small effect in relations from bombing Ursa. It's getting late but I'll just say that the information in the strategy guide indicates that for factories destroyed and population units killed by bombing, the effect should be:

# of factories destroyed + # of population units killed by (conventional) bombing) * 5 (i.e. 5 per population unit killed)

divided by 4.

In this case, 223 + 73 * 5 = 588, divided by 4 = 147 relations points. That's almost 3/4 of the whole scale (relations run from -100 to +100). I don't see why that didn't raise relations to the maximum (for non-allied races) of "Peaceful" with the Silicoids.

@RefSteel:

(You don't get any relations bonuses or penalties for bombing or sporing from the combat screen, though it doesn't sound like you did any outside of Ursa anyway).

The Psilons expressed their displeasure with me after I used spores against another race in another game (think it may have been 'another Meklar corner' game) from the combat screen (only). Of course, they also told me on another occasion that they were ending our trade agreement, yet (due to a bug, no doubt) the agreement continued in force. Do you know if relations are actually unaffected by combat screen sporing despite any nasty-grams the AIs may send)?

BTW, I have read that there is a bug that sometimes leads to relations penalties (or maybe nasty-grams only?) for just bringing bioweapon-equipped ships into another race's system without using them at all. Maybe the game didn't know that I used spores on the combat screen and the diplo effect I saw was from that bug..

[RefSteel]

Do you know if relations are actually unaffected by combat screen sporing despite any nasty-grams the AIs may send)

Hmmm ... no, I don't. In fact, I have literally zero personal experience with Death Spores (except on the receiving end). My knowledge of this comes exclusively from these three threads, which I read several months ago. Looking at them again, I believe my assertion above is incorrect; sporing an enemy planet from the combat screen does not trigger war, and sporing an enemy's last planet from the combat screen does not trigger "extermination" penalties, but there is a diplomatic penalty for sporing from the combat screen - whether for the sporing itself, for just showing up in the system, or both, I don't know. Sorry for my mistake!

[Sullla]

To answer your question about Klystrom, the planet actually does not count. I stated that we would count up the planets at the end of the 2375 turn, and you didn't actually settle it until the following turn (technically, the 2375/76 interturn). Fortunately, this was only 3 points and was no big deal.

[timoteob]

Sullla,

You are right, no big deal. I just was not sure how you defined end of turn (ie are the actions you take executed as a part your current turn, the next turn, or what you call the interturn).

Thanks again for taking the effort to develop the Imperia games. It's been great fun!

Timoteob