After having thought about it for some time - basically ever since kyrub put the fantasic autosave feature into embryonic18 - I finally set out and wrote a log generator which evaluates the save files and generates a time-line for the game. So, for what it's worth:
Emperor RBO-39 of the Silicoids, 4 races, 24 stars, 4 difficulty
Emperor Skylord of the Alkaris, Honorable Diplomat
Emperor Nazgur of the Darloks, Aggressive Technologist
Emperor Jasana of the Mrrshans, Aggressive Militarist
2312 S new BARRACUDA ship: V1/1 A0 D2/2 S1 4xLaser 18hp
2321 S new COL ship: V1/1 A0 D1/1 S0 1xLaser StdBase 100hp
Pretty standard start: Send colship to Kakata, and scout to everything in range. As Reticuli was in range from the start, no reserve tanks were necessary for the medium to look after it.
2325 * Reticuli (Terran 90) founded.
2330 * Uxmai (Dead 40 hostile) founded.
2330 D Contact with the Darlok empire established.
2330 T Deuterium Fuel Cells (Range 5) discovered.
2338 * Vulcan (Jungle 90) founded.
2339 D Contact with the Mrrshan empire established.
2341 T Improved Terraforming +10 discovered.
2344 * Tao (Desert 45) founded.
2344 * Nitzer (Dead 50 hostile ultra rich) founded.
2344 D Contact with the Alkari empire established.
2348 D Silicoids and Mrrshans sign a non aggression pact.
2349 T Improved Industrial Tech 9 discovered.
So far the AI didn't give me any trouble and the initial expansion wave went smoothly. With the Birds settling Cygni, this was going to change soon enough. I beat the birds to Primodius by a single turn and had to threaten them to turn around their incoming stack.
2353 * Primodius (Minimal 35) founded.
2355 * Antares (Desert 15) founded.
2356 T Hyper-V Rockets discovered.
2360 T Class II Deflector Shields discovered.
2363 T Battle Computer Mark II discovered.
2365 D Silicoids and Alkaris sign a non aggression pact.
2365 D Silicoids and Darloks sign a non aggression pact.
2367 T Nuclear Engines discovered.
2369 E Merchant event hits.
2370 * Tau Cygni (Toxic 25 hostile) founded.
Everything in reach has been settled, the remaining Planets would require more range and/or LR colships. Large trade agreements and NAPs would hopefully buy me enough time to stand up the new cols.
2379 T Personal Deflector Shield discovered.
2380 T Improved Industrial Tech 8 discovered.
2381 T Neutron Pellet Gun discovered.
2383 D Alkaris cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2385 S new SCANNER ship: V2/1 A1 D2/2 S0 BS 18hp
2386 D Alkaris declare war on Silicoids.
2386 T Death Spores discovered.
2387 D Mrrshans declare war on Alkaris.
2388 D Mrrshans declare war on Darloks.
2388 T Battle Computer Mark III discovered.
2389 S new COL ship: V2/1 A0 D1/1 S0 1xNPG StdBase LR 100hp
2393 * Draconis (Radiated 10 hostile rich) founded.
2395 * Collassa (Inferno 10 hostile) founded.
2395 T Improved Robotic Controls III stolen form Alkaris.
2397 T Dotomite Crystals (Range 7) discovered.
Well, peace lasted just barely enough to get the first bases going (with massive reserve spending from Nitzer). After repelling first attacks on Tao and Antares, the game was basically won: I'm first in production and have more planets than all AIs together.
2400 D Silicoids and Alkaris sign a peace treaty.
2403 D Darloks cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2403 E Comet event hits.
2404 T Scatter Pack V Rockets discovered.
2405 D Mrrshans cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2407 T Automated Repair System discovered.
2409 D Alkaris declare war on Silicoids.
2409 T Ecm Jammer Mark III discovered.
2410 T Class V Planetary Shield discovered.
2412 S new POLARIS ship: V2/2 A4 D1/1 S2 44+44+43xNPG 1xNuclear2 BS ARS 600hp
2416 T Improved Terraforming +30 discovered.
2418 D The war between the Mrrshans and the Darloks has ended.
2418 S new SPORE ship: V2/2 A4 D1/1 S2 44xSpores BS ARS 600hp
2419 D Mrrshans declare war on Darloks.
2419 T Sub-Light Drives stolen form Alkaris.
2423 T Energy Pulsar discovered.
My first offensive moves were a bit premature, though. The Spore design had to retreat from its first battle at Cygni as the Birds have upgraded their missles the turn before. The Polaris design was reduced to guard duty in the Nitzar nebular.
2425 D Darloks declare war on Silicoids.
2426 T Improved Robotic Controls IV discovered.
2429 T Graviton Beam discovered.
2432 T Ecm Jammer Mark II stolen form Darloks.
2433 T Zortium Armor discovered.
2434 T Inertial Stabilizer stolen form Alkaris.
2435 T Uridium Fuel Cells (Range 8) stolen form Alkaris.
2436 T Ecm Jammer Mark I stolen form Darloks.
2438 T Repulsor Beam discovered.
2442 T Class III Deflector Shields stolen form Alkaris.
2443 T Improved Terraforming +40 discovered.
2448 T Class V Deflector Shields stolen form Alkaris.
2448 E Rich event hits.
The rich event was at Nazin, which thereby suggested itself as my first target. Again I planned on attacking with large, shielded ARS-equpped ships which hopefully would last long enough in the Hyper-X and SP-V fire to do some damage.
2451 D Darloks declare war on Alkaris.
2451 D The war between the Mrrshans and the Alkaris has ended.
2451 T Battle Computer Mark VI discovered.
2451 T Impulse Drives discovered.
2453 S new SPAWN ship: V5/4 A7 D5/8 S3 16xSpores BS IS ARS 1200hp
2455 T Megabolt Cannon discovered.
2456 T Improved Industrial Tech 5 discovered.
2456 S new KRAKEN ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S5 13xMegabolt 20xGraviton 1xNuclear2 BS ARS 1200hp
2457 S new COL ship: V5/2 A1 D2/2 S0 1xMegabolt BS StdBase LR 100hp
2458 T Gatling Laser stolen form Alkaris.
2460 T Improved Space Scanner stolen form Alkaris.
2461 D Mrrshans declare war on Alkaris.
2462 + The Darloks have been eliminated.
2463 * Nazin (Terran 100 rich) refounded.
2463 T Neutron Blaster recieved as gift.
2464 * Cygni (Desert 40 rich) refounded.
2464 S new MONITOR ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S5 8+8xHvBlaster 1xHypV5 BS ARS Repulsor 1200hp
2468 T Hyper-X Rockets stolen form Alkaris.
2469 T Cloning discovered.
2469 E Pirates event hits.
2471 * Altair (Terran 100) refounded.
2472 * Rana (Arid 55) conquered from Alkaris.
2472 + The Alkaris have been eliminated.
2472 T Improved Industrial Tech 6 looted from Rana.
2472 T Duralloy Armor looted from Rana.
2474 D Mrrshans declare war on Silicoids.
2474 T Andrium Armor discovered.
2474 S new WHALE ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S6 14+13+13xMegabolt 1xHypV2 BS ARS 1200hp
It worked, but only barely so. Esp. the Akari fleet at Cygni gave me trouble and it took many turns to slowly decimate their agile fighters before I could go for the kill. With the Cats and their stingers, a classical bombing strategy would be called for. I couldn't fit spores on a small yet, so I had to settle for a fast medium design with high missle defense. The Cat's complete lack of BCs was helpful in this department, so their bases would be reduced to a CTH of 5%. As the Cats were my last enemy, it was also safe to let them resettle and go for a ground invasion.
2476 T Improved Robotic Controls V discovered.
2478 S new BIOHAZARD ship: V5/4 A6 D8/11 S0 2xSpores IS 36hp
2485 * Rigel (Desert 40) conquered from Mrrshans.
2485 T Battle Suits looted from Rigel.
2485 T Ion Cannon looted from Rigel.
2485 T Advanced Space Scanner looted from Rigel.
2485 T Anti-Missile Rockets looted from Rigel.
2485 T Fusion Rifle looted from Rigel.
2485 T Stinger Missiles looted from Rigel.
2487 * Fierias (Terran 100) conquered from Mrrshans.
2487 T Particle Beam looted from Fierias.
2487 T Ion Stream Projector looted from Fierias.
2487 T Hydrogen Fuel Cells (Range 4) looted from Fierias.
2487 T Irridium Fuel Cells (Range 6) looted from Fierias.
2488 T Scatter Pack VII Missiles discovered.
2489 * Thrax (Terran 65) conquered from Mrrshans.
2489 * Seidon (Arid 70) conquered from Mrrshans.
2489 = Silicoids: 20/21 cols, 95% pop, 92% prod, 87% fleet, avg. TL 30.2
ignatius
Emperor RBO-39 of the Silicoids, 4 races, 24 stars, 4 difficulty
Emperor Skylord of the Alkaris, Honorable Diplomat
Emperor Nazgur of the Darloks, Aggressive Technologist
Emperor Jasana of the Mrrshans, Aggressive Militarist
2312 S new BARRACUDA ship: V1/1 A0 D2/2 S1 4xLaser 18hp
2321 S new COL ship: V1/1 A0 D1/1 S0 1xLaser StdBase 100hp
Code:
2325 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 4 25 69 30
tech 6 9 6 9
prod 242 478 338 474
pop 99 126 94 123
cols 3 2 1 2
Pretty standard start: Send colship to Kakata, and scout to everything in range. As Reticuli was in range from the start, no reserve tanks were necessary for the medium to look after it.
2325 * Reticuli (Terran 90) founded.
2330 * Uxmai (Dead 40 hostile) founded.
2330 D Contact with the Darlok empire established.
2330 T Deuterium Fuel Cells (Range 5) discovered.
2338 * Vulcan (Jungle 90) founded.
2339 D Contact with the Mrrshan empire established.
2341 T Improved Terraforming +10 discovered.
Code:
2343 V High Council. RBO-39 has 2/8 votes. AI votes:
Cat3 for Mrrshans (3). Alk2 Dar1 abstain (3).
2344 * Nitzer (Dead 50 hostile ultra rich) founded.
2344 D Contact with the Alkari empire established.
2348 D Silicoids and Mrrshans sign a non aggression pact.
2349 T Improved Industrial Tech 9 discovered.
Code:
2349 V High Council. RBO-39 has 3/9 votes. AI votes:
Cat3 for Mrrshans (3). Alk2 Dar1 abstain (3).
2350 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 36 75 51 92
tech 13 22 13 26
prod 391 768 506 988
pop 216 180 100 272
cols 7 3 1 5
So far the AI didn't give me any trouble and the initial expansion wave went smoothly. With the Birds settling Cygni, this was going to change soon enough. I beat the birds to Primodius by a single turn and had to threaten them to turn around their incoming stack.
2353 * Primodius (Minimal 35) founded.
2355 * Antares (Desert 15) founded.
2356 T Hyper-V Rockets discovered.
2360 T Class II Deflector Shields discovered.
2363 T Battle Computer Mark II discovered.
2365 D Silicoids and Alkaris sign a non aggression pact.
2365 D Silicoids and Darloks sign a non aggression pact.
2367 T Nuclear Engines discovered.
2369 E Merchant event hits.
2370 * Tau Cygni (Toxic 25 hostile) founded.
Code:
2374 V High Council. RBO-39 has 5/12 votes. AI votes:
Cat4 for Mrrshans (4). Alk2 Dar1 abstain (3).
2375 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 15 60 0 164
tech 24 41 26 50
prod 1394 1032 530 1716
pop 465 195 100 349
cols 10 3 1 5
Everything in reach has been settled, the remaining Planets would require more range and/or LR colships. Large trade agreements and NAPs would hopefully buy me enough time to stand up the new cols.
2379 T Personal Deflector Shield discovered.
2380 T Improved Industrial Tech 8 discovered.
2381 T Neutron Pellet Gun discovered.
2383 D Alkaris cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2385 S new SCANNER ship: V2/1 A1 D2/2 S0 BS 18hp
2386 D Alkaris declare war on Silicoids.
2386 T Death Spores discovered.
2387 D Mrrshans declare war on Alkaris.
2388 D Mrrshans declare war on Darloks.
2388 T Battle Computer Mark III discovered.
2389 S new COL ship: V2/1 A0 D1/1 S0 1xNPG StdBase LR 100hp
2393 * Draconis (Radiated 10 hostile rich) founded.
2395 * Collassa (Inferno 10 hostile) founded.
2395 T Improved Robotic Controls III stolen form Alkaris.
2397 T Dotomite Crystals (Range 7) discovered.
Code:
2399 V High Council. RBO-39 has 7/14 votes. AI votes:
Alk2 Cat4 for Mrrshans (6). Dar1 for Silicoids (1).
2400 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 17 23 19 123
tech 58 61 37 70
prod 2389 1284 228 2086
pop 610 195 61 307
cols 12 3 1 5
Well, peace lasted just barely enough to get the first bases going (with massive reserve spending from Nitzer). After repelling first attacks on Tao and Antares, the game was basically won: I'm first in production and have more planets than all AIs together.
2400 D Silicoids and Alkaris sign a peace treaty.
2403 D Darloks cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2403 E Comet event hits.
2404 T Scatter Pack V Rockets discovered.
2405 D Mrrshans cancel non aggression pact with the Silicoids.
2407 T Automated Repair System discovered.
2409 D Alkaris declare war on Silicoids.
2409 T Ecm Jammer Mark III discovered.
2410 T Class V Planetary Shield discovered.
2412 S new POLARIS ship: V2/2 A4 D1/1 S2 44+44+43xNPG 1xNuclear2 BS ARS 600hp
2416 T Improved Terraforming +30 discovered.
2418 D The war between the Mrrshans and the Darloks has ended.
2418 S new SPORE ship: V2/2 A4 D1/1 S2 44xSpores BS ARS 600hp
2419 D Mrrshans declare war on Darloks.
2419 T Sub-Light Drives stolen form Alkaris.
2423 T Energy Pulsar discovered.
Code:
2424 V High Council. RBO-39 has 8/16 votes. AI votes:
Alk3 Cat4 for Mrrshans (7). Dar1 for Silicoids (1).
2425 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 144 188 78 249
tech 82 78 45 89
prod 3457 1630 530 2666
pop 767 221 100 350
cols 12 3 1 5
My first offensive moves were a bit premature, though. The Spore design had to retreat from its first battle at Cygni as the Birds have upgraded their missles the turn before. The Polaris design was reduced to guard duty in the Nitzar nebular.
2425 D Darloks declare war on Silicoids.
2426 T Improved Robotic Controls IV discovered.
2429 T Graviton Beam discovered.
2432 T Ecm Jammer Mark II stolen form Darloks.
2433 T Zortium Armor discovered.
2434 T Inertial Stabilizer stolen form Alkaris.
2435 T Uridium Fuel Cells (Range 8) stolen form Alkaris.
2436 T Ecm Jammer Mark I stolen form Darloks.
2438 T Repulsor Beam discovered.
2442 T Class III Deflector Shields stolen form Alkaris.
2443 T Improved Terraforming +40 discovered.
2448 T Class V Deflector Shields stolen form Alkaris.
2448 E Rich event hits.
Code:
2449 V High Council. RBO-39 has 11/20 votes. AI votes:
Alk3 Dar1 Cat5 for Mrrshans (9).
2450 I Player Sil Alk Dar Cat
fleet 111 373 42 127
tech 120 89 53 107
prod 5648 1774 530 3556
pop 1023 225 100 465
cols 12 3 1 5
The rich event was at Nazin, which thereby suggested itself as my first target. Again I planned on attacking with large, shielded ARS-equpped ships which hopefully would last long enough in the Hyper-X and SP-V fire to do some damage.
2451 D Darloks declare war on Alkaris.
2451 D The war between the Mrrshans and the Alkaris has ended.
2451 T Battle Computer Mark VI discovered.
2451 T Impulse Drives discovered.
2453 S new SPAWN ship: V5/4 A7 D5/8 S3 16xSpores BS IS ARS 1200hp
2455 T Megabolt Cannon discovered.
2456 T Improved Industrial Tech 5 discovered.
2456 S new KRAKEN ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S5 13xMegabolt 20xGraviton 1xNuclear2 BS ARS 1200hp
2457 S new COL ship: V5/2 A1 D2/2 S0 1xMegabolt BS StdBase LR 100hp
2458 T Gatling Laser stolen form Alkaris.
2460 T Improved Space Scanner stolen form Alkaris.
2461 D Mrrshans declare war on Alkaris.
2462 + The Darloks have been eliminated.
2463 * Nazin (Terran 100 rich) refounded.
2463 T Neutron Blaster recieved as gift.
2464 * Cygni (Desert 40 rich) refounded.
2464 S new MONITOR ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S5 8+8xHvBlaster 1xHypV5 BS ARS Repulsor 1200hp
2468 T Hyper-X Rockets stolen form Alkaris.
2469 T Cloning discovered.
2469 E Pirates event hits.
2471 * Altair (Terran 100) refounded.
2472 * Rana (Arid 55) conquered from Alkaris.
2472 + The Alkaris have been eliminated.
2472 T Improved Industrial Tech 6 looted from Rana.
2472 T Duralloy Armor looted from Rana.
2474 D Mrrshans declare war on Silicoids.
2474 T Andrium Armor discovered.
2474 S new WHALE ship: V5/3 A7 D3/3 S6 14+13+13xMegabolt 1xHypV2 BS ARS 1200hp
Code:
2475 I Player Sil Alk+ Dar+ Cat
fleet 599 0 0 335
tech 160 119 67 131
prod 7364 0 0 4600
pop 1259 0 0 503
cols 16 0 0 5
It worked, but only barely so. Esp. the Akari fleet at Cygni gave me trouble and it took many turns to slowly decimate their agile fighters before I could go for the kill. With the Cats and their stingers, a classical bombing strategy would be called for. I couldn't fit spores on a small yet, so I had to settle for a fast medium design with high missle defense. The Cat's complete lack of BCs was helpful in this department, so their bases would be reduced to a CTH of 5%. As the Cats were my last enemy, it was also safe to let them resettle and go for a ground invasion.
2476 T Improved Robotic Controls V discovered.
2478 S new BIOHAZARD ship: V5/4 A6 D8/11 S0 2xSpores IS 36hp
2485 * Rigel (Desert 40) conquered from Mrrshans.
2485 T Battle Suits looted from Rigel.
2485 T Ion Cannon looted from Rigel.
2485 T Advanced Space Scanner looted from Rigel.
2485 T Anti-Missile Rockets looted from Rigel.
2485 T Fusion Rifle looted from Rigel.
2485 T Stinger Missiles looted from Rigel.
2487 * Fierias (Terran 100) conquered from Mrrshans.
2487 T Particle Beam looted from Fierias.
2487 T Ion Stream Projector looted from Fierias.
2487 T Hydrogen Fuel Cells (Range 4) looted from Fierias.
2487 T Irridium Fuel Cells (Range 6) looted from Fierias.
2488 T Scatter Pack VII Missiles discovered.
Code:
2489 I Player Sil Alk+ Dar+ Cat
fleet 857 0 0 123
tech 181 119 67 145
prod 9848 0 0 882
pop 1544 0 0 84
cols 20 0 0 1
2489 * Seidon (Arid 70) conquered from Mrrshans.
2489 = Silicoids: 20/21 cols, 95% pop, 92% prod, 87% fleet, avg. TL 30.2
ignatius