Imperium 21 - sargon's report

[sargon0]

Well Imperium 21 looked interesting and not too taxing so I thought I would give it a try. Just a turnlog though and no pictures.

Imperium 21 turnlog
2300 send Colony ship to W green (only option), scouts to W yellow & W red and another ordered up
2301 send scout to N blue and another ordered
2302 send scout to N red and another ordered
ibt scout W green Stalaz (Ocean 80 UP fertile) colonised
2303 Stalaz goes full tech, trans 11 from HW
...With UP colony & range needed & variant I open Planetology & Propulsion early with 2 clicks from HW
...send Scout to SW red
ibt choose IER (over Barren) & range 5 (over R4). IER is clear choice despite variant but range is debatable, I decide with no intel yet to go R5
2304 Trans another 11 to Stalaz (for tech load)
...HW places full turn tech deposit 75/25 Plan/Prop
2305 HW back to fact except 3 tech clicks (till pop arrive at Stalaz) mostly to boost Prop small deposit
ibt chase Psilon scout from W yellow placing them in SW corner
ibt Scout reports: N blue is Paranar (Steppe 60), W red is Kulthos (Ocean 65 Poor) and W yellow is Beta Ceti (Terran 110 Fertile!)
2306 HW to fact as Stalaz takes tech load
ibt Scout N red Berel (Inferno 15)
2307 send Berel scout W to nearby blue
...Open Construction (point chasing!) after 2nd trans arrive at Stalaz
ibt rebuff Mrrshan scout from Paranar so they must be in NE corner
ibt RW80 only option
2308 spare RP not used for advancing Plan/Prop used for small deposit in cons
2309 Open Computers with spare RP
ibt NW blue is Orion (oops!)
ibt DSS only option
ibt scout SW red is Aurora (Desert 40)
2310 Use spare RP for small deposit in comp, order another scout
2311 send scout to SE white
...Open Weapons with spare RP
ibt Gatling Laser only option
2312 Open Force Fields with spare RP, to 2319 trickle deposit in weap
ibt DS2 only option
2313-9 Trickle deposit in FF
2314 ibt scout SW white Primodius asteroids
2315 asteroid scout to E blue
...HW starts to slowly increase tech investment, increasing each turn
2318 ibt scout E blue Gienah (Inferno 35 rich)
2319 send Gienah scout to Paranar
2323 IER @ 6% with HW now full on tech, tech investment can now reduce a little
2326 R5 @ 6%
ibt IER hits, choose IT+20 (over Dead or Spores)
2327 HW puts more on tech for deposit on IT+20
2328 DSS @ 3%, RW80 @ 1%, tech spending reduced again as techs mature
ibt RW80 hits very early, choose II8 (over Duralloy)
2329 HW @ 150 fact and little extra tech needed, start building first colony ship
2330 HW not needed for any extra tech
...Spare RP from Stalaz over next 2 turns to small deposit in II8
2331 Set Reloc to Stalaz while waiting for range to come in
ibt R5 hits, choose IS (over Range 6)
ibt Colony ship produced reloc'd to Stalaz
2332 HW to produce some more scouts while building fact
...Stalaz on max pop trickles 1 pop per turn for next 3 turns back to HW
ibt DSS hits, choose RC3 (over BC3)
2333 HW starts tech again, spare RP over next few turns trickle deposit in RC3
...HW start building 2nd colony ship
2334 HW @ 166 fact now full on colony ship while supporting tech
ibt scout NE red is Maretta (Jungle 110 Poor Fertile), W green is Rayden (Dead 30 rich)
2335 DS2 @ 3%
2337 send 2nd colony ship to Paranar
...Gatling @ 2%, HW on fact while supporting the yo-yo needs of multiple techs
ibt Colonise Beta Ceti and GNN advises I am first to 3 planets
2338 trans 39 from Stalaz to Beta Ceti
ibt DS2 hits, choose PDS (over DS3)
2339 HW @ 186 fact, reducing tech, now building 3rd colony ship
2340 ibt Gatling Laser hits, choose Hyper-X (over AMR)
2341 ibt chase 2 Alkari colony ships (will hit diplo) and scout N purple Iranha (asteroids)
ibt colonise 4th planet Paranar
2342 trans 25 from Stalaz to Paranar
...send colony ship to Kulthos
ibt scout central red Alkari Keeta (Arid 65 Artifacts), next send W to yellow
2346 IT+20 @ 2%
2347 as tech peaks (IT+20), Beta Ceti helps to allow HW to finish 4th col ship
ibt colonise 5th planet Kulthos
2348 trans 24 from Stalaz to Kulthos, send col ship to Aurora, HW finish fact
ibt chase Psilon scout from W central yellow Vox (Steppe 35), looks like Meklar are in NW corner
2349 HW at max back to ship building plus tech
ibt IT+20 hits, choose Dead (over IT+30), with Inferno+Toxic missing aim for Psilon rich planet, I'm sure they won't mind!
2350 Terraform HW, rest to tech
...place 180 BC deposit on 2830 BC Dead (aiming for about 19 turns) with help from Beta Ceti & Paranar
2351 After tech deposit all back to fact with HW still supporting growing tech needs
2352 Mrrshan fleet (2 medium, 1 col) 3 turns out from Maretta (what's taken them so long to get 4 parsecs from their hw?)
2353 trans 8 from Stalaz to fill HW
2354 HW max fact returns excess to ships, part terraform Paranar
ibt colonise 6th planet Aurora, GNN announces
ibt Mrrshan introduce themselves with their usual charm
2355 terraform Beta Ceti, trans 16 from Kulthos to Aurora
...Mrrshan (Ruth/Tech) uneasy 3PE with 2 NE yellows and now E red Maretta
...start trickling free spies with odd tick or 2 if not raising maint%
2356 II8 @ 2%, HW now max pop
2358 deposit 120 BC in Hyper-X
ibt II8 hits, choose Battle Suits (over ARS, RW60)
2359 deposit 99 BC in IS, part terraform Stalaz
2360 deposit 68 BC in PDS, excess at HW now building small reserve
2361 trans 6 from Stalaz to fill Beta Ceti, RC3 @ 3%
2363 deposit 82 BC in BS
...spy report on cats - ECM1, II9, Barren, (R5), Hand Lasers, Hyper-X
2364 Dead @ 1%, finish terraform on Stalaz
2365 Beta Ceti max's, starts ship prebuild
2366 ibt RC3 hits late, choose ISS (over BC4)
...Dead hits early, choose IT+30
2367 finish terraforming Paranar, design Dead colony ship
...deposit 121 BC in ISS, 80 BC in IT+30
2368 Dead colony produced, sent to Rayden from Beta Ceti which goes back to fact
...trans 11 from Stalaz to Kulthos (ready to feed Rayden)
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Cons/Plan/Weap choose weap, get Hand Lasers
2369 finish terraforming Kulthos, trans 4 from Stalaz to Kulthos
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Cons/Plan choose plan, get Barren
ibt armed Alkari colony ship takes over (and settles) Vox
2370 finish terraforming Aurora, trans 4 from Stalaz to Kulthos
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Cons/Weap choose weap, get AMR
ibt settle Rayden
ibt vote Darloks/Mrrshans of 13 Psilons(2)/Alkaris(2)/Meklars(1) abstain, Mrrshan(3), me(5) vote cat for diplo (goes neutral)
ibt Psilons greeting
2371 Rayden fed from reserves, trans 26 from Kulthos to Rayden
...Psilons (Hon/Dipl) uneasy 2PE, Mrrshan up to Neutral (vote)
2372 Beta Ceti max's, pumps reserves
2373 Beta Ceti takes over tech load as HW builds more fact, Hyper-X @ 3%
...trans 11 from Kulthos to Rayden
...spy report on brains - ECM1,BC2+3/II9/DS3/-/R4,IS,Warp3/Hyper-V on me
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Cons/Weap choose weap, get NPG
2374 trans 9 from Kulthos to Rayden
ibt vote Darloks/Mrrshans of 14 Psilons(2)/Alkaris(2)/Meklars(1) abstain, Mrrshan(3), me(6) have to abstain
2375 Paranar max's fact, part-terraform Rayden, Beta Ceti spare BC's go to ship prebuild
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Cons choose cons, get II9
2376 terraform Rayden to max, HW max's
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Plan/Weap choose weap, get Hyper-X, choose Mass Driver (only option)
2377 Rayden max's pop, IS @ 2%
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/FF/Prop/Weap choose prop, get R4
2378 PDS @ 3%
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/FF/Prop/Weap choose prop, get IS, choose Warp3 (from R7)
ibt spy infiltrate Mrrshan, from Comp/Plan choose Plan, get Tundra
ibt scout SW white Crypto (Minimal 70)
2379 trans 32 from Stalaz to Kulthos, preparing the front
ibt PDS hits early, choose PS-V
2381 ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/FF/Prop/Weap choose prop, get Warp3, choose R8
ibt Psilons warn me about espionage and drop from unease to hate
2382 Rayden max's, set to produce Nuke bombers with Beta Ceti (reloc to Rayden)
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/Weap choose comp, get BC2
ibt Psilons DOW
ibt armed Alkari colony ship takes over (and settles) Crypto
2383 188 Nuke bombers (Warp3, IS, max maneuver) produced at Rayden (including reloc'd), sent to Mentar
...BS @ 4%
ibt Mentar battle, 15MB + 29 small, destroy MB for loss of 22 bombers
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/FF/Weap choose comp, get ECM1
2384 trans 135 pop from Beta Ceti, Kulthos & Aurora to Mentar
...produce 40 NPG 3.0 fighters
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Weap get Hyper-V
2385 reserves help Beta Ceti & Aurora re-populate
ibt spy infiltrate Psilons, from Comp/FF/Weap choose comp, get BC3
2386 Paranar starts ship prebuild for Eastern front
ibt Mentar trans land 135(pds+hl) v 100(def), win with 74 left, capture II7, DS3, Ion Cannon
ibt Alkari unfriendly greeting
2387 Mentar to terraform, Rayden, Beta Ceti & Paranar to ships, others forwarding pop
...with captured techs boosting computer level, ship space & weapon level I decide to forego further tech self-discoveries
...Alari (Xen/Dipl) uneasy 5PE
...fleet from Mentar to Proxima
ibt Proxima battle, 3MB + 21 small + 4 cols, lose 6 bombers
2388 trans 64 pop from Beta Ceti & Kulthos to Proxima
...trans 10 pop from Mentar to Alkari Crypto, scout shows 4 pop there
2389 Beta Ceti to reloc 85 NPG 3.2 fighters to Paranar, if I can take Maretta I can win next vote with 10/15
...spy report on birds - ECM2 on me (BC2/II8/DS3/IER/IS/Gatling)
...trans 60 from HW to Mrrshan Maretta
...trans 11 from Mentar to Alkari Crypto
2390 HW to reloc 21 NPG 3.2 fighters to Paranar
...trans 36 from Mentar to Crypto
...2 Alakri fleets towards Crypto, 8 sm then 23 sm, 1 med, 1 col,
...so Proxima 30 NPG 3.0 to Crypto & Rayden produce 72 NPG 3.2 reloc to Mentar on way to Crypto
ibt Proxima trans land 32(pds+hl) v 65(def), win by 3, lucky win, slight miscalc, Beta Ceti 32 will arrive next turn
ibt Crypto trans land 10(pds+hl) v 6(def), win by 4
ibt GNN - Psilon genocide, Darloks 10 (9+) planet message (outstripping etc.)
ibt Alkari DOW (planet loss), Mrrshan drop from Neutral to restless (genocide)
2391 Paranar set to produce 69 NPG 3.2 fighters from prebuild
...send 160 Nuke bombers to Alkari Vox
...trans 40 from Paranar to Mrrshan Maretta
...trans 14 from Mentar to Crypto, 20 from Kulthos to Stalaz (pop production needed to grow)
2392 terraform Proxima, trans 11 from Mentar to Proxima
...send 175 NPG 3.2 from Proxima to Maretta, 100 trans enroute
ibt chase Alakri small from Vox
ibt Maretta battle, 0Mb + 1 large + 15 medium destroyed for loss of 4 NPGs
ibt bomb Vox to oblivion, lose contact with Alkari
ibt Mrrshan DOW
2393-99 max pop all planets while swatting away enemies
2399 ibt vote Darloks/Alkaris of 16 Meklars(1) abstain, Alkaris(2)+Mrrshan(2), me(11) vote myself in

Result: Conquest victory at 2399-2400 vote
Score: victory = 100
Self researched techs (after first in field): RC3/II8/PDS/IT+20,Dead/x/x
Penalty: -5 x 5 = -25
Date of first tech in field:
Comp: 2332-3 DSS
Cons: 2328-9 RW80
FF..: 2338-9 DS2
Plan: 2326-7 IER
Prop: 2331-2 R5
Weap: 2340-1 Gatling

Final score: 100 - 25 + ?? = ??

[RefSteel]

Brilliantly executed - you beat my time in 4 of 6 tech fields, and won more than a quarter-century sooner than me! Thanks for playing and reporting, even if you only had time for a turnlog; I still enjoyed the read, from your insights into the nuts and bolts of the game (like parenthetical diplo explanations) to little gems like this:

with Inferno+Toxic missing aim for Psilon rich planet, I'm sure they won't mind!

I apologize on behalf of the slow-poke Mrrshans you faced, by the way; I was quite pleased to see mine take Maretta and Paranar with armed fleets in the '30s, and by the time additional playtests showed how unusual that early date would be, it was really too late to do anything about it. If I'd had time - and been willing to turn my report into a shadow - I think I'd have switched the Mrrshans' starting tech to Range 4 (they took Range 5, and as you saw, it took them forever if they didn't randomly make it a priority). Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the game!

[sargon0]

Thanks for your comments, I was glad to participate in this quick and interesting experiment - how much tech can you get away with early without killing expansion, more than you think! Regarding my slow cats no need to apologise, I seem to draw them!

Note the AI first tech choices are chosen before the first savefile so you cannot change their decision by editing their limited tech tree. You can though blindly edit the techs they are set to research, not restricted by their tree choices. However this does not explain my sleepy cats even though they did choose Range 5. After a few BC's in Force Fields (?!) they reached max fact for current pop at Fierias in 2313 so next turn, as usual, split the factory production between defence and tech and choose as their speciality subject ... propulsion! They hit Range 5 in 2328 (after 3 turns in percentages) and still did not expand to a range 4 non-hostile planet, which they had scouted early, until 2355 (leaving Fierias in 2351)! It is hard to control AI behaviour. Perhaps more aggressive personalities or expansionist objectives (both twice as likely to expand according to OSG) would help. Kyrub may have other ideas, of course.

I'll look at future Imperium and keep my eye out for your future efforts.

[KnTenshi]

Wow, what a quick win!

And it seems your Alkari had a strong lead in your game (mine only got 5 planets after one of my many "Glass every rim world" raids).

One thing I have to mention is that I've noticed a trend in everyone's game: the Alkari and the Mrrshan never had a major war with one another! Right next to each other, no less!