Imperium 11: The MOO Doubling Cube

[jmas]

My sub-subtitle is "jmas takes on 4 AIs with multiple ant-arms behind his back". It will all become clear, if you read on.

OK, we don't have four stars within 3 parsecs like in Imperium 10, nor do we have 30 stars within 10 parsecs as in that game, probably at least partly because in this game we're close to a corner of the galaxy. There are two stars in range--a yellow and a neutron star. Yellow stars, according to the strategy guide, have a 100% chance of having a planet and a very high chance of a habitable, while neutron stars have a 5% chance of a habitable (Minimal only), so I send the colship to the yellow.

2302 Scout Omicron (Minimal 30) at the neutron star.

Jackpot!! Not only does the yellow star (Maalor) have a planet with a higher population cap (Minimal 50), but it's Ultra Rich! Given Minimal planets, the guide says that such a planet at a neutron star has a 15% chance of being ultra-rich, while a Minimal at a yellow star has a 1.25% chance--that's a difference of 12 times! I wonder if this map was altered.. I have read that the editing tools aren't very sophisticated, but who knows.. (Addendum: I saw in Sullla's report that the map was not edited).

Well, I don't waste any time settling a colony here..

2303 Move 6 million (6M) to Maalor. I put 9 BC/RP in tech to open construction, planetology, and propulsion.

Construction: RIW 80%--only choice. The Klackons of course are Excellent at Construction, so they pay only 60% of the regular cost.

Planetology: IT+10, Barren, or IER

Propulsion: Range 5, only choice. We're "Poor" in this area, so we pay 125% of the regular cost.

2304 Move 3M to Maalor. Put all available funding at Kholdan into Tech (now focusing on Range 5, specifically; I'm very clear I want that tech), to seed the research so I can reap interest. Scout Artemis, Ocean 65 with Artifacts. I pick up a free tech:



Not quite the massive advantage of pulling IT+20 for free in Imperium 10, but not bad. It's going to take a while to fill up my planets anyway, but I always like planetology techs (especially as the Klackons) because they decrease the price of colony ships, which in this case drops from 570 BC on a model designed at the beginning of the game, to 546; and also, planetology techs increase the productivity of population units (with Klackon population units getting twice as much benefit as other races out of a given increase in planetology tech level). Okay, okay, the effect is modest here since I only get a tech level of 2, but I'll take it anyway.

2305 2M to Maalor, tech funding reduced to either 6 or 7 RP, I don't allocate any money for terraforming yet.

I very much want to be the one to colonize Artemis, and I'm concerned about that yellow star NNE of it. They're so close that maybe if there was an AI up there, it would be colonized already, but I decide to play it safe. Just in case, I design a LR Laser ship and arrange for one to be built in 2 turns (which I then sent up to Artemis).

2306 Scout Primodius, Arid Poor 70 NW of Kholdan, and Anraq, Barren 50 to the N, and Morrig, Dead 50 in the SW.

2308 I decided to seed the Range 5 research again, to (almost) double the interest I'm earning in that field every turn. I see I'll need 6 more scout ships when I get Range 5.

2309 I set Maalor to produce one Scout 2 ship per turn. Scout Berel, Barren 35 ESE of Maalor.

2310 Bump up Maalor to produce two Scout 2s per turn.

2311 5M to Maalor, put ~6 BC towards t-forming at Kholdan.

2312 I set Maalor to produce a LR Laser so I can send it to join its fellow at Artemis.

2313 Send LR Laser on its way.

2315 I decide to start building a colship at Maalor. I think it took just 3 turns to produce and (with RELOC) another 2 to reach Kholdan. I send 5M to Maalor so their productivity can be tripled there working on factories and ships.

2316 1M to Maalor.

2317 Another 1M.

2318 Range 5 pops. Nuclear Engines or IS (IS is much more expensive). I set Maalor to produce 10 scouts to fan out when Artemis is colonized...

2319 ...not noticing that it was set to make Scouts rather than Scout 2s! :mad: I can live with it, though, in conjunction with another matter, it did have some consequences later on. Those 10 scouts go to Artemis; the ones I produced earlier, I send to various systems now in scouting range. Maalor's funding goes to t-forming and IND. I switch to focusing on IER in tech, seeding it with Kholdan's production.

2320 Route Colship to Artemis. Maalor maxes factories! Ultra Riches sure do that fast.

2321 Scout Dunatis (no planets) and Klystron (Dead 20).

2322 2M to Maalor. By now I was boosting Kholdan’s production with the reserve, which Maalor was feeding (at a bonus, being Ultra Rich). Scout Imra (Desert 30).

2323 Set Maalor to build a colship. It can do so in 2 turns now! Scouts reach Orion to the E and Herculis in the W (Terran 125 Fertile!)

2324 Stop factory construction at Kholdan--it's about to send a lot of pop to Artemis. Scout Rotan (no planets). Colonize Artemis.

2325 There are 4 planets we can colonize now–Omicron, Herculis, Imra, and Primodius.

I send 41M to Artemis; I want it to get built up quickly, being an artifacts planet, plus we want to expand further in that direction, toward the center of the galaxy.

2326 Double Artemis’s (small) production with the reserve & send 1M more. Scout the yellow star (Crius) near Artemis; no AI, and it’s a Terran 85. I can hardly believe these large planets!

2327 2M to Artemis.

2328 2M to Artemis. IER now at 20%. Open computers. IER pops.

Computers: ECM 1 or Scanner

Planetology: Now open: IT+20, Controlled Dead, or Spores.

2329 I notice the cost of a colship has not yet decreased with the discovery of IER. Thinking it would not do so, I design a "Cheapcol" class (464 BC vs. 541 BC). Scout Vox, another large Minimal (50)

2330 My earlier colship design drops in price to match the "Cheapcol", but a "Cheapcol" has been built, so now I have another duplicate ship design (besides Scouts and Scout 2s) Argh! I spend the planetary reserve at Artemis and resume pumping it (the reserve) with Maalor while still also building a colship (due in 2 turns).

2331 Pop maxes at Maalor. I send the Cheapcol to Anraq while awaiting 4 scouting reports to see if another habitable will be in range. 3m to Artemis. Build Scout 2s at Artemis for when I colonize Imra. Scout Ukko (Barren 65), and Gion, Jungle 75; we’ll colonize Gion after Crius.

2332 Map:



So far, we have not seen any sign of the other four races in the galaxy, and we’ve scouted 17 systems (if you count Kholdan ), plus found Orion, and now have 5 scouting reports pending. Looks like the other races aren’t “racing” for these planets! Send 31m to Artemis and 1m from Maalor to Kholdan. RIW comes in (and it was only at 5%!) IIT8—only choice. Scout Ryoun (Inferno 35) and Arietis (Toxic Rich 30).

2333 We know of 2 habitables on the frontier to colonize (Crius and Imra). I see that discovering Controlled Dead will open up five planets to us, and we do score points for colonies, plus there are Silicoids in the game, so the hostiles probably won’t be available as long as they would otherwise.

We’re looking really good on territory. I try to think of what could pose a problem for us in this game and come up with these possibilities: 1) facing the Humans in a Council vote; 2) Psilons with a decent amount of land and population, hence opportunity to advance in tech (not like our games in Imperium 10 where they didn’t grab much; in my game, I took their lunch money pretty early ) and 3) suddenly running up against the Bulrathi, who could invade fledgling colonies easily if the AI thinks to do so. Well, I’ll keep an eye out and try to minimize those risks.

With Artemis’s help I dial up to 416 RP in Tech, almost all of it for Controlled Dead. And then: signs of life in the galaxy! A Sili colship arrives at Ukko and retreats. I encounter a Psilon scout somewhere in the east-not sure where now.

Weapons field opens, Hand Lasers over Gatling. Scout Kailis, Jungle 90 (habitable ho!); Neptunus, Toxic 20; and Nyarl, Tundra 65.

2334 A Bul scout is incoming to Nyarl. I send one LR Laser to Ukko since the Silis were there, and the other to Kailis. I design a new LR Laser ship and build one at Artemis, to go to Ukko. A colship (from Maalor) reaches Kholdan and I route it to Anraq to await further instructions; I plan to colonize Kailis, Gion, and Vox, in that order, barring unforeseen events. A Bul colship arrives at Neptunus and retreats. Force fields open; Class 2, of course.

2335 Another colship produced; ships now (briefly) consume 12.4% of my economy. 2 Sili colships arrive at Kailis and retreat. We colonize Crius.

2336 Artemis ships out 32 pop to Crius. We colonize Imra.

2337 Colship at Anraq, plus a scout, routed to Kailis. Colship at Kholdan to go to Artemis to see where to go next. Artemis sends some pop to Imra.

2338 I’m planning where to send all the colships. There might not be anywhere for them to go up north, but given the star colors up there (yellows and reds), I decide to gamble by sending a 2nd colship to Kailis hoping there’s another habitable nearby. Scout Gienah (no planets).

2339 Just keeping tabs on all the colships traveling between stars…

2340 In 2 turns I should know if another colship will be needed in the north or not. Fund weapons, comps, force fields tech a little more. Bul scout arrives at Ukko and retreats.

There have been power interruptions here in the past, so I'm going to post this message..

[jmas]

2341 I move a colship from Anraq to Crius, from where it can go to the NW portion of the galaxy if needed up there. Our scouts reach Silicoid-controlled Rayden (I have to retreat due to larges and bases but see 10 pop and 20 factories) and Silicoid-controlled Thrax (no ships at home; Inferno 25), and uncolonized Misha (Steppe 20), and Bootis (Rich Barren 50—boo-ya! )

2342 Route 2 colships to Gion; one to colonize, one to go either to Vox or north. Hand Lasers come in. Hmm, in addition to not having Hyper-V, I don’t have Hyper-X in the tree. Choose NPG. Scout Laan (Dead 30).

2343 I double production at Artemis and Imra and finish terraforming Imra. 2 Sili colships arrives at Misha and retreat. Our scout reaches Sol in the NW; it has 10 bases and 4 colships in orbit. We colonize Kailis and are first to 6 systems. We get a congenial greeting from the Humans; less so from the Silis:







2344 The Humans are Honorable Industrialists and control Sol, Uxmai, and Denubius. The Sili are Aggressive Technologists and have only the 2 systems I saw earlier (Rayden and Thrax) plus Cryslon; they are allied to the Psilons. On the stat screen, we're competitive on production, but the Humans have a decent amount of pop and tech, so their planets must be pretty good. I consider backtracking my colship from Crius to colonize the “backyard” system of Primodius (a stepping stone to Fertile Herculis), but decide instead to send it forth on a speculative mission to see if there’s a habitable still further out than we’re already going. Misha will be colonized soon; we’ll send the colship there and see if it’ll have anywhere to go from there. If not, I’ll probably scrap it, as it will be too far out to be worth a return trip, especially when Maalor can so easily build another. Scouts reach Cryslon, which has just 39 pop at the moment, and the green star SE of Cryslon, where we're chased away by either a Bul or Sili large (don't remember). Send 1/2 of Crius's pop to Kailis and 10m from Artemis to Crius.

2345 Move pop again in the same pattern as described above. There are 4 Barren worlds up for grabs, 3 Dead ones, and 1 Tundra, with 1 Dead and the Tundra being at extended range. Relations are "Unease" with the Humans (not sure why?) and Wary with the Silis. The Silis refuse a trade agreement; the Humans agree to 150 BC/year. A Sili scout arrives at Kailis and retreats. We get IIT8 and Dead Envrionment. Go for Battle Suits (Only choice) and Controlled Barren (anticipating that Barren ships will cost less). I started building some laser fighters at Imra and sending them to Ukko to hold the Silis off.

Also, with all 6 ship classes in use thanks to the Scouts and Cheapcol, I was working on making sure that Scout 2s or other ships were everywhere that our old Scouts were, so that we could scrap the old Scouts and maintain our “blockade”.

2346 I have planetary populations of 223 and 54 colonists in transit. I go nearly all-out for Barren. Chase away Psilon scout from Gienah and Bul scout from Misha. The Silis show up at Ryoun with weapons and colonize it.

2347 Controlled Barren comes in, go for IT+20 to boost pop and hopefully ensure we’ll have a veto in the Council. Too bad that IT+30 isn’t in the tree. Scout Kulthos (another Barren! 30 max). Colonize Gion and Primodius.

2348 Colship produced at Maalor, routed to Herculis. Good thing I got Barren, a ship with a barren base costs 152 BC less than one with a Dead base. We added 26 pop last turn, though at least some of them landed from transports. Send pop to Gion (from Artemis, to be replaced next turn by arriving colonists from Kholdan I sent in advance) and to Primodius. Relations with Humans at Neutral. Silis agree to trade 50 BC/year. Colonize Misha.

2350 Silis at Unease. They have a fleet coming to Misha. I consider threatening them, but I see that the fleet probably launched before I colonized the planet, and threats in such situations were discouraged in a thread a while back in the forum, so I don’t do it. Set Imra and Crius to build Barren colships and Maalor to simply pump the reserve.

2351 Colship routed to Vox. Silis arrive at Misha; we retreat. Our scout chases a Sili colship from Aurora and scouts it (Jungle 75). Hmm, my extra, “just-in-case” colship sent to Misha can go settle that nice planet. Silis bomb Misha but don’t destroy the colony.

2352 Get Deep Space Scanner, go for BC 3. Scout Incedius, Toxic 45, fairly large. The Silis leave Misha—good news—the fleet appears to be heading for Gienah..

2353 Shuffle (or shuttle?) some population. Crius is farming pop to go to Ukko, and to Bootis by way of Kailis. Scout Romulas, yet another Barren (30) in the north. Colonize Vox and Ukko. Meet Bulrathi (Aggressive Ecologists), who appear fairly strong with 7 systems along the eastern edge. There’s only one star (yellow) that the Psilons could have, which must be Mentar…looks like they’re a 1PE again...

2354 Shuttle pop. Our scout reaches Bul-controlled Exis, Poor Ocean 90. Colonize Berel; I’m first to 12 systems.

2355 Sign the Buls to 200 BC/turn in trade.

Given the location of Mentar and its being surrounded by the Silis and Buls, I see that it looks like I’ll need to colonize Neptunus (and get Controlled Toxic first, of course) AND get Range 7 to make contact with the Psilons, which I want so I can get more “Diplomat” points. Arrgh…I’m not sure if I can do all that by 2375, but it looks like it’s in my interest to give it my best shot.

Another strategy point: up until now I had pretty much planned to grab every single planet the AIs don’t get first. As I said, I now have 12 colonies; I can make 2 more next turn (at Herculis and Aurora); a colship is on the way to Bootis; and Anraq and Omicron look easy for us to colonize. Then there are the hostiles further north and in the south (e.g., Morrig, Klystron). But I’ve been realizing that the difficult part of earning doubling of my score is going to be scoring enough “Diplomat” points. I recall that the strategy guide says that the player will lose 1 point in relations each turn with every race per planet that he/she controls beyond 1/4 of the stars in the galaxy; and we control 1/4 already. From what I’ve seen in other games, it seems possible to counter that effect with trade and NAPs, but the more planets one controls, the harder it gets. How many planets, and which ones, do I really want?

I decide to colonize Aurora, not particularly wanting the Silis or the already-populous Buls to have such a large planet, and Bootis, since it’s Rich; to defer colonizing Herculis, Omicron, and Anraq (Herculis and Omicron are in my backyard anyway. The Silis may get Anraq but that should be OK); and not to colonize Barrens Kulthos or Romulas. I will seek to make contact with the Psilons, by trying to colonize Neptunus. Maybe an upcoming range tech like Range 8 or 9 will be available for me to research and I’ll be able to leave Neptunus without any factories in case an AI wants to grab it and relieve me of the diplomatic burden.

What's that you say, gentle reader? You detect an odor of pungent weed? I’m really going to leave planets for the AIs? And I’m going to leave a Fertile Terran 125 uncolonized, when I colonized Primodius to get within range of it?

Yes, because I think my position is competitive, and doubling my score (worth at least 225 extra points, or at least 325 with a game victory) will be worth a lot more than, say, 3 points times 3 to 5 more colonies. I want to maximize my chances of getting that doubling. (As for quadrupling, I thought it was virtually impossible until skimming Sullla's report, and I'm still not yet fully convinced otherwise).

If it looks like I’m falling behind or in danger of losing a vote, I can colonize later. And as for Primodius: it’s not bad, I don’t mind Poor planets too much, especially if I have time to develop them. Plus I had intended to colonize it earlier and use it as a population farm for a while, before I saw the steps of a path laid out before us almost to the opposite corner of the galaxy, a path which Primodius unfortunately lay to the side of. Now, Ultra Poors, I’m not so fond of..glad it wasn’t one of those. Might have colonized Omicron instead if it had been.

Class 2 shields come in, Class 3 (only choice). Colonize Aurora, and, for the first time in recent memory, choose “No” when asked whether to colonize a planet (Herculis). This may be the first time I’ve ever declined without intending to send the colship to a higher-priority planet, or being about to win and not wanting to bother with another colony.

The Silis can't support more trade (I asked). I'm hoping that trading as much as possible will improve relations.

2356 Here I see that the Silis' fleet is actually going to Bootis. I decide not to scout the NE white star after all because the Psilons have colships headed there and it looks like we would arrive there at the same time. If I let them get a second colony, it's less likely that they'll be knocked out of the game (and out of my Diplomat scoring). Also, they'll be a little closer (6 parsecs from Aurora) and easier to make contact with. IT+20 comes in, go for Controlled Toxic.

2357 I allocate funding to terraform sufficiently mature planets. Colonize Bootis.

2358 It's finally time to build factories at Kholdan again! The population has finally increased to about half the number of factories. I had already moved pop toward Kailis, so now I arrange for 26M to go from Kailis to Bootis. The Silis arrive at Bootis, and also at Aurora. They bomb, killing 1M at Bootis and destroying 1 factory at Aurora. Get Nuclear Engines, go for Range 7.

2359 Increase trade with Sili to 100BC/turn. 1M killed at Aurora, plus my inbound transports:



I decide not to build factories there or at Bootis yet (though a few went up at Bootis when I wasn't looking).

2360 Increase trade with Humans to 250BC/turn. 32 Sili transports are heading to Bootis. The Psilon fleet disappeared, so hopefully it was able to settle a colony at the white star. The Silis drive my ships from Neptunus and colonize it. We scout Ajax ( desert 35) in the NW. My Barren colship reaches Anraq but I don't colonize it. The Silis again destroy my transports reaching Aurora and kill 1 million with bombardment.

Council convenes for the first time (which shows the Psilons must have added a colony). 17 votes total: I have 6, Buls 5, Psilons 2 for Buls, Humans and Sili abstain with 3 and 1(!) each (The Silis had launched transports). If the AIs had all voted for the Buls, my votes would have been just enough for a veto. I'll want to increase that safety margin.

2361 I take a screenie of my relations:



Gee, tough crowd. I've been trading as much as possible and doing my best to avoid angering AIs.

I see that I can colonize Nyarl (Dead) and get Range 7 to make contact with the Psilons. In turns after this one, I built a ship to colonize Nyarl, but ended up not doing so.

Will I try to defend Bootis and Aurora? I'm leery of letting the AI have a rich planet (Bootis), but I do recognize that I probably don't need Aurora. I try some different ship designs but it looks like the ships I could build to defend Bootis are pretty pricey for my planets in the neighborhood, whose production isn't very high yet. I decide not to try to defend it since the Silis are well behind in production and I need “Diplomat” points.

Increase trade with Buls to 250BC/turn. Their arriving colship at Romulas flees from our scout. My transports are destroyed at Bootis.

2362 I see I gained 43 pop last turn (counting some transport landings). That's awesome for a non-Sakkra race. The Silis have left Aurora...why?!?!?! They could easily take it from me. Well, gee, if they don't want it...I order up more transports to go there.

2363 35 pop added. The white star is Escalon (Minimal 30) and sure enough the Psilons colonized it.

2365 27 pop added. Move some toward Misha and Aurora.

2366 51 pop added (counting some transport landings). Increase trade with Buls to 300BC/turn.

2367 Didn't write down pop increase. NPG pops, go for Merculites (glad to have a missile available).

2368 43 pop added. Relations with the Humans have fallen to Neutral for some reason. Range 7 comes in, go for Fusion Drive. I lose Bootis (but fortunately no tech) to the Silis, who issue a DOW. Wait, I thought it was when the human player captures a colony that AIs declare war? Oh well. We meet the Psilons (Honorable Industrialist).

2369 47 pop added. The outlook for our “war” doesn't look good for the Sili—they're behind on tech and production. I arrange to build a base at Kailis since they're heading there. Sign Psilons to max trade, 125 BC/turn. Battle Suits arrive, Zortrium (only choice).

2370 47 pop added. The Psilons have a decent-size tech bar but less production than us. Controlled Toxic arrives (increasing my worker productivity!), IT+40.

[jmas]

2371 57 pop added. Silis arrive at Kailis; their Heavy Lasers are almost completely ineffective. With nuclear missiles I shoot down a large "Mako" and two colships. Vox maxes pop.

2372 54 pop added. Increase trade with Buls to 325 BC/turn, & with Humans to 275. Psilons can't increase trade. BC 3 pops, go for ECM 1 to try to score another Researcher point, plus a little defense is a good thing.

2373 Imra & Ukko max factories, the first planets of mine besides Maalor to do so. 31 pop added. Move most tech funding to force fields to try to make a breakthrough for Researcher points. Gion and Primodius max pop.

2374 22 pop added. Class 3 shields pop (to quote Napoleon Dynamite: “Yessss!”), Class 4 next.

As Maniac once wrote, “VOTE TIME!”

24 votes

Buls: 6 votes, Silis 2 for Buls, Psilons 2 for Buls. Humans, 3, abstain. Me, 11, abstain.



Nit:

EACH vote you cast in the 2375 Council Vote

Okay, I didn't actually CAST the votes, since I abstained, but I think HAVING the representation is what counts.

My share of votes in 2360 was 35.3%; here, it's 45.8%. We added 5 votes to our total—1 vote short of doubling our representation—without colonizing any more planets (in fact, losing Bootis) and without discovering any terraforming tech in the meantime. We added 473 pop in 13 turns, according to my comparison between 2361 and 2374.

And right after the vote...and right before the first scoring turn...the Psilons issue me a DOW! :mad:



2375: Kholdan and Misha max factories. Humans agree to a NAP but there is no immediate boost in relations, at least not enough to get past “Relaxed” even though I could swear I've seen a larger boost in other games. :mad: Buls decline a NAP. Shoot down a Sili large with missiles at Crius.

I control 13 planets:



Colonist: 13 planets * 3 + 11 votes * 3 = 72 points

Researcher: 10 + 11+ 10 + 18 + 14 + 7 = 70 points



Diplomat: Doh.



12 + 10 = 22 points. Ouch. I was at Neutral with the Psis and Unease (I think) with the Silis, so those 2 DOWs cost me 18 points. Now I need 53 points in this area to be eligible to double my score. Well, I see where I have work to do.

ECM I pops, go for BC 4.

[jmas]

2376 I scrap my original Scouts. Check out this screenie of my fleet:



That's right, there's one weapon on one ship in the whole fleet, and it's a Laser, on a colship. Missile bases are working for us, and I don't usually build many ships until I feel my tech is significantly better than in the opening of the game. But...(see next turn)

2377 Recalling that there is a hostile Rich world (Arietis) the Silis might try for, I design the Avenger class to keep them away from there. I receive a threat from the Humans.



2379 Get a spy report on Silis & Psis. Silis' tech is laughably weak, but they are allied to the Humans and Psilons. The Psis have RC 3.

2381 I have a sizable lead on the AIs in Production on the stats screen.



1 of my Avenger class beats 3 Sili warships plus an armed colship at Arietis.

2382 Increase trade with Buls to 400 BC/turn. Humans can't increase trade. Merculites come in. We don't have either Fusion Bomb or Anti-Matter Bomb in the tree (as in Imperium 10). Choose Fusion Beam.

2383 IT+40 pops, Atmospheric Terraforming.

2384 Production went up a few hundred points with the Planetology breakthrough. Gotta love the Klackons.

2385 Humans colonize Kulthos, getting past my ships under our NAP. BC 4 pops, RC 4.

2387 Increase trade with Buls to 425 BC/turn. Zortrium and Class 4 shields pop, choose RIW 40% over Exoskeleton (we're not planning any invasions) and IIT5 (tempting, but I see there's a significant chance IIT4 will be the only next option), and Repulsor Beam (only choice, I think?)9

2389 Relations with the Humans reach Amiable. Increase trade with Buls another 25 BC/turn. I ask them to break their alliance with the Sili; they decline, but the Humans agree to do so.

Finally I scrap my standard colship, postponing colonizing Herculis indefinitely (after clicking “No” every turn for a while now).

2390 I scrap my Barren colships. Fusion drive pops, opt for Range 9 to make sure we'll stay in contact with the Psilons.

2391 The Buls refuse to sign a NAP or to break the alliance with the Sili.

2392 Make peace with the Psilons, at their request.

2393 Sign Psilons to 175 BC/turn.

2394 Increase trade with Buls another 25 BC/turn.

2395 Oops, looks like the Humans colonized Ajax a while ago. They just chased off my scout, but the colony has 28 pop! I guess I could be considered in violation of our NAP. Glad they didn't seem to take offense.

2396 Build an Avenger to send to Nyarl to prevent its being colonized. Fusion Beam pops, Fusion Rifle next.

2397 I ask the Silis for peace. They want 1075 BC. Very well. They decline trade. Relations are now “Troubled.” Atmospheric pops, IT+50 next.

2398 Get RIW 40%, go for IIT4.

2399 Council: 31 votes: I have 14, Buls 7, Sili 4 for Buls, Psi 2 for Buls, Humans 4 abstain.

2400 Increase trade with Humans by 50 BC/turn.

2401 I scrap the long-range ship I had in case I wanted to colonize Nyarl.

2402 Get Repulsor Beam, go for Personal Absorption Shield “just in case.”

I wanted to finish writing this report, so I started giving a little less detail until 2450, in particular not mentioning all the techs I got. Suffice it to say, I built up a BIG tech lead over the AIs.

I already wrote up 2450-2457 so there’s a little more detail there. After 2457, a little less again.

After declining trade with me a couple of times…

2409 Silis declare on me again.



2410 I see the Silis have Fusion Drives, wonder if they stole them from me. I wonder if I should get other races to declare on them so I can improve my relations with the other races by fighting the Silis. But I had envisioned doing that closer to 2450…

2413 I receive threats from the Humans and the Bulrathi. That does it. I’m not going to watch all my relations go to heck. Time to “dogpile” the Silicoids.

2414 The Bulrathi declare on the Sili for the “low, low price” of 225 BC, while the Humans apparently have more “upscale” tastes since they ask for 900. I pay. Looks like my ships will be more than just sentries over uncolonized planets now.. I send an Avenger toward Bootis.

2416 The Psilons ask for Zortrium when I ask them to declare on Sili. I agree. There are too many bases at Bootis for my Avenger; retreat.

[jmas]

2417 Design “Lil Gunship”.



Fight Silis at Neptunus—wait, what’s this?



Divide error, eh? That crashed the game. Reload, re-fight, take orbit. Fend off Silis from Nyarl. “Bomb” Neptunus for 4 million, 16 factories.

The Psilons declare on me again! Doh!

2418 Take orbit of Ryoun with 10 Lil Gunships. Destroy 2 bases at Rayden before retreating (couldn’t crack all the bases). “Bomb” Ryoun and Neptunus (no actual bombs, we’re packing beams).

2419 Relations “Peaceful” with Buls and Humans, “Wary” with Psis. Form alliances with Buls and Humans. Destroy the Neptunus colony.

2420 Ask Psis for peace. They want RC 4. Grudgingly I agree; they have RC 3 already and only have Mentar and one other colony, and I want that peace. After I give them the tech, they tell me they “tire of my prattle.” Gratitude makes the world go round.. Relations now “Relaxed”. Beat Silis at Thrax. “Bomb” Ryoun, get an “atta boy” from Humans.



2421 Relations now “Friendly” with Buls and Humans, “Calm” with Psilons. That’s worth 60 points. I can stop the game here, right? No? Okay, play on. I have good relations and a strong tech lead over the field. Now if I could only “broker peace” with the Silis on behalf of the Klackon-Human and Klackon-Bulrathi alliances.

After looking over RefSteel’s old post about AIs getting mad when you reach some undetermined amount of population, I decide to shelve IT+60, since if I get it, I won’t be able to prevent my worlds from being terraformed, even by locking the Eco bars (I experimented in an old solo game).

2422 The Silis are going to Bulrathi (!) Exis, which has 110 population, with 55 transports. Uh, let me know how that works out for you.

2423 I ask Psilons for a NAP; they want 1225 BC; I agree. Trade 200 BC/yr with them. Here I stole Duralloy from the Buls and framed the Psis. “Bomb” Sili Thrax. I bombed the Silis another couple of times over the next few turns.

2424 Council—31 votes; I have 15; Humans cast 5 for me; Bulrathi have 7, and Sili (2 votes) and Psi (2 votes) vote for them.

Had the Humans or I had 1 more vote, I could have scored a diplo victory, but in any case there’s no incentive to do so given the scoring opportunity in 2449/2450.

Around here I quit funding Artemis with the reserve (with money put in by Maalor). It just didn’t feel sporting anymore given how much of a lead I had.

2426 “Unity” with Buls and Humans, “Affable” with Psilons. Form alliance with Psis.

2430 Silis run my scout off Romulas. I retreat my Avenger from Nyarl and let them have it. They settle Nyarl, but the Humans get Romulas.

2431 I see the Humans have settled Anraq.

2432 Oops, I forgot to turn events off and the Bulrathi lost all of 48 RP in Weapons to a computer virus. Oh, the ursinity! Since I didn't see any other big things happening, I reloaded, to spare them the agony.

2433 Oh dear, the Humans are at war with the Bulrathi and want me to break my treaty (alliance) with them. Decline.



2434 Ouch. Now we’re at Feud with the Humans (but still allied with them). The Buls break their alliance with the Sili at my request. I bomb Ryoun. Psilons now want me to to break my treaty with the Buls. Decline.

2435 Relations “Neutral” with the Humans, Feud with Psilons. I bomb Sili Ryoun and Thrax; the Silis still make good “whipping boys.” I get another “atta boy” from Humans.

2436 Humans now “Friendly”, Psilons “Calm”, Buls at “Unity “. Seems we at least agree on bombing the Silis.

2439 Humans again ask me to break my alliance with the Buls. Decline.

2440 Feud with Humans again. Bomb Sili Ryoun, but…

2441 Humans still at Feud. I design the “Pegasus” class. Looks like I only have screenies of them from battles, e.g.:



Bomb Ryoun again.

2442 Humans “Wary”, but then ask us again to break my alliance with the Buls. Decline, and…


2443 …we’re back to Feud. Enough already, I dial up the Buls and break the alliance. Thankfully, we’re still at “Unity” with them.

2444 Bomb Sili some more.

2445 I see no one else is at war with the Sili anymore, that would explain the “failure to thrive” of my relations with other races. The Psis and Humans are at war with the Buls, so I decide to turn on the Buls, and hope that the diplo picture doesn’t change again before the scoring opportunity .

[jmas]

2446 Silis want 1175 for peace; I pay. They want Repulsor Beam to declare on the Buls; I give it to them. I destroy Bulrathi Rayden; Buls declare, of course.

2447 Design the “Bombdude” class (Large) with 77 (!) Nuclear Bombs. Hey, they’re all we have. Neutronium Armor comes in. That will be sweet for my research score!

2448 Everyone is at war with the Buls. I bomb their colonies at Exis and Rha.

2449 Bingo! “Harmony” with Psilons and Humans, “Peaceful” with Silis.



Everyone (except the Buls) will vote for me since they’re at war with the Buls and not with me. I get RC 6, go for ECM 3 for defense if needed. Emperor RBO-11 orders the band to warm up for the victory parade…

…but then…

I “gild the lily” by destroying Bulrathi Exis, Moro, and Rha, just in case it helps keep my “friends” happy. Only problem is, when the Council convenes… the Bulrathi are no longer the other nominee! Humans nominated instead.

29 votes, I have 15, Psis vote 2 for me.

Humans 5 votes + 5 from the Bulrathi, Silis abstain (2).



I would have had a Domination victory if the Bulrathi had been nominated. Oh well..

And then, just before the second and final scoring opportunity…




D'oh! :mad:

[jmas]

2450 Whew—I still have enough Diplo points.



That’s 12 + 20 + 30 = 62, plus 22 from before = 84 for Diplomat. Doubling here I come.

(Incidentally, I was at “Harmony” with the Humans before the framing. So I lost 18 Diplomat points (before doubling). However, I did pick up 3 Researcher points (before doubling) for getting RC 6)



I still have 13 colonies, and I had 15 votes. 28 + 72 from before = 100 for Colonist.

I thought that was a pretty good score given my holding back on colonies and holding back on discovering IT+60 since 2421 (thereby forgoing any further Planetology advances as well).



52 (Construction) + 39 (Computers) + 29 (planetology) = 120 + 70 from before = 190 for Researcher.

Doubled, that’s (84 + 100 + 190) * 2 = 748. Now to win the game for another 200.

Enough diplo games; I plan to take on all of the AIs after this turn.

Oops, I had forgotten that the Sili controlled Bootis! That’s another colony I could have bombed of theirs, while I had everyone at war with them. They weren’t as close to being knocked out of the game as I thought. Oh well. Bootis will be one of my first targets, since it’s Rich and can build ships near the front lines. ECM 3 comes in, choose BC 5 (I thought a mid-level BC might be useful for my ships, rather than going for an expensive Computer tech we wouldn’t really use).

2451: Okay, I’m free and clear of the 2450 date, I have all the “Diplomat” points I can score, and my empire is much stronger than the AIs. No more Mr. Nice Klackon. There’s a new sheriff in town, and besides his six-shooter, he has six legs! Dial up spying on all races, and break my alliances. Scatter Pack 7 comes in, choose Graviton Beam, maybe we’ll get it in time for it to be useful.

2452 The Human ships at Morrig and Omicron don’t disappear even though they appear to be beyond the Humans’ range of 7. The Psilons have poor tech; the Humans are okay in some areas but have no missile tech, and in fact in Weapons they have only Hand Lasers and Ion Cannon! Worse luck for you guys! Somewhere around here I saw that the Buls have Anti-Matter Bombs , which I resolve to capture.

Design the "Horseman" medium for space superiority:



It's nice to have Construction level 52. LOTS of room on ships.

My 7 Bomb Dudes, each with just 1 Fusion Beam for ship-to-ship combat (with a little help from some mediums), take out 3 Bul larges. In another battle, 47 of my Pegasus mediums almost destroy a Bul Huge before it retreats. Colonize Herculis, finally, our first new colony since Bootis in 2358.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm working night shift--that's why I'm up at these hours--but I will shortly have to do actual work, so may not get much more posted this morning. I do have the rest of the turns written up. I did win the game. Hope to get the rest posted today, or at least winning screenshot (if that's even necessary?).

Total score: 948. :wink2: :hat:

I also hope to post some more thoughts on the game; here are a few already written:

--Right now, having seen some people with higher scores, I'm thinking I played more conservatively than necessary, though it wasn't easy to get the 75 Diplomat points and I'm glad I was able to do that.

--I’m pleased that, as in Imperium 10, I climbed to the top (i.e., Level 50) of the tech field our race was “Excellent” in. And in this game, I did it in 27 fewer turns! Plus, raising my Construction tech level didn’t have quite the “snowball” effect that raising Planetology tech level had in Imperium 10, because raising Planetology tech level increases worker productivity. But as Klackons, we didn’t lack for worker productivity, even though I shelved IT+60 until after 2450, nor did we lack for population given our large set of high-population planets.

--MOO diplomacy is kind of evil, or at least was in this game. Forget peace and upright dealing as a way to raise relations; it was far more effective for me to get AIs to declare on a race, and then beat up on the victim race either a little or a lot, to move up that relations scale.

--To go with the backgammon allusion ("doubling cube"): looks like the Psilons had another big loss; looked like in Sullla's game they didn't get far either; shall we say they lost a "gammon" or a "backgammon" (extra-humiliating losses in the game of backgammon), since they were caught on the "back row" of the galaxy?

--I will be impressed and read with interest if someone quadrupled their score.

[sargon0]

Nice to see an effort at staying small at both votes. The guide documents 'too many planets' but not 'too many pop' although some players have mentioned the latter. Diplo is difficult to keep in check for that long anyway so there is no perfect formula, which is good. Considering your chosen limitations, it was well played and a good score.

[jmas]

Nice to see an effort at staying small at both votes. The guide documents 'too many planets' but not 'too many pop' although some players have mentioned the latter. Diplo is difficult to keep in check for that long anyway so there is no perfect formula, which is good. Considering your chosen limitations, it was well played and a good score.

Thank you Sargon! I haven't had a chance to look over your game yet but I am sure it was well played also. The population issue came up when I asked questions about a solo game I played where I had less than 1/4 of the stars colonized (and the Sakkra had more planets than me) and the Psilons issued me two threats and then declared on me in three turns. They weren't Erratic either. It sure is hard to tell what the AIs will take exception to.

[jmas]

I saw some of my screenies went MIA; not sure why that happened, but I just worked on them and I think they are working (again) now.