Imperium 42 - Life, the Universe, and Everything
Sponsor: thrawn
Opening Date: Wednesday, June 7th, 2017
Duration: Four and a half Weeks
Patch: Kyrub's 1.40M patch
Race: Mrrshans
Difficulty: Impossible
Galaxy Size: Medium
Opponents: Five
Color: Green
Map Generation: Random, but with several significant edits; generated with the 1.40M patch (but fully compatible with the base game, naturally)
Events: On
![[Image: rbo-imp-42-teaser1.jpg]](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2-TrXisMbKw/WTjtECQ40LI/AAAAAAAADU0/42DV8VHklm0Ien0UJgm8VDxbgIjFPai3ACLcB/s1600/rbo-imp-42-teaser1.jpg)
![[Image: rbo-imp-42-teaser2.jpg]](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-II3bEzz7o3s/WTjtEG2bf7I/AAAAAAAADUw/IeZl04xn2Eoc72g3JCzWpXFEJF5Zy6JPQCLcB/s1600/rbo-imp-42-teaser2.jpg)
Scenario: "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million milies is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet."*
It was a planet designed with one purpose: To discover the ultimate question, the key to the ultimate answer, to Life, the Universe, and Everything ... and one Thursday, in a small cafe in Rickmansworth, that ultimate question was on the verge of discovery.
This is not its story.
This isn't even the story of the catastrophe that ultimately prevented the planet from ever achieving its purpose at all. It's just the story of a couple of cool cats from Betelgeuse, who with a few of their buddies managed to discover the legendary planet Magrathea - the richest planet of all time - there to uncover its secrets and heed the words of its ancient people:
DON'T PANIC! You can handle this! Just make sure you have your Guide with you, and remember where your towel is!
*- These quotes and the concept are of course the work of the late Douglas Adams, as is the original story of which everything else in this scenario description is just a series of paraphrases.
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Variant: Our objective is to defeat the Guardian and thereby learn the secrets of Magrathea. Playing the game out to a win or loss afterward is optional, and will not affect scoring.
Scoring: All players who successfully defeat the Guardian will be listed (in alphabetical order) as victorious, followed by those who failed to do so by the end of their games. In addition, players may compete for six special awards, receiving recognition and accolades for being the first player (by in-game date) to achieve one of the following feats:
The Arthur Dent Award: First to have one of your colonies destroyed by enemy orbital bombardment!
The Ford Prefect Award: First to explore every star in the entire galaxy!
The Slartibartfast Award: First to complete any terraforming project on a Tundra world, regardless of how it came into your possession - or on any other world that you colonized using a "Tundra" colony base! (Note: As I write this, I don't actually know if Controlled Tundra is in our tree....)
The Trillian Award: First to lead the galaxy (according to the status graph) in Tech while being the only leader in the galaxy not at war with anybody!
The Zaphod Beeblebrox Award: First to win the galactic election, defy the result anyway, and thereby enter Final War!
The Heart of Gold: All players and lurkers, whether they participated or not, may vote on the most stylish method by which a player defeated the Guardian (players can vote for their own if they want). Votes may be placed at any time and changed as more reports are posted. Whoever ends up with the most final votes after Wednesday, July 12th, receives Ultimate Accolades for the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything! (So, 42 Ultimate Accolades. Obviously.)
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Notes: As readers of the Guide may know, Magrathea is located in a binary star system hidden deep within a nebula. In this game, it is unknown to our people which of the two stars holds its secrets (those normally associated with Orion and guarded by the Guardian) - nor are the qualities of the other nebula star and any possible planets around it known.
One thing that is understood: Though surrounded by the nebula, Magrathea isn't actually affected by it directly. The Guardian's shields - as well as the shields of any ships you may send to visit it, and the shields for any bases you build on the planet should you manage to conquer it - will be fully functional, in spite of what you might expect based on its location. (This change was made because thrawn's testing showed that the Guardian's shields were unaffected by the nebula no matter what we did.) No guarantees about the other star in the binary system though.
The map is not otherwise significantly edited, but there are a couple of cosmetic changes that you might discover if you play out the game. Keep your eyes open! (And your towel handy. It bears repeating.)
For the overall Imperium rules, see the following:
Intro
Rules
Note that exceptions to the rules can be made for each individual Imperium, as in this case when (as usual now) we're using kyrub's 1.40M patch instead of the base game's 1.3. (I still don't know who to ask about getting that changed on the original page.) You can read about kyrub's patch in its dedicated thread and download it from kyrub's site.
Finally, please avoid the tactics banned in our exploits list (a list of ways we've found of taking advantage of bugs or massive and obvious holes in the AI which we've agreed not to use since they're not in keeping with the spirit or fun of the game) - although the most egregious one has been patched out by kyrub anyway, fortunately!
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Closing Date: Monday, July 10, 2017. Please do not post any reports or spoilers before this date! Reports due by the end of Tuesday, July 11, your local time. (If you won't be able to post during this time period, you can send it to me (RefSteel) in advance, and I'll post it for you.)
The starting save is attached to this post!
Sponsor: thrawn
Opening Date: Wednesday, June 7th, 2017
Duration: Four and a half Weeks
Patch: Kyrub's 1.40M patch
Race: Mrrshans
Difficulty: Impossible
Galaxy Size: Medium
Opponents: Five
Color: Green
Map Generation: Random, but with several significant edits; generated with the 1.40M patch (but fully compatible with the base game, naturally)
Events: On
Scenario: "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million milies is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet."*
It was a planet designed with one purpose: To discover the ultimate question, the key to the ultimate answer, to Life, the Universe, and Everything ... and one Thursday, in a small cafe in Rickmansworth, that ultimate question was on the verge of discovery.
This is not its story.
This isn't even the story of the catastrophe that ultimately prevented the planet from ever achieving its purpose at all. It's just the story of a couple of cool cats from Betelgeuse, who with a few of their buddies managed to discover the legendary planet Magrathea - the richest planet of all time - there to uncover its secrets and heed the words of its ancient people:
Magrathean Automated Greeting Wrote:It is most gratifying that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients. We look forward to your custom in future lives.*
DON'T PANIC! You can handle this! Just make sure you have your Guide with you, and remember where your towel is!
*- These quotes and the concept are of course the work of the late Douglas Adams, as is the original story of which everything else in this scenario description is just a series of paraphrases.
---
Variant: Our objective is to defeat the Guardian and thereby learn the secrets of Magrathea. Playing the game out to a win or loss afterward is optional, and will not affect scoring.
Scoring: All players who successfully defeat the Guardian will be listed (in alphabetical order) as victorious, followed by those who failed to do so by the end of their games. In addition, players may compete for six special awards, receiving recognition and accolades for being the first player (by in-game date) to achieve one of the following feats:
The Arthur Dent Award: First to have one of your colonies destroyed by enemy orbital bombardment!
The Ford Prefect Award: First to explore every star in the entire galaxy!
The Slartibartfast Award: First to complete any terraforming project on a Tundra world, regardless of how it came into your possession - or on any other world that you colonized using a "Tundra" colony base! (Note: As I write this, I don't actually know if Controlled Tundra is in our tree....)
The Trillian Award: First to lead the galaxy (according to the status graph) in Tech while being the only leader in the galaxy not at war with anybody!
The Zaphod Beeblebrox Award: First to win the galactic election, defy the result anyway, and thereby enter Final War!
The Heart of Gold: All players and lurkers, whether they participated or not, may vote on the most stylish method by which a player defeated the Guardian (players can vote for their own if they want). Votes may be placed at any time and changed as more reports are posted. Whoever ends up with the most final votes after Wednesday, July 12th, receives Ultimate Accolades for the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything! (So, 42 Ultimate Accolades. Obviously.)
---
Notes: As readers of the Guide may know, Magrathea is located in a binary star system hidden deep within a nebula. In this game, it is unknown to our people which of the two stars holds its secrets (those normally associated with Orion and guarded by the Guardian) - nor are the qualities of the other nebula star and any possible planets around it known.
One thing that is understood: Though surrounded by the nebula, Magrathea isn't actually affected by it directly. The Guardian's shields - as well as the shields of any ships you may send to visit it, and the shields for any bases you build on the planet should you manage to conquer it - will be fully functional, in spite of what you might expect based on its location. (This change was made because thrawn's testing showed that the Guardian's shields were unaffected by the nebula no matter what we did.) No guarantees about the other star in the binary system though.
The map is not otherwise significantly edited, but there are a couple of cosmetic changes that you might discover if you play out the game. Keep your eyes open! (And your towel handy. It bears repeating.)
For the overall Imperium rules, see the following:
Intro
Rules
Note that exceptions to the rules can be made for each individual Imperium, as in this case when (as usual now) we're using kyrub's 1.40M patch instead of the base game's 1.3. (I still don't know who to ask about getting that changed on the original page.) You can read about kyrub's patch in its dedicated thread and download it from kyrub's site.
Finally, please avoid the tactics banned in our exploits list (a list of ways we've found of taking advantage of bugs or massive and obvious holes in the AI which we've agreed not to use since they're not in keeping with the spirit or fun of the game) - although the most egregious one has been patched out by kyrub anyway, fortunately!
---
Closing Date: Monday, July 10, 2017. Please do not post any reports or spoilers before this date! Reports due by the end of Tuesday, July 11, your local time. (If you won't be able to post during this time period, you can send it to me (RefSteel) in advance, and I'll post it for you.)
The starting save is attached to this post!
. Small map though. I'm sure small maps are more difficult. Really sure. Honest.