Report here, complete with comments about the sponsor

http://www.dos486.com/civ4/epic23/

Quick summary: Oracle slingshot to Feudalism, and resisted a three-civ dogpile with longbowmen. Conquered Alexander first with longbows on offense, and made ex-Russia my economic breadbasket. Mansa became a peacetime vassal and fed me techs. Teched to knights for most of the conquering, took lots of vassals, and finished it off with cavalry. Domination in 1585 AD.

I haven't finished my game yet so I will not be reporting on it today. I hope to finish it tomorrow or over the New Year break. Then knock up a quick report.

Anyway, here are my sponsor's comments.

Oh - did anyone notice the typo on the game write up? It just shows that Griselda posts exactly what you submit.

"Nuts: Nil (unless I missed one)"

Hey all,


Just in case we don't see you during the holidays, Zed and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Here's hoping Santa brings you something nice!

Courin

Hi,

merry christmas and happy holidays to all of you! I hope you enjoy some relaxed time with your family and friends.

-Kylearan

Technically it's not midnight where I am right now, so I'm not too late. Apologies for keeping things held up with the new game; the holidays are really a busy time.

I haven't even sent the files off to Gris yet, so I'll go ahead and post them right here in the forum:

Scenario: Time to get into the holiday spirit and help out the less fortunate!

Well, I started out with some ideas of how to proceed, but between starting up a new business, getting some early jobs, a small child and whatever else, I never got much energy going. I played up to 2325, just when I was going to start churning out colony ships, and just lost interest in proceeding.

We'll open the next Imperium (#16) at the start of next week. I wasn't quite able to put it together this past week. Thanks for your patience.

Imperium 15
The Power of the People

No building factories means IITn useless and RCn, Reduced Waste & Reduced Cleanup very limited. Better emphasize planetology for productivity and hope for lots of Improved Terraforming +nn plus Soil & Atmos for size. Poor & UP worlds will be much better than normal while rich & UR will be less so but still good for ship-building. Of course I could try invading an AI world with lots of factories and we do have the Meklars present.

So, allowing for scouts, what to do with bc’s normally used for factories. Well, forced ECO growth will improve productivity but cuts across natural growth, colony ship pre-build is no good unless two or more planets to settle (about 50/50 here) and tech normally waits for scout reports to indicate the best choices. Tech will be started early even if there is more than one non-hostile planet in range so let’s go with the technology gambit. Looking at the map we have two reds in range N & E, the NW yellow is too close to be occupied so the worry is the two close yellows to E & SE. So I send colony ship to E red with one scout and the other scout to N red. First few turns I add a couple of extra clicks to ECO to increase growth then reduce to minimum, remembering to check if this has gone down (normally rises so computer takes care of setting). Other than ECO, I start by building scouts and opening tech with 4 bc. Planetology choice is Barren over IER (no IT+10), Propulsion choice is Range 5 (over Range 4) which is safer without intel. Tech costs are 310/1080 so I split sliders 24%/76% to give Barren a chance of hitting first which is preferable for economy and colony ship cost. Second turn sees more scouts and tech then all tech third turn. Good news in 2303 is the colony ship settles Esper but bad news is it is small (Desert 35) and N red is hostile Artemis (Inferno, rich 40). Send two batches of 5 pop from Kholdan while pumping tech for 4 more turns. Esper produces extra scout then goes full tech while Kholdan splits between tech and building colony ship, increasing tech each turn.

Also in 2303 see a Meklar scout headed for Esper – yikes! That puts the machines at the SE yellow, 6 parsecs from Esper where I leave a defending scout. Scouting shows generally slim pickings with a Desert 45 (at 4 parsecs), a Steppe 45, 3 Barrens 25, 30 & 45, two Tundras 30 & 35, an Inferno 35 and Orion – eastern yellow. However South is Beta Ceti (Terran 110) at 5 parsecs which is Poor and Fertile – yippee! Chase Mrrshan scout from Aquilae, eastern green Tundra in 2310. Manage to scout Meklon and the machines second planet, fertile Tyr (Terran 105), green to SW. An early storm? No wait for the factories! In 2315 both techs are nicely into the percentages so Kholdan goes full colony ship production. Barren hits in 2316 raising productivity, choosing Tundra over Dead (no IT+20 either) and Esper funds this and a trickle into Range 5 which hits in 2318, choosing Warp 2. Timing is perfect so the first colony ship same year goes to the big fertile Poor, Beta Ceti. So in 2323 my third colony gets 9 from Esper and 20 from Kholdan and I meet neutral 2PE Meklars (Xeno/Exp). Having settled Beta Ceti I manage to get a scout to SW green Misha (Arid 65) before Meklars and chase their colony ship from next door blue Bootis (Dead 30). With range 5 I scout northern reds Auroroa (Arid 60) and Toranor (Dead 40). After first colony ship Kholdan puts a one turn seed into Tundra then back to colony ships. Second colony ship was for western Willow but now goes for southern Misha as Kholdan starts helping Esper push Tundra tech. Chase Bulrathi scout from N Toranor in 2324. Kholdan increases tech investment until pop arrive at Beta Ceti which goes full tech.

I open other tech fields with DSS, II9, DS2 & Hyper-V and seed DSS. Tundra hits in 2330 raising productivity higher, choosing Inferno over Toxic. Now Inferno for the nearby rich is nice but I have now missed three IT+nn techs, grrr! Put all 3 planet production into one turn seed for Inferno, well I said I would push planetology! Misha settles in 2332 with 10 then 5 from Beta Ceti and I finally produce my second colony ship – slow with no factories, bugs must work harder. I seed Warp2 over 2 turns while keeping Inferno/DSS progressing well. Willow settles in 2336 with 20 from Kholdan & Beta Ceti over 2 turns since it will seed next planet. DSS hits in 2341 choosing RC3, not for my planets you understand! Next year settle western Maalor with 11 then a trickle from Willow. In 2346 Inferno hits raising productivity much higher; sadly no Soil is available but I do have IT+40! As Warp2 hits percentages I seed II9 & DS2 for gropo options in next tier, sadly there was no hand lasers. My first hostile planet is Barren Ryoun letting me keep an eye on Meklon (in scanner range). I send almost 30 pop mostly from Beta Ceti over a few turns since it grows horribly slowly. Next Warp2 hits and Warp3 is up which I seed with 3 full turns production, I want faster ships (& transports!). In 2352 rich Artemis is founded with 25 over 2 turns from Kholdan refilled from Willow & Esper. Same year II9 hits revealing Duralloy which gets seed over 2 turns then RC3 gets 3 turn seed.

In 2355 DS2 hits giving DS3 but no PDS. I do a recap. The Meks have 4 factories per pop to my none. I have more planets but they have two large ones. If I leave it until they produce many missile bases (one each planet now) and ships (2 large plus 4 colony) they will out-produce me. I would have liked more gropo tech but if I can finish Warp3 and Duralloy then my 7 planets should overwhelm their 2 – my eighth, rich Artemis, can keep producing colony ships. Warp3 is close, around 3-5 turns, so lets launch some slow warp1 transports, re-grow then launch some more faster warp2 transports. Apart from different speeds I will need to co-ordinate launches from several planets to hit at once to avoid them re-growing. If I hit the planets consecutively there is a chance the AI will try to save or recapture the first planet hit. So off we go. Beta Ceti and Misha will go for Tyr backed up by long-range Willow. Kholdan & Esper will go for Meklon supported by re-supply from Maalor. Nearby Ryoun will decide who needs most help. Maalor has already started re-supply so Kholdan sends first 8 turn batch. Two turns later Beta Ceti sends next 6 turn big batch. Two turns later Warp3 hits (Warp4 next) perfectly. Now more faster launches from Kholdan, Beta Ceti, Misha, Esper and long range Willow & Maalor. Duralloy hits next turn so gropo should be even (spies report none with Meks except +5 defensive bonus). Meklon missile bases are up to 4 but spies take down 2 and they issue a warning. They also scrap their entire fleet then rebuild one large plus 2 colony ships.

As spies take down another MB, I invade Tyr. I get lucky with first wave which despite being outnumbered wins by one man! I pillage Range4, Fusion Bomb, Gatling Laser and HyperV (my spies told me not to research this last one). Meks DOW, of course. As second wave hits Meklon it becomes apparent they have sent half their pop to re-capture Tyr! Excellent, Meklon captured easily, genociding the Meklars in 2363 (my earliest?) and pillaging Death Spores, yummy more planetology. This puts me in touch with Tense 5PE Sakkra (Ruth/Exp) – they should be Uneasy but genocide costs me and they upgrade to Restless quickly. Same turn I settle LR colony at northern Aurora sending a few pop from Willow & Maalor since Kholdan and Beta Ceti need to recover. Meklon and Tyr are looking good though since the fortunate gropo has filled them faster than I expected with the captured 400 & 263 factories (not all worked)! However next year RC3 hits and IT+40 is finishing several turns of seeding and I start to seed new RW60 for 3 turns. Also settle Drakka in SW corner with LR colony. In 2371 Troubled 5PE Humans (Pac/Tech) announce themselves, alliance or they must have range 8. Cannot understand their relations dropping from Relaxed to Troubled just for Genocide, they are not even Honorable. Next year use another LR colony to settle rich Argus (Dead 25), purple in NW corner, my thirteenth planet. The Sakkra have one planet is SE but them and bears must be in NE corner.


Looking at the Status screen does not make me afraid of my biggest opponents:


IT+40 hits in 2374 (quick IER next) and terraforming commences boosting productivity heavily due to tech level and growing pop. Rich planets build ships and scrap them for reserves. Next stage is just build up and tech:

2377 RW60
2378 IER
2381 DS3
2383 Steal HandLasers from Mrrshan
2384 Steal IT+10 from Mrrshan who warn me
2386 BC4
2387 SP-V
2388 Zortium
2389 PS-V
2392 Cloning – select Adv.Soil!
2396 Warp4
2398 Steal II8 from Mrrshan, frame Humans
2399 II5 next back for ARS (only II4 upwards)
2403 Steal RW80 from Bulrathi who warn
2404 Fusion Beam
2406 Adv.Soil
2407 ARS & RC4

In between I settle Toranor in 2392 meeting Wary 2PE Bulrathi (Agg/Eco) and get hit by Nova at Maalor in 8 turns from 2398. Maalor production is 190 so pump near 1000 in reserves and save planet in 5. In 2405 a vote occurs with Bulrathi(3), Mrrshan(4) & Sakkra(5) abstaining while Humans(5) and me(14) vote ape. Anyway in 2408 my 2 rich planets roll out the long prepared ARS Fusion Beam Huge then start producing Fusion Bombers by the lorry load. First target is Mrrshan Seidon which is controlled by 2411 and invaded in 2413 – a staging post but I finish researching Range9 also to give my fleet plenty of targets. Mrrshans DOW. As the bombers appear the cats disappear, in 2317. As the original fleet progresses to Sol, a new fleet from the Rich’s prepares for the North as a new fleet from Meklon, Tyr etc. prepares in the South. The Humans leave in 2422 followed by the bears next year and finally the Sakkra two years later.

Result: Extermination in 2425

I decided to try something different with the report for this one, and the result was significantly shorter than any of my previous Imperium reports! (Of course, "shorter" is not necessarily the same as actually "short"!) I've posted it in the usual place.

I enjoyed the game a great deal, and really enjoyed reporting it - it's always good to release your inner Xenophobic Expansionist from time to time. Many thanks to timmy827 for sponsoring the event!

I've been pressed for time with finals, so my report is going to be much less detailed than usual and have fewer pictures.
---
I started off sending my colony ship blind to the east, while sending a few scouts elsewhere. I colonized Esper, and then built scouts to blockade all the nearby systems. Afterwards I had Kholdan growing population and sending any above 50 to Esper.

In 2310 I had Kholdan put one click into research, opening planetology and propulsion. I made the obvious choice of Controlled Barren over Improved Eco, and given the Meklar's very close proximity I chose range 4 over range 5. I had both my planets put all their budget into research since they were almost full already. When planetology hit percentages, I had Kholdan switch to colony ship production. Controlled Barren popped in 2318 and, given the lack of dead planets around, I chose Controlled Tundra over Controlled Dead. Range 4 popped one turn later, and I went for the Nuclear Engines over every other option. Then I opened every other field, choose Deep Space Scanner, IIT9, Class 2 shields and Hyper-V rockets. But I was beelining planetology, since that would be my best bet for raising productivity.

I settled Willow in 2323 and Ryoun in 2331, establishing contact with the Xenophobic Expansionist Meklar. I debated for a while whether or not I wanted to work on our relations or not. But if I didn't make friends with them, the Humans almost certainly would. We agreed to 25 bc per year trade treaties. Having scouted both of their worlds earlier, my scanners allowed me to see everything they had.

It was, well, take a look.



Pitiful factory counts. No missile bases. Those ships? Scouts and colony ships. They have no military power, and they're slacking on factory production. What are these Meklar doing?!

In 2335 I settled my 5th planet of Moro. Same turn GNN revealed the Humans were out to 6 planets. Not a good sign. I settled Beta Ceti in 2340. Poor, but with my lack of factory construction, that would not be important. I noticed in 2341 that the Meklar built their first missile base. Slackers.

Controlled Tundra pops in 2350. There's still no Terraforming technology, so since I haven't seen any toxic planets, I choose Controlled Inferno over Controlled Toxic.

I grab Aquilae in 2357, establishing contact with the Ruthless Expansionist Mrrshan. As with the Meklar, I establish trade treaties. Better that I try and make a few friends than to give the Humans no competition. I grab Rotan in 2362. Controlled Inferno pops in 2368, and I choose Terraforming +40 over Bio Toxin Antidote.

I settle Artemis in 2371, and then in 2373 I get one of the worst randoms ever.



On my only planet building colony ships. Eurgh! In 2375 I grab Kulthos and Toranor, making me the first to 12 planets. The council also meets that year (couldn't pick a better date for the first council), where I'm against the Humans and can safely throw my vote their way, though I only have 5/23 votes. I grab Yarrow in 2377, Aurora in 2381, and Xendalla in 2388. In 2393 the Aggressive Ecologist Bulrathi establish contact with me, which means they have range 6 fuel. Again, I establish trade treaties.

Terraforming +40 pops in 2395. I could go cloning to advance, but I've seen three unclaimed toxic planets, so I go back for Controlled Toxic. I grab Argus in 2396 and Drakka in 2397.

The 2400 election rolls around. I have 10/32 votes, not enough for a veto but getting very close.

Meklar declare war in 2409. In response, I up my spy spending and switch to espionage. They don't have too many ships right now, but what few they have are huge, and they have auto-repair. I dial up the Mrrshan and ask them to declare war (since I don't want their alliance dragging them into war with me as well), but they ask for 1200 BC, nearly the entirety of my piddling savings. I can't risk having no funds, so I say no way.

In 2410 Controlled Toxic pops. With war on my heels, I choose Bio Toxin Antidote so I can fend off those death spores. I settle Proxima in 2411, triggering the 3/8 GNN message and establishing contact with the Pacifistic Technologist Humans. They grabbed most of the planets in the southeast corner, apparently having using a temporary alliance with the Mrrshan to hop-scotch and grab up the planets.

Meklar, not much for phony wars, send an attack force.



Anti-missile rockets? Oh that's not good, I may not be able to take down those ships I-- wait a minute, those are pitiful weapons... they can't possible have enough to hurt me that much. I play out the combat...yep. They only took down 4 missile bases before retreating. And I'm just running on class 3 shields here.

I grab Bootis in 2413. Being a dead planet, I don't think the Meklar are likely to target it. I accidently click past a GNN report, but looking around reveals that Kholdan is plagued. It's late enough in the game that that isn't likely to hamper me too much.

Meklar return for another strike in 2416, this time bringing a huge design with 15 or so death spores. Ouch! But they still run out of ammo before destroying all my population before having to retreat. I hope this doesn't continue much longer, I may not be able to take many more attacks. I grab Vulcan and Guradas in 2417, and Tauri in 2418, triggering the "merging" message. The Meklar attack me again in 2420, reducing me to 2 bases.

At long last, Bio Toxin Antidote pops in 2421. I trade it to the Mrrshan for NPGs, and then trade them ECM 2 for hand lasers. With the NPGs in my possession, I design a small fighter with NPGs and start building some and sending them to Ryoun. I grab Omicron in 2422, bringing me in contact with the Pacifistic Ecologist Sakkra. I establish trade treaties.

Taking another look at the diplomacy situation, I realize... EVERYONE is allied with the humans! Eep! I ask the AIs to change their minds, but the only thing I manage to do is get the humans to declare on the Meklar. And they use the power of their alliance to bring everyone to war against the machines. So I ask the machine for a cease fire, and they accept so long as I give them Bio Toxin Antidote. Since I don't use death spores anyways...

The 2425 elections roll around. I had asked the Meklar for peace since I wanted some support to make sure I wasn't at risk of losing the election. But my voting power had grown to 17/40, so I had nothing to fear. Immediately after the elections, the Mrrshan declared war on me. So asking around, the Sakkra agreed to declare on them.

I claim Paranar in 2427, the final planet in the galaxy. Here's a look at the layout of the galaxy.



So yeah, can you see where this is going? The Mrrshan don't have sufficient shielding to protect from NPG attacks, so with a huge stack of 500 ships, I start to invade some of their worlds. First, I invade Kronos in about 2438.



Made much less painful by my recent acquisition of Cloning. I managed to loot Death Spores from the factories. Nuts. In 2443 I invaded Seidan, where I looted the rest of the Mrrshan tech tree, including Range 7, Inertial Stabilizer and Merculite Missiles. In 2448 I invade Rayden, an artifacts world!

The 2450 election rolls around. I have around 50% of the total vote.

In 2458 fusion beam pops, miniaturizing my fusion bombs enough to fit onto a small ship. Of course I can't use them against the humans, but the Meklar will do just fine. I invade Misha in 2466 and Tyr in 2468. The Humans declare war on me and manage to bomb out all my factories on Kronos. I invade the Meklar's final world of Meklon in 2470.



I try to send my ships over to Kronos to save it, but they're using large ships with anti-matter bombs and repulsor beams, so I can't touch them. Kronos is bombed to oblivion in 2473. So in 2474 I send my ships over to Fierias and turn it into glass.



The point here is to reduce my opponents' voting power as much as possible before the election. My bombers can just reach Sssla, so I send them over to glass it on the same interturn as the election.



Humans have unanimous support, but I have enough voting power to take a Conquest victory, which I do. Inevitable, given my insanely huge land grab.

This was an interesting variant. I sorely missed the factories when trying to research ahead of all my opponents, but my planets seemed to stand themselves up very quickly. Furthermore, there didn't seem to be much importance to rich or poor planets. Very interesting.