Computer Player Spending Priorities
Looking at the racial tech spending table in Starmap.exe at 368E2 (thanks kyrub), I noticed the data before this at 367FC was probably tech related and eventually realised this was the computer player’s planetary and tech spending priorities. The possible spending priorities are based on racial objective when not at war then fixed when at war, so 7 combinations. First what does the guide say is expected.

Planetary/Tech spending (expected)
Base planetary spending ship/def/ind/eco 5% each, tech 20%.
Optional planetary spending 60% in 15x4% allotments allocated randomly weighted according to racial objective when not at war (guide actually quotes 60%=15x5%?)
Ensure at least minimum ECO needed to be clean, do not over-allocate ECO if full or any in IND if max (for current pop).
Re-allocate spending every 3-18 turns (3d6), never changing before period expired.
Tech spending allocated randomly weighted according to racial objective when not at war, with 100% in chosen field.
In expected table below for Planetary priority, figures mean that for a Diplomat at peace there is a 5/15 chance of each optional 5% net production being allocated to Tech, 4/15 chance each 5% to Ind etc. Tech priority figures mean that for a Diplomat at peace there is a 5/16 chance of choosing Force Fields as the field for 100% research, 4/16 for Weapons etc.

Planetary/Tech spending (actual)
Optional planetary spending is actually in 13 allotments – could be 4% or 5% each and I do not know what actual base allocation is.
Tech spending is 75% in one field (chosen here presumably) and 5% in each other field.
In actual table below for Planetary priority, figures mean for a Diplomat at peace there is a 5/13 chance of each optional allotment (4% or 5%) being allocated to Tech etc. Tech priority figures mean that for a Diplomat at peace there is a 4/16 chance of choosing Force Fields as the field for 75% research (rest at 5%), etc.


Planetary Priorities (expected)
tech ind def ship eco 5 4 3 2 1 Diplomat
ship tech ind def eco 5 4 3 2 1 Militarist
tech def ship ind eco 5 4 3 2 1 Expansionist
tech ind def eco ship 5 4 3 2 1 Technologist
ind tech def eco ship 5 4 3 2 1 Industrialist
eco tech ind def ship 5 4 3 2 1 Ecologist
ship tech ind def eco 5 4 3 2 1 At War – any objective

Tech Priorities (expected)
forc weap prop plan cons comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Diplomat
weap forc prop comp cons plan 5 4 3 2 1 1 Militarist
forc weap plan prop cons comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Expansionist
comp forc weap cons plan prop 3 3 3 3 2 2 Technologist
cons forc weap prop plan comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Industrialist
plan forc weap cons comp prop 5 4 3 2 1 1 Ecologist
weap forc prop cons comp plan 5 4 3 2 1 1 At War – any objective

Planetary Priorities (actual) – what has changed
tech ind def ship eco 5 4 2 1 1 Diplomat (1 off def/ship)
tech ship ind def eco 5 4 2 1 1 Militarist (1 on tech, 1 off ship/ind/def)
tech def ship ind eco 5 4 2 1 1 Expansionist (1 off ship/ind)
tech ind def eco ship 6 3 2 1 1 Technologist (1 on tech, 1 off ind/def/eco)
tech ind def eco ship 5 4 2 1 1 Industrialist (1 on tech, 1 off ind/def/eco)
tech eco ind def ship 5 4 2 1 1 Ecologist (1 on tech, 1 off eco/ind/def)
tech ship ind def eco 6 4 1 1 1 At War – any objective (2 on tech, 2 off ind, 1 off ship/def)

Tech Priorities (actual) – what has changed
forc weap prop plan cons comp 4 3 3 2 2 2 Diplomat (1 off forc/weap, 1 on cons/comp)
weap forc comp plan prop cons 5 4 3 2 1 1 Militarist (2 off prop, 1 on comp/plan)
plan weap forc prop cons comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Expansionist (2 off forc, 2 on plan)
comp forc weap cons plan prop 4 3 3 2 2 2 Technologist (1 on comp, 1 off cons)
cons forc weap prop plan comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Industrialist (exact match!)
prop forc weap cons plan comp 5 4 3 2 1 1 Ecologist (4 off plan, 4 on prop)
weap forc cons comp plan prop 5 4 2 2 2 1 At War – any objective (2 off prop, 1 on comp/plan)


Observations
Planetary spending priorities are close to expected but have been tweaked. Tech has increased priority, particularly when at war. Diplomat is now identical to Industrialist for planetary spending priorities.
Tech-wise Diplomat is more balanced, like Technologist but in different fields. Expansionist is helped by promoting Planetology at expense of Force Fields but does AI realise to prefer controlled environment for this objective over other choices?
Propulsion is nerfed for Militarist and when at war to boost Computers & Planetology – more slow AI ships!
Ecologist sees the biggest change with heavy nerf on Planetology to heavily boost Propulsion. This does not make sense to me. Did the original settings not work effectively or is this a bug? Thematically the Ecologist who prefers to spend more on ECO should be chasing Ecology techs (and preferring terraforming, soil etc. over controlled environments). Maybe they wanted some objective to favour Propulsion.
Paradoxically this means the AI Klackon’s favourite objective (Ecologist 33%) sees them favouring Propulsion despite many reports of poor AI expansion with the bugs!

Anyone want to offer any other views on this.

Well, I'd like to say that for anyone who actually speaks Arabic, let's just pretend this is an alien version thereof. I don't have my report all done, but I hope it will entertain you guys. Heck, making up the names takes longer than writing the entries.

Journal of Abu Oma Sfur Al-Hadi ibn Nabil ibn Ghalib al Altairi

1 Rabi' al-awwal 2302

It cannot be an accident that our colony ship landed on this day. The first day of spring for our first day on a new world. Though we were sent here on our scientists' speculation and have found this planet wanting, with less than a third of the arable land of Altair, there is still joy throughout the ship as we begin scouting the nearby land for materials and clearing out an area to begin the construction of the first city.

It filled me with pride to watch little Oma run around on solid ground and glide in the open air after two years in space. Her bright eyes justly reflect the new world. Even I was able to find a bit of relaxation time and be able to stand under this new green sun, gaze out into steppe filled land, and take it all in. I feel optimistic about the whole ordeal.

Most all of the families with non-occupational names have decided to rename themselves "al Altairi" to commemorate our heritage on this new world.

Journal of Hani As-Sabur ibn Utt ibn Anwar al Bhari

23 Shawwal 2305

I finally reached my destination. With the report that Esper's planet was a poor, rocky wasteland and Firma's was mostly covered in desert, I feel that my search will show that Altair is a beautiful jewel in a basket of rocks.

At first, I though I might have been turned around and have arrived back at Altair. White clouds, shimmering blue seas, and hints of a green land between the clouds. But the landmasses looked all wrong. Al Rbyh Quddus was the wrong shape and size and Al Kabeer Gristan was nowhere to be seen.

I flew low to better examine the alien planet and found many strange flyers and wondrous features. I have found another jewel that rivals our Altair with it's untouched splendor. Artemis shall indeed be a star of great beauty.

Inspired by sargon0's view , I decided to put up a small thread, dedicated to the thoughts and to the practical trials of new ways to enhance the in-game AI behaviour.

I know that many people here love the game simply as it is (me included), and I do not plan to offend anybody who plays it the old right way. Still, there are a couple of AI performance issues, annoying weaknesses, and a couple of exploit points, which could be possibly sidestepped or played down.

Process and rules:
1) I intend (and I invite others) to post altered test game files.
2) If anybody wants to try the altered game and share the view over the enhancement, I will be delighted. Hopefully we can gather some info and get some idea about an enhancement.
3) The initial poster always gives the reason and the explanation of the intended effect and supllements the exact hex values changed.
4) The changes in one "version" will touch just one area and be as minor as possible.
5) Contra arguments are welcome.

After the long drawn-out game that I had for Imperium 12 and my inability to terraform my planets or invade the AI, it's good to have a "normal" game again, even if it is on Impossible.

I'm okay with playing the Alkari. I like their defense bonuses for early brush wars and their low cost of propulsion tech. Fast engines are some of the most important technologies. In ship-to-ship combat, lack of force fields shouldn't bother me too much as I generally prefer to have fast, unshielded small designs anyways (although planet defense will be quite a bit tougher). As far as racial relations go, our eternal enemies the Mrrshan are not in this galaxy. Darloks and Sakkra will have unease relations, but it's much easier to make up for those.

So, let's take a look at our surroundings.



The numbers represent distance from the homeworld in parsecs.

Let's see, should I send my colony ship east to the green star with a high chance of a habitable planet, or west to the white star with a very poor chance of a habitable planet and in the middle of a nebula?

Take a good guess which I did.

As for scouts, I sent one to the other star in colony range just in case. The other one should of course go towards blockading a planet, the one most likely to be useful and most likely to be under threat by an AI. The two yellow stars to the north shouldn't have any AIs. The one 5 parsecs away is way too close (and probably empty), and the one in the corner is too isolated to be of much threat. I would be able to blockade any world near there long before they get the range to spread.

The yellow to the east could be a threat, but I can't reach any worlds near it. So instead I look at the yellow to the south. Several worlds are close to it and within scouting range. I decided to send my scout to the one most likely to have a habitable planet, the green star 6 parsecs away. The rest of the stars don't look like they're under *that* much threat, so I decide to build factories over scouts.



The circled stars are the ones I expect to bring into scouting range if I settle.

The planet is habitable, but it's a pretty poor second planet. For a while I was wondering if I should wait for my scout report of the white star. Then I decided that colonizing here would at least extend my scouting range coreward and that my second planet generally doesn't do much except to carry the research load or seed new planets with population. I settle here. Extended scouting range doesn't do much without scouts, so I have Altair start building scouts so I can blockade every star nearby. After Altair grew past 50 pop, I have it ship each pop unit above 50 to the new colony for 4 turns (shipping a total of 9 colonists).

My scouts fan out and I get a better picture of my immediate surroundings.



Not the greatest of surroundings. I won't be able to spread anywhere without Controlled Tundra or Range 4. I wait until one click from Altair will give me exactly 4 research points, and then open up planetology and propulsion.



Hardest choices ever!

These are technologies that I'm glad to have been stuck with. I need range 5 to reach some planets, and it also seems really cheap thanks to my propulsion expertise. Improved Eco is an extremely valuable economic tech that I dislike skipping, but most of the time I'll grab Terraforming +10 so I can quickly scale the tree and grab hostile environment techs. That's not an option here.

I split my research about 60-40 planetology to propulsion and have Altair spend the first turn doing nothing but research (70 rp) and on subsequent turns have enough clicks on research to match 7.5% of the invested total. In 2322 I have Esper ship 8 population back to Altair to max out the population. In 2328 Altair constructs its final factory. Shortly afterwards, I get some pretty bad news.



Uh oh. They're spreading very quickly! I only have 2 systems! An earlier GNN report had told me that the Sakkra were leading in production, so I guess this naturally follows from that. On the bright side, I'd rather have runaway Sakkra than runaway... well, Meklar or Psilons. In fact, I prefer the Sakkra over the Darloks and Bulrathi as well since spying is ineffective against Darloks and so too ground invasions against Bulrathi.

Then I get even worse news. The Sakkra are right on my doorstep.



Unarmed, but they'll be back. Range 5 pops in the same turn, so I have Altair finish off the colony ship it is working on while Esper starts building some laser ships (small with a shield). One turn later Improved Eco pops. My only options for advancement are Controlled Tundra and Inertial Stabilizer. I decide to open up the rest of the fields.



Bummer in the computer field. I'm stuck with something I probably won't use (but at least it's cheap). Since I already have Improved Eco, I choose IIT9 over RW80. Both the initial weapons techs are useful, but I go for the hand lasers. Cheap, useful, plus the enemy is already on my doorstep and I won't have much in the way of missile bases.

After settling Firma, contact is established.



Well, hopefully their pacifistic personality will give them a glass jaw and encourage them to leave me alone. I make a trade treaty to try and improve relations. They're up to 10 planets now, but hopefully they won't get too many more than that. They're approaching the yellow stars in the southeastern corner. They're already sending some fighter ships up into my territory to try and scout things out, but thankfully I already have laser ships guarding that system. Their second colony ship was unescorted.

Their third, however, had escort.



Eep! Ordinarily, I would consider this a battle lost and run to conserve my forces. However, with my Alkari defensive bonus... I stick it out and manage to take out all 6 of their mediums, losing only 4 of my own smalls. Thus I claim Drakka for my own.

Eastern scouts arrived at a few systems and chased off some Darlok scouts. I open up the galaxy map again.



Every other yellow star is accounted for. The remaining AI homeworlds have to be the one in the northeast and the 3-star cluster in the southeast. I need to spread eastward as quickly as possible because the Sakkra are trying to cut me off. Then the dreaded GNN news bot comes along. It's late enough into the game that random events will start popping up, so prepared for the worst...



I find myself pleasantly surprised. There sure are an awful lot of fertile planets around my part of the galaxy! I've colonized Vox, scouted Xengara, and now this. I'm also keeping an eye on the Sakkra, who have managed to get themselves into war with the Meklar and Bulrathi. That's fine with me, the less support they have in the elections the better.

When I first met the Sakkra, I put one click into spying to find out what technologies they have. 25 years later and...



That is scary. Death spores and fusion bombs already? Class 4 shields?! My basic missiles have already been rendered ineffective and I haven't even gotten my first weapon tech yet! And all those gropo techs with their massive population growth rate... that could be scary.

They're trying to grab Incedius and Rotan. Their colony ship at Rotan ran away, but the one approaching Incedius has 8 medium escorts. I don't really want to give up any planets if I don't have to, so given their pacifistic nature and the decent relations we've gotten through trade, as well as their current two wars, I decide to threaten them. They show some backbone. I'm forced to let tham have Incedius. On the bright side, they still want to be friends.



They're still a *very* dangerous threat though. I prefer Sakkra over Psilons, but any run-away can be serious trouble.



They already have controlled toxic and sub-light drives! I still haven't gotten much of any technology with my huge focus on spreading. Controlled tundra finally pops in 2381 after being at 20% for several years. I'm not happy to see that Enhanced Eco is my only option for advancement. That means that my only other hostile environment, if any, is radiated. And there's still no terraforming in site. I dedicate 50% of tech spending to planetology as I really need to know what's in the next planetology tier.

After grabbing my 11th planet, I establish contact with another race.



Apparently they're in the lower right, not the upper right as I suspected. And they're running some 2-planet empire action! As Sirian says, it's usually a bad sign when a race is stunted because another jumps in to fill the gaps. 5 medium-strength empires are easier to fight than one super-power. They rejected my offer for a trade treaty, but it doesn't matter because one turn later, the Meklar contact me.



The Meklar took Klystron from the Darloks. So there's one planet for the Darloks and three for the Meklars. Then there are all those stars in the northeast, virtually untouched because of their hostile environments. Looks to me like everyone is stunted except the Sakkra and myself. Whatever the case, I figured there was no reason to establish trade treaties with the Meklar since they were xenophobic and we were in contact only because of Klystron.

Then a quake hits Drakka. ARGH! It destroys nearly all the factories on the planet. On the bright side, at least I have a missile base up already. In 2390 my colony of Ajax maxes factories and population and, being much closer to the eastern front than Altair, I shift colony ship production to there. I've also gotten a spying report on the Meklar, who with their 3-planet status don't scare me nearly so much with their technology. They still have death spores though. Then I realize that they've managed to fortify and hold Klystron, so we'll be in contact for a while. I don't want them declaring war on me.



But then the random number generator decides a few turns later to make all trade treaties forever useless.



Yes. The Orion system. Any player powerful enough to take out the guardian can already walk over the AIs with ease. Unless this game drags out especially long, this event is never going to end.

I saw a Sakkra colony ship with a LOT of armed escort flying in the direction of my systems. Afraid they were attacking, I threaten them and they cave in.



Oops, nope, their ships went past my system. They're going for Selia in my territory. Damn. I could've sworn they were heading directly for Drakka. But the threat holds long enough that when their ships arrive they turn around. It may not matter though. I've finished researching enhanced eco.



This is a pretty crappy planetology tree. No terraforming, no hostile environments above tundra. At least I've got soil enrichment and bio toxin antidote here. I picked the latter as the AI already has death spores and I want to make them useless as soon as possible. In the meantime, the only way I'm going to get more hostile planets is to trade or steal the tech, and nobody is trading.

I've confirmed that the race that started in the northeast is the Psilons.



The trade treaty is merely a token gesture. I'm hoping that even with the pirate event, I can at least get a little bit of a relationship boost. My Psilons have only 4 planets. However, they're isolated enough that I can see them potentially being a huge powerhouse. I wouldn't want to be whoever is unlucky enough to face Psilons as the dominant empire. I'm glad that they're at war with the Sakkra. The only AI race not at war with them are the Darloks, who were at one-planet last time I checked. As for me, I'm not done expanding...



I was half-expecting a council vote at this time, but apparently not enough systems have been colonized. I dial up the Sakkra again to see if they're willing to give me any controlled hostile environment. Shockingly, they're willing to trade toxic for inertial stabilizer! I shoot for it and then tell my spies to hide. The lizards try one last time to grab Selia, but they don't bring a very threatening force.



Yeah. They turn tail and run. But if they wanted to, they could gather a stack of doom and take out any of my planets. They don't, and so long as they don't, I'm completely safe. After colonizing my 19th planet, the council meets for the first time.



The good news is that I almost have a blocking vote by myself (and a definite block with 3 AIs supporting me). The bad news is that the Sakkra have 44% of the total voting power by themselves.

Virus hits me in 2418 and wipes out my weapons research progress, but I just find myself saying "Good thing it wasn't planetology, computers or propulsion." In 2423 range 7 pops, and I'm very disappointed to find that range 8 is my only option for advancement. This is the worst propulsion tree ever! I may as well be playing as the Klackons for all the options I've gotten here.

The same turn I meet the Bulrathi.



The Darloks have managed to grab a planet and resume contact with me. Now that I'm in contact with every race, let's take another look at the galaxy map:



I don't know how I did it, but I've got a whopping 25 planets. The Sakkra have 17 planets and are allied with the Darloks who have 2. Psilons have 4 planets, Meklar have 3 and Bulrathi have 2, and they are pretty much allied with each other. The galaxy is in a state of war, with bots, brains and bears on one side, shifters and lizards on the other. Oddly enough, I'm not at war at all. I may have to join soon though.

The landgrab phase is over. The planets near me are radiated and I can't possibly reach the planets in the lower right. The only way I'll get any more is to take them from the other races, which means I have to choose a side.

The Sakkra are powerful enough that I may not be able to take them on yet. But I will have to take them on eventually since they hold a blocking veto. I could be better off trying to annex the other races into my empire instead. But I don't really want to turn them against me too early. The Sakkra have a planet inside a nebula though, and I think I can take it if I build the right fleet. I'm going to be prepared for the possibility of choosing a different target though. The Bulrathi are erratic and you all know what that means.

Before I go to war, I'm missing some key technologies. I still don't have any terraforming, I don't have any ship engines, I don't have a decent battle computer and my weapons tree was missing fusion bomb. I'm trying to steal from the Sakkra, but I should probably trade for the technology I need. So, I trade Range 7, Enhanced Eco and Class 3 shields to the Psilons for Battle Computer 3, Sub-light Drives and Battle Computer 2, respectively.

The 2425 election is no different from the previous, except that the Sakkra and I each get 1 more vote. 12/35 votes isn't quite enough for me to have a solid veto (have I told you how much not having any terraforming hurts?)

When it becomes obvious that no other race has fusion bombs, I trade enhanced eco to the Sakkra for them. They already had complete eco, so they didn't gain a lot from the trade. Bio toxin antidote pops in 2431 revealing Cloning and Advanced Eco (I go back for soil enrichment). So I trade the Sakkra for battle suits, and the other AI races for everything they'll give me. I didn't see any reason not to prop up the other races a little since they weren't much of a threat to me, and I didn't see any reason not to trade the antidote since I wasn't planning to use death spores.

Eventually, the Darloks nominate themselves as my first target. I ask the Psilons to break their alliance so that they don't start coming after me too.



But then I realize that if they can't really do anything to me, they won't do much if I send spies to pick apart their tech trees. My fleet-building slows down as I steal robotics controls 3 from the Meklar. In 2443 I manage to grab a little inferno planet behind Mentar, triggering the 3/8 GNN message. I threw together two ship designs to throw at my opponents.



I send about 200 of each to Nazin and easily manage to wipe out the defenses. The 2450 elections roll around while transports are in transit and I find that I have 15/42, a definite veto. Immediately after the election, I order a large number of my planets to send transports to Incedius (as the Sakkra have a gropo advantage on me) and send 300 of each of my ship designs to attack. But then I find out this is a mistake, as my bombers aren't powerful or numerous enough to bomb all the Sakkra worlds, I have no hope of beating them in ground combat, and now they are at war with me.

Spies manage to steal Terraforming +40 from the Sakkra. Very shortly afterwards, the RNG punishes me by giving me the supernova event at Selia and only 7 years to resolve it while my planets are in the middle of upgrading. And the Sakkra are sending an SoD there as well. Fortunately, my rich planets manage to max factories fast enough to allow for the reserve-spending needed to save the planet. I successfully invaded the Psilon world of Ukko, but they retaliated by glassing Darrian and invading Morrig. In an attempt to get the Psilons and Sakkra off my back, I glass the Meklar worlds of Klystron, Meklon, and then wait until the Sakkra's stacks of dooms are one turn away from my planets before dialing up both of my biggest foes.



Ouch! Hefty prices for both of them. I accepted though. I seriously needed some time to finish upgrading my economy, and if I didn't make peace with the Psilons as well they would've brough the Sakkra back to war. During the brief period of respite I grab up as many of the worlds in the lower east as I can, settling unoccupied worlds and invading Meklar worlds. Unfortunately for me, two Sakkra SoDs that had already been heading towards Selia and Paranar arrived 7 turns later and I lose both worlds. Thankfully, I've managed to fit BC3 on a small fusion bomber and built up enough to send them to Geinah and glass it.

2475 elections rolls around.



The current state of the galaxy. I've been suffering some setbacks on the frontlines, but otherwise I should be able to wrap this game up. I had much more voting power in this election than I did the previous. The best thing I can do to make sure I win the next vote is to reduce the Sakkra's voting power. With impulse drives having been recently researched and my planets about to max out with terraforming +40, soil enrichment and improved robotics 4, I'll be able to build bombers and glass Sakkra worlds like crazy. So I do. This catches the attention of the Bulrathi and Meklar, who I gladly sign alliances with. I manage to invade Mentar and then, seeing no further use for the Psilons, I genocide them in 2488. I settle their former planets, triggering the last GNN message.



At this point I'd already glassed nearly all the Sakkra worlds. They resettled of course, which I let them do since I wanted to be certain that the council would meet again. So at this point I just waited until 2500.



Reduced to a mere 10 votes, the Sakkra are helpless to prevent me from taking my conquest victory with a whopping 73% of the total vote. Here is the state of my empire immediately before the election:



Definitely an interesting game. The early part of it was a little bit nerve-wracking, what with having the Sakkra on top of me almost immediately and having to race them across the galaxy to settle planets. I never imagined that I'd successfully grab more land than they did. But because I did, I was never in any real danger of losing the game (although the war did set me back a bit). My biggest mistake was definitely to go after the Sakkra too early. I need to hit myself over the head because I did the same thing in Imperium 10.

The Sakkra definitely seemed to be the major threat, but I wouldn't doubt it if someone had a weird game where the Psilons managed to spread outside their hostile corner. I hope no one had to deal with something like that.

So Sullla has thrown this Imperium out there to give players a chance at their first Impossible win. Large maps definitely play easier than medium maps. We have the the Alkari, who don't get any production bonuses, but arguably the best combat bonus. This map layout could prove to be interesting, though. Looks like we'll be getting pressure both from the SE and direct E, with not a lot of territory nearby. Our hated adversary, the Mrrshan, are absent, but relations will not be rosey with the Sakkra, Bulrathi, or Darlok. Having the Psilon present is always dangerous. So all-in-all, could be quite a challenge.

Since I've been playing on Impossible for awhile now, I wanted to take another variant rule for some spice. The first that came to mind was to forbid weapons on hulls larger than medium. That plays to the strat guide's recommendation for Alkari players. I actually don't agree with that wholesale; I think that ship design should fit the strategic/tactical situation best, and while the Alkari +3 defense does favor smaller ships, it should be just another factor for consideration rather than a driving component. But I think I rely on Huge ships a little too much, so some practice with smaller designs would do me good. For clarification, I'm forbidding weapons on large/huge designs, not specials, so repulsor beams/dissipator/scanners will still be available. Damaging specials like Pulsars and Black Hole will be off the table. I will also be playing with the events off. Big surprise there

Opening
First thing to look at is the terrain, and it's frankly not that great. We've got two stars close by, and everything else at least Range 5 away. Worse, neither star will open a path without Range tech. Lots of blue stars in the vicinity too; glad the Silicoids aren't in the game. I think getting out of the corner is going to be critical in this game. That's probably going to mean heading for that cluster of reds in the center, or possibly down the Western edge.

So I started with my colony ship to the green star, and the scouts to the yellow to the NE and the blue to the SE. Esper is only size 30? Ugh, not good. Scouting report was mixed as well. Nice size 80 up North, and we've got a path to the center through that blue star. Orion is in a rather inconvienent location, though, and a lot of these worlds are TINY. At least that Tundra UR looks nice.

My initial tech choices were: RW80%, Improved Eco, and Range 5. Glad that last one was there, as we're not getting past Firma without it. I went ahead and took Altair to full production before branching out, though I did trickle research half of Range 5 out of Esper. That planet was just too small to do much with. I was amazed when 2330 rolled around, and I still hadn't seen any AI scouts. Range 5 complete in 2333, and I already had a col ship standing by at Esper for Firma. That's right, I'm putting off colonizing that size 80 up N for the moment to get a better position.

Met the Sakkra when Firma was colonized in 2337. They were already out to 7 planets, including all of those yellow's down there. I'm glad I decided to go for Firma and Drakka first; otherwise, I might not have gotten them! In fact, I had to chase 2 unarmed Sakkra col ships from Drakka. Scouting reports from the North told me I didn't want to wait long, however. Five habitable planets up there, including two Fertile and over 100!! Holy cow!

Drakka was founded in 2344, Artemis 3 turns later. I had been using Esper to reserach Improved Eco, deeming that more useful than factories there. The extra production at Altair would speed the colonization of the N, and I wanted to see if Tundra was in my tree with the Ecologist Sakkra right next door. I did NOT want them having that UR planet! Well, the tech didn't pop until 2349, but Tundra was indeed in the tree, so I seeded it from Altair, and let it simmer with Esper's meager production and Altair's bits of leftover until col ships for Vox, Tyr, and Paranar had been built. I was quite annoyed that Xengara was 6 parsecs from Artemis, and that we'd missed Range 6 in the tree. So the planet would have to wait until I could build an LR col ship, and THAT would have to wait until either a second-tier construction or third-tier planetology tech.

I planted my flag on Vox in 2356, Tyr in 2360, and Paranar in 2366. Paranar's col ship completed the same year Vox was colonized, and I made the painful decision to send 40 birds from Altair to seed Vox. Esper was just too small to serve as a seed, and those big planets would grow way too slowly on their own. I had Altair finish Controlled Tundra while it re-grew, half research half pop pop-growth. That would also let Esper finally get some more factories going. But when I found Ajax three turns later, Altair went back to ship-building, and Esper back on research. Tundra was at 8%, and would pop 2368.

Unfortunately, the Sakkra made it to Incedius and Misha, and springboarded to Ajax before my col ship could get there, and Phantos was 6 parsecs away, so I missed out on both worlds. The Sakkra inexplicably made a play for Hyades before Vega, the UR. I chased them off with popguns from Altair, and scored both worlds! BTW, the AI impressed me by asking for a NAP when it realized I would have fighters waiting at Hyades. Not sure if it was coding or dumb luck, but a pretty shrewd move! Not that it worked, mind you

After RW80% popped in 2377, I crash-researched IIT8 to get the LR col ship into play to nab Xengara. I got contact with the Meklar in the same year when they commandeered Ajax from the birds. That was only their fourth planet; looks like they aren't going to be a major player this game. Here's the galaxy from 2381:



We have a respectable 10 planets, which will be 11 when IIT8 finishes. The Sakkra managed to rather efficiently lockdown the SW corner, though I did nab the best prize in Vega. Firma and Drakka were maxed at this point, and adding some bases for defense. Yes the Lizards are Pacifistic, but that will go right out the window when they run out of room to expand. The Meklar took Phantos the next year, brining their total to 5 planets.

2390 saw most of my empire come online; Paranar, Tyr, and Hyades would need a little more work. Now I had to play catch-up; the Sakkra tech bar was nearly 4 times longer than mine! Plus, it didn't help that our tech tree seemed to absolutetly SUCK. No terraforming +10, +20, or +30? No Controlled Dead, Inferno or Toxic? Only ECM tech in the first two computer rungs? Stabilizer the only choice in the second propulsion rung? OUCH!! I took Hyper X over NPG's for my second weapon's tech; we were NOT going on offense any time soon! I also upped our trade and signed a NAP with the Sakkra, hoping to keep them from choosing me to go through first.

Xengara was finally colonized in 2395, and got a healthy shot of reserves from Vega to help it grow fast. The Sakkra were sending an endless stream of ships from their core to Ajax, making me very nervous. It would be impossible to tell if any were bound for Drakka until ISS came in.

The next 10 or so years were pretty uneventful. I researched out of my core, while Firma, Drakka, and Vega built bases to deter the Sakkra, especially after the Sakkra dissolved our NAP in 2405. What my spies revealed in 2412 made me even more worried:



Wow, do they every outclass me! RCIV? Controlled Radiated? +30? Atmospheric Terraforming? Fusion Bombs and Neutron Blasters? Wow. The only saving grace I saw is that they continued to duel with the Meklar over Phantos and Ajax. Hopefully that would keep them busy until I could catch up, because if they came for me now, I was finished, period. I was about on par tech-wise with the Meklar by this point, though, so they wouldn't keep the Sakkra occupied for long.

I'd had a col ship standing by at Paranar for when Range 7 completed, and that allowed me to nab Beta Ceti in 2418. The tech tree continues to be wretched, however, as Range 8 is the only choice next Xengara had come fully online the turn before. Scatter Pack's came in the next turn, allowing me to breathe a small sigh of relief. Now I had to decide what to do next. I decided to backup for the cheap NPG's before researching the AMB's. They just miniaturize so nicely onto fighters. I had stupidly chosen Auto Repair over Battle Suits when Construction came up several decades ago, forgetting my additional variant rule. Oh well, at least I'd have it on hand if I decided to break with that.

I decided to trade the Meklar Controlled Dead for Enhanced Eco in 2421. Yes a very lopsided trade, but without Controlled Radiated in the tree, I had no way to get any of the planets near me. I used the tech to snag Guradas. I also traded Stabilizers to the Sakkra for Class IV, making up for my deficiency in shield tech. Man, no Class V planetary though? OUCHIE!! At least the trade let me bypass a rung and go directly to Repulsors from Class III. Got ISS in 2423, and saw with some relief that RCIV was in the tree. I was already researching Soil Enrichment, so if I could just keep everybody peaceful for awhile, I'd be alright. To that end, I thought I'd see if the Sakkra would agree to an Alliance. Imagine my surprise when they gave me this response:



The only treaty between us that had been broken was the NAP, which they dissolved. That gives ME an oath-breaker penalty? Well that sucks. They did, however, trade me Controlled Inferno for Enhanced Eco. Another bad trade, but what could I do? If I wanted more planets, I needed habitability tech. I did end up ultimately snagging Selia and Darrain with the tech.

Finally got the chance at an engine when Range 8 came in to reveal Impulse Drives. Meanwhile the Darlok, with their usual diplomatic flair, had managed to get themselves at war with the Sakkra, Meklar, and probably Bulrathi as well. No word yet from the Psilon. The founding of Darrain in 2442 changed that. Here's the map from this point:



OPE Psilons again, huh? Well, that's a welcome sight in lieu of my last game. The Bulrathi weren't doing too hot either, 6 planets including two deep in Sakkra space. They were indeed at war with the Darlok. The scary part is that I was now in second place in tech and population for the known galaxy, and the Sakkra were allied with both the Meklar and Bulrathi. That easily gave them 2/3 on the pop graphs the way I saw it. The Darlok would vote against them, but I didn't know what their population was like. Probably depleted after fighting three other races. Thing is, if I asked the Meklar to fight the Sakkra, they would wrap-up the Borg easily, as the robots had no missiles, planetary shields, bombs, and their best beam was Mass Driver. I held off for the moment.

Contact with the Darlok came the next turn, when they momentarily took control of Dunatis. Their only other world than that one was their homeworld. Well that sealed it. Next council vote, I was losing. Big time. So I dialed up the Bulrathi. They had +30 for trade! And only wanted Stabilizers for it! Cha-ching! Factory construction went on hold for terraforming. I terraformed and bought pop to fill up my worlds immediately; the council vote could come at any moment. The Sakkra came calling for a NAP in 2448, which I happily signed. They weren't trading environment tech, so I couldn't get those last hostile worlds anyway. My crash course on pop growth brought me almost even with the Lizards, eliminating the threat of a council loss. I also went ahead and signed max trade with everbody else to improve relations. I was once again running with little military, but this time I at least had lots of bases on my borders to deter aggression.

That next round of tech saw AMB's, Advanced Eco, Impulse Drive, Repulsors, and Zortium Armor come in. I chose Megabolts, +50, Star Gates, Absorbtion Shields, and RW40%. Probably should have taken Class VI over the personnel shields, but oh well. The Psilon declared phoney war in 2466. The only planet they could reach of mine was Darrian, and they only had Controlled Dead. I did turn up spying to see if I could nab Neutron Blaster or Ion Cannons. Got Hyper-V's my first opportunity, then Ion cannons. Should have taken BCIII over the weapons tech, but oh well; got the opportunity to rectify that pretty quickly.

I noticed that Bears were the only race with Class V Planetary shields, so I dialed them up and traded them Advanced Eco for it. Yeah that's an advanced tech, but the Bulrathi aren't going to be doing much this game. I wanted those shields to improve my planets' survivability chances when war came. Oh yes; I'm under no illusions that I'm going to get out of this without going up against the Sakkra.

I discovered in 2471 that there was a size 50 UR clear on the other side of the galaxy, SE of Mentar. Well, I certainly wanted that planet! What's funny is the turn after I scouted it, the Psilon sent their entire fleet from Mentar, just to chase my scout away from the world. I had a col ship standing by at Darrian to nab the planet when they left.

Surveying the map the northern yellows won’t be homeworlds but possible AI’s to south and east. Cannot reach eastern blue yet so send initial scouts to southern green and blue on blockade duty and order up another. Colony ship goes to eastern green and in 2302 Esper (Steppe 30) is founded sending 10 from Altair which take 4 turns to arrive due to nebula. Early scouting shows nothing habitable in range, one small at range 4 but some good planets at range 5 plus a UR Tundra. Opening tech I start IER and range 5 splitting spending according to their cost, seeding with 2 full turns production. Both pop early over 2324/5 revealing Tundra and IS (only choices). Tundra is seeded immediately for UR so Altair does not max until 2330. Scouts chase off Sakkra at UR Vega in 2332, Meklars at Incedius (red in southern nebula) in 2334 and later Darloks at Guradas in 2351. First colony ship heads south for Firma (Minimal 50) for UR and Sakkra blockade rather than north. However the North is full of great habitable planets:


Second Colony ship heads north to Artemis (Terran 80) while I wait for Firma to settle which it does in 2338 (15 sent from Esper) just as Tundra pops (early again!) choosing only option EER. Opening other tech I find ECM1, IIT9 (over RW80), DS2 & Hand Lasers (over Hyper-V); seed IIT9. Artemis is settled in 2341 with 10 from Esper then UR Vega (Tundra 45) in 2346 with 12 from Esper & Firma. Altair pushes reserves to Vega while Esper & Firma trickle pop there. In fact poor Esper (size 30) and Firma (size 50) are trickling pop to better places for a long time. In 2351 I discover IIT9 (IIT8 next) and settle fertile Vox (Terran 125) with 9 from Artemis. I push IIT8 since much factory building is anticipated and it will provide LR for Xengara in NW corner. 2355 sees Paranar (Terran 95) settled with 10 from Artemis while UR Vega maxes factories then pop next year. In 2357 I get GNN 8 planet message settling Gienah (Terran 85) sending 12 from Firma & Esper and boosting this border world quickly. I had been wondering about settling non-hostile Gienah just 3 parsecs from uneasy Sakkra space but decided these likely pacifists might allow it (if they were aggressive as intended this might have been short lived or not even available). Still border colonies need fighter protection now which the birds are good at especially with the wimpy probes I see. As I contact Sakkra, the Bulrathi contact me (from 6 parsecs):


Odd that one of my first contacts is with someone from the SW corner. I start minimal trade with uneasy 4PE Sakkra (Pac/Eco) and neutral 6PE Bulrathi (Err/Tech). I belatedly discover (sloppy scouting) there is a habitable UR (Seidon) further south neglected by the lizards. It is 6 parsecs away and I could settle a stepping stone but IIT8 is near so I wait. In 2361 IIT8 hits and I select ARS (over BS, IIT7) and seed remaining tech fields. Same year the assassination events hits – Bulrathi on Darloks. Drakka (Ocean 75) near southern nebula is settled in 2365 with 15 from Esper/Firma. 2367 sees ECM1 give way to ECM2 then next year Hand Lasers progress to NPG (over Hyper-X or Ion). LR Colony arrives at UR Seidon (Desert 35) in 2369 fed with 20 from Gienah while rich Ajax (Steppe 50) in eastern nebula is also settled with 24 from Paranar. Next year LR settles fertile Xengara (Terran 110) with 23 from Artemis then DS2 progresses to DS3.

Still finding great planets available – in 2375 settle central Misha (Terran 95) with 22 from Paranar. Same year ECM2 advances to ISS and IS to R7. Misha puts me into contact with 3PE Meklars (Xen/Eco). 2380/81 sees NPG progress to SP-V (over Ion Rifle or Mass Driver) and EER progress to Soil (over BTA). Then I finally decide to settle some less than prime space with Tyr (Minimal 50) in 2385 and Laan (Desert 50) a year later. The 90’s saw some major teching with SP-V advancing to Fusion Beam (over AMB or Hard Beam), ISS to RC4 (over BC5), Range7 to Range8, DS3 to DS4 and Soil to AER (over Cloning). Range 7 introduces 2PE Darloks (Xen/Exp) who have been in constant wars. 2395 saw Industrial Accident at Tyr sending 3 pop off-world to fit new size 25. With a hostile UR unclaimed I swapped IS for Sakkra Controlled Toxic and settled UR Whynil (Dead 35) in 2399 then rich Guradas (Dead 25) following year getting GNN 17 planet message. Meanwhile Soil was boosting all non-hostile worlds including UR Seidon and rich Ajax. In 2401 Zortium replaced ARS and BC6 (over ECM5) replaced RC4. RC4 was good news but factories then cost a hefty 16bc so remembering to finish maxing worlds before it hits. In 2407 colonised rich Yarrow (Toxic 40) and finally met 1PE Psilons (Hon/Ind) in NE corner.


Same year DS4 hits and choose Repulsor Beam over DS5. In 2409 the Xeno Meklars DOW and send a huge towards Misha. After replacing Rang8 with Warp5 (engines finally!), I swap my ISS for Bulrathi BC3. The heavy Ion Meklar huge only has level 1 shields and is no match for my scatter-packs. Similar battles (with Mass Drivers and even Gatling lasers) repeat over the next few turns and quickly the machines are asking for peace which I accept. In 2414 the main opposition tech:


After Zortium in 2418 I backtrack for Battle Suits (over RW40) and next year after Repulsor Beam I choose Personal Absorption Shield (over DS6) anticipating some gropo action on the horizon. The Sakkra are expanding and growing due to Terra+40 so I trade Repulsor Beam for it – elections will be soon. With Range 8 I now settle rich Crypto (Toxic 30) and with Warp5 (Stargates over Warp6 next) I discover unoccupied UR Herculis (Dead 50) on eastern edge. The Merchant event gifts 1200 BC to Meklars in 2423. Next year Fusion Beam hits (Fusion Rifle next) and in 2426 BC6 hits (then BC7). So with BC6, Zortium/ARS, DS4/Repulsor, Warp5/IS, Fusion Beam and Fusion Bomb (available for trade) plus thousands of BC’s already invested in ships at my rich & UR planets, I am ready to produce my death fleet. Same year I settle UR Herculis causing vote with me v. Sakkra. Out of 42 Sakkra vote 12, Psilons(2) abstain then Bulrathi(5), Meklars(3) and Darloks(1) vote for me leaving my 19 votes giving me a diplomatic win! I had not realised the lizards were so unpopular. They had an on-off alliance with Bulrathi and constant war with Darloks but, at vote time, they were also at war with Meklars who I had peace with and I was friendly with Bulrathi and got the vote.

Status at end:


I know it is an unsatisfactory end but I did not have the heart to unleash my armada on my backwards neighbours (this time!). The best I was facing was BC3 (Bulrathi had RC4), Duralloy, DS3, Warp3 & Neutron Blaster. The Sakkra led me in Planetology with Terra+50 (& ATMOS) but with no missile upgrades their planets would have fallen so easily. This could prove a tricky map if the AI’s expand fast enough. You are short of Battle Computers, Planetary Shields, Terraforming, Engines & decent missiles for heavily shielded ships. Trading simplifies the task but even at warp1 I was able to reach a UR at the opposite edge of a large map before the AI’s could settle it!

My report is posted here!

(At http://meklongambit.blogspot.com/ along with my Imperium 12 reports.)

I hope you enjoy it!

I have played and won on impossible before, although not with the Alkari, but mostly with Humans.
So I have a tiny idea what awaits me.
Still, should be fun.
I decide to have events turned off.

Scouts send out to the blue star west and the blue star SE. The colony ship goes towards the green star nearby.
Turns out to be Esper 30 Steppe. Not the nice planets I am used to from the last Imperium, but still.
So, thats it. We need range to further expand.
I open up propulsion, an are the birds are excellent in and yeah! range5 pops up.
Scouting, scouting, scouting. Looks like Tundra would be a nice thing to have.
Also, always sucks to have Orion so close by that eats up one scout that early on.
Scare away three Sakkra ships at Drakka.

2339
With the settling of Firma we make official contact with the Sakkra. Agreeing to minimal trade.
They already have 5 stars including 3 yellows. Not bad.
BUt they are peaceful in nature, which will be quite helpful throughout the game. Even better with events off, I am not running the risk of that dreaded rogue diplomat event.

2366
Amazingly we are the first for the 8 star system warning. Very good.
2375
Managed to get NAP with Sakkras.

A bit later meet Darloks, a scattered 5 planet empire.
They are in war with the Bears and Meklars already. Excellent.

2377
Ajax, my first Rich world settled.
Official contact with Psilons.

Research controlled tundra and manage to get to that ultra rich planet south of the home world first.
Trade inertial stabilizer for controlled toxic and expand, expand, expand.

The first election comes in 2423.
Hoho close one. Sakkaras almost went home with the game here. It is clear I have to get more pop to avoid that. Luckily soil enrichment is currently researched.

Then I have misplaced my notes.
I went through a clockwise conquest of the galaxy leaving the sakkras for last.

2575 Glassing the last Sakkra world, with small neutronium bombers and hyperdrives, I rule!

Fun game. Having peaceful Sakkras and trading IS for Controlled Toxic were the keys to success for me here.

mh

Will be interesting. Won't be my first impossible win; I completed a win as the Meklars on a very favorable map, and was in an offline game as the Sakkra that's actually on hold for looking too easy (popped controlled dead from artifacts, able to settle half of a standard map peacefully). But I'm still learning the ropes, and I think the birds have less advantages than those two races.

I tried to play with events off, but frequenly forgot, despite saving the game as "Imp 13 Alt-Events".

Send colony ship blind to the eastern star, it's a marginal size 30. Order up scouts in 2304.
Results:

Cursor is at Orion. Next turn open Prop, Range 5 is only choice. Get it to %s with trickle research but it takes till 2331 to pop. Still no scouts from other races.

Map from the range 5 scouting is promising:

Two of those northern terrans planets are fertile to boot. I've just chased Meklar and Bear scouts from the barren in the center of the map. Start encountering Sakkra worlds to the south, and in 2344 the settlement of Drakka (ocean near center in the screenshot) brings formal contact with them; minimum trade signed. They declare war the next turn When my colship reaches Gienah a few turns later, I actually don't settle it - I won't be able to defend it against any threat for a while, and it could be put to good use in the north. Sure enough, Sakkra warships chase my scout from the area and soon after it's a Sakkra colony.

Begin settling the north, am highly irritated to find that the NW fertile is 6 away even after settling the closest world, and thus out of range for quite a while (IS was only choice after range 5). However, that's one fewer colony ship I have to build, allowing Altair to put in one turn of research to pop Hand Lasers (go for Hyper V) and it will now put some into reserve. Unusual move this early in the game, but I think that a single missile base on my undeveloped frontline worlds will make all the difference.

Another unusual move when I settle the other Fertile world - I send nearly half of my homeworld pop there. Sucks to have a lot of empty factories, but I don't have any other worlds capable of doing so, a byproduct of REX + a very small 2nd world.

The Sakkras took their sweet time coming after my border worlds, and I was able to get to one base at each (with a steep price in factory growth curve of course, plus lost $ going into tech from the homeworld). I felt pretty good when I saw 4 mediums + a colony ship incoming; one base should hold against that (especially since I was close to hyper-V's). Then I realize that that fleet is going to colonize a Barren world, while 5 larges are coming for Drakka. Crap:

I was close to getting class II's but against the heavy lasers they certainly wouldn't be enough; my one base is easily killed. Strangely, the Sakkra agree to peace immediately. I don't know if this means they send transports. I see some (but only 28, will be able to survive one round easy) and go to all eco spending for a few turns, then realize those are going to the barren world they just settled. So the only loss from that episode is the one base, plus 5 million birds and 15 or so factories from one round of bombing. I resign trade and gift them Hyper-V's (my thinking was that I wouldn't be attacking them until those were obsolete), hoping that and their Pacifist personality will keep things peaceful.

Map a bit later, 2377

The cursor is pointing to two more available planets, size 40 and 65, the smaller one rich. Altair just finished colony ships which will take a long time to crawl there. Imp. Eco has come in and I'm beginning Tundra (only choice but that's ok as there are 3 tundras around including a UR). Really hope that +30 is in the tree though. Things are looking up, my 2nd world has finally maxed factories, Altair is almost back up to full pop, other worlds are standing up nicely.

Of course, things go wrong immediately, when an armed Darlok colony ship chases me from one of those eastern planets, and Sakkra declare again in 2380. Darloks double my proposed trade agreement, maybe that means they'll leave me alone. I do get a colony on the rich planet and am able to stand it up quickly.

Here's a 2400 map:

The Darloks took the eastern tundra world on the turn I finished the ship to go there. In the south, the sakkra haven't settled the UR tundra world but a continuous blockade of warships there has kept me from settling it so far, also snagging a dead rich world. Also, I forgot to turn off events for one play session, long enough for Firma to become poor.

Darloks DOW's me this turn. There is some good news though. The Sakkra have sat on their hands after I repulsed one minor attack; although they now have some Huge design running around that's frightening. And the galaxy appears to be in a all-way conflict, Alkari + Bulrathi + Meklars vs. Sakkra, Psilons, Darloks. I could get the bears to love me, if I had any offensive capabiliity.

Techwise: I have IS + Hyper-X in %s. I'm pretty pissed at the planetology tree; only choice after Tundra is enhanced eco. The odds of having only one choice in each of the 1st 3 rungs is only 3% and I am really hurting for lack of + terraforming.

Darloks attack my rich world. I have 3 hyper-x bases. They have one large with some heavy lasers and nuke missiles which is shot down easily, and 120 mediums with gatling lasers. Those only do 1-4 damage per shot, halved against planets, but I had forgetten about the effects of nebulas, so they go right through and wreck my bases. This annoyed me enough to stop playing for a while. Then I saw someone's comment in the game thread about Altair being in a nebula, making me realize why my shields didn't help me.
Anways, the Darloks bombed that world to near-crater status then took it in an invasion. At the tundra UR, my first invasion wave met equal numbers of Sakkra but they had Zortium Battle Suits and fought them off easily. I built a handful of nuke bombers in hopes of blasting it oblivion and refounding, but got chased away by unbeatable fleet before they could crawl there. In good news, the Sakkra agreed to peace paying me 1100BC, but still didn't like me.

IIT8 gave me enough space to put reserve tanks on a colship and settle the big Fertile in the far corner in 2416.

Sakkra declared war again and this time, pulled no punches:
This is against Drakka, the ocean in the SE of my territory. At base size 75 it's one of my better planets, and has the most defense bases (11). But that matters not at all; on the scan I knew the world was toast from all the fusion boms on the huges, but even before those get into play their opening missile volleys destroy all bases before my scatter pack V's even have a chance to kill the mediums. The world is glassed.

This turn I finally got the tech trade I wanted - IS to Bulrathi for +30 terraforming. It is kind of cheesy how much the AI values this tech but with no +terraforming so far I was pretty desperate. I built up all my worlds; no number of bases I can build will make a difference against those dreadnoughts so all I can do is hope/pray they go after their other wars.

In 2425 it's Sakkra vs. Bears. I vote for Bears; would have liked to vote Sakkra in hopes of peace but it would have put them over 2/3. A few turns later I meet the cyborgs, appears they captured a Darlok world. It's only their 3rd so they probably won't be doing too much. I was ranked above the Psilons in production in a GNN report so they probably aren't doing well either. Was also able to sign Darloks to peace with no further action on that front.

The Sakkra sent fleets at Altair and Firma. The latter had turned poor so I had stopped really trying to defend it. I traded IS to the Darloks for Planet Shield V and poured my reserve from the Sakkra peace treaty into Altair in another desperate move, forgetting that Altair was also in a nebula. Still, my bases did better here, taking out one of the Sakkra huges (they brought one of each of those in above screenshot), and may have gotten a 2nd if not for the stupid stack of 200 smalls with lasers (2 moves, unlike the big ships) being able to destroy the last bases. I would have still lost to the fusion bomb hordes (the huge ships had 3 shields, so my missiles would only be half as effective), but this was also frustrating. But it didn't really matter, there was another group of 7 huge ships following that bombed out all the factories, 22 lizards were enough to beat 55 birds remaining; they also took Firma easily.

It gets worse...a group of small frigates move in at high speed and attack my 2nd world before it can get a planet shield up. It would have made the planet invulnerable to their fusion beams, but instead it is mostly bombed out, and a winning army is on its way.

But then it gets better. After adding the shield to each planet, the Sakkras make no more attacks, and eventually propose a peace treaty which I take. I finish enhanced eco and Imp. scanner, and pursue RC4. The 2450 vote is again sakkra vs. bears, again I can't vote for the Sakkra and abstain. Enhanced eco is great trade bait - I get BC4 from bears, Duralloy from Meklars, and Inferno from Darloks! Tilted somewhat in favor of the AIs but it plugs cruical gaps, and the rich inferno is still open. I do manage to get it, terraform to size 40.

It's quite dull for a long while. I play farmer again, all my worlds up to about 15 bases and stop. That's not that much, but I'm stuck on scatter packs, and my most likely attackers (sakkra, darloks) both have class V shields, so no amount of 6-damage missiles is going to help much. They stay at war with Meklars and Bulrathis too. Soil Enrichment and RC4 give a huge economic boost. Finally, after the 2475 vote (just like the two previous), I've learned AM bomb, auto repair, speed 5 engines, and am ready to roll against the Darloks. Build 3 auto-repair huges with bombs and heavy ion cannons (I'm not impressed by their fleet very much. I'm researching Megabolts but I don't think they'll be needed). I also trade the darloks range 8 for battle suits right before attacking, which equalizes our gropo tech.

In 2491 I hit Guradas as first target. It's stayed small and is constantly getting pop sent away, only 10 bases and a few medium ships; easy pickings. I get ridiculous luck on the invasion; world has only 60 or so factories, but I loot Atmospheric Terraforming AND Adv Scanner (as well as not-needed Dead environment.)
They recently got planet shield X, but that doesn't really matter against antimatter bombs.
I take first two planets easily, then my old steppe rich world back at the cost of one dreadnought. I pick up IIT6 and class V shields as well.

Here's the map as of this situation:

Good news: Zortium and Megabolts are in, can design a better ship.
Bad news: Still no missile upgrades! I'm worried about the Sakkra attacking again...The Darloks are allied with the Sakkra, and refuse to make peace. Darn. But the lizards agree to a NAP, saying they remember my tribute of HyperV's from ages ago! I'm really kind of floored that the game's AI's are programmed to have that kind of memory. Then I find the lizards would trade me Andrium armor for inertial stabilizer; I decide that's too explotative.
The Psilons recently declared on me, which is great because they're my next target. They are way behind in tech (not sure why, there territory isn't huge but isn't sad either) so I can run over them easily.

My dreadnoughts shred Darlok and Psilon worlds. By 2525 I'm nominated, but votes from the bears and borgs aren't enough. I had signed alliances with each, but broke them when they asked me to declare on the Sakkra. The lizards have been peaceful forever, and after getting Hercular missiles and building new rounds of bases I feel safe there. The Meklars DOW for some reason and I get a field test:

21 bombs are scary, but a good size Hercular battery has no problem smoking one huge before it closes.

By 2532 I've reduced the Psilons to a tiny Inferno in the corner; still I have to give them Megabolt for peace. Looted their whole tech tree, but Fusion Rifle was the only useful bit. My luck agains the Darloks continues when I take an UR world on the eastern edge, stealing all their remaining techs including the gems of planet shield X, RC5, and Reduce Waste 40%. I get in a pretty comical battle against them at one world, where my dreadnought barely survives (they had a new large design with many Megabolts; first ship that was a danger to me since the beginning of the war), doesn't have quite enough bombs to destroy all the bases. However, the new Darlok ship had froze it with a warp dissipator, so I had to let the battle run 50 turns or whatever since I couldn't retreat! But it was enough - the last bases only shot down a few of my transports and the world is captured.

Sadly, I had expanded to the point where relations began to plunge (although no explicit "you're too big" warnings yet), ending my hope of a Domination victory with the Bear vote. They DOW me instead, and I cry a little on the inside.

The bear war against me may have cost me the win in 2550; but I would have declined anyways as I have unfinished business with the Sakkra. Right around this time I have HEF+ warp 6 pulled in and start new dreadnoughts with long-range auto blasters and combat speed 4. Incremental improvements are made as I pick up more tech, but I forget the advanced autorepair I looted from the lizards. The nebulas make a big difference in my retaking of my former worlds - at Altair, I destroyed 50 Pulson bases without a scratch, as the ships can fire their guns at the world twice before taking any missile hits and with no shields those guns do a lot of damage. At the non-nebula worlds the pulson bases and ships hurt me a lot and I do lose some dreadnoughts, but I have 6 rich and 2 UR pumping them out. I also lose a newly captured world to a horde of small death spores. But by 2565 I am pretty well set, having taken back all of my worlds plus a few more, and destroyed enough of the Sakkra fleet to feel secure.

I had hoped to use my previous friendship with the bears to win the next vote, but my offensive against the Sakkra promoted the bears to election opponent. Wound up dragging things a bit until 2600; had never really gotten as high as I was in tech before and had some fun playing around. While there was no way I was going to lose, the game managed to give me some good challenging times; every now and then I would underestimate an incoming fleet and almost lose a world, the bears got Powered Armor which made invasions nearly impossible (using star gates to reinforce, so could not wear them down over multiple turns). Eventually the bears and lizards, enemies since time immemorial, made peace and became allies; I gave up trying to get vote support and bombed out a few bear worlds. Neutronium bombs + subspace teleporter was disgusting, getting to destroy 50+bases without them getting a shot off. Check this out:

It was bombed this far just from the tactical screen! I think it was at 175 pop/ 875 factories before or so.

Those glassings + finishing all the Planetology tree gave me enough for a conquest win in 2600.


This was only my 2nd impossible victory, and was a lot of fun. However, I must say that the balance on this difficulty leaves something to be desired. The Sakkra offensive was totally devastating, taking or glassing 4 worlds in a handful of turns, then they just...stopped... and left me alone long enough to expand through the weaker AIs and reach a dominant position. Granted, the rest of my planets had (functional!) shielding and scatter pack bases, but they had a lot of huges with fusion bombs and almost certainly could have rolled over more worlds as long as they didn't come in piecemeal. Seemed kind of cheesy that they left me off the hook that easily (although they were at war with others practically the whole game - some pacifists!). But on the other hand, with the bonuses the AI has on Impossible, a strategy of maximum aggression towards a much weaker player early on would truly make the difficulty live up to its namesake, and not be much fun either.

Summary: diplomatic victory in 2599.

This is not my first Impossible game, but I don't have many under my belt (the aborted RBO 12 was my first), and with one of the weaker races. I'll have my work cut out for me!

Sends colony ship to green star @ 2 - Desert 30, but the other planet in range is tundra. Beggars can't be choosers. Sends 8 to Esper and builds scout 1A for two turns (total 9). The scouts are started one turn late, but it seems not to have an impact.

Near neighbourhood scouted in 2312. One habitable within 4, two more within 5, so range 5 needed. One rich inferno, one toxic, two tundra (one of which is ultra rich and need range 4) and Orion. Open planetology and propulsion using 4 RP from Altair.

IER and Range 5 are only choices. At least we got the two critical early techs. The main question now is which priority each should get. Range 5 is needed for any expansion, but IER will speed it up considerably. I make a 4:1 split between IER and range 5, seeding with max research from both worlds and then putting in two clicks only from Altair. By slowly increasing the ratio of research, I've found that I can manage to get IER at the same time or just before the homeworld maxes out its factories and pop.

IER pops early, in 2331 and after seeding Tundra we switch proportions between Planetology and Propulsion. With Propulsion at 8% in 2333 we start building our first colony ship, due in 3. Plan is for it to go to Firma. Then I realise I need at least six more scouts, and several more after Firma is settled, when range 5 comes in. Altair is set to build 8 more scout 1a first, while researching. Colship is started in 2334, due in 3, with range 5 at 18%. Scouts are prepositioning.

Range 5 pops at the same turn as the colony ship is built - perfect timing! IS is the only choice. Since I still haven't encountered any of the alien races, I uncover some planets with the new scouts enroute. Next colship (due in 3) is bound for Artemis, and the one after that for Drakka.

I open up Construction in 2339, and set research priority to Tundra. We can choose between IIT 9 and RIW 80%. Both are desirable, but with IER the benefit of RIW 80% is rather marginal, so IIT 9 gets the nod, mainly due to its low cost.

Paranar scouted. We will need range 8 or a LR colony ship to reach this gem. I spend one turn to re-seed tech from Altair - the next colony ship is still due in 3 due to overflow from the first two.

Vox and Gienah scouted - especially Vox is fabolous! Tech is equaled between Construction, Planetology and Propulsion.

Firma is settled in 2341. No messages so far. The colony ship bound to Drakka will depart on time, and reloc via Esper to save a turn in transit. I'd like to send one to Vox ASAP, but it will have to wait until Artemis is settled.

A Sakkra scout is spotted SW Firma, which is seeded with 10 from Esper (and Esper gets sent one from Altair, where it's regrown immediately).

Production report 2343-44 interturn:

Sakkra - Meklar - Darlok - Bulrathi - Psilon - Alkari

Not so good for us, but nice that the Psilons seems to trail the other races. Now, the question is where the Sakkra scout came from. It seems to be going for Firma, from the southwest, which doesn't make sense given the yellow star layout and that I haven't seen any of their scouts earlier, but the actual ship placement while enroute are often out of whack. However, I decide to send the next colony ship to Gienah, and not Vox. Vox is the better planet, but I haven't seen any sign of the other races to the east yet, so I think Gienah is under bigger threat. I will need some early fighters, though. OTOH, I can send the colony ship stopping at Esper right on to Gienah, instead of Drakka. I decide to do so.

However, I delay the next colony ship at Altair to build several fighters with 1 laser and shield 1. The shield is cheaper than the computer and helps more in early combat. They are reloc via Firma, and will split between Drakka and Gienah.

Artemis founded in 2344 - this opens up the entire northwest to us, where Xengara also is a quality planet. Five pop are sent from Esper. Checking confirms that Altair will grow another pop next turn, so it sends one to Esper as well. Artemis and Firma also gets 10 BC each from our abundant reserves (30 BC).

The Sakkra scout is bound southeast, probably for the yellow east of Gienah. In that case, they have range 4, and fighter cover is really important for Gienah as soon as the colony is up, since the Sakkra in all likelihood will have scouted the planet.

Census ranking (2347-48):

Sakkra - Meklar - Darlok - Alkari - Bulrathi - Psilon

Nice that we are not last, especially since we are into heavy expansion right now, and also nice to see the Psilons trailing. The Meklars are worrisome, though. After some deliberation, I decide to send the colship at Esper to Vox. That will open up Paranar, and I can cover Drakka with fighers. Five more pop are sent from Esper to Firma - especially Gienah will need pop in a hurry, bordering the Sakkra as they do, even with 12 fighers for cover.

We encounter the Sakkra at Centauri - 65/130/4, with 4 mediums as well. It's the white 3 pc south of Gienah - the fighters will definitely be needed.

Gienah settled in 2351! The 12 fighters will arrive next turn, and we get contact with the Sakkra. Unease, but pacifistic ecologists. I can probably live with that. Little did I know... We trail in all categories except planets - they have four (Sssla, Centauri, Proteus, Aquilae) to our five. Also, chalk up another case of AI tardiness in colonisation. They probably could've reached Gienah with nothing more than range 3 and a bridging colony (which could've been their second world) - I needed range 5 and my third world to reach it. I send 10 pop from Firma, and a colony ship from Esper to Drakka. I also continue to send single pops from Altair to Esper when they will grow back immediately.

Whoops! The Sakkra declare in 2352-53 before I can do anything. I probably should have tried to get trade immediately on contact, not that I guess it would've helped. Gienah gets the remaining 10 BC in reserves. I also send three of the four F 1A from Firma to Gienah. I can't do much more.

Colossus spotted next turn going, probably going for Rotan. Since it's barren, and they likely will have scouted it before, I'm not going to send any fighters to intercept (and split my forces). I take a pause in colship building, and let the overflow go to more fighters and add several more RPs in one turn, while Esper builds some factories. The new fighters will go to Gienah via reloc. Since Vox won't be settled until next turn, I send the scout and colship at Esper to Selia as a waypoint stop.

Whoa! Sakkra SoD at Centauri - 4 colony ships, 8 spirit (medium), 3 juggernaut (large), 2 valkyrie (large), 17 colossus (medium). No way my fighters can stop that. Two more colonies to go, and two more with Tundra when it comes in, and we can begin to plan defenses.

Aquilae is 65/130/12 with 2 Colossus in orbit. My scout (sent earlier) retreats. Vox settled in 2355. Sends five pop from Artemis. One sent from Altair to Firma. Sakkra SoD moving, probably (hopefully) to Aquilae. However, there's another stack (1 valkyrie, 4 colossus) moving, which might be bound for Gienah.

Our scout is chased off from Rotan. IIT 9 comes in, IIT 8 is the only new option.

Drakka founded in 2357, and another colship is build and sent for Tyr. The next (and last standard one, I guess) will go to Xengara. I consider sending 10 from Esper to Drakka, but note that there are two Colossus and one Valkyrie inbound to the colony, where I only have eight fighters. I could probably handle the Colossus, but the Valkyrie is another matter. I send them to Firma, instead.

Seidon scouted in 2359 - Desert 35 ultra-rich! I hope I can nab it from the Sakkra as well, but it'll be quite a reach.

My eight fighter beat two Colossus (which have a heavy laser), losing only a single fighter. The Valkyrie coming next turn is another matter, though. The Sakkra are open for talks however, but declines an offer of peace. With my next (and probably last, for a while) colony ship due, I open up the rest of the research fields.

The seven fighters make a valiant attempt against the Valkyrie, but loses over half their numbers while only making 10 or so damage to it. It's armed with heavy lasers, missiles and probably some shield.

Tech choices:

ECM I
Shield 2
Hand Lasers (Hand Lasers, Hyper-V)

I'm considering going for Hyper-V instead of Hand L, but I decide I want to go up the three as fast as possible.

Oops! It seems Xengara is 6 from Artemis, not 5. I have a spare colony ship - I'll send it to Selia in case any prospects come up. Altair set to research - equal for this turn. A large Sakkra stack is moving, probably to Gienah.

32 Sakkra pop spotted moving to Drakka. Guess I'll lose that world. I set the colonists to eco, so there won't be any factories for the Sakkra to take. Set research priorities (5 clicks to computers, construction, fields, 15 planetology, 10 propulsion, weapons).

Four factories destroyed at Firma - unknown, but we only have contact with the Sakkra. Paranar settled in 2362, triggering the eight system message. It is sent 5 each from Esper and Artemis.

Our fighters are driven off Gienah - no surprise there with a large stack moving in. Tundra comes in, and we can only chose EER. No terraforming yet, bummer. Gienah is bombed, losing 6/13, and the Sakkra capture Drakka. Good news is that the only ground combat tech they have so far is Hand Lasers. Gienah has lost all factories, and is set to eco spending to grow some pop for the inevitable assault.

The Sakkra decline peace again. I can only hope they are limited to range 4, or that I can stop them at Firma. Another decision time: I can either try to tech and build up some military to stop the Sakkra, or I can build some Tundra colony ships and settle replacement worlds. I decide to do the latter. Tech priorities changed: 10 to planetology and construction both.

Tyr is settled in 2365, and 5 is sent from Artemis. The Sakkra settle Incedius (barren) and Misha. The colony ship is armed and drives off my scout which arrives the same turn, but I let the scout hang around for one turn to scout the planet. I also spot another Sakkra colony ship, probably bound for Ajax, a steppe 50 rich. I believe I should be able to poach that system from them, though, given a little time.

Our first tundra colony ship is built in 2368, and sets course for Vega. The next one will go to Hyades. After that I will concentrate on maturing my colonies.

Hand Lasers come in, and we get the choice of NPG, Hyper-X and Ion Cannon. By no means an easy choice, but the low cost of the NPG and that it is easily deployed on a fighter decides it.

A Bulrathi colony ship is encountered at Phantos. I hope they and the Sakkra end up in conflict. Firma is soon maxed out, and I believe the Sakkra have stopped their expansion at my expense for now. Our last colony ship for a while departs for Hyades in 2371, and Esper is set to max factories while Altari researches.

Firma maxes factories, and can build a missile base in 3 - I will build at least three for now. ECM 1 comes in, and the only choice is ECM 2 - bummer.

I get the mineral depletion event hitting Tyr. No big deal, but I'm already in enough trouble as it is. I encounter a Meklar colony ship east of Beta Ceti, but my scout has to retreat. I will send a new one as soon as possible. A few fighters built from leftovers manage to beat off a Sakkra colony ship at Hyades, which promptly rebels (probably Sakkra spies at work), but I already have five pop on the way, due next turn.

The Sakkra manage to gain orbital superiority over Paranar. Willow is scouted, and is a toxic psilon colony. 22 Sakkra pop are incoming to Paranar - I can probably hold the colony against this assault, but I'm in serious trouble here. However, I decide to push through on building a missile base, but it's due in 7 now. The first assault is repelled, but we're now 9 away from the first missile base. Plenty of fighters will arrive in 5, though.

More Sakkras are incoming, but it's only 16 now. I set Paranar to grow pop - good news is that the Sakkra are still limited to hand lasers. Bad news is that the Sakkra have finally settled Seidon.

The Sakkra ask for peace in the 2384-85 interturn. I happily take it. They are in an alliance with the Darloks, and at war with the Psilons, Bulrathi and Meklars. I hope I can score some brownies with the other three races when I encounter them by taking revenge on the Sakkra, especially as their last assault on Paranar lands on the next interturn.

Hmmm... it seems the Sakkra are up to fusion engines. Bad.

Somehow it seems I got a reserve of 2124 BC - no idea about from where. I happily fuel it into my developing worlds.

Sakkra steals ECM 1, and IS comes in. Only option is range 7. The Sakkra steal IIT 9 the next turn. Bad. Need to get more computer research.

Shields 2 finally comes in, and the only option is shield 3. The NPG comes in the turn after that, and the new options are SP-V, Ion Rifle and Mass Driver - no contest on the SP-V.

We get a tech report in the 2392-93 interturn:

Sakkra - Psilon - Darlok - Meklar - Bulrathi - Alkari

IIT 8 comes in, and we get the choice of Battle Suits, IIT 7 and ARS. I go for the Battle Suits. I foresee lots of ground combat, and using mostly small ships. One turn later, we get 900 BC from the merchant event. Now, where to feed it?

The Meklars have settled Phantos. Good for us. I sign up the Sakkra for a 70 BC trade. ECM 2 comes in, and the only choices are ECM 3 and ISS. No contest for the ISS.

The Sakkra declare on us again! At least now I've got a few bases up.

I finally got my spy in the Sakkra empire. Bad news, they're up:

BC 2, ISS, IRC 4, BC 6
RIW 80%
Shield 3
Barren, DSpores
Range 4, range 6, Warp 3
FBomb, NBlaster

I set the spy to hide for now, until I can get better computer tech.

The Psilons settle Beta Ceti, and we get contact with them. They're honorable industrialists, at war with Sakkra and Darloks. I sign up a 85 BC trade, but they decline a NAP at Neutral. They have hyper-V and IT 10, but I decline trading for them. They are up to eleven systems, when they drive of my scout from Guradas, and hold the entire northeast corner of the map. The Bulrathi, Meklar and Darlok must be cramped into the southeast corner, each starting at one of the yellow stars in the triangular cluster.

Range 7 comes in, and my spare colony ship set course for Artemis the turn before (in 2403) to continue on to Xengara. We also get contact with the Meklar. Xenophobic Ecologist, at war with the Sakkra, Darloks and Bulrathi. They only have four stars. The only new tech after range 7 is range 8. What is this? It's worse than Imperia 10, and we're on a large map!

I can't get any engines from the Psilons or Meklars, and the Meklar also decline trade. It seems I don't have any diplomatic options open right now, so I will have to turtle for now.

The council convenes in 2405! Surprise, it's us and the Sakkra. Good news: most vote for us. Bad news: the Sakkra have a veto all by themselves.

Sakkra: 10 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 1 Alkari
Meklar: 3 Alkari
Psilons: 3 Alkari
Darloks: 4 abstain
Alkari: 7 Sakkra

Hopefully I can get some breathing space this way. A Psilon colony ship has set course for Selia, but I send my fighters from Paranar to intercept.

EER comes in, and we get a choice! Soil or BTA. I take the soil - I need all the pop and factories I can get. The Sakkra have more than a few huges moving around. We also get a new spying report in 2410 on the Sakkra, they now have:

BC 2, ISS, IRC 4, BC 6
RIW 80%, IIT 7, RIW 60%
Shield 3
Barren, DSpores, Toxic
Range 4, range 6, Warp 3
FBomb, NBlaster

I shop around with EER, and the Meklar only offer old techs. The Psilons, however, put Duralloy, Toxic, IT 10, BC 4 and BC 3 on the table. I guess they are really hurting for waste cleanup, placing two level 15-techs on the table (EER is 13): I'm tempted by the computer, but ISS is due soon, I don't have any post-tundra environment techs in my tree, and several hostiles in my backyard. I can also trade IT 10 for NPGs, and I do that. It's lopsided, but the tech will easily add another vote for me in the 2424 election. Also, economic techs are more valuable than weapons techs, in most cases.

However, when I check the map, I think I should've gone for the computer. Toxic only opened up two small worlds.

I set all the worlds for terraforming, but it seems terraforming tech when traded only becomes active the next turn... 500 BC or so down the drain.

Spy report of 2412:

Psilons:

BC 3, BC 4, ECM 4
RIW 80%, Duralloy, IIT 7
Shield 3
IT mumble (environ bug), probably IT 40
Hyper-V, IonC, NBlaster

Meklar:

DSS, BC 3
Shield 3, shield 4
DSpores
Warp 2
GatL, IonC

The Sakkra have picked up IT 20 from somewhere, otherwise no changes from what I can tell.

SP-V comes in, and the new choices are AMB, HBeam and FBeam. I'm tempted by the FBeam, but decide on the AMB in the end. I believe I can handle the Sakkra fleet using NPGs, but I need a bomb if I am to crack their missile bases.

Xengara settled in 2413. I send 10 each from Artemis and Tyr. Next turn I spot a Sakkra stack, probably incoming for Firma, but they agree to peace for now. Shield 3 comes in, and the only choice is shield 4 (bummer!). A little later ISS comes in, and we finally get a real choice: IRC 4 or BC 5. Both things are needed, but my economy needs a real shot, so IRC 4 it is.

Battle Suits come in, and the new choice is Zortium. With IRC 4 researched right now, however, I decide to go for IIT 7. With over 2000 factories to add soon, this will save the entire cost of researching the tech right now.

The Meklars finally turn up to be tech trading partners: I get BC 3 for IS (yes! a real computer, even if it's crappy), and warp 2 for range 7. Especially the latter is a ripoff, but I need more speed!

Election of 2424, with 32 votes:

Sakkra: 11 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 1 Alkari
Meklar: 3 Alkari
Psilon: 4 Alkari
Darlok: 5 abstain
Alkari: 8 Sakkra

The Sakkra veto is becoming narrower, but with the Darlok abstaining we are not close to a diplomatic victory. The Sakkra is flying around with large amounts of huges - I can only hope they're not aiming them at me for now.

Whoops, the Meklar declare in the 2428-29 interturn. The Sakkra, however, agree to a bit of trade. They are also willing to trade us some tech for EER. Normally, this would be a no-no, but they already have IER and RIW 60%, so their savings would not be huge. PDS or Warp 3 would be nice. I will wait for range 8 to come in, though.

Soil pops, as does range 8!

Cloning (BTA, Cloning, AER)
Warp 5 (range 9, warp 5)

Ursa gets fertile the same interturn. I upgrade trade to 625 BC with the Psilons, and sign a NAP. I spend heavily on reserves to get the soil enrichment done ASAP. A little later I trade EER to the Sakkra for PDS. It's lopsided, but they don't get much benefit from EER, and it will allow me to face the Sakkra on the ground on equal terms.

IIT 7 comes in, and Zortium is next.

Woohoo! We finally manage with a tech theft, against the Meklars. Choices are computers and weapons, so it's probably DSS or Gatling. We select computers, to help further spying, and get DSS. We also spot a Meklar stack inbound for Paranar - two huges and two large. Reserves are funnelled there to build more bases. If the ships have good jammers and heavy shields, my SP-V equipped bases could have trouble, but they don't seem to have any really dangerous weapons available. However, I switch most research to fields, where I'm likely to get shield 4 before the stack arrives.

Another Meklar stack follows at the heels of the first. Another case of AI stupidity - the stacks would be much harder to handle if they arrived at the same time.

Shield 4 comes in in good time to greet the Meklars. I can choose between RB and Shield 5, and select RB. I don't expect to get much use out of it, but it's cheaper than the shield. Research focus switched back to propulsion.

IRC 4 hits, and we go for upgrading as fast as possible. New choices are:

BC 6 (ECM 3, BC 5, ECM 5, BC 6)

I also spend heavily from reserve, almost emptying it (Vega is more or less continously feeding the planetary reserve).

The Sakkra attack us at Paranar, with three designs:

Nemesis (14 hvy ionc, 38 ionc, spd 1, shd 3)
Annihilator (27 MDriver, 2 spores, 4 ionc, spd 2, shd 4, IS)
Tornado (6 MDriver, 2 ionc, spd 2, shd 3, IS)

The F 1B will concentrate on the tornado, while the planet will concentrate on the Annihilator. The Meklars are beaten off with only some losses amongst the fighters.

We finally get a real engine, with warp 5! Choices are warp 6 and ISG. ISG it is. With the election approaching, I approach the Meklar about peace, but they decline. We are slowly catching up with the Sakkra in tech, however. As soon as I get the AMB, I will try to take the offensive.

2449 election, 42 votes:

Sakkra: 15 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 2 Alkari
Meklar: 4 Sakkra
Psilon: 6 Alkari
Darlok: 5 abstain
Alkari: 10 abstain

Bugger, the Meklar manage to take out all the bases at Paranar. Should've built a few more - I thought 18 could handle the cruiser-heavy stack they threw at me. But AMB comes in, with choices of AMT, FRifle or Megabolt. Megabolt it is, even if the FRifle is tempting.

We also get the plague at Xengara.

Reserves are pumped to Xengara, Tyr, Paranar and Selia. Paranar builds four more bases, and Tyr and Selia builds F 5As: NPGs, IS, BC 3 and warp/maneuver 5. Despite having defense 12, the Meklar still manage to hit them regularly, with only attack 4.

In the 2453-54 interturn, we manage to wrest back control of the Paranar airspace from the Meklar, but it might only be a temporary reprieve. Yes, the next attack destroys my defenses with only slight losses, but then the Meklars sign peace and give me a bunch of BCs, too, I think!

And then someone frames their sabotage on me. Damn Sakkra. I check espionage, and the Psilons have Adv Soil - so I immediately trade them Soil for IT 40. Whee!

Zortium comes in, and the only new choice is RIW 40%.

The Sakkra declare again! I dial up the Psilons, and they agree to break their alliance with the Meklar. I also give them 400 BC.

A few turns later I start build up a bomber force to take out Phantos, but the Psilons complain about sabotage from us. Rep beam comes in, and we select PAS over shield 5 or 6.

Our bombers almost manage to take out all the bases at Phantos - only three (of 18) remains.

Space fleet strength 2471-72 interturn:

Sakkra - Darlok - Psilon - Meklar - Alkari - Bulrathi

I equalise tech.

The Psilons are willing to trade me PShield 5! I give them Zortium for it, and start building planetary shields everywhere. My last major tech hole has just been plugged.

The next turn we get both BC 6 and cloning.

ECM 6 (ECM 3, 5 & 6, BC 4 & 7)
BTA (BTA, AER, IT 50)

ECM 6 is cheaper, and we just got BC 6. BTA since the Meklars use DSpores, and IT 50 isn't that much better than IT 40.

Quake at Esper, and we launch another attack at Phantos.

2474 election, already!

49 votes
Sakkra: 19 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 2 Alkari
Meklar: 3 Sakkra
Psilon: 7 Alkari
Darlok: 5 abstain
Alkari: 13 abstain

Hmmm... they're pulling ahead in the votes again. Our bombers at Phantos succeed in taking out the Meklar bases, and their ships (including one huge) retreat. Ground invasion!

I get ISG, and of course select HEF. And let our first ground invasion commence! 73 Alkari vs 52 Meklar. 34 Alkari stands at the end of the battle. New tech:

ASS (the top Meklar computer tech, discovered just last turn!)
Mass Driver (ok)
Stinger (excellent!)
Death Spores (ick)
Ion cannon (obsolete)
Gatling (obsolete)

I also finally gain contact with the Darloks in 2478, with the capture of Phantos.

The Darloks are Xenophobic expansionists, and are at war with the Meklar, Psilons and Bulrathis. Seems this galaxy is a free-for-all. They have some interesting tech at offer: FBomb, Radiated, and some obsoletes. However, they want Zortium or better for FBomb, but I am willing to give them Cloning for Radiated. Some new planets to settle!

On the second try they offer FBomb for DSpores, and I take it. After all, I'm researching BTA right now.

The Darloks are up to 11 colonies, and dominate the southeast corner. The Bulrathi seems to be quite stunted, but then that only confirms the council votes.

Imra and Stalaz are settled in 2480, in the case of Stalaz just before a huge Darlok stack are due to arrive. I'm scrambling fighters there.

We infiltrate the Meklars, with choices of computers and construction. I don't have any notes for the Meklar techs right now, but I think their construction techs are obsolete or near obsolete right now. Not that their computer tech is much better: we get ECM 3. (Checks later: we'd have gotten Duralloy or RIW 80%)

Production report, as of 2481-82 interturn:

Sakkra - Alkari - Psilon - Darlok - Meklar - Bulrathi

The Sakkra complain about our expansion. The Darloks arrive at Stalaz, and manage to drive off our fighters, but not until they have destroyed all the Darlok ships but the two huges. More fighters are being scrambled.

Sakkra reach 17 systems. The two Meklar huges leave Stalaz, and I build a new radiated colony ship to send there. The Meklar and Darloks seems to be fighting over Volantis, with a Meklar invasion imminent.

Spy report as of 2485:

Sakkra:
ECM 5, BC 7, ECM 7, IRC 6
RIW 80 & 60%, Arm Exo
Shield 5
IT 30 & 50, Atmos, CER, BTerm
Range 4 & 6, warp 3
NBlaster, GBeam, FBeam

Meklar:
BC 6, ECM 6
RIW 80% & 60%, Duralloy

Psilon:
BC 4, ECM 4 & 5
RIW 80% & 40%, Duralloy, IIT 6
Shield 5
Atmos, Adv soil, IT 60, BTerm
Range 6, Warp 3, WarpDiss
Hyper-X, Merculite, NBlaster, GBeam, HBeam, FRifle

Darloks:
IRC 3, BC 4 & 5
RIW 80% & 60%, Duralloy, IIT 6
Shield 5
Atmos
Range 6, WarpDiss
Merculite

Stalaz is re-settled, with plenty of fighters for cover, and colonists are sent this time. RIW 40% comes in, as does BTA.

IIT 4 (RIW 80%, ARS, Andrium, IIT 4)
IT 50 (AER, IT 50)

Whoa! The Psilons are willing to give me IT 60 for BTA! I also get shield 5 from the Sakkra for the same tech. That's one level 32 and one level 20 tech for one level 17 tech. Seems I was the only one with BTA in the tree, but plenty of races were willing to use bio-weapons.

Also, the Sakkra just uncovered Ajax - a rich 100 planet with 600 factories. Will this be payback for Gienah and Drakka? They have 18 techs on me, of which half are more or less obsolete. More worrisome, they have a +20 ground combat bonus right now, but it can be reduced to +10 within a few turns. Maybe I should've opted for FRifle instead of the megabolt earlier?

I concentrate most research on fields, where PAS is in the percentages.

We get the PAS and select shield 7. Sadly, Megabolt does not come in.

The attack on Ajax failed - I will need a lot more bombers if this is going to work. I had about 400 B 5A (carrying nukes), but they only managed to destroy a few bases per turn. Better computers are needed, obviously, especially since the Sakkra have ECM 7. B 5B has BC 6 instead of 3, and I hope they can do the job. Sadly, I can't yet fit a fusion bomb on it, but with Megabolt in I believe it can be done. We're only short a single space. Against Ajax the FBomb doesn't matter, since it's in a nebula, but it will make it far more usable in the long run.

Xudax will go nova in 7. Good thing I have plenty of reserves.

A Meklar attack on Phantos is beaten back. Megabolt comes in, and the new choices are Phasor, Auto blaster and TBeam. Phasor it is.

The B 5B is designed, with Zortium, BC 6, IS and a FBomb. The F 5B also arrives, with BC 6, IS and a NPG. Both have warp 5 and max maneuver.

ECM 6 comes in, and the only way forward is ECM 7. Xudax needs 1814 RP in five years.

The Sakkra declare war just as I finish the solar rejuvenator. They're striking for Imra, with a huge stack of fighters and two colony ships.

HEF comes in.

SST (range 9, warp 6, warp 7, SST)

The Sakkra also strike at Xudax, but I already have a shield there so bases go up quickly. We will miss getting the shield up at Imra by one turn, but they will be greeted by over 400 fighters.

The Sakkra Titan is nasty, with heavy fusion beam, bio terminators, good speed and IS. The fighter probe against Imra is also beaten back - I don't know what the Cyclops has, but I'm afraid it's a death spore. It's not very fast, though.

We infiltrate the Meklar, and can choose construction or computers. They only have obsolete stuff now, so we choose computers and get BC 4.

Council of 2499, 57 votes

Sakkra: 20 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 2 Alkari
Meklar: 3 Sakkra
Psilon: 7 Alkari
Darlok: 7 Alkari
Alkari: 18 abstain

Wow! We're almost catching up with the Sakkra in pop!

We get IIT 4, and the new choices are:

IIT 3 (RIW 80%, ARS, Andrium, IIT 3, RIW 20%)

Next attack on Ajax, using over 500 B 5B. The attack also fails, due to the presence of six huges over the planet that I didn't think the Sakkra had. However, the attack destroy over two-thirds of the bases on the planet. The Psilons up our trade to 650.

IT 50 comes in, and I can choose between IT 80 and BTerm. IT 80 it is.

I build lots of F 5B and B 5B out of our rich planets, and get a low-level infiltration on the Meklars, construction only. We get Duralloy, and can frame the Sakkras (Bulrathi are the other choice). A missile base at Firma gets blown up, but there are plenty there, and the Psilon complain about our size. Guess we'll need to hit Ajax again.

To complement our fighters, I design the DG 5A: 3 SP-V, BC 6 and a battle scanner on a medium hull. Several missile bases are blown up, and we learn Phasor. New choices are Gauss AC, PBeam and Hercular missiles. We go for Hercular. It's time for a heavy-hitting missile.

Shield 7 comes in, and the new choice is PS XV (yay!)

A new attack comes in against Hyades. I scramble new fighters from Vega, and build new bases (I already have 10). Now I will get a look at what's on the Cyclops. I also have a Meklar attack against Phantos.

New attack against Ajax: over 600 bombers, 600 fighters and close to 100 missile boats. The ships seems to be gone?

There's one huge there, but the F 5B toast it, and the bases are all destroyed! Invade!

Hyades gets rich!

Stack of death incoming against Esper: 321 Hydras and 65 Titans - they're due in 1. I counter with the F 5C, with two NPGs.

The Sakkra manage to fully death spore Esper. SST comes in, and SSI is the way forward. The Sakkra also manage to bomb Altair to dust - it's in the nebula so there were no shield to help protect the colony. That was a nasty surprise.

I can get BC 5 from the Darloks for BTA, and do so. I can also get Atmos for SST, and get that as well. I can also get IRC 5 from the Psilons for SST, and take it.

Time to build lots of bombers and go for revenge!

Selia is also spored to death. Time to get more colony ships - but the Sakkra offer peace and 18000 BC. We take it, but will continue to destroy them. It might not be honourable, but when they spore our colonies, they deserve it!

ECM 7 comes in, and we can select BC 9. We can also get ECM 4 from the Meklars for BTA, so we get it. They decline to declare on the Sakkras, though.

In 2521, I finally take Ajax. I get

Range 10 (yay! the top Sakkra propulsion tech)
Range 4 (obsolete)
NBlaster (ok, if I can fit it on a fighter)
GBeam (ditto)
BC 2 (obsolete)
IT 20

Not a very good haul compared to their techs.

But now it's payback time: B 5C: SST, AMB, BC 6 and warp 5.

IIT 3 comes in, and we select ADC.

2524 council, 65 votes:

Sakkra: 26 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 2 Alkari
Meklar: 3 Sakkra
Psilon: 7 Alkari
Darlok: 9 Alkari
Alkari: 18 Alkari

Now it's war to the end for the Sakkra.

Rotan and Gienah bombed into oblivion. But they spore Hyades and Selia. Only answer is of course to bomb them first. We do a grand tour, glassing Incedius, Aquilae, Gienah, Rotan and Drakka. They manage to hit Esper and Altair, but they are hurt worse.

Sakkra are infiltrated, but only choice of propulsion or planetology. Go for planetology, and get Barren.

We get Hercular missile, and select Hyper-V. We don't really need more weapons, just minituarization. Design the F 5E, armed with a single megabolt and subspace teleporter, and the B 5D, with two AMBs.

Contact with the Bulrathi, erratic technologist. Trade range 6 for warp 2. Relations start as peaceful. Trade 35 BC. They have managed to take Meklon!

We get IT 80, and the only choice is IT 100. The Psilons manage to destroy Misha while I have troops enroute - my first ground invasion came up short after I took control of the planetary orbits. I consider breaking the alliance due to that. However, a spare colony ship can re-settle Misha before the second wave arrives (colony creation comes before the pop lands).

We get another deep penetration of the Sakkra: all fields but fields. I select construction in the hope of Armoured Exoskeleton, but get IIT 5 instead. We also finish research of SSI and Hyper-X. We select hyper drives (warp 9), and Fusion Rifle (should have researched after Hercular). ADC comes in, and we open research on adamantium. We also glass Gienah again, after failing to take it on the ground and noting it didn't have any factories.

Council of 2599, 65 votes:

Sakkra: 17 Sakkra
Bulrathi: 2 Alkari
Meklar: 2 Sakkra
Psilon: 8 Alkari
Darlok: 12 Alkari
Alkari: 24 Alkari

Diplomatic victory, by RBO standards, but one cannot say I didn't have to work for it.

Well, what can I say? Again, I find that I tend to lose focus and get sloppy when I get too many planets and fleets to manage. It's a large reason for why I have a hard time playing Civ, and while Moo is a lot better, there's still a lot of fiddly stuff to do at times. Maybe I should use the empire-wide adjustments more. This also leads to making poorer or ill thought out strategic decisions. In the opening, I was saved by the AI's lack of a killer instinct - I simply had no way of countering the Sakkra stack of death. I expanded well, but was wide open when the Sakkra declared. I was prepared for some brush wars, not a full-fledged war.

Anyway, the Sakkra stepped on quite a few toes, despite being pacifistic, and they only got the Meklars as an ally. Once I had managed to take Phantos, the fight was out of them, and the Darloks and Bulrathi could beat them down. I worked quite a bit to stay on good terms with the Darloks and (especially) the Psilons, but I never really had any contact with the Bulrathi, but they loved me anyway.

I also tech traded heavily. I got especially good value out of BTA. The Sakkra used Bio Terminators in large amounts, so it couldn't stop them sporing me, but I guess all the races were desperate for any sort of counter.