I was ridiculously lucky! This went much better than expected!
2352 (cont'd): Evacuating Phantos was definitely the right decision, as I see 50 Mrrshan transports incoming, plus an unknown number of Alkari transports. I can't see the exact number because there are Meklar ships occupying the same spot on the map. In case anyone's wondering, the kitties and birds are already formally at war. The Mrrshan are at war with the Bulrathi and Meklars as well, while the Alkaris are at war with the Sillicoid. There's only one course of action here: Keep evacuating Phantos. I don't think this is too bad, since I don't think anyone else will hold it for too long.
Regarding the conflict at Tyr, our shipyards at Darrian can re-purpose the partially built colony ship to send 25 Shy1.0 fighters to Tyr in seven years. Tyr itself can build 5 fighters per turn (using RefSteel's trick of building a huge hull and later switching to fighters), so by the time the ships from Darrian arrive, we'll have a total of 60 fighters. Paladia can build two fighters per turn which gives us an additional safety margin of 8 ships, because they take 3 years to move to Tyr. My scanner ship will add 3 more lasers. Oh, and since Sol will finish the Deadland next turn, I might put in some planetary reserve spending.
2353: Our scout chases away a Silicoid scout at Celtsi. Another one of our scouts arrives at Proteus and is forced to retreat by missile bases. The Alkari colony at Simius is hit by a Pirate event. Serves them right! The Meklar fleets near Tyr appear to be heading for Artemis (the green star near the cursor) which has a tundra planet.
I choose to produce a second wave of 10 fighters at Darrian. I worry that they might be too late, but otherwise, our numbers will be on the lower end of what Thrawn suggested. The Deadlands is on its way to colonize Exis, and Sol builds the last few factories to enable reserve spending. I spend a trickle on research to avoid losing any progress.
2354: The Mrrshans capture Phantos. We lose 4 million colonists. I send one last wave of fighters from Darrian.
If they arrive in time, I can field the recommended 85 ships. Nothing to do but wait...
2355: Uxmai (Terran, 100 pop) is colonized. I send some colonists from Darrian to seed it, and shift spending on Darrian to research - no point in building more factories when the people who would work them are sent off. Oh, and a piece of good news: I actually forgot about 19 fighters that I sent from Phantos to Paladia on my first turn. (That sometimes happens to me when the travel times are so long.) This also means that Sol can switch to research instead of reserve spending...
...and I just noticed that all Meklar ships have disappeared from the map, save for 19 transports presumably heading for Tyr.
This can only mean that they got tired of their weak designs and scrapped them. What this means for us is that we need better tech to face whatever they come up with next. Getting a spy into hiding will also be important so we know what to expect. Speaking of tech...Nuclear engines are at 3% and DS2 will be in the percentages soon. With the increased research spending from Sol and Darrian, I have a lot left over to seed a new field. I'm going with Planetology first, and then I make some investment into Weapons.
I switch Palladia to industry spending. I will do the same at Tyr, but first I'll cash in my shipbuilding investment.
2356: Nuclear Engines completes at only 3% discovery chance! I choose Sub-light drives next because I think better speed and defense will serve us better at the moment.
A scout explores a promising new planet at Rha:
I'll build a colony ship at Sol. I think Tyr and Collassa will be able to seed it when all the refugees from Phantos arrive.
2357: I'm having crazy luck with the science breakthroughs. DS2 finished with a chance below 5%, just like Nuclear Engines. The only choice for the next tech was Personal Shield. The 19 Meklar transports will arrive in one or two turns at Tyr. If they arrive in the next turn, the bulk of our fleet won't be there to intercept them. I therefore build 5 more fighters at Tyr.
Finally, one of our spies was successful, and we have an overview over Meklar technology.
DS4, yikes! I stop seeding Planetology and instead open up Weapons.
2358: Our initial choices in Weapons were Hand Laser and Hyper-V. I go with Hand Laser to unlock the next level as fast as possible. 3 out of 19 transports land at Tyr, and we defeat them without any losses. Ok, let me just take a moment to appreciate how lucky I was here! Imagine if that Meklar fleet from before had stuck around. All our ships sent from Darrian were still in transit! (On the other hand, there still were only 19 transports, and their personal shields only cancel out our defender advantage...we would have lost some population, but not the colony.)
In other news, my nuclear-powered colony ship is completed and departs for Rha. Sol goes back to research. In tech, I make a small down-payment on Sub-light Engines.
2359: I twiddle the resarch sliders a bit...
2360: Exis (Dead, Ultra Rich) is colonized. The refugees from Phantos start arriving at Collossa. And with that, the next turns are up to either Archduke or Thrawn!
Notes for the next player:
- You probably should emphasize weapon research so we can punch through level 4 shields if necessary.
- I think I should have spent more on seeding Terraforming. You might want to rectify that.
- Endoria looks about ready to seed other nearby planets.
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