Imperium Five - The Ruins of Tau Cygni

[Sirian]

As I was a bit late posting the closing notice on this event, we'll extend the reporting deadline an extra day. You have until Wednesday.

Those of you who've never played the Silicoids before, what did you think of them?


- Sirian

[dathon]

And there was darkness over the surface of Cryslon. A voice boomed from the heavens:

“Let there be LIGHT!”

And the surface of the planet was illuminated with light as a new and glorious sun sprung in existence. The sunlight refracted off of the myriad crystal formations that jutted from the surface, bathing the landscape in a dazzling display of colorful brilliance. Again, the magnificent voice rumbled from the sky:

“Let there be LIFE!”

And nothing happened.

“Ahem. I said let there be LIFE!”

Again nothing. Whereby, had there actually been anything breathing on the planet, it would have had the privilege to listen for the next hour while the great voice shouted itself hoarse.

“Life! Live! Dammit, will something on this #@$*% rock start moving please!?!?”

Finally, the rocks had had all they could take. All they wanted was to be left alone, to weather and erode in peace over the eons. But no, some uppity deity just would not accept defeat. And so it came to pass that the rocks and crystals, against their better judgment, joined the ranks of the sentients, and would be henceforth known as the Silicoids.

Pre-Game Ruminations
The Silicoids. I’ve never played as the rocks before. What a contrast of amazing advantages and crippling handicaps. And what better place to try them out, than in a game that will be seen and scrutinized by all :unsure: At least there is an artifacts planet to help combat the rock’s dreadful lack of scientific aptitude. I imagine I will have to run 1 or 2 planets at only half full, using those to populate my other systems both at their infancy and as they mature, when they enter the slow spots on the growth curve. Those planets will be filled halfway with factories, and then put on research. Building their capacity won’t do any good if there is nobody around to utilize it.

Looking at the map, I see three yellow stars. Noting that there are three opponents, these all have to be homeworlds. I note that the Psilons, Darloks, and Humans comprise the other races. Hmmm, not good for spying, which looks to normally be a tactic that the rocks rely on with their Good computer rating. Also pitting the best research race against the worst. Back to the map, the civ at the top will probably only nab 3 other stars, the top left 4 more stars (at least initially). The civ in the middle looks by far to be in the best position to expand quickly, and is also in the best position to poach. I find myself hoping the Darloks are in the center, as a runaway Psilon is never pleasant to face, and I would rather not be facing the diplomatic Humans in the elections. In fact, I might be able to pull a rapid diplomatic coup in that case by turning everyone on them. Looking at expansion, I have 5 worlds which clearly fall in “my” space. I also fully intend to nab that red in the center. It will be quite a stretch, but it is the only reasonable avenue towards future expansion, and the AI is deluding itself if it thinks I am going to be content with only 5 planets :war: On a side note, I love seeing all those barrels of toxic waste building up on Cryslon. EPA, eat your heart out Alright, enough prattle, on to the show!

Expansion

2303: Order up a Scout 1 to go to the northern blue, after sending four to Tau.
2304: The Scout heading to the NW red reports a jungle 90. Excellent! I send 2 more to Tau; will probably stop after 12-13.
2305: The planet to the west is a jungle 75.
2307: I send the last two from Cyrslon to Tau. With the trickles I have been sending every turn, that will put it at 13.
2308: The blue star to my north holds a tundra class planet. Ooh, size 60, large for that class. At least I have some decent size worlds with which to work.
2311: Tau is at 15, while Crys has 56 pop and 128 factories. Since I now have more capacity than people, I shove 20BC to research. Hmmm, all of my worlds are at Range 4. Cross my fingers for Range 4. If Range 5 is the only option, I might be in trouble to get that red, as it will be very expensive with my Poor propulsion rating.
2312: Ok, for tech, we have:
*Deep Space Scanner or ECM 1
*Industrial 9
*FF 2
*T10, T20, or Death Spores. At only 150RP, I choose +10 to get the immediate
benefit. That will help my growth-challenged Silicoids, and +20 is a long
ways away at 2400RP.
*Range 4. Hallelujah!! Bless the Geode Gods!
*Hyper V

I set all my research to Range 4, and Crys to all research. Say what? Yep. Here’s why: I will be using Crys to stand up all of the colonies in immediate range, which means it is going to be spending a lot of time around half full. Tau will be able to cover the early stages of research once it has matured. I already have 140 factories there, so even if the planet gets to 70 pop, none will be unemployed. I can build a col ship in 4 turns when the time comes, which is good enough. Plus, I need to be expanding (and thus researching Range 4) now if I want a shot at that red star in the center.
2314: Wow, Range 4 is already at 15%. I knew it would come in quickly, but… wow. I dial it down to 10%, shifting the rest to terra +10.
2315: Range 4 comes in. Stabilizer is my only option? Ugh, that’s not a good tech to be researching early. Shifting Crys to col ship production will yield one in 4 years, plus 25RP to top off +10. Let’s hear it for micromanagement!
2318: +10 comes in, and I choose +20 next (of course; I have no interest in WMD, unlike some rockheads on this planet.) Tau can terraform in 2 (I think, can be hard to judge with research planets) and Crys in 1 while still building the col ship next turn. Go micromanagement go! And I send the scout from the blue tundra to Guradas, so that it can head to the center red ahead of my colony ship, in case that turns out to be Orion.
2319: In between turns, GNN lists the Darloks at 3 systems. Because of this, I doubt that they are in the NE. Could I get lucky and have the Darloks be in the center??? Oh please oh please oh please with sugar-substitute on top? :wub:
2320: Tau completes terraforming, putting its population at 22. I’m guessing it should grow to ~30 in a (somewhat) timely manner, and will then have to be topped off with pop from Cryslon.
2322: The second colony ship rolls off the line at Cryslon. (You’d think that the Silicoids, being nothing more than hunks of rock, wouldn’t need colony ships. Just get a big cannon or catapult, and fling them at their destination.) I can build the next ship in 3 turns, but cannot do that without completely shutting off research. However, I might actually have a shot at that green that’s to the NE of the center red, especially if it has a hostile environment. That’s against the odds, but certainly possible. I decide to go with the max ship-building rate and try for it.
2323: The colony at Guradas is founded. No new contacts. This is good news, as it means there is no AI at either the red OR the green, since both are 4 parsecs away. I set the colony ship to RELOC from Cryslon to Guradas. Then I realize that I am going to lose the turn I gain because the ship will arrive a turn before the scouts report back what is at those two stars. Ah well, better to wait a turn than lose the ship to the Guardian.
2327: My scout send their reports back. There is a minimal 30 at the red and… an Inferno 10 at the green! Woo-hoo! In all likelihood, the AI in the north scouted it, but seeing that they couldn’t land for a long time, left. The colony ship at Guradas (arrived last turn) leaves for the minimal, the second colony ship (will arrive at Guradas in two turns) will go to the green. I need two more colony ships from Cryslon to grab the Tundra 60, and the Jungle 75 at Collassa. Oh yeah, I sent 19 pop from Crys to Guradas in 2323, taking it to 55. Six more leave this year.
2328: Yep, the Darloks are in the center. The scout I sent towards the closest star out of that central core arrives (forgot to mention that? Oops) and is chased away by a lone medium warship. If they are large, an anti-Darlok campaign will be in order.
2329: Four more rocks leave Crys for Gur. I plan to grow it to half, then use it to seed the tundra and two stars in the center. This will allow Cryslon to max, aside from standing up Collassa. Oh, and maxing Tau, which should be soon as the factory-population breakpoint is fast approaching there.

Howdy Neighbor!
2330: Yarrow is founded at the minimal 30, putting me in contact with the Darloks and Psilons. Let’s see.. Darloks are Xenophobic Ecologists (NSA meets EPA???) and are indeed in the center. Plus, their Eco bent should leave them with a rather large population, so I’m expecting to face them in elections. Especially since meeting the Psilons means they are in the northeast corner, and somewhat stunted.
*tap tap tap*
“Uh, hey Dathon. Better take a closer look at that map.”
“Why do you say tha… HOLY COW!!!”
The Psilons are in the NorthWEST corner, they have 5 STARS and they have stunted the HUMANS. And they have quite a bit of real estate to expand into. And they are Honorable… EXPANSIONISTS. Um, hey Mr. Brainiac. Let’s trade 25BC/y.
2333: Simius founded at the inferno world, which kicks off the election. In 2333. Wow. I am nominated, as are the Darloks. The Humans and Psilons abstain, and I can vote for the Nazinites, giving them 5/9, which significantly boosts our relations, all the way from Unease to past the halfway point of Neutral. Checking the pop graphs… I am last in pop? Well how the deuce did I get nominated then??? Is this a mechanism to keep player from losing too early? Do the pop graphs not work right for the Silicoids? Comments anybody? Anyhoo, I finally meet the Humans, who are Pacifistic Militarists. So, I trade 50BC to the Humans, and up the Psilons to 50 as well. Might as well get the pain out of the way early, plus I really want these guys as friends. Looks like my ideas for organizing a galactic war against the Darloks are a go. But first, I might actually want to build a warship or two. Had this been higher difficulty, I would have been building military already. But, with the semi-isolated start, I chose a Farmer’s Gambit ™ in favor of reversing some of the difficulties Silicoids have with their growth curve. In other news, Geode University is established as Tau maxes its factories, and 6 pop are dispatched from Cryslon to max it. I can research Industrial 9 pretty quick now, so I hold off on designing any ships until then.
2334: Collassa founded, making me the first to six planets. The Humans will sign a NAP. And there is a Psilon col ship heading for Yarrow. We’re just going to hope it is unarmed.
2337: The Psilon colony ship is indeed unarmed, and is given the orders to vamoose. Vega is founded on the tundra at the blue star. And that should be it colony-wise for awhile.

Time to Grow-Up
2338: Industrial 9 comes in, research set at 30-30% on HyperV/Terra +20, 20-20% on Scanner/Shields II. I design a medium gunboat, 4 lasers, level one shields and computer, 112BC. Cryslon can build 1 per year, RELOCating to Guradas.
2340: The first transports (2) leave Guradas for Yarrow. I will be trickling off settlers to Yarrow, Simius, and Vega over the next several years until they have enough to grow on their own at a decent clip (at least for overgrown crystals).
2341: The Humans want to upgrade trade to 75, I decline.
2344: I spot a Human colony ship leaving Sol for the SW. Hmm, I bet they have a temporary alliance with the Psilons, a fact confirmed on the diplomacy screen.
2345: A Psilon colony ship leaves Antares, heading south. Hmm, I bet they have a temporary alliance with the Darloks…. yep.
2347: Hyper V’s come in, and I get both Ion Cannons and Fusion Bombs, which I will probably research in that order if there is nothing better on the next rung.
2348: Scanner comes in, and I choose Mark II over ECM I or II. I am now on the charts militarily, and there are no huge fleets on my borders, so looks like my farmer’s gambit paid off. I only beat the Psilons by 7 turns, so any delay for warships might have cost me the opportunity. Guradas reaches 118 factories, which will employ everybody at half full, so it gets shifted to research.
2350: High Council convenes once again to vote. Only… the first election was in 2333. It’s only been, uh, 17 years. I’ve noticed that in a couple other games as well, with the vote coming in sooner than I expected the second time. Is this a bug? Feature? In any case, the correct people are nominated this time, being the Psilons and Darloks. They each have four votes, and Humans and their two votes abstain. I vote for the Psilons,
putting relations with them at Amiable, and relations with the Darloks at Wary. This follows well with my initial plan to be organizing an anti-Darlok coalition. Only… a check of the pop graphs shows the Psilons in first place now.

A New Strategy
From here, I basically have three choices for expansion. (You think I’m going to be satisfied with what I have? Ha! I’m a Silicoid :war I can:
1) Annex Human territory. This would probably result in the extinction of the Humans, causing a major relations hit, only net me two planets, and leave me with a long, exposed flank. Not a good idea.
2) Annex Darlok territory. This was my original plan. Attack the Darloks, and leave them with only a planet or two. This would net me a lot of land, and open up the two stars in the south, and potentially the southeast as well. However, I am liking this plan less and less. This would create a (probably permanent) galaxy split, with the Darloks/Psilons on one side, and Silicoid/Human on the other. The problem is, the opposing side has a LOT more territory with which to work. Plus, the Psilons are probably going to be the top dog for quite awhile, so this would kill any chance of a diplomatic victory. Plus, with their territory, I’m afraid of the Psilons running away with the game. So, in light of all this, I decide to go with:
3) Organize an anti-Psilon coalition! Hopefully, the combined forces of the Humans, Darloks, and Silicoids can keep the Psilons busy on all fronts. I hope to net Antares and Misha from the brainiacs, and slip out of this game with a diplomatic vote within the next three elections, at the latest. Besides, plan 2 would probably see me fighting the Psilons alongside the Darloks anyways, and a two-front war is never a good idea (just ask Germany). However, first I need to finish maturing my colonies, and research enough tech to build a somewhat respectable fleet.

2350 (cont): As the Humans and Psilons are no longer allied, I up my trade package with the Earthlings to 100. My newest colonies are reaching terraforming age, and will start to do so, beginning with Yarrow (3 turns).
2351: Class II shields come in, and I choose the only option, Personal Deflectors. I’ve been microing Crys the last three decades alongside warship/col ship production, leaving it almost up to capacity at 213 factories. Collassa will terraform in 2.
2353: Vega, the last colony, will terraform in 2. I can now design a medium ship with 2 Hyper V two-shot racks and a Mark I computer for the bargain price of 88RP. I decide these will serve better than laser ships, especially since Cryslon can build 2/turn. These will serve as Poor Man’s Missle Bases at my frontline worlds.
2355: Terra +20 comes in, and I select Terra +30 (only option). All planets set to terraform at their best rate.
2357: Terraforming is complete everywhere but Simius, the Inferno world. I am now approaching, if not passing (hard to tell) the Darloks in population, putting me at second.
2360: I trade Industrial 9 to the Humans for ECM I (they won’t be building any more factories any time soon). I learn by “trade scouting” that neither the Darloks nor Psilon’s have +20 terraforming. The shape shifters also lack both Hyper V’s and Class II shields.
I decide to plunk 2% into spying temporarily to see what else they might be missing.
2361: Still producing missile boats out of Cryslon, and checking the fleet strength graphs shows me in… first place!? Back in 2353 when I started producing, I was barely registering. I know these ships aren’t THAT powerful; I’m guessing everybody scrapped old designs? Taking that cue, all my useless scout ships are “recycled.” Oh, and it looks like the Psilons managed to colonize the white star in the south. I don’t know when, just noticed it now.
2362: Looking at the pop charts, I am definitely second place now. Um, the Psilons and Darloks are now aligned. Well, we can’t have that (see long-winded rambling explanation above). And I doubt the Darloks will agree to my wishes. So, I dial up the Psilons, and lo and behold, they agree to end the alliance. If only they knew what I had in store for them :war:
2364: The Darloks have Mark II, Tundra, Eco tech, Neutron Pellet, and Hand Lasers over me. I decide to stop producing Hyper V's at Crys; my fleet is #1 on the charts by a lot, the Humans being second. Crys switched to research. After the Ion’s come in, I can go back for Fusion Bombs, and should be in a position for some aggression. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to set this plan in motion in the next 11 turns before the next election.
2366: Guradas and Collassa begin missle base construction at one per two years. These will be my anchors on the front lines, the key worlds that I must not lose. Over the next few years, I will also be using Vega to “top off” my front line worlds, rather than trying to grow colonists at 40BC a pop (where’s my Junior Scientist Crystal Growing kit when I need it???). Spy reports cone in on the Psilons (um, forgot to mention I threw some espionage their way a couple turns ago). The brains have gatling lasers and fusion bombs on me, as well as Mark III computers and Class III shields. No missiles, though, so I can perhaps wreak some havoc with some fusion bombers.
2371: GNN reports me first on pop, even though the charts seem to list the Psilons over me. Is there a bug with these charts? I’ve never noticed this many errors before. The Darloks are Wary towards me, but still agree to trade 30BC/y. They are going to be the hard ones to turn against the Psilons. My relations with the Humans is strong enough that they shouldn’t be a problem. Yarrow maxes factories, and begins base construction, albeit at a ridiculously slow pace. However, this planet’s strategic position makes it worth holding even if it never contributes anything else to the empire.
2372: Inertial Stabilizers and Ion Cannons come in. Blah, Range 7 is the only propulsion option. These are pretty awful choices in that tree. Weapons, on the other hand, gives me Fusion Bombs, Scatter Pack V, and Neutron Blaster available, which I will probably research in that order (assuming the game lasts that long).
2374: Election next year, I up my trade with the Humans from 100 to 125. I realize this is terribly inefficient money-wise, but I want all the relations help I can get.
2375: And the vote is: Humans (2) abstain (grrr… ) Psilons (5) for Psilons, Darloks (4) abstain, and myself (5) also abstaining. Looks like I can win the next vote if I can swing the Darloks and Humans my way. No relations hit with the Psilons for not voting for them, which is good because I’m not quite ready to take them on yet. The Humans are up to Calm.

Too Smart for Their Own Good
2376: Simius maxes factories, and begins building bases at the break-neck speed of five years. For one base.
2377: Deflectors come in, and I choose Planetary V over Class IV.
2378: Ack, the Humans have allied with the Psilons to send a colony ship to the far west. In better news, the Darloks are up to Unease, and will up their trade package to 80.
2379: The diplomatic event strikes. The Psilon ambassador tried to kill… Lasitus? Leader of the Humans??? And they are now at war :eep: Wow, well I guess I won’t have to persuade the Humans to attack the brainiacs I will, however, probably have trouble in persuading them not to take Antares and cut me off. I decide to send my fleet, currently stationed at Yarrow, to Antares. There have only been a few Psilon mediums shuttling back and forth between there and Misha. Hopefully, my 13 4-laser gunships, and 16 Hyper V platforms can hold out long enough for me to build some real ships (waiting on Construction, Computers, and Weapons, all ripening and should come in very soon).
2380: Industrial 8 comes in, and Battle Suits are ordered up over Industrial 7. The Humans have indeed dispatched a fleet from Sol, but I think I can beat it (I hope). The diplo event looks to be a double-edged sword, bringing the Humans down on the Psilons like I wanted, but before I was ready.
2382: Terra +30 comes in, and the Spores and Antidote are rejected for +40. Fusion Bombs also come in, and I go for Scatter’s next, but hopefully I won’t need them.
2383: My ships arrive at Antares. They have 5 medium ships (no Battle Scanners on any of my designs) in 3 stacks of 1, 1, and 3, plus 2 col ships. The planet has 1 base. While I do manage to destroy all of the ships, I can’t destroy the base, and retreat all of the Hyper V’s, but only 1 gunship survived. I do remain in orbit, despite the presence of the Human fleet. I simply CANNOT allow them to take this planet. Terraforming will begin next turn. Oh, and Mark III computers have (finally) come in, so I design a new warship:

Best I can do with what I have. Since I don’t have any engine tech, I need the stabilizer to move at speed 2. Guradas can build one of these puppies in 3 turns, Cryslon in 2, RELOCated to Guradas.
2384: Hmm, looks like the Human fleet was destroyed between turns. I don’t think I can hold this planet with 16 2-shot Hyper V’s against the Psilons (Humans might have been a different story). Therefore, I decide to retreat to Simius, and come back when I have a few of my Ion ships to make a stronger presence.
2385: The Psilon dogpile is completed as I convince the Darloks to declare war. The Psilon fleet is now MUCH stronger than either myself or the Humans. (Yikes, that was fast). The Darloks are listed as equal strength, so let’s hope they can keep them busy.
2387: The first two Ion ships roll off the line (I paused for terraforming). The Humans have tried and failed to take Antares again. Looks like their current military prowess is insufficient. With Mark III shields, my own Ion ships aren’t going to hack it trying to take planets, so I order up a bomber:

Fusion bombs won’t fit on a small ship yet, so I go for the medium and pack on as many goodies as I can to make it more effective for the price. They are cheap enough to produce 1/yr out of Yarrow, so I swap the planet over from base construction; now that the Darloks are in my camp, the planet should be secure.
2392: The pirates event pops up in the Kalis system, which is the closest Darlok world to me. Hmm, the Psilons will probably keep the Darlok fleet tied up, so this event will probably drag on for quite awhile. 5 Ion ships set out for Antares from Guradas, and will be joined in three turns by whatever bombers are available at Yarrow. The Hyper V’s will converge as well. I intend to glass Antares. While tech would be useful, I imagine a Silicoid invasion is PAINFUL, and the bombing will cement the rest of the galaxy against the Psilons. To that end, I order up a colony ship from Simius.
2395: Ok, looks like a total of 5 ion ships, 11 bombers, and 13 Hyper V’s will descend on Antares in 2399.
2399: Party time at Antares! The Psilons have brought 18 medium ships to the battle, but this time I have scanners:

As can be seen, 8 of those ships are bombers, who will be fleeing after the first round. My fleet handily defeats the remaining gatling ships, and destroys the base, with one bomber as the only casualty. After shellacking the planet, the Humans come calling for an Alliance. I have to ask the Darloks, but they agree as well.
2400: For good measure, I bomb Antares again before the election. The Psilons still only have 5 votes. With 18 available, I’ll win if everybody else votes for me. Which…. they do :D Diplomatic win in 2400. Interestingly enough, the game says I am elected in 2399. Do elections happen at the end of turns?

Post-Game Ruminations
The pivotal decision was who to attack. Had I chosen the Darloks, I would have had the opportunity to acquire more territory, but wouldn't have had the opportunity for the diplomatic win, and would have to have gone conquest/domination. Being expansionist is what killed the Psilons; they expanded too fast, and put a big ol’ target on their backsides. I've been on the other side of that all too many times. That raises the question: is it better to grab all you can, or grab a decent chunk, but let somebody else pull to the front? Obviously, you can't allow a runaway, but I tend to try and take the strongest position I can as early as possible, a strategy that has developed from years in other games. Maximize your growth potential and growth curve, and generally you will win. However, the diplomatics in this game make that a much riskier strategy. Perhaps a better strategy would be to grab at a similar pace to the leader(s) and try to keep yourself second, or even third until you have a chance to strike decisively, as I did this game. What does everybody else think? Overall, I am very pleased with this result. Dunno if I'm ready for an Impossible/Huge game :blink:, but I think I'm improving. As always, comments on sub-optimal/bad choices are always welcome and appreciated.

Summary of Questions
I realize that I have quite a few questions raised in my game. Here is a summary:
*How does the population graph work? Twice it seemed to give false readings on my population, once early where I was dead last but nominated in the first election, the second later when GNN reported me as first when the Psilons were ahead.
*Why was I nominated for the first election, when I was last in population?
*Why did the second election happen 17 years after the first? I’ve noticed an early second election in other games too, but don’t have numbers.
*Where in the turn mechanics does the election actually occur?
*Thoughts on becoming too large too fast being a detriment in this game.
*What did I do wrong/inefficient? :rolleyes:

Dathon

[Zed-F]

Pre-game analysis: Ok, an average small map with Silicoids. And we have a not-so-good start, with only 1 planet in range, and even though it's an artifact world, it's still only size 30.

Still, as soon as the colony ship reaches orbit of Tau Cygni, we know our destiny has been revealed. So bright are the lights shining from this world, beckoning us with the promise of riches untold, that we realize that we must pour all our resources into learning everything that this world has to offer, spurning other worlds not posessing similarly wondrous artifacts as unworthy. Normally Silicoids must expand to survive, for we are not exactly the swiftest researchers around, but with Tau Cygni in our posession, our strategy cannot fail! Well, maybe it can, but we will abide by it anyhow...

Variant rules: We may not spend money on missile bases, industry, or ecology on any worlds other than artifact worlds and our homeworld. We may not transfer population to any worlds other than artifact worlds and our homeworld.

We send 8 pop to Tau Cygni, and resume our quest to fulfill our manifest destiny...

2310: We reach 112 factories on Cryslon, and switch most of our production to research, saving a few ticks to build factories to match our growth.

2312: The Darloks are the first to 3 systems. We have reached 1% on Hydrogen Fuel Cells. The next turn, we defy the odds and get it! We start building scouts and colony ships so that we can build outposts on nearby worlds and continue to search for artifact worlds.

2322: Colonize Guradas, but there are no artifacts here. We move on in search of more pretties! Our newly completed colony ship also moves toward Guradas, giving our scouts time to try to find another artifact world to send it to.

2327: We encounter a Psilon scout at Simius, and a Darlok colony at Kailis, but no artifact world. Our colony ships are on the way to Yarrow and Collassa.

2329: We encounter the Human homeworld to the far north, and chase off a Psilon scout at Yarrow. Next turn I will have a scout approach what is likely the Darlok homeworld. Beta Cygni is now maxed on factories and working on researching Terraforming +10.

2331: Colonize Yarrow. We gain contact with the Darloks and the Psilons. We form trade agreements for 50 BC with each of them. Darloks are Xenophobic Ecologists, Psilons Honorable Expansionists. Several scouts are issued new orders. Next turn, ECM Jammer I and Terraforming +10 come in, then we select Scanners and Terraforming +20. I set research everywhere, except I emphasize computers by a significant amount, since I expect to be doing a significant amount of spying and Computers are what we are best at anyway.

2335: We encounter a huge vessel patrolling a system southwest of the Darlok empire. Report from the field:

"'Oooh, shiny! How gracefully it moves! How sleek the design!' 'Uh, sir, those seem to be weapons ports opening.' 'Yes, but just look at...' *ZORCH* *static crackle*"

Ok, something like that has GOT to be protecting something nice. We'll go there again... someday. In other news, colony ships are enroute to Antares, Simius, and Vega. Next turn, we scout Psilon Misha. Ooh, more shinies! Gotta have those... the egg-heads are gonna be first on The List. Unfortunately, I don't have the range tech to be able to do much about them right now, so it's time to do some research! We also scout the Darlok colonies of Gorra and Willow, but they are much less interesting.

2342: We colonize Antares, having already clonized Simius and Vega, and hold the first vote. The Darloks have 4, everyone else 2, and they are up against us. Everyone else other than the Darloks abstain,so we vote for them. It would be very sad if we were to get the opportunity to win by vote without even trying to...

Looking at the power graph, and coming off the last Imperium, I'm amazed at how little progress the AIs have made; we're almost in the lead as far as tech goes! Then again, we are only playing on average, after all. We are well ahead everywhere else but fleet strength. Perhaps I should build some ships soon for deterrence, but I think I'll wait till Mk II shields and Hyper-V come in. Now that I think about it, now that I have colonized Antares, I'm actually in range to attack Misha. Forget deterrence, we have some shinies to collect! I start Cryslon building a huge placeholder ship that I can convert to an armada once the right techs have come in.



Now that Scanners have come in, I decide to re-evaluate my tech priorities; it's time to go for long range colony ships, I think, before the other races can populate their own back yards. I reallocate most of our computers research effort to planetology for now.

2349: Construction 9, Shields 2, and Hyper-V Rockets have come in now. Currently we are researching BC III, Construction 8, Personal Deflectors, Terraforming +20, Inertial Stabilizer, and Ion Cannon. I am ready to convert my placeholder ship to a real ship. I really only want to attack/defend one place though - Misha. I usually wouldn't consider building a huge ship at this point in the game; they're quite expensive to maintain. However, at this point in the game, they are also quite hard to kill with dinky lasers. Why not? I come up with the following design, which will take another 7 years to complete:



In the meantime, another vote is held, with the same results as last time.

2355: My huge ship is nearly ready; since I have already scouted Misha, I can start the ivasion forces on their way now. I have spotted some Psilon small fighters flying between Mentar and Misha. That's the wrong counter for my Lazplat. There's also one large ship, but I can handle one large ships. Of course, they might build more by the time my invasion force gets there...



...but it won't be enough.

2370: Well, all that fuss, and nothing much came of it. The eggheads didn't even have anyone defending the planet, so we took it easily, and only had 37 factories there, so we didn't capture anything. Too bad. Well, we need to send out some scouts now to look for more artifacts... Of course we're now at war with the eggheads, at least for the moment, but I'm not overly concerned. They have merculite missiles, but their best beam is a neutron pellet gun. I'm not planning to take any more of their worlds anyway... at least, not unless they have some more artifact worlds. I get the Darloks to declare war on the Psilons so that the eggheads won't bring them in as allies. I don't think they have contact with the Humans, so I should have no worries on that score.



2378: We scout the three Psilon worlds of Ryoun, Maretta, and Argus. No artifacts there, so I guess we'll ignore them for now. Amazing how slow the AIs are to defend their worlds on average... of course, these are relatively new colonies for the Psilons, but they should still have some ships in orbit at least. This turn we also steal Duralloy Armour from the Psilons, having options in Propulsion and Weapons tech as well.

2382: Ion Cannons come in, and we select Scatter Pack V. We've also got BC III and are working on Improved Scanners. So far the war with the Psilons has been entirely phony. However, next year we manage to steal Neutron Pellet Guns from them.

2388: The Psilons are tired of being at war with us and have accepted our claim to Misha, at least for now. They propose a peace treaty, and I accept, negotiating a new trade agreement with them. In other news, we have colonized Galos in the far west, a small radiated world which has tons of minerals but no artifacts, and so is useless to us. However, this will let us scout another star in the far southwest.

2390: Improved Space Scanners come in and we start work on Robotic Controls IV, which will be a quantum jump for our production.

2397: We discover Toranor, a barren planet which is the home base for a number of pirates that have been reducing trade in the area for decades now. It's not very useful for us but it will allow us the range to scout the last couple planets in the far south we don't yet know about. I set Galos to building scouts to combat the pirate threat, and temporarily divert Misha to colony ship production; it will be done in 2 years.

2405: Robotic Controls IV and Improved Terraforming +30 come in, we start researching Battle Computer VI and Bio-toxin Antidote. I design a throwaway medium scanner to see what the specs are on that huge ship guarding that unoccupied system I scouted before, and set Galos to build it. Basically right now I am just biding my time until I can research an engine better than Retros; I am close to a position where I could start going on a rampage, but I really don't want to do it at warp 1.

2415: Galos has started to build a Lazplat as a placeholder in case I want to build some ships later. We have enough scouts at Toranor to slowly whittle down the pirates there. Our scanner arrives at the Guardian, it has shield 7, beam defense 5, 6000 hits, and no auto-repair. Shouldn't be that hard to kill, with a bit more tech. In other news, the humans are launching a weak sneak attack on... Misha? Well that's really smart, launch an attack on the one planet in my empire that actually has defenses up... its scatterpack-equipped bases have no trouble smashing the pitiful human fleet.

2424: Dotomite Crystals come in for range 7, and Fusion Engines are next. Finally a decent engine! I prioritize that, along with our continuing computer research.

2430: The last system in the south, Rana, turns out not to have any planets around it. The Humans are sending another sneak attack, this time at Antares. They can have that worthless Ocean world if they want it, but I will build a scanner ship there just to see what they are bringing. It includes a huge and a number of mediums, so I have some mild curiosity:



The human fleet looks like nothing to seriously threaten my more important worlds. Note also that the Psilons and Darloks are squablling again. I might have had something to do with that...

2435: The humans send 55 troops at Antares, but for some reason the citizens of Antares don't want to abandon their homes, and fight to defend it. What? Didn't I already tell you we don't care about these useless worlds with no shinies on them? Well, do what you feel you must then, but don't expect any support from the Imperial Navy! Our one combat ship is off doing a very important inspection tour of Galos at the moment. What? Well, ok, I guess I can at least tell them you don't appreciate their presence in orbit... well what do you know? They agreed to leave, how about that!

2441: At last, Fusion Drives finally comes in! We are nearly ready to spread the word of our superiority throughout the galaxy. But first, we must see what the Guardian of the last claimed system is protecting! Unfortunately, I can't build a small ship with a decent weapon on it yet... but the Darloks have Graviton beams. Maybe I can trade it from them? That is their best weapon tech, so they won't trade it yet, but maybe once they steal or research a better one I'll be able to. Until then, I'll have to rely on spycraft, but spying on the Darloks doesn't sound like it will be too profitable...

2460: Well the Darloks finally managed to steal Megabolt Cannon from the Psilons. I trade Bio-toxin Antidote to the Darloks for Graviton Beams, and to the Psilons for Hard Beams. Just recently the Humans tried another attack at Antares, and I had to tell them to go home again. Now, however, I should be able to build a fleet to take out that Guardian. Of course, I'm just about to make breakthroughs in a number of new technologies... I try to design a small ship that has a Graviton beam, and find that I still can't do it! Grr. I guess we will have to wait for those breakthroughs, then.

2483: I have *finally* managed to steal and research enough tech that I can build a small ship I think it suitable to attack the Guardian with -- Battle Computer VI and a Graviton beam. Unfortunately I still don't have quite enough room to fit Inertial Stabilizers on it, but it will have to do without; still, with enough of these smalls I should be ok. Of course in the process, I've managed to annoy the Psilons with my espionage, and they've declared war. Several of my worthless planets have banded together to form a militia of sorts to fend off the Psilons with, but of course none of the true Silicoid worlds are cooperating with this venture -- rather they have been concentrating on research for the most part. But now, all my worlds other than Misha and Beta Cygni are building Orion 4.0 class ships with which to assault the Guardian... it should only take another couple decades to amass a sufficient force.



2497: I'm approaching 20% of the empire's budget in fielding these Orion 4.0 ships, and I have yet to break 1000 ships. I think I will have to stop there and see if that force can crack the Guardian. I'm not sure this will be sufficient force, but I can't support a much larger fleet; if this doesn't work, I'll have to wait until I can fit a Megabolt Cannon on a small.

2502: Our Orion 4.0 ships managed to dodge all of the Guardian's scatter packs, then close in and whittle it down over the course of 6 turns, eventually destroying it, though it cost us about a third of our fleet. We have found a huge treasure trove of shinies that it was protecting! Our colony ship immediately settles it and we send population from all our substandard colonies to help bring it up to snuff. Everyone wants to become a valued and productive member of the empire, rather than a second class citizen!



Once Orion has been built up a bit, it will be time to cleanse the galaxy of those others who have been pestering us in our search for the perfect world. Already, relations with other empires have begun to become more tense...



2514: Those worthless saps at Antares managed to get themselves annihilated by a large stack of Psilon Megabolt-armed medium ships, this despite my having sent half of my remaining Orion fleet to protect them. Serves them right, all the smart ones left for Orion already anyway. What's that? We really should care more about our own people, even if they are living on that worthless water world? Oh alright, I suppose it's war then. Death to the eggheads! At least, as soon as I can rebuild my fleet...

2521: Our fleet is in process of being rebuilt, I should be able to send out a cleansing expedition soon. Galos has rebelled! Well, they can go hang for all of me. (This could be interesting...)

2525: Field trial of our new design against Mentar was successful, with minimal losses sustained. At least on our side -- Mentar was glassed. The rest of the Psilon empire will soon follow.



2527: Psilons manage to capture Galos. However, their only other remaining colony is about to get snuffed, so that should be small consolation to them.

2535: We wipe out all opposition in the galaxy. No other Silicoid worlds were lost during the conquest.

After-game commentary: I had intended for the AIs to put up more of a fight, but I didn't take enough options off the table. I allowed myself to settle and to keep scouts in orbit of second-class planets in my empire, and later, even to defend them. Once I had settled them it just didn't feel right to give them up without at least a token effort to hold onto them. Even if the second-class planets didn't contribute much individually to my empire, they were denied to the AIs, they did contribute a significant amount in aggregation, and they were a good source for troops when I wanted to settle/invade Misha and Orion.

I could have finished the game by extermination (as I had planned) much earlier, but my artifact-obsessed Silicoids were determined to grab Orion. In fact, as soon as I had fusion drives, the game was over -- I won the game with Fusion bombs and inertial stabilizers on small fighters, and I could have built those anytime after I had Fusion drives. I lost track of how many votes I could have won.

[Zed-F]

I'm not going to comment too much about areas of the game where I have guesses but no solid info. That said, I can answer a couple of your questions...

Why was I nominated for the first election, when I was last in population? Going by the graph you might have been last in population, but did you look on the graph at the same turn as you had the election? Remember that population in transports doesn't show up on the various graphs in the game or at the election. If you had a bunch of population in transports that landed between the time you looked at the graph and the time the election came around, that could be the answer.

Why did the second election happen 17 years after the first? Where in the turn mechanics does the election actually occur? The first election happens as soon as a certain percentage of the stars in the galaxy are occupied (75%, IIRC.) Subsequent elections happen every 25 years immediately before turns evenly divisible by 25. So, if your 1st election happened on turn 2397, your next election will happen on the interturn only 2 turns later at the end of 2399.

Thoughts on becoming too large too fast being a detriment in this game As a human player, I've always found that the advantages of growing quickly far outweigh the disadvantages. However, that's in part because a human player is far more savvy about manipulating the diplomatic environment than any AI player is. Certainly if there is an AI player who is top dog, it's possible that the other AIs might become jealous, but if so, it's just one of many factors that go into the diplomatic model, and certainly not an overwhelming one. In general, it's easy enough to manipulate the AIs diplomatically that picking on the top dog does not become a sort of automatic success principle; rather, it's just one viable diplomatic path among several, generally speaking.

What did I do wrong/inefficient? You upgraded routes for trifling amounts in an attempt to curry diplomatic favour. I believe the relations boost from trade comes not from having a large trade route, but from having a large profitable trade route. I have noticed times in the past when, after renegotiating a large profitable route to an even larger route, that relations have seemed to worsen temporarily.

Also, you put ECM jammers on your ships. Generally these are an expensive waste and just slow down the rate at which you can build the ship. (There are exceptions to the rule but these are generally only when dealing with high-threat enemy missle bases and you have no other options to reduce the incoming missle swarm.) In fact, in 2387, I probably would have preferred to opt for a nuclear bomb-equipped small fighter over a fusion bomb-equipped medium, since you could have fielded a lot more bombs for a lot less cash that way and the opposition still didn't have enough shielding to deter regular nuclear strikes.

Otherwise, it looks like you acquitted yourself quite respectably. Good luck on your next game!

[Brackard]

My Imperium five report can be found here.

I haven't really played them with any real consistency. Tell you what, give me a bit longer, and I wouldn't have made it. Their time in the sun didn't last all that long. I also didn't really get to use their abilities in this game. Not all that many stars in range for me to snag. Then again, I'll have to take a look at what everyone else did.

[Justus_II]

Sorry, I didn't have time to finish this one, although I was pretty close. I'll post the write-up I've started tomorrow before I leave if I can, but I can give a quick summary. Missed the 2424 vote by1, 8/13, vs. Psilons, having already genocided the Darloks and pushed the humans to a OPE. Certainly would have a conquest before the next vote if I'd pushed on, possibly an extermination, but Warp 2 is SOO slow. I'll try to do more write-up tomorrow if I can.

I will be out of town for the next 2-1/2 weeks, for Military training, so I may have to sit out the next Imperium depending on the timing.

[Patroclus]

2303 start: sent 13 to the artifact planet, in order to send people back to homeworld as quick as possible. In hindsight, this may not the best move, since I wound up paying to grow population for both planets.

2304: explore guradas (jungle 90), send scout to blue planet above homeworld

2305: explore collassa (jungle 75)

2307: explore vega (tundra hostile 60), send first colony back to cryslon, send scout back to guradas

All planets range 4; need to do some tech! Put 1 click from cryslon, 100% into propulsion.

2308: Range 4 is only choice, good! Dial up around 5% rp per turn (18) from cryslon.

2309: Cryslon sez Max Factories... boy the slow pop is hurting! I call up 1 scout2 to guard vega, and put the rest into RPs.

2310: Uh oh, Darlok scout met at Guradas while i was scouting vega! Did they get orbit or did we arrive the same turn? This is unhappy-making... can't tell if darloks are N or W from me. Send new scout to Vega.

Start building a colony ship, to be done in 13y. Range 4 should come in same time. Man the rocks grow sooo slow...

2312: Darloks control 3 systems.

2314: Range Tech at 4%.

2317: Equalize tech spending across fields; propulsion at 23%, colony ship due in 3 years.

2318: Range comes in! Adjust sliders to get a colony next turn.

2319: Send colony to Guradas. Next colony due in 5y. I decide to stop peeling colonists off of Tau Cygni; Cryslon at 73 with 2 en route, but I will reduce that to fill Guradas.

2323: Colonize Guradas, send 19 from Cryslon. Send next colony to Collassa. Build 3 scout2s from Cryslon for exploring before building another colony.

This IS only Average difficulty, so my plan will be to max these 5 colonies before expanding further. All these planets except the artifact are large, and I have Terra+20 available (although I'm researching +10 first, since its so cheap), so I should have a comfortable base.

Tau Cygni factories says Max now, so I put some production into research. 50 rps per turn will certainly help...

2325: Realize upping research into construction (IndTech9) will help speed my growth more. Last colony ship due in 2329.

2327: Colonize Collassa. Send 15 from Cryslon.

2329: Terra+10 comes in. Set the first 2 planets to terraform. For some reason my colony ship didn't build this year... wierd.

2330: IndTech9 comes in. Send colony ship to Vega. Set Cryslon to start cloning some population!

2332: Scout Yarrow, Minimal 30. Dang it, I want lots of radiated worlds here... but it is within range. However, its at least 5 turns to build a colony ship, and then 8 years to get the ship there... do I slow tech and pop research to go for it?

I send the scout from Yarrow to the green to the northeast.

Since I will have more scoutage coming soon, I set Cryslon to build a colony in 8 years.

2334: In hindsight moving my scout from Yarrow was dumb. The darloks colonize it behind me and we make contact. I also scout Kailis (darlok colony), and am repulsed from Nazin by 2 bases. Lets see, xenophobic ecologists, allied with the psilons.

The darloks aren't interested in trading, so I keep plugging. I do halt production of that colony ship in favor of research, which is split into Hyper Vs, IndTech8 and Terra+20, and trickle into the other fields.

2335: Drive a psilon scout away from Simius, a Inferno 10. Well, it would get me contact with the Psilons, and a leg out into the rest of the galaxy... I also explore Gorra, another Darlok colony.

So Psilons are in the NE, darloks in the SW, and the stupid humans out of reach in the NW. I also get the Fleet Strength ratings: Humans > Psilons > Darloks > Me. Aaaand... the Darloks declare war, claiming I'm a terrorist. Hmph.

I colonize Vega, and send 13 from Kryslon.

OK, Hyper Vs at 9%... I will throw up some bases at Guradas and Collassa before I try and leave my hidey hole.

2337: Oh fudge. I retreat from a Darlok Large, 150 HP ship at Simius. But I return to the planet... I also spy a small Darlok fighter heading for Guradas. Well, its just 1 small. Guradas starts building a small fighter per turn. But what will I do when that large arrives?

2338: HyperV's come in, I start on Ion Cannon instead of Fusion Bomb, anticipating more defensive skirmishing before I go knocking heads in. Guradas would need 5y to build a base. Decide to keep building fighters to make sure I win overwhelmingly.

2339: Destroy the small fighter at Guradas with no losses. Switch Guradas to build a base in 5y. Also scout Antares, an unoccupied ocean at range 7... maybe if I can colonize Simius... well, the darloks will probably reach it before I do, or maybe the psilons will get it instead.

2342: The artifacts planet maxes factories, and will naturally max population next turn! Let the research bonanza begin!

2344: Deep Space Scanner comes in on trickle research, and I switch to BC3. Guradas has finished a base, and has reached 50% pop, so I switch it to terraform next year and put the rest into factories. I also have Collassa t-form while I'm at it.

2345: I have Cryslon build a colony ship in 2 years, using my old prebuild.

2347: Send colony to Simius, build another in 5 years and reloc to Guradas... I figure its worth trying to get the ocean planet and maybe contact with the humans. The ship should arrive at Guradas the turn i colonize Simius, which would put the ocean planet in range.

2350: Shield2 comes in, start on personal deflector shield.

2352: Cryslon maxes factories and population, goes on research. Planetology and Construction both at 13%.

Hmm, evidently the Darloks got range 5 cause there's a ship heading for unguarded Collassa... switch Cryslon to industry and set Collassa to build a base in 3... with funding I should get it built in time.

2353: Terra+20 comes in. Terra+30 is only choice after Terra+20 (well, that and death spores, but that won't move me up the tech tree.) Very inefficient way to do it... I move research money from planetology to computers.

Move reserves to Collassa, and base will be put up in time to defend.

I set Cryslon, Tau Cygni, Guradas and Vega to terraform. Vega hasn't terraformed at all, so should get quite a boost.

2353: Darloks repulsed at Collassa, and IndTech8 comes in. Battle suits or IndTech7... suits are an easy choice.

Vega will need 2 more turns to finish terraforming. I move sliders at other planets to build factories and population. I am slightly behind the Darloks in population.

2354: I colonize Simius, and trigger the council. Oh hell, I hadn't been checking the diplo screen at all. Darloks 4 for themselves, Psilons 2 for darloks, Humans abstain their 2 votes and keep the game alive... they would have had 8/12 if the humans had voted for the darloks! I have 21 turns to either double my population, or get some friends!

I also make contact with the humans... guess the Psilons are in the NW corner, and the Darloks don't have contact with the humans yet. Ahhh, makes much more sense. Wonder where the psilon scout at Simius came from? Must have been their alliance with the Darloks.

Humans are Pacifistic Militarists, and have a colony ship going to the ocean planet. Oh well. I dial them up for a 125/yr trade treaty. Since they aren't in contact with the darloks they are a great opportunity to be friends with me...

I send the colony to the ocean planet (why not? i'll scrap the design if they colonize), and the 4 small fighters to Simius (but since nobody can land there yet, I expect I won't be bothered by anyone) and 8 pop from guradas to simius.

2357: Cryslon maxes pop and factories again.

2358: Humans do in fact colonize the ocean planet, and my scout is repulsed by a psilon colony at Misha. I scrap the colony ship design, and get ready for a long haul. The galaxy looks to be pretty full.

However, since the Darloks are my main competitors it seems, and I seem to be researching faster than they are, and they are already at war with me, maybe I can make some headway. If I research Inertial Stabilizer, Ion Cannons and Fusion Bombs, and BC3, I should be able to take Yarrow from them. I send one of my bumped scouts to double check Yarrow.

2359: Humans are allied with the Psilons. I see human ships heading west from Antares (the ocean planet), maybe they're going to poach from the brains.

This could get hot, so I start building a few more bases at the front line jungles.

2361: Psilons and humans break alliance. Yay... would like to not get dragged into war with whole galaxy if psilons declare war on me. Transfer all reserves to Simius to help stand it up.

2363: Yarrow has no bases and only 3 factories still? Wha?

2364: Ion cannon comes in (only at 7%, woo) and I go back for fusion bombs.

2365: OW. Cryslon is hit with a quake, for 27 million pop and 120 factories. Damn! I set to rebuild and stop research, I need those pop for the vote in 10 years. Fortunately Guradas is almost maxed out and can take over some of the research Cryslon was doing.

2366: BC3 comes in, and Improved Space Scanner is only way forward. I pick up the cheapie ECM1 first tho.

2367: Humans have allied with darloks? NO no no no no... I ask them to break their alliance, and they do. I ask them to declare war on the Darloks, and they do that too! Goooooood... (rubs hands together).

2369: Humans ask for a NAP, I give it. Collassa maxes pop and factories, and goes on research with some base building. ECM1 still hasn't come in, dagnabbit!

2370: ECM1 comes in. Vega maxes factories. The humans have been dragged into war with the psilons, good! Lets you and him fight!

2371: Inertial Stabilizer comes in, range 7 is only way forward. Lack of warp... hurting...

Humans ask to bump up trade to 150... a minimal improvement, but I do it to keep Cap'n Kirk happy. Vega maxes out, Cryslon will refill next turn.

I dial up spies to hide on both humans and darloks, so I can peek at their techs.

2372: Personal Deflector comes in, PS5 is next. I have a whopping 1200 RPs now. If I ever get some Robotic Controls I'll be set...

No spy reports yet.

2374: Humans have Hyper X rockets, nothing else I can use. I stop spying on them. Wish their was a way to retire spies before they get caught...

Judging by the bars, I have a BIG tech lead on the darloks. Time to bust some heads...

Large ship, 4xHvIon, Mk3 BC, Mk2 shield, ECM1, Titanium armor, Wp1, BScanner, Inert Stabilizer. Guradas will build one in 3 years. I'll test out the Darloks defense at Yarrow and see how things go...

High Council: Still me vs darloks. Humans vote for me, with 3 votes. Psilons abstain, with 2... I like to see them stay small! Darloks still have 4 votes, and I have 5 -- not enough to take the game this early. Oh well, I abstain. Unfortunately, beating up the darloks will put the humans in second place most likely.

2377: first HvIon sent to Yarrow. Yarrow still only has 7 factories? What the hell?

Spy finally comes in on darloks. They have range 5, hand lasers, and neutron pellet gun. Thats it! I am going to have battle suits and personal deflector shields... should be a cakewalk. I send 35 colonists from Guradas with the ship.

2378: Battle Suits come in, with fusion bomb, IndTech 6 is only way forward, and I take ScatterPackV instead of neutron blaster for weapon research.

2379: Start building a medium fusion bombers (1 bomb, max defense, inertial stabilizer) at Cryslon and sending them to Collassa. Once I take Yarrow I will be able to reach Nazin.

2379: I crush his fleet at Yarrow, but he has many more ships on the way. Should have put a bomb on this! He's only speed 1, so I could stick-and-move him. Oh well.

I win the ground fight, with 17 troops left over, and despite only capturing 8 factories get a tech -- range 5. This also gets me contact with the Psilons.

It's 5 years to build a base, even with reserves, and he has a sizable fleet (over 100 smalls, 10 mediums, and a colony ship large) coming.

2380: Round 2 at Yarrow! His mediums shoot 2 nuclear missiles and leave. Most of his smalls are NPGs, but have no battle computer so probably wont hit much. Nope, they can hit lots -- my ship goes boom. Bombing takes out 7million and 8 factories, but a base wouldn't beat them, so I stop building it. I redesign the Ion Fighter to have 15 regular ion cannons instead of 4 larges, plus a HyperV rocket so I can stick and move the slower range1 stacks.

2386: The darloks retake Yarrow (with 50 troops, 25 of which died killing 15) and breaking contact with the Psilons. Good thing I didn't do trade with them. New 15-shot large arriving next turn, and I send 30 more troops from Guradas.

2387: New scanner comes in, and Robotic Controls 4 is available!!! I put lots of research into it.

UH OH, humans sent 32 colonists to Yarrow... darloks have 27 and hand lasers, should be enough to hold it. (I have 30 coming from Guradas, I dont want a war with the humans -- gulp!

2388: Humans fail to take yarrow, leaving 2 colonists. Eeeexcellent. My troops will arrive in a few turns.

2390: Retake Yarrow. He's got ships coming in, but I'm ready -- I'll have 2 of these 15-gun shooters. (In retrospect, the stick-and-move plan is useless with a range 1 weapon. Oh well. I'll just shoot the missiles then.)

2392: His fleet arrives at yarrow and retreats; looks like I will hold it. He does have 31 transports on the way tho...

Looks like the humans aren't doing so well against the psilons at Antares however.

2393: My stack of 10 bombers arrives at Kailis... the defenders run, even though these ships have nothing but bombs. I bomb the poor planet, destroying 12 hard-earned factories and killing 3 million people. I will stay there and pound him for a while, but I don't want to invade a poor planet I won't be able to hold.

Psilons took Antares, dang it. They have tech parity with me, so I call up a spy on them to see where they are.

2394: All his ships except 1 small, and all his transports, die at Yarrow. Kailis has no factories left, either.

2395: Another fleet shattered at Yarrow. I send the 2 SmIonFigs to Nazin; he has merculite missiles so I probably won't be able to penetrate his defenses, but I want to see how many bases he built. Another SmIon is about to arrive at Yarrow, so it will hold.

2396: They kick me off of Kailis, but I was going to go to Nazin this turn anyway, to meet the SmIonFigs.

RC4 comes in... BOO YAH. Choose BC6 next and start building factories everywhere.

Humans look like they're about to retake Antares.

2397: Production already has taken a massive jump. I just need to stop the Psilons from keeping up in tech and its won. If Nazin is too nasty, I'll go for Misha...

2399: He has 9 merculite missile launchers. I try and get in with my bombers, but I should have run... my fleet is all dead. Big mistake... but I wasn't going anywhere with those fleets anyway I guess, and now I don't have to pay upkeep. Time to dig in, build factories, and get ready to run away with it.

I steal Gatling Laser from the psilons. They have Ion Rifle, and I don't have a gropo gun at all. They also have Nuclear Engines and Duralloy armor I want. Might as well go after em with spies, since I will be fighting them anyway because of their alliance with the Darloks...

HIGH COUNCIL: Me vs Darloks. Humans (2 for me), psilons (3 for darloks), darloks 5, me 6. 16 total votes, so I would need 11 to win it... abstain again.

2401: Planetary Shield 5 comes in (at like 4% too! but I'm still building factories everywhere, so can't start on it. Psilons declare war on me... well, foo. They have a lead on me in engine, shield and weapon tech, while I have a lead in production and environment tech. Hmm, sounds like time for me to play defense and outgrow them...

2405: Humans have smashed themselves on the rocks of antares, losing many people. They failed to retake it with 30 vs 27, leaving 17, and the psilons have ships coming to reinforce. The humans are now gassed.

2406: Cryslon, Collassa, Simius and Tau Cygni will max factories finally, 10 years after RC4 came in. Others will finish in a short while.

2408: Everything except yarrow has max factories. Research is up to 2100 RPs, and thats with work on planetary shields! Planetology, Propulsion and Weapons should pop in the next few turns.

2409: I send a couple SmIons to Antares, to see if I can help the humans out. ScatPackV comes in, start work on Fusion Beam.

2410: Poor humans sent 25 pop to antares, but they don't have space superiority... my ships will arrive the same turn, maybe I can help.

2411: Terra+30 comes in; choose biotoxin antidote instead of +40.

2413: The psilons have erected a base at Antares. I bloody his nose (killing 2 large ships with hardbeams) but lose a SmIon and run.

2414: While I was off exploring, the Darloks send a big fleet to Yarrow, I beat it but lose a SmIon.

2415: Range 7 comes in finally, and Fusion Drives (warp 4) are available! I finish upgrading from Terra +30.

2416-20: Research research research... need warp 4 before I go out for more fun.

2424: Yarrow maxes out finally, starts building a shield.

2425: Steal Duralloy from Psilons.

High Council: Me vs Darloks again.
Humans: 2 for me
Psilons: 4 for darloks
Darloks: 5 for them
Me: 7 for me.

I have 4 techs in percentages... including BC6, Warp 4, and Repulsor Beam.

2426: Repulsor beam comes in, Personal Absorption or PSX... go for PA cause its slightly cheaper.

2427: IndTech6 FINALLY comes in after spending forever in the 20% range, along with fusion drives. Armored Exoskeleton and Range 9 are ways forward. Once Fusion Beam and BC6 come in, I'm comin outta the booth!

2428: BC6 comes in, RC5 up next.

2431: Another darlok fleet nears Yarrow, but I have a shield and a few bases up. Bring em on! Fusion beam at 27%... *sigh*

2432: 30%... *sigh*

2433: I have 6 bases. The darloks don't get anywhere near my planet.
Fusion beam FINALLY comes in. Time to come out of the booth.

Large, warp 4, combat speed 3, shield 2, BC6 plus battle scanner, and 9 small fusion beams. My huge lead in battle computers means these do massive damage.

2435: BioAntidote comes in, I start on Cloning.

2438: The psilons cant stop my fleets. Flatten flatten flatten.

But I'm way behind on the ground (NO GUN), and its painfully slow to regrow colonists. I crash research into cloning.

2440: I have a 2-1 advantage on Antares, 90-45, and win with 44 remaining. This gets me Auto Repair (YES!, and some weaker versions of techs I already had. But no ion rifle.

2443: The psilons are cracked open like a big ol' egg. I take out 150 factories on their homeworld. I take Misha, but didn't get Ion Rifle there either, so I send bombers to Darloks, to reduce their population before the next vote. Pointy-stick diplomacy.

Home planets start making more bombers for good measure.

2450 High Council: HA! I bombed the humans into second place! Unfortunately they got the other 2 to vote for them, so I didn't have 2/3rds... TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO DIE. Still, this is my lowest vote total ever this late in the game -- only 13!

I stopped taking notes, because it was just mopup at this point. I achieve Extermination Victory in combat before turn 2463.

[Edit: Fixed bold tags, a few typos.]

[Sirian]

Congrats on your victory!

After some of the adventures you had in earlier Imperia, I'm glad to see the misfortune streak come to an overdue end. :wub:


- Sirian

[Justus_II]

Well, I have less time than I hoped today, so a full write-up is out, but I did have one learning point I got out of this game.

Early expansion went well, with the slower growth rate, I started building colony ships earlier than usual, because my factory pace had already exceeded workers. I also started research on Range 4 (only) early, as for the Silicoids, waste and planet types aren't issues, so range seemed the limiting factor. Anyway, I got a good grab in, maybe too fast. The first vote was triggered in 2339, split between Darloks and Psilons. My notes show me barely getting Yarrow (my 2 fighters vs. an unarmed colony with a fighter, a couple turns before my colony arrived). That was my 6th, giving me contact with Psilons and Darloks. Simius (2345) gave me contact with the Humans. Before the 2349 vote, I could see I had moved up in pop, so I stirred some trouble, getting the Darloks to declare on the Psilons so they wouldn't all vote against me. Kept playing them against one another, while I SLOWLY built up my pop and techs.

I decided early that I wanted to have some 'fun' with Bio Weapons this game (who better than the Rocks), so when time game to go to war, it was the Darloks who got to taste the Death Spores first. This is where I made an interesting discovery. Although the use of bio warfare was generating repeated warnings from the Psilons and Humans, the fact that I was at the same time doing lots of damange to the Darloks (who they were still at war with) was offsetting the bad publicity, and I was able to keep in the green. However, when I finally exterminated the last of the Darloks, shortly before the 2424 vote, all that 'enemy of my enemy' goodwill evaporated, and they both moved directy to Feud, with the Humans even declaring outright! Hypocrites!! Bio weapons are OK as long as it's against a common enemy. [Lesson Learned! If you're gonna use the Bio weapons, don't kill the LAST colony, unless you're ready to face the wrath] Well, that's when I turned on the Humans, and took Sol (Big planets like Sol and Nazin, I used the Bio to get them down under 20, then sent troops to take the factories intact. Poor or small planets just got slimed and re-settled). Anyway, by then I was running out of time, and still only had Nuc engines, so I didn't finish, but was easily leading in all categories but tech, where Psilons had a slight edge.

Fun game, I've always liked the Silicoids, and hope to see them again! B)

[dathon]

Interesting variant. Just goes to show how little you need to compete and win on Average.

dathon