|
Yeah, I agree. The AI has always seemed way more casual about spies than really ought to be appropriate (like MOO2, where on Impossible "Human spy steals Automated Factories" is their way of saying "Hello"  ), especially for how they freak out if you dare return the favor. I do think my favorite incident was (again, MOO2) where on the same turn the gnolams stole something from me, then declared war for spying on them (you were framed).  I think that's a thing where a more robust diplomacy system (like the senate in MOO3, maybe? Don't know much about it) would be good. If you formally accuse another empire of espionage, that's pretty serious; they should at least deny it or make some sort of concessions to avoid galactic opprobrium. Not, y'know, have the ambassador reply "Well, whatcha gonna do about it?"
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 05:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 21:34 |
|
|
My general thing is if you go for things which are clearly designed to cause disruption and collateral damage on a mass scale. Spy and steal a tech? Threaten. The enemy does something which causes mass starvation, the colony to have a breakdown in civil society and riots? That's worth declaring over from a roleplay perspective.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 05:33
|
|
|
Fire and Death By 2540, policymakers in the Human Republic had concluded that the intelligence filtering back from the Bulrathi Empire indicated it was very likely that the Empire was preparing for war with the Human Republic, and resolved to maintain the Republic on a war footing and strike to cripple the Empire unless events transpired to prove their fears radically unfounded. A year later, the Pinaka, protecting the Industrious as it constructed a listening post in Marindi, noted that a ship had departed from the pirate enclave in Gularn towards Bulrathi space. The Pinaka set forth to raid that enclave and eliminate the ongoing threat of piracy from Gularn.   By 2542 the Imperial government approached Republican authorities, asking for authorisation to trade Bulrathi weapons technology for Human power armor. Human authorities, already concerned about the potential breakdown of relations with the Bulrathi, rebuffed the demand, which placed further strain on the already weakening relations between the two governments.    In 2543, the Pinaka arrived at the renegade enclave in the Gularn system, bombing the shipyards and industrial facilities in use by the local pirates, and recovering reserves of mined and refined materials to return to civilisation. For the moment, at least, this helped relieve the ongoing threat of piracy.  Meanwhile, the continued development of interplanetary trade promised to eventually develop expanded import and export industries trading on the local conditions of different planets and improved port facilities to service increased trade, while advanced machinery for factory ships such as the Industrious promised to revolutionise future deep space construction. Unfortunately, the heavy militarisation and burden of war spending meant that real growth in trade from these developments still remained many years in the future- although events soon proved the necessity for these military preparations.  In 2445, Bulrathi commando forces smuggled onto Earth launched a massive series of terror attacks to cripple the homeworld of Humanity and plunge it into chaos. Airports, spaceports, and military bases were devastated by tactical nuclear devices, a strike at the legislatural buildings in Los Angeles slaughtered almost the entire top leadership of the Republic in one blow. Transportation began to collapse, while the strikes on military bases plunged Earth's security forces into chaos. Continued raids against major power generation stations and medical centers eventually caused near-evacuation of many of the cities of Earth, while Bulrathi commandos continued to fight a brutal guerilla action against security forces that managed to stir themselves to a response. The loss of life was immense, and nearly impossible to accurately estimate as the planet was plunged into widespread chaos. The local leadership of planets beyond Earth resolved to command Space Fleet to launch war against the Bulrathi Empire as soon as its upgrades were complete, although lines of command for the Republic's government had become decidedly unclear with the decapitation of the central government. A revolt completely removes the planet from our control for 20 years. No development occurs, no income or research is produced for us, local star bases don't help supply our fleets. Given that Earth had 100% morale for literally the entire game, glossing a 'revolt' as a major campaign of terror crippling the planet rather than a revolt per se seemed somewhat more plausible to me. Loss of the star base temporarily put us over our command point limit, hammering our income and slowing our upgrades of our fleet, but thankfully a new star base was almost finished on New Babylon to cover the loss.  Only three years after the first attacks on Earth, a series of bombings and virus packages released into Paradise's computer networks caused a collapse of Paradise's central communication infrastructure, crippling scientific endeavors and badly hampering efforts by the governments on Paradise to spearhead responses against the Bulrathi Empire. The Human Republic was in chaos, pushed nearly to the edge of collapse.    Finally, in 2550, the resources were assembled in the Segel system to finish upgrades to Space Fleet, which finally set out from Segel towards Ellq on its errand of war against the Bulrathi Empire. By 2553, the border defenses of the system came into sight of the inbound fleet, and, in 2554, the fleet registered a massive force be redeployed to cover the border against Space Fleet inbound.    A formal declaration of war was declared by the officers leading Space Fleet, on behalf of the various intact planetary governments of the Human Republic, accusing the Bulrathi Empire of mass murder and of direct attacks against the Republic and its people. The local planetary governments had resolved that, given the actions of the Bulrathi Empire, the Republic would not rest until the Imperial government was utterly destroyed and its leadership brought to justice for their crimes.      When Space Fleet arrived in the Ellq system in 2555, they found the bulk of the Imperial Fleet there waiting for them alongside the fixed fortifications at the border. Eight Bulrathi frigates and one Bulrathi cruiser, the Warlord, joined an armed defensive station against the cruisers Davy Crockett, Hugh Glass, and Striker, the frigates Arbalest, Huscarl, and Paladin, and 20 million ground troops of the expeditionary force in their transports. The transports immediately pulled back to attempt to avoid the fighting, while the frigates and cruisers of Space Fleet pushed forward to attempt to knock out the station supporting the Imperial Fleet.   The fixed fortifications were able to mount very long-range weapons, and poured fire onto the incoming Human vessels even as Space Fleet unleashed coilgun fire and fusion bombs towards the station. The Bulrathi had mounted cannons firing a sustained beam of superheated ions at long range, but it proved that between Human shields and their armor, these beams were only minimally effective. What was far more dangerous was hostile missile fire, which, although it suffered heavy attrition from Human KKVs, nonetheless was able to repeatedly bracket Human vessels with multiple independently-intercepting fast-reaction nuclear warheads. The Bulrathi fleet pushed ahead of their fortifications, drawing off Human fire from the fortifications. Two Bulrathi frigates were destroyed by long-range fire before the Bulrathi fleet came to grips with Space Fleet, but soon the battle degenerated into a chaotic melee at close range, with Human vessels unable to avoid engagement without leaving their transports open for attack. The Fusion Beams Bulrathi are now mounting on their defense stations fire a sustained beam over time that deals four subsequent hits, each of which does 5 damage. They have good range, but- given that each hit is reduced by 1 damage by shields and then 4 damage is being applied against armor with high resistance, the actual effective damage they deal is pitiful against our ships. This ends up helping our survivability.   Eventually the Arbalest was able to break free from the chaotic exchange of fire and send a final volley of fusion torpedoes to knock out the Bulrathi fortifications that had continued to hammer Human ships even as the Human cruisers and frigates were ruthlessly blasting the Imperial Fleet into scrap. By the time the battle ended, both the Davy Crockett and Striker had been sunk, while the Hugh Glass and Huscarl had both suffered significant damage. The Imperial Fleet, for its part, was annihilated. A few survivors were picked up from the shattered hulks of ships lost in the battle and the station, but the immense power of the weapons involved meant that only a very few crewmembers survived the deaths of their ships to be rescued. Compartments breached by hostile fire saw every crewmember in them blasted against the bulkheads by the forces involved, so the only survivors came from sections miraculously left intact after their ships broke up.       Almost immediately after this battle, the Bulrathi battleship Emperor Grorvorg was commissioned at Korga, setting out to the outer system to intercept the remainder of the Space Fleet forces in Ellq. Rather than fight the Emperor Grorvorg later when it had support from fortifications or other Imperial ships, Space Fleet chose to give battle, bringing its battered strength against the pride of the Bulrathi fleet. The Emperor Grorvorg was armed with two bomb pays, paired fusion torpedo launchers, three MIIW fast-reaction missile launchers, and four mass drivers, giving it formidable firepower. The torpedoes, thankfully, lacked any guidance systems, making them almost useless in open battle.  The Space Fleet combat ships broke away from the troop transports, bombarding the Emperor Grorvorg at long range with their own fusion torpedoes and long-range mass driver fire. The guidance systems on Human torpedoes were able to bring them in to hammer the Bulrathi battleship, which was slow to maneuver and evade, while the unguided Bulrathi torpedoes proved almost entirely worthless and their mass drivers outranged by Human mass drivers and torpedoes. The only Bulrathi weapons capable of inflicting any real damage were their missiles, which, although eroded by Human point defense, still managed to have many warheads penetrate defenses, slowly wearing down shields.     Although Space Fleet's tactics prevented its combat vessels from being crushed in close-range battle with the Emperor Grorvorg, they allowed the Emperor Grorvorg to briefly get an effective firing solution on Human troop transports, killing 40 million soldiers in a matter of minutes. Eventually, the accumulated weight of missile fire brought down the Hugh Glass, while the frigates charged in to engage the Emperor Grorvorg more heavily and draw it away from the transports. Eventually, the battleship was obliterated by torpedo fire, but not before nearly sinking the Huscarl and inflicting moderate damage on the Paladin. The weakened Space Fleet force in Ellq no longer believed it had the force needed to challenge the orbital defenses around Korga, and instead proceeded to strike the border defenses on the other side of the Ellq system in 2558.       Long-range fire from the fortifications hammered at the damaged frigates, destroying the Paladin and damaging the Arbalest, but the torpedoes mounted on the frigates were brutally effective against the fortifications, destroying the station in a brief battle. The battered remnants of the Space Fleet force withdrew across the system, awaiting fresh reinforcements from the Republic.   Meanwhile, on Earth, despite the chaos the still plaguing the planet, the commandos launching raids had been hunted down and a slow process of rebuilding was underway. A brilliant series of research papers put out by the brilliant psychologist Hans-Peter Weber was spread across the Republic, providing a detailed model of Human knowledge acquisition, a series of innovative teaching methods that rapidly and reliably conveyed complex information more easily to students capable of acquiring the knowledge, and a set of mental exercises that helped maintain a disciplined and logical mindset in dealing with scientific problems. If Weber's methods were to be widely adopted, they would doubtless revolutionise science and education across the Republic. The Scientific Breakthrough random event immediately grants the field of research you are working on- and all of its sub-applications, regardless of if you are normally forced to choose between them. We thus also get an upgrade to our Spy Center for later construction.    The Pinaka had been scouting along the rim for a number of years when it was attacked by a heavy pirate vessel in the Tyrannus system, just beyond a major renegade settlement around one of the planets of the system. The Pinaka used superior maneuverability to engage at maximum range, suffering repeated hits to its shields by the diamond sand scattered by pirate missiles while hammering the enemy hull with its own missiles, disengaging repeatedly to allow its shields to recover. Eventually, the pirate vessel was destroyed, having inflicted no real damage on the Pinaka.     The Pinaka proceeded to attack the renegade settlement in Tyrannus, smashing the resources of the local pirate king and triggering another exodus of settlers from the rim into the Republic, settling on the planet of Sunrise. The Human Republic and Known Space as of 2560      The local governments on Paradise, Sunrise, and New Babylon have managed to assemble an ad hoc structure of governmental continuity that has backed the Republic's war effort, while the shipyards on Paradise have turned out the battleship Peacemaker and the frigate Chevalier to support Space Fleet's older forces. The Peacemaker is three years from reinforcing the front, while the Chevalier is seven years out. The factory ship Industrious is likewise headed to the front, ready to establish defenses once Korga falls. A listening post in Marindi helps keep tabs on the Gularn system for the local government on Niflheim, helping them with early warning for any threat. The collapse of Earth's economy has caused an erosion of much of the innovation and investment of the Republic's overall economy. Two Imperial frigates have been stationed to reinforce the defenses at Korga, which could potentially harass Space Fleet's forces in Ellq.  Although hostile forces on Earth have largely been rooted out and order has begun to be reestablished, the planet's economy is still recovering from the terrible blow inflicted by the years of chaos, and elections for positions in the central government are still being held. Still, within a few years, Earth may soon be sufficiently recovered to resume its place of leadership for Humanity.  Paradise's communications infrastructure has been restored and its government once more operates effectively. Even over the years of disruption, Paradise has been mobilised for a full war economy, churning out ships to support the war effort. Air, water, and soil contamination on Paradise has dramatically increased under the stress of crash shipbuilding projects, with contamination still slowly rising, but still the local authorities have thrown themselves into what is needed to win the war. The battleship Cincinnatus is under construction at Paradise to be dispatched to the front when completed.  Natural population growth and immigration from the rim have brought the population of Sunrise to 13 billion, where it has largely stabilised. Advanced organ cloning facilities and surgical hospitals bolster local health care, while major atmospherics plants have brought the steady degradation of the planetary environment to a halt. Construction of a major defensive station over Sunrise is expected to be completed within four years, making it the best-defended world in the Republic.   New Babylon has grown to over three billion persons in population, and has established a major military orbital station and facilities for management of soil chemistry in agricultural land over the past two decades. The world remains heavily reliant on outside investment, but growth in the population and economy have rendered it increasingly important to the Republic, not least as a critical logistics base for Space Fleet in Ellq.   The economy of Niflheim has slowly grown more developed over the past decades, with agriculture supplemented by fungal farms, improved research facilities, and improved business methods enriching the planet, which now has a population of over two billion. The establishment of more effective infrastructure for the planetary government to administer justice and maintain order is nearly complete.      The IIA is in a certain amount of disarray with the central IIA headquarters currently out of commission, but local field teams have continued on their own authority to support the war effort, coordinating with local planetary governments for counter-intelligence or working to spread dissent amongst the Bulrathi people. IIA field team Bravo, formerly assigned to Earth, has relocated to Bulrathi space to attempt to strike back against the Empire. Bulra continues to be a powerful shipbuilding center, although it seems clear now that Human fleets can at least inflict a greater weight of losses than they suffer against Bulrathi. When Earth went into revolt, its intelligence team was automatically relocated, and I sent it off to the front for the moment. With Earth in a revolt state, the Spy Center adds no bonuses to spy defense and trains no spies until we regain control. Proposals For the People of the Republic Research Priorities  Study into interactions between electromagnetism and gravity promise to eventually bring a new generation of shields for Humanity while continuing to refine and streamline existing weapons, while possibly allowing for powerful gravity weapons to be developed for close-quarters combat. Some early progress in this research suggests it may eventually help with better understanding of the hyperspace conduits of the galaxy, although this may well require more computing power to crunch the data involved. Other research projects of potential value include study of optical computing, the assembly of artificial planetary masses from asteroid raw material, or the development of a new generation of FTL drive systems. Please vote between Optronics, Planetology, or Ion Fission for our next research priority. Rim Colonisation Some groups and individuals on Sunrise have begun to express an interest in dispatching a new colonisation mission to the rim, helping secure the rim between Tarazad and Paladiaus for the Republic, while building a new factory ship for deep space development. Please vote yea or nay on a fresh colonisation push from Sunrise. War Plans Once the battleship Peacemaker arrives at Ellq, it may be possible to tackle the defenses of Korga, although any such assault is likely to be risky. Alternately, Space Fleet could wait for the Chevalier, or, most conservatively, hang back until yet another ship has arrived at the front to overwhelm Bulrathi resistance. Please vote between launching an attackonce the Peacemaker arrives, once the Chevalier arrives, or once three ships arrive. Shipbuilding Designs   Space Fleet officers on Paradise have taken reports from the front and begun to develop two new ship designs intended to supplement the existing fleet. The Thunderbolt-class bombardment cruiser mounts two forward fusion torpedo tubes as primary armament, using existing shiphunter technology for the torpedoes while significantly upgrading the warheads for more payload than existing torpedoes on the Chevalier frigates, while supplementing this with two defensive KKV tubes and a bomb bay intended to attack hostile space infrastructure. This is intended to provide devastating firepower against fixed installations while still being able to contribute to some extent against enemy ships. Meanwhile, the Rifleman frigate design redesigns existing escort frigates to rely on a primary heavy dorsal mass driver turret capable of operating in tandem with heavier combat vessels, while mounting significant point defense mass driver armament- the need of existing Chevaliers to turn towards the enemy to launch torpedoes and its differences in range have rendered the design somewhat less effective than expected as an escort, while the Rifleman is expected to be able to operate in strict formation with heavier vessels. Some Space Fleet officers suggest that launching a Thunderbolt before the Cincinnatus may allow for faster reinforcement of the front to be able to deal with Korga's defenses. Please vote on yea or nay whether to approve the new Thunderbolt and Rifleman designs, and yea or nay whether to insert a Thunderbolt before our next Peacemaker. The war that has erupted against the Bulrathi Empire has already proved the bloodiest conflict in Human history, and it is clear that there shall be many years of war before the conflict is over. Humanity can only hope that the incredible cost of war does not drag the Republic down to its collapse. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Dec 13, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 07:30
|
|
|
Optronics, with a preference for computer-related improvements, to cap off our relevant-to-this-war research. Planetology would be an excellent new research topic were we in peacetime. Yea on new colonization. Attack ASAP if you're going to micro the Peacemaker, otherwise wait for Chevalier. Sure, why not on both ship designs.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 07:54
|
|
|
quote:a set of metal exercises  I assume that was "mental", but you never can tell with those Earthfolk. Ion Fission. Yea on new colonization. Wait for the Chevalier. We seem to take steady attrition. No opinion on ship designs. Also, since I wasn't clear on this from the screenshots: Do troop transports show up as part of the in-game combat? How were they lost?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 07:59
|
|
|
ManxomeBromide posted:
Thanks for catching the typo! I'll fix that. And yes, troop transports show up as part of the combat. You can see in the early shots of the first battle that there are five ships behind our front line of six ships. Basically what happened is that I accidentally let the battleship catch up to our transports that I was trying to keep out of the way, and they suffered the price.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 08:02
|
|
|
Ow, brutal fight. Vote Yay on Colonization. Even in these brutal times we must remember the stars and what drove us to seek them out and travel to them. Wait For the Chevalier. Attacking a planet in a frontal assault is going to be messy and we want to have ships on reserve to deal with a counter attack as well. Likely they have a Starbase and Missile Defenses, so we -will- be in a slugging match with them. Voting for Ion Fission. We're in a war of attrition so being able to get our ships over the battlefield quicker will mean a lot. Assuming the Bulrathi only have Fusion Drives that will give us a big speed edge on them. No opinion on the designs. My.. General impression is we are roughly one design generation ahead of the Bulrathi - most of our ships seem to have at least one tech node 'better' than their's in eqiupment, at least on the front lines. So long as we can maintain that edge once we have the planet that gives us a forward base - more importantly for repairs and a rally point. And it will give us a clear scan over most of thier planets and room to operate out of. Plus hopefully it will cut off thier ability to interdict into our territory once we've fortified it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 08:31
|
|
|
On the plus side, I do think we've largely gutted the ability of the Bulrathi to overcome our defenses. We just need to make sure we're able to keep the initiative.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 08:37
|
|
|
Ion Fission, colonize, chevalier, Approve new designs but only after the Peacemaker II.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 10:27
|
|
|
AJ_Impy posted:Ion Fission, colonize, chevalier, Approve new designs but only after the Peacemaker II. Sounds good to me.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 12:43
|
|
|
Tax Refund posted:(...) chemical problem in their brain (...) No neurologist has ever vetted this claim, nor can the people pushing it specify which chemical that might be, what lab test they did to determine it, what level would be considered "unbalanced" or what the "balanced" baseline even is.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 14:24
|
|
|
Ion fission; colonize; go for Korga as soon as the Peacemaker arrives if you think you can micro it well enough, otherwise wait for Chevalier; approve both designs and put a torpedo boat in the queue before Cincinattus Basically, we're trying to support an offensive on the other side of the known galaxy, so we need to shorten our supply lines as much as possible. Ion drives will make getting reinforcements to that much less of a headache, and even just a turn or two shaved off travel time can be the difference between winning and losing the war. We need to maintain the initiative as much as possible, so going for Korga as soon as Nweiss feels he can pull it off is critical - right now our fleet is battered and hanging out on the very edge of enemy space with no support, capturing a planet to use as a forward base is critical. The news design look like good adaptations to the lessons we've learned, and getting a dedicated torpedo boat out will work wonders when we inevitably run into another battleship, fixed fortifications, or god help us both at the same time. E: Lamia Domina posted:No neurologist has ever vetted this claim, nor can the people pushing it specify which chemical that might be, what lab test they did to determine it, what level would be considered "unbalanced" or what the "balanced" baseline even is. Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Dec 13, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 14:38
|
|
|
Lamia Domina posted:No neurologist has ever vetted this claim, nor can the people pushing it specify which chemical that might be, what lab test they did to determine it, what level would be considered "unbalanced" or what the "balanced" baseline even is. There are certain disorders where we know neurotransmitters are implicated, hence SSRIs and suchlike. Try again.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 14:56
|
|
|
In theory, would it have been possible to transfer the capital to Paradise?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 14:58
|
|
|
GunnerJ posted:In theory, would it have been possible to transfer the capital to Paradise? It would have, but we'll get it back soon enough on its own and the net benefit is relatively minor compared to the cost of actually building it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:10
|
|
|
Optronics, colonize, wait for Chevalier, end the witless derail.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:11
|
|
|
Aerdan posted:There are certain disorders where we know neurotransmitters are implicated, hence SSRIs and suchlike. Try again. Whose own makers admit their "exact mechanism is unknown." I mean, you would think it was telling that no lab test is involved in "diagnosing" the alleged "illness" or that it hasn't been reclassified as a neurological disorder. Refer to section 12a. http://pi.lilly.com/us/prozac.pdf Try again.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:15
|
|
|
e: ok no more
Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Dec 13, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:22
|
|
|
I'm going to cordially request that everybody involved step back from the psychiatry issue and from personal insults. No harm, no foul, but let's avoid this minefield, shall we?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:25
|
|
|
e: nevermind.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 15:28
|
|
|
A secondary vote- after the current round of strikes is launched by IIA operatives, we have a choice. We can continue to work on general unrest and work stoppages, or we can take some time to lay the groundwork for launching actual revolts. Actual revolts definitely impact the Bulrathi more, but they also require us to spend some more time on setup.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:21
|
|
|
Revolts, if only to give them a taste of their own medicine. We're in this for the long haul, taking an extra few turns to set up a revolt that will screw them for 20 is worth it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:23
|
|
|
Quantity of disruption has a quality of its own.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:25
|
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:Revolts, if only to give them a taste of their own medicine. We're in this for the long haul, taking an extra few turns to set up a revolt that will screw them for 20 is worth it. Let's do this. It'll have a much bigger impact on the Bulrathi's ability to wage war. e. though in retrospect, authorizing terrorism feels really awful 
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:26
|
|
|
POOL IS CLOSED posted:Let's do this. It'll have a much bigger impact on the Bulrathi's ability to wage war. Their leadership did it to our leadership, so it is fair and proper for their leadership to have a taste of their own medicine. Viva la revolución!
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:31
|
|
|
Aerdan posted:Their leadership did it to our leadership, so it is fair and proper for their leadership to have a taste of their own medicine. Viva la revolución! If only the consequences could be limited to the nefarious elements of Bulrathi leadership. I'm actually not a big fan of lex talionis, but I do have a bias towards expedience. Viva la revolución!
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:36
|
|
|
And this is why espionage in nuMoO is terrifying. Out of curiousity, who has experience with the redesigned espionage system? How does it work now?
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 16:39
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:A secondary vote- after the current round of strikes is launched by IIA operatives, we have a choice. We can continue to work on general unrest and work stoppages, or we can take some time to lay the groundwork for launching actual revolts. Actual revolts definitely impact the Bulrathi more, but they also require us to spend some more time on setup. Voting "aristocrats to the lampposts!" (Revolt)
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 17:07
|
|
|
Work stoppages prevent the planets from building anything, right? And full on revolts also stop research, pop growth, etc? If we are committed to prosecuting the war to it's end, then Striking is the better option. It doesn't really matter if the Bulrathi population grows or what they research if they cant build new ships to defend themselves. If striking takes less time to setup that means fewer turns for them to rebuild their fleet. I say lock them down indefinitely.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 17:08
|
|
|
Another thing to remember is that the higher-level stuff has a higher chance of failing; revolts and such are to be incited before war, but now that we're in one, we need more regular successes than we do dramatic ones.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 17:12
|
|
|
How long do strikes last? If it only puts the planet out of action for like 5 turns then a bit of extra setup time and a percentage roll for a 20 turn revolt is still worth it. Plus, getting a major colony or even Ursa itself to revolt tears the heart out of their economy not just industrially but fiscally. We're playing the race specifically built around making fat stacks (at least, before the Gnolam were introduced) and our cash economy is, while not exactly struggling, noticeably impacted by the war. The Bulrathi economy is nowhere near as robust as ours, and seeing as this war is going to last decades no matter what, tanking their cash income to make buyouts/upgrades hard, and shutting down research to help keep/widen our lead are valid strategic goals best acomplished by revolts rather than climbing three separate espionage trees to access the more targeted options on every single planet.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 17:23
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:And this is why espionage in nuMoO is terrifying. Out of curiousity, who has experience with the redesigned espionage system? How does it work now? It's pretty much the same thing except instead of being free you pay a minimum of 5 BC per turn per spy.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 17:26
|
|
|
McGavin posted:It's pretty much the same thing except instead of being free you pay a minimum of 5 BC per turn per spy. If that's so, do you have an option to not train up spies to save on the costs? Crazycryodude posted:How long do strikes last? If it only puts the planet out of action for like 5 turns then a bit of extra setup time and a percentage roll for a 20 turn revolt is still worth it. Plus, getting a major colony or even Ursa itself to revolt tears the heart out of their economy not just industrially but fiscally. We're playing the race specifically built around making fat stacks (at least, before the Gnolam were introduced) and our cash economy is, while not exactly struggling, noticeably impacted by the war. The Bulrathi economy is nowhere near as robust as ours, and seeing as this war is going to last decades no matter what, tanking their cash income to make buyouts/upgrades hard, and shutting down research to help keep/widen our lead are valid strategic goals best acomplished by revolts rather than climbing three separate espionage trees to access the more targeted options on every single planet. Strikes, famines, and hacking last ten years.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 18:27
|
|
|
A twenty-year productivity stoppage is basically a whole new lost generation, which is depressing. That's what our Earth is going through.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 18:34
|
|
|
POOL IS CLOSED posted:A twenty-year productivity stoppage is basically a whole new lost generation, which is depressing. That's what our Earth is going through. And it's what a whole lotta Bulrathi planets are gonna go through, as well. Start some revolts.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 18:36
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:If that's so, do you have an option to not train up spies to save on the costs? Yeah, you have to manually recruit spies now. You pay at least 25 BC for each spy you recruit and then pay at least 5 BC per turn in upkeep. This has made spies pretty much worthless simply due to the costs involved. Also, when they get caught, the empire that catches them imprisons them, so you can't use them and you have to trade something via diplomacy to get them back. Spies still have the same missions and the same lovely chances to complete them, so your expensive spies spend most of their time imprisoned by your enemies. In an unrelated topic, MIRV missiles are bugged so that they are immune to PD. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 19:50
|
|
|
McGavin posted:This has made spies pretty much worthless simply due to the costs involved. Sort of glad I held off on buying this with the post release savegame breaking updates and other stuff. Has anybody played Stars In Shadow? Looks MoOish.
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 20:10
|
|
|
Nevets posted:Sort of glad I held off on buying this with the post release savegame breaking updates and other stuff. I will note, vis-a-vis whether I have played Stars in Shadow, that one of the possible system names in the game is 'Weismuller 17', based on some recent additions to the star name lists in tribute to active beta testers. I am much liking Stars in Shadow. In other news: Korga is ours, although it took our entire assault force to take the planet. In other other news: two torpedo-armed frigates with strong anti-missile defenses versus two frigates with heavy missile armament makes for a ridiculous slapfight that goes on way too long. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Dec 13, 2016 |
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2016 20:34
|
|
|
nweismuller posted:In other news: Korga is ours, although it took our entire assault force to take the planet. Their sacrifices were worth it. They died bringing death to the Bearocracy. Incidentally, with Korga under our control, how long do you expect it'll take for the rest of the empire to crumble? I doubt losing their awesome, mineral rich homeworld is going to do much good for the Bulrathi as a whole. Also I assume the vote re: which ship to wait for is kind of over and done, but consider me onboard with the revolt wagon.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2016 05:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 21:34 |
|
|
Korga isn't the homeworld- that's Bulra. Korga gives us a forward rallying point one conduit away from Bulra, though. At this point taking Bulra is, I think, just a matter of mustering the troops to make the assault- and once Bulra is gone it's all over but the shouting. It may take a long time to finish wrapping them up after Bulra falls, but I don't think they'll be able to meaningfully stop us once it does. Basically we're looking at a long bloody slog of ground campaigns that nonetheless have a foregone conclusion.
|
|
#
?
Dec 14, 2016 05:37
|
|