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if my understanding of the way the tech tree works is correct i'm not sure it is possible, period. it's not a % chance to get each individual tech, it's more "you ARE going to miss this many techs, let's roll to see which ones." which makes sense from a balance perspective because someone who rolls poorly could be completely hosed otherwise from a few dice rolls and not know it until it's way too late. controlled x landings make up so much of the Planetology tree that you'd need to have everyone miss out on not just higher techs, but also middling controlled ones. that might be theoretically possible for the Meklar, who are the galaxy's big losers in planetology tech (the other being the silicoids, who don't care for the purposes of this discussion), but i'm not convinced it's possible for a normal race to miss out on ALL of, say, Inferno+, let alone the Humans or Psilons, who are both Good at it. I would definitely need to see someone's figuring on how the Sakkra could miss out on Inferno+.
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Jul 17, 2018 04:35
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Episode XV: 2400 -  If we get peace again there still seems to be a chance of everyone staying ticked at the Klackons and us regrowing a decent-sized empire. ** Klackons(8) ** Silicoids(6) ** Psilons(5) ** Bulrathi(5) ** Alkari(5) ** Mrrshan(2) This includes the just-recaptured Volantis. Spica, Ajax, and the recently-destroyed Alkari system of Misha all appear open. Then there's that Toxic and Regulus, the big jungle one, up in the upper-right by the Silicoids. The way this thing has gone I have no idea how many of them we are going to be able to snag or how long this period will last, with Klaquan being so Erratic. But I've got no better idea than throwing every Colonizer I can get out there.  Hopefully something in this next set of advances(the others are range 6 Irridium Cells and Duralloy Armor, the latter of which the birds already have) will be enough for us to secure our final truce.  Non-Aggression Pact signed. Another step towards having a powerful friend. The Fusion Bomb arrives and we'll pursue Mass Driver next. Perhaps there'll still be a window where that's worth putting on a ship.  With glee, in 2402.  The Psilons easily beat us to Misha, but we take Spica and Ajax. I'll gradually transfer in colonists to these worlds since they don't seem likely to be attacked soon, but it'll take time. If this is the new normal, it would put us at seven systems again, one behind the bugs. I also decide to start shifting research into robotics to get that out sooner and aid what is hopefully a buildup period for us.  The peace only lasted a few years. Can't be sure but I think it was the Klackons. We're literally the only race not at war with them right now, yet they attack us. Still, that's the optimal diplomatic situation. Alkari and Silicoids still refuse any trade deals(even with Amiable relations in the first case), so it looks like the Mrrshan/Psilons are our best shot at real friends. 2411: The Silicoids take Regulus. We were making a play for it but not really expecting success there. They've also expanded to the left, and now hold a galaxy-best nine systems, with more probably to come soon.  Again. For however long we can. Got here just in the nick of time, as the familiar 'winning the tie' mechanic was in vogue, the Psilons getting here the same year.  We would have lost if we were anyone else. I hope this doesn't become a pattern with the eggheads. The Silicoids also take Esper, that last Toxic world. I knew it would happen eventually.  A dire blow. We had transports coming in, and fought off most of them, but they were faster. I saw it coming and tried to get an Alliance, but relations aren't quite good enough and we didn't have anything they wanted to bribe them up. We're back down to six now, and lost one of our best systems. Also, when our transports arrive, the Psilons are going to flip out.  MOO can bite me right now.  Irridium Fuel Cells arrive. With the spoils of war routine very obviously in our future, I need all the speed we can get. Sublight it is.  You don't matter. Pretty soon you won't even be matter. In all seriousness, this is firmly in 'hope they're too busy with everyone else' mode.  Robotics III is in. It is also very good that we have this scanner available. A couple years later, Duralloy Armor is in, Industrial Tech 7 next on the agenda.  That's one problem down.  Battle of Dunatis I think they were just waiting for us to solve the supernova problem. Amusingly, that bombardment wipes out all industry and takes Dunatis down to 1M pop. Their infantry lands the next year. Five systems left. I'm just letting them do this, so it's a more dramatic comeback. Yep.  The Council reforms after its hiatus, and these are the two I'd expect to see headlining it for some while. Let's observe how irrelevant we are: ** Psilons(4) - Sedimin ** Silicoids(7) ** Alkari(4) - Sedimin ** Klackons(6) ** Mrrshan(2) - Sedimin Well crap. I would have liked to vote for the rocks also, just to make them happier. But this is a classic 'everyone hates the bugs' deal. We abstain with our four votes, which put us right in the middle. Sedimin gets 17 as it is, just one shy of victory(27 total). The Silicoids have a very real chance at winning this diplomatically based on the Not-Klaquan vote. And unless they do, you might want to grab a Snickers. That's the only way this game ends anytime soon.
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Jul 17, 2018 05:15
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Coolguye posted:if my understanding of the way the tech tree works is correct i'm not sure it is possible, period. it's not a % chance to get each individual tech, It's been awhile since I looked it up, but I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it works: you straight-up get a 50% chance of having a tech or not (Psilons get 75%), and if you would get no techs in a field, the entire field is rerolled until you do. If you would have no techs at all of a type you're guaranteed at least 1 of (Robotics, Controlled Landings, etc.) you reroll as well. On that point I'm not sure if the game rerolls your entire tech tree or only the relevant fields, though. That also means being Poor or Good in a field doesn't change your odds of getting those techs, which is pretty easy to verify (roll a ton of starts with Meklar and Sakkra and see how often you get 1, 2, or 3 of the 1st tier Planetology options, it'll be about the same). I think that was intended at some point (since I'm pretty sure it's in the official guide) but Simtex changed it, probably because of how many tiers only have 2 choices anyway. In addition to the civs all rolling horribly on Planetology, you'd also need the galaxy itself to roll badly, since each star has a % chance of spawning certain types of planets, and you can't change the galaxy age like you can in 2 to try to get lots of hostile stars. So yeah, it's probably possible, but we're talking astoundingly long odds to see it. Speaking of game mechanics, Thot, I'm starting to wonder if picket fleets are worth it or not. It doesn't secure you that many planets, at least in the scenario we're in (rivals are strong early-game and their homeworlds are close), and every time you engage in combat it makes diplo a little worse, and with Xenophobes it's tough to recover that. I took another stab at it and got a little lucky (no Mrrshan destroyers escorting their colony ship to Ajax like in our first games) and only defended with cruisers (I built 1 early once I was out of room for colony ships and another later), which seemed to scare off the AI from trying to send fighters at all. They were never challenged so I got Willow and the planet beneath it instead of the Alkari once I could afford Long Range colony ships (Willow required a huge that I built intending for Volantis, I had the Construction tech for a Large after that). The birdbrains did roll lebensraum once and broke a non-aggression pact I secured after voting for them in 2375, but they picked Ursa so I had the production to deal with it. Oh, and the Mrrshan being tiny meant I just went  Thefts include: But what's amazing is after I framed the Silicoids, this happened:  "Without sanction," heh. I've never seen that as a consequence of a frame job, but that's an amazing coincidence if so! I have 2 saves in the window of that turn, 2403 and 2419. It's a very precarious situation, so I'd decided to go after the Silicoids (the Alkari are just too tough early on, high defense > Bears' bad computers) unless somebody declares on me first. The Klackons look to be monsters in this game (like usual  ), luckily by not pushing for Dunatis I'm not on their radar yet. I haven't even met the Psilons! I'm probably going to stop at my last save (~2460) since I think the game is winnable, just very, very hard and requiring a little luck, and figure I probably will record it at some point.
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Jul 17, 2018 07:00
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Wayne posted:he Mrrshan being tiny meant I just went hog bear wild on stealing from them, reasoning I have to go to war with somebody, so if I get busted then hey, that's them. Thefts include: Great job! I also tried stealing during the period of 'we all hate you anyway' in this game. And I posted all of my success in the thread. What's that, you didn't see any? Oh. Well that's because I didn't have one single bloody success :P. Wayne posted:I'm starting to wonder if picket fleets are worth it or not. It doesn't secure you that many planets, at least in the scenario we're in (rivals are strong early-game and their homeworlds are close), and every time you engage in combat it makes diplo a little worse, and with Xenophobes it's tough to recover that. I'm pretty much 100% convinced they are. In a situation like this game, arguably not, but this is really an edge case. Most games you'll have 1, maybe 2(and also maybe 0) Xenophobes nearby. And of course by the time you know that, it's too late to factor it in. I think the value in the pickets is as important for delaying their expansion until they are willing to escort their ships, if not more so, than it is for actually getting the systems yourself. Also makes them waste time fairly often; i.e., how they will sometimes send repeated attempts at a system they haven't scouted yet. Which is particularly hilarious if it's just a bunch of asteroids(which of course they don't know). I've had enough times where even into the midgame era, I'll forget and remove a picket … and see a colony ship from three different empires make a beeline for that system. The 'restriction' aspect is worth it's weight in gold to me, FWIW. Wayne posted:I've never seen that as a consequence of a frame job, but that's an amazing coincidence if so! That's pretty cool, esp. considering how relatively rare the assassination event is!
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Jul 17, 2018 17:52
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Thotimx posted:Well that's because I didn't have one single bloody success :P.  Well... if science doesn't work, how about religion? Place your game disc on a star and say 10 Hail Smurches? I was only 5 Computer TLs up on you at 2400, and 3 of those steals were before that (Hyper-X was the first and around 2370 as I recall). I'm fairly sure the difference was that in my run the Mrrshan couldn't afford to raise Security much (they spent pretty much the entire game in a hot war with 2+ of their neighbors and had only 2 planets), while in your game you were a little behind in research thanks to the early wars and the Mrrshan weren't as pressured. We did the math earlier and the odds of successful steals are pretty reasonable (that being said, 9 in 75 turns isn't exactly free, and you pay on spy networks in Hiding to keep tabs too), so the X-factor is presumably how much the AI runs Security or not. Thotimx posted:I think the value in the pickets is as important for delaying their expansion until they are willing to escort their ships, if not more so, than it is for actually getting the systems yourself. Oh, absolutely; I meant specifically the destroyers with reserve fuel tanks to guard planets you won't be getting to "soon," and may even be closer to the AI's homeworld than yours. AIs will keep trickling scouts (and once they get the range upgrades / alliances, colony ships) and driving them off will give dipomatic demerits every time. If you're squatting on a planet 5 parsecs away and just have to hold it until you finish researching deuterium, great; but I think moves like Dunatis may have been more trouble than they were worth, y'know?
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Jul 18, 2018 04:57
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Wayne posted:I meant specifically the destroyers with reserve fuel tanks to guard planets you won't be getting to "soon," and may even be closer to the AI's homeworld than yours True. You can make an argument that I shouldn't gone for Dunatis; I had fighters without reserve tanks though. I already had them … I just sent them there instead of guarding against the Mrrshan. I do sometimes think I overextend and get greedy; in this case I felt like I needed anything I could get my hands on. Possible that without that system the Klackons don't declare war on me, and then the Alkari don't get involved. However, it looked to me like it was just an Erratic random DOW and probably would have happened anyway. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. On the espionage thing, it did feel particularly unlucky to me given how early I did it and how many races I did it to. I still have the same basic problem though; most of the time the spies fail insertion, so most turns I don't have any to even try to steal with(I've been using the recommendation given to set spending high enough so that I get 1 each year).
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Jul 18, 2018 06:01
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The two war decs you’ve gotten from the bugs blamed celestial alignment and a vision from their brokebrained idiot emperor. Those are definitely Erratic wars.
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Jul 19, 2018 01:38
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Episode XV: 2425 -  As usual, it's clear that the winner of the early Bulrathi-Mrrshan conflict was those who didn't participate. Now we have to try to do the same thing, by staying as much out of the fray as possible while everyone gangs up on the antagonistic Klackons.  We are still considered dishonorable according to Sharpclaw, who declines a trade deal for about the sixth time despite 'Amiable' relations. I'll keep trying. The Silicoids needs some time to get over our abstention in the Council vote. Basically my goal here is to get trade & NAPs with the Xenophobes, and an alliance eventually with the Psilons. After this, we bribe the Psilons with Dead Environment but it really doesn't get us anywhere. We need more.  Terraforming is coming before too much longer, but nothing else of real significance.  ** Silicoids(11) ** Klackons(10) ** Psilon(7) ** Alkari(5) ** Bulrathi(5) ** Mrrshan(2) The balance of power here is really quite encouraging. I SO wish we had managed to hang onto Spica instead of the Psilons getting it, but even so the bugs look strong enough to not be a total pushover, and the Silicoids being big is definitely the best outcome. If we can keep the eggheads at around this size, and gradually pick off a planet here or there, we could find ourselves with a tenable endgame. Lots of stuff would have to go our way, but if the Psilons had a dozen planets or something I'd be writing up the surrender most likely. This really could work ... centuries from now. Best not to forget about Orion either. We aren't big enough to go after that though even if we had the tech to do so. But when the time is right, I'll be happy to have it close at hand I think. We could try building some ships right now; the standard from our latest reports is Class V shields everywhere else, so at least until we get the Mass Driver that would be pointless. Hyper-V Rockets would do 1 point of damage, and nothing else would touch them. Even so, I think I want more research for the purpose of bribing/trading before I go that route. 2426: Something bad happened on Spica, as contact is broken with the Psilons. Naturally I send in a Colonizer to investigate.  Another year, another crapfest. Klaquan needs to go pick on someone else. Having said that ... there's over 100 ships in orbit. And you only took out two factories! What'd you put on those things, slingshots?!?  2428. Oh, if only it could last. Once again, all together class; every year we have it is a year they don't. Klackons show up the next year and destroy it, so literally only a single cycle.  NOOO! Nonononononononono. We need to keep them neutral if we're going to have any chance here. They're also allied with the Mrrshans and Psilons. No contact with the eggheads right now, but I ask Miamar to break the deal from their side.  They want most of our planetary reserve, but they agree. I'm surprised. We also get our next round of trade rejection with the Alkaris. I seriously don't know what their problem is.  Best part is I can't do anything about this with Klackon ships in orbit. And the Psilons have now settled Spica. Don't know how long it'll last, but a new trade deal is signed with our best shot at a powerful friend.  OUTSTANDING. Big-picture update: the Klackons are still at war with everyone(except the Psilons, who have no wars or alliances). Alkari-Silicoid alliance is now a thing though. So that whole 'gang up on the Klackons' idea has gone away. So I throw crap tech at Klaquan, and he agrees to peace. He'll end up ticking everyone off again I'm sure, but maybe we can hold onto Volantis now and get control of it back. So that the Alkari can take it. But what else is there?  Class III Deflectors in 2437. We can now start Planetarys, when the Klackons have had Class Xs for at least a decade. But it's better than nothing. And contact is broken with the Psilons again as the Klackons seize Spica.  We have transports on the way, but they're at least two years late. It's been real.  A year later, our transports are incinerated on approach to Volantis, while two Silicoid battleships show up at Ajax, nearly destroying the almost-develop system. The writing's on the wall ... Both appear to want the systems intact though, because bombardment ceases. The first wave of Alkari transports outnumbers us, but we fight them off. So we limp on in control of both systems, for the moment.  First good news we've had in some while. Radiated Environs next. I think it's quite amusing that this is the game we get that. When it's, you know, totally useless for the expansion phase at least.  I have no 'forces' to 'concentrate' anywhere. But sure.  How often can this happen before even sub-molecular remants of the artifacts are destroyed? Also, the Silicoids captured Ajax.  Grunk rules over the three systems on the right in the year 2446. And perhaps not even that much for long.  Paperweight or a coaster? Stinger Missiles up next. We are so irrelevant that we can't see hardly any ships moving around any more; our scanners don't reach far enough. Let's vote again, just for the fun of it. ** Psilons(4) - Sedimin ** Silicoids(8) ** Alkari(3) - Sedimin ** Klackons(7) ** Mrrshan(2) - Sedimin 17-7 as the vote comes to us. It's so tempting to just vote Silicods and try again. But no. We must play this out. The rocks aren't going to hate us any more than they already do, so we vote Klaquan with our four. The one thing that really puts the nail in the coffin of this effort, so to speak, is all the Xenophobes. They don't want any of my bribes, and even if they did I haven't been able to keep peace with enough of them to keep them from allying against me. Also, they seem less interested in fighting each other than they do with bear-hunting. That could change. I ain't betting the farm on it though.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:27
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that rebellion on Volantis had to be a spy thing. there's just no way that was a coincidence.
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Jul 19, 2018 07:41
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Thotimx posted:Also, they seem less interested in fighting each other than they do with bear-hunting. That could change. I ain't betting the farm on it though. At that point in the game, I assume it's that if an AI hates multiple people, they'll tend toward soft targets, which is usually the human player (we can't afford to have the fleets they do or (usually) have missile bases at cap). But yeah, if you get into one war with a Xenophobe, you're walking on eggshells the entire rest of the game. In Simtex Diplomacy, every war with an AI is a -5 to Core relations (and only tech gifts and [I think] alliances add to it), or -10 against a Xenophobe (oh, and those bonuses I mentioned are halved too). And the relationship bands are roughly in 12 point increments. So every war is basically a permanent step back diplomatically, and those add up, what with allies being brought in and AIs auto-declaring when you send transports to a planet (which can give you the oath-breaker penalty too if you signed a peace treaty after those transports were launched but before they arrived). Comparing this run, I think it's safe to say I didn't really play any better than Thot (I really botched the expansion phase, for example; the smart move would've been focusing Planetology to see if I could beat the Silicoids to the nice hostile stuff nearby)-- I just stayed out of trouble and got lucky on not being auto-declared a couple turns after First Contact, which can absolutely happen if you can't get someone out of Neutral (and that early, against a Xenophobe; you can't). From there I could build up safely and start war on my terms, whereas... ...that happened. And yeah, I'm with Coolguye; that was probably sabotage since the game doesn't warn you when rebellion % goes up, just when it triggers. He's right about the Erratic comment prior; Erratic AIs straight-up have a chance to declare on you every turn, and if that triggers the reason will be one of those unique dialogue boxes. It seems like Erratic was put in there to balance the strong races, since I think Klackons and Humans have that as a main trait, and Psilons and Meklar have it as a tertiary trait (basically the chance an emperor rolls that personality type). There are probably a few others too; I didn't pay too much attention to the personality table once I found that bug made a third of them wrong anyway. 
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Jul 19, 2018 07:56
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Episode XV: 2450 -  Could be worse. We could always be the Mrrshan.  Cheaper factories that we don't need to build because all of our developing worlds have been taken. Followed by faster engines for the ships we don't have and can't afford to build. Yep, that's what's coming up next.  ** Silicoids(13, +2) ** Klackons(11, +1) ** Alkari(8, +3) ** Psilon(6, -1) ** Bulrathi(3, -2) ** Mrrshan(2) A lot more bad news there than good. We need the Psilons, and now we're totally cut off from them.  Unless our fortune changes, you can pretty much mark us down for 'cheapest available' almost every time. Zortrium Armor is the only thing that moves this forward though. We can only hope we'll have the luxury of coming back for the others later.  You do that.  Apparently this is like a Skittles convention or something. Eventually the Mrrshan ended up with it. Which means we might have gotten it, had they not decided to be tools. 2455, the next year, brings peace with the Alkari. And the Silicoids laying waste to most of Ryoun. Gotta hand it to the rocks, they are steadily and methodically removing us from the galaxy. Very un-MOO-like AI, but they do get around to it every once in a while.  All of a sudden they were interested in some of our goodies. There isn't much left of Ryoun, but this at least keeps it in our hands ... for now. We have peace with everyone. that's been a rare thing. Remarkably, it isn't long before we have a NAP.  Round and round the mulberry bush ... but Psilon transports arrive the same turn. So no. We don't get it. Mrrshans chase us off from Ajax the next year. They were really jerks to break that NAP.  My sarcasm notwithstanding, speed is one of the few things that actually does matter at the moment. Accordingly, we go for the next step, Fusion Drives, with our next choice.  Next version has faster engines ... and longer range, to help us reach more. This is sort of like the old line about not getting paid anything, but getting a raise to double that. Still, it could help. Maybe.  2463. Somebody destroyed it as soon as the Mrrshans claimed it. Devastated by Silicoid bioweapons, so we can't even move a sizable population in. But its ours, doggone it. Our extended range got us to Spica, but Klackon transports the same turn once again. The Age of Chaos is here, but so far we've been unable to capitalize. Mrrshan transports take Ajax the following year, and we're right back where we were. Three systems. I do finally get Sharpclaw to see reason. We now have trade with everyone. NAPs with all but the predators(Mrrshan/Alkari). That's diplomatic progress for sure. Which way will the galaxy turn next though ... It's back to everyone hating the Klackons(except us). Which is basically the optimal diplomatic scenario. The conflict intensifies. For a while Ursa pumps out a new ship every 1-2 years, and it's barely enough if that. We flit around everywhere, hoping to have a foothold long enough somewhere ... anywhere ... to get that slightest bit of territorial increase.  Planetary shields are here, and our good friend the Repulsor Beam could possibly be useful.  SO WHY IN THE NAME OF WINGED FLIGHT DID YOU REFUSE OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO SIGN THE BLOODY DEAL, YOU INSULT TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM!!??!!?? The accidental irony of this game seriously slays me sometimes.  Been a while since we visited here ... and it looks like we may have a chance of holding this and Ajax. Fingers crossed.  Flying finger of friendship right back at ya, pal.  Picard DoubleFacepalm just isn't enough for this. The 'interference' that you praised in glowing terms like a whole five cycles ago? THAT interference?!? While all of this is at a fever pitch, let's pause 10 seconds for station identification. GNN also wants us to know that it's time to vote pointlessly again. ** Psilons(4) - Sedimin ** Silicoids(11) ** Alkari(4) - Sedimin ** Klackons(6) ** Mrrshan(1) - Sedimin 20 votes for the Silicoids. Out of 30. Well that's a wrap. Two defeats in a row for the first time. If everyone didn't hate the bloody Klackons so much ... or if they didn't go aggressive two decades early ... or if about 15 other close calls didn't go against us, particularly early on ... I think I was close to starting a comeback here that could well have succeeded. The share of the galaxy occupied by us and the Klackons just wasn't QUITE enough. If it had been, I think this was a solid candidate for another epic comeback. Ah well.  That's because they are a bunch on tinpot wannabes. Gotta work on my insult game.
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Jul 22, 2018 18:53
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I'm starting to wonder if the game has races try to use votes to improve relations with others; that might explain why they vote for races they should really be trying to beat. The Psilons really should have abstained otherwise, since they were so close to becoming the new second best. Nice try by the way; the bears really, really suck. If a race is just going to rely on RNG bullshit as its gimmick, at least the Darlock might actually get something useful. thetruegentleman fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Jul 22, 2018 |
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Jul 22, 2018 21:19
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Thanks. I don't think the voting takes into consideration relative strength or being close to a nominee or any other such thing. It's pretty much 'everyone was at war with Klaquan, therefore they hate them, therefore they are voting against them regardless of all other concerns'.
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Jul 23, 2018 06:15
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Since you play ahead, I'm sure it's too late to vote for a name, but I think going with Emperor Yogi starting from Jellystone would bring your enough luck to win the next round.
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Jul 23, 2018 16:37
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It is(I'm not too far into the next game, but I have started it). Darlok nominations are still open though! Hopefully not for too much longer, since that'll mean I'm actually going to win this time and get to the final race.
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Jul 23, 2018 19:14
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Thotimx posted:Thanks. I don't think the voting takes into consideration relative strength or being close to a nominee or any other such thing. It's pretty much 'everyone was at war with Klaquan, therefore they hate them, therefore they are voting against them regardless of all other concerns'. As well they shouldn't. If the AIs were trying to win, the Council would be pointless.
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Jul 23, 2018 21:49
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Thotimx posted:It is(I'm not too far into the next game, but I have started it). Darlok nominations are still open though! Hopefully not for too much longer, since that'll mean I'm actually going to win this time and get to the final race. If the game gives you enough characters, I'd like to suggest that our Darlok leader be Emperor Classified from planet Classified.
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Jul 23, 2018 22:15
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inflatablefish posted:If the game gives you enough characters, I'd like to suggest that our Darlok leader be Emperor Classified from planet Classified. Redacted is also an option.
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Jul 23, 2018 22:26
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Emperor Computer from planet A Complex
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Jul 23, 2018 22:56
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Emperor
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Jul 23, 2018 23:28
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Angry Diplomat posted:Emperor Computer from planet A Complex Emperor Computer is our friend.
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Jul 24, 2018 00:40
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Deathwind posted:Emperor I'll go with this.
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Jul 24, 2018 10:44
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Emperor Est Vidi P founding its empire on the planet Terminus. If you figure it out, yes, it's awful.
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Jul 24, 2018 11:05
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Deathwind posted:Emperor This
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Jul 24, 2018 13:06
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Sounds to me like we have a winner! … Now the LP author just needs to finally win a game as Bulrathi so we can use that name *Ahem*.
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Jul 24, 2018 21:07
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It sounded better than my other idea, Friend Computer from Alpha Complex https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Paranoia
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Jul 25, 2018 02:42
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Episode XVI: Opening Third time's the charm with the Bulrathi, hopefully.  Tough selection of foes overall. No Humans/Silicoids, but pretty much every other decent or better race is out there. However, it looks like we have a decent shot at locking down the lower-left quadrant here. Chances of us being boxed in for a third straight time are not high. Emperor Bullux approves.  Red and green options to the lower-right. Really hoping the green one is good, because we'd probably get at least something from that yellow star as well if so.  Tolerable.  We at least have a second option for sure. Been a while since we could say that. Eight Recons are on the menu for this game, a decent amount.  It's across dark space, 5 parsecs out, so it's unlikely we'll get this. Probably the best we can hope for is to delay someone else getting it. Still, nothing but standard systems so far.  The recon rush, as of 2307. Just because I think it's cool how they gradually spread out away from the homeworld, and I haven't done one in a while. We have yet to see any other species, so some early confirmation that we've got a nice spot here. What a difference it makes. We have Vulcan for sure that we can land on. The red in the corner and the nearby yellow star are two more possibilities. With any additional fortune we should be able to get four systems minimum before having to research more range. It has been many, many games since that happened.  Nice size for a rich world. We'll definitely want to keep our eyes on this, and Tundra won't take long to get if it's in our tree. Also, just four parsecs away and a stepping-stone to expanding along the bottom of the galaxy. All kinds of strategic value in this system.  DAAAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!! Anyone else get the feeling this galaxy is an apology from the game for the last two? Meanwhile transports to Talas have been completed, and Ursa settles in to the job of industrialization.  Once again the kitties start in the center. Dunatis(Ocean, 60M, 5M pop, recently colonized). Looks like they'll be favorites take that next-door homeworld-sized ocean system of Ajax eventually.  If we get Firma reasonably quickly, Zhardan could well come along for the ride.  Even better odds that Berel would. I really want to find out if we are going to get Tundra(or if not, Dead in the same tier).  Dark space is looking like an increasingly stiff border. Again, that only furthers the value of Firma.  Another quality system in our backyard.  We're looking at basically walling this off for the future. 2311, and that's the last of them. We're looking at Kailis(homeworld-sized terran yellow nearby) and Vulcan(large poor system, the closest red one). Proteus, one of the ones we just scouted, is probably in range after Kailis as well. That would be five. Then we go for Firma, getting Berel and hopefully Zhardan also if we get there. That's 7-8, and then we see who's pushed along the bottom of the galaxy in our direction. A real clear direction here. Firma would be an early shipbuilding center and strong point, dark space will protect us in all other directions for a while, and potentially five(a high for the LP I think?) systems without a single range research. One uninhabitable, one occupied, and the only hostile worse than Tundra is the tiny rich one in our pocket. This is up there with the Meklar game in terms of starting position, maybe even better. Only the Mrrshan with the artifact system right away was probably better. Psilons & Klackons or no, the Bulrathi are going to be a force in this galaxy. We're not here to just show up for a while this time. I'm not ready to guarantee a win or any such nonsense but we should be able to make our presence felt forcefully. Just a trickle went into the first Colonizer starting in 2323, then more significant investment the following year. The initial tech pull will be delayed because we just don't need it yet. Right now everything's going towards building up our first colony of Talas and getting more systems claimed. Nobody has gotten off to a super-fast start like the Klackons last time, and I'm grateful for that.
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Jul 25, 2018 07:22
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Fingers crossed for this one! Looking like the best start of the three so far.
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Jul 25, 2018 09:53
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Woo. This is a promising start for the bears this time.
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Jul 25, 2018 11:14
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It looks like a good start, but I'm distrustful of something that looks so nice. It's probably just to make you let down your guard so the game can sucker-punch you.
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Jul 25, 2018 16:47
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Time to bear down on those kitties!
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Jul 25, 2018 18:27
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Episode XVI: 2325 -  I'd hoped it would take longer. A single Lynx-class destroyer escort, and the Mrrshan claim this system. Nothing we could do.  I ... do not think so. They are the Mrrshan-typical Ruthless Militarists, which means we can count on them hopelessly attacking someone early on. I'd prefer it isn't us. Emperor Shandra(don't recall seeing that name before) agrees to 75 BC trade. Hopefully that will calm things a bit. It will also slow down our colonizing efforts a bit of course.  Dang. Could the Mrrshan be a serious player for the first time in forever(excluding our game as them)? On the other hand, they might form a nice shield against others for us, and anything they take is something a more capable race doesn't. I think I like this. First contact is 2330 this time.  Two years later, and definitely a first. The next year, I do our initial tech investment. We're about to claim another colony, and Talas is nearing enough factories for half it's population. It'll be a long time before I keep more than that there, so it's time. ** Computers: ECM I/Deep Space Scanner ** Construction: Reduced Industrial Waste 80% ** Force Fields: Class II Deflectors ** Planetology: Terraforming +10/Controlled Barren ** Propulsion: Hydrogen Fuel Cells ** Weapons: Hyper-V Rockets Lots of really good news here. For once I'm not going range first: I want the quick Terraforming +10 for the economic boost and to get a handle on whether we are going to get Tundra/Dead/neither in the next tier. Then I'll know how to handle getting to Firma, for which I'll eventually need the fuel cells. In Computing, I go with the Scanner as always.  That's three for us now. Two excellent and one decent. I wonder how Mrrshan quality compares ... Talas will be spending on research regularly now, along with shipping out colonist transfers. Ursa of course is full steam ahead on more Colonizers. Proteus, that arid on the left, is indeed within range. The danger right now is that a quickly-developing Mrrshan empire could claim Firma first. I think our chances of fighting them off are virtually nil, so it's all about getting there before they do. In 2338, the final Colonizer departs and Ursa joins the research effort. Meanwhile the Mrrshan are up to seven systems. Not resting on their laurels for sure. The next year ... Bwahahahahaha!!! I forgot the image here. The next level of Planetology revealed both Tundra and Dead to be available though. Well, my plan has worked to perfection so far. We're crashing Tundra next, and the ship we build from that will be able to settle two more systems, starting of course with Firma. Then we'll need the range to get there.  And this a bit further up. A future possibility.  Still the same year.  Five systems occupied in 2341. All of them 60M or more naturally, three 90 or more. That's a fantastic start ... and the Mrrshan have stopped at seven for the time being. No sign of them encroaching on our plans ... yet. There are growing pains as well; the early terraforming forces a delay in getting transports out to the newer colonies Proteus and Vulcan. So their growth will be slow. I like these kinds of problems though, and Kailis is near half population so it won't be a long-lasting problem. Between our holdings and the Mrrshan holdings and the systems we are currently picketing, over a third of the galaxy is accounted for. There isn't a huge amount of room for the others to blow up. Let's hope the Psilons and Klackons are locked in a mutually destructive blood feud. Unlikely, but ... 2343: A red Meklar scout shows up at Drakka. Looks like they are possibly the ones the Mrrshan are boxing in the upper-left. That would mean the right side belongs to Klackons, Psilons, and the fast-starting Sakkra. You know, the eggheads couldn't be bracketed by a better pair to limit their growth ...  You don't say?!? Goodness gracious, sound the alarm! Call SCOTLAND YARD!!! Oh wait ... there weren't 100 points to lose. There weren't any ... because we have yet to invest in it at all. Even the bad events are being gracious.  After spending four years in prototype, which was a bit unlucky; should have been a year less on average. This comes in right on the dot at 2350. And so the Firma Plan moves to it's next phase. It will be completed soon ... and there is still no sign of any outside interference. It'll be quite a while before we get it most likely, but Toxic Environments are next on the hit parade. Inferno is also an option but we don't have any of those around.
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Jul 28, 2018 18:43
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The way the Mrrshan worlds are spread out, aren't they actually a great bulwark for getting into contact with and pissing off the other contenders early on rather than them going for you?
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Jul 28, 2018 19:29
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That's a 2-way street. It does help in that way, but you also can't form trade deals and good relations with those you aren't in contact with. It's a while back, but Ep. II demonstrated that with the Klackons; Humans were the bulwark in that case, everyone else voted with them, and it was my first early Council loss in this LP. First loss period actually now that I think back on it. Obviously the Mrrshans aren't the Humans in terms of getting Council support but this kind of thing can really go either way; it can help, it can also be a negative.
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Jul 30, 2018 06:11
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i'm pretty sure this update is the most excited i've seen you in this entire LP and it was over a computer virus NOT ruining your day. the things this game does to you. i remember them fondly.
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Jul 30, 2018 07:11
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It seems like the majority of the losses were due to unlucky planet generation/race placement rather than bonuses given to the NPC races. Is that true at lower difficulty levels as well?
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Jul 30, 2018 14:35
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the generation routine is the same at lower difficulties, but when the AI isn't supercharged to hell and back that sort of bad luck matters much, much less. on the lowest difficulty a canny player could probably win the game with like 3 planets total.
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Jul 30, 2018 20:08
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Coolguye posted:the generation routine is the same at lower difficulties, but when the AI isn't supercharged to hell and back that sort of bad luck matters much, much less. on the lowest difficulty a canny player could probably win the game with like 3 planets total. Hell, I've done it and I'm a terrible player.
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Jul 30, 2018 20:31
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I'd generally agree with the answers given and just say that it's a combination of how the galaxy turns out(how the other empires grow and relate to each other has a lot to do with it as well) and the Impossible-level bonii. For an advanced player, it might be possible for there to be a situation where you'd lose on Hard difficulty, but I doubt it. Below that? Literally doesn't matter what happens. A tough galaxy will just mean it takes longer and is more difficult to win, but you can still overcome it. Note: the difference will be demonstrated in the final challenge of this LP, once I manage to knock out the last two races. Strategic Sage fucked around with this message at 02:43 on Jul 31, 2018 |
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Jul 31, 2018 02:41
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Episode XVI: 2350 -  The Mrrshan still haven't expanded further, and we've seen no more of their ships. Diplomats report they are at war with the Klackons. Go, kitty-cats, go!! How utterly predicable ... and fortuitious. The other colonies are all in various stages of development, but all have a reasonable level of population. The next stage was to synchronize, as much as possible, three events: ** Finishing a tundra-capable Colonizer ** Getting a new batch of recons from Talas to Ursa to go with it ** Researching the range needed to actually reach Firma.  I'll take that. Also looks like Sakkra/Psilon are off to a bad start. And if the Klackons fight with the Mrrshan, that means a lot of good things really are happening for Bullux's Bears. We get the fuel cells a year earlier than expected; Irridium(range 6) is the only choice. And now the race is officially on, with new Colonizers ordered and a normalized tech investment approach initialized. Trade with the Mrrshan is boosted to 150 BC; they've allied with the Psilons, still at war with Klackons. Good, good, good.  2360. Now let's see just how far we can push out this way.  Honorable Industrialists. We sign an immediate trade deal.  Four systems. Glad to see we outnumber them already. It'll be key to see what's going on with those green ones.  Equalling the Mrrshan. Based on the reports we've gotten, I doubt anyone has more.  It'll take several years to get here, but let's get greedy, shall we?  This one will have to wait.  Eight, in 2368. Kailis is now contributing to research efforts; it's time to start ramping up as there are now many worlds growing with bear caves spreading throughout the countryside.  Another dead end. Sakkra fighters show up at Arietis(no colony ship though), while a Klackon colony ship comes to Zhardan several years too late. We're winning the race for the most part, but probably not for Arietis.  Another dead world makes me wonder if I should have gone inferno ... but of course that would have been speculative.  The Klackons, who everyone hates already, keep bugging Zhardan with a Colony Ship. It won't leave. So we could have a foolhardy invasion coming there. Psilons showed up at Berel a few years late, but they've moved on. And now we have Hyper-V Rockets in. The NPG is both the best and cheapest option here. I don't anticipate using it, but it's nice to have it. Also, we're doing transfer payments now though only a few planets still need them.  In 2375, we find the bugs(Tao, mostly developed, already has bases up) ...  ... and complete this greedy acquisition. That's nine now. I think we probably have 'enough' at this point, but of course I always want more.
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Aug 1, 2018 20:45
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