Back on the track of rolling with my rocks.
@Wingsof Memory: I prefer to invade rather than destroy and colonise. We're up against Sakkra and Bulrathi, both of whom have a major surface advantage against us. We're in no position to even start thinking about offensive wars for the moment - when push comes to shove, I believe tech and necessity will dictate what needs to be done. Should the Bulrathi declare war right now (and I don't even know their tech apart from the fact that they have Hyper-V's that they were willing to trade) I would probably try and glass one of their unguarded planets ASAP hoping for early peace, or just wait it out - they only have a tiny fleet at the moment!
If I can consolidate, I probably won't have to fear them, and can sit back and get stellar tech if I want to where it won't matter. But save a big gropo advantage or Cloning, it's Emperor Ripper time if I must.
In general I prefer to win before messing with the Bulrathi
Also, whenever I have the chance to outgrow the opposition, I prefer to build an advantage that way. I generally get into wars because I get attacked, I need to round out a win, or because I must have tech and researching would only get me further behind.
I'm not an experienced warrior, and before you mentioned it (near the very start) I haven't actually given thought to how pre-cloning Silicoid warfare should go. I can see the case for bombs/spores.
- 2377 -
Love you too, Max!
- 2378 -
It seems more and more likely that the Alkari transports are on their way to play with the lizards at Stalaz.
I put a tiny amount, 0.5% of my annual product each into spying on the three known races, I think it's finally not a major cut and I'm curious as to what they have, I especially want to keep track of their habitability tech. 8 years estimate for the networks to be built.
I can finally start allocating reserve funds for planetary development. Willow, the regular 10+ planet gets the first instalment, I generally try to help out my weakest first, with rich planets taking priority, so they themselves can start funding the reserve sooner, and poor poors being last because of the virtual penalty they receive if it's for factory building (it's safe if it's for population growing).
To the north, I'll have to feed either R20R Celtsi with 18 (that's a no-brainer, max ultra-rich immediately) in 6 turns, or 15R Toranor with 13? (I like to max tiny planets, otherwise development takes forever) in 5. The obvious core of population will be P Seidon, currently 43/100 population but only 28 factories. I dispatch 10 population (keeps Seidon at 90% growth) towards Anraq.
Esper, R30P, another priority planet, is getting colonised in 7 turns. Seidon should contribute as much as it can.
I do a quick tally - depending on Celtsi, I have 7 or 8 planets open for colonisation. My core, that is, planets that I can set to spare population, are getting unreasonably far away from the potential new ones - I still have warp 1 transports and don't have warp 3 as a research option - I also know as much about propulsion as a Klackon. What my guts would love to do is go for them aggressively, with a few fighter fleets, say, maybe 300 crafts in total squeezed in for small emergencies (able to shoot down colony ships and small wings, not for actual warfighting), stop teching at IRC III, and pour everything into maxing planets (facts -> pop growth -> bases) and then gradually picking back up on research.
This, of course, depends on how long pax galactica lasts. It's still the time of on-and-off alliances (currently Bulrathi-nobody, Meklar-Sakkra and Sakkra-Psilon) and I'm somewhat afraid that the first DoW is going to be strength-based, that is, against me. I'm on very good terms with the three factions I know (I could so easily throw everyone else into wars, but I said in my very first post I'm not doing that), so I can probably count on whoever I'm not at war at to assist me, at least on paper.
The real headache is going to be how to get the new planets up and going. Cryslon is now at the point, 94/110 pop and the corresponding number of facts, that it's just better to leave it alone and max it (with assistance from P Seidon once it has nothing better to do while Cryslon is building colony ships, Cryslon buying pop itself once it's done) - other core planets that can supply population at least to the current fringe will, I believe, stop at 50% max and go on supply duty, and I will go on crying duty over the speed of my transports, and on edge duty over when others decide to liquify my people.
This is around the time RefSteel decided to smash the rocks in the Warming/Burning game, just before they can consolidate. (That reminds me, I really wouldn't mind a Derelict, as it would give me tech in the two fields I spend 0 RP in so far.) That also reminds me, it is about the time events start happening, to add to my anxiety levels.
Before I'd start to feel unreasonably good about my position, I take a loot at those green numbers to the left.
@RefSteel - to check population growth, I started a Silicoid game, just to press End Turn a few times. I used the
Growth = [(1-(current/max))*current/10]*0.5
formula, *0.5 at the end because we rock. I hope I figured out how to write it correctly, it seems to work fine with normal races. Estimate: starting with 40, by doing nothing, Cryslon hits 70 pop in 2325.
…testing…
Result: 69 in 2325, 70 in 2326.
I also tried how long a new 2/25 pop colony gets to 3/25 (easy, as it's a second colony's numbers, also I thought that would be a good place to catch some bad rounding). The spreadsheet said 10 turns, which turned out to be correct.
This is hardly a thorough scientific investigation
however, the results, if off, are not off by a lot.
I've been meaning to press End Turn in my real game for a while, so
- 2379 -
Cryslon builds a colony ship, ETA 6 turns to the riches of Esper.
Celtsi IS uncolonised! My best guess at reconstructing the event is that the colony ship, which did not have a tundra+ base, was sent there on a scouting mission during the Alkari-Sakkra alliance times. Since the alliance got cancelled in the meanwhile, as soon as I yielded and the ship entered orbit, it was out of supply range and thus got removed from play.
Thus, 2 turns to Tao, then 3 to Celtsi for my colony ship.
IRC III at 38%.
I spot my first Psilon fleet, a lone medium Star Wing, probably headed for the dead planet a scout is orbiting, to the exteme east of the galaxy.
- 2380 -
IRC III finishes, and my only way forward is Improved Space Scanner (4730). I love that scanner to death, but of course I'm worried about only having the basic targeting computer. In any case, research stops completely for the time being.
The Psilon ship was headed elsewhere, and disappeared from the radar.
Paranar completes a colony ship, which is dispatched to Bootis, 30B, east of the galactic core, ETA 7. There are two Sakkra colony ships in the vicinity, one in orbit, one in space, accompanied by 2 Dragons. If they take the planet, I can continue on to Dunatis, the planet the Psilons were NOT headed for. Losing Bootis won't really hurt, I'll have an eastern outpost anyway.
With IRC III in, Tao of course gets maximum reserve support (feed its left hand with its right!) to get to its new max asap. Paranar and Cryslon remain on colony ship duty. Others get on IRC. Once Tao is done, it will take a detour to assemble a northern fleet before going back to reserve building. Getting Celtsi up will take priority should that happen earlier, depending on what Celtsi's scanner picks up, of course.
A Nexus-class Meklar cruiser seems to be on its way to pay a visit to Ajax, a Bulrathi planet that started out as a Sakkra one.
- 2381 -
Tao's maxing on factories this turn
on to building +1 rubies. I don't like taking up another fleet spec space, but I'm not getting tech any time soon either. Now of course they can't LEAVE until Celtsi is colonised, but I figured it's better to start building them up now. Reserves will be needed then, and it's no use for the money to just sit there for 3 turns doing nothing.
Three Sakkra colony ships are buzzing around the Bootis area, and seem to be missing the system so far. I'm not very good at judging this. Again, if they land, not a big deal.
Cryslon is done with yet another colship, it's off to Arietis, only a 10T to the southwest, but unless there's a big reason to do otherwise I'm going in order of habitability. To make things clearer:
I then realise I need scouts at Bootis, so Rubies are put off for another turn.
- 2382 -
The Sakkra attack me at Bootis with a single armed colony ship, take the planet, and that gets us to the first council meeting!
I run against Bullux.
21 total votes (14 needed to win)
Bulrathi - 5 for themselves
Meklar - abstain with 2
Alkari - 2 for the Bulrathi (alliance since last turn)
Psilons - abstain with 4 (I'm happy to see the number isn't higher)
Sakkras - abstain with 4
Silicoids - 4 for the Bulrathi
Mirnaia 0 - Bullux 11, inclonclusive.
And with that, the rocks are off to bed.
