Easy impossible/medium game

[DaveV]

Here's the opposite of SpaceOWL's threads: I'm one of the worst players here, but I won this one easily. Medium, impossible, Klackons, 5 opponents. It's a 1oom save, I don't think it can be loaded in old-school MOO. Map spoiler:

I didn't make first contact until turn 90. On a medium map.

[SpaceOWL]

Just to tell another of my stories... The ohter day I rolled a Small / Impossible / 5 opponents map, with the Alkari.

I started almost on the western edge of the map. Only 1 star at 3 parsecs. 
From that star, I could reach two others at 3 parsecs: one yellow to the southesat and one red to the northeast. 
From there, we would be able to hop to a lot of yellow stars.
OK send the colony to the only possible destination.

2302 - I colonize the yellow star, AND MAKE CONTACT with the Darloks - that just colonized the next star. Nazin is at the yellow star to the SE.
 
2303 - the very next turn, Darloks declare war. Fastest war declaration EVER.

2305 - scout arrive at the red and find a Bulrathi colony. 

I miss those 110 Ultra riches from older times 

[haphazard1]

Sounds like quite an unusual map, DaveV.

Were all the AIs crammed together in one corner or something? Lots of early AI vs AI warfare?

SpaceOWL, that is exactly the sort of map I was grumbling posting about in the other thread. Not sure I have ever had one quite THAT bad, though.

[DaveV]

Answer to haphazard, major spoilers:

Here's a screenshot from before I quit:



The AIs were reasonably spread out, but apparently they had a combination of really bad propulsion and planetology trees. I was yellow and followed the chain of standard environment planets to the southeast. My first improved environment tech was Tundra, which unlocked the four planets in the northeast. Next was Radiated, which I pressed hard for. That let me grab the Rich Dead world NNW of the homeworld, and the Ultra Rich Dead world SW of the homeworld and Ultra Rich Inferno to the SSW, as well as all the other hostile worlds. The white Meklars were competing with me for the radiated worlds straddling their homeworld, but I had better ships and was able to take all their shiny toys via invasion. Other than those two worlds, all my other worlds were settled peacefully.

[haphazard1]

Interesting map.

Four of the five AIs clustered in the SW quadrant, and the entire eastern half of the galaxy left open. Wow.

[SpaceOWL]

And now, more crazy stuff ,presented to you by SpaceOWL.
New game, Silicoid, medium, impossible, 5 opponents.
Only one star at 1 parsec. With artifacts! I get R4 at 2301 

Some 10 turns later I find another artifact planet and get...

   

I didn't even know it was possible! 
But it did improve production, and reduced colony ship costs... and it will allow me to start planetology from tier 2... so not that bad :-)

[haphazard1]

That is quite an opening. Two free techs, one of them R4? Should make for a very fast early expansion if your neighborhood is at all habitable.

[DaveV]

He's the rocks, everything is habitable. Thus his surprise at receiving an improved environment tech from the artifact planet.

[haphazard1]

D'oh! Completely over looked that the player was the rocks. Makes the R4 even nicer for just grabbing everything in sight.