GG everyone, I give you all renown.
And congratulations Hrobertson, though I had yet to fight (you) ! I had a 1000-strong fleet coming, and another one departing 
Yes I saw that heading in my direction.
Tick 72: Just before Xamino launched an attack against that star where I am consolidating 70 + 41.
Tick 121:
Around 142 to 200 I think Xamino could have launched a full scale invasion and won.
Tick 214:
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Well, now that I see how little fighters you had around meā¦ yes, I think so too. But I was afraid that you had hordes just waiting out of sight and thus didnāt try advancing further than that one planet. So I kind of doomed myself to the very fate I was trying to avoid. Nice.
My report will be incoming soon.
Here is the gyfcat of the map from cycle 1 to the end ā more or less made in regular intervals. On gyfcat because you can slow down, pause, and rewind it as you see fit.
I have some text too (note that this was written during the game):
Day 1
Nothing noteworthy on my side. Iāve already had to defend one planet from a single fighter / carrier due to Hrobertsonās rapid expansion (he said it was on the way before I took the planet, and I believe him. Even if not, it doesnāt matter as I was smart enough to keep fighters there until I could start producing them locally). Carriers on the way to capture the remaining stars to the south of me. Hrobertson also beat me to the stars to my north east.
Messages: Iāve implemented a non-aggression treaty with TerranAmbassador to my west between Rastaban and Errai (my side will soon be claimed). As he has 3 borders versus my 2 and I want to concentrate on hrobertson, that should work out nicely. Just in case though Iām keeping a detachment of fighters along the border planets though.
Plans: Offensive for Betria and then TienKuan, effectively cutting off hrobertsons east expansion. This means Iāll have a 3 planet border with him, but should be doable. Not sure how Iāll best split my forces to capture the other planets east of TienKuIāve managed that, but time will tell.
Day 2
Wow, a lot happened today. Iāve noticed that I do not receive as much money as I would like, which means that the development of newly claimed planets will be slow in the near future. Iāve concentrated my money on creating industry for fighter production on my two planets that border purple to begin my offensive buildup. All immediate planets claimed and first carrier movements on route to move fighters to where Iāll need them. That includes moving almost 100 fighters to Alwaid for the offensive. Iāve researched manufacturing via random happening. Weapons was cut short by gift from Lomsor, see below. Thus moving on to increase in hyperspace range and then banking for more money.
Messages: Iāve struck an alliance with Lomsor for the purpose of engaging Hrobertson. He has gifted me weapons 2 already and offers more if I begin my offensive within 48 hours. I agreed, especially as I would have done so either way. He has messaged me that scanning will be the next research heāll gift me. Iāve promised to send hyperspace range his way once I have it. Donāt want to get too far into debt, just for my conscience. ThornEel has contacted me with an offer to trade my weapons 2 (which I got from Lomsor) for experimentation 2. Iāve agreed. I guess this counts as backstabbing Lomsor, as ThornEel can only expand through him, but I reckon it might not be bad if Lomsor is kept busy to the north (although this risks him not engaging to the south and taking pressure from hrobertson off of me). As thereās still Arkenbrien between Lomsor and Hrobertson, that risk is considered low anyway for now.
Plans: I might consider coordinating a joint strike with Arkenbrien to increase pressure on Hrobertson. Not sure if my plans might be leaked though. Risk: high.
Day 3
I spent the early time of day facilitating troop movements. A carrier with 128 fighters will form the main offensive force and will begin its attack soonish. Iāve also improved the looping carrierās route to have it pass by my more industrialized planets to increase the fighter buildup at the soon-to-be front. Hrobertson has hyperspace 2; this could pose a problem. For now, this means that once I begin my offensive, 4 stars will be in his range. Of those, 2 are moderately threatened, depending on how fast my buildup is. Update: my carrier is ready with 150 fighters. Iām unsure when exactly to begin my offensiveā¦ I think Iāll send it off after this cycle completes. To WAR! 
Update: cycle concluded with me getting hyperspace 2 too thanks to experimentation. This changes some plans:
Plans: Carrier is en route. 150 fighters. I messaged Lomsor that I have begun, although I told him I only had 100 fighters aboard. Never hurts to be sure, but now that I think about it I should have went with even less ā say 75 for example. (Currently I have over 300.) I have postponed messaging Arkenbrien. I can not be sure that he hasnāt allied himself with Hrobertson and is concentrating on expanding west in the hope that Lomsor will push for a border with Hrobertson (which I doubt for now, as he should be busy with ThornEel). Hereās hoping that the two AI empires will keep Hrobertson somewhat busy elsewhere. Iāll message Hrobertson on the subject of my expansion at a later date. Just for RP, thereās nothing we need to discuss really. West border: TA seems absent. If that continues and he is placed under AI control, I will invalidate the non-aggression treaty and advance southwest too. Increase in hyperspace means that I can begin buildup of a second fleet for capturing the northeast stars a day after the first initiative has concluded. Should increase my star acquisition rate nicely.
Day 4
Well, this is interesting. Lomsor seems to be having troubles from the south. He has requested hyperspace 2 from me so that he may better fight them. I have done so. By the time weāll meet up the game will be close to done anyway, I reckon. 50 stars isnāt all that much really. Lomsor has gifted me scanning 2. My carrier came, saw, lost. Hrobertson managed to gather a sizable fleet to fend me off ā 113 vs my 150. He now has 15 left, so Iām sending the looping carrier over with its 70 fighters to finish the job, ETA 17 hours. Should work except if he pulls more fighters there from somewhere ā I donāt think so though, or heās leaving quite some vulnerabilities elsewhere ā which Iāll exploit soon. Update: I have traded Scanning 2 for Terraforming 2 with ThornEel. TA is finally taking his planet to the east, so the border will stand for now.
Day 5
Second assault is underway and second incursion will soon be ready to set sail. I have successfully conquered Betria. Hrobertson has 130 ships stationed nearby, so Iāve increase Betriaās industrial complexes by a good bit and have sent the carrier back to get reinforcements. Incursion en route. Update: Iāve given Lomsor Experimentation 2. ThornEel has offered to give me banking 2 before I research it in return for 60 credits after the cycle. I have agreed. And I have received. Noteworthy: both Lomsor and ThornEel are trading with me with the reason that their respective enemy is so strong. Iām profiting from both and unless the winner figures it out, Iāll be on good terms with whomever comes out on top too.
Day 6
In response to buildup by Hrobertson, I have sent him a message stating that I will not expand westwards for now. I intend to hold that word for now. TA has started moving fighters to my west border, up to a total of 100. I have contacted him to point out that I can see what is happening there (he canāt see me) and that I will be sure to retaliate in a devastating manner if he tries anything. Iām not sure if the buildup signifies that he has reached an agreement with Hrobertsonā¦ this could spell trouble. In other news my expansion north-east is continuing. I am matching Hrobertson fighter for fighter along shared borders, ready in case he should try something. Update: I matched my fighters too low, Betria will soon be lost again. I have abandoned the star and sent those fighter to continue expanding along the eastern arm. Where I will also lose a planet due to sending out a carrier blindly. Darn.
Plans: Agree with TA on a stable border with a fixed count of fighters. If need be, Iāll be hard pressed to initially defend the border, but I am relatively sure that I can push him back once reinforcements are en route. Update: TA stated that he has no intention of engaging with me in a hostile fashion. I have replied that I accept his explanation but have pointed out that I will increase my fighter count to a defensible number. Spot the mistake here: now he knows I do not have enough stationed there. Once I have secured my north-east, Iāll overrun TA. He should be relatively easy to fight, although he currently has a higher weapon tech than I. Update: I lied to TA. I have an intention of conquering him sometime in the future.
Day 7
This means Iāll be back to where I started ā almost. Hereās to the hope that Iāll manage to keep the eastern arm somewhat, more ships are en route but will take a while to get there. Update: Yup, Iāve lost Betria. I am now ensuring that my border is sufficiently protected so that he will not attack me while securing the eastern arm. Hrobertson is making my life difficult there, he keeps retaking planets Iāve just conquered with really small fleets. Not for much longer howeverā¦ Lomsor was nice enough to give me weapons 3, matching me against Hrobertson. TA is now almost definitely allied to Hrobertson, as he suddenly jumped 2 tech levels in sensors and hyperspace ā except if he is receiving it from someone else.
Plans: Once the easter arm is secure, retake Betria. Itāll be bloody but worth it, I hope. However this time Iāll make sure to send so many ships that he wonāt be able to retake it so easilyā¦
Day 8
Wow, Hrobertson has over HALF of his fighters stationed at Betria. Iām working on securing the eastern arm (finally). Hrobertson has already begun retaking planets from me from the east, but this time I think Iāll manage to hold him off, pending the conquest of the furthest planet eastwards. In other news Lomsor seems to be faring badly ā there goes my good alliance with him. I hope Iāll be able to reach an agreement with ThornEel once Lomsor has lost (presuming he losses, of course). Iāve successfully doubled my money intake per round compared to the start of the game. Industrially Iām still behind Hrobertson, but the gap isnāt all that large.
Day 9
Hrobertson is trying to steamroll me from behind on the northern arm, but I should be able to hold his advance off very soon, enabling me a moment to breath finally. Iāve been building up on my movement facilities within my empire, creating carriers for moving all produced fighters to the frontline planets. So far Iāve been able to match all buildups going on around me, but frankly I am not good enough to sustain a serious invasion in parallel. Which is why the securing of the northeast arm will be a great milestone for me. Lomsor has given me another level of terraforming and experimentation.
Messages: Iāve messaged TA for the prospect of a military alliance against Hrobertson. Now we await his answerā¦
Day 10
Well, TA just violated our agreement and sent ships out to get me. Iāll easily manage to intercept them. This gives me the go in the near future to take his planet on the border, giving me a nice foothold there (and pushing his range back). First I have to defend though and secure the Northeast arm. All in good timeā¦ Update: Okay, I think I am now going to loose, the question is just how long it is going to take. TA has sent more fighters than I can defend against at that border and will succeed in taking 3 planets from me within hours. I have moved my remaining ships back to where I think I can defend for a while longer. While I could pull down fighters from my northern border, Hrobertson would then totally overrun me. Luckily, the planets Iāll loose arenāt major contributors either for economy or industry. If TA keeps his push up I will be hard pressed to defend against him without exposing myself to Hrobertsonā¦ a good tactic for them though. Sadly it seems as if Arkenbrien is also uninterested in helping me ā which means the end game will be him against Hrobertson (TA wonāt survive once he has finished me; ThornEel will be nicely partitioned away, and the AI is a joke). But a fun game!
Day 11
And there it is ā TA is pushing for my south planets. Production has been ramped up there, but I donāt think it is enough to win. Iāve started pulling fighters from the border to Hrobertson to help retake the planets, starting with the trio on my left flank. This would decrease my border immensely and give me a nice attack area. On the southern arm however I might be pressed back two planets, but then I should be able to start retaking planets again. If my plan doesnāt work, I am out of options and will most likely lose ā either because Iāve pulled ships away from Hrobertson or because TA rolled over me from the south.
Day 12
And there we go ā Hrobertson has begun his offensive. I do not have enough ships stationed there to hold him off. Well, it was fun while it lasted. Now lets see how long it takes them to decimate meā¦
2 Likes
Thanks Xamino. A nice read.
I wrote a few written logs but reading them back they werenāt very interesting.
I donāt know for Lomsor, but I was suspecting you to trade with him Xamino. But donāt worry, I never resented you for it, it is fair play in this game after all
Here is mine. There were quite a few days where I couldnāt write a report, which is why I bundled them together and wrote them by memory then.
Cycle 1 and 2 :
It is time to rise from our slumber, my children. The stars are right, the galaxy longs a new ruler and it shall be ThornEel the Darkblueā¦
Wait, something is wrong. Oh crap we are half a cycle late! This is the last time I buy a galactic star clock. So, letās assess the situation. Oh double crap, weāre stuck in the far end of a peninsula. Back to the wall, one empire (Lomsor the Yellow), then a second one (Arkenbrien the Purple) between us and the main galactic body, and being late, we couldnāt properly expand, lost one rushing carrier to Lomsorās early rushers, and now out of breathing room. Well, letās try to balance star upgrades between Economy, Industry and a few expensive Science.
This doesnāt bode well for galactic domination. Well, time to open some diplomatic relationships, it costs nothing to be polite.
First with Arkenbrien, which is the only other neighbour Lomsor has, so I will need his help if I want to break out of here at some point. I will have to fight him as well as some point to get out of the peninsula, but one thing at a time, and Lomsor has grown bigger and more menacing anyway.
Then Hrobertson the Pink. His empire is in the middle of the main body, surrounded by 5 other empires but with much room to develop. Letās politely ask him to not bother Arkenbrien that I need to threaten Lomsor. Fortunately, he agrees that if Lomsor takes the peninsula over, he will be undefeatable.
Then TerranAmbassador the Green. He is on the other side of the map, so an alliance is natural ā itās not as if we will fight anytime soon. And he is heavily investing in Science, so I can see tech exchanges being profitable.
About Science, well, Iāll go for Experimentation. Two cycles to develop it, and it should boost my science progress. At each cycle, it gives random advances in a technology, based on its research level. At the first two cycles, it gave me Manufacturing, which will help me reducing a bit the ship production divide with my heavily industrialized neighbour.
Oh, and Iāve found an ancient warp gate in a star. I wonder if I will use it one day.
Cycle 3 :
I will now try to develop Economy as much as possible ā I should hold up against Lomsor for a while if Iām only defending, I have only one neighbour, after all. And I will need economy to earn more cash, to make more economy and so far until my empire becomes a powerhouse strong enough to overwhelm the galaxy, for my children to rise and devour everything standing between us and galactic domination!
ā¦
Well, at least it should help me holding it on the long run.
Now that I have a few technologies, time to do some exchange. It costs a bit, but it should be worth it. Some Terraforming with TerranAmbassador, so star upgrades will cost less. At the other side of the galaxy, Xamino the Orange developed Weapons 2, and as a racial brothers, his empire is also willing to conduct productive technology trade.
Which is good news, as Lomsor also has Weapons 2 and launched a warfleet against my worlds. Without this providential trade, things could have been a bit hairy, but now my children shall crush his puny ships like ants. Big, deadly ants that will inflict quite a few losses but ants nonetheless.
Hrobertson is taking a clear lead. With two neighbours (Red and Lightblue) having fallen prone to anarchy after their leaders returned into slumber, he had time to expand and is now less than twenty stars away from complete galactic domination.
Wait a second, you only need 50 stars out of 149 to secure complete galactic domination? I thought it was at least half the galaxy that was needed.
Well, I canāt do much about it anyway. Anarchic empires rarely expand much, but are often though nuts to crack ; I hope TerranAmbassador and Xamino will fare well against Hrobertson. And Xamino told me that he was gained by a short slumber himself. Not very goodā¦
At least thanks to research, experimentation and trade, I am leading in research. If I can keep it that way, it should give me an edge.
Cycle 4 :
Hrobertson seems to have sent me a message by mistake. It was about sending him Scanners 2 (that I just traded with Xamino) as part of a concluded trade.
My guess is that he was trading with Lomsor, given that he is the only one else to have Scanners 2, and Ship count Intel shows a recent loss for Hrobertson and Xamino ā they probably clashed, though I do not see any difference in the star map. As Xamino has more severe losses, he was probably the attacker. Good thing he attacks, then. He has more ships and production, and Hrobertsonās star and economy count is unsettling. And destroying enemies forces honours our race ; though victories do honour it more, so I hope he will persevere.
Cycle 5 to 11 :
My mistake, Hrobertsonās message was actually a trade proposition. I need to fire (at) my translator, or so it seems.
The galaxy went through a long slumber, and we awoken anew, but for some reason I my mind feel less keen at keeping records for posterity. I hope this isnāt mind node damage ā those slumbers can do a number on oneās cerebral tissue.
As things went through, Hrobertson created an alliance with TerranAmbassador at the other side of the galaxy, Arkenbrien on the other side of Lomsor, and myself. I argued for it, if I remember, as if Lomsor managed to vanquish me, he would be undefeatable from the Northern peninsula. I omitted, of course, that I hoped to conquer the peninsula myself, but so far it means that Lomsor will be taken between Arkenbrien and me.
I still keep friendly relations with Xamino, even if there is less trade with him. As Hrobertson is at odds with him, neither needs to know about my good relationships with the other. I would guess that Xamino is allied with Lomsor as well, though ā I would have done the same anyway.
This is very profitable for technology trade, and I so far managed to stay at the top of technologies most of the time. There was a close call when Lomsor launched an attack on my not-defended-enough star, but I fortunately managed to secure a trade with TerranAmbassador for better weapons, and repelled him.
I am at risk against Lomsor, as he has more industry than me. Having more stars, he can have cheaper infrastructure, and I am heavily investing in Economy instead of Science or Industry like others.
Later, is time for revenge. Meaning that my own ships were defeated by Lomsor acquiring new weapon technology while they were en route. And defeated again when he simply massed ships on their destination.
Now, I am head and shoulders above others with economy and begins to pay off. I can invest in industry as well as economy, and the tides have turned against Lomsor. After Arkenbrien attacks and my own development, he is weakened, and I begin to take his stars.
Hrobertsonās big empire is becoming bigger and bigger, he may well win in short order. I tried to convince TerranAmbassador to contemplate striking at him and siding with Xamino when the time is right, but I am not sure he wants to. I sent a few technologies to the vacant Red empire, who will share it with the vacant Lightblue. The tougher they are, the more time they may give me against Hrobertson and the rising Arkenbrien.
I also tried to warn Arkenbrien about Hrobertsonās rise to victory. He seems to listen and be ready to strike when the time comes. He said that he is being careful with his fleets, keeping enough reserves for possible futuresā¦
I am now attacking Lomsorās core stars, as his defences collapsed against my forces. Arkenbrien stopped his assault against him, preferring advancing against the vacant Lightblue, but it is not necessary anymore. Better yet, I can now conquer more of Lomsorās stars without risking open conflict with Arkenbrien.
Unfortunately, TerranAmbassador renounced to his chances to victory and sided with Hrobertson against Xamino. I doubt he will hold for long. My only hopes are that Arkenbrien will strike him. Once I vanquished Lomsor, I may send an expeditionary force across his territory to weaken Hrobertson, but I will need his agreement for it, and it would still take many cycles.
After I found ancient warp gates, I begun to build my own on my homeworld. I will need to develop Hyperspace range just a bit more to be able to use an effective Warp net, meaning possible delays on others, more vital technologiesā¦
Cycle 13 :
I have sent advanced Weapons Xamino and Manufacturing to the Red vacant empire, and told Xamino to share it with the Red, who should send their own back in exchange (as I ignore his knowledge of the trade rules with vacant empires). Now, both have both technologies, that I wouldnāt have the funds to share all by myself.
I finally took Lomsorās homeworld, and the last of his core worlds. He has only two worlds left, now : one between Arkenbrien and me, that I intend to capture soon, and one in the periphery. It is a resourceful world, though he put up quite a fight and I wish to honour his tenacity ā but I do not know if leaving this world be would be viewed as an insult, instead of swiftly giving the coup de grace.
I send to Arkenbrien my plan to send an expeditionary force through his lines and wreck havoc across Hrobertsonās empire to slow his conquests to victory down. I hope he will agree to let my ships pass, having to force my way across his empire would considerably weaken my raiding fleet before even reaching Hrobertsonās stars. And it could spark a war against him, which would give Hrobertson the victory.
For the moment, Arkenbrien seems friendly enough, and is not massing forces at my frontier. Or if he does, it is outside of sensor range ā like me, now that my warp net is complete. Hundreds of ships are massing on the ancient warp gate I captured from Lomsor.
Cycle 14 :
Thanks to my great lead in Economy, I finally could take the lead in Science and Ship production as well. Hrobertson still has more Industry than me, but my advance in Manufacturing makes the difference. I am surprised that TerranAmbassador, who has it as well, didnāt share it. Maybe he is out of funds? Or maybe he is planning to turn against Hrobertson, as I (so far unsuccessfully) tried to convince him to? Only the future will tell.
I fear, though, that now that I am both the most powerful one and with an easy to defend territory, the others will be too wary of me to listen or trade. While Hrobertson is the closest to victory, if he doesnāt succeed, I may be the biggest threat.
Which is a problem, as my easy to defend frontier makes it easier to defend against me as well.
Xaminoās empire is falling. Soon, Hrobertson will have the 50 stars to win. I am launching a thousand-strong fleet through the Arkenbrienās East star to attack Hrobertson. He doesnāt seem exactly enthusiastic about letting my ships go through his empire, because of how Hrobertson may react (through I can imagine how letting me have intel across his empire may not please him), but I hope that he will at least not try to stop my fleet.
Cycle 15 :
Experimentation stumbled on new techniques in Experimentation twice in a row, neatly giving me a new level of knowledge in Experimentation. Are my scientists trying to ask for even more subventions?
Well, no time for (thinking about) ending Lomsor or not anyway. Hrobertson is about to win galactic domination. Arkenbrien is ready to let my ships pass (well, stopping a thousand of my children screaming for blood may not have looked like a tempting endeavour, I suppose) but they will never arrive on time at Hrobertsonās stars.
Cycle 16 :
Hrobertson is on star short of victory. Unless Arkenbrienās ships are about to attack him, I doubt his victory can be prevented.
Aaaand Hrobertson won indeed.
Post-mortem :
- Building up Economy worked quite well, as I just kept enough Industry to defend at first. Then, it allows to create a war machine on par with anyone. That said, it was particularly good there because I had only one frontier, and against someone with two.
- It is important to have enough Science to have some techs, but then with trades it is possible to stay on top of the techs for the most part.
- Being nice makes things better for everyone. And it helps with diplomacy.
- I should have sent those damn raiding fleets earlier to Hrobertson.
3 Likes
GG, everyone.
Is anybody up for another? Or shall we wait a few weeks?
Iām up for another, though maybe with 50% stars instead of 33% this time.
Iām up for playing something but I donāt think NP2 is it.
Or maybe we could try it with the turn based setting? Each turn being around 8 ticks?
Iām fine with turn based.
I thought the galaxy was a little small. Any chance we could have more stars?
Well I lurked around little ā¦
A round based game with the settings proposed is a good idea. (Tick times, big galaxy)
I just donāt have the time to participate for the next two months. This thread is open to anyone that wants to organize or talk about the game. So yeah ā¦
Just wanted to clarify if anyone was waiting for an answer from me. (Nods at Ark ā¦)
NECROBUMPINCOMING!!!
Anyone up for another game?
Heading into vacation next week so Iām not in ā¦
Iād be up for another go.
Iād be up for one too.
Not this time.
I need to get some work done!
itās been ages but sure, iām game
With the wolf game kicking off I remembered this. Anyone feel like a game?
@Lomsor, do you still have premium? If not Iāll buy.
I suggest the following settings changes:
- 50% or even 66% stars for victory.
- Expensive & Rare gates
- Dark Galaxy enabled
- 32 stars per player
- Lvl 2 scanning
1 Like
I saw this thread when it started and began playing on my own and boya is this game addicting.
Count me in!
Iām sorry, not this time ā both the wolf game and this at the same time plus my work would be too much. But Iāll be watching and reading along if a game comes together!