RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (Full Version)

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> After Action Reports



Message

Data -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/4/2011 6:44:03 PM)

There was a dream some of us had, to take the only remaining colony ship from a destroyed empire and rebuild it far away....only to come back and destroy all. A type of Battlestar Galactica AAR; but obviously that would be just as painful and time consuming as the actual BG [:D]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:12:53 AM)

quote:

There was a dream some of us had, to take the only remaining colony ship from a destroyed empire and rebuild it far away....only to come back and destroy all. A type of Battlestar Galactica AAR; but obviously that would be just as painful and time consuming as the actual BG


Well, this game is starting to feel like that! It's really been fun, hunted and on the run, but refusing to die. The shrimp blockade my one and only colony, and I have exactly two ships -- construction vessels that can't construct anything, presumably because they have nothing in their cargo bays. I don't even have private-sector ships; I survive on trade from other nations' freighters. But while the shrimp regularly invade me with a land army, I regularly repulse them, and I add troops every year. And so, for decades, I survive like this, surrounded by the bugs.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/95D0E0CC520246D89E8AD325FCDDC211.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:15:27 AM)

But, at long last, my dream comes true. The shrimp -- er, the Gizurean Consciousness -- falls into war with an even stronger neighbor, the Vurean Federation. The Gizurean offer me peace, and I rush to hit the "accept" button. They warp out of my system, and suddenly I'm alone. I start building a star port. I'm feeling greedy, so I make it a Large Star Port.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/37ADDB561F394B5ABFD56079496ADFE8.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:18:44 AM)

Mirabile dictu, I finish the star port, still at peace with the Gizureans. I rush to build military ships, exploration ships, planetary defense, and a colony ship (with an exploration module added, so that it can explore for itself). It seems to take forever, but at last I start to launch my new fleet of ships.

One thing I wasn't sure of: how to get these new ships fuel. I do have Caslon at the star port, but the ships mostly seemed to want to refuel at my one and only gas-mining installation, northeast of home. I grudgingly let them go.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/D7E33D6BB8634756AC53A55B376F1B07.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:22:03 AM)

Pretty soon I had a whole stream of warships, explorers, and freighters riding that route to my refueling station. I did order my two construction ships to build a second refueling station closer to home (and further from the shrimp), but those projects take time.

As I churned out cruisers and destroyers, I kept glancing at my military rating. Still less than 1000, while the shrimp are at 6000. It doesn't help that my weapons tech has been stalled for decades, as I had only one research lab -- an energy lab. With no starport, I had zero weapons research, zero high-tech.

The upshot is that I'm not exactly scaring my neighbors. Here's a brush-off from one of them.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/D14CB8C86E954527929D66E011712E91.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:26:35 AM)

Alas, the Gizurean make peace with their neighbors. I pump out more warships, but I know I don't have much longer. Just as I'm thinking of sending them a gift to delay the inevitable, the shrimp ambassador pays me a visit and declares war -- again.

The enemy swoops in on my homeworld just as my ships are trickling back from their refueling jaunt to the northeast. At first my guys put up a decent fight.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/F2A667E39F60474584BEBA890AA543AB.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:29:00 AM)

But the bugs simply have more firepower, and my defenses start to wilt.

Amusingly, in the middle of this rather spectacular battle, I get a popup about a rare fruit. I thought there was something incongruous about this image of a peaceful pear juxtaposed with the carnage around Almas-3.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/45564AD9546341739734838979AA0D48.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:30:32 AM)

In short order, I've got only a couple of destroyers left, and the bugs focus fire on my planetary defense base and then on the starbase. Quite the swarm.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/52C98A7338974721926974613CBFAFA1.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:34:03 AM)

With the situation hopeless, I order my remaining ships to avoid the area. In particular, I'm careful to plot courses for my exploration ships, and my sole colony/exploration ship, far away from the bugs. They scatter in all directions, while Almas-3's spaceport explodes.

Fortunately, the bugs aren't as good at massing their troops as they are at massing their warships. They've never brought near enough to dislodge me. So we're back to the status quo ante bellum -- except that now I have a colony ship exploring the galaxy, looking for a second home, and I've got two explorers heading for the Securan "family" race to the northwest.

Here's the victory screen after the fall of the space port. In the background, you can see my remaining ships scattering, like the refugees in Battlestar Galactica.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/60543A5233364506B642536EDA1F319C.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:37:05 AM)

A wider shot. If you look closely, you can see vectors of two explorers heading northwest to Securan family territory; one heading east to the safe haven there; and a couple (including my colony/explorer) heading south, toward the small friendly empire there. Any port in a storm.

One UI question. What does the dotted circular ring represent? Is it the fuel range of the selected ship? I hope so -- I'd been wondering how I could see that on-screen. Is it on by default?

[image]local://upfiles/7808/5B55A06CB7D440148E82F06EA7D208DF.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:40:10 AM)

Here's another look, with another big dotted ring. Fuel range?

One striking thing is how little of the galaxy I can see. Is it common for a game in 2779 to reveal so little of the galaxy? My guess is no, heh. I'm hoping that my two or three explorers will change that over the next year or so.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/D70BF834E4824E2ABAF6D4546858BFCE.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 5:43:19 AM)

The victory screen as of this writing. OK, I probably won't win! But I'm still alive and kicking, and I intend to keep playing. If I could just get a couple years of peace, then I'd have time to build a navy and some research and some mining facilities and some exploration ships and colony ships and...well, you get the picture.

More to come!

[image]local://upfiles/7808/18CC80ACF6144DFC8A5D93FB0737ADB4.jpg[/image]



Ares106 -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 6:20:43 AM)

nice! yes i believe dotted lines is ship fuel range.

btw if you keep going like this the title of this AAR is going to become quite misleading.[:D]



HectorOfTroy -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 6:39:47 AM)

Keep it going man [:'(]. Try to get some free trade agreements and MDPs if you can (esp with Securan motherland).

Also try to build a mining station or two for your fuel and resource needs, jsut don't build too many so you don't run out of resources and money. And keep exploring for new colonies.



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 7:02:00 AM)

quote:

btw if you keep going like this the title of this AAR is going to become quite misleading.

LoL, I know! When I started the AAR, I thought I was ready to throw in the towel, so I figured I'd give people a quick read. But then I passed a morale check and decided to play on, and sheesh, it's been a hoot!

quote:

Try to get some free trade agreements and MDPs if you can (esp with Securan motherland).

Also try to build a mining station or two for your fuel and resource needs, jsut don't build too many so you don't run out of resources and money. And keep exploring for new colonies.

In fact, a couple empires just did offer me free trade agreements, and I said yes. My cash keeps going up, so that's good. I just offered the Securan motherland an MDP, just before I saved my game and quit for the night. We'll see what they say.

Not sure how I can build any mining stations, though. Without a spaceport, my construction ships don't seem to want to build anything. I'll try again tomorrow, though. I do have exploration ships and a colony ship roaming free, so I'm hoping I can establish a second colony far from the shrimp. Maybe that's wishful thinking, I dunno, but we'll see.



HectorOfTroy -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 7:13:06 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

quote:

btw if you keep going like this the title of this AAR is going to become quite misleading.

LoL, I know! When I started the AAR, I thought I was ready to throw in the towel, so I figured I'd give people a quick read. But then I passed a morale check and decided to play on, and sheesh, it's been a hoot!

quote:

Try to get some free trade agreements and MDPs if you can (esp with Securan motherland).

Also try to build a mining station or two for your fuel and resource needs, jsut don't build too many so you don't run out of resources and money. And keep exploring for new colonies.

In fact, a couple empires just did offer me free trade agreements, and I said yes. My cash keeps going up, so that's good. I just offered the Securan motherland an MDP, just before I saved my game and quit for the night. We'll see what they say.

Not sure how I can build any mining stations, though. Without a spaceport, my construction ships don't seem to want to build anything. I'll try again tomorrow, though. I do have exploration ships and a colony ship roaming free, so I'm hoping I can establish a second colony far from the shrimp. Maybe that's wishful thinking, I dunno, but we'll see.


I don't see a reason why you couldn't build mining stations without a starport. Put your constructors on manual and order them manually to build the mining/gas stations.



feelotraveller -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 7:26:59 AM)

You seem to have plenty of money. [:)] If you know any Pirates you could buy the location of an independent colony from them for what is a paltry sum for you. Normally i wouldn't recommend this as it makes the game too easy but given your situation it seems appropriate. Just hope the independents are friendly too you! If not you might need to buy the location of another one. Send your colony ship there pronto. The starting boost in population makes a very big difference. Just colonise as quickly as possible and send one of your explorers to investigate the local resource possibilities.



martok -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 12:05:31 PM)

I'm loving your AAR, Grotius. It's not often you see one where the player is struggling and/or hanging on by their fingernails, and I have to say, it makes for a delightful change of pace. That you're merely trying to survive makes for a much more compelling story!




quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

One UI question. What does the dotted circular ring represent? Is it the fuel range of the selected ship? I hope so -- I'd been wondering how I could see that on-screen. Is it on by default?


Yes, and yes. [:)]






Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 3:03:40 PM)

quote:

I don't see a reason why you couldn't build mining stations without a starport. Put your constructors on manual and order them manually to build the mining/gas stations.


The last time I lost my space port, it didn't work. I'd order a construction ship to build a gas- or steel-mining facility, but no money would be deducted from my treasury, and the scrolling log would immediately report "Construction ship x has completed its mission." When I check the constructors, they are carrying absolutely nothing in their cargo holds. I assume that's why? They need to collect materials with which to build the facility, and as they have no friendly space port, they simply refuse to do anything. But I'll try again.

Feelotraveler, good idea. My enemies seem to have exterminated all the local pirates, who I had routinely hired as allies, heh. I think I did accept one pirate offer to learn about a potential colony, but since then, no pirate contact at all.

Martok, thanks for the confirmation on the rings. Is fuel necessary for travel at above-light speed? Sometimes my ships seem to be able to make trips with no fuel at all.

Hope to have more to report tonight. Very fun game. :)



Theluin -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 3:33:23 PM)

I hope your colony ship finds a new planet soon cause the bugs may decide they have enough and bomb you [:D]

quote:

Is fuel necessary for travel at above-light speed? Sometimes my ships seem to be able to make trips with no fuel at all.

Fuel is actually only necessary for weapons and shield recharge. Your ships however will move with only 1/3 of their hyper space speed and 1/2 or 1/3 of their sub-light speed if they're out of fuel.



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 4:03:42 PM)

Ah, thanks, I didn't know that.



Krippakrull -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 6:29:10 PM)

Just chiming in that I love this AAR as well, a lot more entertaining to read about an empire having a hard time than one steamrolling the opposition. So, in short: MOAR! ;)



Grisha -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 7:00:43 PM)

I just looked in on this AAR after checking it out some time before, and I have to say this is great. This is the game we all hate because we 'know' we're going to lose. Then, later we all wonder what might have happened had we stuck it out. Watching you survive against the Gizureans is encouraging me to stick it out more with games I usually will call. I can think back on a game where I started against the Gizureans and had the luxury of development before being engaged in a war with them. I actually had the upper hand technologically and economically, but quit it because it would likely set me back too much to 'win'.

In fact, I may do away with victory conditions after watching this. Let my own sense of 'victory' decide if I won or not [:)] It would certainly make for better roleplay!

Keep at it!



martok -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/5/2011 7:51:23 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Martok, thanks for the confirmation on the rings. Is fuel necessary for travel at above-light speed? Sometimes my ships seem to be able to make trips with no fuel at all.


Fuel isn't strictly necessary for travel (whether FTL or sub-light), no. However, as Theluin pointed out, your ships move a lot slower than normal if their fuel tanks are empty.

I can't confirm the numbers he gave -- 1/3 actually feels a little high to me, but then I've never stopped to really time it either, so he's probably right. Either way, though, it definitely reduces travel speed by a drastic degree. So don't let your ships run dry!






Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/6/2011 6:37:07 AM)

I fight on! There's even a faint glimmer of hope. I'll report in detail tomorrow.



InaB77 -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/6/2011 10:07:38 AM)

Sweet AAR, loving it !



blastpop -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/6/2011 7:20:08 PM)

Good AAR- please continue



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/7/2011 6:21:40 AM)

The shrimp gave us a short reprise, and we managed to build a few exploration ships, a couple warships, and one lonely colony ship before the Gizureans declared war again. Before the shrimp could come kill my new little navy, I sent it off in all directions, with the colony ship heading toward the friendly confines of my cousins to the northwest. I have no refueling stations at all, and for some reason a couple of my ships wanted to refuel off-map, or at least in the far northwest corner. Not sure if this is a feature or a bug. :)

[image]local://upfiles/7808/E433DE7AFC9846539A250C809DA3EBFE.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/7/2011 6:24:50 AM)

I also used the reprieve to build some mobile science labs. If I build science labs around Almas-3, the shrimp just come and blow them up, leaving me with zero research. For whatever reason, I haven't been able to get construction ships to build labs around research spots either, probably because without a spaceport, the construction ships have no way of gathering the materials. So I make some hybrid cruiser-researchers. I'm thinking it's like giving Mr. Spock his own science lab for R&D, or some such, while Kirk sits on the bridge steering the cruiser away from danger.

[image]local://upfiles/7808/8CE281AFC9774C4EB6B686BCDBB3B91C.jpg[/image]



Grotius -> RE: Quick and nasty: a Securan story (12/7/2011 6:29:30 AM)

Recall that I've been in last place all along. I still am. The bugs come and kill my spaceport again, but I fight off their invading troops again. Then, after a wait, they grudgingly give me another peace. This time I have a new Ambassador named San Dokari. She's untested, but why not send her to socialize with the shrimp? I've got nothing to lose, I figure.


[image]local://upfiles/7808/9259ED9E13284DD8A7D62AD7C5C6D444.jpg[/image]



Page: <<   < prev  1 [2] 3 4 5   next >   >>

Valid CSS!




Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI
3.889648