Year 2451:
I’m still in 2nd place, and the Xym are really pulling out ahead, about 130 points ahead of me. I’m widening the gap a bit between myself and the Alphas as well. The Mattari’iani are making their own moves, coming in only 1 point behind the Alphas last year, but back to about a 20 point gap this year.
Recent Technological Advances: In 2450, I got Electronics 6 (Beam Deflector, Scoper 220, better JoaT scanners) and Weapons 11 (Gatling Gun, M-80 bomb). All attempts at tech trading between myself and the Xym or Mattari’iani have failed. The Xym suggested that, instead of using large freighters to pass on Construction tech, it would be cheaper to use Scouts with Kelarium armor. Foolish me. That’s what I’ll be using. The Mattari’iani asked for Weapons tech, and since the only other place I out-tech him is in Energy, I may have to oblige. I’m really beginning to favor the XymZoink alliance because he’s stronger and he’s more active diplomatically. Still, I’ve got to hold on in the north if those colonies are to have a fighting chance. The Mattari colony of Mu, right on the back door of Arcturius, will have a stargate soon, so ships he’s sending me for tech will arrive sooner.
Recent Sightings: The Persuaders, while I’ve heard tell of them elsewhere, are also in the area due north of the Kzin. I had a couple of scouts looking around up there, and they were taken out by Persuader border guards in 2449.
Two more Mystery Traders have appeared! In 2450, one entered the universe from the south about 1/3 of the way in from the eastern edge moving north-northeast at Warp 10. He will pass my northern colonies in about 9 years, and I’m working on scrounging up enough minerals to trade with him. If I pool my resources at Arcturius, Aquarius and Orbison, I can do it. In 2451, another Trader entered the universe from the north, just northwest of Goober, moving south-southwest at Warp 12. He will pass quite a distance east of Alpha Centauri down south. The original Trader is still on course and my Trader Bait fleet carrying 5000kT of Boranium will hit him next year.
The Shining Zoinker starbase will be showing up all over my empire. They were built at Shank (2450), Red Ball (2450), Steppenwolf (2451), and Alpha Centauri (2451). I put one in the queues of Crabby (due in 2453), Arcturius (2453), Aquarius (2453), Spaceball (2453), Scorpius (2454), Vivaldi (2455, put into the queue right after a Space Station Hull was built there), Resort (2456), and Kalamazoo (2458). Shank also built the first few of the new Zoinkifier cruiser.
Virgo, in the northern colonies, became a green planet for me in 2450. Kulu should be green soon.
Diplomacy: In 2449, I sent a message to the Mattari’iani asking about the response from the Alphas with regards to their scout:
The Alphas have stationed a scout in the orbit of Weed, near some of my lesser colonies, and he won't move it, considering any attack on it an act of war. What's your relationship with them?
I hadn’t heard from him yet, which worries me a bit.
Down south, I’m keeping a eye on the ABRs. In 2450, the 11 ABR low-tech destroyers going to Fizbin took 1100 points damage flying through the minefield surrounding Scorpius, which amounts to a 36% damage hit. No word from them about that, though now they know about the field. Given that many of the ABR ships have 35% cloaks on them these days, I sent a scout, ABR Monitor, inside the minefield surrounding Skloot and close enough to detect any ships cloaked that much. Sure enough, more ships did show up on the scan that didn’t before when ABR Monitor had Skloot barely in it’s penetrating scanner range. Ten of them are destroyers of a new, and thus far unknown, design. I informed the Xym, and we’ve decided to wait until the Xym have cruisers before going after the ABRs. I certainly hope that tech trade starts working.
Year 2455:
The gaps are widening. I’m 100 points ahead of the Imperials, 50 points ahead of the Alphas, and 200 points behind the Xym. The Mattari’iani took a huge hit in resources in 2453, and when I asked if he was being bombed, he replied that he’d simply left colonist resupply orders from his home planet going to long.
In 2452 the Mystery Trader gave me the Hush-a-Boom bomb for my Boranium. Not having built any bombers yet, it’s a good time to get this toy, but it requires tech 12 in Weapons, Electronics & Biotechnology to be used, and I usually lag way behind in Biotech. I’m currently at level 4 there, but the other areas are starting to pick up, especially due to the fact that tech trading is finally happening. A new Trader Bait fleet has been assembled at Aquarius, schedule to contact another Mystery Trader in 2459. In one message to me, the Mattari’iani said that they had received the Mega-Poly Shell from a trader, but didn’t indicate which one. If it’s the one moving south, I won’t be able to hit him. I’m shooting for the northbound one.
Recent Technological Advances: In 2453 I got Propulsion 6 from the Xym (Radiating Hydro-Ram Scoop). In 2454 I got Weapons 12 (Mini Blaster, Jihad Missile, needed for Hush-a-Boom Bomb) and Electronic 7 (Ferret Scanner). In 2455 I got Electronics 8 from Mattari tech trade (Gazelle Scanner, LBU-17 bomb, Scoper 280), then discovered Electronics 9.
The lone Zoinkifier called "Stargate Tester" made it through the stargate from Shank to Steppenwolf with only 10% damage, so that’s not too bad a price. However, I lost a Zoinkifier to the stargate trying to move 3 from Red Ball to Shank, so either it’s gets a little damage, or I lose some completely. I’ll have to keep this in mind when building fleets.
New Shining Zoinkers keep popping up all over my southern colonies, and even in a few places up north. They appeared recently at Spaceball & Crabby in 2453, Scorpius, Aquarius & Arcturius in 2454, and at Vivaldi & Resort in 2455. The Starbase at Ney was completed in 2452.
Kulu went green in 2452, making all my currently inhabited planets friendly in terms of habitability. I have queued up a colony ship at Arcturius to inhabit Wendy, in the far northeast corner of the universe.
Diplomacy: In the northern colonies, diplomacy with the Mattari’iani has been confusing. While technology trading is coming along fine, information about other players & planets can be hard to come by. Grey Matter Colony showed up at Grey Matter in 2454, but the Sarduccis had already colonized it. I’d asked the Mattari’iani about this before, but never got word about this from them. I’ve rerouted the ship north to Schwiiing, but it looks like Alpha privateers are headed there, probably in hopes of colonizing it themselves. If they do, I’m thinking about just dropping my colonists there and letting them fight it out. I’d win, since I’ve got a large freighter’s worth vs. his two privateers, but I wish I didn’t have to fight the Alphas for it. They seem ready to pick a fight.
Neither did the Mattari’iani reply about their relations with the Alphas. This worried me a bit, until I saw an Alpha scout in a Mattari minefield disappear, probably due to it’s destruction. So they’re not considered friends, but I can’t get info on the Alphas from the Mattari’iani. This could simply be oversight. While I’m inclined to doubt that (messages to the Mattari’iani about the Alphas were not buried in messages about other things), I’m not sure how to otherwise explain it.
The Mattari’iani now have the Mega-Poly Shell, as well as the Hush-a-Boom bomb, as he mentioned in a message to me, so his arsenal is expanding, as well as requesting Weapons tech from me. I’ve created the Weapons TechnoTrader ship for trading that tech with him, though that bothers me, and I may just have to slow things down on that front. He’s sending frigates my way with Propulsion tech via the stargate on Mu.
In the south, the Sarduccis appear to be using Super Fuel Export ships as scouts. However, they are also finding my minefields. In 2454 I took out a Viking scout at Black Hole with the Little Zoinker defending the mining effort there. He took out the scout in short order, which was ironic since in 2453 I made a concerted effort to kill the scout using Red Ball Defense, but not a single torpedo hit. I sent a Long-Range Scout through a solid wormhole northwest of the Kzin planet of Spittle, and it comes out near the southwest corner of the universe. I’m looking for good world, but I fear the area has been saturated by Xym, as well as Alphas & Sarduccis. My colony ships that were heading far away towards All Work discovered in 2454 that the Xym had colonized it. That’s my fault. I’m now looking for another suitable world.
The Xym's Generalized Research has given them Construction 9, so now he needs Energy. I created the Energy TechnoTrader, with a Bear Neutrino Barrier for that purpose.
Preparations for the XymZoink - ABR war continue. The Xym are stationing scouts near ABR planets to avoid surprises, and will by laying minefields between ABR and Xym worlds. My own scout that was watching Skloot can now see quite a bit further due to advances in Electronics, so I’m repositioning him between Skloot, Bakwele and Magellan. I’m sending the former Alpha Centauri Defense in to Skloot on a suicide mission to discover the design of the new ABR ships. Due to the minefield, he’s sliding in at warp 4 so he won’t make Skloot until 2458. I’m hoping the ABRs don’t send out a known ship to blow him away before arrival.
Ten Little Zoinkers are on their way to kill 5 ABR privateer colonizers that are going to Fizbin but are stuck at warp 1. They will arrive next year. Also, I’ve created the ABR Mid-Fielder fleet (5 Fielders, 5 Little Zoinkers, 2 Gas Stations) to mine the area between Alpha-Centauri/Resort and Crabby/Scorpius, and to have these fields cover the ABR planets in that area. The fleet will be stationed on the Bakwele side of those planets in hopes of slowing any reinforcements Bakwele may be able to provide in the future (as it doesn’t yet have a starbase, but could very quickly).
Year 2460:
The Xym have rocketed to almost 300
points ahead of me, while the Alphas are now only 14 points
behind me.
Recent Technological Advances: I’ve gained tech levels every year during this time, thanks to tech trading with the Mattari. I got Propulsion 7 from the Mattari'iani (Alpha Drive 8) in 2456. I got Propulsion 8 from the Mattari (Sub-Galactic Fuel Scoop), then Electronics 10 (Dolphin Scanner, LBU-32 bomb, Super Stealth Cloak, Jammer 20, Snooper 320X scanner) in 2457. I got Propulsion 9 (Trans-Galactic Drive, Trans-Galactic Fuel Scoop) from the Mattari in 2458. I got Electronics 11 (Cheetah scanner, Battle Super Computer) in 2459. And this year, I got Biotech 5 & Biotech 6 (DNA Scanner). Also, scrapping ships at the Mattari planet of Mu have shown me that he has Ultimate Recycling (for whatever that’s worth.)
In 2459, the Mystery Trader gave me the Multi-Function Pod (30% cloak, 10% jam & maneuvering jet). It needs Energy, Prop & Elec 11, I have Elec 11, so I’ve decided to tune my research towards those areas rather than the Hush-A-Boom bomb, as I’ll can get them sooner. (The Biotech required for the bomb is going to take me a while to get.)
In 2456, I created Xenon Colony at
Arcturius, and sent it on it’s way. In 2458, a new Shining
Zoinker was built at Kalamazoo and I put a Shining Zoinker in the
queue of Poly Siren (2459), Virgo (2459) and Goober (2464). Also,
Wendy was colonized in the northern colonies. In 2459, a new
Shining Zoinker was built at Orbison.
The colony ship that was going to colonize All Work (until it discovered that the Xym got there first) has been redirected to Jersey, a work even farther north than All Work. It’s a long way away, but it’s better than nothing, and I really do need to expand.
Diplomacy: Up north, the Alphas did in fact colonize Schwiiing a year before I got there, so I unloaded my colonists for a ground war. My 120,000 colonists took out his 22,800 easily with 96,500 left. I warned the Mattari’iani that I was going to do this just prior to the attack:
FYI, I'm about to do something in 2457 (the year you receive this) that may tick off the Alphas. I do need some more planets, and when I got to Grey Matter, the Sarduccis were already there. (I had asked you if it was already colonized, but you never answered.) Anyway, I sent that colony north to Schwiiing, but the Alphas just got there this year, one year ahead of me. Instead of giving up again, I'm planning on unloading my troops and taking the planet by ground combat. I'm certain to win. However, the Alphas have appeared to be ready to go to war over a scout at Weed, and this is probably worse than that.
I've asked you what your relationship with the Alphas are, and you've not answered that either, but I don't think you've set them to Friend status. Unfortunately, I'm having to feel my way around all of this, so any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated (e.g. your relations with them, home / large planets, etc.) Thank you.
As of this year, I still have no word from the Mattari’iani other than questions about tech trade. I replied asking what he needs, but when he responds, I’ll have to insist on intelligence before I continue trading. While he’s been giving me propulsion like crazy, I’m at his level now, I believe, and he may not have as much to offer short-term. As to tech trading, the Mattari’iani did mention they got a level in Weapons from me in 2456.
In 2457, I sent this to the Alphas:
In answer to your anticipated question: I needed another planet, and you beat me only by a year. Consider it the price for all the intelligence your scout at Weed is gathering.
His response was:
We'll let that one slide...anyway, I'd prefer to keep things peaceful with the Zoinks. As you may or may not have noticed, I have our #1 player (by a wide margin) on my southern border, and he's making me nervous...
I thought that was interesting, and let the Xym know about it.
Since the colonizer for Schwiiing was just used to transport, not actually colonize, I’m sending it to Orbison for colonists who will colonize the planet Sniffles. It’s close to Arcturius, and it’s rather mineral-poor, but at least it is green.
Down south, the Xym and I continue to lay the groundwork for an ABR offensive, with the laying of minefields being most obvious. I have noticed that some Zoinkifiers are going through stargates without any damage, which is just fine with me. The 10 Little Zoinkers sent to take out the out-of-gas ABR colonizers took 3 years to do the job, but were successful. In the middle of that particular offensive, the Xym had a suggestion:
It is probably too late to suggest this but are you sure it wouldn't be a better idea to warn the ABR privateers away rather than taking them out. This would make him think that you are only concerned for your planets and not being aggressive. We don't want to give him warning to start building before we can hit him hard. Just in case, I have moved two 5 destroyer flotillas to the ABR border. Let me know if you need them.
You mine laying plans sound good. We should have him pretty much pinned in before we hit him. If we are careful, we will be able to take him out before he knows what hit him.
My response was:
Heh, yes it is too late, but warning them off wouldn't have mattered, since they were out of fuel and hobbling along at warp 1. He & I both know they're colonizers and I think it'll be obvious what my intentions are. We've already been mildly aggressive anyway, but the only warships (if you can call them that) he's ever seen from me are scouts with Beta torpedoes. Thanks for the offer of destroyers, but I don't think I'll need them yet. The Suicide Mission is going as planned. Next year, we find out what he's got.
I see your flotillas at Flint Stone and Arafat. I've got about 27 Zoinkifiers (more to come) at Shank >chuckle< that can be at Alpha Centauri via stargates in 2 years, so surprise will be on our side. We need to decide on what planets we'll strike first. I'll have my ABR Mid-Fielder mine layers in place next year. They should be on your radar; 12 ships due west of Lever.
The Suicide Mission Little Zoinker arrived at Skloot and found that the new ABR Destroyers have only Beta torpedoes and range 1 Yakimora Light Phasers, which isn’t all that impressive, especially since it’s only a very small improvement over the Destroyers at Fizbin, which have Alpha torpedoes. The Zoinkifier cruiser is looking better all the time.
In addition to the worry by the Alphas about the Xym, the Xym have worries of their own:
In answer to your question about construction, I could start building cruiser. I usually prefer to wait until I can get better armor for them (ie construction 12), but, given the situation, this does not seem to be practical. I will start building them as soon as I get tech 14 weapons. This decision is prompted in part by our planned attack on the ABRs and in part by the fact that my quiet neighbor to the north, the Alphas who, by the way, greatly out tech both of us, have started building battleships and B17 bombers. The Sarduccis told me several turns ago that these might be for use against me. I certainly do not have anything to stop them at the present time.
Given the fact that both the ABRs and the Alphas outtech us, I think that we should kick up our tech transfer to every turn. I would like to get higher energy and electronics as soon as possible.
As the score shows, the Alphas have 5 capital ships. Battleships are being built in the universe.
This year, I heard more about the Vikings than I’d heard before. First, they took out one of my long-range scouts situated between the northern & southern colonies, then the Sarduccis had something to say about them:
I like to inform the world that the Vikings have slaughtered without any warning unarmed colonizers with superior military force. This action needs to be condemned and penalized. I accept reparation payments in kind by the Vikings at any planet of mine. --Guido Sarducci
Sounds like some folks are bumping borders. So far, this doesn’t really affect me. The Persuaders, who have been creeping slowly southward, also took out one of my long-range probes. That I’ll need to keep an eye on, as Jersey is deep in Persuader territory.
My potentially large minefield around Alpha Centauri kept getting swept almost completely up by some unknown ships. I had no clue what could be doing it, until the Xym pointed out that the ABRs has built a standard starbase at Wumpus, and Wumpus was within the field. I’m going to move the Fielder fleet out a bit and start a new field outside the range of Wumpus.
I've reassessed my situation with regards to the game's winning conditions, and have examined how I could win this game. With the Xym almost 300 points ahead of me, they will certainly fit the criteria of highest score after 70 years, and for quite some time after that. My score will probably never be highest since some of the factors are limited by the number of planets you own. Since the Xym have the most planets (63), I have but 24, most planets are now spoken for, and the 60% needed for another winning condition requires 216, I find it difficult to believe that this criteria will be one of those that determines the winner. Thus, the other two areas--tech 22 in 4 fields and production capacity of 70,000--are the two I should keep tabs on. Given that and my current capacity of about 15,000, I need to start growing, and the only way to do that is to take over planets, starting with those of the ABRs. Planetary defenses have been going up around my empire, as well as better starbases, minefields and my new Zoinkifier cruisers. I compare quite favorably to the ABRs; I've caught up with them in tech levels, I have about 3 times the resources available, and 14 starbases vs. his 3. Given this situation, and the fact that I won’t go anywhere keeping the status quo, I'm planning on striking at the ABRs myself, with or without the Xym. To the Xym:
I'm really needing to do some growth. Most planets are spoken for now, and I'm being stunted by that, so I need to begin, unilaterally, to go into attack mode. As I'm pretty sure I can handle them, I plan on starting to slice away at the ABR empire, beginning with the planet Fizbin. In 2462, I will have a fleet of Zoinkifiers there to take out the garrison, and I'll deal with the people there soon enough. I don't think this will effect our plans in the future. It may even work to their advantage, as he'll be concentrating on me, spending his resources on my attack allowing you to move in. Further, if he -does- have any tricks up his sleeve for a short-term campaign, this will force him to tip his hand, and in doing so will allow you to build a cruiser that exploits any weaknesses that become apparent. I realize we'll lose the surprise of a concerted effort, but I also think that you can lull him into a false sense of security during my assault then surprise him with an attack of your own. I'm running out of options for expansion, and I've got all these Zoinkifier cruisers here. :)
And once the ABRs scan my cruisers next year, there will be no more surprises.
Year 2464: The War Begins
The Alphas have passed me in score. They were tied with me in 2461 and passed me this year, but by only 3 points.
Recent Technological Advances: In 2463, I got Biotech 7 (Organic Armor, Smart Bomb) from the battle with the ABRs at Ultima Thule, and Electronics 12 (necessary for the Hush-a-Boom bomb). This year I got Energy 11 (needed for Multi-Function Pod).
Some more sniping has been going on between the Vikings and the Sarduccis. In 2461, the Vikings responded to what the Sarduccis said:
It doesn't take much to make the Sarduccies weep huh! Apparently the Sarduccie leader is a greenhorn in this game and didn't understand that he tried to colonize one of MY planets and I had to defend it - and with superior force too.
Then in 2462, more from the Sarduccis:
The Vikings have basically stuck their tongue at me, instead of obeying the galactic code of honor and diplomatic relationship. They better watch out, that nobody rips their tongue out next time they act that way.
This year, we also got a non-game announcement from the Mattari'iani:
Hi all ... just back from the hospital with our new 9 lb 1oz son :-) Been gone almost a week, but now I might get to play Stars! between diaper changes ...
My response (to everybody):
Le Grand Zoink, of the Zoink Empire, wishes to congratulate the Mattari leader on the birth of his latest colonist. May he someday be fit to take over the reigns of the great Mattari empire. Please pass on to Mrs. Mattari our well-wishes.
Finally, this year the last of my Armed Probes were scrapped, opening up that ship slot.
I put a Shining Zoinker into the queues of Ney in the south (due in 2465), and new ones were built at Poly Siren, Virgo and Goober up north. I also sent a colonizer to Flapjack up north as well. It’s not very mineral-rich, but at least it’s a planet.
Diplomacy: In 2462, the Persuaders & the Vikings destroyed the colonizer going to Jersey. This was a long-shot and foolish move on my part, but I thought I'd at least give it a shot. Interesting that they both were at the same place at the same time.
Up north, I've had a couple problems with the Imperials. They sent out a batch of colonizers recently, and one of them landed at Cirrus in 2461, where I was mining. I moved the mining operation to Mungle, not far away, and still close to Aquarius, but I did let them know I wasn't happy about that, and that I may have to take out any incoming colonizers to insure that doesn't again. In 2462, one of my new mining fleets arrived at Greene, but the Imperials had already colonized it (which is not his fault), so I moved the fleet on to Right, which is solely Germanium-rich. However, there was an Imperial colonizer on it's way there, so I alerted them to that. That year, the Imperials acknowledged their mistake:
I see that I have accidentally colonized two planets that you were colonizing. Can I send you a planetary terraforming to make for reparations? I can send you up to 3.
He'd seen the error of his ways, so it was time to be nice:
OK, I'll accept the terraforming ships at this point. You may send one to Cornwallis, Schwiiing and Xenon. Thank you for offering.
In response to my nasty-gram from 2461, the Imperials wrote:
Oops...go ahead and set me as neutral, that's fine...when I sent out those mass colonizers, I simply wanted to colonize the trash nobody else wanted, I didn't mean to step on any toes =/ I will gladly offer you 500 kT Ironium/500kT Germanium for reparations of this. At times like this, you wish that miners had blasters =P
I accepted, and requested the minerals to be sent to Aquarius.
I placed a Shining Zoinker in the queue of Ripper Jack in 2462, but it would be ready until 2474 due to the Germanium shortage there, so I redirected the freighter for the Weed Miners from dropping off at Orbison to dropping off at Ripper Jack. I also colonized Xenon and Sniffles, and put a Flying Bathtub in the queue of Arcturius to shuttle Germanium to Sniffles.
The 3 Little Zoinkers returning home from failure to protect the former All Work / Jersey colony apparently looked as though there were heading to the Persuader planet of Iodine. But as they changed course, I got this from them:
Our people appreciate the peaceful gesture in turning around your war fleet near Iodine. You have received a nomination for the Iodine's annual peace prize. I , for one, will be voting for you.
My response:
Thank you for your Iodine Peace Prize vote. If I win, please send the medal and the award of 5000kT of Germanium to:
Le Grand Zoink
c/o The Great Zoink Empire
P.O. Box 12
CakeInTheRain 1068-1135
Down south, however, things have really been heating up, as the ABR Offensive has begun in earnest. In 2461, I merged the 10 Little Zoinkers that took out the ABR colonizers into ABR Scourge. I also sent 5 Zoinkifiers (ABR Scourge 2) to Resort via stargate in preparation for an attack on Wumpus that would be coordinated with the arrival of two Flying Bathtubs of colonists from Alpha Centauri to take the planet. That same year, the Xym expressed fear that the Alphas were getting rather aggressive, stationing the first battleships in the game and B17 bombers on his northern border. He also had some ideas about taking out the ABRs:
Would you be willing to let me tell the Alphas that we are allies and that and attack on one of us would be considered an attack on both?
Also, the Sarduccis are interested in attacking the ABRs. Would you be willing to let them in on the spoils? It would make the fighting much easier and, hopefully quicker. Let me know as soon as possible.
I checked around and found 4 Xym scouts in orbit of the Sarducci planet of Pirate, so it was apparent he’s doing tech trading with them. I replied:
The fact that you are so far ahead in score & planets is what's keeping the Alphas at bay, I'm betting. My northern colonies are no match for an Alpha assault, now that I see that they -are- building battleships. Still, I think the Alphas would be taken by psychological warfare, so go ahead and announce our alliance.
If the Sarduccis want to go after the ABRs, I can't stop them, but that'll just mean fewer spoils per participant. Given the way the ABRs have been outfitting their empire (low-tech ships & starbases), I can't imagine this will be all that difficult.
The attack on Fizbin occurred in 2462, and it went remarkably well. Each shot by the 8 Zoinkifiers took out up to 6 of the ABR Destroyers. He started with 11 of them, plus a colonizer privateer & a medium freighter. They were all destroyed, while Zoinkifiers took 10% damage and the 10 Little Zoinkers took 10% as well. That year I also created Wumpus Marines, that would be filled with colonists to be dropped on Wumpus next year; the same year as the attack on the starbase there by ABR Scourge 2. Ultima Thule Marines was created as well to wipe out the ABR population there so that the newly built Cotton Pickers could move in and mine it.
The Alphas continued to make the Xym really nervous:
The situation has drastically changed this turn as the Alphas have come charging with 4 battleships (18 jihad missiles, 2 gating guns, 6 neutronium armor, 8 wolverine shields, 6 battle computers, 1 maneuvering jet and trans-galactic fuel scoops) and many B17 bombers (8 M80 bombs and trans-galactic fuel scoops). I have nothing that can come close to stopping them at this point and hate to waste a lot of minerals building junk so I am going to try to buy them off by giving them some border planets. I have a feeling that will not work and so am laying as many minefields as possible and building starbase that should take out his battleships unless he masses them. I am hoping that this will hold them until I can get my tech up to build reasonable battleships.
Would you be willing to postpone your attack on the ABRs and help me deal with the Alphas. If you do, I will cede you all of the ABR planets that we take when we eventually do attack them. I make it a point to always deal fairly with my allies and would be perfectly willing to declare a joint victory with you when and if the time comes.
Also, is there any way you could start sending me energy tech (10) every month? I really need to get to tech 10 so that I can start putting gorilla shields on my ships to counter act his capital ship missiles. I will be glad to respond with tech14 in weapons.
That sounded to me like this would be the other way I could earn some sort of victory in this, and without having to call down the wrath of my northern allies. The Xym have been pretty good to me during this game. I've been pretty good to them as well, but I think the deal here is potential joint victory (a very good potential at the moment, and something I could not claim on my own at the end of the game) vs. trying to attain the victory conditions on my own. My response:
I'm stepping up my production of Energy TechoTraders at Alpha Centauri. 10 will be built and sent out next year.
Let me know what I can do in your battle with the Alphas. However, I have one request. If you can spare the ship slot(s), I'd rather give you the ships you need rather than perform joint maneuvers. The reason is that I border the Alphas with colonies I have way up north, and they are not nearly as up to speed as my southern colonies. An attack by the Alphas there would be a walk in the park for them. If I give you the ships, he won't know where they came from. He may not attack by simply announcing our alliance, as mentioned last year, but he may take a different view of active participation in a war against him.
If this is OK with you, ABR planets & a victory alliance are more than fair, and you need simply to let me know what you need and where you need it.
Long live the XymZoink Alliance!
In 2463, the number of Xym planets dropped from 63 to 61, apparently associated with the appeasement of the Alphas, while the number of Alpha battleships climbed to 11. Meanwhile, ABR Scourge 2, consisting of 4 Zoinkifiers, destroyed the basic starbase at Wumpus. (Actually, only 1 would have been needed, as the range of the Zoinkifiers was more than the starbases.) The Marines landed on Wumpus and mopped up the colonists. I now own Wumpus. ABR Scourge is now on it’s way to sweep the minefield around Skloot.
The marines at Fizbin were all killed in the attempt, so I sent the ship back for some more from Scorpius. The marines at Ultima Thule killed all ABR colonists, and Cotton Pickers are flying in to mine it. The remaining 98,000 marines are moving on to Beta. I created 2 Flying Bathtubs at Shank, Steppenwolf and Red Ball and filled them with 280,000 colonists for use in taking over ABR planets, but I also started to build the Unzoinker at Alpha Centauri and Vivaldi, a bomber with 4 M-80s to destroy people and 4 LBU-32s to take out defenses. I need these if I'm to take out the highly-populated ABR worlds.
It appears the ABRs are not mounting a response. I've got 3 fleets of Zoinkifiers, but it seems the ABRs only serious warships are surrounding Skloot, and they are low-tech ships, and aren’t growing in numbers. Other ships are freighters & colonizers around Lever, and an out-of-fuel colonizer in orbit of the Xym planet of Same Here. They really hadn't been moving any ships around in my view, and so really seem to have given up before I fired a shot.
This year I got another interesting message from the Xym. This time, it looks like he wants to bring in some more folks on our side, including an enemy:
Thanks for the willingness to help. Luckily, the Alphas decided to temporarily withdraw their forces and talk so I'm not in immediate danger. Would you be interested in a four way alliance between Zoinks, Alphas, Sarduccis and Xym with the goal of dominating the game? I have tentatively proposed such a possibility to the Alphas but want your approval before going any farther. If they agree, we could start by taking out the ABRs and then move north against the Imperials-Vikings-Harrads.
Regardless of the Alpha response, I would like to get to Ener10, Weap14, Prop12, Cons13 and Elec11 before building any major ships. I am essentially going to put all my resources into doing this and providing you with tech trading. I will keep you informed as to the progress of my talks with the Alphas.
My response (after some consideration):
Given where you want to be in research before you build warships, it sounds like we are still be a few years away from any sort of major offensive, so I'd like to reserve judgment at present on such an alliance. I am, of course, not in any real position to go against such an alliance. However, it feels like we'd be spreading out the "win" rather thin.
At the same time, given 11 active players, it would be tough for 2 players to take on the rest. Realizing that, I am willing to be a part of such a military alliance should the time come to form it. But let's see how the landscape changes.
One strategy would be to initially just go after the easy picking. I'm currently mopping up the ABRs myself. They've been pretty dormant for a while and haven't put up any resistance. Yet. Therefore, the alliance wouldn't need to deal with them from the beginning. The Harrads might put up more of a fight, but they'd be a good choice for the next target for the XymZoink alliance. Taking out the smaller races first may make the job of an eventual alliance easier, as we'd already have bases closer to other races, as well as enlarging our economy without necessarily making instant enemies of every remaining race. The downside is that we don't know for sure who's allied with whom, and we could be taking on more than we bargained for.
Bottom line: I think we can make more of a go at it ourselves in the short term. If the Alphas continue to rattle their saber at you, making an ally out of an enemy isn't such a bad thing, but let's see how things shake out. War is breaking out all over.
And it certainly is. But the question right now is; is it better to strike now or wait for others in hopes they whittle each other down? And my main concern is whether or not my northern colonies will be safe once the big guns come out.
Year 2468: The Rout of the ABRs
I’ve been in 3rd place this whole time, between 13 and 69 points behind the Alphas. I’m currently 47 points behind them.
Recent Technological Advances: Tech trading has been moving along nicely. In 2465 I got Biotech 8 from an attack on the ABR planet of Beta, then Propulsion 10 (Gravity Terraform +/- 11). In 2466 I got Weapons 13 (Bludgeon) from Xym tech trade. In 2467 I got Construction 10 from Mattari tech trading, then Propulsion 11 (Stargate 150/600, the Mystery Trader Multi-Function Pod), and Biotech 9. This year I got Construction 11 (Galleon) from Mattari'iani tech trading.
Starbases continue to pop up all over. A Shining Zoinker was built at Ney in 2465, and one was put in the queue of Olympia, due in 2469. In 2467, I put a Shining Zoinker in the queue of Kulu up north, due in 2473 A new Shining Zoinker showed up at Ripper Jack this year. Also, terraforming has made Fizbin, Wumpus & Wendy green this year.
In 2466, I won the Iodine Peace Prize from the Persuaders:
In fact, with my persuasion, you did win. Thing is that our scientists detected that the method of arrival of the Germanium would not be conducive to your colonist's health. So, instead, we have named a hospital after you.
I would have preferred the 5000kT of Germanium.
Long Range Scans: In 2466 I was looking at enemy hull types, and just then realized that the Persuaders are War Mongers, as they have 2 unique designs of Battle Cruisers. At least 13 of their Battle Cruisers have been flying towards their planet of Iodine, which is on their border with the Sarduccis. An Alpha battleship had been heading towards Scud, a planet southwest of Ripper Jack and southeast of Schwiiing up north, but it changed course towards the northwest. I spotted Viking bombers over a number of Harrad planets, and a fleet that includes 29 Viking destroyers is on their way to the Harrad planet of Ship Shape. They will arrive next year, and by then I’ll have a scout with penetrating scanners in range of Ship Shape to at least see the outcome. The Persuaders & the Vikings may be working together against the Sarduccis, as ships of both races were seen orbiting the Sarducci planet of Grappo.
Diplomacy: I colonized the planet of Flapjack up north. It’s not that mineral rich, but I’m starving for room to grow, and with my terraforming abilities moving ahead, it’s not that bad a prospect.
It’s still rather quiet up north, even considering some of the faux paus occurring there. After the Imperials had colonized where I was mining, I set them to Neutral so I’d at least attack those colonizers. Unfortunately the side effects included attacking a colonizer over a planet where I was simply sitting to scout out the Alphas. However, I only did 60% damage and the Imperials did colonize Wammalammadingdong successfully in 2465. I sent a message of explanation. In 2467, the Little Zoinker defending Cornwallis attacked the Imperial Peacemaker (a terraforming ship) that he had sent as a goodwill gesture. Again, it didn’t destroy it, so I set them back to Friend with a message asking that they keep an eye on what they are colonizing in the future.
Northern and southern diplomacy are starting to merge. The Mattari had started to lay a minefield around Springfield, a planet right next to homeworld. I created a message to send to him asking why he was doing that, but he sent both the Imperials and me an E-mail which explained things:
A couple of things. Firstly, I wanted to check to see if you two were still benefiting from the tech ships I've been sending. My techs are 10/11/11/13/10/10. Anything that'll help? In addition, I picked up the Hush-a-Boom from the MT ... needs Wpn 12/ Elect 12/ Bio 12 kills 3.0% of pop'n and has a mass of 5kt (less of a factor to me, but ...) If either of you can help me get to those levels, we could make some effective bombers....
For the Imperials ... can you please move your mini-miner from Neuter to Nitrogen? There it can be of benefit... And the Zoinks. Did you colonize Springfield? I'd appreciate trading it for something ... the planet is a potential positive one, something that I'm really lacking ...
Having the Mattari so close to both my "homeworlds" could get ugly if I turn on them, but on the other hand, having an Interstellar Traveller as an ally, with bases close to both those world (Shank & Arcturius) could really be helpful if we get to the point where he has the infinity/infinity stargates. And if relations break down, he'd never see the mineral packet coming. On top of that, it'll be years before he can get a colonizer there, unless he knows of a wormhole that will help. I'm not planning on telling him I'm on the way to being able to build the Hush-a-Boom myself. I'll save that for later. I removed the earlier message about the minefield and replied:
Tech trading has been going slower that I'd imagined, but I did get Construction 10 from you in 2467. Given your tech levels, I can continue to accept Construction and give Weapons.
I'm not currently using Springfield for anything, so feel free to colonize it. It can become another tech trading point with Spaceball next door.
In another mixing of northern and southern concerns, the Xym colonized Stamp up north, where I'd just set up mining efforts. I decided to just move that effort to join those at Mungle.
In 2465 I began creating a fleet that would take over the homeworld of the defunct Deliks. The fleet is now composed of 5 Zoinkifiers, 4 Flying Bathtubs (populated with colonists from Steppenwolf and Spaceball), some Unzoinkers to take out the population, and Gas Stations to get us there in a decent amount of time. In 2467 I sent Castle Colony on it's way, to arrive in 2478. I also built 5 Zoinkifiers at Shank to send on ahead to Castle (utilizing stargates) to see if it can be cleared out before the colony arrives, though there are Persuader B-17 bombers headed that way as well.
The planet Beacon, close to Shank, turned yellow recently due to advances in terraforming, so I put a Nina into Shank’s queue, and will be colonizing it soon.
The ABR war has become a rout. It’s simply a case of going through the motions, as it’s pretty clear that they stopped playing a while ago. In 2465 I blew away all the 18 unarmed ships of the ABRs at Lever (freighters & colonizers), and the out-of-fuel colonizer at Same Here. I used ground troops to remove them from Beta, and loaded up all remaining colonists plus the nice quantity of surface minerals. The following year I took Fizbin (finally) leaving 98,700 colonists. I plan on keeping it instead of returning it to the Kzin, since I need it and did all the work to remove the ABRs. The Xym sent me a message that year that seemed to indicate a target for the potential alliance he’d mentioned before. However, the choice of targets was unexpected:
I agree that the fewer in the winning alliance the better. However, as long as the Alphas have battleships and I don't, I am going to be very polite to them. The Alphas want to take out the Sarduccis and, given the Sarduccis half hearted support for the Xym Federation when the Alphas attacked, I can't argue against it. That would reduce the alliance to three.
Regardless of our final decision, I agree that the ABRs are the number one objective. Just to prod them, I will invade Kwaidan, which only has 10K if colonists. I will also start building some B17 bombers with cherry bombs which should be able to reduce their heavily populated worlds.
Keep me updated on your plans towards the ABRs, and I will do the same.
I saw 5 Xym destroyers on their way to Kwaidan the following year. My response:
If/When you decide to officially uninvite the Sarduccis, let me know. I'll be there.
As to the ABRs, I'm mopping them up pretty handily, as I think they've pretty much stopped playing for whatever reason. If I can't use the planet, I just drop colonists and fight them off, but I have inhabited Fizbin & Wumpus. I have bombers on the way to Skloot, as well as a large contingent of Zoinkifier cruisers, and given their past resistance, or lack thereof, I don't foresee any problems.
The Alphas have certainly been on the move. In 2467 they built 5 more battleships and took 4 more planets, those whose planets they were, player or uninhabited, is unknown at this time.
In 2467, ABR Scourge 2 continued to sweep mines from around Skloot, making way for my forces to move in. Planning ahead, I coordinated all my attacking ships to hit Skloot at the same time the minesweeping would be done. That was this year, 2468.
The rout of the ABRs went smashingly. My 20 Zoinkifiers, 10 Little Zoinkers and 2 Unzoinkers were up against the ABRs starbase, 10 Beta Torpedo/Yakimora Light Phaser destroyers plus assorted unarmed ships totaling 41. Only two of his freighters escaped, and one of my Little Zoinkers was destroyed. Initially, while all his other ships were escaping, his destroyers stayed at a distance of 4 from my Zoinkifiers, since his torpedoes had a range of 4 and my Colloidal Phasers had a range of 3, but all he did was about 50-60 points damage per salvo. The starbase, a standard issue start-of-game variety, was the first casualty. The fleet of 8 Zoinkifiers made the most spectacular shots, at one point (shown in the picture) taking out 17 ships in one salvo. Near the end, the two ABR freighters escaped, but they will be easily dealt with next year. In all 37 ships and 1 starbase were destroyed, 90% of his entire fleet of ships. My ships had at most 5% damage (on the Little Zoinker fleet that had 1 ship loss). However, tempering the victory is the almost certainty that the human player behind the ABRs hasn't been actively running his empire for a long time now. The only remains of the ABR fleet is a scout in orbit of a nearby planet, and a starbase orbiting Magellan. It’s all over but the occupation.
The fate of the Sarduccis seems to be sealed, as indicated in this message from the Xym this year:
The Alphas are going to hit the Sarduccis this turn. Considering the strength of the Alpha fleet, I don't think that there will be much left of the Sarduccis by the time we can get to them. I am going to try to pick up a few planets but will not get many. I hope to start building battleships in about 5 turns so that I will be able to actively participate in offensive actions.
I do agree with you that the ABRs seem to have given up. They are certainly easy pickings.
Sounds to me like an invitation. I see an Alpha battleship on it's way to the Sarducci planet of Gold, so it looks like the attack is on. I wanted to see how the landscape changed before attacking anyone else, but it appears that this change has occurred already, but within the ranks of the Xym allies rather than outside. I don’t think I could be the next casualty of the Alphas, as I think my relative strength would be enough to keep them at bay, but I’m not taking any chances, especially since the Xym don’t want to get on their bad side. Still, if the Alphas were to attack me, that would put the Xym in the position of choosing between the two races that are immediately behind him in ranking and quite close to each other in score. Given that situation, I’m betting he’d side with me, though the fact that my forces are split in two opposite corners of the universe might be seen as a point for the Alphas. My mopping up of the ABRs, especially their home planet of Skloot which has the eternal 30 mineral concentration, takes on a whole new meaning in that light.
Year 2470:
I’ve moved to only 8 points behind the Alphas (until they build more battleships, I suppose), still in 3rd place. The Sarduccis are really taking a hit in points, resources and ships, and they lost a planet in 2469, the same year the Alphas gained one. Sounds like the Alphas are really making their move.
Recent Technological Advances: Got Construction 12 (Neutronium) this year, one step away from battleships. I should have them in 2472.
A new wormhole has opened up between the northern and southern colonies, apparently the one that the Mattari used to get a colonizer down to Springfield (which was colonized by them this year). The northern end halfway between Cornwallis and Arcturius is stable, and the southern end almost right next to Shank due east is rock solid. I took the opportunity to start building new Fielder fleets (2 Fielders, 1 Zoinkifier, 1 Gas Station) down south for use up north.
A new Mystery Trader appeared on the scene in 2469, and will pass directly through my southern colonies. He’s moving at warp 13, so I got to work immediately on enough Flying Bathtubs at Shank, Scorpius and Spaceball to give him his required minerals.
Long Range Scan: The Viking destroyers are all present and accounted for at Ship Shape. I couldn't see what was there before they arrived, but if there was something there, it's not there now. It just dawned on me that the Persuaders are building minefields, even though they are War Mongers. (I'm sure they were given the mine layers and not the loads of Battle Cruisers.) Alpha battleship will arrive at the Sarducci planet of Little Sister next year.
Not much has happened up north, other than the planet Flapjack turning green. I did sent another contingent of Weapons TechnoTraders to the Mattari’iani this year, though I wonder if this alliance will amount to much. Still, the peace is being kept among all of us up there, so it can’t be all bad. For now.
Down south I colonized Beacon, near Shank, and I redirected all freighters shipping minerals to Shank to instead drop them at Crabby, pushing my minerals closer to the front, and saving the cost of creating mineral packets to that area. A new Shining Zoinker was built at Olympia in 2469, adding it to the stargate network.
The Zoinkifiers going to Castle ahead of Castle Colony didn't find a stargate at the Kzin planet of Ice Patch. They have a new starbase there, but apparently didn't put a gate on it, which is kind of strange for an Interstellar Traveller, however, there are 5 Persuader Battle Cruisers heading to Castle now, so this may all be moot soon anyway. My cruisers will continue on course, using an alternate path, for now.
In 2469 the remaining medium freighters orbiting Skloot were taken out. One of my Fielder fleets, sporting a single Little Zoinker, arrived at the ABR planet of Magellan to lay mines farther out from my southern colonies. Funny thing was I forgot about the starbase that would be taken out the following year by a Zoinkifier fleet, but the Little Zoinker went after it anyway, staying out of range of the starbases beams and pummeling it with as much as 12 damage points per shot (and as little a 1). The starbase took 10% damage in the fray. This year, by the time my Zoinkifiers arrived, there were 6 ABR destroyers there as well. I lost a Little Zoinker and a Zoinkifier because the Little Zoinker died early and while the single Zoinkifier was concentrating on the starbase, the beta torp destroyers lobbed torpedoes at it, so that when the starbase was gone, the Zoinkifier was 27% damaged, and then the destroyers closed in to use their beam weapons. I’m sending ABR Scourge 2 (4 Zoinkifiers) to Magellan to finish them off.
The ABRs also built another basic starbase at Skloot, which I proceeded to destroy. It appears they are playing on automatic.
Ground troops took Lever last year and Coda this year. In both cases the colonists are being reloaded and sent on.
The Xym are looking ahead to the next victim:
Greetings. It looks as if your attack on the ABRs is going well. Do you know where their other starbase is? Because they are offering no resistance, I have moved destroyer flotillas over Kwaidan, Columbus and Oop Be Gone. I will invade Kwaidan and bomb Columbus and Oop Be Gone. My invasion fleet will arrive at Kwaidan in 3 turns and a bomber flotilla will arrive at Oop Be Gone on the same turn. It will take several turns longer to get a bomber fleet to Columbus.
Because the ABRs are such a push over, we should be thinking about our next target? Are you and the Kzin still allies. If not them, how about the Persuaders? I hope to be to tech 16 in weapons in about 4 turns and engage in a major building campaign at that point.
My response:
The ABRs two starbases are over Oop Be Gone and Columbus. As to our next target, I got the impression that the Sarduccis were going to be the next casualty, since the Alphas are currently targeting them. Or don't you want to do that so overtly since they were (are?) you allies? They are the next closest race to me, and I could help out with an assault on them. It also seems the Persuaders and the Vikings have designs on the Sarduccis. Looks to me like they will be the next universal whipping boy.
Yes, the Kzin are still officially allied with me, though not much has come of that. I need to assess that alliance a bit more before I give a thumbs up or down on going after them.
The Persuaders, being War Mongers, do pose a concern. If we go after them, it would have to be soon, before they get Dreadnoughts at Construction 16 (so our Battleships would have a leg up on their Battle Cruisers) but not -too- soon (so that our Battleships have decent weaponry). Much of the timing of that would depend on how well the battle with the Sarduccis goes (if, in fact, we do battle with them). I'll have battleship hulls in 2472 years, and with current Trader Toys (and hopefully -future- Trader Toys [he said, eyeing the incoming Trader]), they should be a serious threat to even the Persuaders, but I'd like better weapons to be sure. And one other thing to keep in mind is that they are laying mines, so they must have an ally who is giving them ships. Thus going after the Persuaders would possibly mean taking on two races.
Keep that Weapons tech coming, and I'll keep sending Bio. And by the way, watch out with your colonizers up north. You're colonizing on world I'm mining. Weed look like it'll be the next casualty. Let me know where you intend to colonize in the NE corner so I can let you know if I'm using the planet. Thanks.
Year 2472:
I’ve worked my way back to a tie for 2nd place with the Alphas this year and 420 points behind the Xym. The Mattari started building capital ships last year and now have 14 vs. the Alpha’s 22. Two of the Mattari ship are at Sea Squared, south of my northern colonies.
Recent Technological Advances: In 2471 I got Weapons 14 (Mark IV Blaster, Epsilon Torpedo, Cherry Bomb) from Xym tech trade, and this year I got Construction 13 (Stargate 300/500, Battleship).
A new Shining Zoinker was (finally) built at Kulu. However, now that I can build better stargates (the best that I will be able to), I’m starting to look at upgrading the Shining Zoinker. The problem is, no one’s attacked one, so I’m not completely sure how the current design would fare in battle, so I’m going to hold off a little longer, hopefully until Weapons 16 when I get the Heavy Blaster. The new design will probably also include Epsilon Torpedoes.
I don’t see anyone lining up to hit the Mystery Trader that appeared in 2470 and is heading directly for my southern colonies, which is just fine with me. And another Trader has appeared, flying at warp 11 across the northern portion of the universe from west to east, heading straight through my northern colonies in around 2480! I put 4 Flying Bathtubs in Arcturius’ queue to use on him.
It was a case of bad timing at Magellan. The Fielders got there in 2471, one year before the Zoinkifiers, and their Gas Station got destroyed by the 6 ABR destroyers, but the 13 Fielders survived with 20% damage. In 2472, the Zoinkifiers moved in and took out the destroyers.
With the ABR threat neutralized, I’m starting to deal with the Sarduccis. Since I’m not going to be the only race going after them, I figure I can pick off some new planets from them, while they’re busy. I’ll probably face at least some decent resistance, but it won’t be their full wrath. This year, a fleet of 14 Zoinkifiers took out the Space Dock at the Sarducci planet of Catnip. It only has about 20,000 colonists and is yellow for me, which will make it an alternate planet to colonize if the Delik homeworld is crawling with Persuaders. The fleet ABR Scourge has been renamed Sarducci Scourge, and has been sent to take out the minefield around Dunsany, northeast of Skloot, which will be my next target. It should arrive at the planet, having swept the mines, in 2477.
There’s an Imperial Peacemaker orbiting Shank, which I hadn’t noticed before. It must have just come in via the new wormhole, and is probably destined for the Mattari colony at Springfield.
Long Range Scan: Not that long range are 4 Viking destroyers with one bank of Delta Torpedoes and 2 of Colloidal Phasers on their way to the Xym planet of Finger, about 100 lightyears due east of the Kzin homeworld. They will arrive next year. Can't be sure what their plans are, as Finger is a small colony (~20,000) with no orbiting ships or starbase.
The messages are flying hot and heavy. I got an explanation from the Kzin as to the absence of their stargates:
I was inactive for 4 turns and computer decided that I wanted to upgrade my starbases. I'm workin' on it. Sorry about StarGate. Soon it will be back online.
Looks like the Sarduccis are hurting. This message was sent to everybody:
Help, the Alphas have been breaking the non-aggression pact we have had successfully for 70years and are overrunning me. Can anybody out there assist me to counter this aggression? --Guido Sarducci
I’m thinking that if you send out a galactic distress call, vultures are more likely to respond than a cavalry. Even the Xym may turn on the Sarduccis:
Greetings. I will be at weapons tech 16 next turn and finally able to build some decent ships. I am planning on juggernaut armed battleships ships and, once I get better shields, some beam armed battleships.
I took out both of the remaining ABR starbases this turn and my bombers will be over the planets next turn. I agree that we should carefully begin considering our next targets. As the Persuaders are warmongers, it would be unwise to leave them alone for too long.
I haven't decided what to do about the Sarduccis. They were lukewarm allies at best and did little to help when the Alphas attacked. I think that I will have to take out his planets simply to avoid allowing the Alphas to get them. I really don't like to do that because I consider it betraying an ally and will hold off as long as possible. However, if it looks like he is going to fold, I will move in, hopefully with his permission. I will keep you informed.
E-mail from the Mattari’iani and the Imperials offered up some interesting intelligence. This first bit of tech information was from the Mattari'iani to both the Imperials and me:
It seems that things are heating up quite quickly at the moment. Given the state of things between the Imperials and the Vikings, I've moved a squadron on Jihad BB's to Io to ensure that the Vikings don't get over-eager.
I could really use some tech. Both of you are in front of me (so there's got to be something I can get from you). My techs are currently 10/12/11/13/11/10. Please let me know if the ships that I've been sending (Energ 10, Prop 11, Const 12 , Elec 11) are doing any good ...
I'm currently researching Elect12, and then I intend to switch for Bio12 (any chance that you can scrap some retro-bombs at Io, Micheal?) to give *us* the Hush-a-Boom bombs, and would then like to switch to getting the techs for the MegaPolly Shell (Ener14, Const14, Elec14), both which would do us _very_ well.
All the best to the Imperials in your conquest ... I can probably lend you some BB's if you need them (don't burn the paint off them, though :-)
Sounds like he is still quite interested in the team concept amongst the three of "*us*". Also, it looks like tech trading with him is on the skids, since I out-tech him in all those listed areas.
The reply from the Imperials:
No sweat =) I didn't know how to give others tech levels before, but I guess you just make something new and hot off the press, then scrap it at another bases? Huh. Well, unfortunately, I've already generated my turn, but next turn I'll go ahead and make something with retros and send a few of them [how many does it take?] to Io, since it's right there...
And don't worry too much about the Vikings. Given our political 'heat' right now, I don't think he's going to try anything weird to anybody else, in fear of having to fight the world. I have pretty good penetrating scanner, and he has "hidden" 40 cruisers at a nearby planet, but I'm not terribly worried about it. I figure an Imperial Class Star Destroyer [OK, so I'm not terribly original with names] is worth about 3-4 of his cruisers, and I have 15 waiting for standby...I love it, they're battleships, but they're not showing up on the capital ship portion of score, so they lend a nice surprise >=)
But anyway, I’ll get right on those retro bomb guys =) Say hello to the "S.S. Fodder!"
Then the Mattari’iani decided to forward on to the Imperials and me a very interesting message to him from the Alphas:
Below is the text of a message received earlier from the Alphas. There are a number of points (see my comments interspersed in the body) that we should all be wary of...
>Hi Simon,
>
>I just sent you an in-game message this turn, which you can disregard :).
>Basically I had noticed your large build-up of battleships and bombers,
>quite near some of my planets, and was asking (ahem) what might they be
>for...
>
My planets are rather interspersed with his ...
>Fortunately it sounds like you aren't getting ready to raid my colonies!
>Thank goodness for that.
>
>To bring you up to date, I have entered into an alliance with the Xym.
>He and I agreed to attack the Sarduccis together, since they had many
>desirable planets in both my space and Xym space. So far, I'm the only
>one doing the attacking, and frankly, things are not looking very good
>for the Sarduccis....at this rate, by the time the Xym start attacking,
>there won't be much left to attack. I suspect the bulk of the Sarducci
>empire will be gone within the next 10 years or so, with possibly not
>even one lost ship on my part.
>
This explains the message we received from the Sarduccis earlier. Looks like it's curtains for him (he never cooperated with either the Alphas or me).
>After that, I plan to turn my attentions more north-westerly into uncharted
>territory (for me). The Xym are concerned about the explosive growth rate
>of the Imperials. Myself, I am more concerned about the growing strength
>of the Zoinks (he and I vie yearly for the #2 position on the scoreboard).
>I guess it remains to be seen who proves to be more of a threat.
>
Guess that means us, doesn't it?
>I am still quite interested in an alliance with you, and have no intention
>of attacking your planets (for what it's worth, very few of your planets are
>even within my habitable range). It's clear that a war between us would
>not benefit either side in the slightest.
>
>As for trade, I don't really find myself in need of anything right now.
>I can't use jump gates because my battleships are too massive...unless you
>have those nifty unlimited-mass jump gates? By the way, whatever happened
>to those Jihad scouts I scrapped? Did the technology not transfer? Also,
>I did get the mega-poly shell from a passing MT but I don't have the tech
>levels to use it yet.
>
>-Roland
>
Anyway, thought you might appreciate this info...
Cheers!
...and the response from the Imperials:
Hmm...interesting. At least the game is starting to be more active.
From here on out, despite the name of my empire =) I'm going to pursue an aggressive neutrality policy. which means I don't really want to attack anyone or expand much further, but if somebody pisses me off or invades my territory, then I will protect myself to the fullest. to be honest, I'm not especially interested in winning, I'm too much of a beginner to do that!
It's too bad the XYM regard me as a threat and potential growth factor. Especially since we were supposed to have entered into a treaty against the Alphas. Shows how much you can trust people =) It's no matter. Right now, I think I will simply try to patch things up with the Vikings, and work on improving the planets I already have, before going off and stepping on people's toes again.
It's been fun so far gentlemen, and I'm sure it's only going to get better =)
There are some conclusions I think I can draw from this exchange:
The Mattari'iani are still very much interested in cooperation with me.
Whatever alliance the Mattari'iani have with the Alphas, it appears to be less strong as ours. Of course, it could simply appear that way.
Of all the races near me, the Alphas are the most wary of me.
The Imperials do have battleship, and they're probably beam-and-shield-types since that would keep their weight down to below capital ship standards.
The agreement between the Alphas and the Xym to go after the Sarduccis is more formal ("an alliance") in the eyes of the Alphas.
Given that, the Xym do not appear to have told the Alphas that the Sarduccis used to be their ally.
Given that, the Xym appear to consider me their closest ally.
My response to the Mattari'iani and the Imperials was measured so that it didn’t give too many details, since it could be forwarded on (as I will do to the Alpha message, sending it to the Xym), and which tries to calm the Alphas down if it is forwarded):
In response to all the messages received: First of all, Mattari'iani, I out-tech you in all areas but Biotech, and even there I'll be tied with you in the upcoming year. Given that, tech trade my way is currently wasted, so don't bother sending any more ships for now. We need to come to a new agreement on tech, possibly involving minerals, unless you get Biotech 11 or 12 soon, which I could use. What kind of stargates are at Mu and Springfield? I'd like to make use of some of those if possible, if that's OK with you. Do you have some sort of alliance with the Alphas, or is he keeping in contact with you simply because of the potential threat you could pose to him? I'm not sure who he considers more of a threat; me or the Xym. I got a message from him a while back saying he was more concerned with -them-. I'm honored that the Alphas consider me a power to be reckoned with, but I don't think I'll be a threat to them -anytime- in the near future.
Imperials, if there's something you need in terms of tech, let me know. I'd love to get the Biotech from you as well. Do you get the impression that the Vikings are allied with the Persuaders? I've seen ships of both races at planets more than occasionally, and the Persuaders, who are War Mongers, are laying minefields, so they're getting mine laying ships from -somebody-. The Xym are, I believe, concerned about you probably because of the number of planets you've been taking recently. He's probably watching the graph of owned planets, and seeing you so close, and realizing that there are very few uninhabited planets left, he's wondering if his planets are next on your agenda. He's obviously got a wide habitability, but your terraforming tricks make you two a virtual match in that area I bet. Are you and the Xym actively pursuing the Alphas, or is that just an agreement not to ally too closely with them?
Lastly, let's set some mid-to-long-range goal here. Do we want to pursue any particular race? If we have a goal, even if we don't pursue it right now, we can at least plan for it and can make decisions as to types of ships to build, techs to go after, etc. with that goal in mind.
Hopefully, responses to this message will give me some intelligence to pass on to the Xym (beyond the Alphas message) and help me understand the potential threat the Persuaders pose. Also, I'd like to see if a large alliance could be formed to go after the Alphas, because if so, the XymZoink Alliance could concentrate on other threats while leaving the Imperials and Mattari'iani alone (so that my economic base up there wouldn't be damaged). With that in mind, I added this to the quoted message from the Alphas I sent to the Xym:
The Imperials were a bit confused that you considered them a threat since you had apparently had some sort of treaty with them against the Alphas. Are you still considering that, because if so, I bet I could forge an anti-Alpha coalition consisting of the two of us, the Mattari'iani and the Imperials. This would get them off your back, and replace them with races that, as far as I can tell, have no desire to take you on (not to mention the planets you could pick up). I wouldn't mind not having to worry about them as well, especially at my under-developed colonies up north. Let me know what you think.
The universe is getting smaller.
Year 2474: The Fall of Skloot, and the Rise of the Anti-Alpha Coalition
I’m in 2nd place and continuing to pull ahead of the Alphas. I’m 55 points ahead of them now. The rise in my score curve can be almost entirely credited to the changes I made in my economy. I set the percentage of resources going to research to 0% and changed my autobuild orders at all planets from 30 factories, 30 mines, followed by different values of defenses & terraforming to 100 factories (150 on some world) and 100 mines (plus defenses and terraforming). Once some of my major worlds ran out of things to build (mostly because colonists were siphoned off to attack ABR worlds), the 15% wasn’t really needed anymore. The Mattari’iani graph of battleships built is skyrocketing, and will pass the Alphas next year if the trend continues.
Technological Advances: I got Biotech 10 (RNA Scanner, Neutron Bomb) in 2473 and Biotech 11 in 2474. I’ll be getting Biotech 12 next year, which will make the Hush-a-Boom bomb available. The plan is to scrap my current Unzoinkers once they’ve taken care of their current ABR targets.
Trader Bait 4 has been built & loaded at Arcturius for the northern Trader. He’s going to Kulu to meet up with the Trader earlier. Trader Bait 3, down south, is stationed at Black Hole, ready to target the trader next year.
Xenon, up north, turned green in 2473, and an Imperial Peacemaker arrived there this year to continue working on the planet. However, at Xenon, and at Cornwallis and Shank, the Imperials have given me the Peacemakers, taking up a valuable ship slot. For now I can deal with it, but if push comes to shove, I may need to give them back in order to build more ships types.
Skloot was taken in 2473. 56,100 colonists were left after the battle, and one of the Marine ships is flying to Alpha Centauri to gather some more colonists up to allow Skloot to start building things a bit faster. The problem at Skloot is resources, not minerals. When I took over Skloot, there were almost 27,000 kT of minerals lying on the surface, thanks to the fact that the mines were operating, but the starbase wasn’t doing anything with them for quite a long time.
Bakwele and Magellan are currently being bombed, and I think Bakwele will be the first to go. I’m expecting a mineral bonanza much like Skloot on these two worlds as well.
The Xym colonized Weed up north, where I had a mining operation, so I moved them to join the Mungle miners. The difference in mineral concentrations isn’t that much (in fact Mungle is better in Germanium than Weed), but it is a bit farther from my southern-most north colonies like Ripper Jack.
The Persuaders haven’t taken Castle (the Delik homeworld) yet, but they have Battle Cruisers, Bombers and Freighters in orbit, so they're working on it. Seeing that, I'm redirecting my Castle Colony to Catnip, the Sarducci planet where I removed the Space Dock.
The Anti-Alpha Coalition is coalescing. First, the Xym notified me in 2473:
Because I am rather mineral limited, I want to build ships that will be useful for some time. I have decided to put off building battleships until I get to Ener14 to get better shields. I am going to put everything I can into research for the next several turn to get there and then start building.
In the meantime, I will keep bombing the ABR planets. I took Kwaidan by assault this turn and both Columbus and Oop Be Gone are being bombed. They do have rather high defenses so it will take me some time to reduce them.
Then the Alphas engaged in some saber rattling:
Our conflict is with the Sarduccis and the Sarduccis alone. We would advise other empires that it is in their best interests to refrain from interfering.
Any incursions on Alpha territory will be met with deadly force.
I wonder how much of that is just talk in an attempt to keep from fighting more than one race at a time.
A response to the previous message exchange came from the Imperials to the Mattari'iani and me:
I sent out a message to Alphas today...I'm simply trying to bait him. I don't really like his attitude very much. Anyway, I'm making terraforming ships for your disposal this round [as well as Imperial fodder ships with retro bombs attached to scrap].
I have a feeling the Vikings and I are going to be allies after all [amazing how fast these things change around]. He agreed to relinquish a planet that was in my territory, and I agreed to let him have the southern planets currently owned by the Sarduccis and being invaded by the Alphas. That will act as a buffer to me, and see how the Alphas are going to react in the future. I'd like a major war to break out, but everybody in this game is too nice =)
I'm still interested in neutrality, and am concerned with developing my current planets now, before I go out and raise havoc across the galaxy.
My response, copied to both of them, suggested for the first time an actual coalition to take out the Alphas:
Imperials, thanks for the terraforming ships you gave me. It takes up a valuable ship slot, but I'll deal with it for now.
The Alpha's attitude is, I believe, a calculated attempt to keep other races off his back so he can concentrate on the Sarduccis, rather than an actual expression of his feelings. Fighting one enemy is bad enough. Adding more enemies increases the toughness exponentially, so if he can hold off other races by copping an attitude, that's to his advantage. I'm thinking that perhaps right now is his weakest moment, because his economy has stopped growing (just look at the Resources graph) due to his investment in his war machine, and he is starting to throw all he has at the Sarduccis. At some point in the near future he will be so embroiled in that conflict (i.e. his major ships will be fully involved at Sarducci planets and his own planets' minerals will begin to deplete) that he will be vulnerable (i.e. defenses will be lowered as they have been moved to offense, and planets will be unable to build a decent replacement defense fleet quickly enough should he see warships heading his way). If I could convince the Xym to join in on an attack of the Alphas, would you fellas be up for it? By the Alphas estimation, the Sarduccis will be mostly neutralized in 10 years. That may be optimism on his part, but if he's working on that assumption, he's got to be spread out pretty thin among the Sarducci planets. Given that, perhaps the sooner we go after him the better; we'd need to start preparing now.
The Sarduccis have become the universe's whipping boy. (Not to mention that the universal plea for help they sent out may look to many like a "Kick Me" sign taped to they're back.) I don't think they're going to last long, and our window of opportunity, once closed, will leave the Alphas stronger than before. As he mentioned in the message quoted by the Mattari'iani, he and I have been battling for 2nd place, and I've been on top the vast majority of the time in the past few decades. But my lead hasn't been by much, and this year we were tied. After a successful conquest, the Alphas will be far more powerful. The job will be easier now while he is smaller and busy.
I sent a copy of the last two paragraphs to the Xym as well and added...
An anti-Alpha coalition would consist of you and me, the Mattari'iani, the Imperials, and possibly the Vikings. The purpose of this coalition would be to simply take advantage of the Alpha's vulnerability and take them out. I know you want to hang in there until you get better technology, and depending on how long that would take, we could wait. But the Mattari'iani have battleships now, and even the Imperials do, though they weigh little enough that they aren't considered capital ships. This would be a hefty coalition. What do you think?
Now, this is all easy for me to say because my front with the Alphas is very small up north and non-existent down south. Getting these guys to duke it out with me playing a supporting role could give me a bargaining or strategic advantage once the dust settles. Still, if I stay out of much of it, I won’t get any planets out of the deal, so I don’t think I can hold back too much.
In 2474, the races were signing up. First, the Xym:
Thanks for the intelligence about the Alphas. I am personally of the opinion that you cannot trust them any farther than you can throw one of their battleships. I think that your idea about an anti-Alpha coalition has merit, and if you can get the Mattari'iani and Imperials in, you can also count me in. I have to be somewhat cautious, because I have a long border with the Alphas and will probably suffer the brunt of their attacks. I am writing to the Imperials this turn to explain the comments I made about them to the Alphas. For your information, they were made as the Alphas were attacking me, and I was absolutely defenseless. I was trying to convince them that I was not as big a danger to them as others were. I hope that I can get the Imperials to believe that so that you can put the alliance together. You should also warn the Mattari'iani that the Alphas have been talking, at least to me, about them as the next target after the Sarduccis.
If we do decide to go after the Alphas, we could use an attack on the Sarducci planets along my northern border as an excuse. This should not cause the Alphas any alarm and would allow us to gather considerable forces within striking range. Let me know what you think about the merits of this plan.
I sent a message to the Mattari'iani and the Imperials (cc'ing the Xym) explaining the above to them and adding this possible scenario:
We could send fleets after Sarducci planets that he doesn’t not appear to be attacking. I don't have penetrating scanners down there, so either of you fellas would have to pick the targets. We'd inform the Alphas of our intent with a sort of "You declared open season on the Sarduccis so we're going to participate" kind of message. If there were some planets he was claiming, we'd back off claim to those, just as long as we had enough to amass a decent strike force not all concentrated at one planet; probably one race per planet so it wouldn't look like a concerted effort. Then, at the appointed hour, in we'd come through the Alpha's back door.
Now, I'd say we go ahead and take the planets. The Sarduccis simply won't last and we might as well take the opportunity to expand. One main reason I say this is that, depending on how good your stargates are Mattari'iani, you could toss up a cheap starbase with gates, and that would aid in sending in reinforcements.
The main problem would be those borders with the Alphas that do not have Sarducci planets to act as buffers. In my case, the area around Ripper Jack, for example, is currently vulnerable, but amassing defenses at my own planets may not be looked on as out of the ordinary. And don't forget that some of you have planets interspersed in Alpha space, and attacks from all quarters would certainly strain his resources (besides being eminently demoralizing).
Let me know if the Alphas are going after the planets near a line drawn from Grey Matter to Tierra. Those he isn't going after could be what we claim to want (or they could be what we -actually- want >grin<). And please don't let the Sarduccis know about this. They might tip our hand to the Alphas.
I got a vote of confidence from the Imperials, but not buy-in into the coalition, probably due to their desire to stay neutral for now:
I know that your empire and the Alphas are vying for second place...I just wanted to let you know that I sponsor your empire to the end. I'm making a few peacemakers for your empire to use this very year.
The Mattari reply (with quotes of my message slightly edited for space) to both the Imperials and me (but, interestingly, not the Xym) cast his lot with the Anti-Alpha Coalition:
>"I am personally of the opinion that you cannot trust them any farther than
>you can throw one of their battleships. I think that your idea about an
>anti-Alpha coalition has merit, and if you can get the Mattari'iani and
>Imperials in, you can also count me in."
>
Hmm -- I think I can kick one all of his battleships, but I understand the comment... please count me in. I don't think Roland's (the Alpha's) messages are worth the electrons they're transmitted with.
{responding to the proposed plan of attack}
Sound enough. As long as we watch the Xym too ... personally, I'd like to wait a couple of years... I'm now researching Bio12 for the Hush-a-Booms ...
>Now, I'd say we go ahead and take the planets. The Sarduccis simply won't
>last and we might as well take the opportunity to expand. One main reason
>I say this is that, depending on how good your stargates are Mattari'iani,
>you could toss up a cheap starbase with gates, and that would aid in
>sending in reinforcements.
>
I can put an infinite/300ly Orbital Fort up for 150 resources ... two, maybe three turns?
>And don't forget that
>some of you have planets interspersed in Alpha space, and attacks from all
>quarters would certainly strain his resources (besides being eminently
>demoralizing).
>
He was accusing me of building BB's far to close to his planet when I had them stationed at my main worlds!?!
>Let me know if the Alphas are going after the planets near a line drawn
>from Grey Matter to Tierra.
>
He's currently seiging Costello, Geronimo, Little Sister, and Spay. He's got a BB heading towards Grey Matter. The other Sarducci planets are out of my pen scanning range ...
>P.S. To the Mattari'iani. Another quote from the Xym message: "You should
>also warn the Mattari'iani that the Alphas have been talking, at least to
>me, about them as the next target after the Sarduccis." I'm sure you'll
>want to consider this when deciding whether or not to be part of an
>Anti-Alpha Coalition. :)
>
I'm waiting ... he's not that big ... our economies are equivalent, but my forces are certainly more concentrated ...
Did anyone else notice that all of his BB's are acting independently? Look rather vulnerable at the moment...
My response to the Mattari’iani (cc’ed to the Imperials):
Thank you for signing on with the Anti-Alpha Coalition. As the saying goes, "Many hands make light work." >chuckle<
I'm sure waiting until you have the Hush-a-Boom isn't a problem. It will take some time for us to build up our forces anyway, so you should be able to use them by then. Besides, I don't think you'll need many, if any, bombers at the start of the campaign; you can be building them as we go after his ships and starbases. And in your case, depending on how close the Alphas are to you, you may be able to build your armada out of sight until the year before the campaign, then gate them in and let them go. That's what I plan to do.
I detected a slight note of caution with regards to dealing with the Xym, and I understand your concern. However, I think the Xym will have their hands full enough to keep them from going after anyone else during the Alpha Campaign. Also, he's not been one to go after long-term allies, so I think short-term allies are safe enough.
Thanks for the intelligence as to the planets the Alphas are going after. I was hoping Grey Matter wouldn't be one of the targets, as it's probably the closest Sarducci planet to me that is also near the Alphas. We'll have to go after uncontested planets (even red ones for us, if necessary) to keep him from worrying too much about our preliminary attacks.
It's good to hear you have inf/300 stargates and can get them up relatively quickly. Once the serious shooting starts, they will be necessary for quickly reinforcing.
The fact that all his battleships are acting independently is a sign that:
- He's confident that the Sarduccis will be pushovers vs. battleships.
- He's confident that his universal "keep out" message sent a couple years ago will be heeded by all, and that no one will go after him while he's vulnerable.
The first item is quite possibly true, since he's predicting no ship losses on his part thoughout his entire assault on the Sarduccis. The second is his Achilles Heel. We need to start building an armada now so that we're ready when the time comes.
See you in space.
The Imperials signed on to the Anti-Alpha Coalition, with this message to me and copied to the Mattari'iani:
Count me in. Tell me where to send ships. I have a few mid-range fighters that will gate easily through the Mattari's stargates, but the big, lumbering Star Destroyers =) are too big to fit...I think? But they do have warp 9 engines, so they're not too shabby in that capacity. But our friend here the magical-gate man will be an invaluable asset in a surprise attack.
I'm there [granted that the Vikings do in fact call a truce]
My response (cc'ing the Mattari'iani):
Great to have you on board! I do believe that, depending on where you are, the Mattari'iani can help with gating you Star Destroyers. If the Vikings don't call a truce and you have to deal with them, let us know ASAP so we can adjust plans accordingly.
Monday I'll send out a message to the whole coalition--the Mattari'iani, the Imperials and the Xym Federates--to detail a possible plan of attack
And the Imperials responded to the Mattari and me:
Don't worry about the Vikings too much. If anything, they're my problem.
I hate to get others involved in messes I've made for myself. But I'm pretty sure he'll come around. And if he doesn't, I'll still help with the war effort by sending in ships =) But I like the truce exactly how it is. Even if the vikings were to come around and be "nice" they haven't proven to be an empire worth trusting, and would join the coalition in hopes of furthering their own needs at the end.
Glad to get this thing going. If the Vikings decide to be a friend, I'll send my star destroyers immediately toward Io [Mattari base].
Question: If I have large freighter fleet holding minerals, can I fly it over the Io, then transfer it to them, so they can build a Stargate there?
I answered yes to his question. Next year I plan to formally announce the coalition to the and start planning the grand strategy.
Year 2475: The End
I am currently in 2nd place. The Mattari'iani now have 25 capital ships, while the Alphas lost 3 going down to 19, and the Sarduccis are now showing 1 capital ship of their own
An interesting battle took place at Chinese Finger, a major Imperial base. I didn't have anyone there, but the Imperials gave me a Peacemaker based there (the 4th so far). The battle consisted of the Imperial starbase & Colloidal Phaser destroyer, my new Peacemaker, a Mattari Peacemaker (possibly also just given), and a Viking fleet consisting of an Imperial Peacemaker and a 2 Delta Torpedo cruisers. The Mattari'iani and my lone Peacemakers left the scene, but the Imperials destroyed the Viking cruisers and Peacemaker. The Viking cruisers started out with 17% damage, so perhaps the treaty between the Imperials and them hasn't really happened yet. The presence of a Peacemaker given to me allowed me to watch the battle and get ship component intelligence.
A scout of mine is parked in orbit of Allen, right next to the Delik homeworld of Castle, and sees loads of battle cruisers. I’ll send them in as a suicide squad to determine the makeup of those ships, though Castle only has one of the battle cruiser designs present, and replace with a scout built at Ney.
I arrived with troops to finish off Magellan, but the bombers took out everyone, so now I've put a Nina in the queue of Alpha Centauri so I can colonize it. I dumped 560,000 colonists (that were originally destined for Castle, the Delik homeworld with a much larger population) onto the Sarducci planet of Catnip, with only about 12,400 colonists. A bit of overkill, but at least terraforming from -8% will go faster. Given that situation, I dropped 215,000 marines onto Bakwele to try to prevent bombing it out completely (Bakwele has about 132,000 colonists now).
I build a new Shining Zoinker at Wumpus. The Xym built a stargate at McClellan, so tech trade will happen quicker, and we can react to changing tech needs easier.
The Xym liked the plans I had proposed as to the attack on the Alphas:
Greetings. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you about the anti-Alpha coalition. I agree entirely with your message and your plan seems very workable. To update you on my status, I will be at the desired tech level in two turns and will begin building juggernaut armed battleships at that point. I anticipate that it will take me about 5 turns to get enough to be reasonable secure against the Alphas. I would like to suggest that we plan on starting our offensive on or about turn 2484. (game persona aside: this would give us the weekend to make sure everything is in order.) This would also give me time to lay some fairly substantial minefields along my border with the Alphas to impede any counterattack on his part. I would suggest that you do the same to protect your northern planets. If the time frame is acceptable, please let me know and also pass the information to the Imperials and Mattari'iani.
Thus, I’m starting to build 5 Fielder fleets (5 Fielders, 1 Zoinkifier, 1 Gas Station) at different colonies up north to station along the border. Also, I’m building loads of Zoinkifiers down south to send through the wormhole. I responded that 2484 sounded good, and forwarded the message to the Imperials and the Mattari'iani, with this added:
The minefield advice is good advice. Get crankin' now on those.
Currently, the Anti-Alpha Coalition (AAC) consists of the Xym, the Mattari'iani, the Imperials and me. I don't think we'll get the Vikings in on this one (which is fine; fewer folks to divide the spoils). Let me know if you think 2484 is a reasonable date to get ready for. Remember, if we wait too long, the Alphas will have strengthened themselves, and we'll have to knock them off of planets that are presently Sarducci planets, whereas now we can safely ignore the Sarduccis.
Unfortunately (for the Sarduccis), we -will- have to take some Sarducci planets for the diversion to work. However, I think the message the Alphas sent out to everyone a few years ago, saying something like the war was just between the Sarduccis and them, was a waving off of anyone who wanted to go after the Sarduccis as well. I think, though, if we move in on the Sarduccis in force, he won't want to challenge us all; he'll just have to live with it. Therefore, I suggest that we pick our planets and start going after them, using those attacks as cover for the deployment of the AAC strike force, and stalling the Alphas if they start getting upset that we're sharing in the Sarducci spoils.
If you wish to lay claim to particular planets, use E-mail to copy all of us and let us all know. Also, use E-mail to keep us all informed as to where you will be stationing your strike force ships.
Let's get to it!
Unfortunately, at this point in time, there was a problem with the sending of the turn files to some people, forcing Martin to go to a backup, but the most recent backup he has was from turn 2426, almost 50 years ago. Thus, the game came to an abrupt end. Given that the Xym Federates had met one of the winning conditions, it would be safe to say that they won the game at the point it stopped.
I would have really liked to have found out what the Traders were going to give me, and to actually see how well the Anti-Alpha Coalition would have worked out. This was my first game against human opponents, and it was certainly far, far different from any game against a computer player. I’d like to thank Martin Persson for hosting it, and I’d like to forgive him for not checking his back up the files. >grin< And thanks to all the players who made the game so interesting. Hope to see you again in another game. Have fun!
End of Game Status:
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