One last post here, and my first play through is complete.
I am beginning to feel like there is nothing that can stand in my way. My fleets are sweeping from system to system. It is like the skies are parting to let us through.
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Stardate 1406:
The Orthin launched another surprise attack on my colony at Proxima. Now I am going to be forced to respond. I simply cannot allow these random incursions to continue, regardless of how ineffective they have been.
I also had the notion of trying to build a Colony Ship at Gaia. I had almost forgotten about that planet, but since the gaian's are the planet's biggest population, maybe the colony ship will produce a gaian colony? Only way to know for sure is to try.
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Stardate 1408:
The Teros are attacking my colony at Eltanin. If I didn't make any mistakes, there should be planetary defenses there in absence of a fleet. ... Yup. I didn't goof. Their missile destroyers were no match for my planetary defenses, especially since they didn't have any point defense weapons.
As soon as I finish dealing with the Orthin, I may have to send my fleet back to deal with these wayward Teros. I don't want to fight them, but I can't let them attack my colonies.
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Stardate 1410:
Eeep! I almost had a heart attack when my fleet reached the Orthin world. Seeing the massive planet on the tactical display, I thought for a moment that they had planetary defenses that I didn't know about.
It turns out, all they have is a space station. *gasp wheeze* That's much better than planetary defenses. All I had to do was give it a little nudge.
One thing I forgot to prepare for was the lack of sufficient military transports that I'd have. I need to build more of them if I'm going to subdue a population of 12 billion!
I've got several worlds that are reasonably well suited to production by now, but it is still going to be over a decade before they are all ready and in position.
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Stardate 1411:
I made another critical blunder. How could I have been so foolish? I neglected to send one of my scout fleets back to friendly territory to repair, and it was only after I encountered a group of Moros' pirates, that I realized how low on armor my Missile Cruiser was. This should have never happened, but I lost my missile cruiser in the opening volleys.
I don't know how I am going to explain this to the families of the deceased.
But I do know that I'm going to start building a new line of ships using our latest technology. Battle shields should help immensely, and the so-called Hellbore cannons should make short work of pirates in any case. (I don't know if there is a hell out there, but I don't know how a weapon can fire reports about your fleets being destroyed at someone.)
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Stardate 1412:
The Yoril launched a bold strike at one of my colonies near their homeworld. Our sensors detected them almost as soon as they left their system. I didn't have any ships to spare to reinforce what I already had present, but I have made a habit of rushing a planetary defense network as the first action I take on any new colony. That, along with my battle cruiser that was already in orbit, leaves me confident none the less.
It turns out that their frigates were far less formidable than I feared, and the battle was over almost before it began. If they had been carrying missiles, they might have taken out part of my fleet, but with only point defense weapons, they posed little threat.
The Teros also sent another probing attack at my colonies. But a single scout cruiser is not much of a threat. Something that I learned myself the hard way.
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Stardate 1413:
My scouts have encountered a human colony at a place called Fargone. These humans do not actually seem to be pirates at all, yet they still declared war on me immediately.
Honestly... I'm rather touched by their consideration. No one else has bothered to make a formal declaration of hostilities against me, not even my Teros brethren. They've just attacked without warning or provocation.
I doubt there is any way that I can convince them to retract their declaration. They don't seem to be accepting ambassadors... at least, not as far as I can tell.
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Stardate 1414:
One of my battle cruisers has encountered a truly massive fleet at Antares. 11 ships in total. I don't know what their capabilities are, but I'm ordering my Battle Cruiser to get out of there. Judging from what my scanners indicate, their technology is inferior to ours, but I don't want to risk my ship on a first encounter.
While my battle cruiser recharged its warp drive, the human's laser weapons barely made a dent in its shields. I suspect I could have taken out their entire fleet, but I need a moment to regroup and assess what my official stance is going to be on these humans and their declaration of war.
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Stardate 1416:
Moros, Hand of Death sprung a trap for my scout fleet at a newly explored star. Six destroyers... that's the largest pirate fleet we've encountered to date. But unless they've improved their technology, I don't think they will pose a serious threat to my Battle Cruiser. Let Death come, I am ready... I hope.
... And my surmise is correct. They have not improved their ships at all in the last several hundred years. Their opening volley barely manages to break through my defensive screens.
By the second wave, I am getting a little more worried. They're attempting massed boarding missions against my Battle Cruiser. If they capture it... I shudder to think of the consequences.
Third round. That was actually a close call. Much closer than I would have liked. My Battle Cruiser was severely damaged, but I managed to fight off one last boarding attempt before returning the favor and capturing their last destroyer.
Also, the humans at Anteres have also launched half of their fleet at one of my nearby colonies. I guess I have no choice but to meet them in battle. The ironic thing? It is one of my human colonies. Do these humans have a history of killing each other or something?
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Stardate 1421:
A large fleet from the Gremak Empire showed up on the scanners, heading toward one of my new colonies. However, I have just recently learned that my Star Gate apparently lets me almost instantly move ships between my colonies. I was pretty floored by that discovery. I can't really believe it took me that long to realize it.
In any case, I have sent reinforcements to the world, and unless the Gremak Empire has updated their warships, I don't expect much of a fight.
However, through some strange twist of fate, my scouts arrived at Altair just in time to see a fleet of unknown ships attacking a Teros colony. Seeing as how the Teros are our brethren, I feel duty bound to intervene on their behalf.
These Phidi, so-called, may have their reasons, but can any reason be enough to wipe out an entire colony? I know that I am going to have to send military transports to conquer the colony myself, and I don't claim to be some sort of saint, but I'm not going to stand by and watch the orbital bombardment.
Round one, it is kind of neat seeing a three way battle. Coming in somewhere in the middle, off to one side is an interesting, albeit dangerous place to be. I am confident that my fleet carrier can handle their lone ship though. (There have been 4x games I've played in the past where I desperately wanted an "intervene" option.)
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Stardate 1423:
It seems as if the End Game is approaching. My main fleet appears unstoppable, and the citizens are getting tired of being attacked randomly from all sides.
Our successful invasion of the Orthin homeworld has set the stage for a repeat performance elsewhere in the galaxy. I'm giving the order for my main fleet to head out. The Gremak empire is next, followed by the cowardly Teros to the galactic north, who attack without warning.
As for the humans who were kind enough to actually declare war. I will be coming for them after that.
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Stardate 1426-1427:
My main battle fleet has arrived in a polar orbit of Sabik, the Gremak's home star. Arrayed against me are 11 warships. This will be the most massive battle I've fought to date, but with my new Advanced Cruisers present in the fleet, I am supremely confident.
...and my confidence was justified. They never stood a chance. I almost feel bad for them.
After capturing their primary colony, I find that their minor colony has planetary defenses. But they equipped themselves with heavy lasers instead of missiles, so I can apparently just sit back out of range and pummel them with my own missiles.
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Stardate 1429:
My second bug report, yay! I came across a group of marauders who also had a captured Phidi scout in their ranks. Perhaps something with that scout caused the bug? Either way, bug report sent!
Now to mop up these Marauder scumbags. These so-called hellbore cannons make short work of them, and they can't even get through my battle shields.
My invasion of Teros space goes off without a hitch.
Also, Woo! My colony ship from Gaia did indeed produce a new colony of Gaians on Hamal 1. I didn't expect them to leave the comfort of their trees to start a new life on an arid world, but perhaps we can terraform it to their liking.
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Stardate 1430:
I've scouted out Phidi space, and it looks like there are more marauders hanging about with captured phidi craft.
The invasion of the Teros worlds continues, but I now actually have to worry about the damage they will deal in return. They have two star bases and that equals a whole lot of missiles. I have a whole lot-er of missiles though, so I am not worried about failure. Just how many of my own ships they'll take out in the process.
Boom! Battle Cruiser 1 is down! And a debris field is left in its place... I tried to turn so that I had a fresh shield facing up to the second wave of missiles, but I couldn't turn fast enough. (I make a note to replace the Battle Cruiser with one that has updated technology. Ion cannons are so last century.)
I also have discovered that splitting up a big fleet is kind of a pain, when you only want to pull one or two ships out.
Ooh! Weird bug time! My Fleet Carrier engaged some marauders and it launched a squadron of Gunboats. When the gunboats attacked the captured Phidi ship, there was an opaque square texture that appeared underneath the gunboats for a second. Weird...
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Stardate 1440:
My main battle fleet sweeps through the galaxy, one planet after another. My newest battleships can survive even a full barrage of missiles from an enemy star base. (I've learned to angle them 45 degrees on the first turn so that I can complete the full 90 degree turn on the second turn and put a new shield facing in front.)
There is only one last bastion of hostile forces, and I have dispatched the fleet to deal with the problem. I expect that in a few years, we will have achieved total victory.
I don't think I've ever been able to build enough transport ships to cover every possible trading lane. But in the peaceful years ahead, perhaps it will be possible.
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Stardate 1442:
All hostile empires have been dealt with, and now it is just a matter of exploring the last few systems and mopping up any pirates or marauders that remain.
I did accidentally open up some kind of log window and I don't know how to close it again. I should look in the read me file, but since I'm almost finished with this game, I'm just ignoring it.
Ooh, another bug report too! Aaand, my first crash.
Take a screenshot and lets see if we can't restart the game and finish up real quick.
Aaand done.
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The Empire emerges victorious! Every star we can possibly reach has been explored and all the threats firmly dealt with. I hope the Ashdar can relax, and perhaps smile at their good fortune. Undoubtedly, good times lie ahead for them.
I did my part, I lead the empire to better days. Now I think I shall retire as the prime minister and let someone else plot the empires course. Hopefully it will require a monumental effort to mess up what we've accomplished so far.
Thank you, anyone who read my rambling first thoughts. It was a pleasure.
