Layman Warmongerer's AAR

from GalCiv2 Forums
Salutations.

While I fire-up my next game, I figured I'd also start off one of these threads to follow it along. I'm a new guy (both to the forums and the game), so I'm sure that I'll learn more from any feedback (and even looking at my play in hindsight) than any reader will be able to glean from here - but I'll do my best to make things interesting, if nothing else.

This is just a 'normie' game (no 'MEGA INSANEZORZ WINZ!' strategy here, I'm afraid) - Normal Difficulty, 9 other guys, a Random number of Minors, Large Galaxy, Common Planets/Habitability/Stars, Loose Clusters, Abundant Anomolies/Asteroids, Normal Tech. The AI races are set to random.

I then set-up my guys:




If this were MoO, the 8-point +2 Speed Advantage would be my Tolerant pick. I just couldn't imagine playing without it. There's so much bang for your buck in that (admittedly hefty) 8 points that I could go on for ages. I can forget about needing to go down the Propulsion path for the immediate future. I can outrun everyone else while the whole colonization thing is running (and without putting those expensive 'engine' things on my ships, to boot!), and while I'm at it, gobble-up far more anomolies. I can save space and cash on my early combat vessels. I can to get Resources and Asteroids quicker.

...It's just freakin' fantastic, IMHO.

The rest of the picks, well, I'm not really sure of. They just sort of jump at me. Extra research is always nice, Luck (I think) will help me out when I'm grabbing those anomolies, Weapons... I'm not sure if that's a firepower bonus or an accuracy bonus, but either sound nice when I want to mix it up early and solidly with my opponents (re: everyone else on the map). Universalists helps me out with the luck bonus, gives me a solid economy pump, gives the only Pop growth bonus of any party and throws-in a defense bonus too. That sounds like an alright (if less specialized) package to get some fighting done with.

Lastly, my Superability. Super Warrior is the only one that strikes me as appropriate for a bunch of war-mongering space mustalids (though I'm dubious that 'First Strike' is as helpful in the long run as Exponential Population Growth or the ability to colonize extra types of planets. We'll see how much mileage I can get out of it at any rate).

So, I get the galaxy all fired-up:



Not such a bad location (in fact, that's pretty good. Not cramped into a corner, but also offset from the center so I'm not a prime target for beating the crap out of). I'll have to see what the neighboring stars have to offer for planets, and what I can wrangle-up with my flagship.

I kick things off by queuing-up half of Den's tiles with Factories, the other half with Markets (I also got a small manufacturing bonus tile, which is nifty):



...And I leave my Sliders looking like this (...I tend to leave Research at 0, just using the 'focus' buttons on my planets to build-up research for my instead. I'm sure this isn't as efficient as building actual Research buildings, but I see it as freeing-up a branch on the tech tree (I don't have to grab research improvements) and streamlining my economy). I've tried going the other way, but it seems to be prohibitively expensive (if better at absolutely KILLING the tech tree) and not as cooperative when it comes to building your ships (colony ships at this stage of the game, in particular):




Lastly, I decide on my research path. This game I want to be all about military dominance and conquest, so I decide to focus on these three branches to start:

1) Military branch -> Invasion technologies
2) Logistics technologies
3) Military branch -> Weapon technologies

First strike likely means that I don't need to worry much about defense or hull size (if it computes First Strike like I'd hope it does, regarding fleet combats), so those shouldn't need to come into the picture until later.

I imagine I'll want the Economy branch after my initial sorties are done with to keep the pace and maintain my war machine after I've stolen some planets and cut apart a some starships, so that'll be my focus after I've researched all but the best of the best guns for my ships.

Then I'll go for miniaturization, then big bad hulls.


...Not sure if all this planning is necessary, or such a great idea, but it's how I did well at MoO - and a lot of MoO translates pretty directly to GalCiv (like Production > Anything Else).

So, I'm to bed for the night, but I'll run through a few turns tomorrow before work and post what progress (or lack thereof) I manage to make.
aars
59,128 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Nice writeup. I don't think I've ever been that interested in reading the first turn before. Keep going. :CONGRAT:
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Slept-in this morning, so I only gave it a couple of clicks before heading out the door.

...And my first mistake occurred before I even got out the gate: having just waken-up, I hit the New Game button instead of the Continue game button. D'OH!

Fortunately for me, the Galaxy generated more or less exactly the same starting position (except I get a Morale resource this time around):



So, to kick things off, I design my first two non-combat vessels - a colony ship (the 'Doom Quack', which looks suspiciously like a big rubber duck)



...and a constructor (the 'Jackhammer')




- both small hulls with no engines. Cheap labor, in otherwords. I start construction on the Jackhammer first, thanks to that terribly tempting nearby resource, and let my planetary improvements sit there in the queue to save on cash.

I also get my Miner and Flagship to work - and the latter hits the jackpot right away. I bank a cool extra 1000 creds with the first anomoly it hits, then knock 25% off of my Space militarization tech.


That's all for turn number 1 - and all I have time for at the moment. I'll get further along once I get back from work.
Star Control: Origins
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
22 Apr, 2226

(I'll do an update each time I gain new tech, at least for as long as I'm not totally steamrolling the tech tree. Later in the game I imagine I'll just update after I've finished kicking the snot out of an opposing civ)

Wrapped-up the Space Militarization tech, so we're onto the big daddy on my tree: Space Invasion. I also did one other thing in turn 1 I neglected to mention before - I parked my initial colony ship the Class IV world in my home sector. Not much, but it's alright as a little RP factory. It's what got me through to Space Militarization while Den cranked-out some Jackhammers and a Doom Quack (which was just finished). Speaking of which...



...Not one, but TWO Morale resources! All mine! And a Class 10 world to boot!

Just have to get a Quack over there before my neighbors (and if they beat me to it, I know who the first to be on my hit list is going to be). Assuming I get to those items before anyone else, this game should be in the bag (And I don't see how I wouldn't. My Quack just got off the assembly line, and the AI has a laughable tendancy to just plain pass-up any resource they happen to stumble across).

My first starbase is up and ready, and even has an extra module, so my Morale is holding-up (I'd thought thst this was going to be my real adversary, too, given I didn't take any morale boosting picks. Guess I got lucky) and is likely to only get better. Finances are in the red, but no more than I would expect for this stage of the game:



I'll be back in the black, of course, after I get my colonies established and maybe play around with the tax slider a bit. In the meantime, my handy flagship has been scooping enough small credit deposits here or there to ensure I've got bucks to float on for some time to come (especially since I don't really feel pressured to buy things right away).

So, I'll be back with another update once I've got the Invasion plans down (or if something terribly interesting happens in the interim). Thanks for reading.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Alright - so that didn't take nearly as long as I'd thought. Between getting Den refocused on research and running into a breakthrough anomoly, Planetary Invasion was fast in arriving. I'm now the only actually dangerous civ on the map, which is a fairly nice little bonus.

Both Morale resources are mine, each Starbase established with it's first 4% module. The class 10 world is mine too... and then I discovered another nice little treat tucked away right beside me:



Barring the AI having a starting position as unusually good as mine, perhaps with higher quality tiles (and assuming they make better use of their resources than is typical for them), it'll be extremely difficult for anyone to achieve map control parity with me unless they somehow do it by force (unlikely, given my militaristic picks). I'm pretty sure this is in the bag already - just a matter of learning-up on my shooty techs and making a list of who I want to bury and in what order.

My finances sure aren't too shabby either:



Still in the red, and I expect to be until I've got my colonies established, but my Luck pick seems to be worth it's weight in gold. I've got all kinds of funds to float on for quite some time, and it's given me the flexibility to spend a bit to buy a Scout to see what else is within my borders (admittedly, an investment that has really paid-off yet - the worthwhile exploring seems to have already been done by my Quacks and flagship) so I didn't have to trade-off research production for intel.

I'm eyeing that slowing depleting Morale with a little bit of suspicion, however. I don't know when it's going to stabilize, and while I know it's not really important as long as you maintain just enough to keep pumping-out those taxpayers, I'd hate to see it dip below 60 or so. Maybe I'll invest in Starbase tech after I'm done with the military and logistics tech.

Next update after I finish the Invasion branch, or if something interesting happens.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


...Would you look at that. Right conveniently after I finish researching Planet Invasion, and just as I finish designing this:



The Korx, apparently thinking that I'm just some chump, decide to come on in and plant their asses in my zone, on a Class IV I couldn't colonize myself - and then try to STEAL MY MINERS with their influence.

Pardon me while I queue-up a couple of ships and right-click on their planet. And if it happens to get invaded as a result, hey - that's not my problem.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Turns-out they got invaded afterall. And the icing on the cake?



Why yes, I'll be happy to take that lovely added punch to my production.


Of course, now the Korx and I are at each other's throats. Though, alas for them, I doubt they've made as much headway into the Invasion branch as me. I'll have to take a look and see what kind of planet poaching I can do in their turf.

I'll be back with another update when some serious BAM BAM occurs, or (again) when I wrap-up the Invasion branch.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Look at these jokers.

Apparently the Korx weren't the only ones envious of all the prime real-estate in my region. Fine by me - there's plenty of Gatecrashers for everybody (well, I'll let the Torians have that Class I, if they want it so bad. Poor Torians).

Speaking of the Korx, I think I just did them in. Landed on Korx II, which had their initial colony (AKA - Capital?) on it. It's starting to secede, but I can fix that easily enough - by shipping everyone offworld in a troop transport. I hope the Korx enjoy the worthless lump of rock they get to keep.


So, Yor.

Let's dance.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Turns out the Korx don't want to fight anymore. Go figure.

Too bad I feel like getting back into the black, and taking their planets is the quickest way there.


Of course, I've been forced to pause my progress into Planetary Invasion to make a quick dive into Space Weapons, just so I can mop-up the terrible little Defenders both the Korx and Yor have parked over their worlds so I don't have immediate access with my gatecrashers.

Then I'll get back to wrapping-up Advanced Planetary Invasion and whatever comes after, and post another update.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Jeez, it's been a few turns - so here's the deal:

I'm more or less as far down the Planetary Invasion path as I feel is worth going, so I started digging into Logistics. Got a ways down that tree, then realized I was going to need some more firepower because the Korx started cranking-out the fighters like there was no tomorrow, so I finished-up about midway through Logistics and switched to MDs. Yay cannons.

Designed these suckers right off the bat:



Got them fleeted-up into groups of 4 or so, then started taking-out the Korx's few worlds. Borked on a couple of Invasions, which was a bit costly, but now they're right down to the bone, so I'm happy.

In the meantime, I had decided to hold-off on the Yor war. Guess what? They didn't give me the chance. Damn robots declared war on me, alongside the Drath. Unluckily for them, the Korx was their main ally. Whoops.

Drath seem to number few, the Yor have better numbers - but they're spread so thin it isn't even funny. Still, they've got transports in my zone, and already took one planet by surprise (which I happily took back). I'll put my Cleavers back into use... though I'm a bit weary of the fact that the Yor have picked armor for their ship D. Arg.

I'll let you know how the great mess unfolds.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Bye-bye. Better luck next time.

Meanwhile, the Council resolved for a galaxy-wide ceasefire - so I'm no longer locked in mortal combat with robots & lizrds. Right after, however, the bug and afore-mentioned lizards decided to launch an offensive against the Drengin.

I think this is a good opportunity to take the Thalan by surprise. According to the Foreign stats, they don't appreciate the way I'm manhandling my corner of the galaxy.

I'm going to finish-up the best variant of my current weapon tech, dive headfirst into hulls and see if I can catch the bugs by surprise before they finish-off the Drengin.

It's a black sea of violence out here.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Why do I have my fleet manager open?

Well, as you can see, three wars just broke out. All against me.

Apparently the entire galaxy think that the Starvorine menace has grown too great. Shucks.

If only the pirates felt the same way.

Pirates?

Yes, the pirates. I have my fleet manager open because apparently a bunch of pirates have decided that this is the time to come flooding into the galaxy - so I'm scrapping all of my ships. All of the AIs can go ahead and get their stuff blown away, and in the meantime I'll tech into whatever awesomeness is needed to deal with the pesky do-gooders and mop the floor with them. Lots of propulsion to run around the pirate ships and just plain invade would be my guess (Gee, guess it's a good thing I have so much of the Planetary Invasion tech under my belt. :D).

I think this will be it, right here. Damn, I'm lucky.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Guess who?

In the interim, while I win the tech race by a country mile, The Drath, Torians, Drengins and some other schmucks surrendered - the Drath giving me the whole swatch that was their territory.

How generous.

DLs only came with one planet and a crappy warship - so I'll let the pirates explode the warship, then I'll run in and grab the planet.

I'm also running raids against the Thalans. Beat them until they cave.
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
No dice, I'm afraid. I didn't really 'lose' - the map became utterly unplayable. Between swarms of DL ships and Pirates, nobody was moving a ship anywhere, and surrendering races eventually just left myself and the Thalans with huge swaths of the galaxy - which the DLs were happy to camp.

I suppose I could've sat it out and raced for a tech victory, but frankly, I got bored.


Looking back, a few things I should've done differently:

- This was the wrong research path for this map. I wanted to hit early with invasions, which was fine - expect I only elimated one of nine opponents, securing myself a relatively small zone in a large map. The gains were, in the end, inconsequential. If not for the mega-events, the combined might of the Thalan and Drath military would've overwhelmed me.

- Super Warrior is just plain bad. First strike doesn't work at all like I'd hoped - in fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't do anything at all. I'll have to try something different next time.

- Extra beef into my weapons was a total waste. Should've gone for more research or something.

- Concepts of Malice, now that I went ahead and explored that path, is likely the tech that you absolutely must reach first. Mind Control Center and Slaves are a total bomb, while the rest of the stuff is solid at worst.

All in all, this game felt pretty 'blah' to me. I was never on top of the food chain, really, and while beating the Korx in a straight-up battle felt really good, it also didn't feel like it made an impact.

Anyway, on that note:

It just turned 12:00 here. Happy 2008, everyone.