Planets: 40
Style: Realistic
Seed: 812500000 (generated random numbers until electric shuttle appeared)
Ships: Complex
Options: All enabled (default?)
Combat style: Fast & Dangerous
Visibility: Full Fog Of War
Cheats: Disabled
Minor factions included: All
AI modifiers: None
Auto AI Progress: 1/30 min (default?)
AI opponents: 2x Random Moderate/Easier @ 7.3
00:00:00 - I arriveStarting galaxy mapI’m not very good at AI wars. I’ve given up on some games, but most I just lose when a zillion tanks/bombers kill my home command station. This will be one I try to play through to the bitter end! I’ve rewritten the introduction since reaching the 3 hour mark, but every other post is *mostly* as I wrote it while I played.
Electric shuttles are ships I’ve seen the AI use but after playing almost soley with vampires or teleport battle-stations I wanted to give them a go! After finding a map with them on, I start planning...
Zargaraid and Biroifi will be taken first unless they’re level IV worlds, and Melis will probabley be next. Most games I’ve played recently start with my research of Lv. II forcefield and Lv. III command stations but I quickly find my fleet is overwhelmed when I attempt new raids as there’s no knowledge left to boost my numbers/strength. I’ve a few skills and tactics to try out and hopefully this’ll be my first win!
00-04-00: First I was 
but then I serious’d...Ships!Poor resources on nearby planets that would take my resources to 13/7 with 4 planets were a bit of a turn off, but none of the three I had my eye on would take much to clean out. Not only that, but Biroifi had TWO advanced research stations on neighbouring planets! The research planets had around 100+ mk.II ships but at that point they wouldn’t worry me! Scouting in general was easy, and the highest level planet I’ve encountered is a world with 2 Mk. III ships on it, probably from a patrol. I spot 2 special forces guard posts on that planet, so I think I know one of the AI...
The ‘serious’ part involves my home planet. I’m facing etherjets and raptors, and the AI seems to know how to kite
Oh dear… perhaps electric shuttles weren’t the best choice?
..and to add insult to injury they’re BOTH cloaked and one has mine avoidance! There goes my standard 100+ mines per wormhole tactic!
0:11:57 - The penny dropsNot really worth a picture, but after spotting autocannon minipods a thought just occurred… isn’t there an AI that uses all the cloaked units? I know what tech I’m unlocking!
Spider/Sniper turrets in a far corner should stop the odd ship that appears, but I’ll need to think carefully about base defence… do I defend my homeworld’s wormholes or the resources or just heavily fortify the command station and hope sniper turrets handle the rest?
0:17:16 - First raid, first complaintRaptor raid was dealt with handily, and stealth tachyon detectors are now placed strategically within my homeplanet. A limit of 30 emitters may cause problems later on, but I should be fine. The complaint: My sniper turret ball is fairly far off, and when I set my engineers into FRDM under my forcefield they refuse to go and help build the turrets. If I centre the FRDM on the turrets, they won’t travel across to the distant wormholes to build the tachyon emitters. Can there be no cap on the engineers FRDM range please?
0:28:13 - Invasion ti- WTF!?Time to take my first planet! I was a little surprised to warp in and then spot 2 Mk.II raid starships. I keep hearing on the forums how awesome they are so I’m a little worries…
0:29:01 - Ok, so you’re not so tough…and now there both dead. Perhaps not so great then, or they’re good at something other than facing off against large fleets? Current force (after losses): 118 bombers, 63 fighters, 21 frigates, 79 MkI+II electric shuttles.
0:39:13 - Every journey begins with one small massacreBlue rings of death!Zargaraid is mine, although harvesters took a while to set up as I forgot to FRDM for remaining turrets *facepalm*. Oh, and in 1 second 110 cloaked ships will descend on my homeworld and face a mighty defence force of 18 ships and 15 sniper/spider turrets. *hopes attacking fleet manages to return in time, as they were away from the wormhole thatks to FRDM...*
0:39:32 - Remember what I said about the shuttles?65 cloaked ships have just been taken out by 12 mk.II electric shuttles. They’re beyond awesome... turns out they were etherjets, and after a couple of seconds the remaining ships try to drag the shuttles in a group. I think that the AI should instead of tried to separate the group, but it doesn’t matter now as 12 ships have just stopped an entire raid on their own.
Oh, and I’ve just spotted that one of the advance research lab planets borders a data centre planet. A low-level one at that. For the moment this game seems TOO easy. I’m half hoping I’ll succeed without resistance while the other half of me hopes that the AI is about to do something spectacular!
At this point I took a break to catch some lectures... and I should really mention this: I LOVE how AI wars doesn’t go crazy if you alt-tab to something different while it’s running. So many times I’ve been running a program, decided to change the current track or type something and crashed the program I’ve been using...
The above statement may seem a bit disjointed (Alt-tab = lectures?) but I started posting what music I was listening to when I updated. I then decided against it and edited out parts of my posts.
0:39:32 - Baby steps are done, now for the pentathlon!My homeworld is no more secure. Lv.1 forcefields combined with tachyon emitters and spider/sniper turrets should keep most fleets away, and now I’m torn… I could either secure Melis OR go after the research/data planets. I think I’ll clean out the Melis first too make myself immune to everything but raids!
Let’s see how this goes. I’m guessing this’ll be as easy as the others (thanks to the electric shuttles) but you can never tell... Melis does have a train station, and stopping the trains passing through my homeworld will be a bonus!
1:23:39 - A challenger approaches268 ships are about to attack my homeworld in 5 seconds!
Oh noes
Oh, wait, there’s 109 electric shuttles of various levels between 1-3 sitting on the only entrance.
1:23:47 - …and leavesWoah, it took 8 seconds for the shuttles to kill EVERYTHING!?
Nope.
The previous time had 5 seconds left until the wave, so it took it down in 4 seconds.
See all previous comments on electric shuttles.
Oh, and for some reason my shift key sticks in game and I continue to see move lines and select multiple ships. Possibly is just my keyboard (I use a wireless) but it MIGHT be the game. Does anyone else have that problem?
1:26:58 - Only a matter of timeWhat’s this? The AI’s ships are streaming off into the great beyond? Mauruders then... huzzah...
Oh, and while I was thinking about base defence I remembered something that annoys me about mines. When they’re decloaked, why don’t ships avoid flying into them? It would encourage use of tachyon drones and that decloaker ship. Not really pertinent to this game, but if I don’t write it down now I never will!
1:29:49 - ARGHAGHBHAAGHJSKGBKA!!41!3!!3!32!31!!I don’t know how the AI gets away with it, but I’ve seen this happen in other games aswell: I’ll be attacking a special forces guard post AND THEN IT’LL JUMP TO FULL HEALTH!
The tutorial suggests missile frigates, which I use, but even with 165 blasting away SOMEHOW an engineer manages to get to it and heal the blasted thing. I’ve lost 13 ships clearing out everything on Melis except the warp-gate / command station / special forces guard post so I’mjust going to say “NO U” and hurl everything at it.
Let’s see how those engineers like eating 100+ lighting attacks IN THE FACE!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!
1:33:02 - Spy sappin’ my sentry!Well, electric shuttles decimating my special forces guard post seems more accurate
That’s the planet subjugated and now I’m cleaning up the remains. It’s interesting to note that dagger frigates / buzzbombs have appeared on the sidebar but still there’s no marauder warning…
1:33:11 - WhoopsI thought the lack of warning was because the ships were far away, but now I think it may be a bug as there’s a hoard of buzz bombs incoming. Thankfully marauder ships don’t have IMMUNE TO MINOR ELECTRIC ATTACKS so I should be ok.
Oh and a marauder warning eventually appeared sometime between 1:33:11 and 1:35:26
2:03:05 - Stuff this for a game of soldiersBIG jump thanks to me wanting to rid my planet of marauders. Something that doesn’t quite make sense: I get that marauders live in DEEP space and use STL travel to launch raids but how on earth can they coordinate a raid from two different angles? They must be more patient than I am...
I cleared one wave, and then went “stuff it” again and decided to go elsewhere for the time being. When it takes 10+ seconds to shift+scroll from the frigates to my base I’m not going to wait.
Oh, and 4/5 wormholes on the planet lead to AI settlements. Let them deal with the ships
2:19:50 - You can do it, AI!Where are you going? I don't smell THAT bad!Hurray for the AI ignoring me and rushing off to deal with marauders ON MY PLANET
Thought: If AI are attacking marauders, would my sniper cannons kindly NOT shoot them down?
I could turn them off/on but I want to leave them on so I can ignore the planet and concentrate on other things. Like moving my death-glob of electric shuttles as I attempt to take advanced research station number 1.
2:21:29 - ...All those lines! So many!Well that’s the planet captured. Hey, where are those AI going? Odd, unless... no... surley not more mauraders?
*holds Ctrl*
ARGH!!!!!!!
I didn’t notice the ‘marauders attacking’ sign until after I saved the screenshot *facepalms*
Oh, and here’s a possible bug: When using repair stations, some ships don’t appear in the build queue. I can click on them and I think they’re built, but they don’t appear...
2:40:24 - *swear words*I got a little cocky. A wave of raiders took down my advanced research station when I wasn’t paying attention. The raiders are getting ganked, but still... newfound anti-armours, you must avenge your lost honour! Or something!
Go kill some robots regardless!
2:50:24 - I, RonnieMaptime. Like Naptime but with more cartogrophy.*sighs*
I’m an information junkie, and since my Mk.I scouts where occupied on other planets and I’ve no spare knowledge I built some scout starships.
Do you see the level IV world Boputic?
Guess what planet the starship went to first and then died horribly on…
2:59:09 - A breakDefences? Are they like important or something?Three hours [less thanks to x1-x10] and I think it’s time to stop for the day. The screenshot I leave you with is off a planet being raided two jumps from my main fleet. I’m curious to see how the defences hold. My forcefields have so far been:
-2 mk.II blocking the wormholes on the Cherry Piedom
-2 mk.II protecting my home station
-1 mk.II plugging the Great Northern Fruitcake’s connection to my homeworld
-1 mk.I at the Tomato dependency
-1 mk.I supporting my fleet at Suoao
However I’ve recently noticed that Suoao and the Tomato dependency are the sole wormholes that could let ships into the Cherry Piedom so I’ve started moving the mk.II forcefields up to protect them.
My fleet’s pretty strong atm with a new ship type soon to be added but I’ve been neglecting my knowledge raiding duties.
There’s another lab at Phidetch and an experimental fabricator at Achshlogor that warrant investigating, but they’re two jumps away. Thankfully not through any high level planets so I plan to unlock transports and hop across.
There’s a data centre on Boputic that needs investigating, but Azor’s is my next target as soon as I’ve properly taken over Suoao.
My economy is... ok. The planets I own are pretty terrible, but I’m happy knowing that they are all either choke-points or laboratory planets. MK.II command stations were one of my first unlocks, but I’m glad I held back on getting a mk.III so I’d enough knowledge to boost my fleet.
3:00:00 - Spot onBooyah, managed to destroy command station and get my own up! I’ve unlocked: Deflectors!?
What ships out there shoot lasers?
Oh well, more cannon fodder if nothing else.
Oh, and guess what... this is the first planet I’ve attacked recently that hasn’t had a marauder wave attack it! Oh, wait. It’s under attack too.
ARGH!!!!
Pineapple Sam, signing off for the time being...
