Who turned on the lights?

[Diazo]

Alright, it's been a while since I've started a game from scratch so with the energy changes I'm going to start a new game and provide feedback. (It works....) 

This is also my first game with the wave mechanic changes from a few patches ago.

So nothing fancy here, just me and the AI.

Diff 9/9 Random All Non-Technologist
80 planet lattice map.
Complex ships, all minor factions and AI modifiers off. (All expansions on however.)

Hit the generate map button and click Start Game without looking.

Here we go.....



Hmmm, does not look like a bad start position even though I've got 8 hostile wormholes on my HW.

Sentinel Frigates though? I can work with that I guess, they are not a bad ship by any means.

I start fortifying my home system, unlock Grav I to buy me time, there's only 1 warp point danger close to my Command Station.



My command station is at the bottom, Dulin is the warp point that is danger close.

The first wave warning hits, Spire Tractors, easy enough.

The wave hits and one of the AIs is a support corps, decoy drones, a couple decloakers (?) and a whole bunch of other ships from the other AI come through at the same time.

The other AI is not guaranteed by the Spire Tractors, but I'm guessing Spire Descendent.

Time to get scouts out.

Energy: 00:15:00 mark, collector only, 117k energy free, Mk I all fleet ships built, 12x Grav I, 30x Missile Turret I built.

Initial scouting done.



Nothing special close, although I can't get scouts to those two systems in the bottom right, Spire Gravity Drains all over the place.

Now, it's a lot of systems to be taking without having found any data centers or a superterminal, but I want to push things to see how this new energy setup works so I'm going to take everything in the green circle and setup two whipping boys to take the large waves (and carriers) I'm going to be facing.

Energy Report: 00:30:00 One system captured, did not build a Collector, still have 77k energy buffer.

No real surprises so far, I've got half my pocket cleaned out.

The only unexpected thing was a wave arrived but it did not list a ship type, I'm assuming because the Support Corps had a larger part of the wave. It was a wave of lighting shuttles and I'd placed my fighters and bombers close the warp point to interdict. One salvo later I had no fighters or bombers left. 

Energy Report: 01:00:00. 53k Surplus. Still have not built a collector in any of my captured systems. Fortresses are coming however so we'll see what happens then.

[Diazo]

Oops.



I.. uhh.. Spire Tractors, ya.

Apparently 160 of those kill all fleet ships in range in one salvo.

Did not have enough defences in my HW, it was the last wave to hit it before I cleared the last hostile WP adjacent to my HW, the wave warning came up as the command station died. 

My HW defense relied on my mobile fleet, when it died in the first salvo from the tractors, my starships and turrets were not enough.

Ah well, I was really playing to see the new energy setup and it's progress I think.

I certainly did not spend any time thinking about energy, I did not have to build any collectors until I started on my first fortress and having built 3 collectors I had about 200k unused energy with 3x Mk I fortresses built.

My worries about early game one-HW starts are lifted, if anything collectors produce significantly more energy then they need to.

For my play style anyway, need more people to experiment.

D.