Doing Science

[tmm]

Hello there, I'm tmm and I've been hanging around AI war since the first steam release, though generally drifting in and out of things and lurking a lot.  I've mostly played on 7/7 in the past, and found it a bit on the easy side.  I thought I'd celebrate the VotM launch by taking things up a notch and posting an AAR about it.  Maybe even help out a bit with the big issues like turret controllers and champions.

Start: Normal + Champion, Single HW, Single Champion.

Map:
Planets- 120
Type- Clusters - Microcosm [212992324]

Ships: Complex/All On

Other options:
Human Marauders 4
Human Resistance 4
Zenith Traders
Dyson Sphere 6
Golems (Hard) 4
Rocketry Corps 4
Roaming Enclaves 4
Fallen Spire 4
Dark Spire 4
Showdown Devices
Reveal Random AI Types
Auto AIP: Off

AI:
Random All/Random All 8
Random All/Random All 8

[tmm]

AI 1: Counter Spy/Neinzul Nester
AI 2: Technologist Parasite/Mad Bomber

Bonus ship type: Zenith Siege Engine

Ok well um.  I guess I asked for it.  This might be a short game.

I start my opening refleet of Mk 1s and send my champion to the neighboring system to do the nebula while I wait.  First nebula is EEr vs SF, which is at least an easy one to start with.  Scouting is going to be difficult against a counter spy, I think I'm going to be relying on scout starships and use the fleetships purely as pickets.

00:30 (AIP 10): The first nebula is complete, my champion is now level 7 and has unlocked HBC and Slicer Bays.  One of the EEr starbases dropped to 32%, otherwise no serious damage.  I've been hit by one wave from each AI.  The AI 1 wave was dealt with trivially

The AI 2 wave consisted of 51 Parasite III, 1 Bomber Starship III, 1 Zenith Starship III, 1 Spire Starship III.  High mark starships are rediculously difficult to deal with early.  I unlock Grav Turrets I to help deal with things.  The parasites are trivial, but the starships nearly make it through to the stasis pods.  I hold, but it's a very near miss and I lose about half my fleet destroying the starships.  Champion was still in the nebula when the wave hit, having it along would have helped.

[keith.lamothe]

Ok well um.  I guess I asked for it.  This might be a short game.

You can take 'em!

[tmm]

A better shot of the galaxy, after much fiddling finally resulted in being able to take screenshots with system names displayed:



35:00 AIP 10: Subspace signal on Lausuc.  Scouting reveals that Lausuc is a subcommander system with a Translocator Command, Translocator Eye, and no fewer than 3 Mk III Counterattack Posts.  Well um.  Great.  Looks like I'm going to need to hold off on starting FS for a bit.

39:30 AIP 10: AI 2 wave, 51 Teleporting leeches, Spire Starship Mk II, Flagship Mk IV.  The extra 10 minutes of construction time have considerably improved my defenses, and the wave is easily blasted into space dust.

52:00 AIP 10: For some reason, counter-spies do not get auto-targeted.  Seems a bit odd.  Also, engineers will prioritize champion modules over space dock assist after they finish another job, but if they're already assisting the space dock, they'll remain glued to the space dock until the queue is empty.  It'd be nice if they'd check for more important jobs periodically, remove some unnecessary micro.

1:08:00 AIP 30: I take down the Chabuyaq system.  There's a Co-processor there, but after seeing the wonderfulness waiting for me at Lausuc I think I want to clear the way to Osjodis and upgrade my champion to a destroyer hull before trying to crack it, and with all the Mk III systems in the way I want as little incoming fire as possible.  Once the system is clear I attempt a run through to Osjodis.  It's shut down, hard, by Zombards.

AI unlocks:
AI1: Sentinel Frigate, Spire Maw, Raider Guardian, Tractor Guardian
AI2: Zenith Bombard, Zenith Electric Bomber, Spire Shield Bearer, Vorticular Cutlass, Zenith Chameleon, Impulse Reaction Emitter, Lightning Guardian, Gravity Guardian, MRLS Guardian, Bomber Starship

It looks like some of the AI1 ships are getting the technologist boost as well.  Bug?


The failed run to Osjodis triggers an attack by 160 Mk IV younglings from an unscouted nest in an adjacent system.  Fortunately they don't do much.

1:12:00 AIP 30: AI2 launches its third wave with 200 Missile Frigate III, Raid Starship II, Bomber Starship II, Bomber Starship III.  I'm still holding fine.

1:16:00 AIP 30: I take another run at Osjodis with my champion and make it this time, but lose my shield in the process.  The scenario is of course Mourner, which has no way for a champion to repair/rebuild modules and is probably the third hardest scenario (after RS and Colony Ships) for a single champion.  Activating Zenith Time Machine to give myself a fighting chance at completing it.

1:30:00 AIP 50: I take Zasi to give myself some more energy and knowledge to work with.  Core Shield D disabled.  Shortly afterwards, a nemesis champion solo rushes the system and its slicer bay instagibs the command station through my shield.

I'm about out of durdle time, there's going to be a hard golem exo coming at the 3 hour mark and I'm going to need 3-5 systems worth of k and energy to survive.  I think I'll make one or two more runs at Osjodis with a cloaker starship so the Zombards don't rip my frigate to shreds, and if that doesn't work I'm just going to have to start laying siege to Lausuc and leave nebulas for later.

[tmm]

1:40:00 AIP 50: The nemesis champion respawns, immediately attacks Zasi, takes out the command station and energy collector.  From now on, every 5-10 minutes the nemesis champion respawns and immediately attacks Zasi.  I'm not sure if this is intended or the AI is glitching or what, but this is what I meant by reminding me of hybrids, the constant attacks take my entire fleet to deal with and are pretty difficult/annoying to deal with.  After losing the command station 3-4 times I eventually give up, drop several extra shields on Zasi that I didn't want to commit, and drop a bunch of grav turrets in the system to give myself time to react.

2:05:00 AIP 50: Refleet from the last AI2 wave is finally complete, after many delays due to the constant kamikaze attacks on Zasi.  My champion makes it through to Osjodis with the assistance of a cloaker starship, though it loses a shield in the process.  Mourner commenced.

2:13:00 AIP 50: AI2 wave against Zasi.  The 3 Bomber Starship Mk IIIs take out the command station 1-2 seconds before my fleet destroys them, plunging me well into the negatives for energy and dropping shields.  AI1 wave declares against my home system with 40 sentinel frigates.  Emergency matter converter construction started.

2:18:00 AIP 50: The matter converters finish with about 10 seconds to spare and the wave is seen off.  Mourner scenario completed, my champion gains 2 levels (7->9).  It's a poor performance, but I've never managed to do much better on Mourner, regardless of tactics, it's one of the hardest scenarios for a single champion.  Destroyer hull, Neinzul Hull, Nanosubverters unlocked.

2:30:00 AIP 55: I gate raid Yaqdes to channel all further waves to my much better defended home system.  My new Human Shadow Destroyer attempts a run at Lausuc, which fails, but releases enough ships from system defence to threat that a followup attack once they are cleared takes out the Arachnid guard post and the first Warp Counterattack Post.

Current state of the galaxy:


Notable systems:
Dobaroad- CSG-B, Adv Fac
Lausuc: 1st Subspace Signal, Subcommander system, 3x Counterattack Mk III
Sikaji: CSG-C, Sniper Turret Controller
Hasginlo: CSG-C, Missile Turret Controller
Zabini: CSG-A, Adv Research, Subcommander system, 4x Counterattack Mk III
Cameyo: CSG-A, Adv Research, Subcommander system
Ifimurdro: CSG-A, Adv Research
No broken golems in sight.  Why do I even turn the things on...

[tmm]

2:35:00 AIP 55: Fighter II and Bomber II unlocked to help bulk up my fleet.  Reduction of Lausuc continues, slowly.

Unlocked:
Fighter Mk II
Bomber Mk II

2:50:00 AIP 65: I raid Dobaroad with my champion to destroy the Neinzul Nest II, don't want that active while taking/after taking Lausuc or during the FS chase exo.

3:03:00 AIP 65: CPA of 491 ships declares.

3:18:00 AIP 65: Golem Exo declares as I'm mopping up the first half of the CPA.  For some reason they seem to come in two parts now, about half in one attack, and then the other half later, sometimes considerably later.

3:22:00 AIP 65: The second half of the CPA hasn't shown up yet so I decide to launch another raid on Lausuc.  This is of course its cue to show up, and mine to rapidly back off.

3:35:00 AIP 65: My champion raids the systems adjacent to Lausuc to take out the counter spies and tachyon sentinels.  I place pickets in preparation for moving in.

3:39:00 AIP 65: Exo 56%.  Two nemesis champions and some threat from the recent raids hit my home system as I'm cleaning up the final counterattack wave from the last counterattack post on Lausuc.  The bouncers throw them out.



3:45:00 AIP 85: Exo 59%.  I send my champion to gate raid Iosub to secure my rear area from waves, then to knock over the command station on Yaqdes and Lausuc, securing enough energy to hold the exo and my first target system for FS.  That subcommander system took a long time to deal with, I'm usually building my first city by now.

The raids on Iosub and Yaqdes go off as planned, the command station on Lausuc is actually quite tough and the special forces show up while my champion is pounding on it.  While I'm waiting for the special forces to clear out for a second raid, an AI2 wave declares before I can get a command station up on Yaqdes to give it a valid target.

Unlocked:
Military Command Mk II
Force Field Mk II
Hardened Force Field Mk I

3:49:00 AIP 85: The AI2 wave spawns cross planet.  My first sighting is on Dobaroad, which indicates that one of the AI homeworlds is probably in the galactic southwest.  I'll have to scout that area more extensively once I have the chance.

3:55:00 AIP 105: I send my champion to clear the AI2 wave threatball on Lausuc.  Not having a very high regard for parasites as a main combat ship, I send my fleet along to make things quicker.  It's quickly apparent that was a... mistake.  I'm not sure if my ships were trying to pound on the starships rather than the parasites, but the parasites don't die and almost my whole fleet ends up reclaimed.

I throw down a half cap or so of Mk I Needler, MLRS, Laser, and Missile turrets on Yaqdes and recall all available forces.  I hold, barely, but I'm going to think better of doing that again.  At least Lausuc is clear.

4:11:00 AIP 105: Exo 68%.  Situation stable.  All remaining threat is clear, Lausuc and Yaqdes claimed, basic fortifications constructed on Lausuc.  I could start FS, but I'd rather bunker up and play it safe until after the Exo.  I actually have some energy to play with now, so most of my knowledge pool goes into preparing for the Exo.

Unlocks:
Flagship II
Neinzul Enclave II
Missile Frigate II
Needler Turret II
Laser Turret II
MLRS Turret II
Missile Turret II
HBC I

4:20:00 AIP 105: Exo 72%.  AI2 wave hits Lausuc with approximately 80 Zenith Bombard Mk IIIs.  My champion is vaporized before I know what's happening, but I recover in time to charge the Zombards with the rest of my fleet.  The wave is cleaned up wihout too much additional damage.

4:35:00 AIP 105: Exo 78%.  Main defensive preparations for the Exo are complete.  I believe the most likely path of approach will be to spawn on a system adjacent to Lausuc, then hit it, then Yaqdes, and finally my home system.  My defenses are layered in depth across those three systems accordingly.

I have some time to kill before the wave actually hits though, and don't really want to do anything too active until then, so I might see if I can squeeze in a nebula while I'm waiting.  There are two available three jumps out of Lausuc.

Random thought:  Since multipliers for actually having superweapons have been implemented for Showdown Devices, why not use them for standard Exos as well?  I actually located one golem I might be able to access, but the rest appear to be parked in the middle of nowhere, since I've done a fair amount of scouting and haven't located any more yet.

Also, the AI1 special forces are definitely getting the Technologist uplevel, which as far as I know they shouldn't be:

[tmm]

4:40:00 AIP 105: Exo 79%. I decide not to wait and send my Champion to the next (3rd) nebula at Asnoban.  Scenario SP vs Astrid vs DS.

5:30:00 AIP 105: Exo wave launches from Ijihagges.  It bypasses a significant section of my defenses, but my homeworld is plenty strong enough to stop the wave.  For some reason (interaction with the Regeneration Golem?), during the attack the AI1 Neinzul Nests go berserk, throwing around 1.5k younglings at me.  That's actually harder to hold off than the Exo itself.





5:42:00 AIP 105: Victory in the SP Scenario.  I put up probably my worst performance ever, losing three of four small starbases.  It's a very very hard scenario for single champions though, defending the first starbase against two waves of spawns, you run out of shields after a while, and after it goes down you have to try and defend two sides of the map at once, with little opportunity to go offensive.  Being stuck on the human hull with poor unlocks didn't help things.
Champion 11 -> 13
Unlocks: Zenith hull type, Polarizers.

5:46:00 AIP 105: I have my champion move onto my 4th nebula scenario and draw IMT vs RS.  Even though I'm still on a Destroyer hull, I decide to give it a go since I have access to the Zenith hull and polarizers.  Configuration 2 Shield III, 2 Missile III, small modules Polarizer III

5:52:00 AIP 105: CPA declared.

5:54:00 AIP 105: RS destroyed, that was surprisingly easy.  Goes to show what a difference the right tools can make.
Champion 11 -> 17
Unlocks: Shadow Decoy, Doom Accelerator, Insanity Inducer, Paralyzer

6:53:00 AIP 105:  I spend most of the next hour bashing on threat, as half the CPA decides it'd really rather not mess with me and goes into threat, then there's a one shot raid engine wave triggered off a deep strike that also goes into threat, plus various system defenses released to threat by my probes toward the next nebula system.

7:40:00 AIP 90: After another long period of bashing on threat and clearing the way toward the next nebula, I'm able to start.  I bag a Data Center along the way.  5th scenario is GS vs Dyson.

7:50:00 AIP 90: Exo 50%.  Hard golem exo declares.

8:07:00 AIP 90: Dyson nebula complete.
Champion 17 -> 24
Unlocks: Cruiser hull, Spire type, Translocator module, Plasma Cannon module.

8:42:00 AIP 90: Exo 71%.  CPA declares.  I guess I'm going to get to experience the sync logic firsthand.

8:54:00 AIP 90:  CPA launches.  Exo syncs.  AI1 wave of 535 fighters syncs.  AI2 wave of 183 technologist teleporting leeches syncs.  They're... that's inside the room!  They're in the walls!  They're... *ksssh*

9:01:00 AIP 95: Well, my defenses got a nice workout there.  First CPA spawn on Ijihagges and heads for Zasi.  Exo spawns in two halves on Ifimurdro and Owapeark and converges on my home system.  The waves both slam into Lausuc.  Everything holds nicely except I lose the Zasi command station because my champion is caught out of position by gravity rippers and (barely) can't make it in time to throw down a shadow shield.  Once the dust has settled, I take out a raid engine on Foswomich on the way to the next nebula.

9:05:00 AIP 95: 500 Mk IV threat ships and a couple of nemesis frigates unhappy with my foray to Foswomich attack Lausuc and are promptly atomized.  My turret defenses there aren't even that strong, but Enclave Starships are incredibly good defensively.  I'd love to see some sort of Neinzul Hangar defensive structure.

9:12:00 AIP 95:  After some additional probing, my champion makes it to Rata and the 6th scenario, which is Colony Ships.  I do pretty well until the final wave of colony ships after the last attacking starbase goes down deals the final blow to two of the SP starbases when I'd managed to keep all four alive until then.
Champion 24 -> 28
Unlocks: Impulse Reaction Cannon, Interceptor Bay

9:30:00 AIP 95:  I have three Vampire Claws Mk III parked on Zasi and not doing anything, I guess there's still at least one glitch lurking as far as cloaked threat parking on human planets.

9:35:00 AIP 95: More probing brings me to the 7th scenario on Folin, IMT + Mourner vs CA + DS.

9:52:00 AIP 95: Scenario complete, I have a very poor showing and lose everything but the large starbases.  This is another scenario that could use some looking at for single champions though, two allies getting overwhelmed on opposite sides of the map and only one slow ship to help with.  It'd help a lot if the spawns were staggered, but with CA and DS spawns being synced, one of your allies is going to get a big chunk taken out of them every large wave no matter what.
Champion 28 -> 29
Unlocks: Shadow Munition Intensifier, Bomber Bay

Current state of the galaxy:


I've about exhausted the easily accessible nebulae, so I'll be getting back to more interesting stuff soon, like progressing FS.