Along the Winding Road...

[Aklyon]

I've never played on Maze maps. Or tried hybrids. Lets add both.

4/4 Vicious Exotic-Neinzul Youngster/Special Forces Captain-Bouncer. The first AI has 4/10 Hybrids, the second has 4/10 Hunter.

Trader, Spirecraft easy, Golems&Botnet easy, Dyson 10, FS 4/10, Resistance Fighters 10, Spire Civ leaders, Showdown Devices. I'm starting with Spire Corvette and Sentinel Frigate on this Maze C 80 planet map, with fog on.

The first planet in front of me, Caputo, is nothing special. Captain Bouncer holds it and decided that an MLRS would be good enough as entry guardian. Lemon next to it though, has an ARS. Rather nice early present there, possibly. Harvester II, Minifort, Corvette II, Enclave II, and Spider turret get unlocked first. Corvettes are given dual shiels and a pair of railcannons (highest usable mark) and lasers each. Significant mines and shields, and half the turrets are dropped on the forward HW, which immediately drains basically everything.

5.35: First Exostrike in 4.5 minutes. Priorities are rearranged to make sure things actually get built on time.

10.43: Successfully alpha struck the wave with the snipers and spider turrets. Things are set back to building.
14.30: More scouting finds a backup for zeige engines on Satira and a broken Artillery Golem on Evoker. Harvester 3 unlocked.a few seconds later, twi small nonexo waves are announced with no starships. Does include Acid Sprayers though.

22.30: Everything is finished building except for the miniforts, so my economy is now recovering. Have a map.

[keith.lamothe]

Diff 4 lacks starships in waves and... well, it lacks most things   But I suppose there's still good hilarity potential here, overall.  Maybe the Hybrids will build some elephants.

[Aklyon]

I like the idea of VE and its large increase over normal exotic. But I doubt I'd actually be able to fight it at 6 or 7 without handicapping it, its essentially starting with FS already started as far as i can tell.

[Aklyon]

40.22: Exowave in 3:20
46: The point to start FS, if I wanted to, would be Lemon, which has Youngling Tigers as the ARS main. Good enough, since the other two choices are cutlasses and teleport leeches.
1.00.00: Hi Civ leaders. The fleet is entirely built and coming to find you eventually. Though I feel like I was a bit slower than would've helped, there is 16 hybrids on Caputo.

1:04:00: Well, that wasn't entirely difficult, but then again, I had a numerical advantage. We shall see what happens later, with stronger hybrids. Captain Bouncer left SF guard posts all over Lemon at the wormholes instead of normal posts.

1:06 - Dissasemblers at Paul 3 Fleed make off with a couple of my enclaves! Also, I just noticed Caputa has no metal points at all, and scouting points at Renata 6's data center.

1:14:48 - Grav and Heavy Beam turrets, Sentinel IIs, and Scout IIs unlocked. Exowave incoming to Caputa in 2:34.

1:19:33 -  I saw some IV and core units in that squadron of ~180 the wave was. Seems like the Vicious AI's not amused by my start of expansion.

1:21 - Some rather fun scouting data has come up. Dakoej has a Spider V fab, a Factory IV, and a Black Widow golem. Expel has the Botnet Golem, a Data center, and a backup for youngling commandos. Tav Hei has a Co-processor, a Spire Civ leader, and a Core Missile Frigate fab. Galvana has Core Lightning turrets. Gogic has the second Co-proc. Litho II is guarding a Core Protector Starship fab with a Grav-Command station and a couple warp counterattack IV posts. But right behind it, in San Chi, is the Core Needler turret.
Theres also hybrid facilities at Satira, Expel, Evoker (which also has hybrids at it currently) and Renata 6. The H/K and a couple hybrids were in Galvana when the scouts snuck in.

1:25:12 - The trader arrives at Caputa (and then Andrais), which is awesome, I need more energy. They both receive a counter spy and a zenith power gen.

1:45:04 - Zaer 6 and Yloscope neutered, Corvette III unlocked. Skinnysphere has a Exp. Speed Boost fab under guard by more IV Warp counters and a Missile station, Phalab has a Hive Golem and the Core Flak turret controller, Wtkarateplanet2 has an ARS, a Data Center, a Core Bomber Starship fab, hybrid facilities, and a special command station (munitions booster) but no IV warp counters for once and lastly, Dreth has a Factory IV and a Data Center.

1:51:16 - Exowave repelled from the badly defended Lemon, but Zeige engines nearly cost me a couple corvettes.
1:55 - Arachnid post has new sound effect? Either way, ow. And Reprisal wave to Lemon! 128 ships, plus 50 from the normal waves. Spire Starship and Enclaves III unlocked.
2:00:10 - Right, civs. Need to get to them soon. Theres also half a dozen Hybrids sitting in Paul, looking like they want to attack Caputo.

[Aklyon]

2:10:09 - Sentinel Frigates are good at destroying forts. One data center down.

2:26:34 - The exo moves through paul, and yet the hybrids do not budge.
2:38:24 - They don't even budge with the first shard exoforce throwing itself at me.

2:48:04 - Found a civ leader on Maline. (Also: ARS, Youngling Tiger backup, and Core Munitions Booster fab on Xaxo, Core Autocannon V fab on Javalath VI, Core Raid Starship and Armor fabs and a Showdown Device on Elmo, Superterminal on Copis, next signal on Paul 3 Fleed)
Considering how many hybrids I'd have to punch through to get to the other one, The Raiding shall start on this side.

3:00:51 - karateplanet has attractor drones as the main option, and I don't really want teleport stations or etherjets. One civ leader cancels out three others despite sitting only on a neutral planet as a result of The Raiding (woo), and apparently I have a 64 strength 'large ship' headed at me. I'm guessing its the Mk II Implosion artillery coming from Evoker that doesn't manage to rouse the hybrids from getting off of Paul and charging with it. They charge into the defenses of Caputo while the scout scientists find out that Zombards are the ARS first choice on Xaxo. I unlock Sentinels III and Laser turrets II to upgrade the Corvettes with.

3:06:26 - Zeige Engines are rather annoying, I don't really want them, and I might as well not just let this backup go to waste. So corrupting we go!
3:08 - Hacking response: Younglings running out of Satira into Lemon and bouncing around the shielded wormhole to Caputa like a crazy pinball machine.
While hilarious, I can't just leave Lemon undefended. In come the Enclaves, who were assisting at Caputa previously.


Next minute - Silly Raid starship. Mil station and drones do not approve of your rushing idea,even though that exactly what I used. Force Fields II unlocked, and the Corvettes gain some upgrades.

3:11:30 - Hack complete, back to Lemon until the corvettes are finished upgrading. Then, onwards to the botnet golem and just destroying the backup there.

3:34:30 - Economic, Military station II, Engy II, Riot II, Zenith Starship I/II, and Spire Starship II unlocked. About half of the result of The Raiding colonized.

3:41:24 - Botnet Golem repaired. Wave to Zaer 6 in a minute and a half.
3:43 - Hacking the Factory IV on Dakoej. AI responds with MkIV Autobombs, it must've noticed how much the sentinels did last time!
3:58:27 - Hack complete.

4:07:30 - 2 massive ships, 576 strength. Core Flak turrets available (I'll get to them soon), Core Bomber Starships and Spider bot underway in building. This exowave could be dangerous, possibly.


4:09:41 - Lost half the fleetships, and quite a few turrets and unfinished trader goods, but Caputo holds.

4:19:14 - Warp Jammer station and Scout III/IV unlocked a few minutes ago, the full scouting fleet is built. Abnormally Strong Hybrid detected. Counterwave to Maline should be covered, comes in 2:34 anyway. Lets punch through the hybrid and tachyon barrier with those Scout IV and scout the rest of the galaxy.
...And then I somehow manage to send everything except the Scout IVs.

4:23:16 - Black Widow Golem rebuilt. Maline is safe. Super Hybrid has arrived at Evoker. Clearly it is an Evoker of Force at this point. Forts unlocked.
4:25:58 and quite a few minutes afterwards - Super Hybrid has gone back into unpicketed space. Naginata has a Railpod Backup! Nor has a data center and an Artillery Golem, Barionium has a Yng Vulture and...a Yng Vulture fab. Huh. Theres also a one-shot raid engine there. Perpetua has a Spire civ leader, an Autobomb V fab, and a Zenith power gen, DAWN2978 HAS A DATA CENTER, Uldol has another civ leader, the Sniper core turret controller (yes!), and a showdown device, Glaring Spots has another data center and civ leader, Faiha has a Exp. Decoy Fab and yet another Artillery golem. Caveat, except for the Factory IV, has the caveat of being uninteresting. Son De'lurdurn has a Nanoswarm backup, Tindall has one more civ leader and data center.

4:31:20 - Another Black Widow Golem is rebuilt. Didn't remember finding two over here. Preciptin has an MLRS backup and an Armored Golem for once, not another Arty. Far away, in Arje, is the ASC. And a Fort III. Theres also one in Arielin Nagaria, without the fort. Gord has the MLRS core turret controller, Siros has a third Star Con IV. Branumpreen has an ARS. Proideo has a Regen Golem, a data center, and a youngling weasel backup.
4:35:13 - Zeta Eta has the third Co-Proc. Orinye has a Showdown Device. Tofu has the last Co-Processor, and a Spire Archive. Desoget has a Beam Starship Fab.
Krueger has an MkV Counter post. Good grief. And it guards the AI 1 Homeworld. Thus ends the scouting binge until the other Scout IV reaches San Chi's end of the map.

4:47:27 - Exowave cometh to Caputo. I find out that placed minefields are immediately useful even when not finished building, they just turn into remains a lot faster. Scout IV spots the super hybrid on San Chi. Exp. Translocator fab on Cradle IV G.

4:50:02 - In the Far Distance of Impor sits the Dyson Sphere and a Core Maw fab. i wonder if I'd be able to get anything over there somehow to free it, deepstrike or not. There is quite a few spirecraft asteroids around, after all.
Also, I just noticed the Scout IV drone only has 58 speed. That seems very slow for a scout, though it does have tachyon immunity. Justitia below it has another Civ leader. Yithyeardel has a Showdown Device and Core Missile turret controller. Zaiku has an Anti Armor backup. Depot 2 has the Acid Sprayer backup. Zuabon has another Civ leader, Lifra has a redundant Yng Commando backup, Core laser Turrets, and another ASC. Atheme has the Core Spider Turret Controller, and a Spire Civ Leader. Echo November, another Civ leader system. Savwi, Core Blade Spawner fab. Delmarn holds the other Spire Archive, and an ARS. Lithi+ has a MkV Dissasembler post, and Lonelinius has the other AI homeworld.

5 hours ingame time, and everything is scouted. Here's the map.