I just noticed my new play sesion started at 11:15, while the orginal actually went on to 12:00...
Imagine this as "new set of eyes" experience that would have happened 45 minutes ago with and sudden shift of power in the players favor due to changing rules (Yea! MK II instead of III!)
Things are a mess! Units scattered everywhere! Warp gates, everywhere! so...many...mk III units...at 380 AIP. Scary.
I have four islands of planets so to speak. They have no political names. One island is at the top of the galaxy, a rogue rebellion I had to re-power via planet capture. The golems and fighters had already triumphantly stomped and then deepstriked through 6(!) AI worlds through sheer speed and attrition.A cloaked colony ship (and engineer escort) then went through 6 ai planets safely. Now the rebels are recharged.
However, the golem and fighters must be reassigned. A skeleton fighter group will do a delaying action, while most fighters will escort the golem to "main land" player space.
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They proceed to smash their way through the AI via brute force. AI bombards and space tanks hurt, but they don't chase you through the galaxy. The golem and a few mk IV fighters make it back to a distant island away from the "main" island chain with the player homeworld. The golem is absent for the next 45 minutes being repaired. This island chain gets hit occasionally by an exogroup, but is mostly isolated through AI gate raids and a very active resistance movement. The local fort helps as well.
As soon as the golem leaves, the AI rushes in on the rebel world. The planet falls within the hour as super MK III and IVs rush the planet. But the rebels hide, their fighters protecting my own home world. The fighter drones and temporary command stations are all replaceable, while the colonies, and my homeworld, are not.
The tech III AI sends vicious exowaves on to a expendable planets frequently. This wave crashes against numerous well tended but wounded gatlings.
Meanwhile:
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I head an fighter and nenzul task force to annihilate all AI presence on Harme, a previously neutered AI world. Dyson gatlings and resistance fighters can now operate freely into my homeworld with a planet chain of 5. The fighters and nenzul quickly fly to the homeworld, to defend against exowaves.
Those fighters were needed, as only minutes later the homeworld was under attack. All available units but the golem was there. The planet held, but the black widow (!) bursted out of the hole to terrorize and slay wounded bombers was impressive, if costly on the ai's part.
Meanwhile
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Spire craft penetrator successfully deepstriked 8(?) planets to neutralize an AI post holding spire civilians. I hope their worth it, the reinforcements of the nearby planet will soon make a whole part of the galaxy inaccessible for human hands.
...
Fighters to clear out the last planet of my current city hub held by the AI. The operation would later be abandoned due to it viewed as not worth alerting the nearby MK IV planet.
Meanwhile
-City hub built first habitat, allowing a jump in economy.
Homeworld hit by the penetrator's target defenders. Annoying, but no real threat compared to the firepower there.
Homeworld begins replacing missile frigates, MK I and II z-bombers due to booming economy. Golem kept in cold storage as deterent / lack of need.
New gravity defenses are being phased in at all fronts. Keep in mind timestamp [11:46]. This particular front is isolated from even AI exogroup; consequently no potential help from anything except a distant fleet. It defends 3 military MK 2 fertile worlds.
meanwhile
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Z-bombers and high lvl fighters slam into a border world with AI eye, their brute force gets the firepower: 300 group down to 80 and disable about half the guard posts. Previously unacceptable, but with a booming economy now just a pause since there is no golem to repair.
'
Now those gravity defenses are put to use!
If you were paying attention to my pictures, two exo timers were ticking and almost complete. I never mentioned them till now because I was mostly oblivous to them. Well, not really, I mean my fighters and nenzul were there at my homeworld were half always hit, but I still didn't plan ahead for it too much.
Anyway, after I cleaned up the frenzied defense for the homeworld, I then came to see the next door planet still holding out minutes having being first being attacked by an exo wave. MK III Military stations + MK III forcefields yields [minutes of blind defense]
The planet was trashed, but the valuable gatlings were not damaged. Thankfully, I did stockpile for the waves apparently because I had tons of reserves.
Meanwhile
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At the other end of the "great chain" of planets, my city hub built MK I and II bombers. These bombers are destined to smash the super fort of the MK IV world. Until that super for goes down, the hub cannot expend.
LASTLY, here are things right now. Only an hour as passed, and the galaxy is different! The blitzing spirit lives on, but now there is a booming economy to support it!