Enter The Raid Engine - Self studying package

[Kahuna]

Here are some save files at different stages of the game so you can take a look at what I've done so you can "study" it and maybe get some ideas. I'm also going to explain what I've done so you can try and copy it. I'm pretty sure if you are able to copy and understand what I've done here you will be able to win 9/9 difficulty. Or at least get there faster.

The .sav files include:
-The beginning of the game at 00:01 in-game time so you can play the exact same game. Exactly the same settings.
-The beginning of the game at 00:01 but with complete visibility.
-Autosaves from 10 minutes into the game up to 2 hours 49 minutes into the game. (11 .sav files)
-The current situation at 2:49:46.

I've edited the save files to remove Zenith Siege Engine unlocks from the AI. AI sending 500 Mark II Zenith Siege Engines was a bit cheesy to say the least. There's no way in hell you're going to stop them before they one shot your Command Station.

Settings:


Technology unlocks
0:11:46 Assault Transport
0:11:46 Mark II Engineer
0:11:46 Mark II Munitions Booster
0:14:51 Gravitational Turret
0:14:51 Gravitational Turret Mark II
0:15:24 Area Minefield
0:20:58 Needler Turret Mark II
0:20:58 Laser Turret Mark II
0:20:58 Heavy Beam Cannon
0:33:12 Economical Command Station Mark II
0:40:46 Gravitational Turret Mark III
1:17:39 Economical Command Station Mark III
1:18:45 Missile Turret Mark II
1:18:45 Lightning Turret Mark II
1:18:45 Needler Turret Mark III
1:18:45 Needler Turret Mark IV
1:18:45 Hardened Force Field Generator
2:14:04 Laser Turret Mark III
2:14:04 Laser Turret Mark IV
2:25:58 Scout Starship Mark II

In-game time: 2:49:46
Knowledge left: 3000
AIP: 138 (Tech level: II)

The remaining 3000 Knowledge will probably be used to Mark II Hardened Force Fields and Widow Minefields.

Saves
Autosave - In-game time_00_10_00.sav
--(Defenses are pretty much ready. I'm intentionally triggering the Raid Engines to pile up resources. Will unlock some tech at 0:11:46^^ and continue from there.)
Autosave - In-game time_00_25_46.sav
--(Defenses are ready and I've almost used the first 13000 Knowledge. I gate raided SH 540-37.11 and Xylem so I don't have to build Minefields on their Wormholes. Also.. more salvage. I've also destroyed the Raid Engines in in SHC-10, Ciemny and SHC-16341)
Autosave - In-game time_00_35_46.sav
--(SH 540-37.11 and Xylem have been captured and Knowledge has been gathered. Defenses on Xylem are still under construction. It might have been good idea to scrap the Xylem Command Station and only rebuild it once the turrets are built. Wouldn't have had to deal with waves with incomplete defenses.)
Autosave - In-game time_00_51_48.sav
--(All defenses have been built and I'm refleeting. Capturing SHC-106 will be the next step. Apparently I tried beachheading the planet because I forgot it had a CSG. The Special Forces crushed the beachhead and I wasted some resources. Will just pop the Command Station and beachhead again. Special Forces don't defend neutral planets.)
Autosave - In-game time_00_56_22.sav
--(SHC-106 has been captured and defenses are under construction. The Trader is visiting SHC-106. I buy a Planetary Armor Booster but don't start building it yet. Defenses must to be built first. Again.. might have been better to build the Command Station only after all of the turrets have been built.)
Autosave - In-game time_01_22_26.sav
--(I've destroyed the Raid Engine in Evora 9 and the AI Command Stations in Pugp and Saladar. I'm beachheading Saladar to get rid of the guards and Hybrids. Knowledge has been gathered from both planets.)
-Autosave - In-game time_01_42_26.sav
--(All defenses have been built and a wave of 2225 ships arrives to Saladar in 2 seconds. A text book example how a wave is stopped.)
Autosave - In-game time_01_55_46.sav
--(The core of the empire has been setup and I'm hacking Evora 9 for extra K for extra defenses. The first CPA (~14500 ships) will arrive shortly. Around 2:00:00. I build the Planetary Armor Booster as fast as possible using the power of slavage and Economical Command Stations.)
Autosave - In-game time_02_15_46.sav
--(The CPA has arrived. Most of it hits SHC-106. I get extremely lucky when the Cookie Monster (Devourer Golem) comes to help me. Thanks to him I don't have to use any warheads. I'd have been able to stop the CPA without the Cookie Monster too but I'd have had to use some Warheads. I'd have also scrapped some Force Fields on other planets and build them on SHC-106. I got lucky Cookie Monster found the cookie factory!)
Autosave - In-game time_02_39_01.sav
--(The CPA has been stopped and everything has been rebuilt. I'm hacking Pifht for even more Knowledge. Preparing to start pushing deeper into the galaxy to find AIP reducers etc.)
Autosave - In-game time_02_49_01.sav
--(Knowledge hack has been completed and I'm going to start destroying the Raid Engines in Nehiya, SH 818-133.33, SHC 18542, Acsc 68-A. That will be extremely painful.)
Enter The Raid Engine - Current Situation 02_49_46.sav
--()
Enter The Raid Engine - The Beginning - Complete Visibility 00_00_01.sav
--(Here you can see the entire galaxy and where everything is at.)
Enter The Raid Engine - The Beginning 00_00_01.sav
--(The beginning of the game with exactly the settings I'm playing with.)

Current plan:

EDIT: Actually I'm going to detonate a Mark II Nuclear Warhead next to the upper AI Core planets.. on the planet where I was going to trigger the Raid Engines and then nuke the ships. It will cost 500 AIP so I'm going to get rid of the other AI Homeworld first. Also before detonating the Mark II Nuke I'm going to gate raid all Warp Gates so all waves "become CPAs".. this way I can just nuke the incoming waves on the planets next to my whipping boys. If I can actually get that far in the first place of course.
P3=Data Center
P4=Co-Processor
P5=SuperTerminal
P8=Advanced Factory
P9=CSG A to be destroyed

Pause as soon as the game starts. Always pause unless you're doing something or waiting for something.

Configure the global controls, unlock possible economical technologies immediately to maximize the metal income. In this game we're not going to unlock economical technology right away. We're going to use the Raid Engines to our advantage.. that's right. Early game we're going to trigger some Raid Engines on purpose to get some salvage. You should be careful late game though as Raid Engine waves can easily be over 5000 ships. Triggering a couple of them at once is comparable to a CPA. Especially brutal if the Raid Engines are on Mark IV planets..

..Now you need defenses. I prefer building Turrets before fleet ships because they're more durable and do more damage. In this game I chose Munitions Boosters as my bonus ship so I can use them to double the firepower of my turrets. Helps tremendously on offense too.

Unlock Assault Transports, Mark II Munitions Boosters and Mark II Needler Turrets. Turrets' attack boost is limited to +100%. Mark I Munitions Boosters boost by +80% and Mark IIs boost by +110%. A cap of Mark II Munitions Boosters can boost hundreds Turrets to +100%. In other words the turrets will do double damage.

Build 10 additional Engineers and 5 Rebuilders. Build 3 additional Force Fields to protect the Home Command Station, the Settlements and the Cryogenic Pods. Then build Mark II and I Munitions boosters and turrets.

Do not build Starships.

First turrets to build
-Needler Turrets to counter Artillery and Heavy. (Missile Frigates, Plasma Sieges, Flagships, Leech Starships..)
-Missile Turrets to counter Polycrystal, Medium and Neutron. (Bombers, Spire Starships and Zenith Starships)
-Sniper Turrets to counter Polycrystal and Medium (Bombers and Spire Starships)

All of this above should be done at once while the game is paused. Right at the beginning at 00:01 in-game time.

Then build all other turrets.

The problem when playing against the Raid Engine AI type is that the AIP will skyrocket very fast. Especially early game. The problem lies in being able to setup your empire before you die. That's not all though.. after that you must be able to push deeper into the galaxy to find AIP Reducers. Which means dealing with more Raid Engines. Which means AIP gets ever higher and the Raid Engine waves start to become extremely brutal.

The game starts at 10 AIP so just destroying one Raid Engine increases the AIP by 50%. That's why you have to be fast and furious and have strong defenses so you can turn those Raid Engines into Salvage Engines.

When wave sizes get well over 1000 you need to start unlocking additional Needler and Laser Turrets to counter the Carriers (they have Heavy hull type). You will also need Laser and Missile Turrets to deal with the bombers swarms and blobs of Spire and Zenith Starships. At this point it's also good to have Mark III Gravitational Turrets. They help tremendously. They will buy you a lot of time to wear down those Carriers and Starships (and everything else obviously) before they get in range of your Command Stations.

So now you have setup your homeworld. Now you need to start destroying some of those Raid Engines so you can capture more planets.


First you should capture SH 540-37.11 and Xylem. Then SHC-106 and then Pugp and Saladar. Later into the game you should consider setuping permanent beachheads in Pifht and Evora 9. SH 540-37.11, Xylem, Pugp and Saladar Command Stations should be build right next to the AscsK508 wormhole. They will work as a buffer planets against CPAs and other attacks. SHC-106 is going to be a "brick wall" with Trader toys such as Planetary Armor Booster, Radar Jammer II and Orbital Mass Drivers (which are extremely powerful vs Carriers btw). Good thing AI 1 is Peacemaker/RaidEngine so you can get the Orbital Mass Driver for free.

To capture SH 540-37.11 and Xylem you need to destroy the Raid Engine in SHC-106. You should also destroy the ones in Ciemny and SHC-16341 because the AIP is still low so dealing with the waves is much easier. Also you will get the salvage so you don't have to just sit and wait as much. First send an Assault Transport with Mark I Fighters and half of the Munitions Boosters to get rid of the Tachyon Sentinels that get in your way. Then send an Assault Transport with Mark I Bombers and Munitions Boosters to destroy the Raid Engine. Keep the Assault Transports in stand down mode (press K). When you're next to the target pause-->unload-->unpause-->pause-->order the unloaded ships to attack the target and then waypoint back into the Assault Transport. Do this to all of the 3 Raid Engines. It's good to keep some Mark II Munitions Boosters back at home to boost the turrets.

After you have destroyed the Raid Engines you can start working on SH 540-37.11 and Xylem. And again.. you need to be fast and furious so you're gonna wanna destroy and capture SH 540-37.11 and Xylem pretty much at the same time. Build 10 Mark II Science Labs. 5 for both of the planets so you get the Knowledge as soon as possible so you can get more tech unlocks to compensate for the AIP increase. So send 5 Science Labs to each planet. Build 2 Assault Transports if you don't have already. Split your whole fleet into the Assault Transports and use the Assault Transports to destroy the Command Station. Again.. keep the Assault Transports in stand down mode until you're next to the target. Then destroy the Command Stations and unload the ships if you think you can win the fight. By fight I mean destroying the guarding AI ships. Ignore the Guard Posts. If not the capture one planet at a time. Attack with your whole fleet and beachhead if you have to. Build a lot of Engineers and Rebuilders and a Colony ship for each planet. Send half of them to the other planet and the other half to the other planet.

Build your Command Station and a Force Field to protect it. Build Sniper Turrets first so they can start working on those remaining Guard Posts. You may or may not have to manually target them. Build Minefields and all other turrets. It may be a good idea to not build literally all turrets at the same time or you might run out of resources. Build Sniper and Missile Turrets first. Then Needler and Laser Turrets. And then MRLS, Lightning and Flak Turrets etc.

Now you can start working on SHC-106. Note that SHC-106 has a Core Shield Generator. That means Special Forces will come to defend that planet. This early in the game the Special Forces aren't that strong so a strong beachhead should be able to handle the Special Forces too. Note that the Hunter plot is set to 9/9 which makes Special Forces a lot stronger.

Also at this point in the game Hybrids will start massing up so beachheading is a good idea for that reason alone. But first you need to get rid of those Ion Cannons or they will shred your beachhead to pieces. Turrets destroyed by Ion Cannons leave no remains. Build a cap of Mark I Raid Starships and put them with Fighters into an Assault Transport. Send the Assault Transport to SHC-106 and destroy the Ion Cannon in north east next to the Special Forces Guard Post with the Assault Transport. Put the Assault Transport into stand down mode and wait until it has become invisible. Now move it next to the other Ion Cannons and again pause-->unload-->unpause-->pause-->order the unloaded ships to attack the target and then waypoint back into the Assault Transport. You will probably lose all of the ships but it's ok as long as you got rid of the Ion Cannons.

Now put your whole fleet into Assault Transports with 30 Mark II and 20 Mark I Engineers, 20 Rebuilders, 5 Mobile Builders and some Mark II Science Labs. Unload all ships to north side of the gravity well. Immediately start building a Force Field to protect the Engineers. Then build Needler Turrets to deal with the Hybrids and then Sniper and Missile Turrets. Laser and/or MRLS turrets next if needed. When it looks safe build your Command Station next to the Xylem Wormhole and the Orbital Mass Driver. Fortify the planet.

Now you should be roughly where the "Autosave - In-game time_00_56_22.sav" is at..

..Now I need coffee.

[Mal]

Wow, what a fantastic game study. This was awesome how you abused the RAID engines like this. Your strategy is like a friggin mutant walnut, you are harder than hell to crack, and smash anything your empire rams into rather than splintering.