9/9/9 Happy fun time[WON]

[Pireciter]

Well, first AAR...more Action, less After. I think I'll up the ante from my usual games. Time to see how badly I fail.


Map: Simple/Simple/Small Circles
80 planets
Seed: 847360568
Consumer/Shield/Overloader
9/9/9 Random Easier/Base/Predator
Dark Spire 6/10
Human Resistance 6/10
Dyson Sphere 6/10
Cookie monster
Zenith Trader

Starting Planet: Ormuzd
Version 1.321

Let the games begin.


0:00 - Hmm...initial look around already tells me this is going to be a fun one. Both visible ARS have Eyebots. Could be useful to sync. A couple augmenters around. Nuc turrets will synergize well with the Tech. One fleet extender and two beacons. Choices...
Tertius: Fleet Tanks/Auto-Bombs
Makassar:GCA/Beacon
Horvitz:ARS/Beacon
Eckert:GCA
Palma:Extender
Hivehom: Fleet Parasites/Persuaders
Tarian:ARS



Both visible fleet groups are....alright. One has Tanks/Auto-Bombs, other has Parasites/Persuaders. Going to grab the latter and leave the former for now....love those tractors.
I'll start with the fleet grab and see what the next scout reveal gives me.

Initial unlocks:

Engineer II
Harvesters II
Forcefields II

0:01 - Ugh...why do there have to be so many gravity generators AND great Pikes. Useless melees. Oh AND ablative gatlings...so bye bye bombers.

0:20 - Initial neutering is done. It's great when you can get all the AI ships to chase your lone sniper frigate around the gavity well.

0:27 - Hivehom is mine with that zombie fleet. Let's see what the scounting reveals.

Amult:Frigate Cood/ARS
Bolo:GCA/Major Data Center/Alarm Post
Lynx:ARS
Enki:ARS/Eye

Hmm...vengenence generator next door. At least it's a MarkII so a neuter and bleh. The Ion could be annoying. Another ARS with Barnacles AND the frigate coordinator, and more eyebots! Of course, the major data center had to have an alarm post with a raid engine next door. And I want that raid engine planet eventually for that Tech there...Generalist. Don't really want to burn all my HaP too quick. Need to keep that response down for the super terminal. Maybe I'll beachhead and suck a couple triggers while I hack the tech.

Oh and our first wave in two minutes with 140 Anti-Shield tanks. May grab the minipods from the 3rd ARS for all this heavy armor I'm seeing.

0:31 - Heh...tank alpha knocked out the battlestation instantly. Let's get a couple more unlocks to help push through to these ARSs

Unlock: Tech II/III
7250 science left

0:32 - That's...that's a lot of sniper guardians. At least the gravity generators are nowhere close

0:41 - Threat ball next door. Zombie time!

1:00 - More neutering underway. Have my first set of eyebots and working on Amult for those goodies there. Those tractors are great to drag groups of ships back to the kill zone.

Once I get that, I hope I get some intel on a DC somewhere. Like to keep that AIP down...don't really want M.II AI yet, but if not I'll start pushing on that Major center or a GCA for some turrets. I'm debating on the one plasma vs. 3x nucs because of that raw damage against those tanks. I also need to setup crumple zones before that first CPA.

AIP: 30

[Pireciter]

After taking a break for some food, I've had a change of heart...plus looking over my options gave me some other ideas. That frigate coor. is nice, but won't help me a lot right now. Plus that MDC has a dire beam guardian on it. I don't got firepower to play with that right now. Oh, and that raid engine planet has a dire shredder...

So...new plan:

Get the whipping boy setup to my southern flank.
Grab the extender on...something.
Noticed one of the ARSs had parasite hydras, that will sync well with the other zombies I have. I'll grab that instead of eyebots. Now I'm wishing I got something different with that first ARS. Eyebots are good for some specific targets though.


1:02 - Return home and start heading out. Sorry coordinator! You can suffer for a little longer.

1:10 - Horvitz defenses, go join the undead.

1:13 - AIP Instigator eh? Fine. Be that way.

1:15 - Gimmie Hydras

1:19 - Ok. I need a little more DPS. Time to upgrade these melees.


Unlock:
Melee II
5750 science

1:21 - 2 minutes on the instigator. Most of the bodies are cleaned out. And the wave that spawned behind me wasn't very nice.

1:22 - Oh hey, resistance fighters came to help out.

1:23 - You know, maybe I shouldn't have ignored that wave for so long. Those anti-shield tanks suck. May lose Hivehom.

1:24 - Pop goes the weasel...10 seconds after the fleet shows up.

1:26 - Hivehom rebuilt and cleaned. Yeah...I need some more anti-armor ships. Time to step up minipod hunting.

1:30 - 1k stingrays? How do you like your brains?

1:32 - Bout 200 came to the dark side, rest were tasty.

Ok. Here's what I'm going to do. The ARS that has the minipods also has a raid engine on site. I'll have the zombie group enter first to raise hell, then the secondary group comes in to hold the portal and start hacking. Once the hack is done...run away before the 2nd trigger. We can eat one, but don't really want the second.

1:33:21 - In we go. Timer started.

1:33:51 - First trigger...and of course the threat fleet decided to attack Hivehom.

1:34:17 - Hack done. Back in the cars everyone, we'll swing by to pick you up if you tripped.

1:35 - Now back to cleanup duties before we hit the extender. Hivehom can hold for a while longer.

1:37 - Clear, now for the extender...I think it's minipods. Need some good chaff and swarmers.

1:39 - And done. 0 HaP. Guess I can put together the whipping boy now and maybe some warp gate cleaning.

1:40 - Makassar station popped. AIP: 50. Splitting my forcefields over the GCA until I can get some HaP back, but that will happen quickly.

1:41 - Wave in 30 seconds. I'll clean that up first, then start the hack.

1:45 - Ohhh...and now a vengence strike in 10 minutes. Let me get this hack underway...I still need to examine my scout data.

1:49 - Hack finished incoming Exo.

While I'm waiting on that...let's see what we have from scout data.

Thorne: GCA/DC
Rabin: IC/IC/VG
Langefors: BH/ARS/DC
Rondelle: Extender/Warden
Gehenna :MD/DN/RE/Fleet
Unity: Factory/IC/TA
Humphrey: Factory
Rulif: TA/Extender/Nanocaust

2 Data Centers are the big things here, but the next planet(s) are difficult. The Fleet is LOADED with frigates: Siege, Suppressor, and Warbird. Plus some token tanks.
The data centers are the next targets. Got a dire shredder on one and dire concussion on the other. Expecting heavy losses.

1:50 - Of course the dire shredder decided to park himself right next to the center...the dozen or so tractors don't help either when I'm melee focused.

1:54 - First DC down -20AIP

1:54:59 - Vengence Strike 0:01. Have fun AI...though I'm expecting some threat fleet afterwards. I better get that other center quickly.

1:57 - Number two. AIP back on the floor. 63 strength threat fleet

2:00 - So...a 24 strength wave incoming, and I just noticed the VG next to Hivehom is at 94%...with a large grouping of AI clustered around it.

I know a CPA is coming soon, so I need to finish preparing for it by clearing out the threat fleet. I'm debating if I want to trigger the dark spire now, or maybe get a trigger during the CPA. There is a big chunk of threat there right now...

Meh. I'll sleep on it.

Long term goals:

-That Exo still hasn't showed...
-CPA
-Frigate fleet sitting out there
-Now I'll grab that coordinator
-and the major DC
-7750 Science + 2/3 planets incoming

Current AIP: 19

State of the Union:

[Pireciter]

I feel like some entertainment. Chaos and mayhem are on the cards today. I'm sure I'm going to regret it.

2:01 - Fleet warps into Cormack. The Dark Spire take offense to that. Fleet turns and scatters. "Have fun! Don't break too much!"

~2:02 - Well, that was lame. I was hoping for something more lively then that. Meh.

2:03 - Wave cleared, more undead join the party.

Alright Dark Spire, you disappoint me. Do I need to come in there and teach you how to REALLY party?
Yes...yes, I think I do.

2:04 - Fleet jumps back into Cormack. Horde of zombies come to play as well

2:04:29 - Ah, now you are starting to get the hang of it.

2:04:51 - There you go! Come join the party!

2:05:05 - Much better! Have a ball. I'm outta here.

2:05:47 - Now wait a minute, I didn't say follow me. "But you were having sooooo much fun!!!"
Ugh...fine. At least you took out a couple guard posts.

2:07:09 - Last call! Party is over! Now to go clean up the trash.

Wait...are you mad because the party is over? I'm done playing for now. Maybe later.

2:09 - Oh yeah, I wanted to take out the warp gate.
2:09:24 - Of course a wave is spawning using it...meh. I can handle a stall. Gate down. +5 AIP.

Ok, I need to finish neutering around Makassar and prep for the CPA. I still have not seen the Exo. Wonder if it already died against my defenses and I missed it...

2:12 - CPA declared. Neuter faster and get that threat cleared

2:13 - Ah, there's the threat ball. It can't make up it's mind between Cormack and Eckert.

2:16 - Oh, and some on Tertius. Figure it's coming at Hivehom.

2:17 - Yep.

2:17:36 - Damn, there's a lot of Mark VI ships in the threat. I didn't wake any of those up with my DC run. Must have been another party(bar fight) somewhere else.

2:22:02 - CPA 1 second

2:22:03 - 87 strength? I was expecting 100 something. Not that I'm complaining.

2:23 - Of course, the wave sneaks through and takes out Makassar. Fleet enroute.

2:23:47 - Yeah, must still be a bar fight going on. Threat popped over 100 with the wave still here.

2:24:24 - Can combat engineers repair forcefields when they are being attacked? It has the "Can't be repaired" flag, yet there they are. Never noticed that before...oh the possibilities.

2:25:30 - A lot of the threat came out to play. 39 strength on Makassar, another 79 somewhere else.

2:25:48 - Add an Instigator base to the list. It's on Tarian.

2:27:19 - 30 threat, 38 attack

2:30:15 - Instigator trigger, 21/3.

2:33 - Instigator cleared. Threat at 20.

Well, that was fun. The Dark Eidolin right at CPA start was annoying, but that's what I get I guess. Where's my trader? Have not seen him at all.
Alright, now...where was I? I would like to get that other fleet, but with no hacking points I can't deal with the raid engine. I don't really want to eat the 5 AIP.
So...instead I'll pop the node in the same planet and suck a single trigger. That will get me enough points. I'll have to take out the OMD the old fashioned way before that or I'll lose the hacking ship.


2:37:01 - First trigger. 2 minutes until the next.

2:38:30 - OMD Down. Everybody in. Oh, and another wave of tanks at Makassar.

2:39:05 - and....done. I'll come back to you in a minute.


Meanwhile on Makassar...
Oh another wave of bombers and saws? And Dark Spire again.

Makassar clear, now to get that fleet. Ohh...and trader heading to Hivehom. Let's grab some additional defense ships to help out. I'm not going to max it though. This is a crumple world to delay the AI. Don't really want to dump too much in it.
And went all the way to the homeworld. Power gen time. I think I'll grab the FF and one of the OMDs for now. Just in case something big slips through. Probably will end up moving it somewhere else.
It's just a good day for me. Makassar gets some goodies as well.

2:51 - Gehenna is mine. MilI I think. Don't really care too much about this planet after I get the fleet. While it's building, let's take a look around...

Key things I see:

2 more data centers: Fasmi & Wallach
The other MDC: Ahnit
Melee Tech vault: Murdoch
ZPG: Mores
Another Frigate fleet: Nillson

Yeah..I need to grab that coordinator. I think I'm going to have to spend some more hacking points going toward those centers and ZPG. The best routes both have raid engines on them and detours are not scounted or involve going past OMDs. I'm going to secure what I got first and get this frigate fleet online before I commit anywhere for now.
I think I need to get my econ up a little more as well. Let's spend some of this science. 6 matter converters up for all these goodies right now. Pausing most of the frigate production until I can get some more economy going.

Unlock:
Harvesters III
Engineers III
5250 science left

I going to need to neuter Murdoch and Batara soon. Both are M.IV planets and that's going to be annoying.


3:00 - Ion cannon down on Murdoch and the Dire Pike is at 30%. Next wave incoming in a couple minutes, but should handle it fine.


I need to figure out where to go after I neuter things. Do I grab the coordinator now? Hit the DCs? I think it will depend on how my economy is and how soon I can get the ZPG up and running. 6 matter converters sucks, and I'm going to need more with all the frigates coming online. Almost wondering if the AIHW is over to the north west somewhere...two Mk.VI planets right next to each other.

Current AIP: 41

State of the union:

[Pireciter]

The 4th hour always seems to slow down for me. It's a transition time.

3:01 - Dire Pike on Murdoch dead. I think I'll leave this for now...see if I can't hit the DCs

3:02 - Why won't my ships evac? Oh yeah...BHM...

3:06 - 1 DC down

3:09 - and there goes the 2nd. Too bad it's a fleet wipe for the 2nd. That OMD wiped the transports. Back to ~70 strength on the threat.

3:16 - Worth noting, I've reclaimed about 2.6 million metal so far over this game. Never doubt or ignore the bonus you get from those metabolizing units.

3:21 - Threat reduced down, back to Murdoch.

3:30 - Ugh. Reprisal charging.

3:31 - But it was almost cleared anyways.

3:32 - Time to hack this tech. Shame I haven't found the super terminal yet. This is going to increase the hacking response.

3:33 - Wait..CPA Instigator on Tarian...hold on the hack.

3:34:45 - I wonder if it got a trigger or not. Died right at ~0 on the timer and ran off to ~-12000 seconds or so in the next tick. I'm going to assume not.

3:36 - Hacky hack. Plus side of the BHM? Most of the zombies I got from clearing the planet couldn't leave. I'll take about 200 M.IV ships to help out any day. Over-matched against the Mk.I spawns, hell yes but so entertaining.

3:38 - +1 Melee. My work here is done. 5 HaP left.

3:39 - Ok. Batara is going to be a little harder to clean. That eye is going to restrict who I can have on planet. 2 fleets max, and one guard post is a stealth one so I'll need to bring the combat sentry when I get that one.

3:40 - Why are my frigates dying so fast?!? Oh yeah...OMD...and the 35 great sniper turrets don't help either.

3:48 - Vengeance Strike declared.

3:52 - And now a reprisal...ugh. The issue is that Dire Tesla sitting right on the entrance gate.

3:58 - A little fancy movement in and out to keep resetting the timer on the reprisal, and all the posts are taken out. Just under a minute for the Dark spire.

3:58:51 - Triggered, looks like at least one group heading toward Hivehom.

4:00 - And cleaned.

I was hoping for more this hour, but I'm back on the AIP floor with about 20 buffer. Gehenna is protected, but I still need to take out the warp gates. Not really needed yet though. Next hour should be a little more entertaining. I'm not looking forward to cleaning Unity. That planet will need to be if I take that MDC and coordinator.

Current AIP: 28

State of the union:

[Pireciter]

Oh yeah...there is a CPA coming soon. Maybe I should prepare for that.
It's going to start getting to a point where I need some more turrets. When I get the MDC, I'll get a couple teslas and mines. That will help, but maybe I need some more. I'm going to focus on keeping things cleaned in the local environ until the CPA announces so I got a good handle on it.

4:00 - 60% on the ZPG

4:03 - Cookie monster on Eckert. I'll have to watch him.

4:03:22 - He's here! Run away!

4:04 - He's moving on to Palma. At least he's not going through my HW.

4:12 - CPA Declared. I was wondering about that. ZPG at 86%.

4:15 - ZPG Done. Bye bye matter converters. 7 minutes to the CPA.

4:22:03 - CPA 1 second. Everything repaired, and 2 million metal stocked. Ready to go.

4:22:04 - 56 strength? Only ~600 ships? That's even weaker than the first one. Only 80 total threat.

4:25 - Coordinator CS down. Let's see what the scout data gives me.

Carabalilo: Hive golem, Coprocessor#1
Dilawa: DC

Ok, I think I need to focus on these melee ships some more. With the tractors to help round up the AI and 3(!) ARSs visible with saws in addition to the ones I have...this could be a force to reckon with.
The golem is tempting, but it's going to be a while before I can make it down there.

4:25: MilI up on Amaut. 2 hours past when I first thought to grab it. Looks like the threat is starting to arrive. I'll secure this and reroute fleets around.

Threat down to reduced strength. Now I need to do some thinking. I need 72 hacking points for the GCA with the MDC. I only have 35 right now, which means another 2 planets. But if I pull the Alarm post, that's going to suck hacking points. I really don't want to threaten a M.VI and M.IV planet. Ugh, I hope I don't regret alerting that M.VI so early. I'll need to move quick. I'm counting on that MDC to drop my AIP back down before the next CPA.
I think here's the plan: I'll head south and grab the 2nd ZPG, along with the GCA next door and the citadel to the south of it. That's 3 planets and 90 hacking points. I'll drop the DC and that will keep my AIP down. I hopefully can play with the AIP a bit before the CPA to keep the AI at Mark I.

4:35: I think I'll take the 5AIP from this engine. I got to save my HaP.

4:40: Cookie monster on Gehenna, heading towards Murdoch. No!! My trapped zombie horde! I was planning on something amusing there by killing the BHM once they piled up some more.

4:42: CS down in Thone. I'll clean it up slowly...Dire Shredder on station.

Hmm...what's this? Scout report is interesting:

Another DC, 2nd coprocessor...and a M.VII. I think we may have the homeworld area. Troria may be a core, which puts the HW at Golumb. Hopefully the next scout or so will confirm.

4:46: Threat back at Hivehom. Defenses should handle it.

4:48: Ok, this is getting ridiculous and I'm fighting a reprisal timer. I think some more science spending is in order.

Unlock:
ConcussionII
DisruptiveII
FusionII
GeneralistII
1250 Science remaining.

4:53: Shredder down. Time to finish off these guardposts.

5:00: Guardposts cleared, now it's clearing the rest of the planet. Got a bunch of tesla turrets around which do a number on my ships..and since they are fortified, I got to get up close and personal.

I'm running behind a little bit. Here's the goal for the next hour or so:

-Finish clearing Thone and drop a MilI
-Go hit the DC(s)
-Come back and grab Wallach. Citidel will be a good addition since I'm scattered around
-Time allows before the CPA: Grab the ZPG
-Time allows: Neuter as needed.

Current AIP: 46

State of the Union:

[Pireciter]

Here's hoping for a rapid-fire hour. *crosses fingers*

5:02 - MilI up. I'm debating on upgrading these...since I have so many and these are scattered all over. I'm back to 4 matter converters

5:03 - 6 converters. Guess it's my fault for building so many beam cannons.

5:10 - Only 14 Great Tesla turrets to go...and all clumped up in an area the size of a quarter.

5:23 - Ugh. Ok, that was awful. Every volley of those turrets one-shot just about everything. Dancing in-and-out only helped slightly. Too many for the saboteur drones to help much either.

5:29 - Yeah...time for an upgrade

Unlock:
MilII
1250 Science

5:31 - !@#$. Now I got cookie monster on Thone. As if things were not annoying enough.

5:39 - 1 DC down...2 fleets wiped due to the OMD. And the Dire Widow decided to show me what tractor medicine will do.

5:42 - ~70 threat decided Hivehom looks tempting.

5:46 - Waves and threat cleared out. I'm seriously tempted to switch out Hivehom's CS for an EcoI. I'm dragging with all these matter converters.

5:47 - Yeah, and I'll just have to watch it carefully. I don't want a brownout. Swapping Gehenna for a LogiI as well.

5:52 - Wallach CS down. Scout intel gives me...

CoProccessor #3 and the Turret coordinator. I don't think I'm going to try for that coordinator. It's 5 hops from anything, and the wrong direction.
Because I also see a SPIRE ARCHIVE on Knuth. I was right. AI HW is in that corner. Given what I know, they are on Kamp but I'll need to scout it still. At least I'm going the right way.

5:54 - Another DS strike.

5:57 - And now an Instigator, on Cresida...the wrong direction from anywhere and 4 hops away. It's for the warden fleet. I'll have to hit it soon, but I can eat a trigger or two.

Ok..this planet next door to Wallach is amusing. The name is Shortliffe. It has an OMD, IonIV, Plasma Eye, AND a magnifier. Short life indeed.

6:00 - Fleets dispatched to deal with the instigator...I'm not expecting anything to make it back.

Well, got part of my goals accomplished. I'll need to get this instigator and finish securing Wallach for the CPA. I'll try to get some neutering done to get the ZPG, but I think I'll have to hold short of taking it until afterwards. I've isolated the AIHW down to Kamp, so I'm making my way there. The archive planet also has another frigate fleet, so I'll be sure to get that. Probably won't be until hour 8 or so. I fear this instigator is going to cost me dearly. Haven't seen the Dyson sphere yet...shame. I was hoping for annoyances on the AI's backside.

Current AIP: 51

State of the union:


Bonus pictures.

Awful Instigator position. The RNG got me badly here:


And prepare to have a...short life:

[Pireciter]

6 hours in. I have the homeworld located, another CPA coming, and I'm dragging a bit on fleet strength. I'm still trying to stockpile hacking points for now, but a spending spree is coming. I'm figuring another 4-5 planets will be taken here before all is said and done so I need to plan out that science. Maybe 1 or two more depending on what's out there, or some hacking for bonus science.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Instigator...

6:02 - One tick, 30% health left on the Instigator...come on! 51 ships left...reinforcements enroute.

6:02:21 - Wait...Zenith trader destroyed? I've never seen that before. Guessing cookie monster? Missed the screen shot when it happened, but in the event log:



6:02:24 - Instigator down...every transport is dead, so nothing will make it back. Might as well do some cleanup out here.

6:04 - Dark spire incoming...go play with the AI please.

6:04:08 - Guess not. Incoming to Hivehom.

6:04:40 - And a wave to Gehenna...umm two waves. I need to get some forces over there.

6:06:50 - Engineer micro is keeping the force fields on Gehenna online barely...hold on guys! Help's on the way!

6:09:30 - Alright. Things have calmed back down. Now, I need to rebuild and get ready for the CPA. Refleeting and repairs have drained my metal reserves. I'm on the AIP floor at 51 right now, so I don't need to sacrifice another fleet at the moment to get that other data center. I think it's just going to be threat cleaning and wait for now.

6:11:15 - What's this? I have some ships still alive on Cresida? I got no chance to get you home so continue to be annoying for now.

6:11:35 - Welcome to my my lair a.k.a. Wallach Mr. Threat ball. Try the soup.

6:12 - What? Soup no good for you? Shame.

6:12:06 - Oh...I see. You want to invite all your CPA buddies. Sure, I'll have a place setting laid out for them in 10 minutes.

6:17 - So, the remaining sniper frigate on Cresida has managed to take out 5 guard posts all by his lonesome. Well done. Now I kinda want to rescue him for all his hard work.

6:19 - 6 guard posts.

6:22:05 - CPA fires. 89 strength, 850 ships. Lots of higher mark ships in the bunch.

6:23 - Threat fleet now at 127 strength. Sounds like fun.

6:24:21 - Large group of the threat spotted moving through Cresida...where the single frigate still is. Looks like they are heading toward Shortliffe to attack Wallach. A wave hits there in 20 seconds as well. I'll hold back for now...it's built as a crumple world. I want to draw as much of that threat in as I can.

6:27:08 - Cookie monster on Thone, heading toward Wallach.

6:30:41 - 161 Threat, but only 11 visible. Where are they?

6:37 - Wallach goes down to combined wave and threat.

6:39 - Wallach back up. This threat is playing a good game of keep away. Forget it. I'll watch it and react as I need while I clean up Mores. It's back down to 102 strength, but scattered everywhere.

6:48 - I'm going to lose Gehenna. 21 strength on planet, and a 46 wave coming in two minutes. My main forces are fighting a reprisal right now on Mores so I can't retreat back that way. Other threat is starting to show it's face as well. Time for fun!

6:49 - Mores CP down. 66 AIP.

Yep. AIHW on Kamp...only 621 strength. Another ZPG spotted off to the southwest, and the 4th coprocessor. Oh, and Mr. Dyson sphere as well. Also a curious planet waaaaaaaay off to the north west. The strikecraft coordinator, with a Hive golem on Kalixa. That's very tempting.

6:49:46 - Gehenna outnumbered 2-1. Bracing for loss of the station.

6:50:12 - Mores cleared. Reprisal gone. Fleets...GOGOGOGO!

6:50:57 - Gehenna down.

6:51:31 - Pit stop in Tertius to clean up some threat. 145 strength total threat.

6:51:41 - Whole bunch of it ran into Murdoch to clean up my zombie horde. I think that may have been holding a lot back. AI dumped about 50 strength there.

6:54:29 - Gehenna back up.

6:59:07 - Mores is mine, along with the ZPG.

7:00 - Building up Mores. Still have 95 threat floating around.


Well, this CPA has proven to be very annoying. I still have a lot of threat out there. If it's able to fully group up, it could be a hammer that can knock out any one planet. I'll have to be very watchful to make sure I don't get blindsided and lose something important. I've got one data center to take out still, and I'm going to have to think about the coprocessors. Taking them will give me some more floor buffer, but will upgrade the AI to Mark II ships. I'll have to do some upgrades myself if I want to go that route. I have a couple distribution nodes I can pop for some bonus science/HaP which I probably will do.

We are nearing the endgame here. I have at least 1 more CPA before I can discuss HW assaults, but things look good.

Goals for the next hour:

-Finish cleaning this threat.
-Fully secure Mores and the ZPG
-Drop the remaining data center.
-Upgrades and ARS hacking.

Time permitting:

-Clean toward the AIHW and the MDC that way
-Dyson Sphere
-Maybe that hive and coordinator...I'll have to think on that one.


State of the union:

[Pireciter]

Alright, it's time for securing and upgrading. I still have a bunch of threat running around and I just grabbed that ZPG. I'm going focus on getting things squared away...and I'm thinking a couple bonus planets are in order.

1. I'm going to grab that MDC up to the north, that will give me some buffer. I'll also quickly take out the other DC I see.
2. Hack the GCA with it. It has both mines and area mines, with a garnish of tesla turrets. That will help secure planets a bit better while fleets are running around.
3. Depending on scouting there are a couple options available, so I'll wait for that reveal before I decide there. Could be hives, pushing to the AIHW, Co-pros, Dyson, something else?

7:03 - Hacking for more saws.

7:03:51 - Mine

Unlock:
Melee III(IV)

2500 Science left.

7:05 - Last visible DC down. Back to the floor at 58.

7:06 - Big threat group forming up in Tertius. Right next to my HW. The AI is going for the throat. Not on my watch.

7:07:44 - Instigator on Cresida again? Didn't we dance this dance already? It's a wave instigator this time.

7:11:51 - Trader killed again? Yep, it's cookie monster.

7:11:54 - Instigator down. Two triggers.

You know, I'm going to have to kill Shortliffe if I want that other ZPG...I really didn't want to do that. My alternative is a 4 hop detour. I don't want that long of a run to get to it or protect it...ugh, that's going to be an awful grind. I'll put it off for now.

7:19:35 - Another set of saws. You know, if I can get Mark V versions of melee that Ion IV on Shortliffe won't bother them.

7:27 - Ok, force fields STOP MOVING! I know the cookie monster moved you, but you should go back to where you were after he leaves. Why are you not? I literally have to rebuild them to get them to stay put where I had them, but I can't because of the wave on-site. I'm sitting here clicking the forcefields to stop them from moving and uncovering the ZPG.

7:29 - Alright, MDC...it's time. Here's how this goes:

Single fleet jumps in to hack the alarm post.
Rest of the fleet comes in and comes at that dire beam from every direction.
Free for all

7:32 - Go.

7:33:32 - Alarm down, bring the pain.

7:34:52 - Beam down...but we have to stop for the moment...two waves incoming and one's a little large for the frigate coordinator defense. Retreat for now.

7:39 - Alright, back to the MDC.

7:48 - CS down and cleared. Let's check scout data real quick:

...wow, was not expecting this...Thanatos and Matter converter ON THE SAME PLANET! Oh, and also right next to the STRIKECRAFT COORDINATOR AND HIVE! I smiled...and then frowned, because of the awful planets I'd have to go through to get them. About 600 strength across 3 planets...THEN 100+ on each of the treasure worlds.

Alright. This MDC is going to give me a massive buffer. However, with a floor of 66 I can't get too much before Mark II AI ship waves. I'm a little nervous of the Exos, but I'll deal.

7:51 - Hacking GCA

7:55 - Hack complete, and also some changes

Unlock:
Minefields I/II
1650 Science left

Now my defenses are much better against waves and burst threat.

7:59 - Ok riddle me this: Batara. Zero guard posts, no warden base, only a plasma eye and the CS/Warp Gate. Somehow has almost 4000 ships of the warden fleet there. Total strength on planet of ~230. How does that work? I keep watching more and more warden ships spawn. It's a blob of doom...but it's not in the threat fleet? Just sitting there. Dare I awaken it?
Edit: Made a test save and hacked vision on all the warden bases. All of them are empty. No ships in them at all. I don't recall ever seeing the usual warden fleet alerts..."Warden fleet moving to...". Maybe I did earlier in the game, but I can't remember. I know I haven't seen it in a while if I did at all. Glitched or did the warden behavior change?

8:00 - Cleanup time.

8 hour mark, and I got some choices to make. The scout report gave me some interesting points to think about and I still have not seen the super terminal. I'm thinking I'll just forget messing with that this game. My hacking response is getting up there and I've been able to keep AIP under control. I'm a little concerned about the amount of threat I still have running around with a CPA coming soon. I'm on a cleaning mission right now to try and spot it and do some neutering around my current planets.

I see a few options after this CPA:

-Push to the other ZPG and grab it
-Push toward the other MDC to act as a bridge world to the spire archive planet and the AIHW
-Backtrack to the corner and grab all the goodies up there.
-Spend one whole break neutering and cleaning planets

I have enough buffer on the AIP to keep things down, but I will hit Mark II waves before things are done. I'm not sure yet if I'll keep it below the threat waves(120 AIP), though I'm going to try. I count at least 5 planets to take if I do all of the above. Probably would be 6 if I liberate the Dyson.

Current AIP: 65

State of the union:



Live shot of Batara:

[BadgerBadger]

If you have a save game with all those stuck warden ships I'd like to see it.

[Pireciter]

Sure. It is the save taken at the 8 hour mark. Do you also need the .savemet?

I also attached the 7 hour save. Took a peek and didn't see the death blob in it....so somewhere in that hour I guess?

[BadgerBadger]

You hit a bug that causes the Warden Fleet to just sit around. It's fixed on the beta stream (and will be fixed for everyone once we do another  full steam push)

[Pireciter]

You hit a bug that causes the Warden Fleet to just sit around. It's fixed on the beta stream (and will be fixed for everyone once we do another  full steam push)

Ah. Gotcha.


Back to our story in progress...


So...I will say things are going to be quite interesting this next hour or so.

For your viewing pleasure...try and see if you can spot the difference between these. I'll even zoom in on it for you.

Before:


After:


Well, that's not too bad. I saw the AIP changes coming, so meh. Let's unpause and continue our adventure.

1 second later...



...ummm

welp


To be continued...

[Pireciter]

Given the epic response that I got from this patch, this next hour is split into two posts.

8:00:15 - Oh god, I've angered the worst overlord of all...the developers. The AI got a patch. This is going to change everything

8:00:16 - Apparently this also has a started a reprisal from some nowhere planet to add to my troubles. It's on Dilawa. I'm guessing a holdover from a DC run.

8:03 - Threat at 522, and now an Exo is declared. This...this is going to be bad.

Ok, I'm on a hair trigger here. I got fleets out scouring all my border planets to catch threat before it can mass up...more than it has. I'm going to burn some HaP to get vision on a few key planets that I can't see.

8:04 - Now a wave as well? This just gets better and better. 30 HaP burned. Now I at least have better coverage to watch threat movement.

8:04:31 - There's a threat ball...kill it before it gets out of control.

8:06:08 - Exo incoming. I hope those defenses can hold...I got nothing I can send to that MDC. 534 Threat / 6 Attack

8:06:49 - There's the Exo. Dire force field. I actually think that was the best I could have gotten.

8:08:42 - Wave cleared, Exo almost dead. 488/12

8:09:21 - Vengeance Strike...please go attack the AI.

8:10:00 - YES! THREAT BALL RIGHT ON TOP OF THEM! The cherry on top? It's Cormack...a planet with a vengeance generator. 460/0

8:10:56 - So...100+ threat ball vs. some dark spire? Did just about nothing, maybe 50% charge? 462/~1

8:12:07 - CPA declared. Just to make things even more fun. 466/~1

8:16:37 - Massive threat ball, plus more dark spire...more than 200 total strength there right now. I hope they whittle each other down. Oh and a wave incoming to Wallach...I'll divert a part of the fleet to help out there. 475/~1

8:17:40 - Have fun with THAT blob of doom AI. Over 250 strength of Dark Spire heading to AI territory. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that. 456/32

8:19:24 - Wallach cleared and wave instigator on Rondelle. Ugh, I really didn't need more problems. CPA ~2 minutes. 458/0

8:19:57 - I...I almost feel bad for the AI...then I remembered they want to grind me into a watery paste...so I started laughing instead. 457/~0


8:22:07 - CPA fires...611 total threat.


The threat is starting to concentrate down by Wallach. That's actually the one of the best planets I could hope for. I'm purposefully keeping it's defenses low by keeping my fleets away. There is nothing irreplaceable there so it can suffer if need be. I don't want to tempt the AI to come up top to the MDC or other planets, so I'm staying up there with my main battle group. I need to try and catch a moment to go get that instigator before I get too many more triggers. Only one so far, but if I let it sit it will only get worse.

Although...I'm not sure how much worse it can get from here...

Edit: spelling

[Pireciter]

I think...I think it just got a lot better...


8:22:09 - Alright, quiet for the moment. Go get that instigator and hope we don't run into a massive threat ball.

8:22:45 - !@#$. Fleets jump into a planet with 343 threat. Wait...there's only 249 total enemy ships. How can that few ships generate so much threat?! Then I spot it...cookie monster.

COOKIE MONSTER is listed as part of the threat fleet now?!? So...I actually only have ~250 or so threat out there? For a CPA having just fired...that's actually quite reasonable.

Ok, I need to refocus here...and breathe a little easier...and maybe change clothes...

8:22:49 - Another Exo incoming.

8:23:35 - Instigator down, and reconquest wave inbound at Gehenna

8:24:06 - Another wave to Wallach...hopefully that will incite the threat to attack.

8:26:31 - Exo down, but it was a close one. Dire widow kept shutting down the turrets and the plasma guardians did a number on the force fields.

8:26:56 - Wave attacking Wallach.

8:28:14 - Wallach CS down, but a good portion of the wave is dead...plus it drew in a bunch of threat.

8:31:04 - Wallach back up and running.

8:39:30 - Next Exo. Down to 557/7 on the counters.

8:42 - Ok, things have greatly calmed down. 519 on the threat...but I guess ~350 or so is because of cookie monster. So 140 or so threat running around. That's much more manageable.


Now then...what's the game plan?...unless I have another heart attack.

I hope buried treasure won't be my doom. I'm going to head back and grab the goodies on those two treasure planets before I push on.

Barring something major showing to change this, here's the gameplan:

1. Grab those two planets in the corner. The hive and thanatos are turned into cleaners and support fleets until the final assault.

Since I'm bottom end of Mark II AI ships, I'll drop the Co-pros at this point. I don't know if I'll hack the super terminal this game. I still haven't scouted it. Plus, I'm already at an elevated hacking response. If I really need it, I'll cross at that point.

2. Pick up the other ZPG to support the group and give some more energy buffer for defenses while the group is away. If I get the trader on another secure planet, I may skip this step. He still has another ZPG I can plop down. He just hasn't shown up yet at a place I want him.
3. Grab a bridge planet to jump to the archive world. Maybe MDC...maybe not. Depends if I need more than the Co-pros for reduction. I'd like to avoid the 2nd Exo strike if I can.
4. Capture the Spire Archive planet.
5. Clear the route to the AIHW.
6. Win.

That's the plan, but best laid plans and all that...especially with those evil developers in the background


8:43 - Beginning the cleaning process of Unity

8:53 - Big threat ball on Wallach. Prepared for the loss. Fleets are fighting the reprisal on Unity at the moment. 1 guard post left.

8:54 - Unity cleansed. Fleets dispatched to Wallach. 1 makes a detour to cover Gehanna for a wave.

8:55 - Wallach down

8:58:43 - and back up. Oh, and there was an Exo in there as well to the MDC. Didn't even see the call.

9:00 - Wallach clensed and continuing the clean.


Well...whoever the evil genius was who thought of adding cookie monster to the threat status...I salute you. Was totally not expecting that. I seriously thought about save-scumming when I realized he was the cause of that massive fleet bump, but I just rolled with it. Shame I burned those HaP though.
Discounting him, there is 150 or so threat fleet out there still. I got eyes on about 60 of it which I'm in the process of clearing out. I'll finish neutering Unity and clearing a path to that corner. Since there is no benefit to waiting, I may just knock out the Co-pros before taking those two planets. I want to wait though until the next CPA to keep my AIP floor down, unless I can take both planets and all the Co-Pros. Probably will just clean until then if I can't.


Current AIP: 83


No updates to the Union.

[BadgerBadger]

The Devourer Golem definitely should not be counted as threat. Wanna throw a save on mantis for me?