Arcen Games
General Category => AI War II => AI War II- After Action Reports => Topic started by: Pireciter on February 07, 2020, 07:31:08 pm
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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
(https://i.imgur.com/51jvk3K.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/cNN4Gx0.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/l9OaFZK.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/D9r22R8.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/9VUx00M.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/ncZ1B4X.jpg)
Bonus pictures.
Awful Instigator position. The RNG got me badly here:
(https://i.imgur.com/T8WqtvX.jpg)
And prepare to have a...short life:
(https://i.imgur.com/22Ji2mC.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/WVjBjXY.jpg)
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:
(https://i.imgur.com/EHmiZ7q.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/Tu4x0Lp.jpg)
Live shot of Batara:
(https://i.imgur.com/qM9ygbO.jpg)
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If you have a save game with all those stuck warden ships I'd like to see it.
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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?
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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)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/9OZW9xW.jpg)
After:
(https://i.imgur.com/TBPe3lS.jpg)
Well, that's not too bad. I saw the AIP changes coming, so meh. Let's unpause and continue our adventure.
1 second later...
(https://i.imgur.com/bOqpBs2.jpg)
...ummm
welp
To be continued...
-
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
(https://i.imgur.com/5liS4Kb.jpg)
8:22:07 - CPA fires...611 total threat.
(https://i.imgur.com/rHyNUL4.jpg)
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
-
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.
-
The Devourer Golem definitely should not be counted as threat. Wanna throw a save on mantis for me?
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Easily done, I just have to remember how to use Mantis. :)
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Bug is fixed in next release. Thanks for the report!
I don't really ever get to play much, so I get to play vicariously through people's AARs. I might be rooting for the AI though.... Thanks for sharing!
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I might be rooting for the AI though....
Isn't there some saying about AI War not having PvP? ;)
9:00:24 - I sense a great disturbance...as a massive ball of threat goes up in a poof a smoke. 150 left.
9:08 - Unity cleared. Next!
9:18 - Heh, wave on Wallach spawned right on top of the cookie monster. Nomnomnom
9:26 - Butler cleared. Dark Spire are annoyed.
9:30 - Of course, the instigator decided to spawn at the extreme opposite end of my territory.
9:33 - Dark Spire locus? Not seen one of those before. KILL!
9:46 - Why not? Dyson liberated. Now I'm not fighting them as well as I move through.
Heh, what do you know. There's the super terminal. 5 hops from anything on Vincetori.
9:48 - Wallach going down again. It's held off almost 80 threat that's staggered in over the last few minutes, but the wave of saws is going to finish it.
9:50 - There is goes, but it probably took out 70-80 strength worth before it went. Schischak cleaned.
9:52 - Are liberated Dyson supposed to trigger Raid Engines? I keep seeing the timer for the Hadley engine popping up when I have nothing on planet. That's going to be annoying if they do.
10:00 - Wallach is back up, and I'm moving on Kalixa right now.
I'm not going to capture Kalixa yet. My goal is to get the guard posts before the CPA. I don't know yet if I'm going to hit the Co-pros before or after that. I need to do some math.
4 planets plus the 40 AIP from the Golem & Ark is another 120. Total earned will be 326, with 180 reduction right now...puts me at 146. I may not need the Co-Pros...with the floor at 92 I may lose more than I gain by taking them out. Even a 5th planet will be 166. I'll decide later. I think it may depend on how many warp gates I choose to clear when I mobilize toward the AIHW.
Threat has stabilized around 100 or so. About where it was the previous CPA. I think I'm in good shape for the next one. I'm figuring around 180-200 strength.
Current AIP: 92
No updates to the union.
-
9:52 - Are liberated Dyson supposed to trigger Raid Engines? I keep seeing the timer for the Hadley engine popping up when I have nothing on planet. That's going to be annoying if they do.
Raid engines can trigger for factions that don't hold territory, though they don't spawn ships in that case. But there was some foolery going on in a Civil War game I played, where I found out that raid engines can actually target planets on the other side of the galaxy if 1. there is no warp gate on the raid engine planet and 2. There is a warp gate next to a planet that is held by the faction being targeted.
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Raid engines can trigger for factions that don't hold territory, though they don't spawn ships in that case. But there was some foolery going on in a Civil War game I played, where I found out that raid engines can actually target planets on the other side of the galaxy if 1. there is no warp gate on the raid engine planet and 2. There is a warp gate next to a planet that is held by the faction being targeted.
Hmm...interesting...I'll have to keep that in mind.
10:02 - Alright, I'd like to get the science from the Dyson, but it's prepare time for this CPA. Moving fleets back home and doing some cleaning.
10:03:12 - Vengeance strike incoming.
10:07:33 - AI, didn't you say you liked the soup I served you at Wallach? Good. Come have some more.
10:17 - Still no CPA? Alright, I'll keep at this cleaning and stocking metal.
10:24:13 - There it is.
10:29:17 - I'm cleaning up Cinna to burn some excess metal and also get scouts in place to watch for threat.
10:34:07 - CPA 1 second
10:34:08 - 2985 ships, 268 strength. *blinks* That's a bit more than I expected. I got scouts in place, full metal reserves, and fleets are on alert. Little over 400 total threat.
10:34:11 - Hmm...I got full metal reserves. Speed switching Wallach CS for a MilII. I'm going to need it because of it's key position.
10:34:34 - Threat inbound. Here they come
10:35:56 - Fleets on station at Wallach. Let's burn this down.
10:38:18 - Now a wave at Wallach AND an AIP Instigator? That's just cruel. At least those have a 10 minute timer. I can wait for a bit.
10:41:42 - Score stands at 307 threat, 11 attack, and 5:36 left before that instigator ticks. Threat has been focusing on Wallach and the Hivehom/Gehenna group. Wallach has been holding it's own for now and the others are being distracted by Dark Spire and two battle stations jumping in and out.
10:43:02 - Ok, I can't wait any longer. 2 transports on a run to get the Instigator. 255/12
10:44:05 - Fleets are passing through Radev. It has an OMD and a Dire Tetuida on site. The OMD rapidly takes out one transport, it's dropped units immediately head straight for it before the other one drops. Then I look closer at that Tetuida...fully charged shield, but 10 health. Group of bombers unloaded to quickly take it out.
10:44:09 - OMD and Tetuida down, but both transports are crippled. Fleet group makes a suicide run at the instigator.
10:44:28 - Got it. 284/4
10:45:57 - Fleets back and recharging. Metal reserves are drained. 245/7
10:46:21 - Taking a gamble...switching Thone CS for a LogiI. I need to get some more economy to bridge through this. Of it's three wormholes, two are blocked by MilIIs and the 3rd is on my southern transport route. I think I'll have a fast enough response time if the AI tries to come through that way.
10:47:00 - Perfect. 4 converters dropped.
10:50:29 - AI taunts: "Error corrected". Umm...I didn't lose anything?
10:55:37 - Things have calmed down quite a bit. Still a little over 200 threat out there, but I'm on a cleaning mission.
11:00 - Back to Butler. Cleaning threat and Dark Spire. Got vision on about 80 of the threat and I know the area to where another 50 or so is moving. Got most of it pinched between the Dyson and my fleet group. Either it dies horribly or...well...dies horribly.
Full disclosure: I did save-scum the CPA once. However, it was due to a misclicked transport load and it pulled all my scouts. I lost threat data and didn't catch it in time so it grouped up, punched through Wallach and rolled up my south flank. Tried saving it, but lost 3 planets and they were hammering on the MDC when I threw in the towel. So, score 1 for the AI. When my scouts were in place I was able to keep watch on where the threat was gathering and whittle it down.
Since there isn't really a true "scout" unit, my scouts that I mention are actually that group of eyebots I captured back in hour 1. Fleet kills any tachyon sentinels, send an eyebot to the farthest corner of the gravity well in low power mode, and you have planet vision.
I'm back to clearing the treasure corner. I've rearranged my fleets a bit so I have a partial fleet back home on roving patrol vs. the static defense and battle station sentries I had been using. The AIP and threat is getting a little high for pure static defense.
Current AIP: 92
No updates to the Union.
-
Come one come all, for the main event this evening. You are in for a real treat. A two-for-one special. The AIW2 2-hour event.
Massive fleets? Check.
Evil AI? Check.
Lots and lots of explosions? Check!
Grab your popcorn and buckle up, we are in for a wild ride.
11:10 - Continuing to clean. Fleets and factory back on Schischak picking apart the AI on Kalixa. Threat down to 173 and I got eyes on about 90 of it.
11:10:10 - Ohh..trader pokes his head into Bolo...my MDC planet. I think a few goodies are coming down here. How about the other OMD, force field and the other eidolin. And why not...I'll drop the ZPG as well.
11:10:46 - Cursed golem with this Exo. First one of those I've seen.
11:12:10 - Dark spire poke their heads into Hivehom. "Hi! Don't mind us, we are just going to kill all of your turrets. Ok, Bye!"
11:19:12 - The AI is hitting Thone hard.
11:22:15 - And Wallach. Both Thone and Wallach are done, but fleets are on station.
11:24:01 - Ok, things have calmed back down. Thone and Wallach are back up, but I'm drained on metal.
11:30.29 - There is a massive dark spire fleet forming up on Cormack. AI has almost 80 threat there right now. I just hope the spire goes into the AI planets versus me...
11:32:33 - Thank goodness, they are. A 143 strength dark spire fleet in that area would not have been a good thing.
11:37 - Finally got everything cleared and repaired. It's almost like I'm running in place here.
11:46 - Ugh, now an instigator. It's warden fleet. Threat down to 163
You know what, I'm fighting things quite a bit with these battle stations...
Unlock:
CitadelII
150 Science left
11:51 - Where did Kalixa get that magnifier? Oh, trader...traitor.
11:55 - I swear, the AI somehow knows exactly which planets to attack with waves...it's always the farthest from my fleet group.
12:00 - Well, this was a "slow" hour
Clearing the instigator woke up another 100 or so threat. I'm back up to 252. Probably the only thing good I got so far this hour was the new ZPG to 70% and completing the force field and eidolin. I feel I'm only treading water. I gotta get back on solid ground.
-Intermission-
Please wait...we will return you to your evening dose of explosions momentarily.
-End Intermission-
12:07 - 1 guard post left on Kalixa. I really need to get this thing cleared.
Part of my problem is actually the Dyson. The AI spawns a wave against it, clears it, then all that wave becomes threat. I may need to drop some extra warp gates over there to keep the AI from sending waves that way.
12:10 - ZPG complete. Now I can clear some converters.
12:12 - This threat is getting a little out of hand though. Sitting at 349.
12:16 - Threat back down to 269, vengeance strike underway.
12:24 - CPA declared. 204 threat outstanding.
12:32 - Alright, Kalixa is cleared. I'm pulling most of my forces back except for a few units to drop the CS. I'm waiting for the CPA to be declared before I drop them...keep that AIP lower for the trigger.
12:34:08 - CPA 1 second. 219 threat floating. I'm figuring 250 or so. I'm in a similar position to last time.
12:34:09 - 2707 ships, 255 strength. 473 total threat. Here we go.
12:34:26 - Kalixa CS down.
12:36:32 - Dropped the warp gate on Schischak. I don't want any waves coming back this way if I can avoid it.
12:38:05 - Oh boy. Thone is in trouble. I'm both happy and sad I switched out that CS. 60 strength attacking, a 48 wave incoming, and another 50+ threat enroute.
12:38:39 - I love my tractor units. Pulled ~40 threat straight off right into the MilII planets...then returned for more, because they keep coming. There is still another 50 or so threat moving through Lynx. Mores has about 35, Wallach 40, and Thone...below 3 digits...barely.
12:41:36 - Thone is stable. 265/10. Now I need to get help back out to Kalixa. Threat is starting to gather out there. I'm speed building defenses...another bonus to bringing that factory out there.
12:45 - And that's why...because the other warp gate is still active. Wave incoming to Kalixa. At tempting as it is to delay it by blowing the gate, I'm going to let it land and take it out afterwards.
12:46 - I think the stuck warden came back. Small group on Cormack. It's a bunch of sentinel gunboats...but not firing on my units. They only woke up when the Dark Spire spawned.
12:48:25 - These waves are getting a little stronger. 2600 ships in this one.
12:50:54 - Argh. Dire Widow steals about 50 ships and takes them into Hadley...with the raid engine.
12:53:03 - Yep. Warden is stuck. Two battle stations approaching like turtles...and all those gunboats just sitting there not firing. Looks like hunter fleet is affected as well. I'll mantis a save.
Edit: Playing around with my test save, it seems to be intermittent. They wake up on the save load, but sometimes "die" again after a bit. I'll hold off on the mantis for now unless I can find something consistent that triggers it.
12:53:56 - OMD done, now I have a battering ram against those Exos.
12:54:35 - Wormhole Instigator? Well...I'm not going to hit that AIP until real late, and maybe not at all. I'll let it stew for a trigger or two. Still cleaning threat up.
12:54:44 - Prepare for the swarm. Hive golem repaired. +30 AIP though. It's amusing...on the floor at 119, one point below threat waves :)
12:54:52 - Alarm post on Hinton hacked. No AIP increase for you!
12:57 - Oh dear...reprisal wave and I screwed up with the golem. Kalixa is in trouble. Almost 120 strength bearing down on it.
13:00 - That was too close. Lost Kalixa command and almost lost the coordinator as well. A little engineer micro on the force fields was the only thing that saved it.
A long one this time, but productive. Only took one planet, but with that one having a hive golem it was worth it. A lot of this session was long term investments. I got another ZPG online and the OMD to help out against those Exos. I'm going to continue clearing this threat and get the Ark and converter on that other corner planet. I have ~200 threat, but have eyes on about 120 or so. I also need to dispatch a fleet to take out that instigator. I've let it sit longer than I would like...4 triggers.
Current AIP: 119
Have a full picture this time on the union:
(https://i.imgur.com/biAnUPu.jpg)
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Nearing the endgame here. My focus this hour is on cleaning the threat down and preparing the way to the AIHW.
13:03 - Instigator down. 5 triggers
13:09 - !!! Where did that spire fleet come from. 80 strength just popped into Ormuzd...my homeworld. I'm guessing they choose to run through Hivehom? Well..I have an OMD there. Should make short work of it.
13:14:45 - So, Hive golem into Hinton...all by itself. Let's see how long it takes it to clear it.
13:17:44 - And done. Hive golems are awesome.
13:20 - And now I have a Thanatos.
13:23 - I'm going to station the ark and golem on the Dyson while I suck all the science from it.
Taking a look over the science..I'm a little confused on the Citadel unlocks. If I'm interpreting it correctly, it says it gives more citadels with the upgrade?
(https://i.imgur.com/tR64ISO.jpg)
Unlock:
Melee IV(V)
1150 Science left
Scary, scary melees. I think I'm going to clear to a couple extenders to bump my count of them a bit.
13:40 - Eden drained. Now I'll pop my CS and let Dyson go do Dyson things again.
13:52 - Enki and Rondelle cleared. Probably going to clear Shortliffe and Radev next for the extenders there. I'm going to double at least two groups of saws and maybe my siege frigates.
14:00 - Clearing continuing. Hive about MarkIV, and Thanatos almost MarkII. Thanatos on defense duty and Hive is helping clear. Threat at 138.
Boring hour I know, but this is all prep work for the final push. I'm still thinking about the details, but I have a rough plan. I'm clearing the route down toward the AIHW now so I can press quickly after the CPA. I'm hoping this is the last one.
I'm still debating on the AIP plan. 2 planets to cap, possibly some distrib nodes, and I see a couple other AI structures that I may just kill instead of hacking. I'm figuring another 25-26 floor, with 50-~52 progress. I have 19 buffer left, so it's real close. I got AIP coming from the HW structures...there's 96 from the 12 posts there. If I hit the Copros, that will give another 60 buffer, but 40 floor. Ugh...I may grab the second MDC. I'll only have to suffer an Exo or two before this ends. With all my fleets nearby, reinforcements will be close. I'll make a final decision later.
Current AIP: 130 (Earned: 291, Reduction: 180, Floor: 130)
State of the Union:
(https://i.imgur.com/dLKQfXm.jpg)
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A couple days off. Real life takes precedence of course. But, time to get back at this.
Hour 14. We are firmly in the endgame. My goal right now is to secure a protective border so that I can have a roaming defense fleet run around to cover my territory easily while the bulk of my forces are pushing on the AIHW. Right now, it's way too many hops to get from one end of my planets to the other. It's too risky to depend on a single planet to hold right now with the current AIP and wave/threat strength. I think I'm going to do some hacking en-route for some science and maybe get either turret/mine upgrades as well as a couple more fleet upgrades. I hope I can push through and finish this before the 16 hour CPA. Things are starting to get to the point where the AIP will slowly overwhelm me if I let this drag on. I'll be spending all my time cleaning and defending that I'll never get the initiative back.
14:01:39 - Wave instigator on Anabas. A little off track from my routes, but I can get ships over there quickly.
14:03 - Instigator cleared. No triggers. Hive and my sniper fleet are attacking Presidio to clear it. 2 other fleets neutering Teevan. Going to hack the magnifier there. Don't want the AIP from it.
14:07 - Presidio cleared. Hive redirected to Teevan. Reprisal timer counting.
14:09 - Bout 75 or so threat running Cormack-Hivehom-Tertius to come at my homeworld from the backside. I'll send a fleet that way.
14:10 - Here they come.
14:10:47 - So, either I've been missing them or the AI has gotten quite good at adjusting to my force makeup. Got a TON of spider guardians in this threat ball.
14:11 - Cleaned up. Hive on Teevan. Fleets moving to reinforce.
14:13 - Another threat ball taking that same route...bout 70 this time. Total threat at 268 FYI.
To give you an idea on the theatres here:
Thanatos with Dyson fighting 2 waves
Hive and Long Range fleet clearing Teevan
One fleet threat clearing
One fleet threat clearing on a different planet.
Two battlestations doing a dance in/out of Cormack to distract threat
Another fleet moving to reinforce my homeworld and cover Hivehom
Yes, that is 6 battles at once. What's your point?
14:17 - Teevan cleared.
14:17:49 - Now a vengeance strike.
14:18:06 - Of course they would attack Hivehom.
14:18:29 - They are leaving? Ok. I'm not complaining.
I think I am going to grab the MDC planet. I can cover a couple Exos there. My fleets will be close...but after the CPA trigger. I need to finish clearing my defense routes.
14:21 - Grabbing extender on my largest saw group. +130 saws...Mark V at that.
14:22 - Popping a D. node on Presidio and doing a science hack.
14:24:10 - CPA declared.
14:26:24 - Another D. node.
Unlock: Minefields IV
300 Science left
Those are going to really neuter any waves/threat at planets before they even get to my turrets.
14:34:09 - CPA 1 second. Full metal stocks, fleets ready to go.
14:34:10 - Here comes the CPA. 4,107 ships. 341 strength. 587 total threat. 1600+ Mark IV and 1100+ Mark V in this bunch.
14:40:53 - Score stands at 474/33.
14:51 - 401/356, but that 356 is actually ~15 because of cookie monster
So, a shot of Cormack right now:
(https://i.imgur.com/H1a69yv.jpg)
Guess how well that one is working out for the AI.
15:00 - Alright, down to about 300 threat. We got an hour and a half until the next CPA.
I don't know if I'm going to get all my clearing that I want done. MAYBE I'll be able to beat the next CPA timer...I'm not sure now. I got two planets to capture and at least 4 to neuter/clear...not including the AI home world.
Current AIP: 131
Endgame plan:
(https://i.imgur.com/14jVlx1.jpg)
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15:01 - Threat at 309. Relocating fleets to my southern flank. I got some cleaning to do.
15:03:24 - A 101 strength wave to Gehenna. Didn't expect one that strong. Hey you! Yeah, you Mr. Fleet. Turn around and go back.
15:08 - Ahnit cleaned. I'm pushing on to do some more cleaning on Estocade before I capture it. Going to keep the reinforcements down on my route in.
15:13 - CPA Instigator. THAT needs to die quickly.
15:16 - Done. Oh, and Estocade is cleared. Dropping the CS on Ahnit and setting down a MilII over that MDC. At least it's in a far corner so I can cover it heavily.
15:19 - Big threat ball on Cormack. I love that the AI keeps gathering there. 245/14 right now.
Shan is going to be fun. I'll have to send in a smaller group to hack that alarm post first. I really don't want to wake up both a Mark VI and Mark VII planet.
15:22 - Score now 197/28.
15:25:30 - Hacking Shan...I just hope it targets the post and not one of the other items here...
15:25:56 - YES! For the record...there was no save-scum for it, and if it didn't drop it I would have just hacked again until I got it. I decided to take the chance on it because anything here would have been ok to get rid of. Now that it is done...everybody in!
15:27:28 - Ah...here comes the Praetorians. I was wondering when I'd start seeing them here.
15:33 - Shan cleared. Took out about 1k of the Praetorians as well.
I'm going to do a little something with the science I just got from Ahnit...
Unlock:
EngineerIV
300 Science left.
I need the factory support for these pushes. Plus, it will help out with repairs during threat holds. I've had zero metal problems since I've picked up the hive so I don't worry there. Taking Shan for instance...I didn't drop below 4 million metal. Total reclaim so far this game is >40 million.
15:34 - Let's take a look at Knuth, my next target.
Not as many ships as I thought...only 731 total. A lot of the strength is loaded in the turrets.
15:44 - Knuth is cleared. Dropping a LogiI for now. I want to clear Golumb before too many AI reinforcements show up and I want the engineering power of a Logi. I'll want to switch to a MilII for the archive hack.
15:48 - Alright, starting my attack on Golumb. I'm going to do this in two waves. Hive in first to distract and cause havoc. 2nd wave has a mountain of saws to wipe out the posts as quickly as possible. They are all MRLS posts...so ugh.
15:54 - Hmm...threat senses weakness...attacking hard on Hivehom...but repelled shortly after by my defense fleet.
15:55 - Something interesting I just noticed. Cookie monster I think reacts strangely if you have hacked vision on a planet, but no ships actually there. He's on Hadley right now and I have permanent vision from hacking. If I'm not actively looking at or have the planet selected, he doesn't fire on AI ships. Once I switch my view to that planet, he goes nomnomnom.
15:58 - Golumb clear. Now...I need scouts in place.
16:00 - Let's take a peek into the AI homeworld for some updated intel.
~680 strength. ~4000 ships. A couple evil posts, but here's the rundown:
1x Tethuida
1x Heavy Beam
1x Sabot
1x Concussion
2x Parasite
2x Nuc
4x Gravity
At least the Dire guardian on site is a force field. I remember one game I had a dire shredder with a Tethuida post. That wasn't fun.
I'm going to pull back though for the moment. I'll keep a fleet on Golumb to intercept any ships leaving the AIHW, but I'm going to focus back on threat clearing and get that spire archive. Currently 266 threat and I fully expect a 400+ strength CPA. I'd like to burst this down before then, but it's chancy. I either get it right around CPA start and I don't care what my AIP is, or I fail right before the CPA and I have a ~200 AIP CPA to deal with. Granted, if I'm close enough I should be able to stall but I'm going to have to think on it. I've come too far to lose this now.
Current AIP: 149
AIHW Intel:
(https://i.imgur.com/jtnL7qY.jpg)
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I've had a marathon session here, but I couldn't let this thing keep going another day.
I'm still typing things up, but for a sneak peek:
(https://i.imgur.com/w0jWq1q.jpg)
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Oh...another update. Version 1.332. I sure hope those developers didn't leave any surprises around for me... ;)
Well, I think I'm stuck with one more CPA before the final assault. I'm going to focus on getting some threat whittled down and the spire archive hack. There were a lot of Mark VII ships released during my push down to the homeworld that are running around.
16:02 - I'm on a threat cleaning mission. The hive is keeping an eye on Golumb and the remaining fleets are cleaning between my bridge planets.
16:02:16 - Damn...Dyson was taken over again and now there's a Dire pike there? Ugh.
16:05:43 - Ohh...massive threat swarm charged the hive and disabled it when I wasn't looking. Pulling it back and moving another group in place.
16:07 - Switching Knuth for a MilII. Time for the hack.
16:10:45 - Hack underway. Still have ~200 threat running around. I'll have to stay on top of it with my fleets that are not clearing hack zombies.
16:11:45 - These spawns are nasty. I'm concerned about the later ones as this hack goes on...
16:12:22 - Hive at Mark V. That's a scary unit.
I'm impressed with the spire archive response. It's tons of shield killers. Eyebots, rams, and even some dire spawns.
16:12:42 - Exception? Something about tooltips and can't generate them. I grabbed the stack trace and a save right after it. Too much insanity...the game can't handle it! :)
16:13:32 - Several exceptions now. Not sure what's up with that. All about the same thing.
16:13:46 - Dire widows are amusing when they tractor a million of my melee units. I think those two didn't even last 3 seconds.
16:17 - Under 3 minutes on the hack.
16:19:45 - Got it. Delicious 8k Science. Knuth back to a LogiI.
Now...what to spend it on... I actually think another defense upgrade would not be a bad idea.
Unlock:
TurretII
ConcussionIII
50 Science left.
I came to a realization that I really didn't have good AoE damage in my fleets. So...it's a siege frigate upgrade with an extender on something else coming soon. Think I may grab the Concussion Tech as well...I've already neutered the planet. Got a CPA Instigator that decided to pop up that I'll take out here in a second.
16:23:57 - What the hell is that?! Extragalactic War Maugrim?! Never seen one of those. Strong sucker.
16:23:59 - Dear god...it's FAST! Blew right past the Hive without a care in the world.
16:24:11 - There's the CPA. 195 threat outstanding.
16:25:24 - !!! That Maugrim is already at Lynx?! That thing moves!
16:27:08 - I don't know what that was...but it's dead now.
16:28:37 - Oh...seems the AI gets to spawn those. Looks like a new trick.
16:29:01 - Hmm...what should I double...I think I'll do the gunboats. With so many melees I need some more support to target those gravity and spider ships.
16:31:45 - Ah ha. Threat says a wave means it's time to attack. Good. I can thin it out.
16:32:04 - What the heck? Brownout?! I didn't lose anything...must of been a rebuild trigger.
16:32:06 - Of course, that's the signal to charge...
16:33:06 - Everything back up. I'm going to go hack this tech real fast. CPA about a minute out.
16:33:45 - Ok, that was hilarious. I've never seen a force field frigate do that. Turned a threat frigate into a zombie. Instead of "pushing" everything away like it normally does...it instead LAUNCHED itself through the whole horde like a battering ram, parting them like a plow, and embedded itself at the edge of the gravity well.
Strange...it's a zombie, but it's listed as part of the sentinel fleet. Oh, and is also stuck.
(https://i.imgur.com/whpsP5k.jpg)
Right afterwards...The stack of them split and became a single zombie and a sentinel fleet unit. Weird.
(https://i.imgur.com/hBgdlPi.jpg)
Yeah...there's something strange going on here. Now the sentinel is not a sentinel-zombie.
16:34:11 - CPA Fires, and it's....surprisingly small. 3,951 ships, but only ~300 strength. >600 total threat.
Back to our sentinel/zombie/guardian...now it multiplies!!! They are taking over! It's not stuck anymore though.
(https://i.imgur.com/M30X61U.jpg)
16:37:13 - There's that Maugrim. It's on Lynx. Looks like threat is preparing to come at Thone.
These forcefield guardians are really strange. Just had two more freak out and launch themselves. Massive stacks of them. I keep seeing the forcefield drop and "repop" like they want to go zombie, but the stack wins out. Zooming and moving your cursor around on them seems to make them dither between the two factions.
16:47 - Clearing continuing. Score is at 297/0
17:02 - Well, things continue to clear. These new AI ships are quite annoying. Score is at 307/0. I'm moving down to my southern flank for the final push. I have a 400 strength spire fleet currently "pushing" the AI as well...one of those Maugrims died on a dark spire planet.
17:08 - Ok. Threat at 259. I'm still watching that spire fleet running around. It's moving between Cormack, Rulif, and Rondelle right now. It makes me a little nervous if it comes my way. However, it's time to finish this.
I've done some fleet reorganization. Thanatos staying back on defense watching my western and central planets. A second fleet covers the rest. My remaining forces have gathered on Golumb for the push. My main fleets are set as this:
Hive: Distraction and free ships
Chop Shop Brigade: Fleet with nothing but saws acting as a "bomb" to drop on major targets.
Boom Boom: Siege Frigates, and siege frigates only. Drop, fire, load, and run away.
Long Range: All my infinite range units to run around the gravity well edge to target key units.
Kitchen Sink 1/2: Everything else. Cannon fodder and chaff.
Total assault strength: ~260.
It will be a process to thin things out, but I have a plan.
One way or another, this ends now.
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This is it. The final round. The endgame. Let's do this.
17:14 - Hive enters Kamp to drop a load of yellow jackets to incite ships to run out. Hive retreats to Golumb to preserve itself.
17:14:06 - It worked. Here they come.
17:14:40 - Over 200 strength AI fleet on Golumb. Homeworld looks empty.
17:15 - Adjusting defenses a bit by dropping several beam cannons. 6 matter converters gone. I'm going to need the metal regen.
17:18:21 - Initial rush cleared. Now to push the hive again.
17:18:59 - First gaurdpost down. Concussion.
17:19:47 - Tethuida gone
17:20:46 - Another 150 threat pulled from Kamp. Come on AI, send me all those Mark VII ships. Right into the chop shop.
17:22:29 - Cleaned. Next! 474 strength left.
17:23:54 - Dire Parasite down next.
17:25:50 - All these AI sentry ships are quite annoying.
17:33:30 - The Thanatos is moving after one of these Extragalactic...things...He's keeping it occupied for now, but it's a scary unit running around.
17:35:13 - Instigator? Warden fleet? I'm going to ignore it...this thing won't last much longer.
17:41:40 - 1st gravity post. I'm hoping the remaining units can get another one as well...
17:42:04 - Nope.
7 posts left. And I'm fighting a 150 strength reprisal timer from a bad click and a fleet popped.
17:50 - I'm stalemated...I got one trick left to try...all in. Everything but the Thanatos on the other side of the galaxy. Chop Shop will use the distraction to go after them all.
17:52:52 - 3 left. It's all or nothing here. The worst ones are gone. 2 gravity and a Nuc left. Chop Shop is on a roll, but the rest of the fleets are starting to falter.
17:53:17 - 2 left. The reprisal is a nuke right now. 338 strength, and my total fleet strength is about to drop below the requirement.
17:53:53 - 1....Select all, right click...Kill!
17:54:13 - Hive just went down. Post at 70% shield. Counter attack strength at 519, I no longer have enough on planet...timer ticking.
17:54:21 - Come on! Almost there!
(https://i.imgur.com/w0jWq1q.jpg)
17:54:34 - Shields down! KILL IT!
17:54:45 - DEAD! Reprisal gone. Less than 400 of my ships still on planet. Pulling everything and retreating to Knuth for the moment. I need to rebuild quickly.
17:57:40 - Hive is repaired enough. Get back in there.
18:00:33 - The last bits of the AIHW are gone. Now for the command station.
18:00:53 - PHASE 2.
18:01:15 - Shields down!
18:02:05 - 30%. Almost there!
18:02:29 -
(https://i.imgur.com/JdwZiyR.jpg)
18:02:30 - VICTORY!
(https://i.imgur.com/09MgGOl.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7qd3sqV.jpg)
Hard fought. The AI put up a fight with this one. I'll have some after action items and MVPs to throw up tomorrow, and maybe a mantis or two...but for now, I need sleep.
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Congrats on your win!
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This one was a fun one. I will say that's my first 9/9/9 win, but then again...I haven't really put enough effort into a game to force myself through it. Would get to the final bit with a large chance at the win, then quit and start anew because of a patch or something.
The stars of this show though:
Let's start with The Hive. Made things so much easier with the constant swarm of free ships. When clearing the planets down to the homeworld and the homeworld assault itself, it was a great swarmer. I do wish we could adjsut priority on the swarm somewhat...kind of annoying when you see them firing on something that doesn't count or run all the way across the map to kill that one ship when there is a swarm of other ships right in front of you. The not loading for transport when there is even a single cloaked mine left on the planet...THAT was very annoying.
Next on the list, surprisingly was the Dark Spire. They kept a couple planets of my defense border covered and even though sometimes they came at me, they were quite adequate at keeping AI forces bottled up sometimes.
Last, goes to everything that Metabolized metal, a.k.a. Salvage. Almost 73 million metal recovered over the course of this game. It went a very long way sustaining pushes and keeping things moving when I was loaded down with converters at a couple points.
Most Hilarious failure: Moving hive into a planet to tempt AI out...but not paying attention and leaving all the yellow jackets behind when it jumped. THEN, forgetting about it until the reprisal alert popped up on the screen from it being disabled. That was the mistake around hour 13 I mentioned.
Most Hilarious moment: Watching Force field frigates launch themselves like rockets across the gravity well during that last hack. I almost choked on my drink when it happened the first time.
Honorable mention: Devourer Golem a.k.a. cookie monster. Amusement, hatred, and annoyance all rolled into one giant ball of death
A couple ideas that I thought of over the course of this round:
-Reprisal adjustments
-Tractor units
-Melee
First, the reprisal. A couple times being able to reset that timer saved my bacon, but it was quite easy to jump a transport in and out for 2 seconds to give 2 more minutes while I was rebuilding. Maybe a mechanic where each time the timer is stalled, the required strength jumps by a couple %? That would still allow resets, but not allow it forever. Don't increase the reprisal strength when this is done, but only the required strength to delay it.
Tractor units...awesome but dear god the micro when combined with melee. Keeping those persuaders corralled so the saws could kill everything was quite a chore. Sometimes I'd see a single tractor towing away one lone ship...and 400 melee saws running after it like a dog chasing a bone. Amusing...if it wasn't for the dire guardian and all the pikes they were ignoring in their chase. They were also VERY strong when splitting groups of units. I'd suggest a larger speed drop when a unit is under tractor. They were quite powerful when they could outrun about everything to split off a group through a wormhole.
Then melees...are there things in progress to help improve the attack when chasing a retreating unit? Seen them many times as a large group chasing a unit...being ON TOP OF IT...but not doing any damage because it was retreating. Even if the unit was slower than the saws, they still wouldn't damage it. I'd manually grab the group and click in front of the unit to break them from their funk, but still annoying.
Time for a break for a bit. I've got some ideas for my next adventure against the AI apocalypse. Who knows...maybe I'll try 10...
This is Pireciter.
Signing off.
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Pireciter, mechanically, would you mind answering how you managed to use your fleets on the sidebar? Are you moving giant balls of ships? Are you moving different types of ships into different areas strategically or just fleetballs? Also, are you using the different types of fleets to accomplish your goals or are you trying to put them all in the same place when the events happen? I'm wondering what other people are doing with the fleets and what their gameplay behavior is.
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Oh my goodness, lots of questions there and seem to be variations on a central theme.
Are you moving giant balls of ships? Are you moving different types of ships into different areas strategically or just fleetballs?
The short answer? It depended on the situation.
Is it chasing threat? Neutering a planet? Neutering THAT planet? Fighting off a wave? "Maintenance" cleaning of border worlds? All of those could require something different. Is there a specific case or setup you would like me to elaborate on?
Also, are you using the different types of fleets to accomplish your goals or are you trying to put them all in the same place when the events happen?
I'm not quite sure I understand this one. Are you asking if I customize my fleets for a specific purpose, or do I just not bother and group everything up wherever there is room? Or is this a "Do I keep everything together in one spot all the time" type of question?
On larger assaults, I did tend to pull a lot of fleets in on a central point such as a critical post or target(Instigators, etc.), but I could be fighting on multiple fronts so things were split around. I also would transfer units between transports even if it meant rebuilding them so I didn't have to pull a fleet off the line to go 6 hops back to reinforce a defense group.
One thing I did do a lot of was use the transports to ferry ships across the gravity well. Why have everything trundle across the entire well to take out those snipers, when they can sit nice and comfortable in the transport for the journey. Suffering a volley or two after unloading before I could attack was much better than eating the half dozen or so crossing the well. I was also heavy on the melee this game...so why fight all those slow pike corvettes, when you can fly right past them to the juicy snipers?
Or...why straight line to that OMD past those 4 guardposts when you can run around outside the range of 3 of them?
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Well, what I do with my fleets is I just drag around to whatever planet I need to do something on. Hope it works out. I don't really understand how to fight with fleets. I come from AI War 1, where I created and separated out groups of ships that made sense to me for some purpose. I don't feel I could do that with fleets. I kind of need to see a visual or extremely descriptive prose on what the fleet workflow is supposed to look like. I know I can't be doing it right. I feel like I'm fighting it because I'm trying to do what I always used to do.
Yes, the question is not hyper-specific. Maybe there is a video out there that shows it, but I haven't seen it yet. I tried to ask someone else on this forum, and they gave me kind of the same reply as you. Nobody knows what I'm talking about, and I guess that's par for the course for me.
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Well, actually...
Your comments cleared up your question for me I think. I came from AI War 1 as well, so the fleets were a little confusing for me the first time I saw them. Let me try and explain how I handle them a little better and how I use them.
I've found the fleet mechanic both a blessing and a curse, especially being used to normal control groups from other RTS systems, and/or AI War 1.
With AI War 1:
You could set space docks up with groups and selectively control which ships were built there. They would get added into that group automatically. You could also create custom "Task forces" from the main fleet blob. Give a subset of them a special number to control them and away you go. This was similar to how other RTSs used control groups and was similar implementation.
Now, with AI War 2:
Think of the fleets as the Intra-Galactic warp gates from 1. Your factories build the ships, and they warp right to the fleets. Now, think of the fleets as permanent control groups. You set a fleet to a hotkey, every ship that is built and "warped" to it becomes part of that group. So, in essence you still have the control groups, just every one has a dedicated transport.
Now for an implementation...I'll use a couple examples from the game I just finished.
Take the "Chop Shop" brigade, that single fleet where I put several groups of saws in it. I used it to drop right on top of guard posts to knock them out while the rest of my "blob" did whatever. In AI War 1, it would be several assault transports control grouped up and doing the same thing.
The "Boom Boom" fleet. A fleet with only Siege Frigates. I wanted to control them against specific targets without affecting anything else. So, they got a custom fleet group all to themselves. AI War 1, I'd give them their own control group number and do the same thing.
If I wanted to split up a fleet...say I wanted TWO "Chop Shop" fleets and split the saws between them. I'd build a custom transport and move some saws over. Then I have two hotkeys...one for each group. AI War 1...separate space docks, or highlight Ctrl+# to do the same thing.
The WEAKNESS of the fleets however...is that if you want to create a new control group on the fly from ships in two different fleets during a battle. AI War 1 it's easy, you can't do that in 2.
Does that help clarify things? I can try to work something up from my in-progress saves...maybe through screenshots or something on my thought processes when I setup fleets?
Don't forget you can build those custom fleet transports. You are not stuck with the 4-6 or so you capture across a game.
The only change I wish we could make...or if it's there I don't know where it is: When you select a fleet to move it somewhere, I want an option to NOT have the transport move as well. I may want the transport to stay "Parked" while the units run around
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Intra-Galactic warp gates, now I get it! We are warping in reinforcements to each fleet. But if you want to exchange ships between fleets, you have to transport them? Is this true even if the fleets are in the same system?
Are you on discord? Maybe I could look at one of your saved games to see your fleets in progress? Or, if you just posted a picture of your fleets tab.
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But if you want to exchange ships between fleets, you have to transport them? Is this true even if the fleets are in the same system?
You can't "transport" between fleets. A closer example of it would be scrapping and rebuilding in the new fleet.
Back to the Intra-Galactic warp gate comparision...Think of a group of ships at one gate, but you need them at another gate 8 hops away. You don't transport them through all that hostile territory, you instead scrap them, switch which gate is powered, and rebuild.
Edit: Cyborg, check your PMs
Edit edit: Here's a couple screenshots of some fleets right before the home world assault:
(https://i.imgur.com/rUXYGMj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wwuaNo7.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hRnmAJv.jpg)