Part 22: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Just Hand Over All My Tech

How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Just Hand Over All My Tech




Another 'early' tech, as it was expected to take another couple of years. Here is the previously-mentioned Spaceport.




I thought about diverting here, but decided not to; let's grab Robotics and those Robo-Miners, and then we'll dip back down to some cheaper stuff.




Our last trip here is not particularly impressive. Our colony ship is sent on to Bogina as planned. The suggestions for other systems are noted, but I still think this is best. We are making a play not just for one good planet here, but for four of them. That's more important to me than any one somewhere else. Sooner we get up and running there, the sooner we can send out colony bases to the others in the system.




Here's where we're going on the homeworld. The Raider is your basic MIRV-Frigate with battle pods and an optronic computer. Took the shield off because most anything that hits this is going to destroy it. Building a bunch of these to deal with the Hydra, then modernizing to a fleet built around larger ships later is the plan.




SD 3509.4. Meanwhile our income is up with a Spaceport on the homeworld, a finished Automated Factory at Sagan is helping there ... we're starting to get regular improvements now. Soon it won't even be worth mentioning them all.




I hesitated a bit before doing this, but I'm working on getting spaceports in place to boost our income and I think it's worth it. I also want to make Alaozar defensible sooner rather than later, so rushing that long a few turns seemed a prudent investment. The planet being poor and being a significant food source for us right now complicates those efforts. Elsewhere, I'm just buying the second half of the initial automated factory and then letting them build on their own after that.




The Desert planet being Ultra-Poor and LG, this seems definitely the best choice. It'll give us a second incubator - not as good as Mentar I, but it'll do the job and keep us growing.

SD 3509.8 - Our first Spy is now available. I'll stick with that for now.




Vela finished a Lab up a few turns previous. Together they form a welcome addition to our technological efforts.




Bogina extended our range to the lower-right a bit, but we sure don't gain anything from it.




How nice to see you again, Director Rash-lki! Sorry about the whole getting you killed thing last time out. Your fee is acceptable.

Meanwhile, Mentar II has finished a third Raider, and I switch back to expansion with a new colony ship. We aren't building as fast as before as some labor has been switched to farming/research, but the biggest investment is still in the industrial sector. Rash-lki's bonus is better (30% to 20%) than is that of Crassis. I send him on to work on the developing system of Bogina, which in the long-run is going to be a more productive one.




Howdy, and go suck an egg. SD 3510.6. Over a hundred turns to first contact.




They got to Enoch faster than we ever could have. Aggressive Militarists, the Darlok look to be a credible threat.




Buildings tracked right with theirs until late 3508, which we pulled away significantly. Our technology is rated at nearly double what theirs is, and that's most of the difference here. I endeavored to get some treaties going before realizing ... well ... that isn't going to happen.




So we'll just have to try to defend both with our fleet and spies. For now, we are way out of their range. It's 17 parsecs from Alaozar to Enoch, and only the Fische-Enoch wormhole even grants the possibility of communications. They can't even scout any of the other systems we've scouted between us.

SD 3510.8 - We are informed of a war between the Darlok and Sakkra. Good. Stay up there and fight each other.




Good luck with the prototyping once again gives us this the next turn. The Battlestation is an upgraded Starbase basically, the new state-of-the-line in matters of static defense. Comes with Powered Armor for our troops, and of course the Robo-Miners.

Now we can switch back to getting low-level stuff, beginning with Astro Biology.




I think I discovered a bug. The turn before this, I tried to send a citizen from Mentar I to Bogina III as a farmer. The game refused, saying 'no room for another citizen in this job field'. What? Well, there was only one farmer there at the time, another one was grown this year. I think the game had already decided that, and trying to add a second farmer from two different sources was making it think I was trying to divide by zero or something. First time I've run into that.




I wasn't expecting the Biosphere to look like this. I thought it would be a little more ... well, spherical. Or like a BioDome at least kind of look. It's not bad at all, just surprising. Also, this sets a record for me in terms of fastest research in MOO2. Three turns from start to finish.




Yeah, let's get that space academy.




Why am I not surprised. They worked quickly too - they had no spies deployed against us last I checked. They only have one right now, but of course theirs are way better than ours. I'm already building more at Sagan, which is up to 5M citizens and capable of filling in as a producer on small projecdts. Hopefully we can just outnumber them.




Rash-lki is still a better instructor, but he's doubled his leader discount.




And here we go. We have that second spy up and are working towards getting more, but I'm getting the impression it may not matter much. That whole steal-the-galaxy-blind thing was fun in MOO1 as Darloks. It's not so fun in reverse.

Oh, and he killed one of our spies who tried to stop him. He died a hero. An incompetent hero going up against a superagent, but a hero nonetheless.




Here's what our guys look like.

SD 3511.6 - Darlok spy steals Tritanium Armor. Of course he does. I'm going to laugh if the Darloks beat the crap out of the rest of the galaxy with stuff they stole from us. Right before I start screaming.




I'd like soil enrichment, but I need this just to keep up with the Darloks, who already have it. Also rushing more spies out, as this is going to take some time to acquire and will only help a little. Meanwhile ...

"Darlok spy steals Reinforced Hull".

Oh, and the colony ship is done, latest one heading of to Pund. I'd rather expand our territory first, then fill in at this point. I want to push the frontier.

SD 3511.8 - "Darlok spy steals Robo-Miners". That one ticks me off. We get another spy out there the same year, not that it matters since he just replaces the one they killed.

I'm actually rather impressed by this. One Darlok Spy is holding most of our economy hostage.

SD 3512.1 - The carnage is over, at least for now. Possibly because we don't have anything else they want, but either way I've got four agents now in the field and they haven't deployed any against us. I can go back to the business of expanding the freaking empire, at least for the moment.




Our next acquisition.




*Sigh*. I admit this is worse than I expected. I don't think anything other superior tech - which they are just going to steal - will make this stop.

SD 3512.4 - Alaozar II has a Starbase. I didn't go straight to Battlestation because Antarans.

SD 3512.5 - Darlok spy steals Optronic Computer. It's 1-on-5 now. But who cares. Go bother the Sakkra, you're at war with them not us ...




Orange star to the right of Pund. Yay.




Sure did. The 'visit' lasted 3-4 seconds.




Starting to fill out the other planets in Bogina.




Yep, this we know.




Interestingly, at least from this desc - I've been there once but don't remember it - Orion appears to not be 'double Artifact' in MOO2. But it is Ultra Rich, whereas the MOO1 version was standard for industry. Who'd want a piece of junk planet like this anyway?

So we still appear to be doing quite well, but it'd be a heck of a lot better if the Darloks would just make like a black hole and disappear.