Part 35: Tipping Point
Tipping PointMore Antaran Blather (0:23)
Since they decided to say something new. They're going after Irra again. They seemed to have settled upon 3 Destroyers + 2 Frigates as an appropriate strike force. I could get there in time to fight them, but I don't care enough. Irra isn't worth the effort. I'm sure the 4M TechnoGeek citizens there won't be happy to hear that, but they knew the risks. Like Pund getting blown up again by the Silicoids, we will eventually get to a point of defending everything but right now the Klackons are priority.
SD 3526.9 - A new gun arriveth. Pursuant to suggestions, I'll redo the designs to include these. I'm not going to be doing a refitting though - I'll just gradually replace our ships in the fleet with plasma-armed Obscenities. The ones we already have I still want to try out on the attack.
Only because it's a bit cheaper than the others.
** Food Replicators convert 2 production into 1 food if needed. As has been mentioned, this is a bad idea compared to just growing more food and shipping it around. Which is why I'm building freighters like a drunken sailor and about 150 of them right now.
** Transporters are for ... transporting things. 12-parsec range for both bombing a planet or sending marines to an enemy ship (if shields facing you are down). I'll eventually use these for that whole Antaran thing.
SD 3527.1 - Approaching 2k research/turn now. These are coming in ridiculously fast.
Tectonic Engineering, because why not build even more ridiculously fast.
** Deep Core Mining - 15 production, +3 per worker. The next step after Automated Factories and Robo Miners.
** Core Waste Dump - Going full space-magic on the pollution issue, we'll just store it in the core of the planet. An infinite amount of it. Forever. Uh-huh, right. It does completely eliminate pollution though, so I can get rid of all those other pesky anti-pollution buildings when I have these.
Tatiana Again (12:53)
Suffice to say we got that missile problem solved. Couldn't board the starbase because we blew it up too quickly :P. Like the right-click-rotation, esp. after I have some time to get used to it. But ... why do some of my ships not want to bomb the planet?
Anyway, now we are just waiting for some transports to get here so we can conquer these fools and commence with spreading the Klackon servants around.
A Klackon strike group of 2 Battleships & 2 Frigates was smashed by a starbase/missile base combo at Carcosa, confirming the superiority of our defenses. However ... this is a thing. Individually I'm not concerned about them, but I am curious what this Silicoid group of 10 Battleships, a Cruiser, and a Destroyer - with Transports - is going to do now that they've seized Fierias. It'd be nice to have an opportunity to face off against them, because I'm certain they'd fare worse than we would and then they'd have to rebuild.
But I'm not going to go chasing them. At the moment I'm secure enough in what we are doing to split off a few ships to guard a system or two against incursions, but mostly I just don't care what the others do so long as they continue to fear attacking our fortified systems. Taking out the Klackons is more important than anything they are doing.
SD 3527.4
Apparently it's a simple as digging a really big hole really deep. It is worth noting that it requires a stupid amount of maintenance (8 ea.), and with the other pollution-reducers I actually don't think, at least yet, that I'm really going to build these. I don't have enough pollution to make them worth it. On really big worlds, or if I didn't have the pollution processor/atmospheric renewer combo, it would be different. Probably a good subject for more theorycrafting.
High-Energy Distribution. With no apparent threat to us anymore, I'm simply choosing now by cheapest price first, and by usefulness as I see it second.
** Energy Absorber - We saw this a long time ago. A quarter of the damage taken is absorbed and needs to be fired on the next turn.
** High Energy Focus - The MOO2 version increases base damage of all weapons by 50%. The way it is worded, it sounds like maybe range doesn't matter for damage calculations anymore with this?!?
** Megafluxers - They ... flux really bigly? Adds 25% space due to improve handling of energy, and are automatic - I don't need to add them like the Battle Pods.
Between the HEF and the Megafluxers, effective firepower will be massively increased and I'll naturally need to redesign again. Also, that big Silicoid fleet is headed to Willow. The fleet can't get there in time. In preparation, I'm maxing out defenses with everything I can throw at it. I already have Battlestation/Missile Base/Radiation Shield, and will add a Fighter Garrison and Ground Batteries by the time they show up. Honestly, based on what I've seen in recent battles I don't think they have much of a chance unless their new battleship type is a major improvement on the Fury, but I can't be certain - I've not yet seen a battle of this scale.
Willow Confrontation (7:25)
Twas actually a decent fight. We didn't get ground batteries up, because a blockade prevented it. They knocked out the planetside installations but our battlestation stood firm, though it took a pretty fair pounding. As for the rocks ... well, their shipyards will be busy and I don't expect any more attacks in force for a bit.
While waiting for ground troops to arrive, the fleet has been smashing Klackon defense installations to avoid boredom. Since they have several 'battalions' or whatever guarding each planet, I'm having the homeworld build more transports anytime we drop below a half-dozen operational. That way there will always be a steady flow towards to front. Here, we have three in place so I figured it was time to proceed. They have a racial bonus and adamantium armor - we have like four other things that are better. Only one casualty was reported the ground commander. Acceptable losses.
We don't need it, but sure.
Same nominees. Same votes across the board. Everyone abstains. 18 for Sauron, no one else with more than 14 but us. We have 24. Our lead is gradually growing, and we are three votes shy of a veto bloc. Not that it matters in the galaxy of Everyone Hates Everyone.
Have a look at the new HEF.
Distortion Fields are next, because I say so.
** Cloaking Device only actually cloaks completely on the galaxy map. When 'cloaked' in combat, beam defense is +80 and missiles have a 50% chance to miss. Firing removes the cloak of course, and you have to take a turn without shooting to be eligible to put it back up. Other than bombers sneaking in to attack a target, I sort of fail to see the point. We certainly don't need it.
** Hard Shields do several nice things. They work in nebulas, counteract transporters completely, and are immune to shield-piercing. They also reduce damage from all attacks by an additional 3 points.
** Stasis Field places a target in suspended animation. The field has a 3-square range and interestingly has a theoretically infinite duration - until it is turned off or destroyed. Prevents recharging, attacking, being attacked, cloaking .. but it doesn't say you can't move?!?
Anyway, Hard Shields are why I picked this. It's difficult for me to imagine a scenario in which they wouldn't be best.
Are you sure you want to insult us? Like, really??
What's that, you're the single most irrelevant race still around in the galaxy? Oh, ok.
Hmm, this actually looks useful. It's one of those things you don't even have to build, you just get the effects.
We're losing on average about 3 troops per invasion; apparently got lucky that first time. Tatiana is now completely pacified. To make up the slack, a second planet (Bogina III) is now sending out troop ships. It's no problem, whenever we need something these days we simply point at one of many planets that can get it done and give the order.
Same turn. This is good timing as yet another redesign may commence.
Let's talk about Cybertechnics, aka Androids. All three categories are +3 in their discipline, require 1 production instead of food to supply them, are immune to morale/racial bonuses, and produce no income. Frankly, with Klackons to build stuff and TechnoGeeks to research, I don't even want them. But they are a thing.
I finally bothered grabbing this toxic world, shown for the distinctive purplish hue.
We're going up so fast that only a single of the Mark-III Obscenity was built. For this one, I do not add the hard shields for space concerns. I've eliminated the bombs as the plasma weapons are doing just fine annihilating any planetary defenses we come up against, and now I have phasors for PD duty.