Part 40: Evolving Towards Perfection

Evolving Towards Perfection

The Sakkra have hilariously blockaded the Wolf system, but I can't be bothered to make the long journey to remove them. They'll move on their own eventually ... one way or the other.




There's a fungus among us! Sorry, not sorry.

Transwarp fields, as Biology is also done.

** Displacement Device - Flat 30% chance of evading any enemy shot before anything else is considered.
** Inertial Nullifer - +100 beam defense, and turning costs no movement points.
** Sub-Space Teleporter - Can teleport 20 squares whenever you feel like it in combat.

I'm not actually sure if I'll use any of these, but they are definitely up there in the space magic department.




I'm then taken directly to this screen.




With no more negative points allowed, the actual choices are fairly limited. Only +1 Research, though it will have minimal impact at this stage, is really in keeping with the theme here. I could make our ships even more OP with a boost to ship attack, or Warlord, remove our food malus, etc. but nothing is going to make much of a difference so I just stick with the program. We'll get the hyper-advanced techs that little bit faster this way.

And then I'm forced to set build queues for another handful of new colonies, like pretty much every turn these days. The work of a megalomaniacal galactic despot is never done.

Battle of Paladia (1:16)


The Sakkra have Battlestations. We don't care - a single ship is enough and there's a lot more coming.




Displacement Device looked more interesting. We also built cloning centers in an absurd amount of locations across the galaxy this turn.




I find this naming unusual. We have been building planets for a while now.

** Artemis System Net - A system of mines that damages energy ships as they enter; 100-500 points each minus shields. Smaller ships can evade most of them, but the big ones are out of luck.
** Doom Star Construction - Ah yes. The description ingame is rather understated, but basically this is the biggest ship we can build. Clearly a Death Star reference as has been referred to, they are of 'planetoid' size only they can fly around and blow things up.




SD 3520.0 - And here they are. Yay.

Interphased Fission for a mere 10k.

** Interphased Drives - Upgrade to Warp 7 capability.
** Neutronium Bomb - 10-60 damage on surface targets. Our Plasma Cannons are doing just fine for that.
** Plasma Torpedoes - 120 damage, losing 5 per square (24 range).

All of these are basically straight ports from MOO1 versions. Having ships move around faster is somewhat useful to me; the weapons will be ignored.

So next step up is to equalize population on my planets as much as possible - time to step up the shipping of citizens around. New systems need fresh labor to develop and get to the point where they can build artificial planets. Established ones have no need of being maxed out just yet - there's nothing I need to build on them.

SD 3532.1 - The Antarans are back, and ticking me off. Our capture fleet is in the center of the galaxy, so it can get anywhere in four turns, their usual ETA. Instead, they are headed to Polaris. In two turns. We have nothing in range. Even weirder, it is but a single cruiser. So it WOULD have been an easy capture.

I'll try to rush ships out at a couple of nearby systems, but it's doubtful. New plan: every industrial-capable world will do a stupid amount of stockpiling, so that they can build ships on location at a moment's notice. I'm still annoyed, but we have scanning coverage over the entire galaxy at this point. As we continue developing the frontiers, there will eventually be nowhere left for their raiders to hide ...

Also, we finished a Dimensional Portal at Mentar the same time, just to do it. Coincidence?




Keeping with the candlestick theme, is this the best one we can make?




Indeed it is. Range will no longer be an issue once we get our next target. Thorium Fuel Cells serve the same function as in the first game, giving unlimited capabilities there.




The Antarans are a turn away from Polaris, entering the galaxy two turns away - our capture fleet is at Pund. All that stuff headed towards Unuk is colony ships. Tatiana and Klackon didn't have enough stockpiled to get even a single ship (which against a lone cruiser might have been enough) in the fight.

In terms of the delay, it probably doesn't really matter all that much. We still have a bunch of systems to clear and recolonize, and when that's done build them up so we can fill out all the potential planet slots in them with handcrafted ones ... so I've got to wait around for that anyway.

I've also developed a little better way to go through microing each turn. There's not that many slots within the settler limit each time out, and I'm heavily abusing the Food, Population, and Producing filters on the Colonies screen to find stuff quickly. So that pain is mitigated considerably, esp. with an increasing number of systems at the extremes - either fully developed or just starting out. We have 'only' about 5k research every cycle right now, a temporary decrease.

Battle of Polaris(1:16)


We can't capture it, but we can sure as heck blow it out of near orbit. Featuring the Mauler, our new missiles, the Star Fortress ... a single cruiser, even an Antaran one, is no threat.




Meanwhile here's how the offensive goes. Weg is our first occupied system in former Sakkra space, and now the colony ships are fanning out there. The bulk of the fleet is further west. A single Obscenity can level any opposing system while yawning and holding a euchre tournament for all but a skeleton crew, so we're working on crushing all resistance on the galactic rim, then will move downwards. We're about to bring TechnoGeek 'justice' to those frontier systems the Darloks seized long ago and have held for so long.

None will be suffered to live, of course. Nazin and Thuban remain out of range, but that's a very temporary situation.

One side 'benefit' of the fungus amongus is that the AI Governors now think it's a really good idea for newly grown population to be farmers on developing worlds. One of the more annoying regular activities is reminding them that no, we're going to ship all that stuff in.

Battle of Zaoth (3:03)


Our first Darlok fight. They have a bunch of different ships. With good armor. Even one of our older active designs shows disrespect to their rag-tag fleet, though they did do significant damage




We would also have gotten Adamantium Armor here, if we didn't already have it. Range is no longer a problem.




Only two choices left to get new stuff from. Temporal Physics here:

** Star Gate - Movement is instantaneous between any two colonies of ours. That really should virtually eliminate the problem with intercepting Antaran fleets - I can position close to the frontier in case they go there and then be able to head anywhere that we have settled before they arrive.
** Stellar Converter - Can be mounted on ship or planet, automatically does 400 damage to all four shields of a ship, and when used to bombard a planet ... destroys it.
** Time Warp Facilitator - A ship equipped with these slips in and out of the time-space continuum ... how that works is anybody's guess ... which appears to allow it to have double combat turns? We're definitely into the 'stupidly overpowered' segment here at the top of the tech tree.

So we definitely need to get one of them thar Stellar Converters in place. I've recently selected the planet to use it on.




Even as we methodically rampage through their systems, the Sakkra have destroyed Meklon with a group of three battleships. This will of course not really matter, but I was hoping to leave that as the only hostile system. All fighting is restricted to a narrow strip along the left of the galaxy. Soon not even that will be in dispute.

We don't just speak for the Council ... we ARE the Council (2:48)


Of course this is not the 'real' or 'canon' ending to this game, but it's the first opportunity to show it. I particularly like the total hogwash arse-kissing by the other races. A couple new cutscenes, and I am congratulated on my 'magnificent' score.

Such pleasantries dispensed with, I now have no use for other races to continue to exist other than prolonging the game.




That's .... not what I was expecting. What I think they're saying here is that they've hated us for a long time, but knew we were too strong to oppose directly.




Intriuiging, and she'd make a fine leader for Alaozar and help it feed the empire. I don't think she's worth getting rid of any of my current governors though. REJECTED.




Perfect. I moved most of my spies on to the attack to sabotage, for the sole purpose of hoping they get killed as I wrap this up to save money. Darloks gotta Darlok, but they won't be alive long to enjoy it. Only Nazin remains, and warships are making their way in it's general direction so not for long.