Part 16: Episode II: 2322 - 2350

Episode II: 2322-2350

Having discovered that the Humans are trying to run away with the galaxy, the Klackons attempt to counter this ...




6-10 years faster than we'd have been able to do it with other races. Primodius sends 16M colonists, which takes it down to the midway point and will just about exactly get Endoria to the one-third sweet spot. That worked out almost perfectly.

We're about to wrap up research and get the next colony ship out; we can reach at least two new worlds assuming we get there first, and will need to scout beyond them afterwards. Time to start stretching our legs a little more. One thing's for sure; Earth isn't sitting this one out.




Ok this is bizarre. Playing the Klackons, and we're getting all the propulsion options! Apparently we forgot that we are supposed to suck at this, though the costs are still increased of course. I like the Nuclear Engines here because they are the cheapest and will help with both any combat ships we might want to design and also getting places quickly for scouting.

Kholdan has another colony ship to build, and research will be canceled temporarily while we get the Recons we need out there from Primodius. 8 more of them according to my calculations. That can just barely be handled in one year. It's mostly back to building up after that, but Primodius will put a bit into research, with everything now headed towards the waste-reduction option.




Immediately the new colonists spot a human scout nearby. Oh good, they are neighbors. Primodius will send 14M right away and more gradually ... we can't afford the full amount Escalon would like to take on.




Wow. Gaze upon that and be amazed. Size-90 Rich planet ... that is a great treasure. Whoever gets this system will have a big advantage, if they can keep it.




This was the last one we were sure we could reach, our 5th system. It did bring Rana(mid-sized Arid) within reach, and a just-finished Colonizer headed there next as we pushed further into the central and center-right of the galaxy.




We've got enough citizens to set up an Endoria to Primodius to Aquilae transport chain, which will help speed up things a bit. It was also time for a few more Recons to keep the scouting push going.




We're a long way from reaching this. Also had our first scout encounter, as the humans came buzzing around Aquilae. Go run over the rest of the galaxy fellas, we got here first.




Boo.





Very nice ... and also probably in range once we get control of Rana. Based on where I've seen the human scouts, I think Sol is probably that yellow star right in the middle, with nobody at the other one to the right shockingly. We may be able to make a good run down the side here and pick up a lot of territory. Fingers crossed.

You can also see around this point the horde of ships we have flying every which way, Recons and transports. Transit time becomes a much bigger issue the larger the map is, and it quickly gets exceedingly complex to scout things efficiently. Already made a couple minor errors in that.

I'm also transferring extra pop from Endoria, our Ultra Poor, to Primodius, because it can use them a heck of a lot better and is our research center, such as it is, for right now. They'll also be closer for shipping out to Rana and wherever else we go.




2339. We chase off our first Silicoid scout here(green). It's in range, but we'd need to get that Barren tech first and we haven't even started it yet.




This is a nice human colony. That's close to Vox, and they may well win the race there. This is the farthest to the right I've seen them, but it's got 20M pop already so they've been there for a bit. Looks like we'll be meeting them soon. I can feel the land grab just starting to wind down here.




Three scout encounters with humans the next year. One is here, another nice planet of theirs. The other confirms that Sol is that yellow star in the middle of the galaxy map. It has 18 missile bases, if you care to know.




Wow. Two good-sized fertile planets right next to each other. We're headed there at maximum speed with our next couple of colony ships.




Six now. If we get those two fertiles we'll have a decent base to operate from. IF.




And there we go, first contact. A lot sooner than last time, but I was expecting this. We may not be meeting anyone else for a long time ...




Could be a lot worse. They have only added two more planets in the last 19 years, for a total of nine. They also almost completely seal us off from the rest of the galaxy. Between us we basically control half of it, if not more. A great deal will depend on our relations. In terms of scouting, we've got a couple more green stars in the lower right, and a couple of 'nebula' stars in the upper middle left to visit. Everything in between there has an established boundary.




Interesting. I didn't expect us to be matching them in production. We're not as far behind as I anticipated being. No alliances or wars, they are Honorable Technologists -- meaning they'll react twice as strongly to any treaties being broken, won't attack as long as we are in their good graces, and will focus on research. We sign an immediate max trade deal, 125BC. It'll help them more than us, but we'll do far better with them as friends than enemies.




Best we can hope for here is probably delay the Silicoids a bit.




The humans or others will come here eventually. Also far too distant for us to try and defend for now.

2344, a couple years later: Kholdan is done building Colonizers for now. We've got a couple headed to the fertile planets and one more in case we find something else. It's time to seriously ramp up research. Excess population in being funneled to Rana now in preparation for those two being settled. Human scouts have been seen in the area ...




Took literally till the last possible year, 2346, to nab this. With all of the colonies we are building up, I think Industrial Tech 8 is the best option to get em moving faster. I was planning at splitting up research here, but I decided to rush another one. Here's why:




Controlled Barren Environment is often not worth a darn. Couldn't have cared less about it last game. Here though there is a potential windfall. We've got two in the upper-right, and the cursor here points at a third, Misha. That would also give us the range to probably get Reticuli, the green star above and to the left of it. Getting Barren right away could potentially land us up to four more planets, and at least two that nobody else can reach. That's worth a push.

Taking a big risk by doing this though. We have a chance to end up with a big empire, but one that won't be able to defend itself for a while. We're essentially banking on the goodwill of the Humans, and them staying honorable. I think it's a good bet -- but we're in trouble if it's not.

We've also spotted some Mrrshan ships, but haven't seen any colonies yet, them or the Silicoids.




Unbelievable. That lower right corner is really a treasure trove!




Well, we can't just ignore Tundra landings when Vulcan(Tundra, 90, Rich) is beckoning. We'll rush that as well; Barren only took a few years. Next one will be a lot longer, but we've got to go for it. Meanwhile, Kholdan will start cranking out colony ships again, heading for Misha first.

We're in at Vox, one of th4 fertiles! Starting to see a few human military ships in the area, so hopefully we can knock out the other two down here before they decide to interfere.

We probably don't have long now before the Council meets. There are some encouraging signs though with these new acquisitions midway through the opening century.