Part 162: Episode XVI: Opening

Episode XVI: Opening

Third time's the charm with the Bulrathi, hopefully.




Tough selection of foes overall. No Humans/Silicoids, but pretty much every other decent or better race is out there. However, it looks like we have a decent shot at locking down the lower-left quadrant here. Chances of us being boxed in for a third straight time are not high.

Emperor Bullux approves.




Red and green options to the lower-right. Really hoping the green one is good, because we'd probably get at least something from that yellow star as well if so.




Tolerable.




We at least have a second option for sure. Been a while since we could say that. Eight Recons are on the menu for this game, a decent amount.




It's across dark space, 5 parsecs out, so it's unlikely we'll get this. Probably the best we can hope for is to delay someone else getting it. Still, nothing but standard systems so far.




The recon rush, as of 2307. Just because I think it's cool how they gradually spread out away from the homeworld, and I haven't done one in a while. We have yet to see any other species, so some early confirmation that we've got a nice spot here. What a difference it makes.

We have Vulcan for sure that we can land on. The red in the corner and the nearby yellow star are two more possibilities. With any additional fortune we should be able to get four systems minimum before having to research more range. It has been many, many games since that happened.




Nice size for a rich world. We'll definitely want to keep our eyes on this, and Tundra won't take long to get if it's in our tree. Also, just four parsecs away and a stepping-stone to expanding along the bottom of the galaxy. All kinds of strategic value in this system.




DAAAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!! Anyone else get the feeling this galaxy is an apology from the game for the last two? Meanwhile transports to Talas have been completed, and Ursa settles in to the job of industrialization.




Once again the kitties start in the center. Dunatis(Ocean, 60M, 5M pop, recently colonized). Looks like they'll be favorites take that next-door homeworld-sized ocean system of Ajax eventually.




If we get Firma reasonably quickly, Zhardan could well come along for the ride.




Even better odds that Berel would. I really want to find out if we are going to get Tundra(or if not, Dead in the same tier).




Dark space is looking like an increasingly stiff border. Again, that only furthers the value of Firma.




Another quality system in our backyard.




We're looking at basically walling this off for the future. 2311, and that's the last of them. We're looking at Kailis(homeworld-sized terran yellow nearby) and Vulcan(large poor system, the closest red one). Proteus, one of the ones we just scouted, is probably in range after Kailis as well. That would be five. Then we go for Firma, getting Berel and hopefully Zhardan also if we get there. That's 7-8, and then we see who's pushed along the bottom of the galaxy in our direction.

A real clear direction here. Firma would be an early shipbuilding center and strong point, dark space will protect us in all other directions for a while, and potentially five(a high for the LP I think?) systems without a single range research. One uninhabitable, one occupied, and the only hostile worse than Tundra is the tiny rich one in our pocket. This is up there with the Meklar game in terms of starting position, maybe even better. Only the Mrrshan with the artifact system right away was probably better.

Psilons & Klackons or no, the Bulrathi are going to be a force in this galaxy. We're not here to just show up for a while this time. I'm not ready to guarantee a win or any such nonsense but we should be able to make our presence felt forcefully.

Just a trickle went into the first Colonizer starting in 2323, then more significant investment the following year. The initial tech pull will be delayed because we just don't need it yet. Right now everything's going towards building up our first colony of Talas and getting more systems claimed. Nobody has gotten off to a super-fast start like the Klackons last time, and I'm grateful for that.