Part 26: Turns 220-250

Memories of a better time - Let's Play Sword of the Stars as the Hiver Imperium.

Update 13. Turns 220-250

In which everything changes


We start back up, and don't have any actual ships to counter this Dolphin attack. So RIP that colony.


To fight back, the first thing we're going to need is something to disrupt their weapons. Fortunately, we salvaged this a while ago.


We also return to our home.


Now that we have disruptors, we can hopefully start dealing with the enemy DNs


We're going to need a lot of these. Those big cutting equipped DNs are going to be terrible at dealing with these. Between stopping their main guns recharging, and sheer numbers, we ought to be able to ruin their heavy warships.


We can field 6 destroyers alongside our DNs while we build up proper numbers, too.


We're going to need them sooner rather than later.


We also add some light combat destroyers to the fleet.


The thing about mass drivers v destroyers, is they're destroyers are really easy to spin around.
You see how that destroyer is at a 90 degree angle?


We're taking the Morrigi for a little spin.


While we try and catch the enemy destroyer, lets look at our Spinal Mount Destroyers. A single heavy driver on a destroyer. No wonder we literally spun the enemy to the edge of the map.


When we FINALLY catch up, he's still spinning. I wish I'd had fraps turned on actually, because it was amazing. Spinning two full revolutions a second. Down from three when we lost sensor lock.


We also researched Particle beams. While we didn't get any of the followup heavy beams, we DO get phasers. Hopefully we'll get PD phasers and be able to ignore missiles forever.


I've also gotten boarding pods, so hopefully we can disruptor torp the heck out of their ships, then steal them and make them fight themselves.


3 DNs, 35 destroyers and 4 boarding cruisers.


First blood goes to the dragons.


After that though our DNs clean up. Not sure why I didn't get more screenshots of this one.


After the fight, they offer us a ceasefire.


We lost a few destroyers and stuff, so the nu8mbers look terrible.


This is not how you ceasefire!


We make it cease fire. (I am ashamed how few shots of the Morrigi DNs I got)


We salvaged this too. And it'll only take a single turn to research! So it's another chance at grabbing assimilation plague and its vaccine.


We succeed in researching it in one turn. The problem with bioweapons is that they can critically fail when researching them. And infect one of your worlds.


The Tarka come by to say hello. But we have some new toys to greet them.


ARE YOU READY TO FEEL PAIN, TARKA?


Or you could just shoot down my siege driver shots with your Phaser PD I guess.


I wasn't the only one not paying attention to things though.


Still, owies


Well uh. Lets try some serious energy based destroyer spam.


The plague sticks around for multiple turns.


This update could be to Flight of the Bumblebees.


Meanwhile, elsewhere the Liir are still trying to use bioweapons. DNs can take out their biowar sections though!


The Liir have an answer for that, too.


Our fleet has enough firepower to scatter the missiles though.


Fun fact, a ship isn't considered destroyed until its payload of biomissiles are destroyed as well as the actual hull. Our planetary defense missiles have a hard target cleaning up some of the strays.


Our homeworld is now re-developed.


The Tarka do not relent in their attacks on us though.


After it looked like my boarding pods were being pd phasered in their bays, I refit my boarding ships with some light shields. I was busy fighting and didn't screenshot them though.


This isn't going to go well.


We have another fleet battle elsewhere, and our worlds gain another kill.


It takes a little bit o everything to smash more DNs.


We grabbed tractor beams, and get the followup of gravity control, making our planets more productive.


So many beeeeees.


We finally launch a fleet to an unknown system.


No enemies, but it lets us open trade routes in Ymar.


The whole disruptor/boarding thing hasn't been working out that well, so I'll get some regular torpedoes I guess.


This time, we are hitting an enemy colony for real! :murder:


They don't mopve any ships in to stop us. The power of a good farcast.


Lets rock their world!


I guess these are construction ships rather than cruiser freighters.


Get blasted.


We've got some good research options to get back to firepower parity.


Our continued mining operations encounter a hazard.


This is a gravity mine that has caught our ships. And there are asteroids around. Well that could be worse I guess.


OH GOD THERE ARE ROCKS EVERYWHERE AND THEY'RE ALL BEING PULLED IN


A lot of the asteroids hit my gateship. And spin it like mad. The crew are permenantly sick from being spun around for 2 minutes at high speed, but they survive.


we follow up with an attack on an undefended Tarkan world.


Kerberos fall without us intervening.


The Nuremberg Trials fleet misjumps, and the Tarka jump on it. This is a warfleet they dropped on us, we're doomed.


While we lost another fleet, but our scientists can research something AMAZING.



Remember how the Liir destroyed one of our DNs with these from a single volley? NOW WE HAVE THEM OURSELVES.


I boost funding to research to help out.


Oh. And we're back to 20 colonies.

It's turn 250. And in 5 turns or so we'll be able to field DNs and cruisers that can match our neighbours for firepower.
It's time to get our war on. And maybe I'll remember to screenshot everything that's happening. Like my Boarding pods getting hit by PD while they are still on their cruisers >: (