Firefox users may have trouble seeing the entire AAR. Apparently Firefox has some trouble viewing these very long, pic heavy posts. Switch over to IE or some other browser if you're having trouble.
Inspired by positive feedback, I'll take another crack at putting together an AAR. I've tweaked my conditions a little bit as I've found what kind of game I like. My last game worked out well, so I'll use the same conditions, except that I'm jacking the difficulty up to Masochistic.
I upped planets and habitable planets from uncommon to occasional. Otherwise you're looking at 80% or more extremes with a frequent extreme setting.
I also decided to go for a custom race. I like to string together a narrative while I'm gaming, so I gave them a little backstory:
I edited the races a bit based on what I've read on the forums. As usual, I played with a range restriction. This time it's -100. My custom race got 20 points to spend instead of 15. I also removed the Arceans -10 speed penalty.
The Gaians shipped off to colonize a new planet long before humanity developed hyperdrive. They spent a long time in space, stretching their resources thin. When they finally arrived, they found the Gaia system to be devoid of inhabitable planets and were forced to reroute to a nearby star system. There they settled a barren planet, renamed Gaia, and over time nursed it into a thriving world (race PQ bonus and Super Isolationist barren world colonization abilities.) Creativity and research were critical to their survival, and they learned to be happy with what they had and to economize on scarce resources. These are the abilities that I like, so I'm doing some reverse justification, but it makes a nice story. It also happened that the star Gaia ended up being my immediate neighbor, so it worked out nicely.
I picked the races for ethical balance:
3 good, 3 neutral, and 3 evil. And Masochistic
The Gaians will use the Terran tech tree, for obvious reasons, and I plan to play them out as neutral. I had my evil run with the Yor for a couple games and I'm just not up to going good quite yet. That makes 4 neutrals, but it's better to weight the middle I suppose.
Well, with everything set it's time to go.
The map turned out nicely on the first run. I ended up sandwiched between the Terrans and Altarians, which fits the story nicely. I actually view the Altarians as another offshoot of humanity that got all uppity and goody. I notice the Yor directly to the south of me, but it doesn't occur to me until later that including the Yor may have been to my disadvantage. As Super Isolationists, the Gaians take advantage of both abilities. Slowing enemy ships down to 3pc/turn allows me plenty of time to react when I see them invade my space. Helps me defend and also helps when they come after the uncolonized planets in my space. I can usually cut them off in time. It's very difficult to sneak up and surprise me - only if I'm not paying attention. Also, and critical to the discussion, being able to colonize barren planets is a nice advantage considering the conditions I play - not very many habitable and lots of extremes. I've considered Super Adapter to get Toxic and Aquatic colonization, but slowing enemy ships is too nice to give up. Soooo, now I have the Yor right next to me and they can colonize barren worlds, too. Here's hoping I can beat them to the punch, then.
Unfortunately, I have to stop here for now. I'm 1.5 years into the game, so there will be a quick update coming. Things are starting to move, and I'm eager for some action. I can't play until I write it up, so I have plently of motivation!
Hi Tolmekian. It looks like it was my crappy old keyboard that was causing the screenshot problem. I bought a new keyboard and now it works!
I did change the range to -150, but to be honest I'm not sure if it's working when I go in the game. I had heard that changing the range doesn't work in Twilight of the Arnor, is this true?
It should work fine. I replied in your thread about changing range, in the modding forum or something, but here's the deal.
First, after you mod the range you can see right away if the mod is being used when you set up a game. Just click on all the races in your "choose race" screen, and look for the -150 range to be listed among their abilities.
Second, there should be a very noticable reduction in your initial range, especially at -150. Try a game with normal range, notice your initial range, then try the modified range. It should jump right out at you. If not, something's wrong.
Third, now that you know how to find the screenshots, remember how I mentioned the raceconfig.xml files are there, too? Well, that's where the game stores the race set up - customization points, political parties, etc, for use while you play your game. Once the files are in there, that's where the game looks for them. You'll have to delete all the raceconfig.xml files in the My Games\GC2TwilightArnor to make the game go back to the Data\English folder to use your modified raceconfig.xml file. Make sense? I don't know what will happen if you're already playing a game - does the game grab the modified files or can you not play that game anymore?
Fourth, have fun! When you change the range, remember to change it for all the races. I only modified the major races the first time I did it. So all the majors had very limited range while the minors were allowed to cruise all over the galaxy and claim resources!
Ok thanks Tolmekian-funnily enough I found the screenshots folder with a whole lot of screenshots from previous games but strangely it wont save any from the current game that I am playing which is providing the material for my current AAR so I am still having to do the whole Alt Tab thing-most annoying
An excellent reading, Tolmekian! I wonder how I haven't seen it when you begun writing... I beg your pardon. Keep it up!
Thanks, Eidolon.
Anyone have any suggestions for posting thumbs or smaller pics? I know it can be done, but I just don't know how. The code that comes from ImageShack doesn't seem to work on this forum. It'll post the thumb, but it won't link back to the larger image. I'd just post links, but they just don't look as nice.
Things have gotten intense for the Gaians, but I'm reluctant to post if it's gonna be impossible to view. Guess I'll try some and hope I get it figured out before this page gets out of hand.
Tolmekian- I would just resize all the pics to about 500 or 600 pixels wide. I use photoshop or lightroom for this, I'm not sure what software you have though...
The first page that Imageshack gives you actually has a pseudo-clickable thumbnail link that you can use. Just edit out the URL tags, paste the IMG tags (and the URL contained therein) into your reply, and use the hyperlink button in the reply box (somewhat like an infinity sign), then insert the URL found between the URL tags into that selection.
Make sense?
I use the 'Direct' URL on imageshack Tolmekian-that works for me
Thanks all for the help. I was able to follow your instructions, Sole Soul, and it looks like that's the way I'll do it. A bit fiddley, but it'll help keep the AAR from getting to cumbersome. I've got quite a bit to post now. Things got exciting and I couldn't help but push onward. Now it's time to go back and make sense of it. Hopefully tomorrow I can get something up.
Sorry for the long delay. Been busy. Still have to sit down write this all out. Tomorrow is busy, but here's looking to Friday.
Can't wait! Thanks Tolmekian...
Ditto-cant wait mr!
Oct 2232
I don't know where to begin. My logs usually contain the operational minutiae of the Expedition, but the events of the past two and a half years render the details so much less significant. A time of great strife has come and gone, leaving some sovereign entities a thing of the past. The Expedition itself has emerged as a galactic leader, unparalleled in size and power. We’ve gone from 29 planets to 59, and expanded our galactic resources from 4 to 11. Our population has more than doubled to almost 625 billion, but over one quarter of our citizens are non-Gaian. Accommodating the influx of such a diverse population has been a challenge, and significant change has swept across the Expedition. Though there is currently a Tenuous peace in the galaxy, the wounds of war are still fresh. It has fallen upon the Gaians the lead the galaxy forward.
The Pan Galactic War
Everyone could see it coming, but none could have guessed its scale. What began as a conflict of ethics and border tension between the Gaians and Altarians erupted into a galaxy wide war involving very nearly every sentient being in the galaxy. Only a few of the minor races managed to remain neutral throughout the entire war - the Akilians, Carinoids, and Snathi. Of the others, only the Lentzlandiands survived the war as a sovereign power.
In early 2230 we laid claim to the last 4 uncolonized planets in the galaxy. Two of them, Kievi II and Sitlet II, in the galactic northwest, just north of Terran space, and the other, Quatrale III, on the far eastern edge of our range. Najmanowicz IV lay firmly in Gaian space, just west of Gaia herself. With no other expansion available we focused on development and exploration of the last unseen corners of the galaxy. We finally made contact with the reclusive Arceans and discovered the homeworld of the Scotlingas. All races were making advancements, with capitals of all types being constructed across the galaxy, along with some great achievements, such as the Dark Energy Lab and Galactic Guide book built by the Drath.
It wasn't long, however, before tensions ignited a small conflict. The Drath Legion declared war on the Drengin Empire and was quickly joined by the Arcean Empire. Given their isolation on the south and southwest edges of the galaxy, it was easy for the other races to remain uninvolved - for a time. The Altarians soon declared war on the Scotlingas, and there was little hope for the Scots. Our own relations with the Altarians quickly declined. Our close borders, colonization disputes, and conflicting ideologies had always colored our interactions with them, but events on Kievi II may have sown the seeds of war. Our colonists had discovered a base being used by criminals to deal in stolen space craft and parts and forged an agreement with them to improve shipbuilding there. We got superior ships and protection from the criminals, but the Altarians suffered the brunt of their predations. When news of the agreement was leaked, it ignited a diplomatic fiasco that helped speed conflict between us. Add to this the Torians attempt to cheat us in a technology exchange and we were quickly aware of the need to prepare for the worst.
So the Torians want to trade me Fleet Warp Bubbles III for Xeno Entertainment, huh? Notice how there's nothing on their side of the table? That's cuz I already have FWBIII. Nice try Torians! Also first contact with Arceans and Relations before the outbreak of war. Criminal ethical choice on Kievi provided a narrative background for poor relations and war.
Foreseeing conflict, we prepared by advancing our weapons research to perfect Particle Beams I. We then designed and began construction of the Hellion class frigate to deter hostility. We perfected our ability to utilize toxic worlds to best utilize our technological capital on Mamba and our projected manufacturing capital on Kupe, then perfected our economic expertise, allowing for construction of Galactic Stock Exchanges. Our scientific creativity saves us about 2 months worth of research along the way. After improving our ships with Superior Hulls, we realized that any war would involve planetary invasions and massive ground operations. To that end, we exhausted all research on invasion and soldiering techniques and began work on a grand training center for our soldiers (Tir Quan Training). Immediately prior to the war there was an influx of foreign agents attacking our interests. We began developing means to most effiiently counteract them (Counter Espionage Centers.) Our own agents were establishing comprehensive networks within most other governments.
To further improve our finances, we both established and received a trade route with the Yor and began trading with the Dominion of Korx. We were able to increase taxes to 55% while maintaining 91% approval. In a controversial move, we began establishing work camps using techniques learned from the Drengin during the technological exchange (I started building and buying Slave pits.) The work camps remain controversial, but establishing an industrial manufacturing base simply required far too much time and financial investment to be practical in the circumstances. The days of the work camps are coming to an end, but I'm certain history will judge them well.
Then the time came. The spectre of war loomed darkly, and all preparation would be put to the test. The Terrans were already moving against the Paulos and the Yor against the Lentzlandians. On the eve of Pan Galactic War, our diplomats met with their counterparts in the Yor Collective and Drengin Empire. Swift negotiations and our gift of Xinathium Hull Plating to both partners brought about an alliance against the coming assault along with financial aid to our war effort. We also traded weapons and economic technology to the Yor for miniaturization and improved Impulse engines. Our diplomats were still en route to return home when they hailed us with the news. We were informed of the outbreak of open war throughout the galaxy. A coalition of the Altarians, Torians, Drath, and Thalans had declared war against the Yor and Drengin. Knowing our fate should our allies fall, we had no choice but to side with them. We brokered a peace treaty between the Arceans and Drengin,but the Arceans quickly sided with the coalition. Thus we found ourselves at war with 5 major powers at once. Knowing we would be busy with our immediate neighbors the Altarians, our diplomats managed to convince the Korx, who then had the mightiest fleet in the galaxy, to join the war against the Thalans. The Terrans remained neutral for a time, but expanded their war to include the Dark Yor as well. It seems they considered it an excellent opportunity to strengthen their hold on the northwest while we were otherwise occupied.
The outbreak of war and our Hellion MkII. The Hellion isn't much, but it did its job. So, here's what happened: I saw how things were going and decided to ally with the Yor and Drengin. That way if the Altarians made a move they'd be in trouble. I click the turn button and everything goes crazy. Yor were paid to attack Altarians, Altarians and Thalans were paid to attack Drengin. I smell Drath manipulation. So Altarian Super Organizer makes Torians and Drath Attack Yor. I get the prompt to aid my allies against 4 civs and decide to go for it. Drengin make peace with Arceans, Arceans are paid to attack Drengin right away, so I got drawn into war with them, too.
The outbreak of war saw immediate action. With a number of our trade routes passing through Altarian space, they were easy prey for raiders. Two of our planets repeled invasions - the last invasions of Gaian planets throughout the war. We also lost a couple of our newly acquired mining starbases. It didn't take long for us to realize that we'd need to overhaul our fleet. The technology exchange ensured that everyone had good shield defenses. Our Hellions were running into trouble against well shielded enemy vessels. Fortunately, the Yor had powerful missile systems and were able to defend our southwestmost colonies from Torian and Drath incursion, though we did lose a number of warships to raids. We were also lucky that the Altarians weren't geared for total war, as they had good shields and mass driver weapons. Our own shields were little help against them. To address this, we designed the Firestorm corvette and Exterminator Missile Frigate.
The earliest Exterminator was rushed into service. It served adequately, but was obsolete even as it came left the shipyard. The Firestorm AB is a much later version designed to defend against the Thalans powerful beam weapons.
To further improve our fleets, we research Stinger IV and began development of Harpoon missile systems. We also traded with the Carinoids and battered Scotlingas for Xalax Defense technology and Titanium armor. Other trades allowed us to progress up to the Exterminator MkIII, with Superior Duranthium armor and Stinger IV. The new MkIIIs had little trouble dealing with Altarian incursions and even venturing into their space. In December 2230, our Tir Quan training center was complete. It was time to finally take the war to the Altarians. Hestia Forge became a stronghold in enemy territory. The Altarians were right to contest our colonization of it. Before the end of the year Hestia IV fell and we were set to sieze the Hestia system entirely. The radioactive world Tacitus IV also fell. The loss of Tacitus was a significant blow to the Altarians. Not only was it very close to our own technological capital, but it was fully developed and home to both the Altarian's economic and manufacturing capitals.
In our final dealing of the year, we sent diplomats secretly to the Dark Yor and Paulos to offer them asylum in the Expedition. With their fleets crushed and Terran transports on the way, it was join us or face annihilation. Knowing of our history with peoples absorbed into the Expedition, they were initially hesitant for fear of being sent to the labor camps. We assured them, however, of complete integration into our society, access to all our technologies and goods, and full voting rights. We even gave them a small fleet of our older fighters. Although we had assumed some Altarians into the Expedition through conquest, the Dark Yor and Paulos became about 10% of our total population. The Terrans were a bit put off, but relations remained businesslike.
It turns out that the AI is fairly willing to trade its planets off if it's losing anyway. I was able to trade the Dark Yor and Paulos all my techs and trade goods plus about a half dozen of my old Phoenix class fighters each for their planets. Thus their full society was integrated into the Expedition. I've since decided only to do this with minors, as majors will do it too. For example, near the end of the war I could have traded for all the planets of the Torians, Thalans, Drath, and Arceans. That's almost 40 planets! Feeling it was a sorry way to end the story, I decided to play it out!
Wow, it's taken me a few hours to get this up. I still have 2231 and half of 2232 to post! I have to stop here for now, but will continue the story later.
Continuecontinuecontinue please... We're all hanging from your lips... uh, keyboard.
Absolutely superb Tolmekian-looks like you are in end-game territory now!
Mar 2232, continued
2231 opened with a particularly rancorous United Planets meeting. Besides the rhetoric you'd expect to accompany a meeting of warring parties, the Terrans introduced a law to boost base constructor speeds. They went on about unarmed vessels and cargo/humanitarian aid transport, but the rest of us saw it for what it was - an attempt to snatch up galactic resources in the confusion of war. The Torians and Thalans voted with the Terrans - at what price I wonder - but other Coalition members sided with us to vote it down. We may be at war, but we could agree that the last thing we needed was for the Terrans to sit on the sidelines and send in constructors to profit at our expense.
The first few months of the year saw an escalation of the war as Torian, Drath, and Arcean warships began to reach our space. Our fleets were still neither powerful nor numerous enough to defend against them all, and we relied heavily on the Drengin and Yor to intercept them. I must admit that I remain impressed by the military might of the Drengin. Their starfleet was much larger and more powerful than would be guessed for an empire so small. Though sandwiched between the Drath and Arceans, they held their own and allowed only a few ships through to our eastern worlds.
Arcean and Drath fleets arriving on our eastern front. The Magica system was the site of many battles. Though hard pressed, our invasion forces siezed Magica III, relieving the beseiged Magica Market. On Magica III we discovered the Drath Legion's Dark Energy Lab.
Just west of Magica, the Mamba and Tacitus systems were also targetted heavily. The GEF Expediton, our oldest serving vessel, was refitted for war and helped to neutralize these transports before they could make landfall.
Aided by the Yor, we were able to conquer the last Altarian planet in the Hestia system, making a powerful stronghold. We also captured Thielbahr IV, the heavy gravity planet within our core systems. By June we launched fleets from the Hestia system to capture Amber I, an Altarian forge world, and Rigel I. Rigel I was a real prize, home to both the Altarian Dark Energy Lab and Orbital Command Center. It was also fully developed and ready to begin production on our own warships. After capturing Rigel it became apparent that the Altarians were fighting a losing war. They were still a threat - the had managed to conquer the Scotlingas at that time - but they had suffered significant losses. Not only had they lost half a dozen planets to us, but they lost two planets to the Yor. Bolstered by our successes, we began planning for an invasion of Altaria itself. Meanwhile, the Drengin managed to conquer the Drath planet Alexandra I with help from a transport given by us as a gift for their assistance. They gained a fully developed manufacturing capital and the Drath Legion's Galactic Guide Book.
Our scientists made a breakthrough development, delivering a functional Harpoon missile system nearly two months earlier than expected. The Exterminator frigate was updated with the new weapons systems and all forge worlds switched production. With the war effort seemingly in hand, research focus shifted. We increased our logistics capacity to allow our fleets to better stand against the enemy, then worked to achieve full production on all our colonies. Many of our core worlds were fully developed, and many of our newer colonies had such hostile environments that production was severely hampered. Since those worlds included our technological capital and captured manufacturing capital, it was urgent that we have them at full capacity. First we implemented techniques to allow greater development of our planets (Habitat Improvement), then we devoted full effort to advanced colonization technology. By June we had mastered the colonization techs and shifted to improved engine technology (Impulse Drive III and Warp).
During this time, a number of developments shaped the nature of our society. Against all expectations, a sudden interest in alien culture and philosophy emerged. Constant news of the war served to fuel interest and in some cases sympathy for the other races in the galaxy. We were also presented with a number of significant challenges to address. We took pains to placate the more sympathetic segment of our population, especially the newly assimilated Dark Yor and Paulos, by cracking down on corruption, answering a call for aid from a minor race, and moving quickly to combat an emergent pandemic.
During our assimilation of the Paulos, their claim on a military galactic resource lapsed. We had the Paulos quickly dispatch another constructor to claim it for the Expedition, but were surprised to find the Jessuins setting up operations when it arrived. The resource was deemed critical to our war effort, so when diplomatic efforts failed we were forced to take extreme measures. Though not warships, all of our constructors carry some form of weaponry on board. That particular one had some Sparrow missiles in the hold. While the Jessuin government was busy grandstanding, we were preparing. There was no way we could allow some minor power to humiliate us and deny us a vital resource. We had only a token force in the northwest, but the Jessuins had no defensive ships at all, instead relying on their isolation and good relationships with local powers to shield them. They would quickly realize, much to their detriment, that the Expedition was the new local power. When the constructor had fitted the missiles, we delivered the final ultimatum. All Jessuin starbases and vessels were declared in violation of Gaian space and were to be surrendered or face destruction. To show our resolve, our constructor opened fire on the undefended mining base, destroying it. Over the next few months, we had no official contact with the Jessuins. We systematically disabled their network of starbases and eliminated their civilian fleet. When we reestablished contact, we were greeted by new faces. It seems that not all Jessuins were unreasonable after all. The new government quickly agreed to the same deal as the Paulos and Dark Yor, solidifying our power base in the northwest with another powerful planet and a research resource the Jessuins had been mining.
Relations with the Terrans remained businesslike, but there was obvious tension over our expansion into what was usually considered their back yard. Their fleets had become quite powerful, and though unwilling to move against us they found other ways to assert their strength. Shortly after the onset of our action against the Jessuins, the Terran Alliance declared war on our ally the Drengin Empire. There was no way we could afford to engage the Terrans, and they knew it. With our fleets in battle throughout the southern and eastern portions of our space, our core worlds and northwestern colonies were sparsely defended against the second most powerful fleet in the galaxy. We knew they were ready for a ground war, too, with transports leftover from their action against the Paulos and Dark Yor. We were forced to dissolve our alliance with the Drengin and grant the Terrans passage through our space. A masterful move by the Terrans. With the Drengin so far away from their space, they were able to project their might without firing a single shot.
Terran fleets moving through our space. A nice parade of strength and a reminder not to trifle with the Terrans. Though we dissolved formal ties to the Drengin, we remained close. We were able to broker a peace treaty for them before the Terrans left our space.
Although our fleets are growing, we are still far from the top. The Terrans emerged as a power and Thalan military production exploded with the onset of war. Looks like the Korx aren't faring well. They lost a colony or two along the way.
The complex web of treaties and war in June 2231, just before we arranged a peace treaty between the Terrans and Drengin.
The June report shows the Expedition still ranked quite low, but that will change.
Lovely new post Tolmekian but what happened with the coding at the top of the post? It's all funny
Also any idea why print screen isnt working for me? I have looked and found the screenshots folder in the appropriate place but no matter how many times I press Ctrl and 'Print screen' nothing ever goes in it?????
Not sure what's happening, but it's because I start the post in Word then paste it here and finish it. Something just doesn't transfer right between Word and the forum.
Kinda stumped about printscreen for you. Is it the right game, as in DA/TA? I've never had any trouble. Just Ctrl+Print Scrn and I have screenies showing up in my folder. I'll see if I can find anything.
It's deffo TA Tolmekian-am stumped-maybe I will post thison bugs forum too
Thanks
We continued to struggle with enemy fleets entering our space throughout the year. Although our own fleets were growing, there were just too many coming in. Torians and Drath from the south, Arceans and Drath from the southeast, Altarians throughout, and the Thalans started making some appearances on our northern borders. With the Korx sufficiently weakened they started raiding our lightly defended planets and starbases. We were able to fend them off well enough, but a task force slipped through our defenses to destroy our fully developed economic mining base just north of Gaia. The loss of that resource was a significant blow to our economy that left us with only a small surplus where we once had nearly 2000bc coming in weekly. All efforts were focused on preparing a fleet to repel the raiders and rebuild the mining base. This is when we approached the Terrans about the Drengin. We convinced them that they would be better served by aiding us against the Thalans. To help convince them, we rejected a plea by one of their colonies to join the Expedition. (Dark Yor II, in the same system as the Dark Yor and Paulos homeworlds, defected to us. We gave it right back to them in trade.) We also converted our Explorator vessel near Thalan space, refitting it for raiding. It destroyed a number of constructors and asteroid mines before it was finally neutralized.
Torian and Drath ships approach from the south. Our planetary defenders are easily defeated and it falls on the Yor to repel the invaders. Fortunately, they didn't send any transports.
A fleet of our newest Hellion MkIIIs defeats the Thalan raiders, allowing constructors access to the economic resource.
The battle within Expedition space was going much better than our border defenses. We pushed our assault on the Drath legion past Magica east into the nearby Saiph system. We found the Drath to be much harder than the Altarians. Saiph held off 4 billion soldiers, and we had to quickly send an additional transport to capture it. We had amassed enough of a fleet around Mamba, Tacitus, and Magica to hold of the Drath legion, and were looking to stem the flow of warships into our space. We upgraded the GEF Expedition and a couple other warships to increase their range and maximize defenses against Drath beam weapons, then sent the new fleet into the heart of Drath space.
The Expedition, Righteous Hammer, and Long Range Hellion prepare to raid Drath space. Even upgraded, they lacked sufficient range to reach Dratha. A convoy of constructors was sent after them to build military starbases. They were hard pressed, and only the Expedition survived to lead another attack with greater force.
Our long preparation against the Altarians came to fruition as we launched an invasion fleet toward Altaria itself. A massive psychological campaign aided by our agents on the ground caused 3 billion Altarians to join our cause. With the Altarians divided, victory was swift and losses few. Seeing how quickly Altaria fell, Wisp surrended to the Expedition rather than face invasion. Our victory was quickly followed up with invasion of Sileth II, which lay between Altaris and our projected manufacturing capital. We also realized that our capture of the manufacturing capital at Tacitus IV meant we couldn't construct one on Kupe.
The Altarians were defeated, and it didn't take long for them to realilze it. We received a message from Eleys Mue herself, seeking to negotiate terms of surrender. Their military was shattered, their capital was lost, and their people were in panic. Having lost two worlds to the Yor collective, they had no illusions about what would happen to them if they were conquered by someone other than us. We ended up on terms similar to what we offered the Dark Yor, Paulos, and Jessuins - full integration into the Expedition in exchange for unconditional surrender. In addition, Eleys was to go into exile as our governors arrived to assume control of the remaining Altarian colonies. We couldn't afford to have such a powerful reminder of Altarian society around to hinder the transition. (No, I didn't buy out the Altarians. They genuinely surrendered to me. )
Galaxy map after the Altarian surrender. Our next target: the Drath Legion.
With so much going on in our own society, our people started to focus inward.
Absorbing the Altarians presented significant governmental and economic challenges. We inherited an economy in shambles, and tax collection was a nightmare early on. We went from having a small surplus to running about 250bc in the red. It also took a great deal of effort to coax the Altarians into our society. A number of measures were enacted including:
1) The formation of a Star Federation to allow the absorbed Altarian planets more autonomy and encourage tax compliance.
2) Establishment of a political capital on Nesro III to provide a forum for political debate and exchange of ideas. There was some criticism of Nesro III as being a bit out of the way in the galactic northwest, but the selection served two purposes. Beyond providing the political forum, it also provided a measure of prestige to boost morale and commerce on our highest class, most populous planet, which was also home to an economic capital.
3) An official declaration of the Expedition as a "balanced society". We paid trillions of bc to ease tension over our past treatment of indigenous peoples, integrating them into our society and replacing their production with automated systems. We also put a moratorium on work camp construction and pledged to decommision existing facilities in a timely manner.
4) Signed a peace treaty with the Torian Confederation, and convinced the Yor to do so as well. The Torians had long been friends to the Altarians, and continued war with them was a major issue with our Altarian population. The Torians soon turned their attention to the Drengin and we remained neutral on the issue. The Drengin had made peace with the Drath legion and stopped intercepting Drath ships en route to our space, so we felt no urgent need to aid them against the Torians.
5) To further mend relations with the Torians, we sent freighters from Altaria toward Toria.
A wave of xenophobia rises and just as quickly fades as some wars end and relations improve.
Drath raiders that our "friends" the Drengin decided to stop intercepting.
A hastily assembled fleet from the Hestia systems sets out to deal with the raiders, but not without taking damage.
By the end of the year we were mobilizing to crush the Drath Legion. Even the Altarians realized that the Drath were behind the war and supported putting an end to their manipulation. We reestablished mining operations at the economic resource and began expanding operations at other resources. We also began a program of building economy boosing starbases around our most productive systems to enhance our manufacturing and research. With constructors pouring out of the shipyards we soon had an impressive array of starbases and a massive influx of resources from our mines. Our economy was again generating a strong surplus to fuel the war effort.
We got these transmissions from the Yor one after the other. Seems they finally decided to join the party. It was a welcome development, since they had earlier made peace with the Drath Legion, leaving them completely to us. In the end, they didn't do anything against the Thalans. Guess it's the thought that counts.
Excellent as always Tolmekian
As above... Excellent!
Mar 2232, concluded
2232 opened with yet another heated UP meeting. The faltering coalition introduced a measure to limit the trade routes of "evil" civilizations. Since we were at the time in the midst of our reformations, we were still considered evil by the UP. The measure was easily voted down and all parties left somewhat dissatisfied with the meeting. The Arceans used the meeting as a distraction to sneak a task force into our space to make a play at one of our newly acquired and still undefended frontier planets. The time had come to settle things with the Arceans. Not a shot had been fired between us, so we had nothing to lose by simply stopping the war before it really started. The Arceans were amenable to our terms. It may have helped that I told Lord Vega personally that if they didn't turn their task force back the Gaian Expedition would cease or suspend hostilities with all others and focus our entire war machine on the singular task of turning the 6 Arcean planets into unihabitable boulders and exterminating every last Arcean in the galaxy. He blinked and seemed to take my measure for a moment before realzing that I not only meant what I said but had the means to carry out my threat. Sufficiently impressed, he even offered a tribute of 386bc to help ease tensions. Peace through superior firepower.
Yet another UP attempt to undermine the Gaians.
Although we have significant influence at the UP, we are still only modestly esteemed throughout the galaxy.
The Arceans apparently underestimate us and attempt a surprise invasion of one of our frontier worlds. A quick heart-to-heart with Lord Vega quickly sets right any misunderstandings they have about us.
With that taken care of, the Thalans and Drath were the last threats. With increase fleet presence on our northern border and Terran aid against the Thalans, we turned our ire on the Drath, intending to make of them the example the Arceans had wisely avoided becoming. We quickly claimed Dester I, the last Drath planet in the eastern frontier, then turned our attention to a massive buildup for the final push against Dratha. Our scientists perfected Large Scale Building, Expert Miniaturization, and Expert Logistics, allowing us to build a battleship to command our fleet. They then followed leads on gravity manipulation, which lent themselves mostly to civilian entertainment but allowed constuction of Gravity Accelerators that would enable our ships to travel faster. We also traded the Snathi Advanced Barren and Heavy G Colonization for their Barriers III.
Our warships were upgraded for the final assault, with the Exterminator class being used as the basis for our new Magister class missile frigate. With Photonic Torpedoes and Barriers, the new Magisters would carry our judgement to the Drath. The GEF Expedition was converted to a support vessel, boasting the first Xalax Defense System in the fleet. Being an attractive target, it was reduced to a single torpedo tube to make room for additional Barriers. We designed new transports with Warp engines to reach Drath space more quickly from our core worlds. Finally, we used our new shipbuilding technologies to design a flagship for our fleet, the Bradlius Optimus. Construction started immediately on Rigel Superforge, our most advance shipyard, boasting a Dark Energy Lab and Orbital Command Center. Nearly all planets focused production to their shipyards to construct what would be the most potent expeditionary fleet the galaxy had ever seen.
Our fleets continue to repel Drath raiders, this group from the outlying Drath Bellatrix system, south of Hestia and Rigel.
The Upgraded Expedition leads its fleets against the Drath in their own space, but continues to suffer casualites despite the Xalax enhancement. It was clear that new defensive technologies were required to minimize our losses.
The Drengin negotiated a peace with the Thalans, but the mistrustful Torians thought it in their best interests to declare war against us.
Convinced in a secret meeting to attack us? Apparently some Super Manipulative lizard must made them believe they were next.
Not the best decision by the Torians. Now they have 3 enemies to worry about.
Sep 2232
Our Altarian population got up in arms about renewed war with the Torians. Nevertheless, there was nothing to be done about it. After declaring war, the Torians expelled our ambassadors and cut diplomatic channels. Our focus remained on the Drath. We would defend against Torian incursion, but would leave it to the Yor to deal with them until they felt ready to return to negotiations. Our scientist quickly exhausted possible advancements in shield technology, and we began refitting our warships with Ultimate Invulnerability Fields.
Our newly upgraded ships are impervious to Drath firepower.
The earliest version of the Bradlius Optimus. Only lightly armed, it carries both a Xalax Defense system and an Ultimate Warp Bubble Projector.
The Bradlius Optimus was launched with a strike force to defend the former Altarian world of Slepur, which lay directly on the Torian border. Destroying a couple Torian fleets en route, it provided more than sufficient against the remaining Torian fleets. The Yor soon destroyed the stragglers and pushed into Torian space, capturing one of their planets. Remembering the fate of the conquered Altarians, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the Torians on that world. Sometimes I've regretted our alliance with the Yor, but their ruthless efficiency has been such a strong asset that I would do it again if I had to. Facing further losses to the Yor, the Torians were finally willing to negotiate a lasting peace. The Optimus was upgraded to take advantage of the latest shield technology and rerouted to the Drath Bellatrix system, followed by a fleet of transports laden with 10 billion soldiers.
The Drath defenders didn't stand a chance. Bellatrix became the testing ground for a new invasion tactic - bombarding the planet with asteroid fragments. Bellatrix was hammered so hard it lost some utility to us, but the message it sent was worth the loss. (-18% PQ, -2 improvements.)
Our other fleets close in on Dratha. After the bombardment of Bellatrix, the Drath pled for mercy. It was too late for that. Dratha, Dratha IV, and Eagle I fell quickly, leaving the Drath with the Vizzard system. Bowing to pressure from our vocal Altarian minority, we offered the Drath a final chance. Second tier status in the Expedition, or annihilation. There had never been a concept of second tier status, but we simply couldn't allow the lizards full integration. They chose to accept our offer, and our war with them was done. We quickly realized that the time for war in the galaxy had simply passed. Given our new status as a galactic superpower, we forced a United Planets meeting to settle our differences once and for all.
A little Gaian intervention and peace finally returned to the galaxy.
Yes, I used cheats to call a UP meeting in September. I thought it would add to the story. All wars were ended and we got this vote, which works nicely. Let's have an olympiad to get along! I let the Drengin have it due to their small empire.
The state of affairs after cessation of hostilities.
The Gaians are clearly the dominant force in the galaxy. With 59 of 134 habitable planets, they control nearly half the galaxy while having by far the strongest fleet, military and social production, and research program.
And everyone finally recognizing Gaian dominance. Took long enough.
Mar 2233
With peace in the galaxy, we focused our research on more esoteric subjects. By far the most technologically advanced race in the galaxy, we were exploring aspects of reality that the others didn't even know existed. Over the months we came closer and closer to unlocking great mysteries until we arrived where we are now. Our greatests scientists have set up conditions to liberate the Gaians from the bounds of mortality and elevate us to a higher level of being. I have been given the honor of initiating this event, and they are waiting for me to set things into motion. I leave this record behind for any who discover the remains of our civilization. The Gaians are once again proceeding into the vast unknown on their continuing expedition.
Bradlius Optimus
Afterword
It was a pretty simple choice in the end. The options of steamrolling the remaining races or nurturing relations would just be too time consuming and fiddly compared to turning the Gaians research might toward victory. They had already mastered most of the tech tree anyway. Hope you enjoyed the game and the story. I glad to finally have it done. I may take a break from AAR for a little bit, but I do want to write one up after I play a game with my modified minor races. I tweaked them so they would colonize and essentially act like major races, just without a lot of the advantages. See this thread for details: https://forums.galciv2.com/333777
See you next time!
PS - We didn't bring the Drath along!
Frakking superb Tolmekian-really enjoyed this one-well ended and well written throughout-will miss reading this one
Another good AAR ends... hope a new one will soon begin! (Yes, I'm already in abstinence crysis )
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
