Peacekeepers - same map, same start

[Brecon]

Good news/bad news for my game.  The good news is that I finished the game faster than 2340.  The bad news is that my game finished in 2192 with defeat by the Caretakers.

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In short the Spartans had a battle ogre 6/3/1 from at least 2113 which is why I had to sue for peace and give them whatever tech they asked for.  The Caretakers arrived with impact weapons and although I slowed their offensive I was behind in military tech and they took UN Disaster Relief in 2162, UN HQ in 2179, and UN Planetary Trust (which I had built in within an exclave in Spartan territory and which the Caretakers took after taking at least one Spartan base) in 2192.  My best military tech was 2 attack and 3 defence but developed too late to make a difference (2161 and 2188).

If I were to play again it might have been better to expand less aggressively and hope that the Spartans and aliens kept busy fighting each other.

[Buster's Uncle]

You were supposed to whip 'im, man...

MART?

[Mart]

I'm still in the game. I will post report later today. Still have a chance to finish before 2340...

[bvanevery]

I'll be interested to hear what / how you've been doing in the game, as then I can release my substantial collection of screenshots, up to whatever you've played to.

The good news is that I finished the game faster than 2340. 

My heart just about jumped into my mouth when I read that.

[Mart]

MY 2200

Secret Projects


And I will post another report after this, as I played already more.

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From interesting events, in 2185 I got the last contact needed for Governor elections with Yang. Having map from Believers, who had Unity wreckage, it was easy to navigate a foil towards The Hive.
Only Miriam voted for Lal, Aki and Santiago for Yang, but Santiago agreed to change vote for a technology, so this flipped the results in my favor.

Running Democratic, Planned and completing 2 SPs. However before crawlers this is helped by forest chopping and I have a design of rover 3-armored, formers, that cost 15 rows of minerals, so 135 presently. And actually, colony pod would be more expensive, this is if considering, that losing one population from a base, that processes a mineral pod is worth it, but it is.

Weather Paradigm is a lot of help. Centauri Empathy was probed from Caretakers and there is this Consonance base, that I can get the techs from.

[Mart]

MY 2250
Secret Projects

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Recently got Cyberethics. Running Democratic-Free Market-Knowledge.
The Planetary Datalinks are completed 234/300.

Probed for 2 technologies, that are very useful:
Synthetic Fossil Fuels, from Caretakers. That was mixed success action, I sent in 2217 two probe teams, one was elite, so having 3 move points. The less experienced was lost without any success. The elite one, I had to leave unprotected for a turn in Caretakers territory, but it was not destroyed on a road! In 2218 I was able to reach even a second base north from Consonance, Decision: Manifold, and probe SynthFossilFuels from there.
Ecological Engineering, from Usurpers.
That was from Final Honor base.

Spartans are an interesting case. So they lost Sparta Command to Cult, but built Fort Superiority on that single jungle tile peninsula. I contacted Santiago and extorted that base from her. Fort Superiority will be just that: a fort. Its location is excellent to serve as a security for naval threat from the east. I will not take Parade Ground, the last base of Spartans. Let Cult do it, and I plan to then free Santiago to turn her into my submissive ally.

Yang fights with H'minee, and they are on the same continent, so there must be some war zone there.
Cult fights with Marr, who was able to put some bases on our continent.
These are positive things for Peacekeepers, as they keep aliens occupied and draw part of their military away from my borders.

One more thing.
Before crawlers SP helper is trance-3r-armored-rover-colony pod. 0-3tr-2 Trance. It costs 300 at the moment, whole 30 rows of minerals and when disbanded provides 150 minerals. Truly "half-SP on wheels" for many of them.

[bvanevery]

Ok given the rough start I got in this game, there's no way I'm going to leave anything in "spoiler space" for some person to theoretically take the challenge at a later date.  It has become clear that having the Cult of Planet, the Caretakers, and the Usurpers in the game, introduces a completely random factor as to who your neighbors are going to be.  We've played the same map with the same factions, but we have not played the same start.  In the sense that a few turns in, everything about the game changes.

Details not an island start

not an island start

I tried to optimize the position of my capitol.  The square we all started on, was rolling and moist.  I don't like putting cities on rolling squares because it wastes the mineral benefit of the square.  I always try to put them on flat terrain to improve the mineral content of the square.  I wanted that rolling rainy river square within my base radius, and to maximize other rolling squares.  I also belatedly thought, if my capitol is slightly more southwards, I'll maximize my land claim on this rather small skinny continent.  So that's how I decided where my 1st colonist would go, accepting a 3 turn delay to make my capitol.  My 2nd colonist and Scout, I headed over the obstructing fungal patch.

When I was crossing that fungal patch, I saw a spot of Monsoon Jungle.  That's when I knew this was going to get majorly violent.  Nobody gets the Jungle for free on a map this small.  I started with Explore, Conquer focus.  Once I got Doctrine:Mobility I believe I switched to Conquer only focus.  I still ended up with Doctrine:Flexibility.

Details I will kill you later

I will kill you later

I just got my 2nd city founded, and garrisoned with a mere Green Scout, when Santiago shows up with a Scout Rover and extorts me.  Given her high morale and that my Scout is untrained, I think there's a very good chance she could completely wipe out my 2nd base.  So I did something I almost never do, I swallowed my pride and paid her bribe.  I hate that but it was the right decision.

[bvanevery]

Details griefed by mindworm

griefed by mindworm

I had to leave a Scout south of my 2nd base in order to stop Spartan wanderings on my territory.  I got a 3rd city settled well into the jungle.  I used the technique of not scouting the jungle.  You do not want to meet anybody, they will exert a land claim the minute you have a Truce with them.   You want to expand without meeting anyone and "offend innocently", just settling on "their" territory.

A mindworm shows up as I'm trying to move my 4th colonist into position.  The pod escapes, but I'm worried my 3rd city might actually get fried.  There's nothing I can really do about it; putting my colonist in the city will only get it killed, if the mindworm is victorious.  Fortunately the Monolith enhanced larva isn't strong enough to do real damage and my city survives with hardly a scratch.

The mindworm indicates that someone is active on this part of the continent.  I am doubting that Santiago slipped past me, so now I'm seriously worrying that it's someone else.

[bvanevery]

Details whose land

whose land

I have to scout a little bit, at least to where my colony pod is going.  I've got someone's border pushing against my claim, but I don't know whose.  I've found a tasty mineral that would be key to all kinds of stuff if I can get it.  Greed drives me forwards.

Details I think it must be war

I think it must be war

Oh crap it's the USURPERS.  I've got the worst case start for this game, having to fight the initially strongest Alien faction + a strong human faction at the same time.  It's almost the worst case for any game on a map this size, except that we're fighting over the Jungle.  Absolute worst case would be fighting over dry scratchy unproductive land.

I'm not going to let that Usurper Scout wander around.  However I don't want to fight him while he's sitting on top of a Monolith and can just heal.  I will pin him when he moves off.  I get another Scout ready.

Details captured artifact destroyed base

captured artifact destroyed base

Next turn the Usurpers merely move an Artifact into that base.  I attack without hesitation and destroy it, capturing the Artifact.  I want to put my Colonist 1 square to the north to achieve a good spread from my other city and work that mineral deposit.  It's risky because I know the enemy is afoot, but I'm hoping that I will have beaten them to the punch.  Meanwhile I've got 1 city desperately trying to get a Command Center completed.

[bvanevery]

Details cannot fight both right now

cannot fight both right now

Santiago extorts me again.  I don't have any armor yet, I can't just block off Santiago's access to me.  I do not have the productivity to afford any spare units to defend myself on 2 fronts, it's going to take everything I've got just to deal with the Usurpers.  So she gets her bribe.

Details my colonist is screwed

my colonist is screwed

Bad luck.  I move forwards 1 square and there is the Usurper waiting to kill me.  Maybe I should have sent the Scout, you say.  Well it was behind at that point, and I believe in providing escort for Artifacts, lest they be seized.  Although, I don't think Santiago could have been in the area.  Maybe I made a mistake here.  Maybe the mistake was more basic, thinking I was going to get to push this Colonist outwards in the 1st place.  Oh well.

[bvanevery]

Details high stress mindworm

high stress mindworm

Now at least I've got 1 city producing trained Recon Rovers.  My capitol is struggling to complete a 2nd Command Center.  I've positioned a Rover to counterattack the Usurper garrison.  I don't want it in the city because the Rover could become the defender.  I suppose one could fiddle with the "designate defender" option but I have no real experience doing that in games.  This will work.

A mindworm shows up in the north.  It threatens to mess up my road.  I've only got 1 Former and cannot afford to make more, this is a most desperate battle.  That Scout has to stay where it is to keep Santiago from encroaching.  The mindworm threatens to divert my attention to defending my road when I need to be fighting the Usurpers.  Recon Rovers can punch through Plasma armor but it depends on the terrain the enemy is standing in.  On Rocky terrain, forget it.  I need everything on the front, and this mindworm is really stressing me out.

Details plural

plural

Oh it's 2 mindworms.  Joy.  But the fight against the Usurpers went ok, they didn't reinforce, and now I can spare a unit to deal with them.  Can't remember how that went, but my road didn't get damaged.

[bvanevery]

Details pact with Sparta

pact with Sparta

In a bizarre turn of events, my big bully Santiago wanted to ally with me.  I'm like suuuure.  I don't know what she can do, but just having her not do stuff to me is a help.  Is this like when you're a kid, and that bully was picking on you when you were in 4th grade, but now you're in 6th grade, and you've hit a growth spurt, and he's not so big anymore?

I've got 2 cities cranking out Recon Rovers and they're beginning to press forwards.  My 3rd city is trying to get a Command Center done.  I've still only got 1 Former, which has started planting trees on flat rainy Jungle ground.  That turns those squares into 2-2-1, like having a Tree Farm without having to know how to do it.  That's pretty much my "book" for the Jungle.  Plant trees on all the flat ground.  Some of them will spread to Rolling ground.  In practice, I've never recently torn up those squares later.  The minerals are more valuable.

[bvanevery]

Details captured base and artifact

captured base and artifact

I conquer my 1st Usurper base (as opposed to destroying).  It had an Artifact in it, which I got to keep.  All I do is kieep making Recon Rovers and pick a target to send them to.  The 1 Former is starting to make forest minerals for my 2nd city.

Details die ogre

die ogre

Marr's ogre shows up.  This is actually a good thing, as I had plenty of units to destroy it.  It even had a covering mindworm that I hadn't noticed, and I destroy that too.

Details base captured artifact lost

base captured artifact lost

I take another city.  The war doesn't have elegance anymore.  I am producing Recon Rovers and destroying stuff faster than Marr is doing anything about it.  I had good foresight that this was going to be the kind of game I'd have to fight, and I made it happen.  I'm very much aware that if players didn't have the foresight to make these things happen early, they are going to lose badly in the race to winning the game.  If I secure the Monsoon Jungle early, nobody's going to beat me unless, at a minimum, they did exactly the same thing.

Now the interesting random turn of events is that Mart merely has to go through Cha Dawn to get to the same place.  Dude I had to destroy Plasma armor with Recon Rovers.

[Mart]

Santiago was somewhat similar in my game.
First, she was going to the jungle with both starting colony pods and was polite, when I met her. She had no bases and I had two, or maybe already three, but I do not remember. I signed Pact, not thinking, that due to this, she will resume her travel to the jungle. So when she was going east with her both cp, and after several of turns, when I got, that Santiago is not going to trade to me Doctrine Mobility, I renounced the Pact, when her both cp were still in my borders.

Unluckily/Luckily one of the cp got moved to the jungle and another back, where she originally came from, so Santiago established Sparta Command on the edge of Monsoon Jungle.

Interesting is, that her second colony pod did not established a base right away, but resumed travel towards jungle again. And Parade Ground was found, where it can be seen on my screenshots. I was blocked from further expansion again, but then Pact came to help once again! And this is not, what makes me proud... Santiago, when I was in the Treaty after renouncing the first Pact, contacted me, if I want to join her "Crusade" against Cult. Why not? I did that, so while Santiago was fighting with Cha Dawn, I could send through her territory a colony pod south and establish UN Enforcement Base.

So in my game, The Monsoon Jungle turned out to be the doom for Santiago.

[bvanevery]

I have learned in many games, and have been reminded occasionally, not to sign Treaties or Pacts unless they serve your interests.  One of the worst things you can do, for instance, is sign a Treaty with the Believers when you're cramped in close quarters with them.  They will out-colonize you, grow faster than you, turn on you, and kill you.

Details annoying spore launcher

annoying spore launcher

This thing is bothering my capitol.  When am I ever going to get around to dealing with it?  Eventually I did make a boat but it took awhile.

Details captured base artifact destroyed

captured base artifact destroyed

Impact weapons enter service.  I've also got some modest armor now.  Turns out the Usurpers are basically stupid about not attacking unarmored stacks of units next to their cities though.  I almost wondered if it was a bug, or if I should blame the Yitzi patch.  I can see not attacking a single Recon Rover as it'll disengage.  Maybe the AI believes that waiting to defend with armor, is better than attacking something unarmored with hand weapons.  It isn't, but oh well 20 year old game AI whaddya gonna do?

Notice that Santiago settled a city in my Jungle.  That's the price I paid for the Pact I suppose.

Details get out of my jungle

get out of my jungle

Things go smoothly and I take what is mine.  MY 2175 is now an important milestone for the game.  Don't got most of the Jungle by then?  Then I'm winning.

Details where he ends up

where he ends up