Space Colonization AAR (game completed)

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Space Colonization AAR (game completed) - 6/13/2009 1:59:24 AM

Tufkal2

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This is an AAR to the ongoing and developing Space Colonization game.
I will first give a general introduction to the setup and then we jump to turn 9 which is where we are currently at.
Please note: Grymme, Vic and Seille should not be looking into this thread in order not to spoil the current game. Also please do not make any information in this AAR public as secrecy is an important part of this game.

< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 9/16/2009 10:22:21 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/13/2009 2:02:52 AM

Tufkal2

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This is general 1st turn setup showing the Solar System with the Sun, 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptun) as well as their moons. Pluto is an oversized moon (no longer considered a planet). Also we have a large number of asteroids in the inner and outer asteroid belt.
Outside the solar system we have the four closest star systems to Earth (Alpha Centauri, Bernard's Star, Wolf 359 and Lalande) which can be reached via wormholes.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/13/2009 2:04:40 AM

Tufkal2

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At the beginning every player has one civilian station (also called spaceport) orbiting Earth as well as some exploration units. Here is a magnified view of the start:

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/13/2009 2:08:47 AM

Tufkal2

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As it is I am in this game playing the yellow faction called Future Foundation.
The initial setup is the same for all players. Everybody gets some HQ, some admirals (think staff), some scouts, some Orbital Construction Units (think Engineers), some transports and some combat units, i.e. space marines, garrisions and explorers.
For the first turns the Earth is offlimit and everybody is at peace. The background is that the almighty Earth Alliance which has set up the player regimes to explore and exploit the solar system enforces this.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/13/2009 4:08:57 PM

Tufkal2

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So the first question might be why to set out and colonize the solar system anyway.
As it is there is a lot of potential out there. When you colonize one of the planets you can build a station in its orbit. Stations function as cities in standard AT so they produce units and stuff which is nice to have. Also scattered around the solar system are a lot of vital resources required. Here is a map of these (changed the graphic slightly, sorry if this is difficult to interpret):

So you have food (essential for all ground units) on Earth and some Earth-like world outside the solar system.
You have minerals of which you need plenty for ships and small vessels ("planes") distributed in the asteroid belts.
You have ruins which produce research to be converted into political points on the barren interior planets and one offworld.
You have supply for your units on the gas giants.
You have radioactives which can be exchanged on the black market against any other resource on the various moons as well as pluto and some larger asteroids.
The exact number of resource hexes is randomly distributed at the beginning of the game. So you need to explore first. Also sometimes a planet will be very resource rich and sometimes poor to have some variety...

All stations can also produce limited numbers of each resource if required however this is not as efficient as the real thing and you will be producing that much less units.
There is a resource market which lets you trade in or buy resources at the current market rate (selling is 20% discount).

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 6/13/2009 5:45:33 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/13/2009 4:36:21 PM

Tufkal2

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Lets have a look at the game start.
As it is there are 4 factions and there can only be one winner which means the factions do not like each other very much. We have
Trade Federation Blue Counters Played by Grymme
Mercantile Alliance Green Counters Played by Vic
Explorers Guild Red Counters Played by Seills
Future Foundation Yellow Counters Played by Lunaticus

As it is we are going to move last but we have two advantages:
- we start with more resources (minerals, food and most importantly political points)
- we can see where everybody else is moving and then make decisions based on this
Careful use of our scouts has shown the following:
MA is going for a full-scale Mars colonization
TF and EG seem to be going for Venus
This leaves Jupiter (which I like because of the many moons it has. Moons are good) as a main target and Mercury as a secondary. We send a large expedition to Jupiter and a small one towards Mercury but for the second one are prepared to switch targets if our analysis proves wrong.
Our Jupiter expedition finds some minerals on the way which we will try to grab if nobody else is quicker...
Also we do research efficient production (10% increase) to boost our economic base.

This is the end of turn 1 / beginning of turn 2 situation (I apologize for the badly pieced together graphics):

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/14/2009 5:38:59 AM

Tufkal2

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On turn 2 I managed to take hold of the found mineral-rich asteroid field as well as continuing with expeditions towards Jupiter and Mercury. I see some scouts and transports of my competitiors on the way.
Meanwhile Earth-Base is busy gearing up on producing transports and Orbital Construction Pods to quickly settle everything we can grab before the pesky other factions come around.

Turn 3:
Landfall on Jupiter and on Mercury. On Jupiter it seems like Vics Mercantile Alliance also wants to have a piece of it. We hope to be able to grab the vital supply hex on the gas giant however. On the far right you see the newly found mining base. One scout circles Jupiter and finds one moon to be rich in radioactives. Our transport landed a HQ and an exploration group and is still carrying some garrisions so if we make it in time we might grab this moon. Another scout (not shown) is sent towards Pluto to see if there is anything out there.
On Mercury I seem to be alone. That is good news. Before landing you do not know if there are any resources on a planet and it seems Mercury is blessed with some ruins which nicely add to our research (reseach equals politicals points here). However we only have one unit here being the smaller expedition.
Earth is outwardly quit as peace is enforced between all factions. However we have produced 3 transports and 2 Orbital Construction Pods there (you start with 4 OCP so this is a sizeable increase in construction ability) waiting to be transported to the newly founded colonies.
It should be noted that landing and base building takes place on the orbital hexes around the planet. Next big decision will be what kind of base to build. We have civilian station, military station and spacedock.
More on that in the next update...

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 6/14/2009 5:42:50 AM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/14/2009 9:07:51 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 4: This turn makes for a decicive decision as we have to build some bases. Unfortunately we have no planet on our own as other factions intruded upon our claimed planets

The 3 options for building bases are:
Military station: Takes some investement in political points, builds fairly quickly, has a moderate amount of max production (700) and can produce all units.
Civilian station: Very low investment, build quickly, has high max production (1500) but can only produce civilian and defensive units (like scouts, transports, garrisions).
Spacedock: Very high investment required, builds slowly, has highest production (2000) and can produce all units.

On Jupiter, which is to become my main base, I build my spacedock. This will however require a lot of investment and effort on the next turns and will slow down expansion in this area.
On Mercury I would have loved to build a civilian station which would have allowed for rapid expansion into the as yet unclaimed upper right quadrant of the solar system but with Grymme also landing here I feel this is too risky and build a military station. At least this will be a gateway into this sector and allows heavy equipment to be produced.

I claim one Jupiter moon as well as one supply hex on Jupiter. Doing these claims is important in the beginning as war is not yet an option (but will be soon). My scouts continue to look for nice place. Pluto seems nice. We will try to expand as soon as possible while balancing this with the requirements of building up the colonies and prepare some defense for them...

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/16/2009 2:24:19 AM

Tufkal2

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We jump one turn to the end of turn 6.

This turn the Earth Alliance has begun to crack. It will soon dissolve and then only the player factions are left with nobody to ensure the peace. So we need to be prepared and at least have all stations manned with a defense.
I have copied all positions of the Future Foundation into the Solar System map.
Highlights are: Jupiter spacedock is 25% finished (in this mod all stations start at 10% and have to be continually built up). However we should be able to defend ourselves.
In the lower left quadrant our scouts find the important wormhole to Lalande. We immediately dispatch a transport with an OCP to try to settle there first. If Pluto can be colonized as well this might be nice.
Nothing new on Earth.
Mercury Military Station is 75% finished even though it has less OCP. We are building up our army there. Grymmes Trade Federation managed to take away all ruins on the planet there from us so we will need to fight for our rights. Our Scout in the upper right quadrant found a resource bonanza with a moon and 3 mineral hexes. We drop some OCPs there to build a foundation while enroute to Uranus. This makes for a nice base.
Additionally we reseach bombardment technology to build some orbital defenses (good against ships and small vessels).

By the way: please let me know if you have any questions / feedback or want to see some area close-up.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/18/2009 2:52:57 AM

Tufkal2

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Jumping to turn 8. The Earth Alliance has broken due to internal conflicts. Now everybody is out on his own until there is a new dominating force in the Solar System. We continue with our peaceful exploration in all directions.
Two highlights: With the Earth Alliance gone it is now possible to recolonize the Earth and claim its remaining resources. We send out an expedition and find it to be very rich in food. We must make sure we will be the first and only to exploit these.
Also a passing transports lands an explorer on the resource-rich area in the upper right quadrant to lay claim to this area.

We also need to decide who will be our friends and who will be our enemies. For the short term future we arrangeded for a truce on both Mercury and Jupiter as there are still unclaimed areas to expand into. However we expect the truce to be an uneasy one...

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/19/2009 1:52:57 AM

Tufkal2

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This is now the end of turn 9.
I have used the spy available in the game and pieced together a map of most of the Solar System. The spy comes in very handy to see what the other factions are doing and if they are plotting to backstab you (of course I know everybody is out to backstab me the question is only when will this happen). Actually I spied on Seilles Explorers as well as on Grymmes Trade Federation. Vic did defend well against my spying so I have some uncertainties on his whereabouts.
Current big picture is as follows:

Comment: Actually some additions which are not shown: I think the Explorers (Red) also had a small landing on Neptun. Vic (Green) also talked about having some expedition to Neptun.
Also Trade Federation (Blue) has extensive mining operations in the upper right and upper left quadrant.

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 6/19/2009 1:54:09 AM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/19/2009 4:25:16 AM

Jeffrey H.

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What are the celestial bodies in the corners for ?

What does a wormhole do ?

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/19/2009 8:39:56 AM

Tufkal2

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The four celestial bodies in the corner are the 4 closest systems to the solar system (Alpha Centauri, Bernard's Star, Wolf 359, Lalande). In this mod I am assuming they are colonizable and you can build stations there as well as see if there any resource hexes on the planet which can be harvested (food, ruins). They are only reachable over a wormhole. A wormhole consists of two hexes: One in the solar system and one on the off-world system. Units which end their turn on either side of the wormhole get transported to the other side of the wormhole between turns.
The main effects this has:
- Some more worlds to colonize. They are a bit off the other worlds so they are - hopefully - a bit outside of the combat zone.
- The wormholes are randomly placed so you need to send out scouts to find them. Also they will probably get settled a bit later then the other planets.
- You need to bring in all production back to the solar system via transports (also there is no strategic transfer between systems, only in-system)

Will also give me interpretation on the status quo of the 4 factions and their strategies in my next post

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/19/2009 6:50:36 PM

Whydmer

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Looks really interesting,... as I am only in the middle of my first random map, after playing a couple of the small scenarios that come with the game, I don't even begin to know how you designed this, but I think it is way cool that the game has this capability.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/19/2009 11:41:55 PM

Tufkal2

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Thanks for the feedback. I think one of the greatest assets of AT is the flexibility of the AT engine so I think it is possible to create many different scenarios in many different settings playing very differently.
As I will not often have the political points to buy spy info on my neighbours here is my personal outlook on the situation:
Trade Federation (Blue; played by Grymme): Have a nice resource base but are a bit short on bases. They are solidifying their positions on Mars and Mercury and the upper right sector. With this they are potential competition.
Mercantile Alliance (Green; played by Vic): Have a very nice position on the left side of the map. I am assuming they are also on or close to Saturn. Also they still have some expansion room in the upper left. We must keep them away from Lalande.
Explorer Guild (Red; played by Seille): Are in firm control of the lower right sector. Looks like they will dominate Venus and Neptun (Seille does not share planets he said). We have few competition with them and hope to keep their attention focussed on the other factions.
Future Foundation (Yellow; played by me): As the last faction playing we needed to go where no one else was going and very oportunistically grab all possible production spots. As a result we have some bases and production and actually are leading in production capacity and powerpoints (these are shown in-game). However our position is widely distributed without much of a rear area. We absolutely must make sure we will ever only be in a war against one other faction. Our highlight is our superior position on Earth which we will try to solidify. With this we hope to be able to corner the food market. Also we will try to grab whatever we can in the lower left and upper right. And then we will need to fight the wars which are forced on us...
Here is the current (turn 9) status on powerpoints and production:

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 6/19/2009 11:42:06 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/21/2009 7:34:41 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 11:
As free resources become scarcer the tension between the faction mounts.
In the lower left the Mercantile Alliance moves against us: They move ground attack units into forward positions on Jupiter and they steal a vital Earth food resource from the area we designated as our privately owned Earth National park. This is a very aggressive move and can be considered a declaration of war. Unfortunately we still have a peace deal with them which seems to only have emboldened them.
Meanwhile we have managed to drop a construction unit on Lalande but this will need some time to grow into a colony able to defend itself.
On the upper right we have founded Uranus civilian station with the hope of building a nice economic base there and get a big share of the resources in that area. However the Trade Federation (Blue) has a much stronger presence here. In order to motivate the TF to commit to its peace deal while we are developing we sent out the newly founded Mars Home Defence to a military parade next their badly defended Mars positions. If the TF attacks Uranus we will take over much of Mars in response.
As it looks we need to keep the TF occupied a bit or at least neutral while we deal with the menace of the Mercantile Alliance.
We do not share a border with the Explorers (excepts on Earth) and are thankful for that.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 6/29/2009 5:08:45 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 13 update.
Resource robbers are everywhere. They just take the hexes I (mentally) claimed previously, settle there and think they can get away with it. Ts, ts.
In detail: Earth and Jupiter stations are preparing the defensive war I probably need to wage against the Mercantile Alliance after they stole some food production on Earth. Jupiter is starting some fleetbuilding and sending some ground troops to Earth, Earth is producing some admirals. Also we build Earth Military Station to be able to produce troops locally (more like Earth National Park rangers really). Some local private patriots fund the building of raiders to intercept further inflow of war material towards Earth. Our "ally" the Trade Federation grabs the Earthern moon in spite of our protests.
Lalande Civilian station slowly expands our foothold there.
Our stations on Mercury are in a standoff with the Trade Federation. As there is not a lot to be gained there all local building capacity is shifted towards expanding the mineral rich area between Mercury and Uranus. Uranus is coming along nicely although also here a supply hex is stolen from us.
The best news comes in the upper right: Our scout find the gateway to Bernard's Star! If this planet is not yet settled and we manage to claim it we have 3 of the 4 food producing planets. This might be nice.

Our economy is troubled however. We have shortages in supply and minerals and do not produce any research (=political points). We will need to build up food production and sell them as cash crops...

Strategy seems to be to take back what is ours from the Mercantile Alliance while grudgingly remaining allied with the Trade Federation. Once we settle our differences in the lower left our attention will turn to the upper right ....

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 6/29/2009 5:10:26 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/3/2009 11:54:00 PM

Tufkal2

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Update from turn 15. This time I managed to do some more spying on the Trade Federation (Blue)and the Explorer Guild (Red). The Mercantile Alliance (Green) as well as I are protecting themselves against this.
Main developments are that we were able to retake the food resource on Earth which the MA did abondon, we built one more station on Earth and we did some expansion of our far away colonies.
Then we needed to decide which research to go for. We thought about researching one of the three Capitol Ship classes or researching small vessels. In the end we upgraded our ground units to level 2. This is a bit a problem of playing in the direction of our strength but ground units seem to become our weapon of choice in the upcoming war. Here is the Solar System:

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/4/2009 12:02:06 AM

Tufkal2

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Turn 15 Future Foundation log:
Currently the MA (Green) and the EG (Red) seem to become the main opposition for bringing peace to the Solar System again. MA has second-largest production and - more importantly - seem to have ample of area they can still expand into. Although they have been trying to appease us there simply is not enough room for them and us together on the planets we share.
The very aggressive EG seem to be getting the upper hand against the TF (Blue). They control 2 planets alone and seem to have some sort of peace deal with MA. Even though we have no conflict whatsoever with EG they can quickly become a dangerous foe once they strike from their power base in the lower right. Danger.
TF with whom we have the most conflict for resources seem to be stagnating. They only have 3 stations (we have 8 with room for 3-4 more). We must do whatever we can to help them in their conflict against EG in order to keep the balance. However if TF goes down we need to put their remaining property quickly under our protection to prevent it from falling into our enemies hand.
Timing might become crucial.

< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 7/4/2009 12:04:11 AM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/6/2009 9:30:07 PM

Tufkal2

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*** WAR ALERT *** WAR ALERT *** WAR ALERT *** WAR ALERT ***
In an unprovoked move the Mercantile Alliance has bombed our civilian station on Earth causing a large number of civilian deaths. Also our defenses were hard hit. (In the attached screen the MA ships are shown in the wrong colour due to technical limitations).
This cannot go unanswered.
However we need to regroup our forces in order to fight effectively. Our valuable transports are evacuated as well as our HQ. All naval elements are dispatched to fight the invasion fleet. As our military production on Earth is very limited we are preparing to transfer as much equipment as possible from our Mercury base.
It will take several rounds before we might go on the offensive again.

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 7/8/2009 4:17:16 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/8/2009 4:16:48 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 18 update:
After some rounds at war a first summary: The Mercantile Alliance is trying to advance on Earth and Jupiter against us and on Mars against our friends from the Trade Federation.
Their most successful attack is on Mars.
On Jupiter our artillery and superior troops have done extensive damage to the advancing MA columns. A fleet battle next to Earth is inconclusive with us killing 2 shields and some small crafts while loosing a shield and a destroyer. As a retaliation we do heavy bombardment damage to the militarily used station from the MA and kill several enemy troops.
Reinforcements are coming in from our Mercury colony which should help to balance the situation soon.
Most importantly however is to make sure we will not come into a two-front-war. With the Explorer Guild pushing very effectivly back the Trade Federation this becomes a danger to watch out for...

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/12/2009 8:01:12 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 19 update: We sent out an expert spy (see upper right corner) to get us a detailed view of our enemy, the Mercantile Alliance. This is very very expensive but just plain necessary.
We learn that our fears are true and the MA do have a strong position:
- They control Saturn alone and are finishing up with TF on Mars
- They have a strong base on Jupiter (which we knew already) and a fleet nearby which is far superior to our
- They have found the wormholes to Wolf359 and to Alpha Centauri and seem to be settling there
- They have some asteroid and minor bases scattered throughout
All in all a formidable opponent. As our war has not brought much advance it might be time to look for more fruitful endeavours like finishing our development and building some more bases.
Also we research small vessel technology to prepare for our next goal which we have codenamed "order 66"...

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Grymme, Vic, Seille allo... - 7/16/2009 11:34:09 AM

Tufkal2

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About turn 23:
Here is the newest update from the solar system. I have created a map which shows areas of influence as far as I now them. Might not be 100% accurate. Any recommendations for better graphics software are gladly received.
We made a fragile truce with the Mercantile Alliance as their navy is just too strong ... for now.
Also we build spacedocks on Lalande and on Uranus to ramp up production although this was very expensive (200 political points).
Atmosphere: The calm before the storm.

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 7/22/2009 3:28:51 AM

Tufkal2

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Turn 28:
Things have developed rapidly in the last turns.
After long pondering we have decided we can no longer share the upper right quadrant with our former ally, the Trade Federation. In a quick commando raid we seize all main bases of the TF on Mercury and Uranus while our new friends from the Explorer's Guild bomb the Earthern spaceport of the TF. Having not a lot left to fight the Trade Federation resigns and fades into oblivion.
Not a nice move but then as the saying goes in a game of Thrones either you win ... or you are dead.
This leaves only 3 factions remaining and due us being closer to the assets of the Trade Federation we managed to increase our empire. Also our two competitiors are at war with each other (which suits us nicely) and after some more buildup we can go for the final battle:

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 8/8/2009 12:50:21 AM

Tufkal2

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We are now at turn 35.
Turn 33 saw the sudden but long-expected start of war between the Mercantile Alliance (Green) and our Future Foundation (Yellow). It started over the incident but a MA fleet attacking a raider which led to the Future Foundation taking over the MA spaceport on Earth. MA retaliated by a full-scale assault on Jupiter which was followed by a FF invasion of the MA Mars colony.
The Mercantile Alliance war plan seems to be to take over the vital spacedock of the FF on Jupiter. We(FF) are playing the Jupiter gambit: Our large 1st Fleet is tasked with taking over Mars with Jupiter being ordered to dig in and defend itself as long as possible. Once Mars is ours the 1st Fleet will come to the defense of Jupiter. Risky but the best chance we see to win the war which otherwise might become a stalemate.
Additionally 2nd Fleet is tasked to move towards MA bases at Saturn and block any fleets leaving from there against Uranus.
3rd Fleet is being build on Lalande and will try to attack the MA mines on Pluto.
4th Fleet is stationed near Mars to defend if Explorer Guild starts an attack out of the lower right sector.
Our production base is larger then the MA but if the insidious Explorer Guild meddles in the war this might get nasty....

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 8/8/2009 12:52:40 AM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 8/24/2009 12:24:31 PM

Tufkal2

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Update Turn 40:
Our strategy has paid off so far. We have liberated Mars and hold on to Jupiter. Since our combined 1st and 2nd Fleet is stronger than Vics fleet Vic retreated all his fleet elements to Saturn into his impressive Grand Fleet (we again paid a lot of money for a spy).
With no defense fleet left near Jupiter we are sieging the enemy position and slowly advancing there, too. Also we are successfully moving towards Vics colony on Pluto. It looks like the lower left quadrant will fall to our offensive.
However we think that now is the time to shift focus. We leave the very thinned out 2nd fleet to hold or at least delay Vic if he counterattacks from Saturn while all forces are moving to the lower right to meet for a decisive battle with Seille's Explorer Guild which so far seems to have been happy to take profit from Vic, too ...

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 8/24/2009 12:25:18 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 8/25/2009 11:40:59 AM

Tufkal2

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Turn 41 (edit: Wrong turn number corrected)
Suddenly things seem to heat up very fast. After some ominous warning from our neighbour, the Explorer Guild, one of our scouts accidentially stumbles upon a heavy invasion fleet loaded with troops only one round away from Mercury. This is more then a declaration of war and we remind ourselves that we simply have been too trusting in our relationships with our neighbours.
We immediately give out all necessary orders:
4th Fleet will group around Mercury and try to hold the planet although invasion cannot be prevented.
1st Fleet will do a R�cksturz to Mercury and try to join the expected space battle on the left flank of the enemy.
A scout is dispatched to the Mercantile Alliance to offer generous terms of an immediate armistice to join forces against the threat of the Explorer Guild but is sent home with the message "NUTS!". Feeling betrayed on all sides we order 3rd Fleet to start an invasion of Pluto and 2nd Fleet to hold of Mercantile Alliance Grand Fleet in the upper left sector.
The endgame seems to have begun and there can only be one faction to remain.

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 8/29/2009 11:43:50 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 8/29/2009 1:31:17 PM

Tufkal2

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Turn 42 (Edit: Wrong turn number corrected):
The expected attack did not happen. Obviously we managed to scare away the Explorer Guild from an outright attack.
When looking at the strategic setting we need to consider that we are being sandwiched between the Mercantile Alliance in the upper left and the Explorer Guild in the lower right. Therefore we decide to take the opportunity to take the battle to the enemy while our fleets are concentrated. The whole uppe left sector is "defended" by only 5 scouts and 2 raiders and we hope to achieve tactical superiority in the lower right.
Since initiative is very important tactically we move into striking distance (=half movement range) of Seilles fleet and see if he takes up battle....

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 8/29/2009 11:44:12 PM >

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 8/31/2009 2:09:56 PM

Tufkal2

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Update Turn 43:
The slightly nervous commanders of the Future Foundation look across towards Venus and await movement of the enemy but apart from eliminating the misplaced(misplayed) scout nothing happens.
Now we are in a strategic dilemma. We could take on the Explorer Guild Fleet straight on which is slightly weaker than ours (but technologically more advanced). However if we do battle in enemy territory we open ourself up to a devastating counterattack from ground-based artillery and bomber squadrons. Additionally our scouts have reported an intrusion by a strong warfleet of the Mercantile Alliance towards Mars or Jupiter. After doing a deep analysis on psychohistory the Future Foundation decides to play it more safely. We retreat the 4th fleet for upgrading into its Mercury bases. 1st Fleet and 3rd Fleet will try to parry the thrust of the MA.
The attached map shows our estimate of the status. We are very unnicely sandwiched between MA and EG but we are stronger then they (but a bit behind in technology). We could easily win against either of them but both together at the same time are difficult to take on. We have also included our estimate as to fleet strength on an arbitrary scale...

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RE: Space Colonization AAR (no Vic, Seille allowed) - 9/13/2009 11:27:41 PM

Tufkal2

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Start of round 45:
We invest in another spy to understand the fleet setup of the Explorer Guild.
The Explorer Guild has setup their fleet for a defense of Venus. Their fleet consists of
1 Dreadnought
1 Carrier
17 Carrier II
19 Destroyer II
75 Fighter II
38 Bomber II
and supporting vessels. The fleet is spread out due to the 10 ships per hex limit.
On the other side of the solar system the Mercantile Alliance has started an invasion/bombardment of Mars against we cannot defend as we do not have enough fleet strength there. Therefore we have but one choice and that is to engage in a full naval battle. We have the advantage of having the first shot and the disadvantage of having to expend half of the action points to close into fighting range.

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< Message edited by Lunaticus -- 9/13/2009 11:28:46 PM >

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Space Colonization AAR (game completed)