SEV 1.08, Balance Mod 0.91

[Devnullicus]

After finally getting a copy of SEV, I downloaded Captain Kwok's Balance Mod and started playing.

Map: Galactic Edge, Large, all connected
Empire Options:

• Tech Cost: Low
• Start Resources: Medium
• Home Planet Value: Good
• 1 starting planet
• Home Systems evenly distributed (This is NOT working!)
• Can view all scores
• Starting Tech Points: Medium (100,000)
• Starting Racial Points: High (5,000)
• Number of computer players: High
• Computer Player Difficulty: High
• AI Bonus: Low

Player Empire:
Devnull Confederation, ruled by Dude Devnullicus
Ice/Hydrogen homeworld
Government: Anarchy
Society: Artisans
Traits:

• Mining Aptitude
• Smart
• Foolish
• Builders
• Cowardly
• Physical Weakness
• Environmental Resistance
• High Reproduction
• Mechanoids
• Natural Merchants
• Hardy Industrialists
• Crystallurgy

Extra Starting Techs: Sensors 6

Turn 2400.0:
Started in a binary star system with 1 warp point and 2 other (huge) ice worlds, both unfortunately Carbon Dioxide and thus not breathable.

Seeing as how I was starting in a binary star system, I wanted to get solar collectors as soon as possible as that would dramatically increase my resource production. So I started building a couple colony ships for the 2 other planets in my system and began researching Crystallurgy.

Turn 2400.5:
Researched: Crystallurgy 1, stellar harnessing 1, missile weapons 2
Colonized: both of the other worlds in my home system, 1 as a research compound and the other as a mining facility.
Built: a couple of scout ships.

As soon as my first scout left my system, I get a message that I've made first contact with the Amon'krie. So much for evenly spaced starting positions! Seeing as how I have 1 warp point out of my system and the only exit is blocked by another home-system, it's already time to go to a war economy. Sheesh.

[Devnullicus]

Turn 2401.0
Researched: Armor 2, Crystalline Tech 1
Colonized: nothing
Built: 2 space shipyards, LOTS of new frigates (2 missiles each). The space shipyards are incredible as they have a construction rate of 4913! I can produce a frigate every turn per base)

The Amon'krie started things off by sending in a scout the very next turn. I didn't have anything ready by then except 9 fighters I'd placed at the warp point. The scout pretty much ignored those as 5 of them immediately ran away (out of supplies??) and the other 4 quickly died. The scout got almost to my homeworld, but didn't attack.

I sent a treaty proposal to the Amon'krie, hoping to buy some time.

The next turn, I had a couple of frigates + a retrofitted scout, so I attacked the scout. The scout's point defense was good, but couldn't stand up to a missile barrage from 3 ships and it soon died without getting in range to do any damage to my ships. I sent the "fleet" to my warp point.

Before they got there, though, another Amon'krie scout came through my wormhole. I was able to take it out, too, though with my small fleet. The Amon'krie replied to my treaty offer with a not-very-surprising "no thanks".

With my warp point secure for the moment, I started converting my homeworld resource production to solar generators (which I had finally researched) as well as my mining colony. My radioactives were getting low because of the massive ship-building program I was on.

Finally, with a fleet of 5 frigates built up, I went through the warp point. With my good sensors, I found the Amon'krie homeworld right away and sent the fleet there. It had only a single defender. I managed to take his homeworld down by about a third before I ran out of ordnance and had to retreat.

Note: I like that the Balance Mod cut down on the ordnance supplies stored, but I do think it went overboard. Only having 50 extra ordnance per ordnance supply component is just not enough.

[Captain Kwok]

I've actually already increased the ordnance storage in the upcoming v0.92 release.

[Devnullicus]

Turn 2401.5:
Researched: Crystallurgy 2, Crystalline Weapons 1, Bombardment Weapons 1

The Amon'krie never seemed to recover from the initial pounding I gave their homeworld. I sent my fleet home, resupplied it, and sent it back to pound their homeworld again. Once again, I couldn't do much damage, but it did damage them enough to prevent them building up a fleet against me.

For some reason, they still hadn't declared war on me, though their mood went to murderous.

Realizing that I just didn't have the firepower yet to take out a homeworld, I researched bombardment weapons along with Crystalline weapons.

(Side note: imagine my utter annoyance, when, after spending 90,0000 points in research, I was rewarded with a torpedo that was less effective than the silly level 1 capital missile I started with! Grrr)

After researching bombardment weapons, I constructed a couple of planet-killer ships armed with 4 planetary napalms each. On 2401.5, my new fleet arrived at the Amon'krie homeworld and glassed it to rubble. The Amon'krie finally declared war on me.

I'd gotten a few scout ships through during this time and explored some surrounding systems, but had been too focused on warfare to build any colony ships. Now that it was just a matter of mopping up the Amon'krie, it was time to embark on colonization again.

[Captain Kwok]

The Crystalline Torpedo has 80 damage at level 1 that has 90% penetration (ie skips armor) while the CSM 1 does just 100 normal damage.

At least the AIs are building units in decent numbers - unfortunately in v0.91 they aren't launching fighters to space though...

[Devnullicus]

Yeah, I've been noticing that. They do build lots of fighters, but when I attack their planets, the fighters just sit on the planets and get destroyed. If they actually launched them, I have a feeling I'd be fighting a much tougher set of battles.

I didn't realize that the crystalline stuff skipped armor, actually. Now that I look for it, I see the note under "damage type". I would have expected to see a note about it under the "abilities" section for the weapon.

Given that it does skip armor, I'm still debating if it's worth 90K in research, but it's definitely better than what I thought.

[Captain Kwok]

I have the AI launching fighters in v0.92, which I'm trying to get finished for tonight. It will be save-game compatible and can hopefully rescue the other AIs somewhat before they hit the wall circa turn 50-75.

[Devnullicus]

Turn 2402.0
Researched: Ion Engines 2, Crystalline Weapons 2

The Amon'krie are no more and I've mostly finished re-colonizing their homesystem. The last of their ships made a desperate run for my home system, but was stopped dead by the swarm of fighters at my warp point. Only about 50% of them ran away - the other 50% kicked butt.

Unfortunately, with the early war, I've definitely fallen way behind on research and I need to scramble to catch up. I've sent out a bunch of colonizer ships (good thing I scouted ahead during the war so I know where to send the colonizers!) The Amon'krie home system also had about 7 habitable planets (2 of which were even breathable!), so I'm going to be building up for a while yet.

I haven't met any other races yet, and I'm hoping I don't for a bit so I have a chance to build up and catch up on research. Luckily, I can easily pump out 2 colonizers a turn with my super-duper shipyards at my home planet.

[Devnullicus]

Turn 2402.5
Researched: Light Hull 2, Armor 3

My little corner of the galaxy is much calmer now that I'm by myself. The Amon'krie worlds are coming along nicely and I'm spreading into several systems beyond the original Amon'krie home system. Occasionally, some of my citizens report a few ghosts in the ruins, but I just shake my head and think, "Gee, if they'd have just accepted my treaty offer, they might still be alive". Well, ok, probably not. If they hadn't been in the next system over from my homeworld past the ONLY warp point...yeah. But since they were, one of us was doomed from the start.

On 2402.5, I met my second neighbor, the Youbut Collective. In between snickers at their name, I immediately sent them a treaty message. Interestingly, they sent me one on the same turn. One of the more reasonable treaties I've received from the AI...except that there was nothing in it about non-agression. We'll see if they like the amended treaty.

Since they're a rock/oxygen race, they will hopefully allow colonization in the same systems. But then again, my aging fleet is sitting idle and could use something to do...

[Devnullicus]

Turn 2403.0
Researched: Ion Engines 3, Light Hulls 3, Contra-Terrene Engines 1, Resupply 2, Medium-Light Hulls 1, Intelligence 1, Smaller Weapons 1, Armor 4

The Youbut Collective responded to my generous treaty offer with a lame excuse, "Now is not the time for treaties". Well, maybe they're right. I began retro-fitting my aging fleet and moving it toward the border with the Youbuts. Still can't stop snickering at their name.

As a little emphasis on their reply, the Youbuts also decided to attack my poor little scout in their system...with about 10 frigates. Eek. Some of the frigates had anti-proton beams and emissive armor! Double eek. Needless to say, my poor scout didn't last long even though half their fleet started the battle with 0 ordnance and had to run away.

The massive wave of colonizers continues to expand from my home system and many of the colonized systems are starting to become self-supporting. The first non-homeworld spaceyards were finally built. Research is coming along as well and I'm starting to feel like I can make some ships that will stand up for themselves individually instead of just as a swarm.

I also met the Sithrak Dominion (Rock/Oxygen), and the Xi'chung Hive (Rock/Methane). Luckily, they're much farther away than the Youbuts and the colonizer wave hasn't reached them yet. Gives me time to deal with the Youbut. I didn't even bother sending the Sithrak or Xi'Chung treaty proposals..and they didn't bother either.