Thinking about Pirates

[bvanevery]

Details here goes nuthin'

here goes nuthin'

Voting for atrocities before a Governor has been elected is a good idea, because nobody can veto.

Details it's close

it's close

If I could flip Deirdre, I'd have it.  Bet she'll ask too much though.  Everyone else is at war with me and won't respond to my pleas.

Details eh heh

eh heh

Sure Dierdre.  I know I look rich.  It's the parrot tacked to the end of my nose.

Details I loved and lost

I loved and lost

Maybe if I'm rich someday.   Of course I'll spend the money on something better.

[bvanevery]

Details I like peaceful talk

I like peaceful talk

MY 2185.  See the world, from afar!

Details well we can agree on something

well we can agree on something

Nothing else useful happens between us.  She signs off.  Happy to hear that my global powwow is making new enemies though.  I love spreading the love.

Details who gonna be

who gonna be

This one's a little hard to predict.  Deirdre has by far the most votes, but there's a broad coalition of factions against us.

Details that settled that

that settled that

Miriam had a pretty good chunk of votes, enough to be worth challenging Deirdre.  But Miriam must not be that likeable.  Why should Zhakarov ever trust her, for instance?

Details a new sea port

a new sea port

A target for theft!  Need to decide whether to go for the University or this one Cyborg city first.  I've got strange invasion options later if it comes to that.  Better do something before they get an air force though.

Details fourth theft

fourth theft

Pretty boring low level techs.

[bvanevery]

Details not happening

not happening

MY 2186.  Tech-wise, this is a weird game.  I still don't have E1 Social Psych.  I can't get the C3 Adaptive Doctrine I want.  There isn't going to be any Command Nexus any time soon, and I've got cash I'd better spend.  I don't even need Artifacts.  I can buy something outright with cash.

Details slim pickings

slim pickings

The Planetary Transit System is my least favorite Secret Project ever.  Get 3 people, watch 1 die.  Usually comes at a time when I'm already done expanding, like now.  The Universal Translator is useless as long as I've got stuff to steal.  That's why it's so early in my mod.  Having free perimeter defenses is not the best thing since sliced bread, but it's not useless, so that's what I'm doing.

Details suitcase of small bills

suitcase of small bills

Ok, a little harder to get to me.

[bvanevery]

Details don't need to steal a cyborg

don't need to steal a cyborg

I'm doing fine robbing Zhakarov.

Details suuuure

suuuure

I'm very lazy.  She also just quit warring with Deirdre.

Details absurd pricing

absurd pricing

At least the anti-giveaway code is working.  My dialog path was, "...a modest amount of energy credits..."

[bvanevery]

Details defended

defended

MY 2191.  Needed to check on whether that Laser Foil was about to pop out at me.  Now I see the base is blocked up with probe defenders.  Guess I'm going somewhere else.  No more University coastal bases to take on.

[bvanevery]

Details they used to like each other

they used to like each other

MY 2192.  Santiago voted for Miriam in the election.  Usually that's love!

Details the payoff of peace

the payoff of peace

The Cyborgs found someone better to stomp on.  I'm no longer a distraction for them.  I wonder if Domai would like to stop having his ass whipped?

Details slightly closer to goal

slightly closer to goal

The only real use I've found for Heavy Transport is to make Drop Transports bigger in late game orbital insertion warfare.

[bvanevery]

Details boring opponent

boring opponent

MY 2194.  Yeah, I've stolen.  But pretty much all I got were low level techs.  Now maybe the calculus of the game is different now.  Usually one picks those up for 100 credits, but I strongly recommended Thinker implement anti-giveaway code for trading.  And it did so.  And it might not be so easy to pick up techs anymore.  I'm still avoiding the temptation to sugar daddy / mommy, but I'm not even sure I can anyways.  Anyways, the real reason to sign a Truce or Treaty, is to try to stop him from stealing from me.

Details boring treaty

boring treaty

Like why did you have such a burning need to stomp me in the 1st place?  Wasn't something I asked you to do.  You just up and did it.

Details the optics on this are bad

the optics on this are bad

In my tree it's not a useless tech.  It gives the Skunkworks.  It also gives the Planetary Datalinks, but that got finished recently.

Well, his probe team left.  Mission accomplished?  Surprised he didn't at least infiltrate me.

Tried talking to Domai.  He's a pill.

You know I still don't know Social Psych?

Details this is a better deal

this is a better deal

I don't really have anyone to steal from now.  Domai's awfully far away and my 1st mission will be to infiltrate.  I don't have any other probe teams.  They all got made when I had nothing else to do and no other option really.  Right now I'm Children's Creching it up.

Details at least it is appropriately cheap

at least it is appropriately cheap

Lately in my mod, it doesn't do a darned thing.  It's a speed bump on the way to other stuff, and it lets you talk to Aliens.

Details decent deal

decent deal

Now I can make Deirdre happy with me.  Maybe even catch a mindworm.

Details oh good grief

oh good grief

This whole time, I completely forgot that Socialist gives +1 SUPPORT.  I've been playing as though I had 0 SUPPORT, just 2 free units per base.  I think at some point I thought I was going to be in a big naval war by now.  It's been a few days since then and continuity gets lost.  I don't play early Socialist very often, in fact I'd say just about never, so I'm not used to it.  The good news is, this means I'm not going to suddenly have any minerals penalties in my cities.

That's what I can get out of her.  Seemed reasonably balanced considering she's an ally.  Not like she gave me anything free, or anything terribly good.

Details chin wag with me

chin wag with me

See if I can ride on this peace train some more.  Yes, the truth is you're at war with Miriam now.  You're better off not bothering with me, considering how remote I am from you.  That's really the theme with everyone this game.  Svensgaard the Remote.

Well we managed a Truce.  It's a start.

I still don't know Social Psych.

I still want the Command Nexus.

[bvanevery]

Details she likes me better

she likes me better

MY 2198.  I'm friends with the world hegemon!  Maybe she can gift me with numerous tanks.

Details it doesn't do anything

it doesn't do anything

Wow, in my most recent mod release I finally succeeded in having the Alien starter techs be a complete waste of time.  They merely give them a leg up on getting to other stuff.  I'm not itching to obtain E4 Bioadaptive Resonance.  Not really my game plan.

You'd think I could have popped E1 Social Psych out of a pod by now.

Soon I will write a book.  "100 years without Happiness".

[bvanevery]

Details I always love talking to a neighbor

I always love talking to a neighbor

MY 2199.  I was actually thinking about going Fundamentalist, or at least that my current approach, isn't entirely working.  Then I thought, the other governments really don't work unless I've got a Rec Commons and a Hologram Theater.  Well I bet I can steal Social Psych from her!  Unless it ends up being the last thing I ever steal...

[bvanevery]

Details darn it

darn it

MY 2200.  So they can sit around and just get there?  Is it because they're the AI and have advantages?  Is it because I stole techs and made my own beeline research more expensive?

[bvanevery]

Details oh the awesome research

oh the awesome research

MY 2203.  I am learned.  I researched this on my very, very own.  Right after I wrote the book.

[bvanevery]

Details and the Gaians are better

and the Gaians are better

So... I can't keep up.

The AIs are playing a very accelerated game I find I don't enjoy much.  I'm struggling just to get a basic empire established.  I'll see where this all leads in the midgame, whether I end up making some kind of headway or angle on it.  But if not, I'll just tap out.

[Geo]

Details here goes nuthin'

here goes nuthin'

Voting for atrocities before a Governor has been elected is a good idea, because nobody can veto.

Well, learned something new now.
But that's mostly because I rarely went the atrocity route. 

[bvanevery]

Ok I'm quitting this game.  Waking up the next day has a way of assessing whether you're willing to put the time in anymore.

I did not have a sense of how the pace of tech would unfold.  I don't find all the other factions beating me to my own core techs, acceptable.  Especially when I was trying to focus on getting there first.  The game may still be plenty viable, but it's tedious, and there's no question I'm behind.

The problem is that those military Pirate techs "look like" they're not very far away in the tech tree, but actually, they're quite quite far away.  Trying to get there without building Biology Labs and possibly also Network Nodes was not very smart.

I spent way too much time building a bunch of foil probe teams, to not much ultimate profit.  They didn't yield all that much good tech.  The opportunities for theft were more limited than at first appeared.

Clean Synth/Plasma Police took a long time and show that my minerals development was weak.  I'm not sure what the right point of balance is between Tidal Harness and Mining Platform, but all Tidal Harness doesn't make you combat ready.  And although Police State Socialist sorta worked, it seems unprofitable compared to just learning Social Psych like a normal person and slapping down a Rec Commons.

I'll try again with my mod's more usual Explore Build approach to the Pirates.  There was never any actual fight to justify all that focus on Conquer.  Lots of threats but no real fighting.  I turned out to be so remote by sea, that most factions eventually got tired of warring with me and got busy warring with closer neighbors.

[bvanevery]

Details yet another game

yet another game

Haven't changed any settings.

Details choiceless

choiceless

Capitol on those minerals looks about right.  Don't see any potential for a "perfect circle" elsewhere.

Details the lineup

the lineup

Once again no Aliens to bother us.  Cult of Planet makes its debut.  To be irritated further by Spartans, Cyborgs, Free Drones, Believers, and the University.  Rather similar to last game.  Cult instead of Gaians, that's the only change.