Lost Eden AAR: Kilkakon vs. The World

[Kilkakon]

The good ones can stay, just a page of it's probably too much. Either way really.

I probably deserved it.

[Buster's Uncle]

You deserve good things - but like I said, TD and I are applauding. 

I could split off the commentary into "Comments on "Lost Eden AAR: Kilkakon vs. The World "...

[Kilkakon]

Let's see how it looks when it's done.

[testdummy653]

Artists are soooo high maintenance...  .

[Buster's Uncle]

[nods]

[ninja'd, but the nod works for both]

[Kilkakon]

Sorry. I feel pretty terrible about it.

[testdummy653]

Sorry. I feel pretty terrible about it.

It's okay. I still love you and your naked Pokemon.

[Buster's Uncle]

 

Sorry. I feel pretty terrible about it.

Don't.  Feel happy you have fans.

[Kilkakon]

I'd like to begin by apologising for the delay. I got a job, and got stress with it, and many other convincing excuses. I also wanted to redo the Rakis logo before I started this particular part.

Still let's get back to it eh?

Turn 133

In a surprise twist, Morgius convenes the Council!



And Edge is going to win by a landslide, no mater what I do with my vote. It seems that everybody likes her too, complete with her new snazzy logo. I thought I might as well go along with it and support her for governor as well.



Turn 136



Never fun, is it? Fortunately they seem to be heading towards Edge's cities.

My small army of Squirtles and Carnivines grows, although I've switched over to Clockwork Supertank production now for a greater punch.

The Squirtles do alright for now though, this one easily gunning down an enemy Gunboat!



Turn 137

Rakash arrives. I wonder what he wants?





A threat. He wants Roses of Destruction, and quite frankly I'd rather not have to deal with any more of them than I have to. I refuse, knowing full well that he'll probably declare war over it.



Well that ended badly. At least he's not anywhere close by, being on the other continent. I'll have plenty of time to deal with his forces later. As for now, I order my forces to push out and secure the sandbar.



Turn 138

Oblivion's retaliation is decisive and swift. Ballistae, Charmander Warriors and a large number of Dark Roses march down the sandbar. A Fallen Pirate Ship torches one of my Squirtles, and a Dark Rose destroys my Carnivine, leaving the other units in the square fighting to breathe.



Still not all is lost: Rapid Transit is finally discovered. This will allow my naval cities to start gearing up towards military production and allow all of my cities to grow beyond size 7 once I get some Water Supplies up.



Time to strike back.















Over a few turns, the Fallen offensive is successfully pushed back, enough for my nimble Squirtles to use the available water squares to their advantage, maneuvering towards Dizzy Nation.



And so I begin to siege the city with the few units that I have available and ready to fight.



Maybe there's hope for this war yet! Dizzy Nation's capture signals the beginning of the end for Oblivion's forces. Unless he groups, soon, with superior technology, he will slowly be pushed out of The Confluence.

Unsurprisingly, Oblivion himself shows up at my doorstep to let me know how he feels. And that's poorly. He demands I give him the technology I just used to take the city, or he'll continue his advance. I wisely decline.



Turn 142

Fallen forces converge on Dizzy Nation.





Yet it survives, long enough to train a Charmander Defender in short order. In a few short turns the city will be considerably easier to hold.

And then suddenly, an interlude!

Fields of lush green grass. Skies full of white clouds. Oceans of sparkling blue. It seems like so long ago when you were living your ordinary human life back on Earth. Still, no time to live in the past. You have a new life now, and while strange, is very pleasant indeed. This new world is less tainted--it's almost as if it was designed to be somewhat paradisiacal. Sure, the widespread nudity took some getting used to but it seems harmless enough.

It's fun to stop and think for a bit. It's a pleasant night to be on the beach with the waves playfully tickling your toes. You lie backwards against the dry sand. Even the stars are unfamiliar and alien to you. Unsurprising, considering you're not on Earth anymore.

A noise. Somebody's behind you. "Quixilly?" you sing out. No response--something's grabbed your foot! Struggling to get free, you twist and turn, eventually breaking loose. You stand up and are horrified by what you see: vines have overgrown the entire beach! Quickly you eye out a path and run for your life, narrowing escaping the creeping growth. At a safe distance, you stop and pant for breath.  You have never seen such alarmingly explosive vine growth before... nor do you ever want to experience it firsthand again.

Turn 143

Alas, he falls.



Still, walls are up, so that'll help provided the city can hold much longer. Squirtle reinforcements support the offensive.

[Kilkakon]

(I had a bit of a scare a few days ago, my site went down while I was doing this episode for a while)

Turn 144

Fallen Forces continue to descend on Dizzy Nation.





The city holds, for now, but it won't be long until it falls again unless reinforcements reach the city.

And now for something completely different: a Floating Vine Mass takes out a random Work Boat near Free Wharf!



Finally, some good news: my first Clockwork Supertank has finally been constructed. With 8 attack, few enemies can stand up to this fast attacking monster.



It, as well as several Squirtles, Charmanders and Regenerating Roses, converge on Dizzy Nation to support the seiged city.

Turn 145



Well this is a pain. The city's also supporting a Colony Pod which will also be destroyed. Nothing I can do about it--the two cities are lost, destroyed by the native threat. It's remained a continual reminder that this world isn't as safe as I'd like it to be, with enemies around me in every corner.

At least one new city is founded now, in the Freshwater Sea:



Turn 146

That rather dangerous evening on the beach was not to be the last of these explosive vine growths. Lighthouse of Truth has reported nearby vines performing in a similar way and vine activity on the outskirts of your territory is also increasing. It's concerning--it's hard enough to manage domestic and interfactional affairs alone without having to worry about native life problems all the time.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on your throne room door. "You may enter", you beckon frustratingly. That's the bad thing about being a Brother-General: no time for thinking in this job! Quixilly enters... and she looks really tired. She doesn't look like she's slept for days.

"Brother-General", she begins moaningly.

"Yes?", you respond compassionately. "What is it?"

"It's the carnivines... and the vines", she replies, sitting down upon a nearby stool. "Our relations with them are largely positive. We've even recruited some of them to use in our own armies. And yet... they are attacking us as well."

"I've been thinking about the same thing... what have you figured out Quixilly?"

"Somebody else is using these creatures against us Brother-General. I don't know who, I don't know why, but it's the only thing that makes sense... otherwise these carnvines wouldn't be so duplex...", her voice fades off. "Listen Brother-General. Whoever is doing this must be very powerful. They have control of the one of the base elements of this world, those vines and carnivines."

"Thank you for your thoughts, Quixilly. You better go to bed, you look really tired! I shall keep what you have said in mind."

"Thank you, Brother-General." She walks off. Her words still ring in your mind. Who could wield such power as to control an entire planet?

Oh yay! The Sea Colony Pod that was under Free Wharf's control has been reallocated to Pillars of Creation instead, meaning that the city's legacy lives on.





Daveo then arrives. Being a loyal ally, I welcome him in gladly.



Turns out that he's already completed Mercenaries. I'm more than happy to contribute to his development, and it saves me time by granting me several key military units, some of which Oblivion has already been using.





Mercenaries is always a simple yet fantastic tech, providing 3 powerful units. First is Pirate Ships, strong hard-hitting vessels with the ability to capture enemy ships (4/1/4). Second is the only land artillery unit in the game, the Ballista (5/1/2). And finally, but definitely not least, is the Spy, an all-terrain espionage unit (0/0/3). All of these units remain useful throughout the entire game, and so it's great for Daveo to give them to me a few turns earlier.



Haha thank you Daveo!

[Green1]

Artists are soooo high maintenance...  .

A good friend from New Orleans once told me artists are okay but musicians are batshit insane and to be avoided by sane folks. After dating an artist and a musician, I will take the artist. Much less neurosis and drama even though artists do have maintenance.

Kilk, I am enjoying this. Take your time. I did some AARs and i know they are time consuming and do affect your enjoyment somewhat.

[Kilkakon]

Realm forces reinforce arrive at Dizzy Nation, including my very first Clorkwork Supertank to see duty. Its effect is far from subtle, gunning down both natives and Dark Roses alike. Squirtles, now with a new graphic, mop up several Fallen charmanders as well.

Watery Redemption is then founded at the front.



Turn 147

I'm immeditately confronted with a tech decision--but in this instance, the choice is clear. Despite my predisposition towards charmanders in general, I already have Clockwork Supertanks, and so it makes more sense for me to go with Absolute Power.



Fallen forces entrench around Dizzy Nation. The lack of a road means that that single square of distance is enough to prevent me from getting at the units safely. I resort to using Squirtles to snipe at them--after all, Squirtles can attack from the relative safety of the water. But even so, my battle-hardened Squirtles barely manage to take out a Dark Rose. If I don't have another way of getting at them, I'll quickly run out of strength.

Test of Survival is also founded--a city I named deliberately for this moment, for it sits on the same site as the last sea city that was happily gobbled up by natives. Will it stand this time? Only time will tell.

Turn 148

Fallen forces remain out of range of my Clockwork Supertanks, and rightly so. But they do take the opportunity to hammer my exposed Squirtles with Ballista fire. But I have a plan--I order a worker up to the area. It'll take some time to arrive, but it will allow me to build a road where I need it most. Or at the very least, should the many Clockwork Supertanks somehow fail to deliver.





They don't. Pushing out of Dizzy Nation like rolling thunder... rose, charmander and machine alike tremble before their might.

Turn 149

But power is not without its costs. one of the Supertanks took too much damage, and so was left out in the open, and so was instantly cut down by Ballista bolts.



Scores of Fallen units approach, primarily a mix of Rifleboys and Dark Roses, but they remain out of Supertank range.



Edge then arrives. I wonder how I can help my ally today?





Wow this is almost scary--I'm actually getting a handstand charmander picture drawn for me live as I do this, and I get offered the tech for handstand charmanders at the same time! That is weird. But back to the game--a good military tech in exchange for a very helpful one, a fair trade. And don't worry Edge, we don't think you're narcissistic, even if you are Potent to my Wanting.



Charmander Acrobatics allows Charmander Superiors. There's not much more that needs to be said. Charmander Superiors have 6 attack, 2 defence and 2 movement speed--but they also have the ability to "jump" up to 8 squares, provided they started their turn in a friendly city. Great for surprise attacks and base captures, although they don't have the same impact as drop pods do in the original game.



Infinite Wealth in exchange for Rapid Transit, a very fair exchange. I could do with the money! I'm down to 60 gold.



A vital technology for those after an economic victory, Infinite Wealth provides 3 seperate ways to increase one's treasury. First, Gold Vaults, a facility that produces 5 gold every turn. Second, Greed, a social engineering choice not unlike Wealth from Alpha Centauri. Third, it provides a bonus to commerce. It also unlocks economic victory itself, as well as the Excavate Mother Lode council option. While I'm not going for an economic victory, it is nice to have the Gold Vaults.



Why thank you Edge. I appreciate that. She then takes her leave.

Turn 150

Oblivion's forces probe my defences, but they find no chinks in my armour. Then I realise that I used  simile that makes no sense--nobody wears clothes here! Oops~





My 'Tanks roll out again, eliminating two more enemies, although there are still ten more out there, with more being reinforced every turn.

[Kilkakon]

Turn 153

Fallen artillery continue to bombard Dizzy Nation, reducing the health of most of the offensive units inside. Counterattacks will be very difficult under these conditions. At least the Workers have arrived--allowing me to begin construction of an Outpost immeditately.

Watery Redemption is also attacked--but the Charmander Defender successfully holds on against the enemy Gunboat.

Suddenly--fire!



Hopefully not too many people were hurt.



Absolute Power is mine--along with a chilling quote from Meora. Alas the reason I got it: Power, is not a good idea diplomatically for me. Daveo's agenda is Greed, and going with Power would annoy him. Still, the victory condition unlock as well as Advanced City Walls are always nice to have.

Turn 154

Rifleboys continue to wear down my charmander's health, sarcificing themselves to deal chip damage to him.











I spend some gold to get those Advanced City Walls built immeditately. With the constant rain of ballista bolts over our heads, my troops are only fighting at 30% of their maximum strength. But even so, the city had to hold another turn without any reinforcement.

Turn 155

The Fallen onslaught continues.















The Advanced City Walls then complete, but are they too late?

[Buster's Uncle]

MOAR!

[Kilkakon]

Haha okay, I'll do some tonight.

I was rushing to get more on the mod done for a huge LAN day I had yesterday--was pretty successful (only one pic and a few voices missing) too. I won, but it was a lot closer than it could have been (the new guy took the cities around my capital on the last few turns of my economic victory countdown).