Turn 164 cont’dSo here’s where we are research-wise. Our research output is a bit low right now because I’m doing some upgrades on Arkaria, but we should be able to finish the Energy research quite soon.
And here’s where we are industry-wise. With a factory upgrade, Romulus is now the most productive of our systems. Once that Strike Cruiser on Zakdorn is finished (I’m going to buy it this turn), I’ll start Cruiser production on Romulus.
Turn 165The scout fleet takes down a Ferengi Explorer, and Force 2 bags another troop transport, this one Transport X. I’ve decided not to bother screenshotting all the combat pictures.
Captain Kai’an takes command of the Blue Falcon, our last strike Cruiser for the time being. At Farius, the colony ship is ordered to colonize.
Turn 166The Ferengi want a ceasefire, but they don’t offer any reparations for Mintaka. The war will continue.
Turn 167As Ekos is currently ‘pleased’, I can only assume this is a random event. Terrorism can be either that or a result of poor morale.
We also get to colonizing Farius. The systems was discovered all the way back on turn 2.
I also rush-build the cruiser on Romulus. Unlike other 4X games, excess industry beyond the current project doesn’t ‘spill over’ into the next, so using credits to buy the last parts is more industry-efficient.
Turn 168All three of our fleets see action this turn: Force 1, a lone War Cruiser, Force 2, another unescorted troop transport, and the Strike Fleet at Mintaka fends off an incursion by a Ferengi Explorer.
We also launch the first of a new series of cruisers at Romulus. The RNS Osprey A, commanded by Captain Dark Flagrance, will head to Zakdorn for training while the rest of the fleet is built.
Also, in the far north, the Human colony of Narenda seems to have been wiped out of existence, probably by the Ferengi Deathfleet.
Turn 169The Borg are true to their word; all resistance on Trill has proven futile. The Trill race is now extinct, their planets barren, their resource consumed for the singular purpose of advancing the Collective. It is a small mercy that there wasn’t enough to build another Cube.
The system of Narenda, now uninhabited, can also be seen in the top.
Turn 170Force 2 takes out a raiding fleet of 3 Light Raider IIs. We haven’t really seen these ships deployed against us yet, but they are formidable raiders.
Some good news; we’ve gotten that breakthrough in energy tech. Charge collectors are like wind turbines, requiring a P-class polar planet and providing a free 100 energy.
And some even better news: the Borg are assimilating the Ferengi system of Doraf. That’s uncomfortably close to Mintaka, but anything that hurts the Alliance is a plus.
That’s an opportunistic Klingon colony ship poking through the ruins of Trill, by the way. Systems ravaged by the Borg aren’t really good systems to colonize, due to all the barren planets. But it’s worth it for the dilithium in Trill. (There’s a Borg bug here that wipes the system bonus icons, but Trill does still have dilithium)
Turn 171The scout fleet destroyed the Klingon colony ship, which moved off Trill for some reason.
Perhaps capitalizing on the Alliance’s sudden weakness, the Federation has assembled this fleet over Sarona, which contains a troop transport. They may be liberating their fellow men, or they may be building another outpost.
We launch our second Cruiser, the RNS Vulture, at Romulus.
Turn 172The scout fleet takes down a lone Light Raider II, while Force 1 takes down an Explorer II, which the Ferengi have now invented. They’re making technological progress, but that might not be enough to save them.
Their deathfleet might, however. That’s 27 War Cruisers. In the north, the Federation recolonized the system of Narenda, and their fleet disappeared from Sarona.
Also, we break the 1000 research points per turn barrier, due to new laboratories built and staffed on other colonies.
Turn 173Force 1 destroys a War Cruiser/Troop transport pair.
The Ferengi deathfleet disappeared, leaving just these 6 War Cruisers behind. We think they might have fought the Borg, but if that were so, they didn’t even leave a scratch.
Morale has risen empire-wide, due to the frequent victories. Of course, the Ferengi fleets still roam unchallenged, but the public doesn’t need to know about that.
Turn 174The scout fleet disposes of another single Light Raider II. These ships are most effective in groups, but the Ferengi are deploying them singly.
The deathfleet makes another appearance. Maybe they just went north to fend off the Federation.
In Romulus, the RNS Peregrine is built, our third cruiser.
Turn 175Force 1 takes down 2 War Cruisers, while Force 2 reports that the Ferengi Deathfleet has disappeared again. This is getting ridiculous.
In any case, the Borg are almost done with Doraf – just a couple of turns more. Our fleets are ordered back to Mintaka.
Turn 176Almost there. The scout fleet will stay in Cardassia to provide an ongoing view, and can retreat under cloak if necessary.
Turn 177Welp. Not Mintaka, not Mintaka…
We launch Cruiser no. 4, the RNS Crow, at Romulus. Also, we break 1200 research points per turn.
Turn 178We get another breakthrough in Computer tech. The Listening Post is an upgrade to the Subspace Scanner, providing +1 scan range but requiring 50 more energy, not really worth it except in border systems. Now we just need an upgrade in Weapons tech, but that’s the longest to research.
The Borg have disappeared. We’ll be keeping an eye on system populations to track them down.
Also, while our entire fleet is at Mintaka, let’s have a roll-call of our ships.
Force 1 is the RNS Darkfeather, a scout, and 3 cruisers, RNS Goshawk, Kite and Kestrel. These are commanded by Captains Sheb, Ebbor and Jay Cin respectively. Force 1 hasn’t changed since I designated it.
Force 2 is the RNS Darkwing, a scout, and 3 cruisers, RNS Petrel, Albatross and Martin, which are commanded by Captains Haspen, Pisskop and Theodolus. Force 2 merged with the Mintaka defense fleet when Captain Hal Devious made his attack against the Ferengi fleet on turn 151.
The Strike Fleet is 3 Strike Cruisers, which I’ll use primarily for defense duty. They are the RNS Black Hawk, Blue Falcon and Red Falcon, commanded by Captains Monk, Lal Devious and Kai’an respectively.
At Cardassia, the so-called ‘scout fleet’ consists of eight scouts, the RNS Silent Kite, Dark Comet, Dark Raven, Dark Martin, Dark Raptor, Dark Eagle, Dark Merlin and Dark Falcon. It is currently unclaimed.
At Zakdorn or in transit to it, is the tentatively named Second Fleet. Its (current) ships are 4 cruisers, in which the RNS Osprey is commanded by Captain Dark Flagrance, and the other 3, the RNS Vulture, Peregrine and Crow are unclaimed.
All told, our total fleet is 10 Cruisers, 3 Strike Cruisers and 10 scouts. Captains can ask for promotions to any other ships that are unclaimed. Someone can also be the ‘admiral’ of the scout fleet, but that’s a bit of a dangerous job.
Turn 179Force 1 destroys a War Cruiser and Light Raider II on patrol near Mintaka, while Force 2 bags a War Cruiser.
In the meantime, the Borg are nowhere to be found. The scout fleet will proactively look for them.
This gave me a heart attack for a moment before I clicked on it. The Sentient Starship, or Gomtuu from that episode of TNG, is probably the only ‘friendly’ extragalactic monster. If you hail him, he just runs away. If you shoot at him, he unleashes a bullshit-powerful attack that can destroy your entire fleet.
Turn 180Force 1 gets a Klingon Battle Cruiser.
There’s a worrying military buildup, though. That’s 4 destroyers, a Battle Cruiser and an Armed Colony Ship to the south. In the east, no sign of the Borg. The Klingons have also invented their Scout II, which can cloak.
At Romulus, we launch our fifth cruiser of the Second Fleet, the RNS Raven.
Turn 181Force 2 obliterates the colony ship, escorted by a Battle Cruiser.
Can you guess where the Borg are?
Turn 182This is just great.
When we hail it…
…it runs.
But it remains in the same sector as our outpost. This means we keep getting ‘free’ victories.
In other combat matters, Force 1 takes out a Light Raider II and troop transport.
We applaud the Borg. They have done what we, the Federation, and the Union could not: defeat the Ferengi. The loss of Ferenginar will not instantly dissolve the Alliance, but it is a death sentence. We confirm that this is still the original Cube, number 265 of 502412.
Turn 183We launch our sixth Cruiser, the RNS Condor, at Romulus. This puts us in the red financially – our upkeep and maintenance costs now exceed our income, and we’re losing credits. It’s only 32 credits a turn, though.
Besides, we could always prey on Ferengi shipping. They don’t seem to have any warships up here.
Turn 184It looks like the Ferengi sued for peace.
This is the successful raid screen. It says we only stole 6 credits, but we also stole all trade income from trade routes into Ferenginar. The shield generator will probably go down soon as there aren’t people to man the power stations.
Look at our treasury – we’re now at 8817 credits, up from 8814 last turn.
I’m going to spend a bunch on new cruisers, anyway. We’re almost at the weapons upgrade, with maybe another 2-3 turns to go. When that happens, the price (both in industry and credits) of cruisers will jump drastically as they’re now building cruiser IIs. So it’s better to spend now for more value, since ships already built are upgraded for free.
Turn 185The Ferengi declared war on the Cardassians. Not really a smart move, seeing as their capital is currently being overrun by Borg.
The RNS Eagle is launched at Romulus, and I immediately buy the next one. The 6 cruisers at Zakdorn will stop training and head for Romulus.
Turn 186Breakthrough! Now all of our Cruisers (14 of them) are upgraded free of charge, making them almost equal to a Strike Cruiser in terms of firepower. We switch research to Biotech, since that unlocks the Scout II upgrade.
However, now all new Cruisers built have to be of the mark II variant, which requires more time. Where before we were building Cruisers in 4 turns (or 3 with credits), now it requires 7 turns for one. We only have 14 Cruisers right now, and I’d want at least 15 before we take on the Borg. So we’ll wait a while to build one more.
The RNS Hawk was the last Cruiser, launched this turn and then immediately upgraded.
Turn 187The Borg are almost done with Ferenginar. Let’s hope they go for Solarion next.
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Topic: Let's Play Star Trek: Birth of the Federation! (Read 31937 times)