The Terran Alliance

What are they doing? Why don’t they attack?

I pondered this for quite a while and then it became clear.

It’s the “Good, the Bad and the Ugly” in outer space. Let me backtrack a bit and explain.

I gathered my forces at Yeokt and struck at Dayrinni, there was no declaration of war on my part, I’m sure once the bombs started to fall the Lizards got the message. At the same time the Moltar finally made an appearance and built an outpost at Wi, it turns out they too were at war with the Dragul.

I understood now why the Dragul had given me the chance to build up, they were focused on the active threat and I wasn’t a priority. Taking advantage of the situation I attacked the Moltar as well and grabbed their outpost at WI which put the Dragul core worlds in range of my forces.

What transpired next was almost comical. The Dragul, Moltar and my Terrans, danced around these two systems doing an imitation of a dog chasing its’ tail. Ownership of the systems in question changed hands numerous times and it seemed like we were sparring and not really fighting.

And that leads me to here and now, a three way Mexican standoff in space. The Dragul could easily chase me all the way back to Yeokt where I would be forced to make a stand. That fleet of theirs shown on the screen is just part of their forces, there is another Titan and smaller vessels at Atrocriols. But if they do that, they leave themselves open to the Moltar. Here it gets more interesting, I’m at war with the Moltar but going out of my way to not actually fight them as I gain nothing if they go down and need them to be a serious threat to the Dragul.

My own forces in comparison to the Dragul are nothing more than raiders, I can’t go toe to toe with them and as time passes the disparity only gets worse. I’ve got to think my way out of this and soon as the worst thing that can happen now is either they make peace with one another or the Moltar are defeated…time is running out.

 

Those dastardly lop-sided lava heads... you shall be avenged MizzouRah (notice my avatar, he commanded the 10th Missouri cavalry, I wont fail you)

At the moment there is no way to rush construction but that may or may not change. Let me give you a quick tip though, in a couple of sessions I had some med bays and domes as well as leaders. The surplus I had built up started to vanish very fast... The lesson I learned is that you can't always rely on having an abundance of cash. Still it would be nice to be able to pay some money to speed up construction. I don't mean single turn like MoO2 as that could seriously unbalance things but some way to pay lots of money and temporarily increase the construction rate by an appropriate factor.

 

MizzouRah!
I wrote that manual
Heh, Heh, I'm just like you, I may read a sentence and then magically the game has loaded and I toss the guide aside as I start playing and bumbling my way around.
In this case I have the advantage of testing ISG for a few months, you're only seeing me play now when I'm a veteran, we won't talk much about my earlier efforts.
Please keep me posted on the new session, you can either post here or create your own thread which I will follow closely as I love getting the perspective of a veteran player but one who is fresh to ISG
Later today I have a very exciting update to post on my current game, it is turning out quite epic.

 

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory, tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”

Sun Tzu

“When tactics and strategy both fail… you may as well employ treachery”

Konstantine

Jubilation!

The victory at Jugrooys lifted the spirits of every man woman and child on Terra. The fact that it was un-expected made the triumph there all the sweeter, it was the stuff of legend.

The seeds had been planted earlier when the Terrans showed themselves to be crafty and cunning as well as a formidable foe.

Realizing that the strategic situation was unfavorable we decided to play a gambit. The Moltar were approached first and offered peace. As the weakest empire, fighting a two front war, the Moltar, (as predicted), readily accepted peace.

Immediately after this, a peace overture was also made to the Dragul. Being the odd man out now, the Dragul also accepted peace rather than fight both the Moltar and Humans at the same time.

Oh but the peace was short. The navy immediately re-organized and Cyrus was removed from command of the main strike Fleet, the more aggressive T’Pring was appointed to command instead. Her forces were quickly augmented with whatever units could be spared and were split equally between Dayrinni and Wi so as not to attract too much attention.

The Dragul were now free to pursue their war against the Moltar and they did. The Moltar for their part defended themselves quite well and both sides suffered losses without really being weakened. Again, as predicted, the Dragul started to send units from their bastion at Jugrooys to fight the Moltar which weakened the garrison there substantially.

Finally, the terms of our peace treaty with the Dragul expired and T’pring immediately headed towards Jugrooys with units from WI also departing at the same time.

It was glorious. In a tightly contested battle that was fought to the death, the Dragul Garrison of 2 Battleships and 3 Destroyers was annihilated at the cost of 2 Terran cruisers and 3 Frigates. The planet was immediately destroyed and rendered barren of all life.

With this action Dragul Power was drastically reduced as they scrambled to recall ships to their core worlds. At the same time, a terran detachment was ordered to attack Atrocriols while the main force under T’pring headed to Dayrinni to re-deploy.

The situation now is markedly improved and preparations are under way to attack the Moltar quickly lest they take the opportunity to gain too much power.
The war continues but for the first time in a long while, Victory is within reach

 

Thank you for your kind words MizzouRah
I will subscribe to your thread instantly as I love to see through other peoples eyes and gain their perspective, in your case I am particularly intrigued as you are still "discovering" the game.

 

Heh, heh, are my psychotic ways showing? oops.

Thanks aRM but it looks to be far from over, I've managed to level the field but the Dragul still have a larger fleet and they are heading back to defend their core worlds. Then there is the Moltar, as you see they have taken advantage of the opportunity and built up nicely, I need to attack them now so that they don't become a problem. So it's back to a two front war for me where the combined enemy forces vastly outnumber my own.
Quick hint, do not use Cyrus for fleet actions or anyone with the lone wolf trait. These commanders are best given a single powerful ship where they can act as raiders and disrupt the enemy. It made a big difference once T'Pring took command of my multi-ship fleet.

 

They backstabbed me! Those traitorous lava-heads backstabbed me.

I had sent a small task force to execute a surprise attack on the Moltar colony at Gliudub when lo and behold the Moltar executed their own surprise attack at Wi, destroying the small garrison there in the process. I lost a solitary frigate at Wi and control of the base but did take Gliudub from the Moltar.

At the same time a detachment from T’Pring’s task force arrived at Atrocriols and leveled the Dragul colony there. Unfortunately, the detachment did not have time to destroy 2 asteroid mines also located at Atrocriols as long range scanners detected a superior Dragul force headed to relieve the system. The detachment then quickly withdrew to Dayrinni to rendezvous with the rest of T’Pring’s strike fleet.

A significant setback also occurred at Gliudub a short while later when a small Terran task force was wiped out by a Moltar counter-attack, a cruiser and two destroyers were lost.

Casualties are starting to mount and Terran losses over a 5T period stand at 3 cruisers, 2 Destroyers and 4 Frigates. In other words, 17 SSPs worth of ships, a significant portion of the Navy, were lost. High command promptly launched an investigation into the matter and determined that the lack of heavy ships and inferior technology fielded by the Navy was the major cause behind this.

Immediately, all research was directed at developing more destructive weapons and a Battleship design entered production at Terra.

In the meantime, T’Pring launched a successful counter-attack and reclaimed Glidub from the Moltar before re-deploying yet again to Dayrinni. Simultaneously, High command decided to open a new front in the south as a way to relieve pressure on T’Pring and has launched an attack directed at the Moltar outpost at Drid where Moltar re-enforcements are currently en-route.

Locked in a dance of destruction, the Moltar and Dragul are fighting each other as well as my heroic Terrans, What I thought might be the end seems to be only the beginning of this galactic conflict.

 

I had to consolidate, there was no choice. The losses I had suffered in such a short span had left me dangerously thin in covering what was after all a very big front.

Oh I managed to take the Moltar outpost at Drid but they soon returned with considerable forces… I withdrew rather than battle. Wi also changed hands between the Dragul and I a few times… but in the end I withdrew from there as well too.

My Terrans managed to recover some strength and finally assigned Cyrus to his own Battleship, this makes him a force in his own right. With a slightly shortened front, some newly constructed ships and few more almost ready, I’m starting to feel cheerful again.

I’ll stay on the defensive a short while longer as that’s the only thing that makes sense for now and keep alert for any opportunities that arise...

 

An aggressive offensive by the Moltar soon followed as they chased my withdrawn forces all the way back to Ekreins. I fought stubbornly there as loss of that system would have spelt collapse of an entire front and I defeated two separate attempts by the Moltar to take the system.

Unfortunately this allowed the Dragul to strike at the Moltar and take Leeku from them as I too resumed my own offensive and captured the outpost at Drid.

On the civilian front, an outpost ship is almost ready and will be deployed at Acrail where a source of neutronium has been located, the production boost will be most welcome. Deep scans have also uncovered the hidden Dragul base around Scifibook and it can finally be targeted.

My northern front against the Dragul remains static as more forces are sent to T’Pring. Overall, the navy has recovered nicely and a second Battleship has entered service.


As the war progressed the Moltar reached their current state of collapse while the Dragul benefited the most from the situation. Cyrus took his lone battleship on a successful raid and destroyed the colony at Scifibook before retreating. Another raid is being considered with Atrocriols as a possible target. Gains were also made against the Moltar remnants and new positions were garrisoned to cover the immense front. The Dragul are attacking my position at Dant but I am certain I can beat them there.

The Navy is now built up very nicely and while still needing some more heavy ships, it does number over two dozen ships total. At this point I feel very comfortable and I will attempt to break the Dragul quickly and end this.

 

You know what aRM? I will miss them, they gained my respect when they managed to revive themselves twice before their final collapse, (they also tied up the Dragul very well).
They fought admirably, and I will incorporate the survivors to the alliance rather than exterminating them