General Category > After Action Reports

All dat Leech!

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thelonecarrot:
Seems like one of the best ways to get into the community is to run an action report. So I'm going to attempt just that. Never done anything like this before so let's hope this is fun for all.


Decided that the best thing to do would be to play a style entirely unlike what I'm used to. With that in mind, Leech! All Day! All the Time! Reclaim our worlds from them just like we reclaim their ships!

80 Planets
Map Type: Crosshatch (Seems to be all the rage with the young'uns)

AI 1: 7.3 AI  Zenith Descendant
AI 2: 7.3 AI  The Tank

All Ship Types
Full Fog
Performance Profile: 66ms
Unit Scale: Normal
Combat Speed: Normal


Minor Factions:

Hard Golems 3
Hard Spire 4
Zenith Trader
Fallen Spire 3
Dyson Sphere 4


AI Plots:

Hybrid Hives: 3


Having never fought Hybrid Hives before I wasn't sure how to tweak the difficulty, hopefully my settings will provide a challenge and a good read.
Also never really used reclamation in such a large fashion (or at least planned to)

Starting planet gives me 'Parasite' as my bonus ship. I'm going all for this playstyle. Will update tomorrow with the first report. Any advice on how to write these up is welcome.

Gonna keep a converted counter if possible.

zharmad:
"What is it with the recent cross-hatch craze?"

In terms of advice, I enjoy a well-rounded number of screen-shots (snapshot of galaxy if the strategic situation changes a lot, a situation you found surprising or important, etc)  - bonus points for you if you take pictures of intense battles while commanding your troops at the same time. Giving us a little bit of your thoughts on why you chose a certain course of action is also good - there are many ways to play this game, and I reckon most of us are different in terms of transport usage, scouting, defensive emplacements,etc.

Text-walling is only permitted if you are also drinking beer and listening to Shelley Barratt. ;D

Anyway, I should be making one of my own :P: all this commenting on how I like AARs is a little disingenuous given that I have none up here.

Diazo:
Heh. Cross hatch ahoy! (But I only play lattice maps these days! I'm the odd one out.  :-[)

Anyways, welcome to the boards.  :D

The biggest thing I like to see in an AAR is the galaxy map and some commentary on what your strategy is. While there are many ways to fight the AI at the system level, the game is really about your strategy and how you get yourself into a position to destroy the AI homeworlds.

Good luck with the parasites, yoinking ships from the AI is great fun.  8)

D.

thelonecarrot:
Okay then, first report!

After making this thread I sat down to play at least one hour since it was about 1:30 AM when I was starting.

With no set strategy other than nick enemy ships I set about building up my forces and scouting the surrounding area.

To my pleasure I was surrounded by low tier planets, a nice change from my last game which ended rather quickly when one jump away from my homeworld TWO MKIV Raid Engines activated :(

Ist upgrade I decide to get is Mk II. Economy for both Metal and Crystal for no paticular reason other than I hate flashing yellow and red lines everywhere. Clearly my decision making is flawless.

The results of my early scouting show that my posistion is fantastic! On Zarare there is MkV NanoSwarm Fab as well as a Z Power Gen and beside it on (The one to the left with a stupid name) a Black Widow Golem. There is a God! Obtaining these two planets is of top priority!





I wants them both p-prescious!

Mk 2. Scouting Drones next for better scouting.

I also discover a Mk IV factory is also nearby but between me and it is a raid engine or 3 Ion Cannons. Pain either way.

Everything was going well at this point till A WASP FLIES INTO MY SCREEN!


The face of the enemy! Closest ally to the AI. PURE EVIL!

What followed was a tense hunt to the stirring music of AI wars around my kitchen till I found where the SOB was hiding. Overcoming my bodily need to be anywhere else but near the wasp (the remenants of a childhood fear which has never left even after the fear did) I hit it with the spray. Another ally of the AI was slain! Went to bed after this and continued later on.

Mk II AND III Parasites purchased. So much easier now to take higher level ships for my own!

I decide to take the three worlds that form the bottom left corner of the map. Celda Uzimida and Dizurges. (Note to self use easier fraking names next time!)
This nets me a 4/4 world and an ARS that gives me Grenade Launchers. This is simply fantastic as the enemy has Neinzull Tigers. I hate these almost as much as Commandoes.
Two of these worlds were Mk. 4 but all that meant was Mk 4 for me to nick! :D


My 'Raggamuffin' fleet. All the crap I capture so far I leave for Homeworld defence. They are not yet easy to replace and have yet to reach ROFLSTOMP Critical Mass.



At about two hours in another two wasps in the house pull me away and leave me deciding to call it for now. (EVIL!)
Because of the relative proximity of a MkIV foctory I've decided to go for Parasite ships Mk II and III rather than upgrading the leech starship.
I'm readying myself for a strike at Zarare so that I can capture the NanoSwarm Fab. Sadly it has an AI EYE so I will have to go slow.

THE STRATEGY PART!:
Due to the map layout I would rather hope to have a large mobile fleet force to deal with incoming waves rather than trying to establish a whipping boy world. Too many W. Gates meaning too much AI Progress. This is where having lots of Reclaimed AI ships will be vital.
To this effect I plan to establish a "Farming Zone". Planets of all Levels that I can hit for ships for my fleets. I have yet to really iron out where though.
This strategy also places Energy above raw economic power. I will probably have a Mk III Power Generator on every world I take.
Have about 9000 science points to play around with. No idea yet what to spend it on.
I am placing scouts on every planet to help monitor enemy movements. My plan is to use all Spire asteriods to build scouts and establish a real information network so that fleets can be kept mobile and be where they need to be.
So to summarise:

1. Take Mk 5 Fab, destroy the AI Eye first.
2. Get Black Widow, scouting planets above for good and bad things.
3 Get Adv Factory, decide either to take Raid Engine Route or Triple Ion Cannon Route.
4 STEAL MOAR SHIPS!

Just saw the preview, man the image scale sucks!

Praise? Advice? Condemnations? Snarky Remarks?

zoutzakje:
ohhh a black widow golem so close, lucky. I don't know if you have read bits of my own crosshatch AAR (the finished one), but black widows were vital to my succes (especially since I had 3 of them). Only guardians and structures posed any threat to me, regular ships weren't important anymore. The only troublesome part is the fact that your black widow golem is inside the grid, which scared the crap out of me in my game. Your AI difficulties are reasonable though, so moving inside the grid probably (hopefully) won't give you to much trouble.

Looking good so far. Higher tier harvesters are a solid unlock. You could even get away with mk III of them. You'll have less knowledge for ship upgrades in the early game, but you will easily be able to rebuild your fleet quickly in case you have to.

I don't know how much you have scouted... but for the advanced factory, if you don't think you will ever have to come near the raid engine in the rest of the game, avoid it and take the ion cannon route. If you think you will have to take, neuter or move through any planet bordering the raid engine in the future, take it out now. Taking out Raid Engines is easier when AIP is still low. I learned that when I played against a Raid engine AI type some months ago.

good luck =)

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