Have you ever lost (or were in the process of losing badly) past ...

[vorpal+5 (OP)]

... past the point where you expanded beyond a decent number of systems?

From what I read in several AARs, mostly VB6 admittedly, people quit before losing, or quit when starting to lose (because VB6 was slow...), or quit because bored expanding.

Now, the AI in C# Aurora is better, so I wonder if it can really go to the throat and conquer your home system, if you manage to expand significantly. I have no doubt it can go for the kill if you are still in the early phase of the game, but a common problem of AIs in strategy games is their difficulty finishing a player once established with a decent power base.

Additional question: did you ever had to go into exile from your home system, planning for your vengeance against a NPR 

[DFNewb]

I've had a NPR bomb Titan once (millions dead, lots of lost facilities).

But I got them back for it (they were 1 Jump away).

[vorpal+5 (OP)]

I hope to see, with C# an order of magnitude and some faster than VB6, tales of great comeback, these make for the best game memories!

[CharonJr]

Not really, I am trying to make it hard at the moment.

TN-start with only TN researched and Planet X in game with a player controlled slightly superior race living there, 2 NPRs outside. 35 years in game and the main player race just lost a long range GeoSurvey ship close to Minerva.

Due to the close to 40bn km two-way distance to Minerva and not expanding out of the Sol system before it is secured the NPRs outside should get another couple of years before the player race makes contact. Will be interesting how far they have evolved in those 40+ years. Player race is at Magneto-Plasma level now and for RP-reasons currently only uses Carronades and Railguns - which will most likely change after observing Lasers, Missiles and Gauss.

[liveware]

In my current campaign, I encountered a hostile NPR 2 jumps from Sol who significantly out-techs me. However, in my 30 or so years since first contact, I have not observed them to have crossed their JP towards Sol. So in my case they seem to lack the JP traversal technology ,lack an interest in exploring that particular JP, or aren't interested in attacking. At least not yet.

[Zincat]

Not at that point yet in c#. But yes, I lost a lot

You know, playing conventional start AND with invaders on, the only thing it takes is a wormhole opening in or near Sol.

By losing, I meant losing all/most my critical infrastructure and/or population and such, at which point I conder the game lost. AI in vb6 aurora would not chase down and destroy your every colony... so technically you were still "alive"

[sneer]

I played with slow fleet buildup recently and NPR went into SOL and managed to shoot several salvos into Earth that went through
radiation caused unrest and this led to zero efficiency.
It took me 20+ years to crawl from this and build my fleet that later won this war

[consiefe]

My Sol discoverer NPR is a big ball of cotton candy and like a good doggy happily wiggles its tail at me. We are super friends as of now eventhough I don't know their race, their home system, their motives but their name.

In previous game, I lost my whole fleet to some camping spoilers AMM frenzy but that was a very good experience for learning.