Author Topic: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?  (Read 263786 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline Cassaralla

  • Warrant Officer, Class 1
  • *****
  • Posts: 97
  • Thanked: 1 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #60 on: September 14, 2011, 06:14:33 AM »
I've been playing for months, and I've never encountered the swarm.  Everything I know about them is from the forum, so I'm glad they get spoilered now.


I've been playing over 3 years and only met them twice.  I've seen the other 'bugbears' of the game more times than them. 
 

Offline Thiosk

  • Commodore
  • **********
  • Posts: 784
  • Thanked: 1 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #61 on: September 18, 2011, 03:57:42 PM »
Ooo hey I found some actual star swarm now, and engaged them.  There was a 60kt mothership trawling the homeworld of the Danis Imperium-- located about 8 jumps out from the edge of my empire... quite a haul.  They are not much of an imperium anymore-- they possess no ships and no shipyards.  After liberating them from the horrors of the swarm... my imperial guard is enroute to further liberate them.  They appear to not have much ground forces (C56).  However, in neighboring Eta Cassiopeia, a MUCH LARGER swarm vessel is moving around.  This is horrifying, as my fleet has no access to missile reloads.  I've gone to work for a few hours, but I intend to transit in, and launch a bunch of missiles and see what I can do with my heavy bombers.  Unfortunately, I left my other carrier group for rearguard defense... while 80 missiles with size 14 warheads penetrated the shields of the smaller vessel and caused a fluid leak (one fluid leak) , I am rather worried about my chances with a much larger vessel.
 

Offline Rendap

  • Leading Rate
  • *
  • R
  • Posts: 14
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #62 on: September 25, 2011, 04:02:31 PM »
Just finished surveying another system which turned out to have 1 terraformable planet and 16 jump points in total.  And this 2 jumps from Sol. 

In total I have found 58 systems so far and have still not ventured more than 3 jumps from Sol in any direction.  Never had this many systems this close to Sol.
 

Offline MattyD

  • Warrant Officer, Class 2
  • ****
  • Posts: 70
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #63 on: October 02, 2011, 04:02:42 PM »
So I'm at 2091 and things are really developing. It took him years, his marriage and his reputation but Jacob Wallace finally managed to push through his genetics research to an actual neoHomo candidate. An unsuitable iceworld on Groombridge 1618 was selected and Genetic Modification Centres established there for the poor colonists from Ross 154's planet Winter (conditions there being something of a taster for those on 'Conversion'). The Icemen were born and although frantic efforts have been made by the Neo Church on Earth to limit their potential, numbers have grown and there are three worlds run by this new species.

This is the playground for my imagination. I am slowly building up tension between the two species, for instance there are 2 ideal colonisable Icemen worlds that are off limits because they would require passage through the Sol system. I have also limited resources that the Icemen send back to humanity. All this tension is leading elements within the Neo Church to advocate a more militarist strategy, despite the Church's pledge of pacifism to protect mankind from a new Scourge (Trans Newtonian materials, when used, fry all non specially shielded electronic components worldwide - thats why the starting population is so low in 2025).

So all is good.....

No.

Captain Peter Falkirk, commander of Shale II Class GEV Alabaster.

What do I tell his family?

What do I tell the families of the 25 crew left to die in lifepods in LHS 2849?

What do I tell 2 billion people about the lack of any possible response? I'm sure that the old 'I'm waiting until Gauss Rate 5 before building a navy' is not going to cut it.

There are factions on Conversion smiling at news of this tragedy. The Icemen lie in the path of this alien threat. The Neo Church will have no other way out than to massively industrialize and militarize the Icemen.

And once the threat is dealt with, there is always the nightmare for those back on Sol. Scientist Wallace has almost completed research of a new genotype - the Blazers.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2011, 04:13:41 PM by MattyD »
My Newbie AAR
 

Offline Din182

  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • ******
  • D
  • Posts: 145
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #64 on: October 02, 2011, 07:20:30 PM »
I've been playing for exactly one year in my current campaign. I started with double population. I used my starting research to get good engines, particle beams and gauss cannons. I went out exploring the systems next to Sol, and the best overall system for colonization has a stable wormhole in it! So I sent my starting fleet to picket it, and some Invaders popped out. My ships obliterated the hostiles, and I only suffered severe damage to my sensor ship. It won't be able to be repaired for another 1.5 years due to all my shipyards building ships.
Invader Fleet #13090 has notified Fleet Command that it intendeds to Unload Trade Goods at Earth!
 

Offline Father Tim

  • Vice Admiral
  • **********
  • Posts: 2162
  • Thanked: 531 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #65 on: October 10, 2011, 12:14:20 PM »
Anyways. . .  moving on.  Why is the star swarm always censored? It's a bloody game option you see on your first play.  Everyone can see it in the New Game screen! Whatever.  I'll accept it as generic fan-base running gag.

It's not the existence of the Star Swarm we wish to keep hidden, it's details of their ships and tactics.  For example, there is no need to spoiler tag 'Ran into the Swarm one jump out from Earth; got my butt kicked.'  Whereas we do ask you to spoiler tag 'Ran into sixty meson-armed 800-ton FACs one jump from earth - thought I could handle them until the Queen showed up with her massive, quickly-recharging shield.'

 

Offline Vynadan

  • Lt. Commander
  • ********
  • V
  • Posts: 255
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #66 on: October 14, 2011, 12:39:01 PM »
My longest aurora campaign so far is a Sol start now 160 years into the game. It's still in 5.42 and I haven't played it for ages, but just looked back into that db. I actually have a couple of old freighters going between Sol and Alpha Centauri that are 106 years old. And surprisingly bug free - Aside from a couple NPR battles that required auto turns I haven't run into a single error message or game delay as of date.
Civilian designs don't need maintenance, but a century old freighter with 25k cargo space and amazin 2000 km/s still doing its job in the navy is quite a relic. I like to imagine it as a semi-museum or training route for the younger officers to get customed to the lower tech that's still used in various dead-end colony worlds.
 

Offline shadenight123

  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • ******
  • Posts: 114
  • Thanked: 1 times
    • Gamer's thoughts-my blog
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #67 on: October 14, 2011, 03:53:23 PM »
My longest aurora campaign so far is a Sol start now 160 years into the game. It's still in 5.42 and I haven't played it for ages, but just looked back into that db. I actually have a couple of old freighters going between Sol and Alpha Centauri that are 106 years old. And surprisingly bug free - Aside from a couple NPR battles that required auto turns I haven't run into a single error message or game delay as of date.
Civilian designs don't need maintenance, but a century old freighter with 25k cargo space and amazin 2000 km/s still doing its job in the navy is quite a relic. I like to imagine it as a semi-museum or training route for the younger officers to get customed to the lower tech that's still used in various dead-end colony worlds.

"congratulation recruit! you have been assigned to the OLD FAITHFUL"
"what? no that ship is centuries old!"
"now now, stop whining and get moving, those water fission reactors aren't going to work themselves alone!"
people die all the time, it's not a problem.
it is if you're sending them to die.
i'm not. they just need to learn to be better.
at NOT BREATHING ON MARS!?
they need NOT TO CARE!
my blog (updated 17/12/2011) (updated every saturday):
http://shadenight123.blogspot.com/
 

Offline dgibso29

  • Lieutenant
  • *******
  • d
  • Posts: 179
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #68 on: October 17, 2011, 12:51:31 AM »
A troop transport carrying Engineers to an alien outpost got blasted by precursors in a system that I THOUGHT I had secured... Unfortunately, the fleet was undergoing its' first modernization program at the time(This is my first REAL game of Aurora, 37 years in and loving it).
Fortunately, that was two years ago, and 7th fleet's command ship,Hellena, just detected the offending vessels 380m kms out. Launching fighters now - Finally, a chance to test out my carriers' strike groups.

108 Strength 4 nuclear detonations on target (Which is a 100% hit rate (3 missiles per fighter, 36 fighters).... And no sign of any internal damage.

Time to close the range, I suppose.

One day and 50 strength 4 detonations later... 2 new wrecks. Salvage ships en route. Strangely, the hostile vessels made no attempt to return fire, put up any sort of point defense at all, or even to attempt to fleet. They just sat there and ignored the nukes going off outside.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2011, 01:39:26 AM by Admiral666 »
 

Offline blue emu

  • Commander
  • *********
  • b
  • Posts: 344
  • Thanked: 2 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #69 on: October 21, 2011, 11:52:52 AM »
What's going on on my battlefield?

Spoiler: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a155/blueemu/Rammed.jpg

Good question... I was wondering that, myself.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2011, 01:57:37 AM by blue emu »
 

Offline user-unknown

  • Warrant Officer, Class 2
  • ****
  • Posts: 56
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #70 on: October 22, 2011, 04:45:48 AM »
What's going on on my battlefield?



Good question... I was wondering that, myself.

... I think that is classed as a spoiler around here?
 

Offline blue emu

  • Commander
  • *********
  • b
  • Posts: 344
  • Thanked: 2 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #71 on: October 22, 2011, 05:35:17 AM »
... I think that is classed as a spoiler around here?

If I knew what it was, I would know whether or not to agree...
 

Offline sloanjh

  • Global Moderator
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • *****
  • Posts: 2805
  • Thanked: 112 times
  • 2020 Supporter 2020 Supporter : Donate for 2020
    2021 Supporter 2021 Supporter : Donate for 2021
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #72 on: October 22, 2011, 10:00:29 AM »
If I knew what it was, I would know whether or not to agree...

Generally speaking, if something is mysterious, nasty, and hasn't been seen before, that's a pretty good indication that it's a spoiler.  We try to put such things in spoiler tags so that others can be surprised and/or caught with their pants down too.  Based on your reaction in the post where you discussed the encounter in question, plus your comment quoted here, I'd say it qualifies.

Note:  As someone (I think it was Brian) said a while back: it's not the names/existence of the baddies that we're trying to hide, rather it's their design philosophies, weapons strategies, and strategies for countering them based on that bad-guy-specific knowledge.  For example, the fact that a bad guy might hit you with a ramming attack at all and the fact that there's something huge out there that can do massive amounts of damage when ramming both fall into this category

EDIT:  AHA!  It was Father Tim that said it and it was only a few posts upthread from here.

John
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 10:08:30 AM by sloanjh »
 

Offline blue emu

  • Commander
  • *********
  • b
  • Posts: 344
  • Thanked: 2 times
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #73 on: October 22, 2011, 09:38:08 PM »
Should I delete my signature, then? Or spoiler-tag it?
 

Offline sloanjh

  • Global Moderator
  • Admiral of the Fleet
  • *****
  • Posts: 2805
  • Thanked: 112 times
  • 2020 Supporter 2020 Supporter : Donate for 2020
    2021 Supporter 2021 Supporter : Donate for 2021
Re: What's going on in your empire/planet/battlefield?
« Reply #74 on: October 22, 2011, 11:02:45 PM »
Should I delete my signature, then? Or spoiler-tag it?

That was what I was trying to gently suggest, and I think what the OP had in mind :)

Thanks,
John