Hiigaran AAR (RetreatUE)

[Twigster]

I could not help myself, started a game using Retreat's RetreatUE Mod. At first (i.e. for the first like 50 years)I thought there was something wrong... that will be explained in detail later. Suffice to say, nothing is wrong and I am in a situation once again where I can say that this is the greatest space-themed game EVAR.[:'(]

Settings:

Spiral, Huge galxy (15,15 sectors; 1400 stars), Pre-Warp, Chaos, Extreme, Very Expensive Reserch (999K), Normal space creatures, Pirates are Normal, Normal, Normal and do not respawn; Colony Prevalence and Independent Lfe: Normal. Playing as Hiigara, starting system Excellent, all set to Pre-Warp for all AI (5x AI, one each Human, XHuman, Securan, Core, Arm), all Victory Conditions, no Tech Trading. Victory set to 100%.

This AAR will begin over 130 years into the game (One would not be able to tell if I had not said anything, however). Screenshots to commence tomorrow. WOW! [:D]

[Hattori Hanzo]

after reading your prologue I'm now curious to read your AAR [:)]

[Twigster]

The Hiigaran Hegemony is the dark blue centered in the cross hair. The Hiigaran Territory is the pale green empire to the four o'clock position from the Hegemony. Directly north of the Territory one will see the dark green and neon pink empires which are Core race empires. The light blue empire at top center is the main Securan empire. The bright yellow spot at center far left are the Ancient Guardians, and the Refugees/Shakturi are the pink at bottom left.

After nearly forty years without a Guardian warning, I figured that the Shakturi were not going to spawn in this game... but then came another warning, and within weeks after that, the Refugees arrived in 2220. Within seven years they went from 1 to 14 colonies, and then on 27 October 2227, the Guardians activated the Freedom Alliance and the Hegemony agreed to fight the Shakturi.

[Twigster]

I was far more impressed with this result before the Shakturi arrived. Remember that my technological development is extremely slow, and consequently so is the development of my economy. My Reputation is in red because I recently declined to come to the aid of an independent Securan empire which I had a MDP with that was being attacked by the Shakturi.

[Twigster]

Though you see no details, be aware that the Securans in the lead have accomplished nearly all of their racial victory conditions. That and their high reproduction rate, and being the fastest colonizer in this particular game means that their population is extraordinarily high as well. Before the Shakturi, I was figuring on them being my primary enemy for the game; given circumstances, they still rank high up there.

[Twigster]

This one is fairly self-explanatory and is the result of at least the 'Extreme' setting... [X(]

[Twigster]

The Hegemony up-ticked in this chart after receiving the Guardian Fleet from the Ancient Guardians very recently. Honestly, because the Hegemony has been fairly isolated thus far in the game, I hve not built much military other than what has been required to keep the Pirates at bay. On the other hand, I HAVE been devoting a lot to military tech research. Also- just as soon as I can get a tech research project to 'Crash' status, I do put the money towards that.Bottom line: expect the Hegemony military to grow a lot in short order.

[Twigster]

Difficult to express how proud I am that I AT LEAST got one Wonder built! As soon as the Refugees arrived they started queuing construction of most of the choice Galactic Wonders- because they had the technology. Also notice that the Khulum system has three Desert planets and one Continental, all colonized but the Desert colonies populations are already maxxed out.

[Twigster]

This is currently the most powerful ship the Hegemony can construct for its conventional (i.e. non-Guardian) fleet. As with so much else in this particular game, timing is of critical importance. To wit: from a technology and design standpoint, the Shakturi's arrival could not have come at a more inconvenient time. I am currently researching Caslon Missiles, Fast Jump Drives and Terraforming. I recently have finished research on the first Hydrogen-powered reactor, but have not incorporated that into any designs yet. The reason: I was waiting for the Caslon Missiles and Fast Jump Drives to finish (they are both approx. 60% complete at present) before I did a major refit and redesign. Oops...

[Twigster]

This is the Hegemony's current diplomatic situation. It appears as if everyone except the Core races are in the Freedom Alliance. That might look bad for the Shakturi, except that I would again like to point out that they are FAR more technologically advanced than the rest of the Galaxy (besides the Ancient Guardians, naturally).

[Twigster]

And from the Shakturi's perspective...

[Twigster]

I am sending the Guardian Fleet closer to the enemy immediately, even though I have several missions for it in mind. For example, I am trying to decide whether to send it in to attack the Shakturi right away (see next screenshot) OR send it to monkey stomp on one of the Core races I need to attack too...

[Twigster]

Far in the south of the Galaxy there is a system that the Shakturi have not yet completely conquered. In that system is this Shakturi space port, with bazillions of ships queued up to be built. I am leaning towards sending my Guardian Fleet first to this target with the idea that if this base goes down, the enemy's fleet construction will have been dealt a setback.

[Twigster]

Some 15 years ago, the Hegemony was at war with this empire but due to inadequate range available to the fleet, not much happened and the war ended. However- I recently constructed a re-fueling base very close to the target area with a view to the conventional fleet going in and attacking this time. Potential downside being that intelligence indicates that the enemy has a bigger fleet than my conventional fleet, and I don't necessarily want to suffer such heavy projected losses nor lose my admirals and captains. What I DO want to do, however- and badly at that- is to send the Guardian Fleet here to dispatch this minor problem with ease. On the other hand, while I kind of do want to aid my allies that are also fighting this empire, I don't necessarily want to make it too easy for THEM. Decisions...

Note to self- increase the Fuel storage capacity on the Gas Mining Stations.

[Twigster]

The main reason- despite the range involved- that I don't really want to attack here with my conventional fleet just yet.

[Twigster]

Now that this has all been presented as background, within the next day or two I will continue this AAR as a story that I will post as events progress. As always, I am open to questions, comments or suggestions.

[Twigster]

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it. [8D]

[Retreat1970]

Good AAR. The Core are straight up railgun. Heavy if I remember correctly. That picture above is worse than it looks. For all who didn't know, UE changed railguns into something competitive. Since it's a later date they've probably researched far down the railgun tree.

Also, you got a good start with all the friendlies. Only the Core, Shakturi, and pirates are your natural enemies.

[Twigster]

Thanks, and thanks for your work on the mod. I have also noticed that of the friendlies, the XHumans are the closest allies (other than the other Hiigarans, naturally) to the Hiigarans.

I decided NOT to attempt an attack on the Andu Axis System (Core) with my conventional fleet- nor, as it happens, with the Guardian Fleet either (due to events elsewhere). I am still working up the next post for tomorrow.

Last thing I wanted to say right now- the only Pirates who have been able to significantly damage my conventional fleet thus far were using Rail Guns.

[Hattori Hanzo]

impressive, never seen such a good and complete AAR presentation [X(]