Game Stories

[pathfinder]

well, once the new patch comes out, I plan on having two races available, I guess thru the MOD forum (not original shipsets). The Brachyura (have unique AI-sorta) and the Orion Faction (based on Star Siege and the squad I am in there)--this will also have a somewhat unique AI. Shipsets will be colorized Versions of default races.

oh well, but I will post short stories on events (eg The Battle for Warp point 9, etc) if anybody would be interested.

[Jubala]

I'm writing a gamestory for the pbem game I'm in right now, but we're only at turn 27 so you won't see it for quite some time yet as I don't want to tip my hand to the other players.

[pathfinder]

Truly a sad day for Terra. After fighting deserate battles against the Phong for the Aldan system and losing the colonies Aldan 1 and Aldan VIII; the Amokrie, using stellar manipulation devices of some kind, closed off the warp point for the Ibsunk system back to Terra. A rather forlorn convoy of Utah class light cruisers, Kentucky class light carriers and a lone Washington class colony ship are fighting their way from Ibsunk back home to Terra (envision the Battlestar Galactica fleet ).

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 19 February 2001).]

[This message has been edited by pathfinder (edited 19 February 2001).]

[pathfinder]

yet another story from a test game I am having with a new race:

The Orion Faction should be proud, yet sad over the events of the Last 24 hours.

Orion Faction Battle Fleet Beta was ambushed by the Vesudans in the Xiria system while on routine patrol. The OF battle fleet managed to wipe out the Vesudan Fleet of two light cruiser after suffering grievous loses. The frigates Ryoken and Stompy were severely damaged during the battle and were barely able to break away. The Ryoken limped home after sustain several hull breaches and the loss of 2/3 of her crew to include the captain. The Stompy suffered the loss of food locker #1 and survived the flight home by eating cheesy poofs.

The OF Main Battle Fleet is assembling and a call has gone out to activate naval reservists and pilots.

[Nyx]

Over the weekend I got a little way into a game. I was goofing off researching stellar manipulation and other non-military technologies. I was in 1st place about twice the score of #2 and with 50 techs to any other player's 37. The new Ixaris sail into one of my systems (first contact) bLast one of my frigates (largest hull I'd researched at that point) with a light cruiser decked out in large-mounted phased polaron beams. It sails up to one of my planets and wipes out three small weapon platforms and some 60+million people, then wanders off. I build a fleet of frigates with boarding parties, but they get shot to pieces before they can get through the shileds on the cruisers. I lose 3 more worlds as the Ixaris and I both try to colonize the same system. Finally I get lucky and in a different system I find massive shield depleters in a ruin about the same time I get destroyer tech. I emergency build a new boarding ship and park them over the nearest warp points into my turf after I'm driven out of that system we'd been fighting over. It's quiet. I go back into the contested system and it's empty except for an unescorted colony ship which I board and capture then send home for reverse engineering. I colonize a world and emergency build a resupply depot and shipyard.

It continues to be quiet for half a year and so I send a ship through one warp gate to scout. He finds a nebula with only one other gate. So he heads for that one. On the other side he finds the Ixaris homeworld with a slew of sattelites and some support ships. The scot moves one square from the gate (all the range he's got left), and a pair of Light Cruisers appear through it behind him on the Ixaris turn. Apparently we missed each other while passing through the nebula. There's only one other warp gate in this system so he runs for that one. Another Ixaris system, mostly empty, again with only one other warp point. The light cruisers are just behind him so he runs for the next warp point. A planet launches a cruiser while the scout is passing through, it joins the chase. The next system has three warp points, one I just came through, one that leads I don't know where, and one that leads back to the system he and I were fighting over. I'm about to run out of fuel on the scout so I head for home. A second cruiser comes through the unknown warp gate and I've got 4 ships chasing my poor destroyer (three of them are only 2 moves behind him). He makes it through the warp point into my system and runs out of fuel on the "safe" side. I send a fleet of 4 more destroyers to go rescue him and get him to the ressuply point. They end their move 2 squaress from the scout. That turn both cruisers and one light cruiser come through the warp point, kill my helpless scout and turn around and leave.

After that though it went all downhill for the Ixaris as had fleets of destroyers equipped with massive shield depleters and boarding parties parked over the warp gates and I captured about a dozen of his ships piecemeal and in fleets of up to three. I ended up gettng three levels of shield, light cruisers, cruisers, two levels of armor, and five levels of PPB off of him in short order. But that one captain's scouting run was one of the highpoints of my weekend. Died within sight of an allied colony and in spitting distance of a fleet that could have saved him after running through four enemy-held systems. Glorious.

------------------
Compete in the Space Empires IV World Championship at www.twingalaxies.com.

[Suicide Junkie]

A Capture operation to save the Empire!
Part 1 of a slightly connected series:
(These are 99.9% accurate, following the real adventures of a virtual race)

A dark cloud hangs over the empire. A peaceful, intensely religiuos people, dedicated to improving and terraforming every object in the universe, from moons to planets and eventually stars.
The Phong and Jreanar have declared war, after a decade of peaceful relations.
With only two out of six controlled systems having planets, we are no match for the two galaxy-spanning empires 10x our size. Fortunately, they are at war with each other, but this has left them with unfathomably powerful military technologies.
Ships the size of a moon, shields of fantastic strength and regenerative capacity. Weapons of mass destruction.

It is only a matter of time before the defensive perimeter of Minefields currently 3000 mines strong is breached in various places by sweepers, and the empire crumbles.

In an effort to stave off the looming collapse, the emperor has Decreed that the entire Navy should participate in an dangerous tactical operation, known only as "Plan Nine-Seven-Two"

Plan Nine-Seven-one, minefield traps, weren't working, but I noticed a lone Phong DN just barely within my fleet's range.

-=<Plan Nine-Seven-Two was born>=-
I would attack with the Tachyon cannons, disabling the weapons, and proceed to carve up the helpless victim with DUC for capture & analysis.
The technology aquired would advance the Empire by decades, and possibly allow us to fend off the invaders.

My Fleet: 17 ships
-4 Boarding party & DUC Combo Escorts (single 10kT shield-armor)
-4 DUC Destroyers (light shield-armor)
-1 MineLayer Destroyer
-2 Caldera class DUC/Tachyon LCs (medium shield-armor, 1 tachyon, 3 DUC)
-4 Tachyon Raider class LCs (heavy 70kT shield-armor, triple tachyon cannons)
-2 Healer class repair LCs

One Phong DN, with 3 Shard Cannon X, 2 HEMagnifier "deathbeams". 2,500 shields! With 100 regen per turn!

I gathered the Fleets (Tachyon-armed ships & DUC only ships)

The Phong DN moved in and SKEWERED the closest Tachyon LC. Ripped it to shreds.

All Tachyon ships (except the obvious one) made an immediate charge towards the DN while it reloaded, boxing it in.

All batteries FIRE!!!

Crap. Nothing.

The damn Heavy-mount guns are just too tough to hurt with the tachyon cannons. Not a scratch on the thing.

Another Tachyon Raider Spins off, engulfed in flames.

[Ponder]The entire Space Force trapped in one sector, Nowhere to retreat, plan in shambles, enemy reloading for another attack. Better to go down fighting.[/ponder]

The lightly shielded "clean-up" fleet of ES&DS charge in, spitting shells at the boxed-in DN. Minimal damage. DN Shields regenerate to full strength.

Shard Cannons rip into another Tachyon Raider, but shields hold (barely), and it pulls back.

Half the ES&DS are at short range now, and unleash a barrage at the DN. 50% misses.
DN shields holding strong.

*BLAM*
One more Tachyon Raider is lit up by the dual-HEMs and burns off into the cold night.

Point-blank range, now, the ES&DS are supposed to be hitting 75%, but barely manage a pitiful 50% accuracy.
Reloaded tachyon BLasters manage to pick off one of the smaller Shard cannons.

The DN fires Shard cannon at the still-intact Tachyon Raider that is falling back from the battle (with crushed shields), but misses.

Maybe the practice is doing good, the ES&DS manage a decent hitrate @ 80%, point blank.
The DN shields are showing the strain, but still over 1000.

A DUC LC gets blown apart, and the wreckage drifts off. I'm running out of LCs.

Another great volley of fire from the DS&ES send the DN's shield generators into overload, but don't quite penetrate.

Shard Cannon digs into the shields of another DUC LC, but they hold, and the LC falls back.

ES&DS finally bLast through the DN's shields and begin tearing up the internals. Armor Crushed, Shard Cannons destroyed, one HEM crystal shattered, shield generators down 80%.

A final searing HEM burns into the Last Tachyon Raider, burning out shields, but the hull is only lightly damaged.

The Escorts now fire slowly, and pick off the crew quarters & SDD. One moves in and the Elite commandos board & quickly subdue the surviving crew.

Not much remains for salvage. A single operational Quantum 3 engine, an ECM 3, a supply storage bay, and two living quarters.

The minelayer outlines a defensive perimeter with 20 mines.
Repair ships dock and tow the 4 ruined LC hulks back to the fleet, and settle in for nearly a year's worth of work before the fleet arrives at HomeWorld.

Everybody knows that this winter season will be filled with sleepless nights as the fleet limps towards the safety of the Empire's Defence MineFields.

WOO HOO
But, its not over till the blue alien sings!
I took heavy (70%) LC casualties, and now even 1 DN would be able to crush my lightly shielded ES & DS.

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 28 April 2001).]

[BeeDee10]

The game I remember the fondest at the moment was also the most bloodless I can ever recall playing to its conclusion. I began with the intention of being a near-Neutral race, content to live peacefully without expansionistic bent. Imagine my delight when my home system ended up with _two_ huge native-atmosphere planets in addition to my homeworld; I'd be able to build up a nice little civilization without having to spread out at all.

Despite our lack of expansionistic intent, my people were still highly inquisitive and interested in what lay beyond their horizons. After colonizing those two big new worlds, we sent unarmed long-range scouts out through our home system's two warp points to see what lay beyond. One warp point led to the home system of the Zynarra Holdings, and the other led to the home system of a people known as the Praetorians. The Praetorians were engaged in rapid expansion, so there was some initial concern over their intentions towards us, but it seems they were happy to focus their attention in directions other than our home system and so we forged a secure and long-Lasting alliance. Ditto the Zynarra, who like us weren't interested in occupying every system they could reach.

Ah, good times, peaceful times. My little unarmed scouts penetrated all of the accessable universe on epic multiyear journeys, making contact with alien civilizations and then making peace with them so rapidly that they never wanted for resupply; there was always an ally nearby who was willing to send them on their way with a full load of fuel. The three worlds of my home system were fully developed with a population of around eight billion in total, most of them devoted to pure research.

And then those researchers reported a disturbing discovery; there was a plasma instability in the core of our sun. They predicted that it would continue to magnify, and that in three years' time our home system would be destroyed in a supernova.

Naturally, this information was a major shock to me and the ruling council. There was no explanation for what had caused this so suddenly, and no way was known to stop the explosion from happening. We had three years in which to evacuate our race's entire population, but no transports to do it with and nowhere to move them to. Furthermore, although our neighbours were our allies, how would they react to our sudden desperate need for new living space? We had only limited weapons and shipbuilding technologies, and no navy beyond a small coast guard fleet.

Fortunately, panic was not in our peoples' natures. First and foremost: Suspend all current pure research projects and devote all effort into designing bigger transport ships and cargo-hauling technologies. Second: find someplace to move our people to. There was an excellent planet in the home system of the Zynarra holdings, and since they neither breathed the same atmosphere as us nor had the technology to colonize that type of planet we felt it was a reasonable request to put a colony there. The Zynarra were most agreeable.

Still, just one planet in just one system? This sort of all-eggs-in-one-basket is what got our people into this desperate situation in the first place. The Praetorians also had a planet that was ideal for our people, though they had already colonized it with a small domed outpost of their own. We purchased it off of them in exchange for some of our technological advances.

With destinations secured, and our tireless researchers producing plans for population transports capable of hauling a billion people each in quick order, the Exodus began in earnest. It was a heart-rending experience leaving behind our race's home like that, with no overt indication that anything was even slightly awry. We'd had to keep the information secret from our own people until just a few months before we started shipping people out, in order to prevent our allies from learning of our dire straights before we'd ensured they would welcome us.

We stripped the home system bare, even taking the constellations of defence satellites with us and dismantling our planetary facilities for raw materials to rebuild on our new homes. But on each planet approximately a million people refused to the Last to board the evacuation ships. We respected their wishes, as much as it pained us.

The Last transport dropped a few sensor buoys to record the death of our star and left. Our former home system was destroyed the next turn.

Coming soon: Part 2, in which a peaceful people turn paranoid.