Trani - Feb 28 22:30 - Tick 189 Cycle 9

 Half way through Cycle 9 

Strategic

• I'm on alert tonight for a potential war with Darrow who is bringing forces (~450 in striking range, 220 already in my territory) to the border. Darrow launched a night attack on Ktoc yesterday so I'm vigilant for the potential of this. I'll discuss specifics in the Tactical section but if Darrow moves any forces toward Chothi I will switch my diplo status to enemies wiping out his Chothi fleet. Reinforcements are already on the way via Visya-Chothi warp gates (~ETA 8 hours since they've not yet reached the other end of the wormhole) I would also coordinate with Inerz on a joint attack on Darrow whilst continuing to press Ktoc. The aim would be to hold Darrow at my current borders until Ktoc falls.
• Built my first worldbuilder tucked away in my original territory. I think Gilgamesz will need Scan 8/9 to see it so it's not getting noticed anytime soon. I have 3 specialist tokens left. Since that figure will be 8 again in a few hours it's all good. 

Diplomatic

• Gilgamesz has been quiet for a few hours but I've sent him two techs and given him a star (that he was owed) so I'd like to think he thinks pretty highly of me at the moment. For the record current Ledger with Gilgamesz is fairly even, I've given him 60 creds more than he's given me but at any point in last few days that would have been +-100 each way.

Tactical

• War north of Visya (Northern Front) is going well. I'm going to lose Achos and Hanni (unfortunately Pathfinder Squid is going to die on Hanni) but unless Darrow comes in from the North I'll grind down these forces and re-take Hanni next cycle. New reinforcements continue to flow in through the Visya wormhole. It feels like +100 every few hours.

• War East against Ktoc (Eastern Front) starting to ramp up the production down here a bit. You can ignore Dust's AI building lots of Industry that I'll later snag (I won't do it until Ktoc is out of scan range or dead, if he tries I'll trade Dust whatever weapons level are needed to wipe out the inbound attack.) Just off screen there's an Infiltrator with 83 ships coming down to Jantoo so this will only briefly be held but I'm pressing. I could probably do with getting another 100 or so ships down here but I will be able to tomorrow morning if Darrow hasn't attacked.

• War North North (Extra Northern Front) this is only the potential of a war and I hope it doesn't happen. If it doesn't happen tonight/tomorrow then it probably won't/can't ever bother me but at the moment Darrow could cause big issues. In response to an attack I'll blow the warp gates on Chothi, destroy the forces there and rally troops to defend the landing points. A new warp gate on Bergelmir (3 hrs transit) is the threat not only to Chothi but to a good nights sleep. I'd pre-emptively blow the Chothi Warp Gate but I'd like to get my own reinforcements across to it. Current plan sees a new carrier with 130 ships pop through Visya wormhole next tick and pick up 30 more rushing across to Chothi. This would land the same tick as the fastest Bergelmir attack fleet assuming warp gate (and waiting for that carrier that's 1 tick away from Bergelmir)

Trani - Feb 28 17:30 - Tick 180, Cycle 9

Cycle 8 just ended and the map is starting to look nice as the attacks on Ktoc gather momentum. 

Stars: Gilgamesz (34) Necria (32) Inerz (26) 
Total Ships: Inerz (2133) Gilgamesz (2103) Necria (1916) 

New Ships: Necria (32.4) Inerz (27.6) Gilgamesz (24.5) 
Cycle Income: Necria (1354) Darrow (1092) Inerz (1082) 

Strategic

• A key priority at the moment is avoiding conflict with Inerz or Darrow. I think Darrow is a much higher risk than Inerz since I've stepped in the way of his attack on Ktoc. I've had a look at the numbers and I should be able to fight Ktoc and Darrow at the same time now, but it's a very close run thing. If I can delay this from happening for another 2 cycles Darrow won't be a problem.

Diplomatic

• I am considering having the talk with Gilgamesz about final places (a 1-2 interchangable between me and him) but I think it might be premature yet. I feel this alliance slipping away day by day, not in any significant way but I can feel it weakening. We're both viewing each other through the eyes of someone wanting to win the game and that's never healthy for an alliance. This next cycle I'm going to double down on being a good ally for Gilgamesz, quick and fast tech trading, lots of positive upbeat communications. Completely demilitarize the border (there's not much there, just some industry that isn't connected to the rest of my logistics network but what there is I'll pull away) Really try and rally this alliance. I want Gilgamesz to do well, I don't want to fight him, I'm not going to betray him. I'm happy if he wins. I'm in a strategic expansion race against him and I hope that we get to a point where we can just agree I'm the winner, but if he beats me in that expansion race then so be it.
• At the same time I want to do a single round of tech trades with Inerz for Weapons 5, not only is this a bit of a time-saver but I'm hoping it gives me flexibility and at the least keeps Inerz away from me for a couple of cycles.
• I've been engaging in conversation with Anita and they seem friendly, we just don't have much to bond over. I don't realistically see how we can have a strong alliance. I've asked them what their plan is after Denizen is conquered since they'll be boxed in by their ally and a NAP with Inerz.
• Ktoc is standing his ground. I engaged him in some chat just to pass the time and he's told me firmly that he'll be fighting to the death, which I respect. He'd have made a good ally under different circumstances I think, he rubbed me up the wrong way in the initial negotiations over Visya (probably for the best he did since controlling the wormhole was in my interest) but I'd be willing to work with him in future games for sure. 

Tactical

• I've cut off Darrow from Ktoc's territory. This comes with a cost, meaning I now need to fight Ktoc without any of Darrows support. It also means Darrow might hit me since I've thwarted his expansion. The benefit though is that I get all of Ktoc's stars (hopefully) and I still strongly believe if I do that (fast enough) I win the game.

222 of the ships on Chothi belong to Darrow.

• Darrow is rallying ships to the border with me (and he still has 200 ships sitting on my Asteroid Field) I will have a big decision to make if he tries (with diplo set as allies) to move ships across to that field. I'm not going to let him choose when the fight stars. I'll probably diplo switch to enemies 1 tick before they land, wipe out his AF fleet and then destroy the inbound fleets if that happens. This will/should spark an unwanted war though. The only way I can mitigate against this for now is to consolidate strength on that border and put him off any such ideas.

Trani - Feb 28 12:00 - Tick 170 Cycle 7

Halfway through this Cycle and the Galaxy is progressing well. Ktoc responded to mine and Darrow's (uncoordinated) joint-attack by attacking Darrow which is interesting and helpful. I'm making progress on both fronts and I have secured and fortified the Asteroid Field at Chothi. 

Darrow will struggle to take it from me now and hopefully he won't even try. He should though. I have every intention of going to war with Darrow as soon as Ktoc falls and I don't feel at all guilty about this - he hasn't replied to a single message I've sent him all game (I've sent him 5) so we're not allies even if our diplomacy setting is set as allies. I'm not quite sure why Darrow is so uncommunicative.

Strategic

• I'm now the economy and ship production leader and I'll be the ship total leader in a few cycles. I'm the Science leader individually but Gilgamesz ability to trade with me and Anita makes him the de-facto Science leader.
• As soon as Ktoc/Dust fall I'll be splitting my forces and stars into two groups - Northern Command (all of Ktoc and Dust's territory) will prepare for war with Darrow. Southern Command (all of my initial territory) will feed around 50% of ship production to Northern Command but will also start to create a (secret, deep within my territory) contingency against Gilgamesz. Gilgamesz has met every agreement and been a good ally so far but as an alliance starts to near achieving it's goals members start to question their next steps. I'm not planning to stab Gilgamesz but I am planning and aiming to win this game. I believe I can do that by simply capturing territory and consolidating faster. If I can't and Gilgamesz is the clear leader then I'll be willing to accept 2nd place, GG and congrats. I will not be willing to accept 3rd place behind Anita though.

Diplomatic

• Inerz and Anita have a non-aggression pact, which is interesting. I've told Gilgamesz this.
• I'm cultivating a diplomatic off-ramp from Gilgamesz with Inerz. I don't actually want to flip but I like to have my options open. 
• Gilgamesz traded me Experimentation 5 when he could have traded me Experimentation 6. A mistake or is he intentionally trying to keep me behind him? Either way not to concerned about this since I think he's over-estimating the importance of Experimentation at this stage anyway. An extra 50 experimentation points is less than 2 ticks worth of science.

Tactical

• War with Ktoc is going well. Darrows arrival on the battlefield has distracted him and I now have an overwhelming advantage on every metric. I am pressing that advantage. My ship production is around 2x his and we have equal Weapons tech so I can afford to trade ships at 2:1.
• The Byormi Asteroid Field has a huge amount of Industry and Science on it that the Dust AI is building and it's only going to keep getting stronger. It's not time to capture this yet but I'm looking forward to capturing it when I can.

Trani - Feb 28 7:30 - Tick 160 Cycle 8

Cycle 7 just ended and my night time raid on Ktocs asteroid field was a success... but Darrow also attacked it and another star and our ships are both sitting on it courtesy of a diplomacy allies setting I put in place when I was asking Darrow if he wanted to join me attacking Ktoc days ago. 

Stars: Gilgamesz (31) Necria (29) Darrow (26)

Total ships: Gilgamesz (1686) Inerz (1600) Necria (1334) Ktoc (697)

New ships: Necria (27.5) Inerz (24) Gilgamesz (20.7) Ktoc (11.2)

Cycle Income: Necria (1186) Darrow (1009) Gilgamesz (977)

Strategic:

The long term strategic tug of war/race is unchanged but I have to factor Darrow into account. Darrow isnt chatty enough to be an ally so he will have to be defeated after Ktoc and Dust, however I need to be careful. For now the priority is peacefully cutting off his expansion and hoping he doesnt open a front. A three way Darrow/Ktoc/Necria FFA up north would be chaos.

Diplomatic:

Gilgamesz diplomatic posture has changed. Tech is flowing less freely and he keeps putting these smiley faces at the end of all of his messages :-) I think I am losing this diplomatic battle with Anita, likely because I am a 1st place threat. He has nothing worth talking about on my border so he isnt a tactical threat but hes slowly starting to act like a strategic one. I dont begrudge him this because I am a strategic threat but I have to plan around it. Priority is ensuring I take over Ktoc and Dust fast and retain a superior economy whilst bridging the science and ship gaps.

Denizen is demoralised because all three of his neighbours are attacking him. I have dangled him a prospect of me having 'more flexibility' in 2 to 3 cycles to give him hope and urged him to try to pursuade Inerz to stop the attack and ally him. The aim here is to slow down Anita's advance. Will I actually attack Gilgamesz in 2-3 cycles? No. Even if I did the attack would come too late for Denizen. You cant effectively aid someone halfway across the map. However I dont want him to quit.

Ktoc will have woke up demoralized but its not the time to offer him an olive branch/vassal. I would consider this if he comes to me though to accelerate the capture of his stars.

Im going to reengage dialogue with Anita. This is something Ive neglected but a dream scenario would be them asking if I want to help them against Gilgamesz. Id immediately tell my ally this and then break their alliance. 

Tactical:

Chaos at Chothi with 200 Darrow ships arriving 2 ticks after I captured it. Ive bought an Infiltrator and the 4 new ships per tick are fortifying it. Ive sent an additional 150 ships across. There is no way I'm giving up this Asteroid Field and Infiltrator Cat and Colonel Octopus will do their job.

Attacking Achos to fully cut off Ktoc from any potential trade with Inerz.

On the Dust front Ive captured a star and moving in on another. The plan will now be to focus on Ktoc and later get Dusts stars though. I dont have the ships to spare attacking them when Ktoc could send him weapons tech anytime.

Trani - Feb 27 23:30 - Tick 144 Cycle 7

 Quick pre-mission update

Resya has been captured now and I'm preparing to launch a Colonel (Octopus) at Ktoc's Asteroid Field overnight. The attack will land the tick after I hit Weapons 4 and will be accelerated by the warp gates. Ktoc has never once in the game sent a message or bought any infrastructure/carriers during the UK/EU night so I'm fairly confident this attack beginning at 00:30 will catch him by surprise.

The prize will be 8 Industry and 90 credits.

I'm rapidly bringing in other forces and if I wake (early tomorrow) to find this is successful I'll immediately launch additional attacks to pin down Ktocs forces and try to re-take those Northern stars.

Ktocs carrier network isn't strong enough to withstand the rate I'm bringing new ships to the front lines.

Diplomatic

• Gilgamesz has asked me to give him Jerra back now that we're in scan range. This was part of the deal and I will, but it's raised my alert slightly as this was always going to be the first thing he would do before turning on me. I'm not saying I believe he will, but there was no likely scenario where he would where he didn't first ask for Jerra back.
• Denizen has reached out as expected and gave the bad news that Inerz is also attacking them. This is, in my opinion, a really big strategic mistake from Inerz and worse - it's bad news for me as it will accelerate Denizens demise and lead to Anita/Gilgamesz taking over them faster.

It's now a race to defeat our opponents. If Denizen falls before Ktoc does then I will struggle to win this game. It won't be game over, but I'll need to rely on Inerz and Darrow, which doesn't fill me with delight since neither of them talk much.

Trani - 27 Feb - Tick 140 Cycle 7

The 6th cycle just ended and Anita and Gilgamesz are attacking Denizen. So far the galaxy has been fairly passive but this should shake things up. This marks a new phase of the game where it will be clearer to see where alliances stand. The only logical response for Denizen/Inerz is to ally if they're not already and immediately counter-attack them both and to reach out to me to ask for my support. 

That's what I expect to happen.

Stars: Gilgamesz (28) Necria (26) Darrow (24) Ktoc (19)
Total Ships: Gilgamesz (1384) Inerz (1225) Necria (974) 
New Ships: Gilgamesz (18.45) Inerz (18.2) Necria (17.6) Note, Gilgamesz is currently 1 Manufacturing ahead of me, and I'm one ahead of Inerz. Inerz has a huge amount of Industry. I expect to get that science from Gilgamesz this tick.
Cycle Income: Necria (953) Inerz (871) Darrow (830) Ktoc (476)

Strategic

• War with Ktoc is going well but I'm starting to get concerned that it's not going well enough. I've built up a decent supply of tokens (10) so considering adding some firepower to my front lines. I'm not interested in spending them on Worldbuilders etc at this stage. If I can beat Ktoc I will double down hard on Worldbuilders in prep for the endgame but right now I need flexibility offensive/defensive specialists and the capability to buy them offers. I very rarely like to be completely without tokens and I wouldn't voluntarily allow it in the middle of a hot war.
• Anita and Gilgamesz are preparing their assault on Denizen. I believe ships may be in flight. I need Denizen and hopefully Inerz to put up a solid fight and drag that war out for several cycles. I don't think the two of them can beat Anita and Gilgamesz but I am worried about them losing too fast.
• Struggling to make sense of Darrow capturing one of Inerz stars without much fighting. What on earth is happening on that front? Neither of them are particularly chatty so I'll probably never find out.

Diplomatic

• Gilgamesz has put off creating a 3-way chat with Anita. Their alliance is a big issue for me especially now they're going to war together. War is a strong bind to any alliance and I'm concerned that Gilgamesz is slipping into a closer alliance with Anita than he is with me. My preferred end to the game would be to suppress the others and then fight a short skirmish with Gilgamesz for 1st/2nd. No betrayals, no backstabs, just a 1v1 fight.
• Inerz has obviously offered an alliance, but they're just not chatty enough to really persuade me. 
• Waiting for Denizen to contact me. If it's not imminently I don't know what he's thinking, I've been friendly, I've suggested I may not see myself allied with Gilgamesz long term (I'm not being entirely truthful, but he doesn't know that.) Hoping to get some intel from him.

Tactical

• I made a mistake and sent 80 ships to capture Resya from Dust, coinciding the attack with the arrival of his looped Explorer. This, unfortunately, limits my potential nighttime operations (I intended to send 20 and got the waypoints wrong 'collect all v do nothing'.
• A small tidbit but Anita has bought a Destroyer to put at the end of her wormhole to Inerz. Useful to know this exists. I am tempted to tell Inerz about it, but if he's sensible he'll pre-empt any attack with a 1 ship carrier to gauge force size anyway. Not worth the potential risk.

Trani - 27 Feb 17:30 - Tick 132, Cycle 6

 

Strategic

• Ktoc has invested heavily in Industry. A jump from 20 to 42 industry. This will slow me down which is a problem, but without some sort of diplomatic aid I don't think he can hold out. My cycle income is now almost double his, and current shipcount is not far off double either. 

Diplomatic

• Inerz has offered an alliance and a territory (which happens to be a black hole) and asked what my relations with Gilgamesz are. I've told them we've been trading but out of necessity and that Gilgamesz is allied with Anita. I don't want to ally with Inerz as I'd have to stab them later.
• I no longer believe Darrow and Inerz are fighting all out. There's been very little ship destruction and no territories trading hands for some time now. It could be a big border stand off or they could have come to an agreement.

Tactical

• The Dust front has been opened and I've got two pathfinders working shifts shuttling ships to it.

• Considering a early hours of the morning assault on Chothi to seize it's 8 Industry. Both Chothi and Visya currently have warp gates and I've placed Ktoc's timezone as somewhere in UK/EU. I can do some more analysis into purchase/reply time later to try be more specific.
• A ready flow of ships coming to the front line on the northern front. Ktocs 6 cant complete.