What will happen when I try Remnants of the Precursors on the hardest difficulty setting ? I thought it would be fun to try out.

Game options set as :

11 Rivals (Because 12 players in a game is a cool number)

Huge Galaxy

and the scary Hardest difficulty.

The expectation is, I will get my butt kicked. But you never know until you try, do you ?

Year 3374

I send my colony ship to the Orange star and scouts to the white ones.

Year 3377

Oxtankah colonized, an Ocean world. The white stars have Barren and Dead worlds. 7 transports sent to the new colony.

My now traditional settings for the beginning of the game at research :

Neither of those categories matters too much until you have contact with the other races.

Year 3381

Well that didn’t last long ! I have met my first alien race.

The Klockans are nearby, diplomatic relations are not yet established. Even though I’m doing no research yet, I equalize all the sliders.

Year 3389

My scouts are finished. I have the Artifact and a Minimal world in “Long range range”.

I switch Kholdan to 150 RP per turn. It’s almost got all its factories but needs more population to use them all. Reserve Colony ships are very expensive and so I won’t try to build one until it’s maxed out.

Year 3390

The notable technology I start researching is Barren Landing, which will let me colonize that one world in my normal range. The Klockans set a scout over a nearby ultra rich world (Inferno).

Year 3394

With Kholdan finished, I set the research at 50 RP per year and the remainder to ship building. Colony Reserve will be ready in 10 years.

I wonder if I’ll get it ?

Year 3404

Ship finished. Six years to destination.

This brings up the interesting decision of what to do next. I want to get the Minimal world, which should be in normal range after this. But if I’m wrong, I build a ship that won’t reach the colony and will probably be useless for a long time, thus eating up critical maintenance dollars.

I decide to take the chance. With Kholdan at 50 RP level it will take four years until it’s completed.

Year 3407

Colony ship built. 3 years to Tikal. Kholdan goes all in on research and forgoes building the early missile base, or any warships.

Year 3410

I set spying to one tick. I pretty much know what he’s got at the moment.

My colony gamble has paid off as Pestac is in range, colony ship sent. Scouts start moving as well.

I think it should say “Klackon Hive” instead of “Termitton Hive”. It says the same thing under the Klackon tab.

Year 3411

He got a REALLY bad start. I assume that white star between them and Tikal is something radiated. I wonder if I’ll be able to knock this guy out quickly ? For the moment we keep building peacefully.

14 transports sent to Tikal.

Year 3412

Year 3415

Halakal is a rich Tundra world between Tikal and the Klocks. I figure it will go to them.

Barren has been researched so I recreate my colony ships – one reserve, one not; one large, one huge; with Barren colonizers. Each also has one laser; they’re cheap and I may want them with a tiny bit of armament to defeat a small Klockan warship.

Pestac is colonized. Transports sent from Oxtankah where we “build” more colonists.

Year 3416

We capture a Klockan spy. He’s being aggressive with them. I tick up counterintelligence one tick in response. My first spy is apparently six years out still.

Year 3417

Oxtankah is full and now works on research. We’re getting 92 RP for each category.

Transports finally arrive at Tikal. Gotta hurry; the Klocks have built a warship (Hornet) which is maybe on its way to Tikal.

Year 3419

I now have the total picture of my neighborhood.

That world would be the key to getting moving into the rest of the galaxy. Deuterium Fuel Cells are not here yet. But that world has to be 15 light years away from Kholdan; so I’m talking about 25 years until I can arrive. Maybe I should send from my closer colonies. I decide to keep researching right now.

I tick up spying two more ticks (Guaranteed spy next turn).

Year 3420

Oh ho ! He has the Dead environment researched but no computer technology. I set my spies to espionage and hope to pick it up.

That makes it obvious why his ship his heading to Halakal, it must be a colonizer. So that’s gone as expected.

Armed with this knowledge I decide to go with the 25 year plan, and set Kholdan to building a barren reserve.

Year 3422

I thought the AI’s just took the world names as they come. Seems I was wrong.

Year 3425

Oh no. I am dumb. I forgot all about colonizing my Barren world !

There’s no help for it. I’ll wait the three years for the Reserve ship to be finished then build a normal colonizer for this world.

I also set Tikal and Pestac to building one tick of the standard fighters.

Year 3428

Barren Reserve is 9 years to Muluch.

My spies appear to be dying at a fast rate, without getting me tech, but it seems like the smart thing to do until a diplomatic penalty shows up.

Year 3429

Non Aggression pact signed.

Year 3430

Barren colony on the way, Kholdan builds three scouts to look eastward.

My navy remains tiny compared to his.

Year 3431

Not sure what I can do about his military might. Kholdan goes back to research for the next couple of turns. I could try to build more ships but it seems like I need to gamble if I want to keep the game going.

Year 3433

I christen my barren world “Trecok”, and send 18 transports to it from Kholdan.

We get Deuterium Fuel Cells and so scouts are on the move again.

Year 3436

Klockans request a tech trade for Deuterium Fuel Cells. Not a chance buddy.

Year 3437

My gamble paid off again ! Muluch is our world now.

All scouts have destinations. Meanwhile my tiny two-fighter navy orbits Tikal nervously looking at nearby Tohcok with its 50 fighters. Both Tikal and Pestac are nearing “completion” and should probably build missile bases.

I decide to build a few more fighters to chase away the Klocks from my Dead and Inferno worlds.

Year 3438

Terran world near Muluch ! And in normal range ! Kholdan starts building a colony ship.

Year 3440

Tikal maxes industry. I wonder how many missile bases I should build ? I’ll just do the default, one.

I see that he has a Deep Space Scanner now as well. Did he steal it from me or research on his own ?

Year 3443

Minimal planet found, Colony Reserve under construction to get it.

Year 3444

Tikal keeps a tick or two into fighters but puts the rest into research having maxed out, plus its missile base is complete.

Year 3445

Oh my. This is a good trade.

Time to redesign almost everything.

Fighter II (I am not very imaginative apparently) sports a computer and sublight drives unlike its first iteration.

Barren Reserve is so close, but doesn’t quite make it into a large frame. Darn the luck. That would make it possible to construct so much faster (about 3 years versus 10). Kholdan will have one done in 6 years, probably due to not completing the previous iteration of the ship.

My existing Barren Colony is five years out, and my factories have plenty to build, so I decide not to scrap it mid flight. Fighter II’s under construction near Tohcok.

I also decide I better accept that spying isn’t working for me. I set them to one tick and have them hide. We’re researching Dead environment on our own anyway.

Year 3446

My scouts complete their missions, so I reward them by scrapping them. New scout is designed. I start building some at Pestac.

Year 3448

I decdie to burn planetary reserves at Kholdan to get the needed two colony ships going faster. Hope I don’t get a disaster !

Year 3450

Halakal colonized and normal colony ship updated with sublight engines. I have two yellow worlds in “normal” range so the new plan is build one more Barren Reserve at Kholdan, then Barren Colony ships and send them there. Maybe scouts will reach it first, these are also under construction at Pestac.

Year 3456

This is working out better than I had any right to expect.

One more Colony Reserve under construction (Will head to Xupa).

Year 3457

Gumarcaj colonized, breaking us out of the nebula on the east and opening up a lot of possibilities for scouting.

We also research Robotic Controls III which will boost our production substantially.

Year 3461

The Klocks asked several times for Robotic Controls III. I traded it to them for Toxic Colony base and have upgraded out Colony designs. Only Radiated left to worry about.

Will I keep winning ? I can’t believe that would happen, but I sure am doing well so far. Next installment on the way.