Hey boys and girls,



i want to offer you a survival challenge:

You will play as hissho on a large spiral-2 map with 8 empires, difficulty: hard - no pirates.



Goal: Survive and try to be within the range of the top player by 10% by turn ~70.



Remember that this is a learning experience, not a tournament.



Please share your thoughts on the map and maybe mention "wired" things and problems you had.

My save will contain the start (Turn 0) and a turn 42 save.



[spoiler] is in white - please do not read them befor you play!



You will start 2 out to the cravers. And 3 out to the Sophons.



- My approch was to anhilate the cravers with corvettes (full fighting)

The crusade ended turn 42 with 0 corvettes lost.

On another playthrough they had a cruiser at turn 30 - i don't know if that was a bug or the AI on hard to defend their homesystem.

Couldn't reproduce it.



[/spoiler]





Sincerly

I have yet to play the Hissho, but have just completed a very successful game (Scientific Victory) as the Horatio.



I will give it a try, and update this post with the results.



Turn 1 Observations + Actions:

-There are six planets in the system, one is a [HugeJungle] with no anomalies. I immediately settle it using my colony ship. This is the ideal planet for me!

-I see a Tundra with Hydromiel in my home system, as well as an Arid with a Komatite Volcano (+2 production per person). This determines my early research goals.

-The starting planet has Jadonyx (3) on it! One more and I have a monopoly, and thus +40% ship attack for the empire!

-I start researching Soil Xenobiology with the goal of increasing food production. I will be farming both my jungle worlds at first.



Turn 2:

-Tax is kept at 40%, as there are heroes worth hiring. Two are Administrator/Pilot class, and one is Administrator/Commander. I will hire them all eventually, but first will come the Administrator/Pilots, for Tinkerer, Engine Tuner, and Gravity Well skills.

-The scout ship has located a Tiny Jungle world with Propitious Seasons to the Galactic East orbiting Mira. This will be worth a colony ship, and soon. A Tundra world with Coral Reefs and a huge Desert world are also present.



Turn 3:

-I have found my first opponent, the Cravers! They orbit the protostar two jumps to the Galactic East. This warrants a change of tactics!



Turn 4:

-Not much happens.



Turn 5:

-Harvester Prime (A Craver Administration/Pilot hero) is hired. How appropriate. Taxes are reduced to 30%. The Talon-Class Corvette is designed, containing 5 Kinetic Barriers and 8 Kinetic Level 2 Weapons.



Turn 6:

-I begin researching Missiles, it will take 4 turns.



Turn 7:

-The Cravers' colony, a Terran world just to the Galactic South of their homeworld, is located by my scout. I begin to lay siege with my scout!



Turn 8:

-My home system grows for the first time, to 5 population.



Turn 9:

-The first Talon-Class is built, and the Scout continues to lay siege.



Turn 10:

-Missiles are researched. Future Talon-Class ships will include them. Next research is N-Way Fusion, for Industry and Titanium-70.



Turn 11:

-The second Talon-I is launched to create a fleet of two. They head to join my Scout. (Future turn updates will now only include events, as there will be turns without any). Harvester Prime is given "Defender 1."



Turn 13:

-Titanium-70 is discovered on the Arid planet in my home system, making Arid Epigenetics (to settle that world) my next priority. War is declared against the Cravers and my two-ship fleet now with Harvester Prime attached, heads towards their home planets. My scout remains unopposed (as they only have a single scout built so far).



Turn 14:

-Vorta, the Cravers capital, is besieged. They have spent their first turns settling a Large Arid world in the system. Both have built Colonial Exchanges (for Dust). Meanwhile, I built food (for population, essentially warriors as I am the Hissho)!



Turn 15:

-The Cravers build a corvette at their colony and hire an Administrator/Adventurer hero to pilot it. My scout ship is defeated but puts up a good fight, taking their corvette to half health. It is close enough (within 5 parsecs) for my two Talon-I corvettes to break off from the siege of Vorta. They successfully destroy the (now with a level two hero) Cravers corvette. Harvester Prime is now level four! He gets Veteran 1 and Veteran 2. Out of movement, I besiege and blockade the colony. Taxes are raised to 50% to pay for my hero! This is painful, but should be temporary. I have 5 dust available.



Turn 16:

-I begin researching Particle Scanning, for Atemporal Finance. I am colonizing the Arid planet in two turns, and will need the money.



Turn 17:

-Two Cravers corvettes arrive at their colony, sent from the homeworld. No leader is attached. My two seasoned Talon-I corvettes handily dispatch them, taking no lasting harm. The tactics used are my standby: Overclock-Nanorepair-Nanorepair. The Cravers have built their new models with no Kinetic barriers, but maximum anti-missile barriers. I am now glad that I did not have Titanium yet when building my two reinforcement corvettes. Future corvettes will include only Kinetics for now. The slightly upgraded Talon-II corvettes which will arrive at their homeworld next turn deploy better Kinetic barriers.



Turn 20:

-I begin to feel nervous, and move all ships to the colony, to combine under my admiral. The fleet stands at four corvettes, with two more being produced.



Turn 23:

-The Cravers arrive at their colony with 3 corvettes and 1 destroyer, to my 4 corvettes. I dispatch them handily, taking no lasting damage. It is their colony that holds the Titanium deposits, so I am preventing them from deploying missiles against me.



Turn 25:

-I am able to lower taxes to 40%, thanks to settling on the Arid world and building a Colonial Exchange. This puts my home system into "Content" instead of "Unhappy."



Turn 28:

-The Cravers have built another colony, attempting to claim Titanium. I besiege it too, with two corvettes. One of the Horatio wanders by. This must be the source of all those terrible Horatio Adventurer/Administrator heroes that the Cravers keep sending at me.



Turn 29:

-Harvester Prime kills another Cravers patrol ship, reaching level 7 and becoming Cyber-Skilled! He gains two points, and develops as an Engine Tuner and Tinkerer. Lethal Modder and Defense Systems Specialist will be next (My main goal, Gravity Well, will wait until I actually have 60 dust at a time to spend on it).



Turn 30:

-Horatio offers a formal Peace Treaty, likely noting the strength of my fleets. I immediately accept, even though he has scouted my capital (and will thus gain a trade route from the treaty). I have researched Atemporal Finance, dramatically improving my economy. The next research goals are to settle Tundra Worlds, build Geo-Industrial Plants, and Destroyers (in that order).

State of the Empire, 3030.



The Hissho fleets, having suffered minimal losses, contain the Cravers menace. Their first colony is about to fall, and their second will close behind. War rages on, but the Hissho are victorious! It is posited in many circles that the Hissho are about to embark upon a glorious golden age, buoyed by the victories soon to come at Deneb and Mira.



Dust on hand: 30(-5). I can switch this to (+2/turn) at will by moving one working population group to the Arid planet for Finance. The Hissho are "Unhappy" from the high taxes (50%) but the empire in general is "Content." They will thank me when I bring back the spoils of conquest!



Score: 160 (6th)

FIDS: 100 (8th)

Research: 8 (8th)

Fleet Power: 109 (1st)

Fleet Command: 7 (2nd)



Turn 32:

-Deneb has fallen (the Terran planet colony of the Cravers). They just settled a lava planet as well in that system. Taxes are reduced to 30% from 50%. The Hissho rejoice! Cry havoc! I finish researching to settle Tundra planets, and queue up Private-Public Partnerships before Geo-Industrial Plants then Destroyers.



Turn 35:

-Private-Public Partnerships, Heavy Isotope Refineries, and Sustainable Farms are queued in both systems, as 10 total corvettes (for two five-ship battle groups) have been built.



Turn 38:

-The Sophons arrive, stopped by the blockade around the Cravers homeworld. Peaceful contact is established and a formal Peace Treaty signed on their insistence. They likely also fear the Hissho fleets. The Cravers homeworld itself contains deposits of Hyperium.



Turn 43:

-Mira, the second Cravers colony, is conquered. The cravers had settled a second world here as well.

-Destroyers have been researched, but I will wait to design them, my current corvettes are the pride of the galaxy!

-Xenology has just been quickly researched, to utilize my rare plant resources. Also, tourist resorts will be set up on the conquered Cravers worlds, so that inquisitive Hissho youth may visit the Craver Reservations. Research is directed towards new weapon systems. ALL new weapon systems (this will take 22 turns, 2 for pre-requisite tech and 5 for each weapon type).



Turn 44:

-Two Horatio administrators are hired (my other two heroes that were available). The Craver Reservation Tourism Board easily funds their costs to oversee the reservation system (one is assigned to a conquered colony, the other to the homeworld). The eventual goal is that three new heroes will be assigned to conquered worlds, hopefully with the +morale boost ability, and Harvester Prime will return to his lair on Hissho Prime to brood and plot his next offensive (he is a decent administrator, as he has all the veteran promotions).

-Ongoing Cravers activity in the outer systems indicates additional colonies. Their homeworld will fall any year now, both fleets are concentrated there.



Turn 47:

-Vorta, the Cravers homeworld, is conquered.

-A hiveship is sent to the Galactic South to lay claim to an unimportant backwater of a Tundra planet, plagued by constant meteor strikes. This system, however, occupies a crucial strategic point.

State of the Empire, 3046.



For his bravery and dedication, Harvester Prime is declared the new Exarch of Vorta. An extensive system of slave labor is organized, rounding up the remaining Craver population. I have so far conquered three of their systems (two worlds in each are settled) before 50 turns had passed on their Locust counter, leaving them with a permanent +25% FIDS bonus. This will likely be changed in the release version.



Dust on hand: 117(+20). Taxes are at 5%. Having conquered three planets in quick succession, the Hissho people are Ecstatic (in my home system). The three conquered Cravers worlds are at Content, Unhappy, and Strike (in order of conquest), with a total empire happiness of "Content." Hissho Bushido has stacked three times for +15% damage min/max, +30% Food, Industry, Dust, Science. The spoils of conquest are rich indeed!



Score: 354 (5th). Horatio is at 571!

FIDS: 641 (4th)

Research: 21 (8th)

Fleet Power: 157 (2nd)

Fleet Command: 11 (2nd)



Turn 49:

-Scouts are dispatched to the Galactic West, to search for new frontiers to settle or conquer. A new prototype laser destroyer, the Raptor-Class, is commissioned. A full battlegroup of five is ordered.

-The last Cravers world is located, and besieged. The few remaining Cravers huddle in pathetic isolation inside the frozen, abandoned cities of Rigel II. There are no other systems for them to escape to, as I have them cornered and blockaded. All worlds will be successfully conquered while in prime productive status (first 50 turns).

-The Large Tundra world in my home system is ordered colonized. Even though it has a Strong Magnetic Field, the Hydromiel is worth the unhappiness! The happiness gain from conquest offsets the poor conditions of the planet. Likely it will be large numbers of Cravers slaves gathering the Hydromiel, so the Hissho do not care!



Turn 51:

-The Horatio running the Hissho homeworlds is promoted to Civil Engineer, with the other administrators to follow. Farming promotions will be the next chosen.

-The Sophons offer an Open Borders Treaty, this is gladly signed. I can always break it later if I choose to.

-A colony ship is sent to the Galactic West, to settle a newly found Tundra world with Hyperium deposits. [Horatioactuallybeatsmetothisone,ashehasresearchedwarpdrivealready.]



Turn 55:

-The Horatio Empire and Homeworld have been located. They spread in great swathes across the South-Western section of my spiral. The last Cravers stronghold falls on this turn. All fleets are dispatched towards the Horatio, and more are ordered constructed.

-Three additional Arctic worlds are settled in systems between the Horatio and myself. They will be established as Science Stations, but were mostly planted to prevent Horatio from declaring a claim.

-Taxes are raised to 20% to fund the new colonies and increased fleets. The empire remains content.



Turn 60:

-Several incidental techs have been researched (inexpensive ones I had passed up).

-Importantly, my Fleet Cap is now 7. War is declared against Horatio. Cry havoc!

-Current fleets are four battle groups, each with seven destroyers/corvettes. Four additional 7-destroyer groups are being constructed, and Cruisers are queued to be researched next.

-Fleet Cap and Military Power are back to (1st) in each! Hurrah!

-Initial skirmishes indicate that Horatio has deployed beam weapons on all ships! The Raptor-II is quickly designed, incorporating Magnetic Shields. A full 7 destroyer battlegroup is immediately retrofitted (using up 75% of stockpiled dust).



Turn 63:

-The first Horatio Cruiser is sighted, also deploying Beam Weapons. Their four ship cruiser battlegroup is destroyed by my seven destroyers, commanded by Harvester Prime. No destroyers sustain more than incidental damage (all is repaired due to my choice of Tactics-Nanorepair-Nanorepair).

-War Games centres are ordered constructed on all core worlds (my homeworld and the three Cravers slave worlds). Hardened Framing has already been developed at each of the four fleet construction systems. The capital can produce one fleet of seven destroyers in the time it takes the other three worlds to produce the same fleet of seven. (5 turns). This makes my net destroyer production for my empire 2.8 destroyers / turn.



Turn 66:

-The first Horatio colony falls. Still riding the fervor of the previous campaign against the Cravers, the Hissho people unite behind their victorious admirals.



Turn 70:

-The new Raptor-II Destroyers are extremely effective at destroying the Horatio. Another colony falls, with two more soon to follow. Harvester Prime sieges the Horatio homeworld, and another of their core systems is besieged.

-Four additional 7-ship fleets are en route to the front. Another full fleet of seven will be completed next turn.

-Total combat ships constructed at the end of this turn, 63 [49destroyers,14corvettes].

-An administrator/corporate hero awaits an additional slot for her.

-Total ship losses throughout the entire game, 3 scouts, 1 kinetics corvette.



State of the Empire, 3069.



The war against the Horatio goes extremely well. Cruisers have just been designed, but not yet built. More importantly, Magnetic Field Generators (+40 research) have just been discovered this turn, and are queued in all major systems. Horatio was the score leader for the entire game until the last few turns, during which I overtook him. The stacking bonus due to systems conquered has incremented five times for +25% damage min/max, +50% food, industry, dust, research.



Dust on hand: 303(+117), at 20% tax rate. I could drop it down to 10%, but with my massive fleet expansion and upcoming Magnetic Field Generators, I will need the surplus.



Score: 2094 (1st)

FIDS: 1975 (2nd) - Behind only Horatio

Research: 138(5th) - This will jump massively (at least doubling) within 2-3 turns

Fleet Power: 1448 (1st)

Fleet Command: 61 (1st)

Population: 75 (2nd) - Behind only Horatio (Let him grow the planets, I shall take his population from him!)

Bushido is currently bugged / stacks / % effects the system total rather than base numbers. You can also abuse it via "planet swapping" (i.e. take a planet; let the planet get taken back; retake the planet. Repeat every other turn to stack a massive bonus).



So, basically, any combat scenario using the Hssh is broken.

@4x_fan: this is a learning experience, not a tournament/competition.

If anyone want to use the exploit is their and only their choice allone - if they need it to win so be it. But I do not exspect them to use it.

That it needs fixing is sure thing.



@attackdrone:



I really like your report - it was really good and kept me reading until the end.

But i was wandering when you started your techpath for Magnetic Field Generators as it stikes me a little late.

What is your experience in the lategame with that - I mean are you far behind, behind, even or ahead of other empires?

Do you keep destroyer as the main focus of your fleet?



I also hope your extensive told story didn't discourage others to post their result - it might be intimidating (you told the story to well ^_^ )





Sincerly

Saranea wrote:


But i was wandering when you started your techpath for Magnetic Field Generators as it stikes me a little late.

What is your experience in the lategame with that - I mean are you far behind, behind, even or ahead of other empires?

Do you keep destroyer as the main focus of your fleet?

Oh, I was definitely behind in science at turn 70. Given the area, military, and population that I have / will seize shortly - building Magnetic Field Generators quickly on each planet will allow me to rapidly catch up with then surpass all other empires. I had never played a game as the Hissho before, so my strategy developed organically as I went through the game.



At turn 0, I knew that I was going to want Gravity Well (as I had two pilot heroes) to provide the flexibility for my main fleets. I also knew that researching better farming would be key to leverage the food potential of my two jungle worlds. I expected to have destroyers (two fleets of five) built before declaring war on my first foe. The close proximity of the Cravers changed all of this, and I declared war far earlier than I ever have in Endless Space. My account was written turn by turn as I was playing, with anything in [brackets] added after the fact. It was a fun game!



The Hissho destroyers are more survivable than any other race, due to their +damage bonus. Killing the enemy faster means less dead destroyers! I will likely go with a mostly destroyer fleet for the entire game, but mixing in 20% or so capital ships (2 destroyers, 2 cruisers, or 1 dreadnaught per fleet). The capital ships will include the repair technology, boosted engines, and such.

4x_Fan wrote:
Bushido is currently bugged / stacks / % effects the system total rather than base numbers. You can also abuse it via "planet swapping" (i.e. take a planet; let the planet get taken back; retake the planet. Repeat every other turn to stack a massive bonus).

I definitely did not use this abuse of Bushido. I did however, declare war faster than I otherwise would have so that my Bushido bonus would not run out. This is likely the intended behavior by the developers.

I may not try this challenge right away, but the report by attackdrone gives great insight into how my early game would be if I would play as Hissho in general... I'll just keep lurking in the shadows of the Empire here, but a great idea at this thread and great learning experience.