I'd like to start a succession game of endless space. If you don't know what that is, it's where a group of players (min 4, pref more) take turns passing on a savegame file. Each player plays 15 turns or so before passing it on. The result is a really interesting multiplayer game where each player takes the empire in directions you might not have. With screenshots and a written narrative as the game progresses, it also makes for a good spectator sport.



So, who's in?



Edit: Rotation

1. Ycoga

2. PANCZASU

3. Stealth_Hawk

4. ulgrath

5. Deceased: T41

6. Afk exnihil

*crickets*

It's sad to see so few players interested in this :/

Count me in.

Fantastic - that makes two of us.



Do you know any other players that might be interested?

id give it a shot :-)

Three.



We've enough people to start talking about what sort of game we'd like to play.



1. Race

2. Difficulty

3. Galaxy size

4. Victory conditions



This should divert us while more people sign up.

1. up for anything though I tend to like rapid and painful expansion so cravers :-)

2. once again up for anything here as the type of game will add difficulty in itself

3. Depends on how long you want the game to go but I would say for a first attempt a medium sized galaxy

4. you can probably tell by option 1 for me I tend to go for conquest but up for anything.



I have 3 reasons that this sounds interesting to me

1. it will give me a chance to adapt and try new play-stiles based on what my team is doing

2. The ability to see what and why the others are doing what they are doing.

3. looks like fun :-)



that being said I am up for anything the whole idea sounds like fun :-)

I think I'd like to go for a Supremacy Victory.

You will win this victory when you have invaded the starting systems of all other factions

We could do away with a long galactic battle-grind and instead win with this victory type. We'd need to conquer each enemy homeworld. That seems a reasonable goal if we have a reasonable number of opponents.





As for races, I'm pretty open. But I don't want it to be too easy. Might want to try it out as Sophons, UE or Automatons...



Any good mods we should consider using?

never tried any of the mods so I am at a loss there.

Allright! I will create a game, play the first 15 turns and pass the file on to the next person in line.



Perhaps more people would like to be added to the list in futue; I don't see why this should be a problem. We can just add them in to the rotation.



So without further ado - stay tuned for the first round!



PS I'll add the roster to the OP and update it there.

Version used: Disharmony 1.1.42



Right. Welcome to the first turn of our Succession game. I really hope this all works out.



I created a game with a medium galaxy, hard difficulty, and four opponents. To spice things up I disabled system balancing, which will make us need to focus on really protecting good systems. I chose the Sophons - because their technology will provide relevant advantages as we go about conquering the home worlds of each opponent (and also so that we might go about it in a different way than just straight-forward conquest, perhaps - but we'll see how that turns out).









Turn 1:





My first turn as our foundling empire's Lead Researcher.



Well we lucked out with our starting system. It has 6 planets in it! Three of them are arctic, one arid, a gas; and our home Terran planet. Arcitc colonoziation is a priority.



Renamed system to reflect our Sophon roots: 'Main Lab'.



First off, I reduced tax to 25% (+3 per turn) which gave us a +1 boost on FIDS output, and bumped approval to 75%. Let's see how that goes.



I queue up two techs: Arid Epigenetics and Compact Fusion Reactors. These will allow us to colonize the arid and 3 arctics in our system.



I queue up some Industrial zones on MainLab1. We may be research geeks but I want to up the production in the beginning and claim planets early. I then add Public/Private partnerships - we need those research grants! I slip in another scout ship too.



I take a look at the nearby stars. There are a lot of blues - hot and not likely to support planets friendly for life. There are two whites: these are more hospitable. I send a Procreator (colony) to one, and an Investigator (scout) to the other.



I have a look at our Heroes. They're a bit meh.



End turn!



Turn 2:





We lucked out again - our Procreator arrived at Matarca and found Matarca1 is perfect for soft Sophon bodies. Terran planet with Ancient Artifacts for us to geek out over. Colony planted. I queue up some industrial labs, again for an early production boost.



Interestingly, both systems we explored have wormholes connected to them. the second system is nothing special, but has 3 planets for future use. End turn.



Turn 3:

We survey the Ukdah system, which has two good planets, but we can't colonize them yet. Stellar Borer and a Garden of Eden, on lava and tundra respectively.



In other news, someone has surveyed the star around which the legendary planet of Auriga orbits. Lucky them?



Turn 4:

I realise I should colonize the arid planet in Idrus, even though it has kessler syndrome, so I shuffle MainLab's queues a bit.



We have 26 Dust, so I use some to hire a Hero; an Administrator for MainLab. He gives a nice buff to food and industry.



Oh, we researched something. We can colonize arids; good. There are 9 turns to go before the next tech ticks. I wonder if there's something better to research. I decide to go for N-Way fusion plants, which will up our Industry in just 3 turns. That gives MainLab time to finish getting its research grants. I'll continue arctic research after.



Turn 5:

We survey Qarius system, which has only 2 planets; but one of them is large and colonizazble (arid).



Turn 6:

MainLab finally finishes its industrial zones. *grumble*. Was a bit slow! System industry now up to 16.



Turn 7:

We survey Ingris system, and have to make a choice. Good news? Yes! We have to choose between 75 Dust, a new colony ship, or an advanced defence ship. Hmm. I don't see Dust as a problem right now; and we're ok for colonies, but our navy is non-existent. I choose the defence ship. Interestingly... we don't receive one. Hmm? The scout ship has nowhere else to go, so I park it in orbit at Matarca.



The geeks down in the lab have published the blueprints for N-way fusion plants. Turns out there's Titanium-70 on Qarius. I make a note to colonize it next. Colonize Arctic will pop in 6 turns; decent.



Turn 8:

Our Advanced Protector appeared over Ingris. *whew* I send it to guard the wormhole at Idrus.



Our hero levels up - he gets a labor increase.



We have 32 Dust in reserves now and nothing to spend it on, so I reduce tax to 15% which bumps FIDS and Approval up nicely. We now get +2 Dust per turn. I'm concerned about our 28 research per turn, but hope to convert our main planets to research when our colonies get up and running.



Turn 9:

I add heavy isotope refineries to the building queue of MainLab and Matarca.



Turn 11:

Our Advanced Protector arrives at Idrus and patrols the area.



MainLab finishes its Public/Pvt partnerships and starts on its refineries.



Turn 12:

Hero levels up again - he's now a Civil engineer (+10 labor on system).



We research Compact Fusion Reactors! (which allows arctic colonies). I queue up a colonization on the best planet available in both MainLab and Matarca systems. I remove the scoutship from the queue; we don't need that anymore.



I wonder vaguely if I should be concerned about lack of military progress yet, then consider that we have 1 advanced protector. I research Xenology hoping that we'll discover yields of Animalia (bluecap mold etc) in our systems. It's only 1 turn. I'll research something militaristic after that.



I notice that we now get +0 Dust per turn, and want to save at least a little each turn... Tax increased to 20%.



Turn 13:

I queue up the first 3 military techs in the hope that a future Lead Researcher can make use of them.



Turn 14:

Two of the military techs pop - the boys down in the labs are doing their jobs!



Both MainLab and Matarca's Heavy Isotope refineries also pop, bringing in much-needed industrial bonuses.



We're back to +0 Dust, so I add some Xenotourism agencies to the production queues.



Turn 15:









Nothing interesting happens - except that my first tenure as Lead Researcher comes to an end. Time to hand this baby over! My main suggestion for the next player is that we get some Titanium 70 and start producing warships.

Enjoy... PANCZASU, you're up! Savegame attached:



Succession game turn 15.zip



P.S. PANCZASU, I know you like doing vids; feel free to do a vid instead if you wish!

Sophons and the Endless hero?! I hope its not to late to sign on with you guys



plus I find your early game strategy very interesting, and would love to see how it turns out

well I will give Panczasu 24 hours if he doesnt pick it up (since we havent heard from him since his first post) I will take it and hand it off to Stealth_Hawk.

Great, I added Stealth_Hawk in the roster; welcome to the lab.



Ulgrath, would you mind if we gave Panczasu 48 hours, not 24? I'm just aware that we're an international community. Timezones etc.

ulgrath wrote:
well I will give Panczasu 24 hours if he doesnt pick it up (since we havent heard from him since his first post) I will take it and hand it off to Stealth_Hawk.

No worries, I'm just the type of guy who likes to stalk the forums more then to post on them ;P

Gamesave downloaded. Can't play it right now but I will later today.

Also, I'm in two minds about making a video out of it. It'd take a bit too long to render and upload it. And I like the idea of writing a journal, maybe I'll be a technophobic sophon ;P

Oh and btw... I hope you guys don't mind me making suboptimal decisions in favor of a bit of role-play. If you do, shout your "NO" now, before I play the thing

PANCZASU wrote:
Oh and btw... I hope you guys don't mind me making suboptimal decisions in favor of a bit of role-play. If you do, shout your "NO" now, before I play the thing

You're the next Lab Leader, so anything you say goes for the next 15 turns, imho! Have fun.

all good PANCZASU Just didnt know if you were in the shadows stalking or if you had fallen off the face of the earth :-)

Dear diary,

today I rigged an election. It was surprisingly easy. My brethren think they are so smart and yet they fail to understand the simplest concepts that are unrelated to pure science. Well, more power to me!

I realize, of course, that one day somebody might uncover my action. This leaves me little time. I have to use the most of it and make these fools love me. So be it, I shall be the most beloved tyrant of all!



3014 AD: Let's start pleasing our naive little citizens. Taxes lowered to 15%. Everyone seems to be ecstatic, having to spend less time working on useful stuff and more time working on useless stuff. That's ok for now. Let the kids have their fun.

I renamed our colony to Screwdriver to honor my favorite cocktail. For some reason, my people seems to like it. Strange.

Also, some vandals stole the “R” from the system's “Welcome to the Screwdriver” sign. The bastards.

What do Sophons want? Bread and science? Let's start with the first one. I had a little chat with the folks down at the R&D, I also had a meeting with planetary governors concerning their policies.

Finally, I sold our scout ship to the pacifistic association. They paid good money, enough to keep our treasury full for the next few years.



3015 AD: New year begins with the celebrations; our newest colony ship has been launched! It's going straight for the Ukdah system. I personally selected the most important VIPs to live there – they should thank for all eternity for making them live in a garden of eden.

That said, they'll be in stasis for the next 3 years. That's a bit much. I ordered to retrofit our future colony ships with better engines to speed the process up.



3016 AD: The vegetarian association sent me a formal letter today. They thanked me for implementing the newest discoveries in science to increase the crop yield on our planets. Now we finally have enough plant matter to completely abandon the idea of eating meat. Splendid! I think I'll have a steak to celebrate the news!

Our colony ship is nearing its destination. My scientists assure me that the technology to colonize the Eden will be ready before the arrival. Good.



3017 AD: Joy! We received a message from our new colony! Everything went smoothly and the first settlements are already being established. They're also building a large statute to honor my wisdom. YES!

I lowered the taxes even further. I want this dream to never end. I'm sure our economy can handle it!

My military adviser seems to be a bit nervous as of late. Don't know what's his problem. There's no danger of riots or separatists and we're alone in the universe, aren't we? So there's nothing to worry about.

There was bit of an argument in the ministry today. People argued about the direction our research should go. There was a strong push to learn the secrets of antimatter but finally we agreed that particle scanning is a more pressing concern.



3018 AD: Who is this Thomaem guy? He doesn't even look Sophon! Anyway, this weirdo visited me today to brag about how cool he is. I faked a smile, said I was very busy and threw him out the front door. I told my secretary to reassign the arrogant brat to Eden. Let him learn his manners.

There are talks about oversophonation on our home planet. I ordered the construction of a new colony ship to deal with this problem. It will take a while though.



3019 AD: *entry corrupted*



3020 AD: Eden is developing fast. It was to be expected but it still makes me smile. I think it's ready to host Calculus Olympics next year.

Recent poll shows that the obesity rate is growing. Another great news! A fat Sophon is a happy Sophon who can study its own fatness. I ordered our scientists to study the nature of obesity in order to abuse it further.



3021 AD: Our first arctic planet has been colonized. I've been there. It's cold. It will be hard to please Sophons on this planet. I told the governor to invest in research. That ought to do it.



3022 AD: Glory! Our latest colony vessel has been completed! It looks much better then the ones we used before. Let's put those engines to the test. Destination – Idrus!

Eden is such a beautiful world I decided to move my mansion there. Shame our tradition prohibits me from moving our capitol there, it's a wonderful place.



3023 AD: Those engines were worth their value in gold! A new colony has just been established! It will be hard to plant crops on this Titanium-filled planet but my men will try their best. I named the planet Rainbows, hopefully it will make the citizens happy.

Bad news on Screwdriver. The people there stopped chanting my name during lunchtime. This is unacceptable! They should love me!

I excluded all citizens from taxes. My finance adviser had a heart attack and died but my people are now fervent again. I can't help but smile as I look at their happy faces.



3024 AD: Wow, I've never seen my treasury so low. I had to sell our last ship to the Institute of Genius. This should carry us through to the next year.

My advisers say that I should've turned Eden into our economy hub instead. I may do so later. We don't need an army so I might as well stop spending dust on it first.

Folks on Eden need more things to do. I ordered the construction of yet another colony ship. I also ordered my scientists to upgrade our educational program so that Sophons don't mind living on a colony.

I think Thomaem learned his place. I allowed him to come back to our capitol.



3025 AD: Colonizing another Arctic was a stupid idea. The people there are bitter and want to migrate to warmer places where they can study without freezing to death. My engineers started constructing infinite supermarkets on both systems with arctic planets.

I ordered my governor on Eden to stop working on the colonization ship for a year and repair our economy a little. We're expecting a positive income for the first time since I was elected. Marvelous!



3026 AD: Cursed Reynuy and his blasted, evil experiments! Something's happening with dark matter as a result of his research. He's now in custody and his trial is in five days. I hope it doesn't go well for him.



3027 AD: I couldn't stop laughing today. So-called “rebels” sent a formal complaint saying that they wanted to bomb my ships but, because I didn't have any, they failed. They even demand making a military for them to bomb. I bet this joke is my military adviser's doing. Fun times, I'll give him a raise.

My people celebrate our latest scientific discoveries that allow us to travel through wormholes. I'm not sure why they care since we have no ships to travel on but whatever. I'm happy that they're happy with me.

I reopened the research project on antimatter and ordered to finalize the construction of the colony ship.



3028 AD: People on our newest arctic planet now praise me and love more then anything. Good, old supermarkets, they always do the job. I told the governor to set up some science stations and quickly colonize another planet. Maybe something warmer this time.

I wanted to make something cool on Rainbows but it takes a lot of dust to maintain our colony ship. Maybe next year.



3029 AD: I knew that this day would come.

Some power hungry individual found out about the election shenanigans and formally challenged my authority as a leader. And this year started so well! We colonized yet another system, started working on a new type of field generators and begun constructing infinite supermarkets on Rainbows. I was just about to give a name to our colony on Quarius when I was dragged out of the room and escorted to the armored transport.

There was a big crowd waiting for me outside. Thousands of Sophons, all silently look at my arrest. Some girl tried to give me flowers but a rude security officer shoved her aside. I could feel anger and disbelief in the eyes of all the Sophons.

That's when I realized that my plan succeeded. No citizen cared that about my election shenanigans. They only saw their beloved leader taken from them.

Half way through to the prison complex, our transport was attacked. Armed men killed the guards and opened the stasis cell where I was. They didn't say anything. They didn't have to. I saw their eyes. I saw people who shall always remain loyal to me.

I will be back.



[HR][/HR]



That's it. I hope you enjoyed my little story. Stealth_Hawk, I pass onto you.



Succession game turn 30.zip

Yay ^^



Nice update, and it was fun to read. I gleaned a little of your strategy from the diary entries.



7 colonies, 30 turns in - seems good. I, like the poor military adviser, am 'slightly concerned' about our lack of a Navy. Honestly think we're a bit poor for one right now, anyway. Despite having sold off some ships. *ahem*



Let's see what Star Hawk does with it!

Got the save-game. I'll waste no time in playing it. (as soon as I finish reading Pan's diary ofc



EDIT:



Finished my run. I believe that makes it Ulgrath's turn.



Military Advisor's Log, 3029 A.D.



In those cold, early months of 3029, very few of the advisors were made aware by the Head of Police that PANCZASU was set to be arrested in the coming weeks.



But I was made aware twice.



As a trusted advisor to PANZASU, he had entrusted me with this information from the very beginning. So that if this day ever came, there would be one man he could count on to have his back. And now that day was here. As I left the briefing room, I was well aware of just how little time I had to execute the emergency plan that Pan and I had set up years prior.



He knew I was the only one with the means to get him out of this situation. But we also knew that my direct involvement would lead to both of us being ousted, as the bureaucrats had been whittling away his administration until only I remained. As such, I made sure to keep in touch with a few "friends".



Namely, the pirates. After the Prison ship left the surface with our Leader on board, the ABC struck, liberating him and taking him to safety.



But that's the part I didn't tell him about. I was sending him through a wormhole with the ABC. Where the forces of whoever the new leader was, would never follow.



3030 AD



Whether the police liked it or not, the people were still loyal to Pan. And under the democratic system, they chose me to be the next leader.



Well, not exactly. I was to be a 'temporary' ruler for 15 years while the system was re-worked to stop riggings from ever happening again. Good luck with that with me at the helm.



Anyways, Pan left us in some deep trouble. We had no military to speak of (something I always vehemently protested) and our economy was going down the tubes. But after shifting some buildings around, we came out on the plus side of things.



3031 AD



I was reading the news this morning, when a priority alert came through that made me spill my coffee all over the desk.



First Contact.



We had no navy to defend ourselves, and to make matters worse, they emerged from the very wormhole Pan had gone through. Being the person I am, I had already ordered the research of Xeno Negotiating technology. But the Pilgrims had no desire to talk to us at all. Just as well. But it would probably be a long time before I learned of Pan's fate.



3032 AD



Today I ordered our top scientists to design the best defense ship possible. But that's just a public spectacle. Theres no way our economy can support a navy yet. However, that is my primary goal. To improve the economy, research military tech, and defend our borders.



3033 AD



I reassigned our hero to Eden. He'll do more good there. Not that he was too happy about it or anything...



3034 AD



Well getting him outside his comfort zone seemed to do good. He figured out how to boost Eden's factories. On another note, our economy is improving as a result of industrial advances



But most importantly, we achieved a break through in Non Baryonic Particles. But we will need allot more money before we can afford to take systems of dust conversion to build it.



3035 AD



Pan's 0% tax rate seemed to work for him. Not for me. 5% taxes in place. At least temporarily



3036 AD



We discovered Hyperium, and boy is it everywhere. Not to mention it improves our Fusion plants, meaning more dust.

With NBP researched though, and now starting to be produced by systems, its time do decide: Which research path will do the best for our Empire?



it goes without saying we need dust. And we seem to have a few un-tapped moons... our scientists think they can optimize our logistics, improve Approval, and colonize and exploit our moons. but it will take time.



3037 AD



Mad a few speeches. People seem to like that.



3038 AD



Eden just finished a few Non-Baryonic particle facilities. With them back to making dust, we can now do the same on colonies with influence



3039 AD



Screwdriver became a colony today. Ticker tape, speeches, and all that political bull. It makes me sick. On the plus side, they now contribute more to research and our economy.



3040 AD



40th anniversary of our empire. the 30th was *obviously* spoiled, thus an extra does of Parades and speeches today.



3041 AD



Things are nice and quiet. Pilgrims still refuse peace. This leads me to believe they have Pan, and know who he is. But I can still hope he is at large in their territory.



3042 AD



An un-hired hero came to me and prized me that he could boost research on main Lab by 10% and dust output by 10%. I humored him, mostly disbelieving. (he was fairly would all around, anyways). Turns out he was right.



3043 AD



Well, turns out they passed a few bills that make it near impossible to rig an election. So it looks like I'll be out of here in a few years, and Pan will fade to memory.



3044 AD



Under the Endless hero's direction, Main Lab completed MBP labs, ensuring accelerated science in the future. And, due to his scientists, we now know how to optimize our logistics and exploit moons. Now we just need to learn how to colonize them. shouldn't they have done that first?



3045 AD



Well, its official. I am no longer in command of our empire. A man named Ulgrath was elected. I know next to nothing about him though. but I trust he will lead this empire to greatness.



But I managed to acquire 2 sources of antimatter before going out. And the scientists love me for that. Perhaps now that I am not tied down by the bureaucrats, I will go through the wormhole in search for PANCZASU. Yes, I think I will do just that.

Just realised it was technically Ulgrath after Pan, but no harm done I guess - Ulg is up next.



Back to the game: I can't believe we're still not in a position to build a fleet. It's pretty risky, with the Pilgrims just a wormhole away? Sophons are squishy XD



Come on Ulg!



(I may be impatient, but must admit we're going through the turns pretty quick)



P.S. you'll need to pass the savegame file on, Stealth.