Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 2, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the First: 2200-2210

Welcome, Class

After the mellow introduction, it is time for your first lecture. No more lollygagging! That especially goes for you, mister VILenin.

Let me assume for the sake of argument that you have all carefully studied the initial situation of United After All, and have asked yourselves the obvious questions, what traditions would it be wise for them to adopt?

Good question.

Now, if your answer is a 7-point plan laying out all the traditions you want and which order you want them in, as I believe is customary in some undergraduate courses, or 3 or 4 traditions, because you think traditions after a civilization begins its ascension path are so far in the future you don't need to plan as is the custom in most of the rest, that is not how masters of conquest or pacification do things.

Make no mistake: While conquering a galaxy by the seat of your pants or following a rigid plan can be a riot for the easily amused, that is all it is good for. It is something only suitable for dummies and undergraduates. But I repeat myself.

Traditions

Masters plan traditions in builds, and an easy approach suited to your limited intellects is the CEO model, dividing traditions into three categories:

Core: These will always be adopted unless the conquest or pacification goes completely off rails and one has to improvise to cover; This should never happen. Core traditions will usually be adopted early
Extended: these will usually be adopted late, but if the conquest or pacification develops in a completely unexpected direction they might be skipped in favour of something more appropriate, usually chosen from the optional category
Optional: these are a pool of traditions, of which some are expected to be used to cover different contingencies; it is also used to cover for the Extended traditions, when things get really weird

The order in which traditions shall be adopted is best planned ahead of time, with some room for variation depending on developments.

As can be seen, a simple 7-point plan is merely a masterplan that has been simplified to the point of idiocy by eliminating Extended and Optional traditions as well as flexibility in ordering.

The number of core, extended, and optional traditions in a build differs. Some builds have a larger core and no extended traditions, but for the Alarians I have gone with a conventional 4/2/1 split.

To reach the stated goals, I have concentrated on mostly peaceful high speed expansion with strong diplomacy building up to a highly ascensionist psionic state in a galaxy-wide Holy Covenant, that truly doubles down on unity since the plan is for most of the research to be provided by priests via the Luminary's Pious Ascetic trait and the eventual Dimensional Worship that the Alarians will be guided to in time, as noted last lecture.

Core: Statecraft, Diplomacy, Psionics, and Harmony. Together these provide superior government, diplomatic power, psionics, and superior planetary ascension, all of which together allow for a strong peacetime economy and have good synergies with the goal of forming a galactic Holy Covenant
Extended: Expansion and Domination. Since larger empires are almost always better than smaller ones, and the galaxy settings allows for the possibility of large empires, Expansion is an obvious choice for economic purposes, jumpstarting early colonization, and helping keep the empire size penalties under control, and, for this build, it is even a stronger economic tradition than Prosperity long term. Domination might seem an odd choice for pacification, but people need to be ruled! A strong tradition of service to the state makes it easier to avoid empire size penalties, and the strengthening of the official instruments of state makes for better governance. As noted above, if the situation divergences considerably from plan, one or both of these could be replaced by an optional tradition, but only do this after careful consideration
Optional: 1 from Adaptability, Discovery, or Supremacy. To take them in reverse order, Supremacy will be needed early on if the Alarians are in a terrible situation that can only be solved by their own forces. If this isn't the case Discovery could be useful to speed early survey processes or to strengthen the research complex long term if the Alarians are falling short, which shouldn't happen, but better he ready to cover if it does. Finally Adaptability is a decent 7th tradition choice if none of the other contingencies arise, as it makes leaders just a bit better, reduces the number of negative traits they can have, and allows the empire to field just a few more leaders

As for the order, Statecraft gets the first three tradition picks in order to get faster agendas and educating the council with every agenda completed. The remaining 3 picks in Statecraft can be delayed until much later, as there are more important traditions to focus on, specifically Diplomacy and Expansion, though not necessarily in that order.

This early Stratecraft focus means I do not cancel the Infinite Opportunites agenda at start, as would otherwise be common in order to Expand the Council as soon as possible, but let the agenda complete for an early XP infusion to the council, and then start Expand the Council.

Now, this all sounds like a fairly rigid system, doesn't it?

It isn't. You should always be willing to reevaluate the situation and make a new plan if the situation demands it and, if you'd done your job well in the first place, your initial contingency planning will carry you until you've done so.

Ascension Perks

Like traditions, ascension perks can be CEO modelled, and for students of your calibre I strongly suggest you do this rather than attempt more advanced approaches.

While the most conventional splits are 5/0/3, 5/1/2 and 5/2/1, I have chosen the 4/1/3 split as more suitable for this particular civilization. I suggest you study examples of the conventional splits in your copious free time.

Core: Imperial Prerogative, Transcendent Learning, Mind over Matter, Galactic Force Projection. As is well known, Imperial Prerogative is the best ascension perk for larger empires due to the impact on the empire size penalty, and it strengthens officials in charge as well. Transcendent learning helps dummies learn, and how I wish our own culture focused on this, but alas, some morons decided to focus on Technological Ascendancy ignoring the benefits of an educated public in favour of funding a few machines that go “bing”, but I digress. Galactic Force Projection may well be connected in your inferior minds to war-like cultures, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is primarily a tool of diplomacy, useful for spreading influence
Extended: Arcology Project. This is almost core, but in case the Alarians find lots of relic worlds or abandoned ring worlds, they might not need it and will pick an optional instead
Optional: 3 from Shared Destiny, Interstellar Dominion, Consecrated Worlds, Defender of the Galaxy, pair of Mastery of Nature + World Shaper, pair of Master Builders + Galactic Wonders. Which will be picked, and when, depends a lot on the galaxy

Imperial Prerogative and Transcendent learning go first, though not necessarily in that order, followed by Mind over Matter... UNLESS the situation is one where I have somewhere I need to beeline to rapidly and project I don't have enough influence to reach it in time, in which case Interstellar Dominion goes first or second.

But if things go according to plan, this is followed by Galactic Force Project, at which point it is time to start considering what the final optional ascension perks will be and which order they, and Arcology Project, should be chosen.

All with me so far? Good. Let's see how this played out in practice.

Year 2205

2205: Home After All

Oh, look, new governor! Yes, I did find the unity to recruit Insufferable Bandwagon after having secured the first three statecraft traditions, and she was well worth it. I was offered the choice between Unifier 2, Celebrity 1, and Architectural Interest, and she became an instant Celebrity. She'll get Unifier 2 on her next advancement.

The Alarians have built a temple, an energy district, an industrial district, and are in the process of building yet another industrial district. Well done!

And that's not all they've been up to. There are 31 population units worth of Alarians now working the public sector, up from 28 a mere 5 years ago, a 10% increase in a decade. They cleared some slums and went forth to multiply, and fortunately they appear to be really good at calculation.

A stellar performance almost worthy of a “fluffy bunny paradise”, wouldn't you say, mister Rensslaer?

Will you stop fidgeting! Corporal punishment is good for your soul.

Now, let us take a look at what else they've found

Under my guidance the intrepid Alarians have explored the nearby systems and begun colonizing an ocean world next door. Not all civilizations are lucky enough to find habitable worlds with their ideal climate right next door, but it is the way to bet, which is why we simulate it in all but the most advanced courses.

They have found two nearby systems with tomb worlds, the remains of a civilization long dead, which will be hellish to colonize, but as I am sure you learned back in basic, every world is worth colonizing, so this they will do... after colonizing worlds with higher priority, such as the nearby alpine and tropical worlds, or the slightly more distant ocean world of Maaz.

But most importantly of all, the relic world of Nicanda was discovered, holding, apparently, the secrets of the (hold your breath) RUBRICATOR! Once the Alarians advance enough in the field of galactic arcaeology and have the time to spare to mess with ancient ruins, that is.

...I don't know why we pay the literature department to make up these names, and I certainly would never suggest any impropriety on part of the Dean is responsible, so moving on.

That's it for the local news, but as I am sure that those of you who are awake and – what are you DOING with that chicken, Chac1? No, don't bother answering. I'd really rather not know. Whatever it is, that sort of extracurricular activity is forbidden in class, even if you are merely auditing.

Ahem. AS I WAS SAYING, those of you who are awake have undoubtedly noticed that the Alarians have sent an envoy to establish first contact with somebody, but who?

Since no candidates are available locally, let us zoom out and look at their wider exploration efforts.

2205: Exploration!

They've made contact with an alien science ship from another civilization and are trying to open communications. Not only that, they have encountered and analysed some of the local space fauna, Void Clouds and Space Amoebas, and discovered the ruins of a precursor civilization tentatively named the First League, and they have discovered several more habitable planets during their exploration of 50 to 60 new systems as well!

Last, but not least, a mysterious distress signal was detected in the Dugar system and a science ship has been sent to investigate.

Let's hear it for Red Doctor, the Minister of Defence, who discovered all of this!

SILENCE!

I did tell you last lecture that I would simulate leader teleportation, which you are very definitely not to take advantage of when hired to conquer or pacify a planet.

This is for good reason:

You need to know it to avoid it
You need to know it to spot it, if some wanna-be conqueror or pacifier hired by a competitor is giving his leaders an unfair advantage
You may not have realized its potential, using it merely to haphazardly move around the occasional scientist or rearranging leaders of your powerful fleets, rather than to have a single leader jumping between every exploration vessel in your fleet, arriving just in time to handle the transition and then jumping on
You might be assigned to one of the few galaxies where exploration does not require the assignment of one of the very best and brightest to perform the jump into unknown space, in which case all exploration effectively functions like the norm with leaders issued teleport bracelets

There are also three scientists busy surveying. Good for them. One of them is rather special. She goes by the name of Neon Lark, and you'll be meeting her soon.

A good start for the Alarians, I am sure you'll agree. Let's see what another 5 years will bring.

Year 2210

2210: Exploration

The first thing to notice is that exploration has slowed down a bit. Now, you might think that this is the old professor simulating the lack of attention a typical student would bring to the task, but you would be wrong.

It is because all else being equal, exploration should happen at the speed of first contact.

In other words, if you have unassigned envoys and unexplored space you are exploring too slow, while if all envoys are assigned and your exploration makes contact with new unknown entities, you are exploring too fast, and you never know what happens then.

But I do. You lose out on the influence gained from being the one initiating contact, that's what you lose, and why would you want to do that?

Second is that spacefaring civilizations have been successfully contacted, both fairly benign. One wants to sell religion, the other is more materialist. Since the former is more appealing to the spiritualist Alarians, they have already negotiated a non-aggression pact and two separate trade deals, each buying 20 minerals/mth for 27 energy/mth, thus securing a sizeable mineral income with which to build their industrial base on their – by now – three worlds, and with the Rubricator world undergoing colonization, soon four.

A further three civilizations are currently being bothered by the Alarian diplomats.

Were the Alarians real rather than simulated, they would probably either assume that these were as friendly as the first two, spacefaring civilizations being peaceful and of good will having been proven the default state of affairs, or they would be waiting for the other shoe to drop. We will find out which of these hypotheticals play out in the next lecture.

2210: The Silverfoxes are natural born merchants

2210: The Rak-Rak are stoned

Third, that distress signal in Dugar turned out to be a cryogenically frozen alien baby boy. The excited Alarian discoverers named him Magical Baby Nonetheless.

When the Luminary heard of the find she decided to thaw the baby for science and faith, and captivated by his baby blue eyes she officially adopted him, naming him Exokeides, or Keides for short.

Why she didn't name him Radioactive Toddler After All is beyond me. It would seem more in line with their naming convention now that he's adopted into the After All clam, but that's why we pay the literature department the big bucks, I guess. Keides it is.

Meanwhile, the council completed the Infinite Opportunities agenda, followed by expanding the council, and is now busy supporting the Luminary's Unifying Promise agenda.

2210: The Council is Larger

Look at the political skills! That's Neon Lark, a spiritualist metallurgist from the homeworld who got tired of messing around with alloys and joined the priesthood for the joys of academic politics a few years ago, proved astonishingly good at them, and after serving a few years on a survey ship has trampled her colleagues in the rush to being appointed the first councilor representing the Vaults of Knowledge.

2210: Traditions are mostly as expected

Statecraft 2/5 into Expansion due to the many nearby colonizable planets with Diplomacy delayed for 3rd civic. A very normal wide start in larger galaxies when you don't encounter immediate threats and have high enough unity income that Diplomacy opener and Federations can be picked as 9th and 10th traditions without outrageous delay rather than as more common in pacifications, picked as 7th and 8th traditions.

2210: Technology has advanced a bit

In physics Field Modulation 2 was finished, which is great for energy generation used to buy minerals from Wholesale Redemption, and given the choice between Blue Lasers, Improved Deflectors, and Automated Exploration protocols, the choice for the Alarians was clear: Faster surveying. Who needs weapons and defensive systems in this peaceful galaxy?

In society Hydroponics Bays completed and is in use on the four starbases, with more on the way when they can be afforded. On offer next was Eco Simulation for increased food production, a very good tech, and Planetary Unification, an essential tech, and some other techs of much lower priority.

There can be only one choice in such a situation: Planetary Unification.

It is THE the most important advances for a state transitioning from planet-bound to galactic empire, and you should NEVER, EVER, pass on Planetary Unification for anything except Hydroponics Bays, and even then only if you are offered both at the same time very, very, early on.

Ignore this advice at your own peril.

In engineering the Powered Exoskeletons completed with nobody really noticing much of a difference, and on offer was Standardized Corvette Patterns, Carrier Operations, and Geothermal fracking. So the Alarians went fracking. They might be importing most of their minerals, but they didn't see much point in the military stuff.

These are simulated people, of course, and I could have chosen otherwise, but in real life pacifist idiots you are contracted to guide in a pacification campaign might have the same preference, and it is all about choosing your battles. Do you expend vital good will and brain washing on making them research weapons when they see no threat or do you conserve your resources for more important objectives?

And anyway, the size of their mining industry might grow over time.

Now, I now that some of you are wondering why the Alarians aren't building research laboratories to boost their glacial technological advancement, and that, my students, is a topic for the next lecture.

The 2210 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

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Author's note

As @trent.layell pointed out in a post below, the professor did not state what the initial policy choices and edicts were.

The professor, caught off guard by the unusual spectacle of an interested student, went so far as to provide an answer despite the answers being clear from the context - at least in the professor's mind – and the topic being more suitable for a later lecture, when the answer wasn't obvious.

So I have edited his answer into this post in case other readers are interested and don't have the DLC required to test one of the save files, which would obviously reveal the answer as well.

2210: Policies and Edicts

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 7, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Second: 2210-2220

Welcome, Class

Today I'll be talking about exploration, planning, and the early game economy before showing you how the simulation progressed. There will be a few comments on science as well, but that is not the focus of today's lecture. Finally I am pleased to announce – no, not a test or homework, don't worry (yet) – that I will end the lecture with a completely voluntary assignment that the few of you who intend to pass the course might profitably attempt of your own free will for extra credits.

Comments on Exploration

As the more perceptive of you noticed, by 2210 the Alarians had six corvettes involved in exploration rather than the original three, deducing with your mighty undergraduate minds that this meant they had built another three. But why? The answer is simple:

First, there is a lot of the galaxy to explore, and it is more efficient to push ever outwards with one wave of exploration ships while other exploration ships sent from home explore the branches of the hyperlane network your first exploration ships bypassed.

Second, when you explore with corvettes you will occasionally lose some when they stumble on to something nastier than themselves and you don't manage to order them to run away in time, because all too many admirals would rather engage a threat than run.

Were you to only dispatch a replacement ship once this occurred, it might take years to arrive, slowing down your initial exploration of the galaxy unconscionably.

Taken together, this argues in favour of sending out waves of exploration ships when you can afford it, such that the leading edge of exploration is seldom more than 2-3 years ahead of the next wave so you can divert ships from filling in the blank spots behind the front wave whenever you suffer casualties, and can use time where you put exploration temporarily on halt due to all your envoys being active, and perhaps having one contact outstanding and waiting for an envoy, for ships to reach the more distant exploration fronts.

Knowledge is power.

Exploring like this, whether you use banned teleportation technology as illustrated for educational purposes in this lecture or recruit separate admirals, you will very rapidly learn the galactic topology, which is essential to making informed decisions.

You use this to rapidly locate choke points to cut off competition as well as learning where NOT to expand to early if you should happen to find yourself near Determined Exterminators or others of their ilk, and then you use scientist-led survey ships to survey the route to the choke points so you can seize them as fast as possible. Only after surveying any critical choke point routes do you start pushing your scientists outwards surveying, much like explorers, but taking the time to survey nearby systems with planets for later colonization.

With this in mind, let us look at the current extent of exploration and identify key issues to address and areas of galactic real estate to seize.

2210: Nearby space, Galactic North

2210: Nearby space, Galactic South

The slides being self-explanatory, consider how we will survey based on these findings.

Since the Alarians can currently field 3 renowned scientists without penalties, and found an eager newbie who is a serious contender, they are currently having all four scientists surveying, with two currently surveying Tiyanka Vek dedicated to surveying the the promising Waiphrid-Kergaros branch next in anticipation of rapid seizure.

Exceeding the cap despite penalties to field more scientists is always an option, but at this point there is little reason to do so as there are neither high-priority areas to survey for chokepoint seizing purposes nor large areas I desperately need to survey before an alien empire does, that I am not already guaranteed to survey first using existing methods by properly prioritizing surveying outwards to survey more distant locations before closer but more uninteresting locations.

Moreover, I lack great candidates, though I do have one good one by the name of Unstudious Garters.

2210: Meet the Scientists

If I had a candidate perfect for the council, governing, or exploring available, I would recruit the scientist anyway, cap or no cap, immediate need or no need. Always look out for exceptional individuals and recruit them as soon as practical even if you don't need them. You can always fire somebody else if it becomes necessary. That goes for commanders, officials, and scientists. If the best of the best are available, get them.

Unstudious Garters, however, is merely good. He is a level 2 perfectionist without an extra positive/negative trait, so good but not exceptional. Depending on what his level up trait is, he might even be very good; At worst he'll become a perfectionist 2. So I'll plan to recruit him before 2215 when I hopefully have a higher unity income to support more leaders, and more expensive ones too. If I take Transcendental Learning first he'll be within the cap, if I take Imperial Prerogative not – in either case, it'll be worth it.

I might also spend unity on recruiting Malclad Disbeliever; Champion of the People is a weak council trait for this stability stacking build, but it is a council trait, and sooner or later I'll start building reserve councillors as they will be needed if I end up with a Composer of Strands Covenant, which I hope: The Composer is my favourite Shroud Patron. If she can level either Spark of Genius or Politician, she's good enough for government work.

For now I tell the simulated Alarians to skip investigating anomalies; It is much more important to map the universe and give your scientists practical hands-on experience. They can always investigate anomalies later when they have experienced scientists and everything is under control.

Additionally, I am planning on educating at least one scientist to become a Vibrant Storyteller in the fullness of time, and you all know what that means, or at least you did last year as it was covered in an obligatory course. Which probably means you've forgotten all about it by now, by the way your eyes glaze over.

Well, if you follow MY course attentively, you will never forget, but that lies decades ahead in the Alarians future, so no need to punish you for your appalling ignorance just now.

Early Economics

As we noted at the start of the simulation, the Alarians were in an exceptionally good position to take advantage of energy production and would soon have hydroponics bays, or at least relatively soon as their science was distinctly unimpressive.

So let us take a brief look at the 2210 economy:

2210: Economy, breakdown by resource

Good energy production for the population size, mostly from jobs but stations contribute 18.4%, a considerable amount; Expenses are higher than income, but the deficit is small enough that it can easily be handled by modifying the ongoing trade, since trades make up 45.6% of expenses. Continue expanding the Kähkö prime generator world and all will be well
Good mineral production... by the private sector, the offworld mining stations, and Wholesale Redemption. The Alarians are using 3 of the 4 initial mining public jobs on the planet and aren't looking to employ more miners anytime soon, as the market rewards specialization and even with the inefficiencies of trading they are better off buying minerals with their strong energy sector than mining them with public employess on their homeworld
Good food production: They are still employing their original farmers, but the addition of four starbases with hydroponics pods providing jobless energy>food conversion gives them a huge surplus, which they are sensibly selling some of. I am sure the private sector farmers put out of work by the public sector competition would be voting in droves for the opposition were this a democracy, but since it isn't they'll just have to find other gainful employment. The Alarians should get that fifth starbase up and running soon. Perhaps one or two above the cap, just to farm more food, but that would delay colonization – so perhaps wait a bit with those
Adequate consumer goods and alloys: Given that no need for an early fleet build-up has been detected so far, this balanced approach is acceptable, but given the need for a lot more alloys and consumer goods to colonize planets, both must be significantly increased over the next decade – ideally by continuing building industrial districts on the homeworld and moving people from farming and mining to advanced production
Unity income is barely adequate: Given the increasing quality of leaders, we need a lot more unity. A temple is under construction on Kähkö prime, which will help, but more generally we must ensure that every planet has at least one temple with two priests providing unity, social science, and amenities
Science income is abysmal except for social science, which due to the priest-sages is adequate. Interestingly, a full 14.1% of our science is produced by stations on galactic science deposits, showing once again that however little they might provide, however tempting they are to ignore, jobless energy>science conversion remains valuable in the early game, the construction cost of 100 minerals paid off rapidly by the benefits
Influence income is low due to the lack of power projection. This needs to be remedied in time, but since the Alarians have several nearby planets that can be colonized, and no threats have been found, colonization takes precedence over fleet expansion

Conclusion: Things are going pretty well. While it would be nice to indulge ourselves in constructing many research laboratories since we have constructed none the first decade, there is no urgent reason to do so. Temples that produce both unity and social science will provide bigger benefits short term, and benefits accrued early tend to have great long-term impact.

So a mix of more temples and a few research labs to ensure we get a head start on the very important social techs while not falling that that far behind in physics and engineering is probably the way to go. Physics will easily recover once the empire reforms into a Dimensional Covenant, but Engineering will always lag... Which is fine. For THIS empire build social and physics science are much more important than engineering science as you shall see demonstrated in the fulness of time.

A note on the internal market

As you can see I have four monthly trades with the internal market, that vast civilian economy that you can safely ignore for the most part as you focus on the simpler public economy.

This is typical representative example of early trading:

An buy-order for minerals (20-50); Minerals being in high demand early on for contruction of starbases, stations, buildings, and districts, I seldom stop buying minerals from the internal market early on (except for the brief period building up credits to clear slums for +1 POP) but rather vary the size of the buy order depending on other current needs
A sell order for food (10+) instituted after your starbases with hydroponics bays and the remaining POPs on the homeworld working as farmers in the original farms produce a huge surplus of food; any food in excess of what is needed for colonization ships is better sold for credits, that can be used for other resources than stockpiled
A buy order for 12-14 consumer goods, turned on whenever I am building up CG to build a colony ship and native production doesn't suffice, and turned off (max by price of 1) when not
A buy order of 6-7 alloys, turned on whenever I have excess energy that isn't going into buying minerals or consumer goods or, turned off otherwise (max buy price of 1)

Some teaching assistants on undergraduate courses may have told you that it is important to keep your orders below certain market equilibrium points to not “waste” credits.

Suffice to say that while such penny-pinching purists may glory in their textbook-efficient economy, in practice it is much more important that you have the resources when you need them than months later in order to satisfy some theoretical market ideal.

So if you feel the need for larger monthly trades that will increase market prices when buying, or decrease them when selling, or even if you find yourself needing to sell or buy large amounts at one time to deal with an unforeseen issue or because you underestimated your needs, do so.

Good strategy, thinking on your feet, and making the right decision in the situation is much more important than running a “perfect” economy without wasting anything but time, because time, my students, and if you learn nothing else in this course, then you should learn this:

Time is the most valuable resources by far.

Year 2215

2215: NEWSFLASH! People Amazed as Luminary Even More Pious!

On this date, 2215.10.08, the Lady Undaunted After All reached level 6, having gained 5000 xp since 2200, more than half of it due to completing three agendas (Infinite Opportunities, Expand the Council, and Infinite Opportunities). Since she was level 5 in 2200, at 5*150xp = 750 xp base before learning modifiers per agenda, it all adds up.

When the current Open Arms agenda completes, she will gain 6*150xp*(1+0.21) = 1089 xp with the current modifiers. Statecraft: I'm Loving it!

And what did she use it for? Pious Ascetic 3, meaning every priest now produces a base of 2 social science, 2/3rds of what a researcher does, resulting in the spectacle of monthly 32 psysics science, 17 engineering, and 91 society... The lack of new research labs is becoming acute.

In other developments, the Alarians have made successful first contact with several civilizations!

2215: New Friends! Err.. Make that acquaintances

It turns out the galactic neighbourhood is not quite as peaceful as the Alarians thought after their encounter with Wholesale Redemption.

They have now met evangelizing zealots with an unhealthy devotion to spreading the good word at the point of a blaster to their galactic east, but they can probably strike a deal with them for peaceful coexistence.

Up past the Waiphrid-Kergaros arm they've discovered xenophobic fanatically militarist hegemonic imperialists, and it will take a lot of diplomatic good-will to defuse their tendency to shoot first and ask the corpses of their still-smoking victims the eternal question, “why did you make us do that?”

The only good news is that these two threats surround a potentially even greater threat, the fanatically xenophobic spiritualist fanatical purifiers, who want to kill everybody except themselves.

Given these shocking discoveries, it is almost a relief to discover, far to the galactic south, an empire of hegemonic imperialists who are (surprise, surprise) also xenophobic, but neither crazed militarists nor zealots, having channelled their latent anger into being fanatical egalitarians. While they may all hate us, at least it is the result of rational choice after individual consultation with their consciences rather than something imposed by the state. These people know how to hate.

Further afield, two stagnant ascendancies have been found, much too far away to be an Alarian concern for the next several decades.

The course of action is clear: Diplomatic efforts to ensure survival through defensive pacts or federation must be sped up even if it slightly delays exploration from tying up envoys to improve relations, and both of neighbours to the galactic north- and east- must be either diplomatically neutralized this way or eased into a position where attacking the fanatical purifiers is preferable to attacking United After All, with the hope of one-way or the other causing the purifiers to face a two front war securing our empire from a future threat while temporarily weakening both of the other empires.

The Open Arms agenda will help with this, though that is more in the way of fortunate coincidence than deliberate planning. It was chosen next after completing the Unifying Promise agenda for the simple reason that Under One Rule you are guaranteed that some bright spark will rise up and invent an Arcane Device useful for alloy production. Why does this happen? Who knows? Who cares? Apart from philosophers. That's just how the universe works, so that's how it is simulated for teaching purposes.

A note here for those who have not tried guiding civilizations Under One Rule. Completing the first ethics agenda after the Unifying Promise will impose a penalty to agenda speed until the 40-year-promise is fulfilled, so an argument can be made in favour of focusing on the non-ethics agendas during this period, but the benefit of a planetary feature performing jobless 4 energy > 8 alloy conversion on the homeworld is just too great for me to pass up on. At this early point in the Galactic Pacification that is a significant economic boon.

Now, let me take a brief look at the Silverfoxes of Wholesale Redemption, which are the obvious candidate for federation members. I have already taken the Diplomacy opener and set the extra envoy to good use, and will soon gain the fist tradition in the group, but which should I pick next? Federation or Diplomatic Networking?

2215: Wholesale Redemption, their likes and dislikes

-37 acceptance. We can reduce that by our borders getting closer, and by improving relations from cordial to friendly, which shouldn't be that hard. So a lot speaks in favour of getting the Federation tradition first with its extra diplomat and federating as early as possible.

On the other hand, there is the problem that the Jakly Star Bloc is moving in on Kergaros and perhaps further and it won't be long before we border them, so let's perhaps not do it that way.

How about Diplomatic Networking for a small but not insignificant unity boost (at least at this time) and Eminent Diplomats for +5 diplomatic acceptance and the chance to earn favours while improving envoys, to get started on mollifying the Star Block ASAP, and only after that pick up Federation? It means federating perhaps a year or two later, and being without an extra envoy for the duration, but on the other hand, diplomatically neutralizing the Jakly Star Bloc sooner rather than later will remove a major threat.

You could call it either way, I guess, except I forgot to mention one small detail.

Can anybody tell me what pertinent detail I failed to mention? Anyone?

Oh, my, that sure silenced you. Let me give you a hint: It has to do with the Federation type. Any takers?

No?

5 demerits to the entire class.

Wholesale Redemption are peaceful traders, who will happily join a Galactic Union and have a bonus for joining a Trade League, but a Holy Covenant? Spiritualist though they may be, that's a -20 penalty to acceptance right there.

So I'm not looking at overcoming a -37 modifier with the power of friendship and perhaps improving relations and the gift of a “good trade deal”, I'm looking at a -57 modifier.

So I choose the “better safe than sorry” approach of aiming for Diplomatic Networking/Eminent Diplomats first for Jackly neutralization and a slightly delayed federation, to allow my envoys to start collecting favours.

And, OF COURSE, I change the diplomatic policy stance to cooperative and begin assigning envoys to please the Jackly, limiting further exploration until I can devote all envoys to first contacts again.

Finally, I have one other interesting development. When I recruited Unstudious Garters, I took the chance on recruiting Malcad Disbeliever too.

She got neither Spark of Genius nor Politician as level up traits (boo!) to make her a reserve councillor, was offered perfectionist, making her a decent explorer, so while my gamble didn't bring me what I hoped for, second best is good enough and I kept her. The 2215 draw then brought Half-Hearted Legeteuse, yet another perfectionist.

So now, due to good exploration scientist draws in 2210 and 2215 and taking a risk on Malclad Disbeliever, I decided to temporarily surpass the new scientist cap of 5 (3 base + 2 Transcendental Learning) in favour of surveying the galaxy faster, with a total of seven scientists out surveying, of which one a newbie who doesn't count for penalty purposes.

2215: Meet Unstudious Garters, a lone male in a female dominated profession

Now, in the years leading up to 2220, ... What is it, Lord Durham? Why are you flapping your flappiflops in such an agitated fashion?

“Whence did the strategic resources originate?”

...Obviously, the Alarians were so impressed by the completion of the Unifying Agenda that they found 350 exotic gas, 350 rare crystals, and 350 dust motes lying around in a cupboard or on a new planet or something... I forget which excuse the simulation gave for granting strategic resources before the Alarians have the technology to extract them, and no use for them save for edicts they invented to use the non-existent resources. It is just one of those things that make no sense in reality, and less in the simulation, so we have to roll with it.

I hope that makes it clear.

AS I was saying, in the years leading up to 2220 the Luminary's adopted son, Keides, a.k.a. Radioactive Toddler After All, grew into a fine young boy, inquisitive and genial, and he was directed to seek satisfaction in spiritual pursuits. Those of you who have read Appendix 42,726, “On the Care and Feeding of Lost Scions”, will realize the implications of this monumental decision.

Now let us take a look at other developments:

Year 2220, the Fruits of Diplomacy

2220: Diplomatic relations

Everybody loves the Alarians!

2220: First border

We now have a border with another empire, and it is the Jackly Star Bloc that has the honour of being the first subjected to our border friction. Thankfully our diplomatic stance is cooperative, so they don't mind much.

2220: Jackly Star Bloc is diplomatically neutralized

After using several envoys at once in a sustained the charm offensive, the positive relations allowed me to enact several treaties to build trust, thus getting over the slight differences of ethics and policy that divided our two fair galactic empires.

From now on I just need to keep track of relations every now and then to ensure they don't slip too much. To be on the safe side I will aim to keep relations above 300 (positive) at all times by assigning one or more envoys for a year or by giving them a good trade deal (up to +100 opinion, -1/year), when needed.

2220: Wholesale Redemption, just waiting on The Federation

Things are progressing as planned. Just waiting on Federation now.

2220: The Velutarian Coalition is slowly learning to appreciate the Alarians

The benefits of a commercial pact with them is low, and a research agreement would not bring much I don't already get from others, so since I have refrained from pushing borders in their direction, this state of non-aggression and slowly building trust is good enough for now.

Year 2220, Planetary Development

A quick look at the four most important worlds.

2220: Home After All is industrialising

2220: Kähkö Prime has become Kähkö Power

2220: Distull Farms is in its infancy as a farm world

2220: Nicanda Prime, the Rubricator world, is my second industry world

The two Efoll planets have a temple each and nothing else, and Nodro prime is... err, well, it should have started building its first temple a few months back when it finished colonization, but I must have been preoccupied and missed the timing – just like many a lazy student would do. So learn from my mistake.

I have finally saved enough energy to clear the central spire on Nicanda Prime, which will allow me to employ 8 researchers, which will help the struggling physics and engineering techs, so that is next on the agenda.

Well, either that or spend it on becoming patrons of the Artisan Enclave, for increased unity production and a change of extra influence. Consider carefully which you would choose, and if you think the answer is obvious, think any; There is no clearly best answer here, only the choice between two options, either of which will in some cases prove the best.

Year 2220, the State of the Empire

2220: Lady and Empire

“Surrendered our Population”??? Yes, indeed, the xenophile stagnant ascendancy asked me to “donate” some Alarians to house them in a protected habitat. I agreed to that without hesitation, as while the simulated Alarians might disagree with this decision just as much as real people would when you engage on Galactic Pacification, since few people wish to be condemned to live the rest of their lives in a high-tech zoo run by aliens with a disturbing streak of extreme xenophilia, the favour of a stagnant ascendancy can be very valuable.

It isn't guaranteed to pay off, but the odds are in favour of them giving the Alarians a helping hand sometime in the future.

And paficism is suppressed? But why? Turns out the galaxy isn't that friendly, so it is time to focus on spiritualist and xenophilia in accordance with my original plan.

The empire's population is now 68 on 7 inhabited worlds with a further two undergoing colonization, and it controls 23 systems and 8 starbases. Things are looking up.

2220: Traditions

14 months till federating becomes an option.

2220: Technological progress

166 total science output/mth in 2220 isn't abysmal, and in particular 103 society science is fairly decent, but overall the unity focus of 250 unity/mth is really starting to show by now.

2220: Policies and Edicts

As you can see I have enabled the crystal edict for better sensors and have forgotten to enact the Fleet Supremacy edict.

This is one of those things that happen when you play sloppily. Much like a boneheaded student, I completely forgot about the Fleet Supremacy edict as I am only fielding a small fleet, despite its use for building colony ships faster. I'll forget my own head next.

BUT WHAT ABOUT TECH, PROFESSOR?

You signed up for this course about a Priesthood Tech Build and don't think for a moment that I haven't noticed some of you muttering about the distinct lack of anything but social tech, pitying the Alarians.

I know that some undergraduate courses would have treated 166 science/mth in 2220 as a disaster, a clear case of underinvestment in technology, to say nothing of only gaining 33 physics (15 from science stations) and 29 engineering (12 from science stations). After all, some of the barely sapient teaching assistants you might have encountered suffer from the delusion that engineering technology is the most important, that science stations are useless, and that science output is the be-all and end-all where technology is concerned.

Indeed, to quote professor Krankimkopf, “if you aren't aiming for 100 total science output/decade, 200 if you are ambitious, you are doing things wrong”. Sounds familiar, does it?

I am here to tell you today that he is not right in his head. While your empire will eventually need strong technology to dominate, that is all. Eventually. It is a tool, not the goal.

And in this case, since I have diplomatically neutralized all threats, I don't need better weapons, armour, ship classes, or hull sizes anytime soon, except to shoot up the wildlife, and the peaceful Alarians wouldn't like that.

I will invest significantly in researchers when it becomes the better investment option for the overall development of the Alarian empire compared to investing in physical expansion across the stars and not a moment before.

Voluntary Assignment

Let me leave you with this image showing an intriguing development in the Rak-Rak Administration.

2220: Somebody discovered an asteroid hive in Tirramore

To encourage exercising your lamentable lazy brains, I will award extra credits to anybody who writes an even half-decent essay in a maximum of two paragraphs explaining the implications of this for the Rak-Rak Administration on the one hand, and the opportunities for United After All on the other.

Failing to complete this voluntary assignment will not be punished excessively.

The 2220 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

This is the point where I could justifiable end the game and declare victory. The conquest or pacification of the galaxy is a foregone conclusion when experienced players reach 2215-2220 with their empire in a decent shape, unless they have very harsh crisis settings set to happen early, which I don't in this game.

Since that makes for uninteresting games and worse AARs, I won't do that, but you should expect me to coast along more, paying less attention to details or resource balancing from now on, as I have already set up all the critical components necessary for eventual success.

If this is, perhaps, not immediately obvious to the reader, it is my sincere hope than by the time the AAR reaches the 2240s to 2250s, surely no later than the 2260s when you have seen how it all fits together, it will be, and you will be able to draw some lessons from it to improve your own playing styles.

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 12, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Third: 2220-2230

The Voluntary Assignment

I note that only trent.layell and jak7139 spent their copious free time taking time off from drinking and firebombing mime artists, or whatever it is dissolute youth spend their time doing these days, to answer the assignment.

trent.layell's answer, though limited in scope, gets to the heart of the implications for United After All.

jak7319's answer goes into more details with the implications for the Rak-Rak, which is good, but misses the most important implication for United After All, making it adequate.

Both answers show promise.

As for the rest of you...

It is well known that the empires in the simulation, like all too many empires in real life, have trouble dealing with asteroid hives if discovered before they field a substantial fleet, and will unless their navy is otherwise occupied repeatedly send their main fleet on suicide attacks until they finally succeed, creating cycles of building up for the next attack followed by a swift attack and loss of their fleet.

Since the Rak-Rak Administration are Erudite Explorers we know that they do not focus on fleets to the same degree more warlike empires do, which means that – all else being equal – they are pretty much guaranteed to do exactly that, weakening themselves periodically by losing their main fleet.

The duration of each cycle depends largely on their industrial capacity and the travel time from their capital to the hive system, and at a guess they will be attacking on a 3-5 year cycle

This means that simply by placing a ship with sensor coverage of the asteroid hive system Tirramore to see when their fleet shows up, or looking at their capital system to see when their fleet leaves, I will know when they are vulnerable to diplomatic subjugation due to temporary weakness.

This means that it will be possible to push up the schedule; I only expected to be able to subjugate them in the late 2230s if I didn't want to grant them extremely generous terms that I would have a hard time affording with the Alarians current economy, but the asteroid hive changes that.

Thus I will

Immediately sign all the treaties I can with the Rak-Rak in order to build trust quickly, as they will only entertain a proposition once it reaches 50 and I currently have 22; This is more of an influence drain that I would prefer at this point, but the opportunity is too good to pass up on
Keep track of their fleet as noted above, so I know when to make my diplomatic move
Building up fleet power to make them a convincing offer rather than solely focusing on the economy, as the reduced time scale means I will not be able to build up economic and tech power to alone be enough to convince them within the next few years without a bit of help from the fleet; The ships don't need to be impressive or up to date, they just need to have enough weapons to be a credible threat to armed fluffy bunnies; Since we have discovered a Salvager enclave, I will achieve this goal primarily by buying corvettes for credits from the them, supported by as many corvettes as I can reasonably build for alloys without significantly slowing down territorial expansion
Make them an offer they can't refuse when the time is ripe; If this happens before 2227, I might even be able to integrate them before the end of the Luminary's 40 Years Plan(tm), but this will all depend on where on the suicide cycle they are right now; It is possible, but unlikely

This is an example of being willing to adapt your plan as circumstances dictate when new opportunities arise.

jak1739 earns one extra credit.
trent.layell earns not one, but TWO extra credits, and the right to be hazed as the teacher's pet for a week
Everybody else gets 10 demerits

Chac1, desist immediately! You are not allowed to sacrifice the teacher's pet, not even if you use a cultural weapon. Sacrifice one of the sleeping students instead. There are plenty of them to choose from, like that HistoryDude snoring next to you.

The Luminary and the 40 Years Plan(tm)

I have been given to understand that these days empire origins Under One Rule are optional for undergraduates and that some of you may therefore be vague on the specifics of the 40 Years Plan.

In a nutshell, shortly after seizing supreme executive power, the Luminary promised to take the empire to the stars, and do so well, within 40 years.

At the end of those 40 years, the Luminary will give a great speech boasting of their accomplishments and the people will be overawed, united and devoted for all time... if the Luminary did well.

In the simulation this progress is simulated by the Unifying Promise score.

2220: Current Unifying Promise score

The score is calculated thus:

1 point for every owned system
5 points for every owned planet with a colony, whether the colony is completed or under construction
1 per defensive pact
1 per federation ally
1 per vassal
Halve the sum of all of the above if your empire is a vassal
10 for being federation leader
4 for being in a federation

68 points from 23 systems and 9 planets.

To represent the population's devotion to the Luminary in the simulation, the Luminary has a specific trait, the Luminary Growth trait.

Numerically it has the effect of +0.75 stability and +1.5% unity from jobs per point.

The Alarians have already completed one extra point on top of the two points (+1.5 stability, +3% unity from jobs) at start by gaining an extra point from uniting around building special housing on the first colony, and more are to come.

There are many actions the Luminary can undertake that will boost the people's devotion to her cause, but the biggest of them is to exceed expectations when fulfilling her promise, the 40 years plan, which grants her 1/15th of the Unifying Promise score upon conclusion of the plan.

Out current score would give her 4 extra growth points, that is, +3 stability and +6% unity from jobs, which is not bad for the first half of the 40 year plan, but I can surely do better in the second half.

Comments on Exploration

As we discovered in the last lecture, there are lots of avenues of expansion for United After All, so let me make some brief comments of a strategic nature on the current situation, starting with what is undoubtedly the most interesting expansion route: Corewards, or, for those of you having trouble with anything but 2D map projections, the galactic west.

2220: Nearby Space, Galactic West by North-West

Given the opportunities in this region I have chosen to cede most of the Galactic East to the Velutarian Coalition and the Galactic South to Wholesale Redemption.

While it would be nice to control all three regions, the West-by-North West region, which contains two planets and potentially more in the unexplored systems, as well as both the Salvager and the Shroudwalker encclaves, coupled with the planets in the interior pockets we can seize at our leisure, should provide the greatest benefits with regards to satisfying the Unifying Promise of the 40 Year Plan.

2220: Nearby Space, Galactic East

2220: Nearby Space, Galactic South

So what is the first thing I do at this point, I hope you are asking yourselves? The answer should be obvious. It is a time for change...

Time for Reformation

The Alarians have done well so far, but is an Exalted Priesthood running the government really suited to the interstellar polity they now find themselves in control of? And should the secrets of the universe be sought in the depths of their ancient Vaults of Knowledge, or is it the time to discard that hallowed tradition and seek spiritual answers elsewhere?

The Lady Undaunted After All with my wise guidance calls for change; It is time to look to the stars and beyond for answers, and Bureaucratic Efficiency + Dimensional Worship are now at the heart of government

2220: Reformation

The priests are still in charge of the bureaucracy under the rule of their leader, Undaunted After All, but no longer will they be bound by outmoded dogma, nor will they be exalted save the prove themselves worthy through efficient service.

As the first to ascend spiritually, discarding the acquired dogma in favour of universal truths. so their leader will no longer be addressed as the Lady, but the First Ascendant.

Since this is a simulation we don't have to care about the amount of political bloodshed required to make this transition happen so quickly and, dare I say, efficiently, but suffice to say that in real life you should have a mop ready. However saintly they may be, whatever tools they prefer to use, nobody arises to become a Luminary capable of ending the unification wars of a planet and with a will that can channel the survivors' restless energies outwards to new worlds rather than spending decades rebuilding and recovering, without a certain amount of political ruthlessness.

The main negative mechanical effects of this huge change in the simulation are as follows:

The Alarians no longer gain +1 base unity from priests, so that's 20% of their unity income GONE
They no longer gain High Priests as rulers instead of Politicians. That's a bit more unity gone
They lose the +1 to initial skill when hired
They lose the council job Archpriest(official) giving -2% priest job upkeep/level
They lose the council job Keeper of the Vaults(scientist) giving -2% leader upkeep & cost/level

But they gain this:

-20% job upkeep for priests... same as having a level 10 Archpriest on the council
Edict funds for every priest equal to their base unity production, making it much easier to run many edicts simultaneously
The council job of Superintendent (official) giving +2% priest job output/level to all priests (not priest unity output, priest job output)
The council job of Astral Minister (official or scientist), with +0.2 physics output/level to all priests
Various astral bonuses that are not relevant before Astral Rifts appear

This means it is time to ditch the Minister of Defence from the council, as the navy just isn't that important to the new and improved Alarian government. Red Doctor probably breathes a sigh of relief at losing this duty, busy as he is teleporting between exploration corvettes, or he would, were he real rather than a simulation, which he is not, so he doesn't, but I am sure you understand what I mean.

But I digress.

The new council consists of the Luminary, Head of Research, Minister of State, Astral Minister, and Superintendent,

Magical Lark, our erstwhile Head of Research becomes Astral Minister as the most experienced scientist, replaced in her old job by Neon Lark, the old Keeper of the Vaults.

Unstoppable from the Outset, the old Minister of State, becomes Superintendent, with her old job occupied by a new hire, a level 3 fertility preacher named Contentless Lark, giving us three Larks on the council, which is an odd coincidence.

I now have four officials (the Lady, two councillors, one governor) and exceed the cap by 1, which is a shame since officials level the slowest of the three leader types, but the increased productivity makes it worth it and sooner or later I will increase the official cap.

I could have dumped the Minister of State rather than Minister of Defense, thus not needing an extra official, but I would much rather suffer a temporary official penalty for going over the official cap than suffer the loss of improved first contacts and improving opinion from the Minister of State at this point, since first contacts and making friends is how the Alarians survive and expand rapidly.

Priesthood Tech, the Beginning

Thus it is that after the reformation, by 2202.02.02 the difference in output between a researcher and a priest with the same ethics on the homeworld is the following:

2220: Priest vs. Researcher

Advantage Researcher: 2.8 physics, 0.7 society, 3.8 engineering
Advantage Priest: 8.6 unity, 4 edict funds, 2 amenities, -0.4 consumer goods upkeep

So researchers are clearly superior to priests for researching, and, indeed, they will always remain so, but as the Astral Minister becomes increasingly proficient the physics gap will narrow, and only the fact that the priests provide no engineering necessitates the employment of any researchers at all.

But who needs engineering this early unless their plan is Galactic Conquest, which is explicitly not the point of this course? Nobody.

As you probably noticed from the slide, the 2.3k energy surplus from the earlier previous slide has disappeared. Was it spent on on clearing the Central Spire on the Rubricator planet (which I have now helpfully renamed to avoid confusion) to make room for researchers, I imagine those of you not fast asleep wondering.

You wonder wrongly.

2k energy was donated to the arts, the Artisan Troupe enclave promising to keep us up to date on the latest developments in interstellar arts. As I am sure you all know, being a patron of the arts unites the population and occasionally gives influence, and that is what we need for expansion, not engineering research.

Now, let me show you what happened next.

2220.05.27: Welcome, Paragon!

This is a great day in the history of the Alarian people. Their interstellar recruitment office managed to attract a gilded lady.

2220: Welcome, Vas, the Gilded

Fortunately, she is not so named because of being showy but of of little worth, but because she is, literally, gilded. It is just one of those quaint alien customs.

Her elevator speech, “Make me your ally and I will ensure you have powerful friends, in every corner of the galaxy” is only a fair reflection of her abilities, and if her refined luxurious tastes makes her an expensive ally as well, it is money well spent.

She'll replace Contentless Lark as Minister of State, and as I am now two officials above the cap and one of them is surplus to requirements, it is time to say:

2220: Farewell, Contentless Lark

We hardly knew you.

You were a brief and expensive acquaintance, and your firing proof that huge tracts of land and applied experience as a fertility preacher are no substitute for diplomatic competence.

2221.02.23: The Euthanizer War

That happened quicker than expected! The Jogollwan Euthanizers attack the Jakly Star Bloc, the fanatical purifiers attacking the fanatically militant hegemonic imperialists.

2221: Fanatic vs Fanatic

While it is tempting in such a situation to say, “whomever wins, we lose”, that is not actually the case, because the evangelizing zealots of the Velutarian Coalition have unsurprisingly rivalled the Euthanizers and can likely be counted on entering the war if the Euthanizers suffer signifant casualties, which is almost guaranteed.

If they don't, they'll be building up to become a strong road-bump for the Euthanizers while I put together a federation of Wholesale Remption, Rak-Rak Administration, and, perhaps, the Velutarians as well. So nothing to worry about – for now – but I must admit I had hoped for another four or five years before war broke out between those three militant powers.

2221.12.09: Unusual Constellation Spotted

During galactic exploration, made much easier by the Crystal Sensor edict allowing all corvettes to map the non-Nebula parts of galaxy without the help of admiral Red Doctor, one intrepid scout's sensors return this unusual constellation.

2221: That seems awfully suspicious

As anybody who sought additional credits by completing the tough, but fair, undergraduate course on constellation spotting, that pattern means that this particular galaxy contains the Chosen. By whom or for what purpose they were chosen differs, but they are always bad news and warded from the rest of the galaxy, accessible only by wormhole.

Which means that once the Alarians discover the secrets of wormholes, all travel by wormhole is strictly forbidden unless I am sure the wormhole goes somewhere else or I have a strong enough federation to take on the Chosen.

2222.06.07: Wholesale Redemption + United After All
are a Joyful Union After All

2222: Joyful Union After All, the Holy Covenant

Finally the day has come, the Joyful Union After All is created, and never more shall Alarians and Silverfoxes be divided. As of this day they will labour ceaselessly to spread the good word of the Holy Covenant, and for now, just a temporary measure, the president of the union will be Undaunted After All, but the presidency will rotate every two decades, and it will be Rald Toros of the Silverfoxes next in a mere 20 years, the blink of an eye, because this is a union of equals.

This splendid occasion calls for a speech, and indeed, this is one of those historical moments that increases the people's devotion to, and belief in, the Luminary, represented in the situation by increasing the growth points of the Luminary Growth traits by 1.

2222: The First Ascendant's Speech

Also of interest: The Jogollwan Euthanizers war of cleansing against the Jackly Star Bloc began well, overrunning several systems before the Jackly fleet counterattacked early this year, evidently with success as the Euthanizers are currently suffering 39% war exhaustion to the Jackly's 9%.

The Jackly haven't retaken their systems in the three months since, which suggests that their casualties were not insignificant either or that they need to perform extensive repairs, but all points to this being a long war exhausting whomever ends up the winner, and, if I may be so optimistic, one that the Euthanizers will lose.

2223.05.08: The Race for Sidor

The push to the galactic north-west has proved fruitful with the discovery of several new worlds, and both the Kilik Cooperative and United After All competing to claim them first. The contest has reached its conclusion in the race for Sidor; Whomever claims this system and its world is very likely to get Ijax and its world too.

2223: The Race for Sidor

But Sidor has a lot of stellar objects to survey, and the Kilik got there first, arriving perhaps two years before the Alarians did.

But they only brought one survey ship initially, with another catching up around the time my first survey ship arrived, while I sent in every survey ship that had a chance of reaching Sidor in time, and a construction ship as well to begin immediate construction if I finish first.

2223: The Survey War is coming to an end, and I am winning

2224.10.13: Ecumenical Council

The great Ecumenical Council of 2223-2224 suffered from one fatal weakness: I was not willing to invest anything in making it a success despite the long-term benefits when concord prevails due to the urgent need to build up the economy and, to a lesser degree, the fleet in order to perform the planned Rak-Rak subjugation. Thus the outcome came as no surprise.

2224: Discord Prevails!

Other developments of note in 2224 is that as it came to its end, the Evolving Society agenda was completed and the council began working on a new agenda to convince everybody of the Alarians exceptionally peaceful nature.

This might prove useful on its own for its regular bonuses, but in particular I wanted the special benefits Under One Rule of getting Orbital Rings as a guaranteed research option. Not because I will have enough engineering science to research them anytime soon, nor the influence to build them even if I did, as influence is better spent on other things early on, but because this way they are removed from the random technology draw. This means that by the time I would otherwise legitimately be able to research them, it will be easy to draw other techs I am actually interested in.

2224: We Come in Peace

2225-2226: Timestamping Fleet Suicide

2225.08.06 I detect the Rak-Rak fleet departing their capital with a course set for the astroid hive, and based on travel time they'll arrive about a year later; Unfortunately, I do not have a scouting corvette next to the asteroid hive by then to observe the exact timing, but it is seems unlikely I'll have amassed enough power to subjugate them by 2226 anyhow.

2225: The Fleet Departs

And so it proves. I am behind in tech and ahead in economy, but not enough that my still small fleet tips the balance into superior power, so I will pass up on it this time. However, it appears most of the Rak-Rak's fleet was merely damaged, not destroyed, so the next suicide attempt might only be 2-3 years in the future.

In other developments, in early 2226 I completed the Diplomacy tradition group and picked Imperial Prerogative, significantly reducing empire size, and the Velutarian Coalition declared war on the Jogollwan Euthanizers, whose cleansing war against Jakly Star Bloc had ground to an apparent stalemate, so the fanatical purifiers will soon be history as there is no way they'll be able to survive a two front war.

But the biggest development by far in 2226 is that Keides After All reaches adulthood and for a birthday present receives a survey ship, so he can pursue his ardent dream of unearthing the past.

2226: Keides After All

Keides has visions of three planets and urges his mother to fund expeditions to explore the planets. One of them is easily accessible but quite far away, another is closer, but only accessible with cloaking technology due to requiring passage through marauder territory, and the last is very far away unless a shorter route can be found. It might.

2226: Keides Visions

2228: The Fate of the Rak-Rak

The Rak-Rak's 2.9k fleet has recovered enough for another suicide attempt on 2228.01.05 and sets course for Tirramore, arriving 2228.09.03, and this time I have a survey ship in position to watch the outcome:

2228: Rak-Rak. Perfecting Fleet Suicide since the early 2220s

This goes as well as expected, and by the time their remaining ~400 points worth of fleet power retreat, First Ascendant Undaunted After All makes them an offer they cannot refuse.

2228: Serve Me And Prosper!

The grateful Rak-Rak accept the offer, and in a gesture of goodwill, their benevolent overlord immediately orders the construction of a Ministry of Truth and a Satellite Campus to allow exchange students to spread culture, learning, and the wisdom of the First Ascendant. The Rak-Rak population will take time to fully accept the remarkably change in their fortunes, but buttressed by the strong relations built over the past two decades, less time than might otherwise be expected.

2229: Rak-Rak Disloyalty Soon History

And this, my students, is why building strong positive relations is essential to Galactic Pacification, which is well reflected in the simulation. Not only do friendly relations make others more likely to accept in the first place, but if you have a mere +340 total relations, that's just +3.4 loyalty/mth and you might struggle to build loyalty, whereas if you take your time building trust, improving relations, and perhaps having a few other sources of common interest, then like with the Rak-Rak the score might be +721 for +7.2 loyalty/mth.

For the first few stellar empires that sign up to serve the main difference is the speed with which they'll truly grow to appreciate the benefits of servitude, but for latter empires jostling for power and favour with your other vassals it may make the difference between loyalty and disloyalty.

2229: Time for Another Luminary Speech!

By 2229.05.01 the Rak-Rak are loyal, and while Rald Toros of Wholesale Redemption does not support changing Joyful Union After All's federation law to allow subjects to join in general, he does support the First Ascendant's plan to invite the Rak-Rak Administration to join Joyful Union After All in the specific, so the offer is extended to Chancellor Unyoff Stelharm:

2229: Rak-Rak, Become One of Us, One of Us!

2229: The Fate of Wholesale Redemption

That was awfully nice of Rald Toros, wasn't it? Turns out there's a reason.

A year ago, while waiting for the astroid hive fight in Tirramore to begin, I noticed that Wholesale Remption was fighting a marauder fleet from the Lypan Wildlings and losing, badly.

2228: That's Got to Hurt

2229: Situation Critical: Home System Raided

It might not be a strong raiding fleet, but with their own fleet destroyed, it is strong enough. Clearly, Rald Toros has failed his people, and the Silverfoxes are in desperate need of succour, their suffering calling for immediate action.

In such desperate times, with the failure of their leadership and marauders crippling their profits, to whom can Wholesale Redemption look to for protection? There is one, and only one person who can save them, though it may take a bit of tough luck, but is she daunted by the task? Of course not.

When the tempers are high and chips are down, she remains, as always, Undaunted, After All.

2229: Tough Love, Silverfoxes

2229: Silverfoxes are Overjoyed!

2229: Serve Me and Prosper!

Rald Toros, seeing the way the board of directors is leaning, gratefully accept, and in return, in a gesture of goodwill, their benevolent overlord immediately orders the construction of a Ministry of Truth, Satellite Campus, and an Aid Agency.

In other news, a strange Dimensional Portal was discovered on the new colony of Exslillon Prime, and a proposal was floated to create a Galactic Community, a coordinating agency for the great and the good of the galaxy. The Alarians were all in favour of this diplomatic initiative, so let us hope it bears fruit.

And in news that will please those students fidgeting at seeing United After All's engineering science, the empire has once more exceeded 2000 energy. What will I spent it on this time? Am I, perhaps, going to clear the blocker on the Rubricator planet to employ 8 researchers?

Year 2230, the Fruits of Diplomacy

The Good and the Great of the galaxy formed a Galactic Community with United After All as a founding member.

2230: Behold the Galactic Community!

Sadly, I shall not be proposing any resolutions anytime soon, as I need all the influence I can get to fulfill the Luminary's Unifying Promise of the 40 years plan, but I intend to vote in favour of the following if somebody else proposes them:

The Greater Good – my ultimate target is Balance in the Middle, with fairness for all but not enforcing equality by eliminating personal wealth
Divinity of Life – as far as the community will go; machines must serve
Bureaucratic Survelliance – all the way! Eliminating red tape in favour of Personal Oversight by the Luminary and the best and brightest of her priest-bureaucrats can only help improve the lot of common people
Forming the Galactic Market
Galactic Reform – in the fullness of time

In addition, whenever I remember it, I will vote in favour of anything that is guaranteed to pass without my support, in order to garner favour of the empire proposing the resolution.

On the home front, all members of Joyful Union After All are doing well, and the two vassals are getting used to the new world order.

2230: Loyalty Begins at Home

2230: Friends Everywhere!

When even the fanatically xenophobic materialists have neutral (-74) relations with your xenophile pacifist spiritualist empire rather than greatly disliking or hating it, you are doing something right.

Year 2230, Planetary Development

Two big ones:

2230: Rubricator Blocker Finally to be Cleared

2230: Kähkö Power is obsolete due to vassal taxes... or is it?

Author's note: Different resource surpluses that other 2230 screenshots as I had started fiddling with market orders yesterday, so when reloaded today the numbers reflect the new orders.

Year 2230, State of the Empire

2230: First Ascendant and Empire

2230: Traditions are doing fine

2230: Technological progress is underwhelming

Net science output has grown from 166 to 247 over the past decade, a 48.8% increase, which sounds great until you contemplate that 166 wasn't that impressive a figure to being with. Overall United After All is underperforming in technology compared to empires suited to Galactic Conquest, and in particular the low engineering is really starting to make itself felt, made all the worse as I am subsidizing Wholesale Redemption's tech.

Fortunately, engineering is the least important science discipline for this build, so the situation isn't critical yet.

Also, I can't help but point out that society science output of 167.26 is actually quite decent for now, and that fully 37.4 is from research stations. So research stations are making up 22.1% of “quite decent” society output by 2230.

Likewise, Diplomatic Networking, widely despised by clueless students, is making up 8.9% of the unity income of 528.78, which is a very respectable unity output for 2230.

Both the science contribution from research stations and unity from Diplomatic Networking will in a few decades dwindle into insignificance, but their early game importance should not be underestimated.

Another thing to note is that I desperately need to make at least one more research agreement; While not getting a +25% bonus to Doctrine:Support Vessels at this time is perhaps understandable as I am ahead in society tech of most AIs, It is ridiculous not to be getting a bonus to researching deflectors.

2230: Edicts are expensive, but covered by the edict fund

2230: The Council is doing well

I got Inquisitive and Hyper Focus as the first veteran science traits on the council so I have no complaints. The Luminary will soon reach level 7, where she will improve Enlightened Ruler, reducing the job upkeep of all jobs by –10% rather than the current -5%.

22 months remaining on the agenda and I've got a fine unity income; It may well be worth rushing the agenda for around 6-7k unity for quicker levelingl of councillors and perhaps one other leader, but that is an issue for the next lecture.

Tech Reflection: The Research Ratio

I have been hinting at the issue for the past lectures, and it is about time to address the behemoth in the room: Technology.

Many undergraduates erroneously believe that science output is the most important value for technology, the be-all and end-all for high technology empires. They acknowledge that other values have impact on tech, but focus on science output, presumably because it is all their boozed-up undergraduate minds can grasp.

They are wrong.

If they want to focus on a single value, they should focus on a ratio. Specifically the research ratio for a given tech area, which is the ratio between total research output and research penalties.

The research output of a discipline absent stored research is its science output modified by research speed, and the research penalties are currently limited to the empire size penalty.

It follows that the research ratio for a given tech area is defined like this:

science_output * (1 + research_speed_bonus)
-------------------------------------------------------------
(1 + Empire_size_penalty)

Where the science_output is the output from all sources after all output modifiers have been applied, all taxes collected, all subsidies paid, and research_speed_bonus is the sum of all bonuses to research speed in general in addition to those that are specific to the given tech area.

The time it takes to gain a given tech is, absent stored research, simply its base cost divided by its research_ratio.

This is why when comparing two builds to see which progresses fastest in technology you should not look at science in isolation, nor use rules of thumb as to what is “high” or “low” empire size, nor focus on what is “good enough research speed”.

You should look at the research ratio instead, for it is a singular value with the property that the build that progresses fastest in tech in a given tech area is, assuming equal amounts of stored research, ALWAYS the one that has the higher ratio.

Looking at the current technologies on offer, we have an empire size penalty of 19%, which gives us:

Ratio_field_manipulation = 82*(1+43%)/(1+19%) = 98.5
Ratio_military_theory = 142*(1+38%)/(1+19%) = 164.7
Ratio_materials = 21*(1+63%)/(1+19%) = 28.8

From now on I will end every lecture with the current research ratios, which should make for interesting comparisons.

If you aren't used to thinking in terms of research ratios and champing at the bit to know more, I recommend you look at some of your favourite undergraduate Galactic Conquest simulations and calculate your 2220, 2230, 2240, 2250, and 2260 research ratios, to give you an idea of how you usually progress.

The 2230 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

As stated in my last post, I restarted the game from last lecture's 2220 end save due to getting too far ahead, having gotten caught up in the game and realizing by 2282 that I was starting to lose grasp of the details I were to chronicle in this 2220-2230 lecture. So I delated all saves and screenshots 2220-2282 and got playing and writing.

This has some implications, most minor, some major.

Major:

The first time around I managed to vassalize the Rak-Rak by 2225-2226, which meant I renegotiated the agreement early 2236 and integrated them before the end of the 40 year plan for a huge boost to the Unifying Promise score from the extra planets and systems; This time I only managed to vassalize them by 2228, so I won't be able to get that huge a Luminary trait, and, more generally, the way snowballing works in the early game, a few years longer before receiving taxes has significant impact for long term development
The first time I forgot to research Deflectors early despite knowing they are required for cloaking, which delayed completing Keides vision quests by several years. I juggled with the thought of deliberately ignoring Deflectors the second time around to stay faithful to the “professor's” deliberate sloppy playing, but just couldn't make myself do it. So he will probably reach full power already during the 2240-2250 lecture rather than in the early 2250s as last time

My guess is that, absent some truly strange developments, these will more or less cancel each other out, and that the result by the 2250s-2260s when the swing to unity+tech has come into its own will remain impressive enough to convince you that I am on to something with this unity stuff.

Minor:

I know roughly where all the other galactic empires are and have a good idea of the general galactic geography; This doesn't matter much as I already discovered everything nearby, but still, it has to affect my decisionmaking to some degree, just like the original 10-15 year playthroughs from the 2200 save to test different civic strategies impacted my knowledge of early opportunities
I couldn't be arsed to micromanage exploration corvettes as carefully the second time around, so I lost more due to blundering into spaceborne aliens, and overall the exploration of the rest of the galaxy is taking more time, and I don't care, because this way I don't feel like bashing my head in with my 2001 edition of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 17, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Fourth: 2230-2240

Leaders of the Future

This is as good a time as any to take a closer look at leaders. What I've got, what I need, and how I'll get there.

2230: Officials are mostly fine

The Luminary rules, and does so well. She now provides +2 society from priests, 6.25 stability, +7.5% unity from jobs, -5% upkeep from jobs, -20% amenities usage, -20% housing usage, and +10% governing ethics attraction, Level 7 and 9 will be used on improving her skill as an Enlightened Ruler, and as for the 40 years plan? It is safe to say that as impressive as she is now, it is as nothing compared to what she will become.

Currently Vas, the Gilded, my minister of state, is doing double duty as the federation representative. Due to my low influence income, she must focus on levelling her Deep Connections rather than Xenolinguistics.

Unstoppable from the Outset, the superintendent, will be assigned to the new Galactic Community. I intend for her to become an advisor rather than an ambassador in the hope of getting the Grey Eminence destiny trait and one or both of the Unified Focus and Reformer unity traits, but it is a tough choice.

The harsh reality is that for advisors, only two out of seven possible veteran traits are good for this build, and the remaining five pretty awful.

As an ambassador, Deep Connections, Entourage, Consul-General, Overseer, and Xenolinguist would all be helpful, so five out of ten.

So why choose advisor? Simply put, the chance to get the Grey Eminence Destiny trait, which provides -10% empire size penalty, is arguably more helpful that Master Diplomat – but it can be easily argued either way.

I will be looking to be levelling at least one possible replacement official if a good candidate comes along, i.e. a Politician that also has another useful council trait, or perhaps an Eye for Talent or Fertility Preacher that I level up once or twice to see what happens, that one might well become an ambassador. Time will tell.

I have a single industrialist governor, Insufferable Bandwagon, and am looking out for more bureaucratic officials to level as industrialists, but haven't been offered one after gaining Imperial Prerogative increasing the cap. Currently there is no hurry as most of my important planets are in one sector, and getting hand-me-down sector bonuses is fine, but in the long run I would like more, either to be used as sector governors or specialized planet governors in the capital sector.

The key word is bureaucratic. Due to the high focus on unity in this build, an official without bureaucratic has to be truly outstanding in some other way for me to be at all interested in hiring as a governor.

I neither have nor want any delegates, as they are, unfortunately, a waste of space. Officials assigned to the Federation and Galactic Community provide most of the power up-front from their level; The delegate specific traits are almost universally weak, to the degree that a non-delegate official being one level ahead of a delegate official is usually more useful.

2230: Commanders are uninteresting

Given that their primary purpose is exploring, dying and being replaced every now and then as I do not pay that much attention to their safety any longer, the traits do not matter much. These all look like council-wannabes, and that's how they'll most likely die: Pining for a Council that rejects their very existence.

I am looking for one or more commanders with decent tactical skill to head up my fleet expansion and kill those 4k Ancient Mining Drones aliens in the galactic west, ideally a Trickster or Cautious admiral who'll not get their people killed and ships lost out of bloody-mindedness, like the Unyielding admiral currently on offer, claiming that he is Best Nonetheless.

2230: Scientists are plentiful

No complaints about the two councillors, but I would like to recruit an extra scientist or two with council traits including politician or spark of genius as I prefer having reserves available, both for replacement in case I lose an existing councillor, which is unlikely, but can happen if I make a great mistake or randomly, but rarely, if I end up with the Composer of Strands, and for the ability to swap in if their traits differ significantly.

As an example of the latter, Magical Lark is a great councillor, but there might be situations where I would prefer to temporarily replace her with another scientist who had Politician 2, if I were rushing agendas and the other scientist wasn't much worse at science overall.

Unstudious Conclusion is my only other scientist with a veteran class, and she is a scholar. I know her destiny.

I almost always level the two first non-council scientist who are good at archaeology or investigating anomalies as scholars, and start power-leveling the best of by having that one scientist investigate all anomalies and be swapped on the council when completing an agenda. The goal is to become a Vibrant Storyteller, after which the scientists can level up ALL scientists simply by investigating more anomalies.

Usually this is accomplished by saving the Webwork anomaly until the scientists reaches level 7, and then investigating that to hit level 8.

The second scholar is both backup in case I manage to get the first one killed along the way and, more generally, to help with archaeology and astral rifts.

As I did not get any scientists with the trait for investigating anomalies and only Unstudious Lark is good at archaeology, Neon Bellevue, the next scientist to reach level 4, will be my second scholar as the best of the rest.

Unstudious Garters, Malclad Disbeliever, and Half-Hearted Legeteuse are all destined to become explorers. There is a lot of the galaxy to explore yet in the distant regions, for which an Exploration speciality will come in handy, but their long term prospects are non-existent: Ultimately they will be replaced by council candidates and analysts, whenever I get offered somebody truly interesting.

Keides After All, the Scion of Vagros, is doing well. Keep up the good work, young Keides!

You may have noticed, observant students, that I have some fairly specific wishes for leader traits and this is, indeed, the case.

Since United After All has had no need for Supremacy early on, and has no real problems with science either, all this points to picking Aptitude for the optional tradition in the CEO model for the additional leader trait option and the additional initial common trait. It is a bit early to say for sure, as the empire needs to go through its ascension path experience first, but it is looking that way.

Expansion: A Question of Influence

I am in the final stretch of the Luminarys 40 years plan. With 10 years and 9 months to go, it is time for a realistic assessment of expansion opportunities and ruthless prioritization.

2230: 131 Unifying Promises ~ 8 growth ~ 6 stability and 12% increased unity from jobs

The points are tallied thus: 16 colonies (80), 33 systems, 2 federation allies, 2 vassals, 4 for being in a federation, and 10 for leading it. 80 + 33 + 2 + 2 + 4+ 10 = 131.

I have two colonizations about to being in systems I already control to the galactic north, and many opportunities left in the galactic west and a few to the galactic south.

2230: Go West!

In the western region 18 systems at a cost of 18*67 = 1206 influence will bring me ten planets and a Salvagar and Shroudwalker enclave, assuming I can kill the 4k Drones guarding one of the worlds, and assuming that none of the worlds have pre-FTL civilizations. I haven't encountered any yet, but perhaps my luck is about to change.

If influence is tight, the 4-arm containing the two enclaves can probably wait as Wholesale Redemption has more tempting avenues of expansion near its core area.

2230: Complete the Pocket

Two systems at 2*67 = 134 influence for 2 planets is a steal and will be claimed first.

All together I am looking at a bill of 1206 + 134 = 1540 influence, which over 10 years (to give a small margin for error in timing) is 154 influence per year, or 12.83 influence/month.

With a current monthly influence income of 4.83 before expenses and current fixed expenses of 0.5 federation and 0.5 from various treaties, for 3.83 surplus, currently reduced by 3 for specialist conversion, that is going to be a tight squeeze. Where will I find the missing 9 influence/mth on average?

Don't panic.

First, I am currently building a ministry of Truth on each vassal's homeworld, that is 0.3 influence before modifiers from each. So that'll give us something in the vicinity of 1-1.5 influence/mth when they finish construction within the year.

Second, Vas, the Gilded, only lacks around 1200 xp to level 5, where she will improve her Deep Connections skill to level 2, and that's another +0.25 influence/mth gained.

Third, I currently only gain 1.09 from Power Projection. If I build up the fleet a bit I can get 0.91 more, and with the vassal taxes and potentially the salvager enclave to help out, I can probably do that, though not in the early years of the decade. I will want a fleet to deal with the 4k aliens in Omicron Persei to gain access to that world anyway.

Fourth, our contacts with the Artisan enclave will undoubtedly pay off at least twice, and perhaps more often, this decade. That's 100 influence right there, perhaps 150... Or dare I dream, 200!

This still leaves me a bit short, but remember that influence gained from First Contact scales with the monthly influence income once you an empire has more than the bare minimum influence income, and there's nearly a quarter of the galaxy left to explore.

I won't have influence left over to tweak vassal contracts. Integrating the Rak-Rak before the end of the 40 years plan would have been worth the influence due to their planets, even at the cost of expanding less in the western region, but it simply isn't an option as I only vassalized them late 2228 and it takes a decade before the simulation allows new vassals to be integrated.

So every shred of influence will be spent on outposts,, and that will have to be good enough.

What I am saying, my overexcitable students, Is that while at first the idea of gaining 1540 influence in a decade when you have a net of 3.83 might seem a tad optimistic, it is doable with a little bit of luck. Now, let's see what happens next.

2232.11.11: Keides First Vision Quest

2232: One down, two to go

It turned out that I did have a counterclockwise shortcut around the galactic core so Keides won't have to go all the way around clockwise to reach the location of his second vision, but it will be another half year or so before the science ship dispatched for the purpose arrives, so he can jolly well teleport to one of my several pre-positioned leader-less science ship to engage in ordinary surveying duties until it arrives.

2233.04.06: Cloaking Theoretically Possible

2233: 43 months for basic cloaking

A great theoretical breakthrough and, as you will remember from the last lecture, a practical requirement to reach the third site of Keides' vision quest, as the system lies through the realm of the Lypan Wildlings. The timing is fortuitous; He is about to begin investigating the site of his second vision, which is estimated to take two years, and he will need cloaking after that.

2234.11.08: The Nature of Mind and Matter

Following the completion of the Statecraft tradition as an essential part of United After All's galactic outlook, in a long awaited development, the foremost scientist-priests of United After All claims they have indisputable evidence that mind is, indeed, superior to matter, and that this proves they were right all along.

2234: Mind over Matter!

Where do I go from here, I hear you cry. First let me make some observations:

I now have access to planetary ascension to tier 1
I need Psionic Theory researched to gain access to Psionics traditions
I have not discovered Psionic Theory through exploration of the universe, which means I need to get it from the Mind over Matter agenda
Due to comparatively high social science output, once I discover the research option for Psionic Theory I will be able to research it quickly
Due to high unity output, once I do have access to Psionics traditions I will be able to progress them rapidly

This leads me to a simple plan:

Get Psionics theory as fast as possible to unlock Psionics traditions; Don't cancel the current agenda to get started on the Mind over Matter agenda, but do rush it with unity with about 18-24 months remaining when the price will be bearable
Save unity to spend it. Do not spend unity on further traditions or on planetary ascension until Psionics is unlocked, at which point immediately unlocking several Psionics traditions will be possible
Profit

2235.01.01: A Pleasant Surprise

Much to my surprise, a Fallen Empire brings gifts. Had it been the xenophile Fallen Empire that I handed over POPs for pampering to, I would have been less surprised, but this is from the Omnian Continuum, a civilization, if you can call it such, of deluded robots, with which United After All has had no interactions.

Perhaps they are satisfied I left them alone, or, more likely, their logic circuits are failing. Compared to the size of my economy the gift is small, but it would be ungracious to refuse it.

2235: Errr, thanks, I guess?

2235.07.01: Communications Interruptus &
Keides Second Vision Quest

You can't win them all. As is well known, regimes Under One Rule in the formative stage during the 40 years plan occasionally suffer communications problems, which miraculously do not affect other empires. Since this is seriously deleterious to the regime's unity, it is a problem that must swiftly be addressed.

As swiftly as possible under the circumstances, that is.

2235: Admittedly, higher engineering output would help a bit here

In rather better news, Keides completes his second vision quest and is now waiting for the completion of cloaking technoloy, projected for 2237.

2235: Two down, one to go

2235.05.29: The Power of the Mind

It is time to complete the current agenda, A Higher Purpose, and begin the Mind over Matter agenda. As planned the scholar Unstudious Conclusion will substitute for Neon Lark on the council to gain extra experience.

2235: Serving A Higher Purpose

2235: Mind over Matter

2235.10.24: Jakly-Kilik War of Obedience

Unsurprisingly the Alarians neighbour, the Jakly Star Bloc, the fanatically militarist xenophonic hegemonic imperialists next door, is busy subjugating its neighbours. Don't panic.

2235. Jakly Star Bloc are winning to nobody's surprise

The Kilik Cooperative is on its last legs, and presumably the next target after that will be the distant star realm of the fanatically egalitarian spiritualist Divine Imarian Commonwealth, a theocratic republic of ruthless capitalists, or my other neighbour, the fanatically spiritualist militarists of the Velutarian Coalition, an assembly of clans of evangelizing zealots characterized by their warrior culture and distinguished admiralty. Both realms are stronger than the Kilik Cooperative, and the Velutarians are guaranteed to put up a fight, so it will be interesting to see what the Jakly Star Bloc chooses in the end.

The one thing I can be sure of is that their next target will not be United After All, since the Alarians are great friends with the Jackly Star Bloc, in peaceful coexistence due to multiple pacts, high trust, and an Alarian envoy constantly working on keeping relations high. The Jakly Star Bloc will never turn upon United After All so long as I do not give them cause to do so.

I am not going to give them such a reason.

At least not until I am ready to deal with them. Like everybody else, will they, nill they, they will ultimately be pacified.

2236.06.08: Joyful After All's Triumph of Democracy

The federation has been a great success, and a deepening of centralization between the members was agreed upon unanimously. The First Ascendant furthermore proposed changing the federation's succession law by abolishing the short-term unwieldy rotation principle that might have made people dizzy and replacing it with a more long-term solution of selecting leaders by spiritual conclave, now that mind had been proven conclusively to be superior to matter, and this too was unanimously agreed upon.

2236: Unanimously Approved, the democratic principle in action

2236.11.30: Hunting Ancient Mining Drones

The Fleet build-up has succeeded, greatly aided by second-hand corvettes, only one previous owner, hardly used at all, no warranty, no refunds, no questions asked, from the Tinkerer salvager enclave.

2236: Onwards, to Glorious Victories!

Thus it is time to destroy the Ancient Mining Drones in Omicron Persei; I will ensure that a cloaked survey ship surveys it starting 2237 as soon as I have cloaking, and that I have a colony ship and constructor ready on the border to immediately start construction of an outpost followed by colonization once the system is clear.

2237.04.10: Dimensional Portal Collapses

The dimensional portal on Exslillon Prime turned out to be a giant disappointment, leading nowhere useful, and collapsed on itself. Good riddance to bad rubbish is what the Alararians would undoubtedly be saying, were they real, which they are not.

Knowing the simulation as I do, I am more excited. Some outcomes are deceiving, and this is one of them.

2237: Dimensional Portal to Nowhere

2238.01.05: Galactic Community Does Something Right

Since I have not sponsored any proposals in the Galactic Community to save influence, and have not twisted any arms either, it is unsurprising that my priorities have been sidelined.

Until now.

2238: It is time to Comfort the Fallen

Comfort the Fallen is being voted on, and it has strong support. Another of my priorities, a charter of Worker's Rights, is high on the list of agendas, currently in second place after Regulatory Facilitation. My third high priority, forming a truly Galactic Market, is far down the list.

So mixed news here, but things are looking up.

2238.06.08: A Research Dilemma

This is one of the more pleasing dilemmas to have. The society research department completed creating the new field of archaeostudies, and the Mind over Matter agenda completed some months back, making Psionic theory available for further research. (And starting a new agenda of Departmental Efficiency.)

So it seemed obvious that Psionic theory would be the next society tech researched – obvious, that is, until I saw what was offered upon the completion of Archaeostudies:

2238: I want more dilemmas like this, please

Colonial Centralization. The gateway to bigger capitals, more leaders, and further centralization.

Since Psionic theory is the obvious choice, what are the pros and cons of choosing Colonial Centralization instead:

CON:

I get Psionic theory later, so I get started on Psionics traditions later; This means that for a period of the same duration as it takes to research Colonial Centralization, I don't benefit from psionic leaders
I might get the Great Awakening later than if I researched Psionics theory immediately depending on how much unity I will have stored

PRO:

Psionic theory is a guaranteed research option; I can always research it next, whereas if I pass up on Colonial Centralization, who knows when I will be offered it again?
While getting Psionics traditions faster is good, and awakening the population a primary objective, another primary objective a performance point of view is deploying psionic telepaths for the benefit of all citizens, and due to shortcomings in the simulation they can only be deployed on planets with a Planetary Capital or better, which requires Colonizal Centralization

Thus the pros greatly surpass the cons and I pick Colonial Centralization.

2239.06.01: Jakly-Velutarian War of Obedience &
Keides Third Vision Quest

Eager to follow up on success after the subjugation of the Kilik Cooperative, the Jakly Star Bloc has declared a new war of obedience, this time to dubjugate the Velutarian Coalition. Investigating the circumstances, it appears that both realms have been busy making claims on each others territory, which explains why the Jakly chose to attack the stronger target rather than the weaker Divine Imarian Commonwealth.

2239: These Militaristic Societies are so Immature

The Jakly Star Bloc has slightly superior forces and a greater economic base, now strengthened by their Kilik Vassals, but roughly the same level of technology as the Velutarian Coalition, who for their part are led by a distinguished admiralty and strengthened by their warrior culture, and can be expected to compensate at least in part for their comparative weakness in terms of materiel.

Whatever Archon Grogg Spindrift and his fellow maniacs in the military junta of the Jakly Star Bloc may be thinking, this is pretty much guaranteed NOT to be a short victorious war but instead a long grinding war that might well end short of final victory.

In better news, United After All finally gained access to the Ivushesh system beyond Lypan space back in mid-2236, and once a survey vessel arrived Keides teleported aboard to commence his third vision quest, which has now completed.

2236: Finally Access!

2239: Three down, none to go, and what happens now?

Keides is left with more questions than answers, but his tinkering with the key relic originally found on his capsule has left hope that it can be fully restored. A special project to do exactly this has been started, a huge undertaking in physics, and Keides eagerly awaits the outcome... due sometime next year.

2239.08.20: Cleansing Omicron Persei of Drones

Corvette swarm tactics at their finest.

2239: To the scrap heap of history!

Year 2240, the Fruits of Diplomacy

The economy of United After All prospers, with the loyal vassals providing basic resources in return for technological advancement.

2240: Loyal Vassals Strengthen Economy

Overall the economy is coming along nicely, and the unity output is about two and a half that of society output, still fulfilling my original target, so that is okay. I would like it to be higher, of course, but this is certainly good enough to complete Psionics during the 2240s.

A stronger unity build could do so by the 2230s if it got psionic theory in time, but that would pretty much require getting psionic theory from a Dimension of Suffering, Zroni precursor, or Living Planet.

2240: They like me, yeah, yeah, yeah...

No problems here. Both domestic and foreign policy are doing their part.

Year 2240, Planetary Development

I am sure specialization was covered in your undergraduate courses, but let us nevertheless take a look at a few of the most prominent planets in 2240.

2240: Home After All is filling up

Dedicated to industrial production and the power of the priesthood, the single research laboratory has survived the ravages of time. The generator and mining districts are long gone, replaced with industry, and the remaining agricultural districts are destined to suffer the same fate. Once the planetary capital has been upgraded and psionic theory researched, it will be time for a PSI corps.

Long term, the capital will get an Embassy and buildings upgrading both alloys and consumer goods rather than specializing the capital as either forge or factory, to allow me to easily address alloy or consumer goods needs caused by changing conditions by switching the capital designation, and to run the more generic empire capital designation boosting all resources most of the time.

VERY long term, once I have transformed the capital into an Ecumenopolis and once I have an industrialist governor with either maxed forge or factory veteran trait, I will probably want my capital to be dedicated as either forge or a factory capital designation rather than running it with the empire capital designation, but that is all in the future. For now the flexibility is more important.

2240: Rubricator is coming along nicely

Nothing much to be seen here, the Rubricator is the secondary industrial world, and like Home After All is having its administration upgraded to planetary capital and likewise in need of a PSI corps. Once I have a strong third industrial world, it will be time to specialize one as factory and the other as forge, but that is for the future.

2240: Kähkö Power – still going strong

Despite vassals I found a continued need for its energy. Next up is adding some another two city districts with temples, and then upgrading the administration and building a PSI corps.

2240: Exslillon Prime – my new tech world

Some Jogollwan Euthanizers fled the Jakly and Velutarian conquest and sought refuge in United After All, claiming they were political refugees and definitely not out to euthanize disgusting subj-Jogollwan aliens such as the Alarians. Hailing from an arid climate, they were housed on Exslillon prime and allowed to breed. Since they are highly intelligent, it was decided to channel their frustrations into more productive pursuits than regretting their deeply regrettable past, and I made Exslillon Prime the empire's first tech world.

The world is home to some Jakly emigreess, fresh from the Savannahs of their homeworld. Presumably the two species get on like a house on fire.

It definitely needs more POPs!

2240: Efoll Prime – the new factory world

The jungle world of Efoll prime started out life as a generator world, but vassal taxes made this obsolete giving Efoll's limited potential, so I began turning it into a factory world instead. I kept the old generator districts and pay the upkeep for three reasons despite nobody working their jobs.

First, because this will make it easier for me to reach 25 employed people to allow me to upgrade their administration by simply moving people temporarily to live on Efoll Prime once 25 is within striking range.

Second, because destroying them and rebuilding them year later might not be a saving at all.

Third, because while what the second argument states is true, that “might” is worth noticing; Odds are that it would be a saving, so arguably it would be a micro-optimization worth making. Not a lot, but something.

This a case where laziness and a view to strategy definitely trumps micro-optimization. If I destroyed them, and forgot to rebuild them (or other districts) in time, I would delay the process and end up losing out anyhow.

Why do I get in such agonizing about what is a trivial issue? The answer is simple. Once you start making micro-optimizations there is no end to them. Unless they are something you can apply to a a great many things, thus ensuring great benefit from doing them, stick to strategy instead.

Accept minor inefficiencies in favour of making sure you spend your time avoiding major inefficiencies through bad planning.

Year 2240, State of the Empire

2240: First Ascendant and Empire

2240: Traditions are waiting on ~~Godot~~ Psionics

Technological progress is pretty good

Perhaps surprisingly to some, research stations still contribute significantly to science these 40 years after start by providing almost 10% of total physics and society output. Double that for engineering research, but that is less surprising given the technological focus of United After All.

More generally things are looking up from a technological perspective. While the science output in 2210, 2220, and 2230 was distinctly unimpressive, it is show promise now, jumping from a net 247 in 2230 to 833 output in 2240 after subtracting subsidies.

What is the cause of this great science output increase? There are several factors involved, and listing them in order of importance, they are:

The population grew from 194 to 308, and most of the new POPs are employed as priests
Around 20 workers were inducted into the priesthood due to vassals providing most basic resource demands. I am down to a total of 30 workers out of 308 POPs, and this trend is likely to continue as vassals cover more of my needs
I am employing 14 researchers, 1 dimensional portal researcher, and 2 archaeo-engineers, and they have higher base output than priests, so a significant increase in non-priest science producers
Increased output of priests from a higher level council: Astral Minister (higher base physics output), Superintendent (higher priest output); This effect is minor compared to the other two, but it is still very real and this will continue to be the case as they level.

This isn't a top science output empire by any means, but apart from the glaring issue of only having a net 93 engineering output, which is by now reaching critical status as the Alarians face greater challenges, it is certainly doing better that most undergraduate empires would do in terms of total science production 40 years after start of a simulation, and it is doing so while building respectable tech speeds and while keeping empire size under control.

But it needs more engineering science one of these days.

Corvette swarms, even with upgraded shields and physics weapons, can only take you so far after all.

From a purely defensive perspective, of course.

2240: Edicts are doing fine, but look out!

As everybody of you not fast asleep will immediately notice, the Alarian stock of rare crystals is reaching critical levels. It is time to disable the Crystalline Sensors edict.

I should probably also start the recycling campaign. I am approaching the point where it makes not only practical convenience but economic sense.

2240: The Council is Ever Efficient!

The Research Ratio

Let us see what that impressive science output does in practice:

Ratio_particles = 322*(1+63%)/(1+41%) = 372.2
Ratio_psionics = 417*(1+48%)/(1+41%) = 437.3
Ratio_industry = 93*(1+48%)/(1+41%) = 97.6

As expected, keeping empire size under control relative to the size of the economy has paid off by allowing the research ratio to scale well with science output.

Also as expected, it is slipping a bit as POPs provide an ever larger portion of the base empire size before modifiers, but Psionic Theory, Harmony, Domination, and planetary ascension should be adequate to counter that in the long run.

Overall the particles and psionics ratios, with and without research agreement support respectively, are well within the limits of what should be considered high tech by 2240, and the industry ratio without research agreement is... well, to be charitable I could claim that the industry ratio, and engineering ratio in general, isn't low for 2240, but that would be comparing it to undergraduate builds. For post-graduate studies and real life Global Pacification it is definitely on the low side.

The 2240 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

This was a relaxing decade, surveying and building infrastructure. I mostly achieved the goals set out in 2230, but ended up with lower engineering than I would have liked.

The annoying UOR random event giving me a -20% unity modifier that could be removed with a mere 4000 engineering special project felt deliberately spiteful, coming as it did about 5 years before the end of the Unifying Promise period.

So I had the choice, of getting -20% unity (additive) for ~5 years or spending 26 months of engineering science to only suffer -20% unity for two and a half years. I went with the latter, trading engineering for unity, but am not at all sure I made the right call. Not that it has any great impact on the game, but the game could hardly have chosen a better low-impact/great-annoyance event to torment me with if it had tried to.

One thing that strikes me is that I haven't mentioned how I have been dealing with the four different approaches in the Unifying Promise situation over the decades, though it may have leaked in some of the screenshots. Each approach comes with a significant benefit and a significant cost.

Once I completed the Unifying agenda and could change the approach in the situation, I stuck with the original choice (Internal Affairs, +5 stability for -0.25 influence) for some years mostly through laziness, I'm afraid.

Then I made New Technologies approach default (+10% researcher output, +35% researcher upkeep), since it has minimal effect on United After All as priests don't count as researchers, swapping in Construction Projects (planetary build speed +35%, ship build speed +35%, -0.15 base metallurgist output) during periods with large building projects.

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 20, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture Notes: Vassals

On the Proper Treatment of Vassals

Memorize this:

Building trust and improving relations are essential to the diplomatic subjugating of your neighbours
Before issuing a proposal for diplomatic subjugation, consider not only the loyalty/mth of the proposed new vassal taking into account your new total number of vassals, but also the loyalty/mth of all your other vassals, as it will drop by 1 should the proposal be accepted
If you have any vassals that are disloyal or close to slipping into declining loyalty, consider the impact on everybody from the new empire's fleet strength on the total fleet strength of vassals, as that provides a further reduction to everybody's loyalty/mth
With the above in mind, always offer new targets of subjugation a good deal that will leave them able to build loyalty without help; You can always renegotiate the deal later on. While making the perfect offer they can't refuse to maximize your gains is tempting, it you are at all uncertain of the outcome of your offer it is better to spend more influence or offer more generous terms than you strictly speaking need to, than to discover after acceptance that you overlooked some detail and have now created a loyalty problem you cannot easily solve.
Pledging Loyalty and buying loyalty are both very strong interactions for building and maintaining loyalty, but they can only be done so long as a vassal is loyal in the first place. They can also only be bought for resources you aren't either taxing or subsidizing. Plan accordingly.
Early in the lifetime of an empire, the Satellite Campus is a very strong holding and you should pursue at least two holdings for each vassal, one for the Ministry of Truth and one for the Satellite Campus. (In fact, there's a special build strategy that focuses on creating an early vassal swarm of micro-vassals with Satellite Campus. This is covered in the advanced course, “Mini-me and me”)
If you can squeeze a third holding into the contract early, it is worth it for a foreign Aid Agency holding – the loyalty bonus it provides covers half of the loyalty cost of getting a third holding, and it provides substantial unity up income for the overlord.
Overlord Garrisons are strong, but for Galactic Pacification purposes they should generally be avoided, except for helping keeping order in xenophobic empires with great ethical differences. If you build a system of vassals with loyalty balanced while everybody has full Overlord Garrisons, you risk having few tools left to salvage the situation if things go wrong
If you want to integrate vassals, the easiest way to do it is pass a treaty revision allowing you to do so months before you want to start, to allow loyalty to build up again; It is usually wise to get a pledge of loyalty before amending the treaty if they haven't already pledged. Remember that so long as the vassal remains loyal, you can buy/bribe loyalty, even during integration, and if you want to keep things smooth, you may have to.
It usually isn't critical if one or two vassals are temporarily disloyal, but unless you intend to cow your vassals with military might it is better to keep everybody loyal in general.
Integrating a struggling vassal, upgrading their infrastructure and technology, and releasing them again with empire ethics, civics, and traditions as well as the newest technology is expensive, but mutually beneficial: Let them enjoy the fruits of your labours, and you will both be better off in the long run.

On Taxation and Vassal Specialization

Some professors, and I mention no names, are strong proponents of taxing advanced resources rather than basic resources, and their arguments are not without merit.

It is true that too high a taxation of basic resources will hurt the subjects ability to build up a stronger economy as they will have fewer basic resources available and will be using many of them to build basic resource buildings to make up for their lack – or even worse, NOT do that, and fall behind on building both basic and advanced resource production.

It is also true that taxing advanced resources, no matter how high, mainly makes vassals the more determined to build up their advanced production infrastructure, arguably resulting in a positive feedback cycle.

So as I said, their arguments are not without merit.

Where they go wrong is concluding that this means having Scholarium vassals everywhere is the optimal solution, as they provide nice bonuses and don't require any support, all the while taxing science and optionally other advanced resources or perhaps even basic resources if you want: Give nothing to your vassals and strip them of everything save the basic resources needed to keep expanding.

Let me suggest an alternative. If excessive taxation of basic resources causes such problems, how about not taxing them excessively? If your empire is better at sensibly employing people in productive pursuits than the empires run by morons, real or, as in the simulation, a so-called AI, how about you focus on strengthening their basic resource production while taxing it substantially and supporting their science?

What I am saying, ignorant students, is that Prospectoriums should not be treated as a one-and-done. They are very, very, powerful when utilized well. Scholariums are powerful too, but they are not the be-all and end-all of specialized subjects.

Also more generally, that subsidizing your vassal's research or their strategic resource production can be a powerful tool, as those are both areas where you are likely to do much, much, better than them.

What about the Bulwark specialization, I hear you cry? This, I am afraid is a rather special case. For Galactic Pacification purposes, you are unlikely to need any unless your colonies suffer low stability

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 22, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Fifth, part one: 2240-2245

since this is the first half of the 2240-2250 lecture,
the end stats and save will be provided in the second half

My students. I must regretfully inform you that the Dean has requested that I cut today's lecture short in order that you can all participate in a mandatory “sensitivity training” exercise, whatever that is.

Apparently the extracurricular activities of some students have come to his attention, which he disapproves of, and blinded by the psychology department's propaganda he believes he can fix you by telling you to be better people. Or whatever it is trent.layell is.

It might be because of the occasional student sacrifice, or the giant screaming wicker man on the lawn, or how some of you are clearly out of your minds on drugs during lectures, or possibly the illegal body-shop some of you appear to be running, though where you get the organs is perhaps an issue better left unexplored, or perhaps the unspeakable thing Jak1739 and HistoryDude did to the toilets in what used to be building E before the black hole swallowed it and we could all rest relieved that the threat was short-lived, but whatever the reason, you are deemed in dire need of “sensitivity”.

Look, I know how it is when you are young. You are with friends, you are drunk, you have incendiaries. Things happen. As you are dancing on the smoking ruins of what used to be an eyesore, somebody overreacts, you are labelled a pyromaniac, in desperation you join a cult, commit unnatural acts of utter depravity, flee in a hail of gunfire, and are hunted in three jurisdictions before being apprehended by a telepath named Bob, who claims to be your friend before putting the mind-whammy on you, and when you awake you have been sentenced to community service through education, are on a ship destined for the university with no thoughts for escape, because liking your sentence is mandatory.

You then find your new existence a bit lacking in action and play student pranks.

These things happen all the time, and I don't judge you for being scum. It is just who most of you are.

So once I am done with the first half of the planned lecture, go forth and be sensitive or whatever, and return for the second half of the lecture tomorrow.

Yes, this will come out of your copious free time, mister Rensslaer. I trust you have no objections.

Plan for the Decade

In two words: Consolidation and vassalization.

It is time to bring the 40 years plan to a close and to put more efforts into developing the existing colonies. Moreover, the best scientists are good enough by now that I will begin investigating the First League precursor anomalies and discover its ancient capital, the size 25 relic world Fen Habbanis, within the decade.

There are three interior one-system pockets of spaceborne aliens remaining, and hopefully I will deal with two of them;

Cknoor – this system has a single Void Cloud and, something I had failed to notice earlier is in a Nebula. This means that the Void Cloud's primary defence, its shield, is down, and that I could easily have killed it earlier with a few corvettes and claimed that system as well within the 40 year plan had I noticed. But I did not. These things happen.
Jsmak: 9.8k fleetpower of 12 autonomous drone destroyers guard a shielded world. I will overcome them with a corvette swarm, investigate the shield, and bring it down. As those of you familiar with the simulation will know, the shield blocks a size 30 relic world, and I want that.
Unnamed system accessible via wormhole from Hischmal. This is another familiar constellation that is always guarded by a Psionic Entity of significant power. If you find a wormhole near a single isolated system with no hyperlanes leading to it, this is it. One of those quirks of the Shroud present in many galaxies. As I cannot traverse wormholes yet, my plan is to wait until I can and have destroyer technology, at which time I'll send 20 low-tech torpedo destroyers to kill it while suffering few casualties. If I get this done this decade, fine. If not, no biggie

I plan to get started on, and complete, the psionics tradition group, and ideally get started on both Aptitude and Harmony as well.

For vassalization, the most likely targets will be the Moij-Hugan Consciousness, a weak Life-seeded Hivemind controlling significant territory but stuck on their homeworld, and whatever remains of the Velutarian Coalition after they lose their war with the Jakly Star Bloc.

It may also be the time to integrate the Rak-Rak Administration, upgrade their infrastructure, and release them as a vassal again with improved administrative structures.

2240: Consolidation and Vassalization

All taken together, this should result in a massive gain of power by the end of the decade, putting most undergraduate “1k science by 2250 or GTFO” empires to shame, except in terms of fleetpower and engineering science, at which United After All will be somewhat lacking.

2240: Leaders of the Future?

I am not going to keep you informed about all leader recruitment, but the 2240 intake illustrates an issue nicely: Recruiting leaders against potential future need,.

2240: Potential Advisor or Administrator

Insufficient and Unbowed starts with two council traits, Principled and Eye for Talent, both of which would under normal circumstances be pretty valuable on the council. Given Undaunted After All's empire wide stabilizing effect, the first is less valuable than it would otherwise be, but it isn't nothing. My preference, as you know, is for Politicians on the council, but while she is recruited at level 3, she will only get one chance at getting politician, so will probably fail to get it.

Don't look so puzzled, Lord Durham! As is well known, any leader who has exactly two common level 1 traits will be offered those two upgraded to level 2 on their level up regardless of how many trait options they would normally be allowed, which in this case would be three.

So I know she will be offered Principled 2 and Eye for Talent 2 as her level 2 trait with no chance of picking up Politician there.

This means I know she is extremely unlikely to ever be a top council candidate, but I will recruit her anyway, and that is because the only official council candidate I have not on the council is the disappointing level 2 Graceless Mirrorshade, a ruggedly handsome level 2 Fertility Preacher who is presumably too busy practising what he preaches to take up politics. And since the cap is currently at 6/8, I will recruit her and level them both and see who turns out the better in the long run.

Not that I am planning on retiring either Unstoppable from the Outset or Vas the Gilded, but it is always nice to have replacements.

2240: Potential Statistician

Terrified Slash is an interesting case. Again, she isn't a Politician, but she too starts with two council traits, Spark of Genius, which is always valuable, and Retired Fleet Officer, which is valuable when needing to build large number of ships quickly.

Which is something I have not needed to do yet and will ideally never need to, but it is a valuable option to hold in reserve against future need. Thus, even if I were not currently lacking in decent statistician candidates she would be a shoe-in for recruitment. As is, she will be recruited, and I will level her Retired Fleet Officer first, then take whatever is best of Spark of Genius and other traits offered at level 3.

Taking that even further, unlike Insufficient and Unbowed, who might easily be fired if a better council candidate appears, I am likely to keep Terrified Slash on the payroll even if a good Politician appears amongst the scientists, simply to have a good Retired Fleet Officer I hope never to use in reserve.

I currently have 7/6 scientists, and don't really want to go further over the cap, so I am firing the level 3 Malclad Disbeliever (Perfectionist, Champion of the People).

Rather than proceed strictly chronologically, let me first note some larger developments:

2240-2241: Delivering on the Unifying Promise

Having exceeded all expectations, I score 210 unifying promise points, worth 14 luminary growth points, and the First Ascendant proclaims mission accomplished.

2240.10.07 Promise Delivered

Supported by the exceptional devotion of the people, the Luminary proclaims that she has heard the will of the people, and rather than stepping down from the dictatorship, retiring to a quiet life within the priesthood and returning power to the clans as has been both expected and feared, she will do the people's bidding and devote the rest of her life to their service, but only if her supreme executive power is formalized in imperial rule for life rather than vested in the temporary dictatorship.

2241.08.18 Imperial Rule is Proclaimed

Opposition to this radical proposal is slight, and while evil tongues whisper that the Luminary has cut deals with the clans and the media, they are drowned by the widespread outpouring of joy at this remarkable sacrifice. The people have faith in their Luminary, Undaunted After All, and if they have slightly less faith in her hypothetical successor, her son, who is Unusual After All, I am sure their faith will sustain them.

2241.11.18 Faith Sustains

And she has faith in them. Looking to the future, the First Ascendant proclaims it is time to take a wider interest in galactic affairs. The Alarians have encountered many friendly strangers, and a few not so friendly ones, so the old ways of respectful pacifism, already strained by the chaos of the unification conflicts, seem inappropriate to the times.

Rather, she will extending a helpful hand to one and all, and shelter the weak of the galaxy, ready to punish aggression severely. The literary department has obviously gone into overdrive for this speech, so I will cut is short: The Alarians embrace Xenophilia and are now Spiritualist/Fanatic Xenophiles, who allow unrestricted wars though they don't desire them.

Fortunately for everybody's sanity this simulated universe disallows xeno-compatibility or the Alarians tendency to breed uncontrollably might have unfortunate side effects.

2241.12.01 Behold the Luminary

Truly it is rare for any ruler to have such a strong unifying effect, simulated by a total of 18.5 stability points and +30% unity from jobs.

2240-2244: Vassalizations and Consequences

As planned, the Moij-Huxgan Consciousness were easily convinced to join as a Prospectorium despite their distance.

2240: The Moij-Huxgan Consciousness would like to join

2240: The Moij-Hugan joins the Greater Unity!

A year later I spot an opportunity. The very distant Divine Imarian Commonwealth recently lost a war against their neighbours, the Beldroan Free Confederacy, splitting their territory in three parts. To whom will they turn to for protection?

2241: The Imarians are in dire straits

The loss of so many systems, planets, and people has seriously weakened them, so the First Ascendant extends an offer of mutual assistance, subsidizing their tech base while rebuilding their production sectors, all with practically no strings attached except following her lead in the Galactic Council, and they gratefully accept.

2241: Shelter in the Palm of the Luminary, Imarians

Now, it can be argued that this is, perhaps, taking a good thing too far. United After All is now subsidizing the research of three vassals, and engineering research is getting scarce.

2242: Unable to Afford Science Subsidies

Very scarce. So scarce United After All is unable to meet its engineering science commitments, which means that the subsidies for one of the vassals is not paid paid that month. This is a blow to the credibility of the Luminary that will not stand, and while the completion of several ongoing research lab construction projects are guaranteed to address the issue within the year, that is not good enough. There's nothing to do for it but to invest in a few more at once, and so it is done.

By late 2242 United After All can afford to pay all research subsidies for the first time, and in the coming months it manages most months, but not all, as United After All's ever increasing engineering science output vies with the increased subsidies from the three Prospectoriums increasing their science output for dominance. The issue is finally resolves mid 2243 after which the subsidies are faithfully paid every month, but not before managing to hit a most unusual milestone for engineering output:

2243: +-0, the Weirdest Engineering Science Balance, Ever

But how about the Velutarians, you may well wonder? Fear not! They haven't been forgotten.

They are still fighting the Jakly Star Bloc and, as expected, they are losing. More than a third of their territory is occupied, but they fight on. The Jakly Star Bloc has 57% war exhaustion and the Velutarian Coalition has 59%. The Velutarians are fighting, and they are fighting hard.

Good for them.

They have the Alarians hopes and prayers, and, seing as how these simulated evangelizing zealots are fanatically spiritualist, I am sure they appreciate that more than they would mere material aid.

Thus the focus turns to the Rak-Rak administration. Too long have the rock-eaters of Rak-Rak been deluded materialists, lost to common sense, but under the guidance of the Luminary they are ready to turn a new leaf.

It is time to prepare them for integration. I propose granting them free exercise of politics and expansion to help distract the Rak-Rak political elite, who are perhaps less keen on enjoying the benefits of direct rule and loss of their power than the common Rak-Rak, longing to sheltered in the palm of the Luminary. I furthermore eliminate the advanced resources tax Additionally they are to stop working as a Prospectorium focusing on raw materials and the research subsidies will be discontinued to reflect the soon-to-be new normal, though their gentle basic resource tax will be maintained.

2244: Time to Integrate the Rak-Rak

The political leadership is quite disgruntled, but being poor at mathematics they are easily persuaded to pledge their loyalty in returns for a thirty years trade of motes and alloys, which will in practice only last two years, the duration of integration.

2244: Pledge Loyalty with this Fair Trade

Let me end this update on vassals by showing the full situation at the end of 2244.

2244: Vassal Overview

As can be seen both the Moij-Huxgan Consciousness and the Divine Imarian Commonwealth allow for much more mutually beneficial treaties rewarding the Alarians for their help, but while certainly desired this is not a high priority; Presumably they are putting their resources to good use themselves for now, and there are other claims on the still fairly limited influence of United After All.

2240-2243: Rise of Psionics

All progresses as expected.

2241: Psionic Theory discovered

Having been stockpiling unity rather than using it, the early psionics traditions come fast, and the first PSI Corps are ordered built. Efforts increase to build up more of the bigger worlds to reach 25 jobs, after which POPs can be shuffled there to allow an upgraded capital and a PSI corps, and POPs moved on to help support upgrading the next world in line, are taken.

Were I not playing sloppily, like a student, this would already have been done in anticipation of gaining Psionics, not done in reaction to acquiring it.

11 months later is the Great Awakening of the Alarian people.

2242: Arise, Psionic Alarians!

By the end of the year, all aliens in United After All are given paid time off from work to attend mandatory psionic assimilation. This is taking advantage of a weakness of the simulation, whereby assimilation happens at the turn of each year, regardless of when people started attention assimilation classes, and this is the case for all types of assimilation in the simulation.

Another year and a half, and the Alarians are ready to begin piercing the Shroud

2243: Twenty-nine months to go

Alpha-Beta Optimization

I hope you remember the strange dimensional doorway that collapsed in static last lecture. If you did, and were been diligent students rather than wasting your lecturers' time the last three years, which is what I call a low percentage scenario, you would not be surprised by what follows.

This was, of course, a simulation of contacting a parallel universe, something that is disturbingly commonly encountered in reality, but as usual in such situations only universes that are fairly close to the original are encountered, places where events have taken a few strange turns yet people and places are otherwise disturbingly identical even if chaos theory would predict greater divergence.

This just goes to show that the Creator has a perverse sense of humour.

For the Alarians, problems began when negative mass particles were unexpectedly detected in the home system, and events proceeded much as usual in these cases.

2240: This is unusual. Let's poke it and see what happens

2242: Invasion by Mysterious Force

2242: ...that doesn't stand a chance

2242: Beta Establishing Plausible Deniability

2243: Big brain science: What's better than a homeworld? TWO homeworlds!

2243: No disruptions, please

If all goes to plan, Home After All-beta will be pulled into this universe in 2245. In related news, by 2244 Neon Lark's arduous task of coordinating the project with Neon Lark-Beta has taken its toll, and she now procrastinates more than is probably good for her. Magical Lark greets her sister-in-procrastination with open arms.

2244: Neon Lark, Procrastinator in Chief

The Further Adventures of Keides After All

To round off this first half before you attend the officially mandated “sensitity training” exercise, we examine the exciting life of Keides After All. With the completion of his vision quests and the restoration of the Vagrosian relic, Keides got an idea and displaying a shocking lack of prudence decided to activate it without any safeguards, to “see what it does”.

2240: Keides Relic is Restored!

2240: Keides Performs Unsafe Experiment

As a result the home system now not only harboured an open rift to a parallel universe, it also contained an unstable wormhole to... somewhere. Most likely the Vagrosian homeworld, since that is usually the case as explained by Cassandra Toldya in her seminal work on Terrific Toddles, but even so. Dreadfully lax procedures.

Next up was researching wormhole stabilization to allow traversing it, and then ensuring that nobody, and I mean nobody, “accidentally” began exploring the many other wormholes in the galaxy anytime soon due to the looming threat of the Chosen.

2244: Wormhole Travel Now Possible

2244: The Sursect System is Guarded. Very Guarded

It turns out that the Sursect system was guarded by 72 automated defenders enforcing the edicts of an empire long dead– yet another proof that artificial stupidity easily beats artificial intelligence. As United After All's fleet was deemed greatly inferior, Keides came up with the idea of using the system's crious energy flows around the planet to create one great electromagnetic field to knock out the drones.

There was just one small problem.

2244: 170 months for 6000 engineering science?

So Keides went to his mother and asked if possibly, just possibly, United After All might consider investing a bit more in engineering research. Like, a whole lot more, really. Anytime soon would be great.

And the Luminary, First Ascendant, said yes, for in the face of large-scale projects she was, is, and remains, Undaunted After All.

---

Author's note:

I just love how through these five years I go from a net +833 net science output in 2240 to a net +593 output with -0.45 engineering output in 2243, and back to a net +870 output by late 2244.

But with Keides finally convincing the First Ascendant to invest seriously in engineering research, those of you who aren't used to playing wide are about to see just how radically a wide society can be overhauled in just a few years given available resources, and thanks to my Prospectorium vassals, I do.

Anybody willing to take a stab at guessing what the engineering science output will look like in 2250? Or science output in general? It is only 5 years away, and I am not going to cripple unity production. So it surely can't be that much. Or can it?

One cautionary note: I have deliberately been underinvesting in engineering science in this game.

Under normal circumstances, even when playing a variant of the Priesthood tech build, I would have invested a lot more in engineering in order to not fall this far behind. Even if I hadn't, since I knew the Sursect project was upcoming ever since I found the Durgar system early in the game, I would in normal circumstances have been building research labs all over the place once I got close to the wormhole stage, in order it be in place for the Sursect project.

The reason for underinvesting so significantly is of course to prove a point: That even if you spend next to nothing on engineering science the first four decades of the game, so long as you play diplomatically you can still survive it and turn the situation around, rapidly catching up, if you play your cards right.

But please don't think of this as a superior approach. It really, truly, isn't. Engineering research early is important. Just not, perhaps, as important as forum consensus has it.

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 24, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Fifth, part two: 2245-2250

this is the second half of the 2240-2250 lecture

Exploring and Surveying the Galaxy

Now that the subsidy crisis has been resolved, it is time to turn to other matters... Hold on, not quite there yet.

First, I obviously want more engineering science than the pittance left over after paying all subsidies in 2244.

Second, there is the nature of subsidies. Some students, somehow, manage to attain an undergraduate degree without understanding the nature of taxes and subsidies. I can only blame nepotism and intrigue.

So learn this, and never forget it:

TAXES are a percentage of the VASSALs total output. If the vassal cannot afford to pay a particular tax, it is not paid
SUBSIDIES are a percentage of the VASSALs total output. If the overlord cannot afford to pay a particular subsidy, it is not paid

It is as simple as that. In both cases the amount is based on the vassal's output. This means that if you are paying a particular subsidy, like the research subsidy paid to prospectoriums, and the vassal's science output increases, the subsidy increases too.

Hence while a subsidy crisis can be resolved, you will want to increase your own output continuously since the subsidy will increase over time as the vassal increases its output, or you may fall into a subsidy crisis again.

Also, of course, because I want Keides to finish with his little electromagnetic project as fast as possible.

But I digress.

Returning to the subject of today's lecture, I like exploring the galaxy as much as the next man.

I probably like it more, come to think of it. Where many a wannabe Galactic Conqueror or Pacifier is satisfied with quickly exploring and surveying nearby regions, I am not.

I want to explore the entire galaxy quickly to know where everything is, as this aids me in making informed decisions based on the best information possible. I use corvettes led by admirals to do this.

I also want to survey much more of the galaxy than is the norm, and there are two reasons for that.

Surveying finds anomalies that can often prove useful even if they end up in somebody elses' territory
Surveying is a good way of building experience for scientists

Now, early on I tend to stay strictly within the scientist cap, or just one or at most two above the cap, due to the second issue and the importance of levelling one or two scientists to level 4+ where they start being of use for archaeology or investigating anomalies at something other than a snail's pace.

Later on the first issue often takes precedence, and I will survey more in the same amount of time accepting even severe experience penalties so long as I am surveying areas that I consider having a high chance of not having been surveyed by another empire yet, based on my observations of their science ship locations when traversing their territory or other means of gaining information, and on whether I have already found some anomalies in the vicinity or not. If I search two systems near each other with no anomalies, I generally move the survey ship a bit further away from the closest empire before searching again.

When I am in that phase of surveying, exceeding the cap, occasionally by a large amount, I will often cease investigating anomalies entirely for the duration, or only investigate the most promising ones, due to the considerable XP loss involved as well as the reduction in surveying from taking a scientist off surveying duties.

I have reached that point now. With the recent completion of Keides' Key relic, I have activated it and used it to jump explorers and science surveyors into locations previously accessible. I am also recruiting ever more scientist to perform surveying duties as-and-when I get survey ships into position on the far side of empires in areas I suspect are unsurveyed.

2244: Galactic North-West, the Surveying Frontier

I don't have many survey ships in position yet, but more are on the way and in production. The picture in the galactic south is different, as the southern surveying frontier is more distant; My shortest path is funnelling ships through the marauders in stealth, and I have sent one survey ship through some time ago, which is making its way to the Helito system in the hope of beating the Hoij-Mugan to it.

2244: Galactic South-East, the Big TODO

As to why I want to beat them to Helito, those of you who are awake undoubtedly remember from your lamentable days as undergraduate students that any galaxy containing a system named Helito will be found to have several planets missing, leading to a great project to locate them, and so on and so forth. And if not, I just told you. Don't forget it a second time.

They might already have surveyed Helito of course, but based on tracking their science ships after I made them my vassals I think my odds are decent, that they have not. They HAVE had science ships flying around far south as I saw one with an exploration corvette earlier, but it was so far from their borders that it was probably a case of the AI taking a funny route to nowhere, possibly surveying a distant system and then returning to a closer system rather than using any rational surveying method.

Then again, they may have surveyed Helito a decade ago, for all I know. There is a sure-fire way to find out, and that is why my science ship is making its way there as fast as possible bypassing all other tempting surveying targets on the way.

To survey the rest of the Galactic South I am planning on mass producing science ships in westernmost Rak-Rak after integration, sending them straight through the Felnoll Coalition. This is a much shorter route than I have available currently.

So in 2244 when I start ramping up surveying activities on a big scale, I have hired another three scientists so I have three above the cap, and if I had more survey ships in position, I would be hiring more scientists. I have the unity base to easily support them, so the sky is the limit.

2244: Scientists

That is all well and good, I imagine you would be thinking if you had intellects greater than that of a concussed duckling, which seems depressingly unlikely, but what about the experience from the Agenda XP mill?

There are two options:

Replace scientists in any council position that accepts another class with a non-scientist you want to level and accept the penalty for the remaining scientists on the council when you trigger the agenda
Fire all low-level scientists surplus to requirements, trigger the agenda, and hire a new bunch of surveyors

Which to pursue is very much context dependent.

Unlike yesterday's lecture, the remainder of this lecture will proceed mostly chronologically.

2244.12.04: A Rift in Space

At the end of 22144 a strange rift in space occurs, which means the Alarians are entering a exciting period of Astral Rift exploration, or, more properly, the boring grunt-work of working out what that strange rift is and how to explore it before any exploration can be done. I tell them to spare no effort.

2244: Probes. You can never go wrong with probes

2245: The Fate of the Beta-Alarians

At long last the day has arrived, and Home After All-beta is brought through the rift with the entire population of the Beta-Alarians, and there is much rejoicing.

2245: Welcome to a Better Dimension

2245: The Beta Population

The Alarians are overjoyed to meet themselves, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof, and presumably the Beta-Luminary voluntarily withdraws to a farm or something, since she is never heard from. Neon Lark-Beta is curiously absent as well. In fact, none of the beta-leaders are mentioned again in the simulation.

Now, in real life you would have to either murder the lot in a dystopian society or double up on your leaders with many hilarious hijinks to come. But in this simulation they are just... gone. The imagination of my respected colleagues in the computer science department, who wrote the simulation, has limitations. So I suggest you think of them as retiring to a quiet lifestyle somewhere far from the public eye.

But I digress.

There are two significant differences between the Alpha- and Beta- Alarians that strike both with surprise, quickly spawning competing bizarre theories.

First, Homeworld After All-Beta is only size 18, whereas -Alpha is larger, size 21. Some Alpha-Alarians predictably insist that they they are the originals and Beta only a copy, so it is natural that the Beta homeworld has shrunk – the Betas themselves said it was decaying, didn't they? Predictably this theory is not universally accepted by the Betas, who consider themselves the originals.

Second, the Beta-Alarians differ in one respect from the Alpha-Alarians: They glow in the dark.

This is caused by their slow but constant decay, shortening their lifespans and making them unnaturally good at physics. Exactly how does that work out? I have no idea, not being radioactive.

This innate flair for physics is represented in the simulation by a small bonus of 0.5 physics/mth that is counted as part of their living standard and hence unaffected by job modifiers, but still affected by all general physics modifiers, so it does not scale well, but, well, it is something to make up for decaying.

Fortunately, their decay is much slower in their new universe, so long they are expected to live long and profitable lives. Perhaps not as long lives as the average Alpha-Alarian, who can expect to live at least to 105 with the newest technological advancements, but 95. Surely that should be enough for anybody, and definitely better than all dying off when their universe collapsed.

The First Ascendant takes the long view.

The Alpha- and Beta- Alarians must be one people, her people, not a people divided by their origin
Experiments carried out by volunteer Alpha- and Beta- scientists, who were isolated together during the Great Reunification Project to trigger their incubator instincts, have proven that Alpha- and Beta- Alarians are interfertile
The children of Alpha- and Beta- parents all glow and decay, as if the decay was carried by a dominant gene
However, Alpha genetic testing has confirmed what the Beta- scientists already knew: The decay is not genetic, not a result of physics as they know it, but might be related to a deeper universal constant or the shroud; Honestly, the scientists are just guessing at this point, they might as well be reading tea leaves
It follows that unless a way is found to stop the Beta- decay, long term either Alpha- and Beta- will be divided by their origin causing social strife and division or interbreeding will ensure that all Alarians will carry the Beta decay

Since strife and division are unacceptable, the conclusion is obvious, her path clear. Soon the Alpha-Alarian trendsetters are hailing the glowing Beta-Alarians as the height of sexiness, entertainment features countless Alpha+Beta pairings, and even the Luminary herself is on record as saying that while she would never dictate people's loves, it is her fondest hope that Alpha- and Beta- will in the fullness of time become one people, and there's much to be said for greeting the newcomers with open arms.

Indeed, since the Beta-Alarians have been cooped up on their decaying homeworld, and thus had had no opportunities to see other worlds and colonize them, while United After All has room to spare and every world desperate for more people, the Luminary offered out of her own pocket to provide transport for any Beta-Alarians wanting to emigrate to one of the many worlds of United After All.

Thus began the great dispersal as most of the Beta-population took the Luminary's offer rather than saying on their homeworld, which for all anybody could tell was still decaying like they were.

DESIST FLAPPING YOUR FLAPPIFLOPS, LORD DURHAM! Being bored is no excuse for raising a tornado in class. Have you no poetry in your soul?

What I did was to resettle most of the Beta-Alarians, one POP per planet, and force the planets to grow Beta-Alarian POPs. I also decided to make all future colony ships seed colonies with Beta-Alarians, and, in the fulness of time, every world in United After All will be growing Beta-Alarians, regardless of habitability, because in most cases their Incubator trait makes them better breeders than the alien species in the empire, even on the planets the aliens are native to.

2245.04.5: I Commit a Mistake[/color]

2245: Psionics Completed, Galactic Force Projection Picked

While it is good to complete Psionics and Galactic Force Projection was the next ascendancy perk I wanted to pick, like any dimwitted student I “forgot” that I was supposed to delay picking it until I had picked my shroud patron.

I'll get back to that when the Alarians finally manage to make contact.

2245: A New Agenda

As the Council's Departmental Efficiency agenda comes to its conclusion, who is that familiar face on the council?

2245: Who's been sitting in my Chair, Groused Neon Lark?

Yes, it is indeed the scholar Unstudious Conclusion, who desperately wants to become a Vibrant Storyteller, and has been appointed temporary Head of Research. In related news, all surplus scientists were fired to bring me down to the scientist cap, so the scholar gains the full 5*150xp*(1+60%) = 1200 XP. Well done.

Subsequently I hire all the scientists from the 2245 internal and external pool to go forth and survey

2245: New Survey Recruits!

2245: The Footsteps of the Divine

Intriguing developments as a Terrified Slash, my Retired Fleet Officer council candidate, has run down some pre-spaceflight shrines to beings that old Alarian religions considered gods. She breathlessly suggests that this could be used to demonstrate that the Alarians are destined for greatness, united under a religious leader!

2245: What a Revelation!

The Luminary points out that the people are already united under a great religious leader, thank you very much, and that given her efforts to make the Alarians stop looking to the past for answers in favour of striving for greatness in spiritual pursuits and exploration of the universe, it will be a cold day in hell before she starts fabricating a religious justification for what she is already doing so successfully.

The findings are suppressed and, somehow, this gives her greater influence. Strange, but true. Not a glitch in the simulation.

2246: Breaching the Shroud

The project to breach the shroud completes early 2246, with the Alarians discovering something. This is obviously one of the shroud patrons, but when you are doing this in real life, do remember that your chosen people don't know this. It is all new to them, unless you have presented yourself as a prescient visionary. So have some respect for their wonder.

2246: Something is Watching

Fortunately contacting the entity is a fairly simple affair as the Alarians are rapidly gaining familiarity with the shroud, and they find themselves the attention of none other than....

2246: The Composer of Strands

All is well that ends well, the Alarians found themselves in contact with that most benign of shroud patrons, the Composer of Strands, despite the mistake mentioned earlier. I promised at the time to explain why it was a mistake for those of you who have not paid attention, and I will do so now.

As you will remember from The Shroud: What is it Good For in your Guidebook to Dimensions, attracting the attention of a psionic shroud patron without a long ardous search for the specific patron is an art.

The realm's civics, traditions, ascension perks, and ethics are considered, as well as a few other factors. The Guidebook lists the details.

The odds the Alarians faced were

60.0 = 25x2.40 Composer of Strands (x1.6 no Gene or Cryo Clinics, x1.5 Fanatic Xenophile)
52.0 = 25x2.08 Instrument of Desire (x1.6 at peace, x1.3 Imperial Prerogative )
32.5 = 25x1.30 Eater of Worlds (1.3 Galactic Force Projection)
7.5 = 25x0.30 Whisperers of Secrets (x0.3 Fanactic Xenophile)
2.0 = The End of the Cycle

For a total weight of 60+52+25+7.5+2 = 154.

Had I delayed picking GFP until after this choice, the weight for Eater of the Worlds would have been 25 = 25x1.0, and the total weight 146.5. The following shows percentages for the check that just happened, and the intended percentages without GFP in parenthesis, and rounding to only 1 digit means they won't add up nicely to 100%, but those are the breaks.

39.0% (41.0%) Composer of Strands
33.8% (35.5%) Instrument of Desire
21.1% (17.1%) Eater of Worlds
4.9% ( 5.1%) Whisperers of Secrets
1.3% ( 1.4%) The End of the Cycle

Thus we see that with the mistake I made the chance of getting one of the two covenants I wanted as being suitable for the Alarians was 39.0% + 33.8%% = 72.8%, whereas had I not made that mistake the chance would have been 41.0%+35.5% = 76.5%, a significant difference.

Could I have done better, you are probably asking yourselves now.

The answer is yes, and let me tell you how. If I had not been playing sloppily, like a student, I would have done two crucial things differently:

I would have timed it so contact happened after reforming government for third civic, choosing Environmentalist as the third civic rather than Ascensionist, because the Composer loves Environmentalists (x1.5). This would both increase my odds of getting the Composer initially and increase the rate of the Covenant's progression once established. Twenty years later I would then replace Environmentalists with Ascensionists
I would have timed it so contact happened after completing the Domination traditions, beloved by the Instrument of Desire (x1.3)

Had I done these things, and not picking Galactic Force Projection, I would have been faced by the much better odds of:

90.0 = 25x3.60 Composer of Strands (x1.6 no Gene or Cryo Clinics, x1.5 Environmentalists, x1.5 Fanatic Xenophile)
67.6 = 25x2.704 Instrument of Desire (x1.6 at peace, x1.3 Domination finished, x1.3 Imperial Prerogative )
25.0 = 25 Eater of Worlds (N/A)
7.5 = 25x0.30 Whisperers of Secrets (x0.3 Fanactic Xenophile)
2.0 = The End of the Cycle

For a total of 192.1 and chances of:
46.9% Composer of Strands
35.2% Instrument of Desire
13.0% Eater of Worlds
3.9% Whisperers in the Void
0.8% The End of the Cycle

In other words, a 46.9% + 35.2% = 82.1% chance of getting what I wanted rather than 72.8%.

This is why one should pay attention to detail! Odds were in favour of things working out my way, and they did work out my way in the end, but you cannot count on being so fortunate. This was sloppy!

Composer of Strands, Fairest of Covenants

Let me talk briefly about implications of this covenant, the good and the bad.

The Good:

Most benign of the shroud patrons – the composer cares; Admittedly, it mostly cares about evolving life in all forms, and there is no evolution without the occasional setback, but insofar as any shroud patron cares about the well-being of those it takes an interest in, the Composer does. Life with the Composer makes a society vibrant and dynamic, never dull. So it is usually easy to argue the benefits of a Composer covenant to any people you may by guiding in conquest or pacification. Were this not a simulation, it would be trivial to sell the Alarians on the benefits of unbridled life.
Comparatively rapid covenant progression due to good match with Composer's preferences
Great population, leader, and fleet bonuses

The Bad:

-2 organic trait picks at full covenant force means that the ability to choose a species' genetic destiny via gene tailoring is severely curtailed
Some times weird stuff happens

Looking at the bonuses, assuming a full tier 5 covenant with the ruler Chosen of the Composer and a Sanctum of the Composer built, the covenant gifts:

-2 Organic Species trait picks
+70 years lifespan for all leaders
+20% experience gain for all leaders
+1 leader cap for each leader class
+5 resources from jobs empirewide
+10% habitability empirewide
+20% POP growth speed empirewide
+5% POP growth speed per telepath
Mark of the Composer auxiliary component, granting +10% hull regeneration and +15% armour regeneration costing only alloys and zro

The Mark is a huge upgrade over Regenerative Hull Tissue and the best ship regeneration component available other than the Nanite Repair System, which required defeating the Scavenger Bot and a source of nanites.

The weird stuff is limited to the composer getting a bit too creative, for better and for worse. You should expect the Composer to meddle 6-7 times a year with a mean timer of around 15 years, but it isn't as if the Composer acts on anybody's schedule. Weird stuff just happens, sometimes more often, sometimes less.

The weird stuff supported by this simulation reflects many observations over the millennia. In real life the Composer is not so restricted, but the three meddling interventions implemented are by far the most common:

15% chance: Overenthusiastic mutation. A psionic leader chosen completely at random starts evolving uncontrollably and dies in the process. This can happen to ANY psionic leader except the Chosen One or the Chosen of the Composer. (The Beholder Legendary Paragon is also immune, as that stone monolith is part of chorus of the Whisperers of the Secrets)
- 25% chance: Up to 5 POPs of one species on one planet devolves into pre-sapients, forgetting the worries of modern life in favour of going back to nature. With uplifting technology they can be returned to sentience, which may or may not be a blessing to those involved
- 60% chance: Large scale evolution. One subspecies in the empire evolves randomly, possibly adding some traits, possible removing some traits, possibly both. Life is interesting
As should be obvious to even the dimmest of students, the only one of these outcomes that comes remotely close to being bad from the perspective of Galactic Pacification is the occasional leader death through overenthusiastic mutation, but really, how is that worse than dying in a traffic accident or freak outbreak of Morris dancing? At least this way your remains may still serve science.

You should expect to lose (100 years/15 years MTTH)*15% = 1 psionic leader per century on average, though losing 2, or even 3 if you are very, very, unlucky is certainly possible. As is losing none.

Granted, the loss of a critical leader is a setback, and the loss of the Luminary would be problematic.

The easiest way of alleviating this risk is by having lots of psionic leaders such that the odds of having one of the best leaders chosen is low. For instance, if only 8 out of 24 psionic leaders are of high value, then 2/3ds of the time you are unlucky enough to have a leader die to mutation it won't be a critical one.

In addition this makes it even more important to level reserve candidates for council positions such that even if worst comes to worst, the loss to the empire of a talented councillor is limited.

Quick covenant progression is prized too, since making the Luminary Chosen will make her immune.

So overall the Composer of Strands provides a lot of power at a low price, so long as you take steps to minimize the impact of the occasional random leader death.

2246: Rak-Rak Integration Progressing

And not only that, it is doing so in accordance with the plan. All is quiet on the vassal front.

2246: Vassal status mid-integration

2246 & 2247: Keides Strikes Back

The 6000 engineering project, which was forecast to take 170 months back in 2244.03.17 completed 2244604.02, a mere 21 months later. Thus the power of a wide empire to mass produce jobs when required by sacrificing efficiency of planet specialization in favour of speed.

2246: Zapping Drones for Fun and Profit

Now all that remains is claiming the system, colonizing it, and having Keides excavate the ruins of the Vagros. One wonders whether Keides will be satisfied with the answers about his origin he is about to find: One way or the other his quest is coming to an end.

2247: Archaeology is his passion

2247: Traditions

The great events of the last few years have helped unite the people as never before, and the Alarians have been Celebrating Diversity with minor relics somehow (don't ask), with the result that over the past three years they have gained another three traditions: The Aptitude Opener to ensure more trait choices when leveling up leaders, and Harmony opener + Kinship.

2247: Three Tradition trees open? No problem

While having three open tradition groups is probably more than you are used to, it is a quite common state of affairs in high unity realms.

2247: Imarian Treaty Renegotiated

With the Imarians having had time to accept the new normal of Alarian protection and science support to shore up their devastated worlds, their suspicion of Alarian motives have been reduced that they are willing to accept further Alarian influence and aid in the form of a Ministry of Truth, a Satellite Campus, and an Aid Agency. Oh, and they'll accept only to expand with the acceptance of the Luminary, though this is a formality as there are few unclaimed systems left to them.

2247: Renegotiate This, Imarians. You WILL Accept Aid

2247: Reforming the Government and Going Fishing

Finally United After All are able to reform the government with a third civic. As mentioned earlier, the shroud contact completed last year should ideally have been timed to occur after this, but I failed on that account.

I will be maintaining Dimensional Worship and Efficient Bureaucracy, but for the third civic the question is now: Ascensionists or Environmentalists. An argument can be made for either:
- Ascensionists will help with the few remaining traditions as well as, obviously, with further planetary ascension. Further ascension? Yes, as the observant amongst you have noticed I have been diligently ascending my two most populous planets, Home After All and the Rubricator, and I have every intention of continuing. Any other truly high population planet will also be ascended before I complete all tradition groups. So even though I won't go all out with planetary ascension before I have completed all groups, Ascensionists will definitely help now
- Environmentalists is not all that useful except in one crucial aspect: Increased covenant progression until I replace it in the due course of time with Ascensionists. It would increase monthly covenant progression from +0.21 to +0.25, a 19% increase, which would shave off several years before reaching the covenant's tier 4, where the Luminary is Chosen and becomes immune to Composer-induced mishaps.
2247: I pick Ascensionists... but it could be called either way

As for setting up the council with a sixth position, I am going to do something that, ideally, should have been done two decades earlier last time I reformed the government, but didn't, as it would have taken too much trouble to be able to afford it at that time, and that is something no lazy student would do.

But now, long overdue, I am going to seat a Curator on the Council.

I'll need to ~~buy~~ hire one first.

2247: Sell me a Curator, please

The suspense is killing me...

2247: Professor Zarg? Nice to meet you... No, it isn't. I'm lying.

THAT is supposed to be a research genius I'll be happy to seat on my council? Professor Zarg, who is apparently from the politics department of the Curator order, a champion of the people statecraft specialist, who is so bad at academic infighting he isn't even credited as a politician? Are they kidding me?

This is clearly not the Curator I am looking for

Now, this is where a moron or undergraduate, but I repeat myself, would suck it up and seat Professor Zarg on the council. After all, he is a Curator, so he does bring +10% tech speed to all disciplines even if he is otherwise awful.

But no student of mine should ever do something like that when a better option is available: Sacking Professor Zarg and asking the Curators for a replacement.

The Curators won't mind. They pocket the hiring fee, Zarg gets to stay at home, and another Curator is picked – though how they choose whom to send is a mystery.

You can continue doing this so long as you can afford the energy and influence cost – it is a large order, they won't run out of candidates.

I call this fishing for Curators.

So what are my priorities on this fishing expedition? Hyper Focus as a veteran trait, and ideally one of Spark of Genius or Politician as common trait. I will accept other combinations if they look decent for now as I don't have a lot of influence for fishing at this point in time. I have another three tries (150/194 influence) and will stop the moment I have anybody decent or when I run out of influence at which point I use the last hired. Depending on results I may then go on another fishing expedition for a better curator later on when influence is more plentiful.

Now, it so happens that while the second attempt isn't much better than the first, on my third attempt the Curators offer me this guy:

2247: Sensei Borkaz? Nice to meet you... No, it isn't. Oh, yes it is!

At a first glance his Inquisitor 2+Eye for Talent 2 didn't match any of my criteria, but he is one of those Curators who come with a bonus level up trait, and of the four offered (3 base + Aptitude opener) one of them happens to be Hyper Focus.

This changes the evaluation completely. Far from being an inferior Curator that I would probably accept as good enough for now with a plan to replace him in a decade or two, he is now a very good Curator. Oh, he would be better if he had Spark of Genius or Politican as common traits, but Eye for Talent is useful and having Inquisitor 2 + Hyper Focus 1 at level 5 is a very strong research combination that easily makes up for that lack.

Inquisitor may only go up to +4% to all tech speed, but it gives another research option and I love stacking up on research options because there are so many society techs and a few of the highly valuable ones, such as selected lineages, capacity boosters, and ascension theory, are very, very rare, and every extra pick significantly reduces the average amount of time needed to get them. I still prefer Hyper Focus for the substantial tech speed boost, but both of them on one councillor? Great!

The good Sensei is going to be with me for the long haul unless I end up with lots and lots of influence I can't spend

The Destiny of the Velutarian Coalition

This most destructive of conflicts is finally at an end. With both sides too exhausted to continue the war, the Jakly Star Bloc won on penalties and carved out most of the heart of the Coaliton's territory and most important worlds, but the entire eastern flank of the Velutarian Coalition remains independent and, surprisingly, they held on to their capital system, now surrounded by a Jakly puppet regime.

2247: Sucks to be You, Velutarians

It isn't long before they come begging the First Ascendant for protection.

2247: Lady and First Ascendant, Do You Need a Bulwark?

Given that they have just been crushed by the Jakly Star Bloc, the First Ascendant politely refuses their plea of paying to rearm them, finding them too weak to be a bulwark against the evils of the universe, but offers in return to take them on as vassals with very mild taxation, a ministry of truth, and a satellite campus to help foster better relations and common understanding.

2247: Velutarians, Serve Me and Prosper!

2248: Scientific Usurper Spotted

Neon Lark is probably confused at why Terrified Slash has usurped her position, but you shouldn't be.

2248: Terrified Slash, Head of Research

While mostly I have been buying corvettes from the Tinkerers enclave, I have been building a few corvettes myself as well, partly for power projection reasons, partly to protect my internal trade routes, and partly because I have 12 ancient drone destroyers to swarm in the Jsmak system before the end of the decade.

Also, I managed to forget the build-up for a year or two, perhaps three, and am now in a hurry to complete it so I can take Jsmak according to plan rather than suffer the indignity of explaining to you why I failed to do so and must adjust the schedule.

2248: First League Home System Discovered

Precursor located.

2248: Fen Habbanis, here I come!

So that's where it was hidden all the time. With these hidden systems with strange hyperlane connections you never know whether you'll find a system that provides helpful shortcuts, are out of the way, or have hyperlanes it is hard to do justify to in a 2D projection as they overlap others. As these things go, this simulated Fen Habbanis system is okay. It doesn't significantly cut the travel time from any interesting locations, but it looks decent in a 2D projection.

It is also exactly 4 jumps from Home After All, so it can be part of the capital sector should I so desire.

2248: The Rak-Rak Integration

The day is upon us. In a lavish ceremony the Rak-Rak government dissolves itself, handing over supreme executive power to the Lady of the Alarians, the Luminary and First Ascendant, Undaunted After all.

Once stolid materialists, the years of allegiance and federation has caused a significant change in ethics, as a considerable number of Rak-Rak are now spiritualist minded

2248: Welcome, Believers!

The Luminary promises the Rak-Rak stone-eaters that they too shall unlock the powers of their minds and join her in the exploring the shoroud, as well as years of plenty and progress, and if the people are won over more by the latter than the former, who can blame them? They've seen how well the Alarians live in that most stable and prosperous empire.

Furthermore, she promises that when the time is ripe, their people mighty and united, and their institutions ready for renewed self determination within United After All's empire, they shall have it. Such promises are cheap, but can be useful in practice. Who knows, you might even carry through with it, as I intend to do. The destiny of the Rak-Rak is to become a Scholarium with United After All's civics, ethics, and traditions once I have rebuilt their worlds and they have a large enough spiritualist population that they won't be tempted to change ethics.

Now, there are quite a lot of Rak-Rak whom I want to assimilate.

2248: 93 of them, to be precise

Also 12 seth-Lokkar, 7 jakly, 19 Jogollwan Euthanizers, who've lost their license to euthanize, 2 Kilik, 14 Laachax, 1 Ologa, and 5 Velutarians. 133 POPs need to be assimilated, while crushing 12 robots.

Now, the easy thing to do would be to set all the races to assimilate and then let it happen over time. I am going to be more efficient than that. A lot more efficient.

It is well known to students of assimilation, that regardless of whether we are talking psionis, cyborg, hive, machine, or other assimilation, the universe applies the following rule that is never deviated from:

At the turning of the year, for every world that has at least one POP undergoing assimilation, assimilate (up to) either 3, 6, or 12 POPs with an equal chance of each outcomes. This gives up to 7 POPs on average.

Ruk-Rak, the Rak-Rak homeworld, has 40 POPs awaiting assimilation. So the fastest they would be assimilated would be 4 years, the slowest 14 years, and on average around 5 or6 years.

That is a long time for dozens of POPs to be unproductive. So as you may have noticed from the previous picturre, I am not going to be doing it that way.

Instead I split the unassimilated Rak-Rak in pockets of 6 throughout United After All. Every world that get the 6 or 12 outcome will assimilate all the Rak-Rak on the world, while the remaining roughly 1/3rd of affected worlds will assimilate 3 out of 6.

This comes at a steep up front cost of energy, 100+ per POP to move them abroad for conversion, the same to move them back or to another world after assimilation. I can save a bit by moving some to destinations where I intend to leave them after assimilation – adding a few extra researchers to Rubricators – but make no mistake, this is an expensive operation. There is a unity cost as well, but considering the size of our unity economy it is insignificant.

The thing is, even at 200 energy for moving back and forth, this is cheap compared to the missing production of having POPs awaiting assimilation for years.

As an example, a single researcher on a typical world has a total of around 16 science output currently. One year's science production is 192. Losing out on his science output for a year or two may not seem much, but it is, it really is. Because we aren't just talking about this one POP, we are talking about dozens of POPs like it.

Now, under normal circumstances I would arrange for ALL the unassimilated POPs to be distributed in packets of 6 for assimilation on the 2248-49 turn, but to keep things simple I will only solve the Rak-Rak assimilation now, and solve the rest on the 2249-50 turn. It is only laziness and lack of worlds that makes me distribute the 93 POPs in packets og 6 rather than 3, as I have deemed the micromanagement involved in splitting up all of them perfectly all over the place to be too inconvenient compared to the marginal gains.

The result?

2249: After Assimilation

As can be seen, 78 of the 93 Rak-Rak lithoids were assimilated leaving only 15, which means 78 productive psionic POPs just joined the workforce.

Sure, it cost me a few thousand energy, and will cost me perhaps half that again, but it was worth it.

Invasion of Jsmak

Finally. FINALLY.

I am sending 150 low tech corvettes to destroy the 12 ancident destroyers that protect the shielded world.

2249: Battlestations!

2249: Fire at will!

2249: Victory is in sight!

At a cost of 40 corvettes, a mere 26.7% of the invasion force, the system has been cleared. Now to claim it, excavate the shield-station, and bring down the shield, so I can colonize the size 30 relic world it protects.

Year 2250, the Fruits of Diplomacy

The economy is in good shape. The empire's vassals are lightly taxed, leaving them plenty of resources to reinvest in their own economies. They still provide enough basic resources that my own remaining production is largely superfluous.

2250: The Vassal Economy is Strong!

My vassals provide some advanced resources as well, but most consumer goods and alloys are produced on United After All's heavily industrialized worlds of Home After All and Rubricator, with a bit of help from Home After All-beta and Efoll Prime.

In return for this the empire provides significant scientific aid, 20.7% of the total science production of 2358 science/mth, leaving 1869 science/mth to advance its own research agenda. This is pretty good considering it is only 5 decades after assuming power in a new star nation, but I can do better than that, and I hope to significantly increase the output over the next decade.
The unity output is acceptable, still more than twice that of the highest science output, if only barely, at 2095.7 to 995.62. As the level of the astral minister increases it will be increasingly difficult to reach this target, but for now I am succeeding.

2250: Foreign relations are fine

The strongest competitor, the Jakly Star Bloc, overlord of the Velutarian Associated Holdings and the Kilik Cooperative, is only rated as stronger due to their magnificent fleet and the significant bonuses AI empires get to simulate better leadership than the simulation is capable of providing, but like everybody else they see no reasons to pick a fight with United After All, and why would they?

We have great relations, free movement of people, close commercial ties, and are cooperating closely on research.

2250: Joyful Union will soon reach level 3

The state of the federation is strong! Due to the strong diplomatic skills of member states, the federation gains 15.00 XP each month and will soon reach level 3.

As I integrate members, reform them, and release them again in new and improved forms, the number of members with strong diplomacy will increase, further increasing the rate of federal integration.

This is the power of a diplomatic vassal-federations.

Within their vassal obligations the overlord and the vassals get to run own domestic affairs pretty much as they want, limited only by the mutual obligations of the vassal contract.

Within their federation obligations they deepen the political integration of foreign affairs and military coordination under the benign guidance of the Luminary.

So diplomatically, there are no real problems. Both domestic and foreign policy are doing their part, with no threats on the horizon since everybody wants to be friends with United After All or are too weak to matter.

Thus the power of diplomacy, the strongest tradition group in the simulation – and in real life.

Year 2250, Planetary Development

Home After All and the Rubricator are developing as one would expect, running out of district expansion opportunities and with boosted output from PSI Corps telepaths.

So let me show you something else interesting, the kind of world my rapid expansion and changing priorities has led to.

2250: Megamine in the Soyun system

Due to its exceptional quality minerals and many mineral deposits I early designated this as a mining colony and began developing it that way, but it soon became apparent that I was effectively creating redundant mining capacity due to the influx of minerals from my vassals. So I had created three mineral districts before realizing that, realistically, I had few reasons to employ on-planet miners. (Mining stations being a different issue.)

I decided to keep the spare unused capacity against future need despite the upkeep, disabled the mining jobs, built a single laboratory to give it two researcher jobs, and used it as a feeder planet.

Then the Keides Rapid Engineering Plan was enacted, and the planet was turned into a research world, with an extra research lab and a temple, making it now the workplace for 4 researchers and a priest. And, as you can see, I forgot to change the planetary designation. Still and all, whatever my original plan, it became a slightly inefficient research planet in less than five years, providing a small but valuable contribution to the science economy.

Here is another:

2250: Distull Farms, once a thriving farm community

This agri-world employs zero farmers, but 2 telepaths, 4 priests, 2 prosperity preachers, and 2 researchers. Another world where I forgot to change the designation.

And so on. I have 37 colonies by now, of which 6 are old Rak-Rak worlds I am rebuilding to specialize. I also have 6 tomb worlds I use solely as feeder worlds with two priests and nothing else. Then I have Home After all and the Rubricator, both of which are highly specialized. That leaves 23 colonies that whatever they were used to before, which mainly was as small eccelsiastical communities, went all out building laboratories and the occasional temple to support them.

It is amazing how quickly you can change the productive focus when you do it on enough worlds at once.

Year 2250, State of the Empire

2250: First Ascendant and Empire

2250: Traditions are fine

There are many ways to go from here, but my preferred is to finish Harmony. Within a few years that will give me all of Harmony's ascension bonuses as well as those from a level 3 Holy Covenant, which will significantly improve the power of planetary ascension.

2250: Technological progress is pretty good

2250: Last Researched Techs

Nothing to complain about here, really. Physics has been picking up a few military techs to improve corvettes but is mostly focusing on the economic fundamentals. Society is strongly focused on societal advancement, and Engineering, the read-headed stepchild, has only researched 8 techs so far since 2200, but the last two, Starhold and Space Torpedoes, have significant impact.

The Starhold allows for more anchorages and a much larger fleet, while frigates with torpedoes are the tool I intend to use to destroy the hostile psionic entity in the wormhole system.

2250: Edicts are mostly fine

Though an obvious question arises, “why am I still paying mining and farming subsidies?” Why haven't I deactivated those in favour of activating the Improved Energy Inititiative? That is a very good question, and now that I have noticed this error it must be rectified.

2250: Council is getting stronger

The Research Ratio

Ratio_computers = 901*(1+122%)/(1+84%) = 1087
Ratio_military_theory = 859*(1+82%)/(1+84%) = 849
Ratio_materials = 301*(1+102%)/(1+84%) = 330

Military theory and materials clearly suffers from not being covered by a research agreement, but overall these numbers are great. From next lecture I will compare ratios normalized for research agreements.

The physics ratio has increased by 192% over the past decade, with both numbers affected by research agreements. This huge increase is partly driven by the ongoing Depoartmental Efficiency agenda increases the base physics output of each priest by 0.4 and partly by Keides' completed relic, “the key”, providing a significant bonus to physics tech speed.

The society ratio has increased by 79% over the past decade, which is more like one would expect under normal circumstances at this point of infrastructure development.

The egineering ratio has increased by a whopping 238% over the past decade, but let's face it, such a huge percentage-wise only confirms what we already knew: Engineering output was really, really, low a decade ago.

The 2250 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

So many developments this decade. I hope the next can be summarized in rather less detail.

Also, I really, really, wish I hadn't found it necessary to explain the covenant choice in details, but I have encountered so many people who don't understand the Covenant offer and progression despite these mostly being covered correctly on the Wiki that I thought I had to go make that extra effort.

I hope the focus on odds and percentages didn't put you to sleep.

Peter Ebbesen · Apr 30, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Sixth: 2250-2260

Welcome, class!

Are you bored with the focus on building outposts and rapid expansion? Are you worried about the state of the fleet? Or just desirous of more hot spreadsheet action?

It so, this might be your lucky day.

Strengthening the Empire

I am mostly done building outposts; Oh, there are a few areas that will be filled when I have the time, for aesthetic reasons if nothing else, but mostly... things are fine on that front.

My surveying efforts will increase with the hiring of ever more scientists. I have 13/7 currently, 3 available in the internal pool, and 3 in the external, and I will be hiring all of those when I have survey ships in need of a scientist. Well, all of them except for Roggesh Whipsail, who costs 10 alloys/mth before the upkeep increase for being over the cap. More about that in a moment.

2250: Available Scientists

Diplomatically I intend to continue convincing others to join the empire and, of course, tweak existing contracts for the good of all, ensuring that the vassals can develop and the empire thrive. I'll be able to devote more influence to this, which should overall increase the smooth running of the vassal-economy.

The Moij-Huxgan Consciousness has settled only one of the 15 planets in their territory, with another 4 nearby in systems they haven't claimed, which is a very inefficient use of resources. Since they have come to love Undaunted After All's leadership so much, she promises to teach them how to expand and will inititate integration efforts at the earliest possible date starting mid 2250. What could possibly go wrong?

Overall, with increasing sources of influence income and the loss of the huge outpost-expansion influence sink, I will have influence left over even when I redouble my internal diplomatic efforts.

Which means as I am sure you must have guessed by now, paying more attention to the Galactic Community. It is time to shape the Galactic Community into being the United After All's Community. It has just entered session to vote on Cooperative Research Channels, and there is nothing I can do about that.

Next up is Buzzword Standardization, closely followed by forming the Galactic Market, which I want. Since I intend to subjugate at least two of the the seven supporters of Buzzword Standardization this decade, I should be able to ensure that Founding the Galactic Market reaches the top spot and gets passed instead.

Finally, while I did manage to destroy those Ancient Drone Destroyers guarding Jsmak, it did cost me a fair number of low-tech corvettes. I didn't even get around to destroying the Psionic Entity in its isolated system, and there are those Hive Asteroids interrupting trade and... Well, one thing with the other, my low-tech corvettes are excellent for piracy suppressions and destroying minor threats, but it is time to build a build a hunter fleet with rather more bite to deal with the remaining inconveniences.

This will require me to build up my naval capacity, but I recently researched Starholds and Naval Logistics offices, so that should not be a problem.

This will require a lot of alloys, so I need to substantially upgrade my alloy production. I will also want a lot more priests as well as some more researchers, but with 37 planets busy growing POPs in 30-40 months each, that should be possible.

In addition, I will be shuffling POPs around to make all my most valuable planets reach 25 POPs at least temporarily for a Planetary Capital and a PSI corps, to upgrade their production.

Altogether that's a lot more minerals I will need as input, and I am rather counting on an increasing number of subjects to pay for that even as I repay them with protection and science for joining.

Between ships and starport upgrades, my energy upkeep expenses are about to increase significantly, but fortunately I had foreseen that so my ongoing bilateral minerals-for-energy trade deals were agreed on a 10 year basis rather than 30, and two out of three are ending in 2254, Together with new subjugations, it should stabilize energy and minerals so I an stop my current sale of 300 food/mth to balance the budget.

Put all this together and you get,

2250: The Plan, More or Less

Realistically I won't get to do all that, but my priorities have now been decided. Looking to the future, I will designate all planets of size 20 and up as Arcology Prospects. These are the planets I will be focusing on, and to make them easier to recognize at a glance in the interface I Append AR<size>_ to their name, so e.g. Home After All becomes AR21_Home After All.

The Grand Survey Plan

So before 2255 I expect to have another 5 scientists surveying, and then I'll hire those available in 2255 when there'll definitely be science ships ready for them, and then probably do the same in 2260...

At this point you might find yourself wondering, is the professor out of his mind?

This means a decade of lost experience for scientists as they will earn only a trickle. I can certainly afford the increased unity upkeep, but is it really worth reducing scientist experience gain to 10% or less, you might ask?

Well, yes and no.

There are still vast areas unsurveyed in the galactic north-west and south-west, so I will definitely find a lot more anomalies to investigate, but for those of you not keeping count by checking the end-of-lecture save points, I already have 91 awaiting investigation.

Surely that's enough without further surveying? If I started investigating them now, or, really, decades ago, I would have found lots of stuff to help me out, stored science, new deposits, the lot. And all I have investigated are a very few anomalies that prevented planets from being colonized, the one that granted Magical Lark expertise in Propulsion, and one or two other high-value anomalies.

But here's the thing.

While scientists level very, very, slowly when I employ a lot more than the cap, they level very, very, fast when an scholar with Vibrant Storyteller chains anomaly-investigations.

That requires a level 8 scientist. Unstudious Conclusion is currently level 5 with 3513xp out of the 5000 xp for level 6.

2250: Unstudious Conclusion, the Foremost Scholar of the Day

I have found the Webworks anomaly, which increases the level of the investigating scientist by 1, so all that is required for her to become a Vibrant Storyteller is to reach level 7 and investigate that anomaly. That is another 6900 xp.

If I didn't employ more scientists, just stayed at 7/7 chaining investigations with her to gain 75xp for each, with her +50% xp modifiers for 112.5xp each. This means that were she to level only by chaining investigations, which is a faster way of gaining xp than surveying when the scientist is higher level than the anomalies, all else being equal she would only need to investigate (6900xp + 1487xp)/(112.5xp/anomaly) = 74.5 anomalies... Okay, that is doable but it wouldn't leave many left over to level the other scientists, though of course I would still find more anomalies as I would continue surveying with the 6 others, just not as many.

Of course, I would want to seat her on the council when triggering agendas, which would significantly reduce the amount required. Currently I am completing Psionic Supremacy, which will be followed by Expand the Council, and only after that, in the 2260s, will I start thinking about chaining Mind over Matter for rapid council experience gain, but still. That would definitely be one agenda at level 5 (5*150xp = 750xp) and one at level 6 (6*150xp = 900xp), for a total of (750xp+900xp)/(112.5xp/anomaly) = 14.67 anomalies fewer required.

And there's that Neural Tissue Engineering rare tech I picked up by stealth from the Psionic Entity's system to research, which gives +25% xp gain, and there are other sources of xp gain available such as spending minor relics on +10% xp gain once I learn the requisite tech, so.... It wouldn't be that much, surely.

Also, it is quite some time since we recruited Vas the Gilded. Since the simulation checks for renowned leaders at the start of every decade, and recruiting one sets a two decades-and-a-bit cooldown, one might be offered sometime during 2250 or 2260, and as the Alarians are now spiritualist/fanatical xenophiles that means they are eligible to the two spiritualist ones and the two xenophile ones, which means a 1 in 4 chance of being offered Nasuz Demetor, who is a Vibrant Storyteller in his own right, if I am offered a renowned paragon at all, that is, which I very well might be.

Chac1, kindly slap HistoryDude. His snoring risks awakening the rest of the sleepers.

So all things considered? I'll plan on a lost decade of scientist xp, finding as many anomalies as possible while only investigating the most important I find, and then take stock next decade or earlier if changed situation warrants.

Most likely I'll finish all surveying in the early 2260s, then fire all surplus scientists, and rapidly level Unstudious Conclusion to level 7, and thus 8 by Webwork, and start raising all scientists to high levels in the 2270s... by which time I will hopefully have recruited scientists with the bureaucratic trait who will serve as great governors.

No, the delay to scientist governor leveling is not a great loss, and if you don't already know why, rest assured that you will learn soon enough.

So the odds are that by doing things this way I end up with high level scientists across the board slower, but not that much slower, don't benefit much from anomalies the next decade, and get scientists with destiny traits on the council by the early 2270s later than mid- o late 2280s, but in return, I have increased chances of getting the very best anomalies due to finding a lot more of them and have time to build a much stronger science infrastructure ensuring that the rewards from investigating anomalies are truly massive.

Ideally this will be happen around the time I have completed all traditions and found Ascendancy Theory for a truly spectacular increase to research.

But that's all theory – it might not work out that way.

It might work out even better, in case I am lucky enough to be offered Nasuz Demetor, giving me the best of both worlds rather than having to earn it.

And it might work out worse, some unexpected development requiring me to research faster with need of stored science, in which case I would start investigating some appropriate anomalies to ensure I did just that.

Either way, I have a plan that can easily be adapted to changing circumstances, and is strong regardless of developments.

THAT is how a strategist plans. Not in months, nor in years, but in decades.

The Hunter Fleet

For those of you still awake my students, it is time to talk about your favourite subject: WAR. Or at any rate death, destruction, devastation, defenestration, and all those 'd'-words so favoured amongst undergraduates.
For as mentioned, it is time to build a fleet with real bite. A hunter fleet capable of dealing with significant threats.

Such as the astroid hive. Now, if you checked the Guardians: Annoying or Lethal? chapter in the Guidebook to Leviathans, you will have noted that the recommendation is building carriers, this being the ideal counter to the waves of strike craft asteroid hives launch.

You might also – being the mighty undergraduate conquerors that you are – have noted, correctly I might add, that strike craft are also excellent counters to the Psionic Entity.

So you are probably salivating at the thought of my diverting significant engineering research to gaining destroyer, cruiser, and carrier operations technology.

I am not going to do that.

I am going to use a much more potent weapon and, more importantly, one that I recently researched all the prerequisites for, which means I can put it into production immediately.

2250: Behold the future of warfare!

The Impudent Wretch is a mighty torpedo frigate with state-of-the-art T1 weapons and T2 defenses, the most important of which is being undetectable until it uncloaks and fires upon an unsuspecting enemy.

Due to the necessity of turning shields off while cloaked, it has no shields, only armour,

Yes indeed, the humble frigate, so often derided, will be the sole constituent of my hunter fleet, for when you are hunting big game nothing else comes even close to the cost efficiency of a torpedo alpha strike unleashed at point blank range from cloak.

20-25 should be enough to destroy the Psionic Entity with negligible losses, and a few more frigates, perhaps with one of my corvette swarms acting as decoys for their strike craft, should be easily capable of defeating the asteroid hive, clearing the asteroids one at a time.

Oh, Composer!

Incidentally, this is as good a time as any to take note of the fact that the Composer of Strands has been diddling with the original Alarian species, who are no longer Talented but instead Industrious.

2250: The Composer of Strands was here

Since I am focusing on the beta-Alarians for future growth and don't have gene tailoring to revet the change anyway, I'll just ignore this for now except noting that Alarian leaders are – for now – more vulnerable to negative traits, which pretty much decides that the next tradition pick will be the Mind and Body rather than the Greater Good Harmony tradition.

Also, I must remember to set all the assimilated species to residency citizenship, as the core of the empire is Alarian, while everything but the core are alien vassals. Their realms, their rules.

Rulers Redundant?

This is in some ways the greatest inefficiency I have allowed to stand, and it is about time to stop. Simply put, rulers, be they politicians or merchants, are inferior compared to priests.

Early it made sense to have ruler jobs enabled since the alternative, priests, would require extra resources spent on a temple and a city district to support it, and minerals were in short supply and building queues often kept busy keeping up with regular expansion.

But for decades that has not been the case, and every single POP working as a politician would have benefited the empire more if it had been working as a priest. And sure, the demotion time for politicians made it unattractive in the short term to disable their jobs, but employing them in a marginal job for decades because of that is inefficient in the long term, a net loss to the overall economy, even it it is convenient.

So since I have the Kinship Harmony tradition and am guaranteed that everybody demotes quickly, it is time to start disabling politician jobs just like I am already disabling culture worker jobs (inferior to priests) and enforcer jobs (telepaths and high stability covers most crime for now).

Now, let us see what happens next.

2250: Marauders Want my Stuff

2250: WE ARE HUNGRY!

Rather than waste time or ships fighting the marauding horde, I hand over a lot of food and wish the well-fed barbarians good digestion. The Alarians probably won't mind taking the easy way out and maintaining the peace rather than suffer unnecessary bloodshed, and it is a cheap prive to pay given the size of their economy.

2250: New Terms for the Moij-Huxxgan

2250: Preparations for Integration

Though I can only start integration by the seventh month, I can lay the groundwork now – including a pledge of loyalty – to let loyalty regrow before integration commences.

2250: The Quentian Confederacy Subjugation

Let me spend a bit longer on this particular subjugation, taking all you have learned so far into account to predict the loyalty outcome.

2250: Relations Pre-subjugation

Relations are 430, corresponding to 4.3 loyalty/mth. Trust is fairly low, at 103/50 at this point, but we know that over time grow to 250/100 or 250/150 if they pick Diplomacy as a vassal, and that since they'll be in federation as well that is +50/+50 to relations they will gain immediately, making 530 the starting point, and simply with the passage of time they will increase relations to 730-780 excluding other considerations, for 7.3-7.8 loyalty/mth.

How quickly will loyalty grow once they are a vassal? Very quickly. +1.0 from being in federation, +0.25 for being vassal, +0.1 for research agreement, +0.1 for embassy, modified by +33% from Direct Diplomacy tradition and +5% from Vas the Gilded being an ambassador – all taken together, +2.0 each month. And that's just their trust. The Alarians trust will grow almost as fast, though to a lesser cap. Even if they don't have diplomacy traditions, it is at least 1.2 from federation, agreement, and embassy, giving 3.2 opinion change total per month (up to cap), or 10 months to add 0.32 loyalty/mth, every mnth.

What about other factors affecting loyalty?

We know they are spiritualist egalitarian xenophobes. Since the Alarians are fanatically xenophile spiritualists, we have one ethics in common and one opposed, and not just opposed, but fanatically opposed. This means a -1.0 loyalty/month ethics penalty.

We know that the our current vassals suffer a -3 Divided Patronage penalty, which will increase to -4 when the Quentians are subjugated.

We also know that the current vassals suffer a -107 penalty to opinion from the vassals total fleet strength compared to the Alarians, and this penalty will increase when the Quentians join.

So all taken together, we know that before the subjugation terms are considered, the initial loyalty/mth will at most be this (530-107)/010 – 1 – 4 = -0.77, and that it will absent other considerations become loyal in the long run due to trust increases so long as it doesn't decide to declare independence first.

This means that it will have to be a very generous subjugation if I don't want the Quentians to have negative loyalty for the longest time, but that if I am willing to accept disloyalty for a year or too – perhaps sweetened by a +100 “good trade” deal for +1 loyalty/mth, a modestly generous one will do.

So I decide on a standard Prospectorium pitch with Integration Prohibited (+0.5), Joining all Subject Wars (+1.5), 2 Holdings (-1.0), Unified Sensors (+0.25), 30% Research Subsidies (+1.5), 30%, Basic Resource Tax (-1.5) and 15% Advanced Resource Tax (-0.75) for a total of modifier from terms of +0.5 and a starting point of -0.77 + 0.5 = -0.27.

This will quickly become positive through trust gain; Remembering the earlier calculations you can see that at most it will be 9 months, and if I throw in a good trade deal to hurry it up they'll start building loyalty immediately... so let me do that.

2250: Serve me and Prosper!

I went in detail with this example so you know what to look out for. In practice, you'll soon get a good feeling for what level of initial burden you want to impose. Just remember the most important rule here: It is better to err on the side of generosity.

Erring on the side of generosity will at most cost you the loss of some taxes until you have time to adjust the vassal contract five years later, while erring on the side of extorting resources may cause a rebellion or, worse, a vassal with a stunted economy, which is a bit like pissing in your trousers for warmth. Sure, you are warm now, but in the long run you are likely to regret it.

2250: The Case of the Missing Scientist

2250: A Scientist from an Observation Platform is missing

Experienced conquerors and pacifiers will know that most likely he has gone native, a victim of messiah complex, technologically uplifting one of their nations, making himself its leader, and after that succeeds, he'll declare war on the universe, secure that his vibrant civilization will make up for their lack of firepower and common sense with superior strategy provided by his genius.

Well, it is either that or he's joined a native sex cult.

One would think they would screen technical personnel for such delusions, but in my own real-life experiences with other galaxies most empires find it cheaper to employ moderately unsafe differently sane scientists in remote outposts than to to try curing them.

Which presumably explains how you lot made it into my class.

So as unlikely as it might seem, the simulation is absolutely right to treat this as a real threat to peaceful pacification.

No doubt it will all end in tears. It always does.

2250: The Luminary's Hand

In an astonishing twist, the Luminary is now recognized as the power both on the throne and behind it. She's just that good. And flexible.

2250: Level 8, Grey Eminence.

2250: An Ever Closer Union

Only 27 months? Fast, isn't it? That's because the Moij-Huxxgan never bothered to settle anything but their homeworld. “We are life-seeded, we wouldn't know to life anywhere else”, they say... But I ask you, when they control 14 other habitable planets, shouldn't they at least have made the effort? Now they'll get a chance.

2250: Integrate This!

2250: And a Broken One

Magical Lark makes a fortunate find, some mysteriously(tm) abandoned settlements.

2250: Whatever Could This Be?

You know it. I know it. We all know it. This is one of those anomalies that must be investigated immediately, and investigated by a council member at that, ideally one you plan to use long term.

Fortunately she's all that, so magical Lark is told to investigate immediately.

2250: Ooh, Intriguing! Investigate further

2250: Brain Slugs! For me, and you, and you, and you...

The brain slugs, happy to have been rediscovered, are overjoyed when I allow them to bond with any Alarian, who is both willing to undertake the life-long symbiotic bond and acceptable to one of the brain slugs.

2250: Two beta-POPs and one Alpha-POP. It is a start

Since people with brain slugs despite their significantly increased mental capacity, or perhaps because of it, sometimes overthink matters when it comes to reproduction resulting in an overall -25% growth penalty, I will try to restrict brain slugs to settled populations.

Of my current leaders, Magical Lark is not the only one found to be acceptable to the brain slugs. So is the scholar Unstudious Conclusion and the retired fleet officer Terrified Slash, the scientist council candidate. Amongst the officials only one was found compatible and accepting, Mostly Harmless Pedant, the politician.

2250: Brainiacs of the Future

2250: Communing with the Shroud

It is my pleasure to report that this 5-year attempt at communing with the shroud is particularly successful. For the sake of my sanity, if not yours, I will from now on only report these results if the outcome is of great interest, whether for better or for worse, not if it is some insignificant boon or curse.

2250: Research boost? Don't mind if I do

2252: Integration Completed. What the Dumboozle?

So the good news is that the integration is completed and the Moij-Huxxgan Hivemind greets us with 16.2 billion open arms in a stunning display of synchronicity.

2252: One of us, one of us!

Their planets are now ours to settle, after which, having taught them how to coexist with others, I will release them to run the own affairs, just as is the plan with the Rak-Rak.

2252: KILL THEM ALL!

Unfortunately, that's not what happens. The gentle Alarians, whose ethics specifically forbids purging in all its forms, for whom the very notion of xenocide is an unthinkable sin, decide to round up the Moij-Huggan to systematically kill them off.

One day 76 productive POPs going about the hive minds job, the next rounded up in camps pending destruction.

So I hastily rename the planet – PR damage control in action.

I am happy to tell you that this is the result of a glitch in the programming of the simulation, the computer science department being lazy in implementation, and that in real life nothing like this would happen. The Moij-Huxxgan Hive, having voluntarily joined the Joyful Union After All and voluntarily accepted integration, would continue living much as it did previously, just in closer contact and cooperation with the Alarians.

But in the simulation? They are all dead, or at any rate, they soon will be. I knew this would happen, of course, but you ignorant buggers needed to learn.

So it is time to resettle a beta-Alarian POP to provide the basis of a new population, turning Great Replacement from a fringe theory to a practical approach, and send out colony ships for the 14 other planets in the old Moij-Huggan sector.

It will take time, lots of time, to build the Moij-Huxxgan area of space into a viable entity, but I have time. More than the Moij-Huxxgans, at any rate.

2252: The Felnoll Subjugation

Even the most vile of neighbours cannot resist the sire lure of a the largest political and economic bloc in the galaxy, lured into the embrace of the Luminary by greed and, perhaps, a dawning recognition that despite their ingrained xenophobia, not everybody foreign is completely awful. Only mostly.

2250: Relations Pre-subjugation

2250: Serve me and Prosper!

2253: The Rak-Rak Librarians

Finally it is time. The rebuilding of the Rak-Rak territories has completed and the Rak-Rak have taken to their new education like rocks to a heap. They are now looking to regain political recognition as their own state within the empire as the First Ascendant promised, and so shall it be.

They will reconstitute as a scholarium around the old core Rak-Rak empire of 6 worlds, with very high science taxation to help defray the cost of the reconstruction. Should this prove a successful experience, I will reintegrate them again about 2 decades from now and release them with the vastly stronger tech-base I expect I'll have around then.

The rebuilding emphasized temples and research labs as well as the fundamental basic and advanced resources to support the economy, but they are somewhat lacking in basic resources so I will transfer most of their old system possessions to them excepting a few strategically important nodal points.

In addition I will gift them any other adjacent system that provides a a significant resource boost, and to help out even more, I will subsidize their basic resources

2250: Core Rak-Rak Sector, 89 POPs, 6 worlds

2250: The Rak-Rak Librarians Charter

2253: Keides Destiny

It has been a long time coming, but Keides After All has completed his excavations of Sursect, absorbed all the stored wisdom of the dead Vagrosians, and if he isn't happy with the answers, he is satisfied that his long quest is at its end.

Yet what is next for the adopted son of the Luminary? What task can be large enough and important enough to compete with a dream, now ended? Young of body but now steeped in ancient wisdom, Keides' faces the most important choice he'll ever make.

2253: Keides' Choice

So he asks his mother what is needed, and she, the Luminary, First Ascendant, Undaunted After All and unmatched in wisdom, knows the answer!

Or rather, I know, because I have heeded Cassandra Toldya's words, and set his feet on the path to this destiny decades ago.

When he was directed to spiritualist pursuits, it was all in anticipation of this day, when his strict but loving mother informs him that his destiny is governing the people.

Not competing with her natural son to be her heir, because Unusual After All though that son be, the natural order must be upheld, but as governor of the vast core sector of United After All.

2253: Keides first levelup... Bureaucrat? I'll take that with cream on top

2253: Keides Complete At Last After All

Keides ends up a shroud preaching bureaucratic industrialist, who is exceptionally good at choosing the right person for the job, represented by the trait Efficient Staffing 3, and pretty good at encouraging the production of consumer goods for the civilian sector as well. His ancestral Vagrosian knowledge, the inherited wisdom of an entire species, also allows him to support all specialists in the sector, cutting red tape and improving their working conditions.

He is thus fully representative of the Administrative Terrific Toddler as classified by C. Toldya, though above average because he got both Bureaucrat and Shroud Preacher; The odds of being offered Bureaucrat were low, so that was a true stroke of luck.

The odds were greatly in favour of Shroud Preacher being one of the three Destiny Traits offered due to the weighting involved in the random weighted selection, but due to the number of alternatives he might have had to be satisfied as a Galvanizer of Urbanizer.

As for ending up with Efficient Staffing 3 and Factory Focused 2, oh, well. I sure would have preferred Forge Focused 3 + anything useful 2 in the long run from his veteran traits, but when the best he is offered on level 5 is Efficient Staffing and there's no Forge Focused to be seen at level 6 or 7 either, well, I'll take what I can get despite its ruler and worker bonuses being irrelevant. Given the lucky combination of common and destiny traits, I don't have a right to complain anyhow.

There are a lot of combinations of traits possible, but for the purpose of this simulation what this all adds up to is the following bonuses on the capital, halved for the other systems in the capital sector:

-20% Empire Size from POPs due to level 10
+50% Unity Output from Bureaucrat
+25% Psionic POP Output from all jobs
+20% Basic, Advanced, and Strategic resource Output from POPs due to level 10
+20% Specialist Output from Ancestral Inheritance
+10% Specialist Output Efficient Staffing 3
+5% Specialist Output from Industrialist
+20% Consumer Goods Output from Factory Focused 2
+15% Worker Output from Efficient Staffing 3
+5% Ruler Output from Efficient Staffing 3
-10% Amenities Usage from Industrialist
-10% Job Upkeep from Ancestral Inheritance
4 Archivist Jobs from Ancestral Inheritance (Specialists, double-strength researchers: Total of 30 in capital sector)

Looking at it in terms of the most important outputs

+110% Unity Output from Specialists
+100% Consumer Goods Output from Specialists
+80% Alloy Output from Specialists
+60% Basic Resources Output from workers
+60% Science Output

And of course, half that outside the capital.

It should be obvious that only a level 8+ highly specialized official or scientist will be able to compete as a planetary governor with the benefits that Keides brings as a system governor, which is yet another reason that the crippling of scientist experience gain this decade matters little – I am not going to be using scientists as governors on my current high science worlds anytime soon, as they are all in the capital sector.

First thing to do apart from seating Keides on the capital? Telling 30 POPs currently working as researchers and priests that they are now archivists!

2250: Meet a Capital Archivist

2253: Champions of the Empire

It is finally time for the Champions of the Empire Aptitude tradition. I didn't want to take it before I got Keides as I wanted to give him a chance to benefit from it.

Since it is completely random which extra common trait leaders get of those they would theoretically be eligible for on a common level-up, most leaders get traits that don't help all that much with their current jobs.

2253: The Bonus Trait Biggest Winner

Terrified Slash, the level 2 council candidate, who started out with Retired Fleet Officer and Spark of Genius, who gained RFO2 on level 2 and brain slugs a few years ago, gained politician. Which can be leveled to RFO2, POL2, SOG1 at level 3. This candidate I hired mainly as a reserve and for her ship-building abilities are now destined to replace one of the current council members should she survive to reach high levels
Magical Lark, the Astral Minister, gained Politician, making her even better on the council
Vas the Gilded likewise gained Politician, and since she's not psionic, she will never die randomly to a Composer mutation, which is a great property to have for a slow-levelling official. This is so good
Unstoppable from the Outset, the great Politician 2+Fertility preacher advisor with Reformer 2 gained Charisma, which while not useful at the moment since edict funds are considerably higher than edict costs will be of use once I gain unity ambitions as those tend to be pricy

The “sucks to be you” award goes to Neon Slash, the Head of Research, who was awarded the coveted Mining Rush trait, giving +2.5% minerals from jobs. Guess I'll be replacing the Neon with the Terrified Slash one of these days.

Others of interest would be Sensei Borkaz, who gained a Spark of Genius, Keides, who learned how to Trade for +15% TV, which is marginally useful, and the First Ascendant, Undaunted After All, who can only get council traits, and who got... drumroll... Principled.

Very appropriate given her background story, and she now provides a mighty +22 stability rather than only +20, but frankly the Luminary is already so strong and stable you could balance a tea set on her head, so it will make little practical difference

2253: Psionic Avatar vs. Hunter Fleet

22 Frigates, one alpha strike, zero losses. This was overkill.

2253: Alpha Strike Completed, sir!

2254: Those Wacky Primitives

Primitives fooling around with a biological thinking machine could lead to the Singularity.

2253: This is not a good thing. Stop it at all cost

2255: Forge World Governor?

My xeno-outreach program rewards me with an outstanding offer from the Imari Divine Coalition, as the spiritualist Imari lizard Ereni Zduhak, a bureacratic Prospectorium Extractor specialist, becomes available for hire.

2255: Has he got what it takes?

I hire him immediately, It is a shame about his low level, but if he survives long enough and gain Forge Focused veteran levels AND becomes a Shroud Preacher, he'll be an outstanding governor for Rubricator, which I intend to be my primary Forge World, even better than the hand-me-down bonuses that Keides provides.

If he doesn't get all that, and there are decent odds he won't, he may still make a good Forge World governor for a world that isn't in the capital sector.

2255: Secrets of the Inner Sanctum

It is time to get frisky, as the bond with the Composer of Strands reaches a new threshold. The Luminary orders the building of a Sanctum of the Composer on Rubricator as the centre for communion with the Composer, evolution, mutation, and breeding by the truly adventurous.

2255: Here, flesh roams as freely as thought

Here, ask and you might be blessed.
Here, dream and evolve, my guest.
Here, seek and you might be sought.
Here, flesh roams as freely as thought.
- The Inner Sanctum, by Sweet Peril, 2256.

2256: Astroid Hive Defeated

2255: Definition: Overkill

Clearing the entire asteroid hive cost me a handful of corvettes because I accidentally engaged two asteroids at once near the end. An acceptable punishment for sloppiness.

2256: Mounting Opposition

Long awaited, those disgruntled with the Luminary's assumption of imperial rule are finally moving out of the shadows. They cloak their treasonous desire to unseat the Luminary in the words of rights and broken promises as they meet in peaceful protest, but make no mistake: Their call for reform is a direct challenge to her rule and will be dealt with as it deserves.

2256: Peaceful Protest? No! Agitators. Agitators everywhere!

By which I mean that it will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Whatever the provocation, the Luminary will not stray from the straight and narrow.

2257: Vivisandian Prime Subjugated

This Hive Mind utilizes all its planets and has a large population. What it doesn't have is the protection of the greatest mutual defence alliance in the galaxy, but that is about to change.

It seems unaffected about the tragic mistake that caused the end of the Moij-Huxxgan Hive, but then, empathy is not one of this hive's strengths. Being of One Mind in Subspace Ephapse is, and it is really good at that.

It relishes the opportunity to serve as a scholarium, working on the big issues of the day together with the brightest minds of the United After All. Frankly, it seems rather lonely in its splendid mental isolation.

2257: Serve me and Prosper!

Losing track of the vassals? Understandable if so. Let me show their current state:

2257: The vassals are fine...ish

Everything remains under control, but the loyalty margins are getting slender. This situation will be rectified in two months when I finish the Harmony tradition group and pick Shared Destiny. So nothing to be concerned about, really.

2257: Velutarian Coalition Integration Planning

40 weeks and 203 influence to integrate the Velutarian rump state? Well, if I must, I must. It'll take a lot of work to make the remaining worlds of this failed state a working proposition, so perhaps it will serve everybody better if they get merged into the Rak-Rak or Imarian state after I have rebuilt the worlds. It would do the militarists good to be exposed to a more benign worldview. But that is an issue for a later time. For now,

2257: Integrate This!

2258: Beldroan Free Confederacy Subjugation

A decade-long war with their neighbour the Zelvan Polity, a xenophobic Moral Democracy, ends with a nominal victory for the democratic crusaders of the Beldroan Free Confederacy, though given the scale of devastation the phrase pyrrhic victory comes to mind. Or it should.

Much the worse for wear, even these Democratic Crusaders decide to call it a day. Since they hate the thought of becoming a Prospectorium, I offer them the chance to serve as a Scholarium instead, giving them very generous terms in order that I may get them to positive loyalty quickly as their joining will completely offset the recent Shared Destiny ascension perk and then some, as it increases the penalty to opinions for all vassals due to the addition of its fleet. With two other currently disloyal vassals, I really don't want to tempt fate.

2257: Serve me and Prosper!

Year 2260, the Fruits of Diplomacy

The economy is by now in a very good shape. Population has increased by only 33, from 432 to 465 POPs, but the net output of advanced resources has doubled or, in some cases, tripled.

2260: The Vassal Economy is on Fire!

The biggest individual source of increase is appointing Keides as governor, but this is dwarfed by the combined economic benefits of building Psi Corps on all the highest populated planets, which contain most of the population, as well as the ongoing Psionic Supremacy agenda, technological advances, further planetary ascension, completing Harmony, and gaining more taxes from vassals.

On the debit side, integrating the Moij-Huxxgan hurt the economy. They weren't big contributors of basic resources or alloys, but everything helps and having to build up 15 planets from scratch is a significant resource hog at present and definitely not a net benefit yet, and probably won't be for years to come.

We are finally, finally, seeing research stations starting to lose importance, providing only 8.1% of net science output – but they've had a good run, and, of course, the improved research station technologies researched also apply to exotic resources extracted by research stations, so it was well worth the time researching them. Next time somebody tells you that research stations aren't worth the investment or are worth it, barely, but overall insignificant, I urge you to remember this lecture series and laugh in their face. They are surely eclipsed by researchers and, in this build, priests, but given their low cost and upkeep they are an essential part of any strong early game science economy.

2260: Foreign relations are simplified

The latest word in foreign diplomacy is, “So mote it be, First Ascendant.”

2260: Joyful Union is uniting rapidly TODO

The increased diplomatic skills of members is self-evident in the gain of 20 federation XP per month.

Year 2260, Planetary Development

Nothing much to see here, as things have mostly proceeded according to plan. Some inefficiencies of lacking specialization are being ironed out on the highest populated planet, and some up and coming planets are getting a makeover, but the most important thing to note here are probably the 4-10 hotkeys in the simulation.

It is important to keep track of the most important planets, and given the speeded up nature of the simulation it pays to have shortcuts to them as they are the ones that either see most development or those where you will want to follow changes most frequently – or both. Being able to see at a glance whether their construction queue is active or not is quite handy as well.

2260: Home After All

The planets I have hotkeyed are:

4: Home After All (21 coean)
5: Rubricator (25 relic)
6: Fen Habbanis (25 relic)
7: Jasmak (30 relic)
8: Sursect (16 relic)
9: Mistake After All (30 gaia)

Speaking of Mistake After All, I am developing that to be a reserve energy planet with 14 energy districts that I can fill be drawing in workers from other planets as needed or lie dormant when not needed, probably with a priest and researcher population that is always present, but I am in no rush to populate it. 8.1 billion Moij-Huxxgan died here to bad implementation by the computer science department and it would be disrespectful to...

...Had you going there, did I? The reason I don't immediately repopulate it is lack of POPs that aren't already profitably employed.

Year 2260, State of the Empire

2260: First Ascendant and Empire

2260: 7 Traditions remaining

2260: Technological progress is great for the date

2260: Last Researched Technologies

Don't be silly. I am not going to be building Gene Clinics. The Composer hates that.

Most research is still directed to peaceful pursuits, but a few military techs are sneaking in as I want to upgrade the Hunter fleet. I got Selected Lineages, so I am now patiently waiting for Capacity Boosters while researching mainly T1-T3 techs to exhaust the pool as I want to avoid becoming eligible for T5 techs and repeatables until I have both Capacity Boosters and Ascension Theory.

2260: Edicts are plentiful

2260: The Council prepares the Composer's Psionic Supremacy

Indeed, while every agenda has a long cool-down time, it is imperative to note that the generic Psionic Supremacy and a Shroud Patron's Psionic Supremacy are different agendas, and that you can only engage in the generic version before you pick a Shroud Patron. But if you time it just right you can start preparing the generic agenda before picking your patron and do the two back to back gaining stacking bonuses for a while or, as in this case, with Expanding the Council taking place between them.

The Research Ratio

I am now far enough ahead in tech that only rarely do I benefit from research agreements. This will make future comparisons easier.

Ratio_Computing = 2054 *(1+86%)/(1+81%) = 2111
Ratio_New_Lands = 2021*(1+71%)/(1+81%) = 1909
Ratio_Industry = 1162*(1+71%)/(1+81%) = 1098

This seems good enough to me where engineering is concerned, enough to proceed through the remaining tree at a reasonable pace, so I will return to focusing on building temples for the priests and only occasionally employ more researchers.

The 2260 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note:

That went well.

Except for one minor detail that I had overlooked and only discovered to my horror when it exploded in my face in the next lecture, and if I had paid more attention I could have seen it coming already in the 2260 decade save as it is the result of an earlier oversight.

But I'll get to that in the due course of time.

Peter Ebbesen · May 6, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Seventh: 2260-2270

Welcome, class!

This is it.

2200-2240 I carefully sowed the seeds of future greatness, preparing the way for an empire much greater than the sum of its parts.

2240-2260 I reaped that harvest and raised United After All to dominate three quarters of the galaxy, including most of the younger species, waging no wars and committing only one xenocide, and that one excusable due to simulator dysfunction.

That, my students, is just the beginning.

This economy and technology wouldn't stand up to even a medium-strength crisis, and while the only one on offer is a weak 1.5x crisis set earliest for 2350 making this a complete non-issue as even an undergraduate would easily be able to handle that with 90 years to go and this economy, wouldn't it be nice if it could?

Because when you are out in the real world, pacifying a galaxy, there is no such thing as safe settings and guaranteed fluffy bunny paradises.

No matter how persuasive your employer is when he explains that the reason for your disgustingly low fee is the lack of threat, he might be wrong.

Whether he's honestly mistaken or lying makes little difference when an unstoppable force sweeps across the galaxy, worlds glowing briefly in its wake before they fall forever silent, and you look to the forces available to you and realize that it is time to leave your chosen people to suffer the consequences of your massive failure, and that you probably aren't going to earn a bonus for this one.

So join me now as United Under All embarks on the great project which will dominate the next several decades and prepare it to face all possible threats: Ascension.

Ascension

Ascension theory, planetary ascension, and the ascensionists civic is old hat to you.

You learned about it as undergraduates and either promptly forgot about it or, for the dedicated few, began training to master minimal empire size highly ascensionist empires.

Those of you belonging to the latter category might be thinking that the current empire controls too much territory and too many colonies, but shrink it by handing territory off to vassals and then start planetary ascension of the best worlds and you'll end up with something pretty strong.

And you'd be right.

But such limited vision is not suited for masters of Global Pacification.

My goal is to ascend the galaxy! Unite all its sentient beings, body and soul:

I want all governments to be spiritualist and xenophile, fanatic in one of the two ethics
I want all governments to have the same civics as United After All: Ascensionists, Dimensional Worship, and Efficient Bureaucracy
I want all governments to be extremely stable, unaffected by rebellions
I want all governments to have high level leaders
I want all governments to control worlds that are not hopelessly developed
I want all governments to know most technology that isn't helpfully labelled as repeatable “futuristic” tech
I want all governments to have high unity output with which to ascend planets
I want all governments subject to the Luminary
I want to unite the Alarian people as never before, by concentrating the bulk of the population on fully ascended ecumenopolises, ring worlds, and large Gaia worlds

This is a daunting task, but I am not dismayed.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to integrate all other empires, rebuild their planets, teach the populations the value of ethics, and then release them as vassals once United After All knows most technology, most definitely including Capacity Boosters to allow them to recruit higher level leaders.

This is – to put it mildly – a poor fit with immediately significantly reducing empire size by shedding territory and focusing on performing planetary ascension as an undergraduate minimal empire size strategy would call for.

Oh, it could be done, by focusing on the Alarians first, splitting up their current empire, ascending it by parts, and only after that was done start working oh the rest of the galaxy, but it lacks elegance and is inefficient.

But fear not!

It is very amenable to a more gradual staged approach, and that is what I am going to teach you.

I'll make one single exception: I am not going to dissolve the Wholesale Redemption corporation. It already has the right ethics and has proven itself a stable corporation serving the needs of the Holy Covenant. Furthermore I support its scientific progress, so if I ever despair of it reaching the pinnacle I can always increase its subsidies.

2260: Ascending the Neighbourhood

For the first stage, integrating the Velutarian and Fellnoll Coalitions and then spending a decade or two re-educating them while I rebuild their poorly developed worlds and finish traditions makes sense. I will also use this time to further develop the new worlds in the old Moij-Huxxgan space.

If all goes well, two or three decades from now, all three areas should be ready to be released at vassals with the right ethics and civics, decently developed worlds, an ethically compatible population, leaders benefiting from capacity boosters, and in possession of most technology that isn't.

As for planetary ascension, the plan is to finish traditions and then stockpile unity until I am able to move most of the population to ecumenopolises to seriously reduce empire size with every single ascension and hence seriously reduce the cost of every ascension. Depending on circumstances I might wait until I have released the Velutarian and Fellnoll vassals as well as whatever vassal I created out of the old Moij-Huxxgan territories.

What was that about Power Concerns?

There are two looming issues that must be addressed:

The Chosen
Fallen Empire Neighbours

With regards to the first, I am not comfortable leaving them alone for much longer. In a decade they will probably have reached 100k fleet power, perhaps more – certainly not much less. Integrating the Fellnoll and Velutarians will undoubtedly provide significant fleets and the federation can call upon more, but nevertheless I should build up the hunter fleet more to ensure I have a strong central component to call upon.

This can also be used to hunt down spaceborne menaces.

With regards to the Fallen Empires, the uncomfortable truth is that both the Quentian Confederacy and Vivisandian Prime are very close to the xenophobic Fallen Empire, and Vivisandian Prime is expanding in the direction of the spiritualist Fallen Empire's holy worlds... Currently, they wouldn't dream of offending either Fallen Empire, but if Joyful After All grows too powerful, they will dare and I will have to deal with the war caused by their provocation.

I would prefer for that to happen before I am ready to deal with it.

This means that I both want to strengthen the fleet available to me considerably, but not risk the fleet available to the federation being increased enough to tempt foolhardy vassals.

This argues against subjugating the Zelvan Polity, the United Huvitu-Zaan Coalition, and the Jakly Star Bloc and its dependencies for now despite the great economic benefits they would bring. They are simply too strong for me to dare incorporate them now.

The Dar-hesh Administration, which is a smaller power, can probably be safely contained within the vassal-Federation, making them a natural candidate for absorption before the fleet build-up.

It isn't as if I am lacking other opportunities to spend influence. I have had orbital rings as a research option for the longest time and have a decent engineering science output, so perhaps it is time to put a ring on it.

Likewise, I'll hopefully soon be able to restore Relic Worlds, and that's 200 influence each, and perhaps it is time to propose more of my own measures in the galactic council, and how about creating a hyper relay network? Once I research it, at any rate. I have passed on the tech previously, but it will show up soon enough, I have no doubt.

2260: Recruitment: So close, but no cigar

From this point on I am mostly looking for spiritualist bureaucrat Prospectorium Extractors (who can become Shroud Preachers) and bureaucrat Scholarium Investigators (Truth Seeker, Shroud Preacher if spiritualist, though highlevel near-perfect council candidates will be hired if they are better than the existing ones. These are few and far between but occasionally they will turn up as I get more advanced vassals to level 2.

2260: Nearly Perfect External Official

Except for one minor detail, Yndana the Silverfox would be the perfect official to groom for high-level work on a forge world. Level 4, Unifier 2, Prospectorium Refiner, and a Delegate specialization. Too bad that his specialization makes him useless.

It will undoubtedly take some time, but since I both have a chance to receive such in the external recruitment pool and can recruit directly from my Prospectoriums and Scholariums if they have hired somebody suitable, this should work out well in the long run.

The biggest issue is the slow levelling of officials, but once I get capacity boosters and start releasing vassals everybody worth recruiting will start at medium to high levels.

I should perhaps note an advanced tactic unlikely to be considered by undergraduate morons: Buying one or more, perhaps all, of an advanced vassal's leaders to force them to recruit a new batch of leaders, that then becomes available to you. This can be a bit expensive, but it is one way to ensure turnover. It can also be used to help a vassal if it employs leaders that are so bad you think it deserves better by recruiting their deadbeats.

2260: Entertainment Nexus: Contortionist Delights

2260: Rocky Contortionist Sample

I am not going to telliyou about all of the astral rifts I explore, but I mention this one because of its most useful outcome – the Contortionist Edict that generates rare crystals from minerals. While quite useful in general, this is especially useful for the Priesthood tech build since upgraded temples and ecclesiastical districts on arcologies all require rare crystals, so one way or another I will require a lot of rare crystals as I pursue ascension.

2260.04.11: Dissidents on the Rise: Accusation

Remember the mounting opposition to the First Ascendant's benevolent rule noted in 2256? The one tracked in the “Dissidence on the Rise” situation?

It is back with a vengeance.

2260: Accusations

Such problems must be dealt with decisively, and the best way is to counter the claims where possible, which relies heavily on moral authority and the unity of the people, and on paying off people to see the bright side where not.

2261.10.08: Engineering Tech Dilemma

This is an interesting tech choice. The military techs can wait, but Anti-Gravity Engineering will allow the restoration of Relic Worlds for a high mineral and influence cost, while Nano-Separators are essential for a better alloy economy.

2260: Restoration of Relic World's When?

I would benefit immediately from improving the alloy economy, while it would take some time to even get started on restoring a Relic World, possible delaying until several years after completing the tech, so based on this it would seem that Nano-Separators are clearly the better choice at this point.

But try rephrasing the question and the answer differs: Which of the two would I most regret NOT taking if it didn't show up again within the next 5-10 years

The answer is obvious Anti-Gravity Engineering, as I will surely want to begin restoring at least one Relic World within the decade if at all possible.

2262.01.13: Voting on Galactic Council

My vassal the Rak-Rak Librarians helpfully proposed my #1 choice for the next resolution, forming a Galactic Council, sparing me the expense.

2262: Overwhelming support

2262.07.29: Near Disaster

Sometime during the last decades, I must have misclicked one of the interminable popups asking to change Joyful After All's succession challenge type from Spiritual Conclave to Arena Combat.

This is one of those things that should not happen, and, in reality, can't happen. In real life laws aren't passed simply by clicking “accept”, there'd be paperwork, the Luminary would ask me if was out of my mind and might outright forbid the law change, and if nothing else all the news agencies would cover this startling development, making it impossible for this to happen without my noticing.

But in the simulation? Misclicks happens.

2262: N people enter, 1 person leaves

Fortunately the First Ascendant vigorously murdered the leaders of every vassal state, assuring a return to the status quo, and – in the simulation at least – everybody was fine with that.

Excepting, one would suspect, the simulated dissenters agitating against the excesses of her government.

At least the federation will reach high centralization before the end of the new 40 year succession term, at which point I will set the succession type to Strongest with a term that only ends on Status Change, which will be never.

2262: Vassal Developments

The Velutarian integrated is complete and at first glance their worlds are a complete mess. The capital is isolated, the other worlds are poorly developed, and many of the POPs are jingoistic militarists. This will take some time to address.

2262: One of us, one of us!

Next up is changing the Felnoll terms to allow integration without pissing them off too much, subjugating the Dar Hesh Administration with lenient terms as their trust isn't that high yet, and beginning the integration of the Fellnoll Coalition.

2262: Serve me and prosper!

2262: Integrate this!

By the end of the year, the vassal situation is fully under control but I may need to buy loyalty from the Fellnoll occasionally during integration to keep them loyal. Which is not strictly required, as even disloyal they are unlikely to rise in arms, but better safe than sorry.

2262: Vassals Aplenty

In other developments in 2262, I completed the Harmony tradition tree and pick the Arcology ascension perk, a great choice if I say so myself since one of the two first candidates for ecumenopolises once I can afford it is the capital Home After All, the second being the Rubricator, as they are both highly developed and highly populated.

2262: Traditions

Also, on a lighter note...

2262: Novel Solution to Organic Singularity

2263.05.04: Ascension Theory, the Odds

Now, I am sure some of you are asking yourselves, and if not, you should, given that United After All has completed 6 tradition groups, how soon can it research Ascension Theory?

Good question!

The answer is... it depends. The empire became eligible at the end of last year, and society tech progression is swift, so surely it can't be that long time? Guess again. It is one of the rarest techs in the game.

2263: “techweights soc” shows you the odds at this point

Taking ruthless advantage of the simulation to calculate the odds for us may be helpful to those of you with a deficient mathematical education, and we see that the Ascension Theory has a weight of 22 at a time when most alternatives have weights in the hundreds or even thousands, giving it very roughly a 0.2% chance of being picking on any one society tech pick of which we currently get 6 per draw due to two inquisitors on the council.

Given the way technological progress works in most universes including the simulated one, that means that if I research 6 T4 techs before I gain Ascendancy Theory, from that point on Ascension Theory will be competing not only with the remaining T1-T4 techs, but T5 and repeatable techs as well.

This leads me to two conclusions:

I will avoid researching T4 society techs unless they are critical and will do my best to gain access to Ascension Theory by exhausting faster T1-T3 techs until it is offered. I will NOT research more than 5 T4 society techs
I will pay a Scholarium for Scholarium Hypothesis to increase the number of picks per tech draw to 7; I haven't felt the need for it earlier due to my inquisitors, now I do

2264.01.01: Dissidents on the Rise: The Price of Truth

Certain promises and perfectly legal actions undertaken by the First Ascendant for the good of the people, that are subject to misunderstanding by the credulous, have become public and, unsurprisingly, the opposition has misunderstood them and are presenting them as “proof” of the First Ascendant's lies.

2264: The Price of Truth is increased security spending

Since moral authority is insufficient to address lies, every denial being seen as confirmation, addressing this issue is costly. Nothing that selling a few stockpiled resources won't easily cover, though.

2264: The Hunter, Hunted

I complete excavating the Rubricator archaeology site and, as all students who have been paying attention is eagerly anticipating, this summons Shard the Dragon, eater of the rat civilization that once called the world home.

2264: Dragon on the prowl

How the Alarians failed to notice this dragon during the decades of inhabiting Rubricator and monitoring the system is anybody's guess.

But what's that hiding in cloak? It is the mighty hunter fleet with an impressive 11.4k fleetpower.... Now, I know what you are thinking. 11.4k fleetpower against a SPACE DRAGON? Isn't that a bit underwhelming?

Were they corvettes, it definitely would be. But this is the hunter fleet. 90 torpedo frigates with state of the art T2 torpedoes, missiles, and armour.

2264: Preparing the Ambush

2264: The Dragon's Demise

10 frigates is a fair price to pay for eliminating that old menace.

2264.05.27: Benevolent Composer Evolves Velutarians

2264: Just one of joys of life with the Composer

2264: Alarians Adopt Climate Friendly Solution

With advances in genetic modification, the Alarians decide it is time to experiment on themselves on a scale.

All Beta-Alarians throughout the empire are modified to fit the climate of the planet they live on. Surely the Composer of Strands must look upon his favoured children with joy.

2264: 36 Continental POPs coming right up!

2264.12.12: Anomaly Investigations

I finally completed surveying the galaxy by 2262, after which I fired every surplus scientist and told Unstudious Conclusion's to begin investigation anomalies.

2264: Amusement Park provides Research

She has been working around the clock since 2262 and is expected to do so for years to come. With 53 science ships spread across the galaxy, there is always one perfectly positioned within 1-2 days flight of another anomaly when she concludes an investigation, allowing her to teleport to another ship to begin a new investigation immediately.

2266.01.01: A Dirge for the Shard

Shard's Leviathan parade pays off nicely with 101k unity.

2266: End of the Leviathan Parade

2266.01.08: Arcology Project on Home After All

At long last I begin the great project of turning the beautiful ocean planet that was the birth-place of the Alarians into a monument to concrete, steel, and interesting alloys!

2266: Begun the Arcology Project has!

Next up: Rubricator in about two year's time.

2267-2268: The Eldritch Horror, Horrified

So, I've had an archaeologist excavate Golba Iva, once home to a civilization that died in horror and left remains the persisted against all known laws of nature. Several barriers were overcome, up to and increasing what appeared a desperate warning saying, in essence, “Sealed Evil in a Can: Do Not Open![/b] Since the system was otherwise worthless, what's the worst that could happen?

2267: “Open the can. It is likely just harmless talk”

2267: Oops.

Whatever it is they released, it has blown up all the planets in the system and the sun isn't in a good state either. The system's station did not fare any better.”

2267: Let me think about it: How about “No?”

2268: The Hunter Fleet arrives

2268: Attacking from Cloak

2268: Victory! Alarians 1: Elder One 22

I suffered more significant casualties than I suffered killing the space dragon despite the significantly enlarged hunter fleet, but in the hierarchy of threats Eldritch Horror > Giant Flying Space Lizard, so perhaps that was to be expected.

So, what do I gain from this? A special research project that will lead to jump drives...

2268: Study this!

and an opportunity for a parade. The scientists claims that displaying the Horrific Inverse Mass they somehow managed to extract from where the Eldritch Horror manifested is a perfectly safe operation and will truly impress the people on Rubricator, but I disagree.

2268: Relocate!

2268: This is better.

Those of you have have read Banach's treatise on the properties of Eldritch Horrors will understand why, but really, the fact that they are described as Eldritch Horrors in the first place should clue you in, if not.

They are not safe.

Defeating a Horror and trying to make sense of how it damages reality is alluring, promising great rewards, but most often it ends up in tears with everybody nearby dead if they are lucky, and wishing they were dead if not.

Hence the choice of a planet that if the experiment succeeds can be turned into highly valuable ecumenopolis, and if it fails is no great loss.

2268-2269: Space Hulk Sighted

As the Alarians succesfully activated an ancient gateway, the first of several such within Joyful Union After All space, a truly enormous ship of an unknown design emerged from it.

2268: Danger! Do not Disturb

2268: Aw, shucks. Board it. What's the worst that could happen?

2269: Sure, We'll Repair It!

2268: Fellnoll Integration Affects Budget

So the good news is that the integration of the Fellnoll early this year went off without a hitch and the lot of them are now enrolled in sensitivity classes. I'm sure the dean would approve.

The bad news is that the addition of their fleet is causing a bit of a budget crisis. I could disband the fleet, of course, but that would be a waste. Much better to expend it crushing the Chosen one day soon.

So I institute some monthly trades stabilizing the economy for now. This could be done more profitably trading directly with other nations, but as I am acting like a lazy student I just set up some market trades.

2268: Food and Exotic Resources for Sale!

I will also upgrade all the starbases I inherited, turning them into anchorages, and expand those of my current anchorages that aren't at maximum yet.

So about those chosen.... I know where all the wormholes are, but willy-nilly opening them all over the place, while effective, might not be the best way to go around things. Much better to divide the map into regions and explore the wormholes in a region, while my fleets are nearby, then move on to the next. So that is what I am going to do.

2268: Wormhole Exploration Order

Looks like a plan to me.

A quick tally shows that I can devote about 100k fleetpower to the project with a few trade-patrollers left over. They have a variety of designs that don't necessarily work well together, and taken together with the likely scale of the Chosen threat attacking them now might be lead to a protracted war requiring the arrival of federation fleets to win.

Better, then, to take the time to upgrade the inherited Fellnoll fleets and to increase the size of the Hunter Fleet while also issuing it the newly developed T3 torpedo, and then start investigating wormholes in 2-3 years.

2268-2269: Ascension Theory!

O frabjous day! I have researched 15 T1-T3 society techs and 2 T4 in the five years and 4 months since I showed you the odds back in 2263, and I finally got lucky.

2268: Ascension Theory at last

By now the odds were around 0.5% per pick, so with 7 picks that meant 1-(1-0.5%)^7 ~ 3.4% chance of appearing in a draw. So though the odds were rapidly increasing, it could easily have taken several more years of researching the remaining T1-T3 techs – especially as most T1s and T2s were researched by now, leading to a longer churn time.

Research takes only a year after which I finally gain access to Unity Ambitions, but I will cover that together with edicts in the end-of-decade report.

2268.10.08: More Wormholes!

As if I didn't have enough wormholes to explore, Unstudious Conclusion decides to pull the lever on an alien wormhole-creation machine. These things happen.

2270: At least this one ought to be safe

2268.12.09: Rogue Scientist Consolidates Power

2268: Nobody saw it coming! NOT!

2269.09.01: Eldritch Horror Parade Completed

2269: That seemed safe enough

2269.12.23: Webwork

Just barely managing to squeak it into today's lecture, Unstudious Conclusion reaches level 7 and teleports to a ship that has long awaited her arrival.

2269: Just One Anomaly More

Year 2270, the Fruits of Diplomacy

Still going strong.

2270: Empire Size is finally smaller than the number of POPs

2270: Cherish an Alarian Day Celeberated Galaxywide!

2270: 26 Months Remaining

My economic dominance is now so strong that despite their overwhelming military and technological might, three out of four fallen empires are rated as overall inferior.

Even though I only issue orders every few years queuing up several buildings, 66 colonies under direct control is definitely stretching it where my tolerance for micromanagement in this course is concerned. I append > for colonies that haven't been upgraded to an administration (10), + for those that haven't been upgraded to capital (25), and this helps keep order.

Economically controlling this many systems and colonies makes sense, but it is getting to be a chore. Thankfully I will shed many of them once they are civilized and ready to be released as responsible vassals.

Year 2270, Planetary Development

2270: Home After All is being upgraded

The Arcology project is coming along nicely and I have just completed an Orbital Ring upgrade to level 2, which means I can add an upgrade to its consumer goods production.

2270: Maaz Prime is Representative

With around 20 POPs, divided mainly between two telepaths and a bunch of priests, researchers, prosperity preachers, and the occasional worker job I used to boost POP numbers to 25 and forgot to get rid of later on, Maaz Prime is very representative.

2270: Megamine Expands Mining

Most of my own production of basic resources comes from worlds where I forgot to delete worker districts or the worlds that are under active develop for turning into vassals, but Mistaken After All and Megamine are the two exceptions to the rule: I have decided to build Megamine into a maximized mining world, complete with mining orbital ring, fully staffed and with a massive mineral output, and once I have done that?

Well, then I will give it to Wholesale Redemption out of the goodness of my heart.

2270: Mistake After All Not Energy Mecca Yet

The planet has a long way to go. And way too many city districts.

Year 2270, State of the Empire

2270: First Ascendant and Empire

2270: Traditions are all done

2270: Technological progress is fine

2270: Last Researched Technologies

2270: Unity Ambitions are Awesome

2270: Council is Evolving the Society... Presumably somebody has to

The Research Ratio

As stated last lecture, I will from now on be looking at the normalized research ratio that ignores research agreements as only a few techs still benefit from them.

Ratio_particles = 3902*(1+135%%)/(1+129%) = 4004
Ratio_biology = 3535*(1+120%)/(1+129%) = 3396
Ratio_materials = 2025*(1+127%)/(1+129%) = 2007

The ratios in 2260 were 2111, 1909, 1098 respectively, which means that tech progression has almost doubled for physics and engineering, with a smaller but still huge increase for society progression.

The 2270 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

That arena combat came as a complete surprise. There I was, merrily passing the time, when I got the alert that there'd be a death match soon.

I still don't know how I misclicked or overlooked the proposal and thus ended up changing the succession challenge type, but I was strongly reminded of how I hate the “please change this succession law” spam so common in federations.

Would I have accepted the result of the arena battle and played on in the case of a loss or would I have reloaded? I honestly don't know. Accepting it would have made a pretty awesome unexpected story hook, but it would also have derailed the Under One Rule storyline.

On the positive side, I am really enjoying the small changes to the Diplomacy tradition group in 3.11. Getting another +2 federation XP per month per member that has completed the diplomacy traditions does wonders for levelling federations quickly.

Also, I apparently forgot to screenshot the third step of the Dissidents on the Rise, where you once again pay unity to avoid worsening the Luminary growth trait. Rest assured that I had the unity to spare.

Peter Ebbesen · May 10, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Eighth: 2270-2280

Welcome, Class

Today's lecture is mostly concerned with internal development and the long anticipated war with the Chosen.

But first, a few words about optimization.

Minor Relics, Optimized

You may have heard that premature optimization is the root of all evil, and though the Hell-lords of Tar-Ruthal might disagree, there is a great deal of truth to it. There is a lot to be said for focusing on strategy and overarching principles, and it is so very easy to get so caught up in optimization of details that one loses sight of bigger issues.

But while premature optimization might be bad, just-in-time optimization can help a lot. Consider the case of the minor relics.

So far I have done what I expect most students would do in the same circumstances, expending minor relics on celebrating diversity, proclaiming religious revelations, selling them when funds are tight, using them for management insight peaceful applications for increased XP gain, and finally arcane deciphering.

What I have not done is exhibit them in museums. It is fiddly micromanagement, it is somewhat expensive, and one thing with the other, it is easy to overlook.

It is also +20% priest output for 100 minor relics, and while that might be a weak effect in most empire builds, it is a strong effect for the priesthood tech build when applied to a planet with many priests.

2270: Exhibit Artifacts in Museums on Home After All

So my strategy of not excavating most archaeological sites until I had surveyed most of the universe and scientist levels were high, such that excavations were rapid? Good so far as it went, but it meant I only got a significant minor relic income late and case can be made that having somebody excavate sites two or three decades earlier, creating a strong minor relic income to use for museum exhibitions on the best worlds, would have been as good or perhaps even better strategy.

I am not sure it is, but it might have been.

Whatever the case might be, it is definitely time to start doing so now. From this day forward I'll prioritize spending minor relics on boosting the priest output on all worlds with a high number of priests.

2271.05.23: Rogue Scientist Retrieved

The rogue scientist on Briscoll 3 has been retrieved and sent for psychiatric evaluation, but not without unfortunate collateral damage. Fortunately he didn't manage to force-advance them past the machine age, so they will have time to get over his loss, and in decades to come, perhaps centuries, when they finally take to the stars he'll be nothing but a dim memory.

2271: A surgical operation, they promised...

2271.07.01: Dissidence on the Rise: Enough is Enough

The First Ascendant has had enough! Protests have turned violent and are no longer restricted to fringe elements, and this will not do. Equally worrying, large parts of the population are in general agreement that the imperial government is acting with too heavy a hand and, she concedes, they might have a point. While some of the protesters are bad actors encouraged by her political enemies, most are likely misguided and amenable to reason.

Perhaps the new empire is too restrictive of personal freedoms, and the better way it to act with a light hand restraining the protests while working on enacting constitutional freedoms meeting some of the protester's demands to de-escalate and restore order.

2271: Undaunted After All is Naive After All

2271: But not Stupid After All. It worked!

2272.03.09: Federation level 4, new laws

Time to change succession type to strongest. I set the succession power such that the strongest military will be chosen, but in a certain sense it does not matter. United After All will always be stronger in ALL of the metrics than any of the vassals. Choosing leader by fleet power is solely for convenience in the simulation, since it means that the federation panel shows all members' fleet power sorted, giving me a quick and easily accessibly overview of the military available to Joyful Union After All can muster.

2272: Federation Laws

2272.04.12: Arcology Preparations

With work on turning Home After All and Rubricator into ecumenopolises proceeding apace, it is past time to begin clearing Fen Habbanis' blockers and restoring Jasmak, the size 30 relic world.

2272: Fen Habbanis has 11 blockers to clear

2272: Jasmak is ready for conversion

2272.05.11: Burden of Leadership, Dodged

I get worrying news that the First Ascendant is overburdened and acquires a negative trait.

2272: Nooo, she's Undaunted, Not Fearful!

Fortunately, I can ignore this as it is the result of a PEBKAC in the computer sciences department.

Uniquely, a Luminary is a person so perfect that regardless of circumstances she can only have one negative trait. Since Undaunted After All is naive this outcome is impossible.

Whomever handled writing the Luminary events in the situation didn't know this, hence this event, while whomever handled granting new traits to a Luminary did, hence the outcome of the event being disregarded.

2273.01.08: Nominating the Custodian (Guess who)

Since I am primarily spending influence on foreign politics this decade, it is time to get serious. More than half of the community consists of the members of Joyful Union After all so it is past time to claim official leadership to guide the rest of the community.

2273: Vote United After All for a Better Tomorrow

2273.07.01: Dacha, the Planet Storage

Finally we uncover the secrets of the missing planets in the Helito system – a remote hyperlane leading to Dacha, a system with an astonishing six inhabited gaia worlds.

2273: Dacha is a Most Unusual System

Early reports indicate that the three planets circling the central star are probably native to the system, while the two planets circling Dacha C are likely to be the missing planets from Helito, while the huge size 25 planet circling Dacha B is from somewhere else entirely. The planets are inhabited by pre-FTL civilizations.

Just what happened here?

2273.12.09: Wormhole Exploration

Having finally reached a force level deemed sufficient to hold off a Chosen attack if not, perhaps, sufficient to winning a swift victorious war, I decided late this year that it was time to start exploring wormholes in accordance with the priority list presented at the start of the last lecture while continuing to build up forces.

The first three targets were in the galactic south-east in systems under my control and within easy reach of my fleets. If these wormholes did not lead to the Chosen, hopefully they would provide helpful shortcuts to more distant parts of the galaxy.

I have placed the hunter fleet, which is by far the strongest force available to me, near the wormhole closest to my capital and most of the rest of my fleet near the second wormhole in Bora Baba. A third significant fleet of corvettes currently in the process of being upgraded is stationed further to the galactic west in the old Fellnoll territories. The third wormhole is in Aesir is a long way from any valuable systems so a connection there would give me a long time to summon forces from the other locations.

However, already the second wormhole explored, in Bora Baba, turned out to be the right one.

2273: The Chosen: Equal Opportunity Haters

Thus begins the first war for United After All against an alien civilization, and it could have happened against more deserving guys.

2273: 154.9k Fleet power converging on Bora Baba

2273: 95.8k Fleet power Defending

So, the good news is that in terms of estimated fleet power in the simulation I outnumber them by three to two.

The bad news is that apart from the Hunter Fleet, the Boggwoss Squadron of modernized corvettes, and, eventually, the modernized Lurggam Squadron, most of the fleets will underperform significantly, being comprised of old corvette designs from a variety of empires bought from the Tinkerers as well as the low-tech Fellnoll and Rak-Rak fleets.

While I would probably win a battle on the offensive pitting all of mine against all of theirs, casualties would be significant and if things went wrong this might result in a battle of attrition, which I would win, but adding several years to campaign. An alternative would be to take point and wait for my vassal's fleets to arrive, but that too would take a long time.

All taken together, it is clear that I should finish modernizing the Lurggam Squadron while beginning a considerable construction program of modern corvettes and frigates. The existing forces will guard against a Chosen attack in Bora Baba supported by the Desperate Measures Unity Ambition.

Give it a year or two, and if the Chosen hasn't ventured into the Bora Baba killing zone by then, it will be time to take the fight to the enemy.

2274.06.23: Skrand, The Lost Paragon

I finally repair the “First Talon”, the mysterious space hulk encountered at the Seginus Gateway, and its commander, Skrand Sharpbeak, offers his services on the unassailable grounds that he, his ship, and his crew were stuck in the gateway for millennia and they have no place to call home.

2274: Repairs done

2274: Welcome, Skrand Sharpbeak!

Skrand has the Shield of the Empire destiny trait (+45% evasion, +45% fire rate, and +300 shield hit points in friendly systems), Carrier Focus, and a Commanding Presence.

Loath as he is to be parted from his crew, he accepts my order to don a teleportation bracelet and then teleport straight across the galaxy to take control of the Boggwoss Squadron of Modernized corvettes, that immediately boast a wildly inflated fleet power of 75k due to its high evasion.

Do not trust such numbers – excepting weak enemies that lack significant tracking, the squadron did not increase its survivability and destructive potential four-fold because Skrand took over. More powerful, yes. Four-fold as the fleet power would suggest, no.

2274.12.04: Gifts of the Shroud: Psionic Shield

Every since the Alarians embraced psionics, training to produce small psionic barriers for personal protection against falls, accidents, or assault has become popular, but nobody could figure out how to produce shields on a larger scale.

2274: Until Now

2274.12.04: Unstudious Conclusion Level 10, Ends Anomaly Investigations

With only 65 anomalies remaining to be investigated, Unstudious Conclusion reaches level 10. Having raised all scientists except for one council-candidate to level 8, I decide she has earned a rest.

2274: I Know Your Destiny

To explore astral rifts instead. She is so skilled that the odds of failure are practically non-existent, but even if she should die while exploring, her fellow scholar Neon Bellevue is now also a Vibrant Storyteller. So long as I only lose one of them, the other will be able to continue the job of levelling the next batch of scientists.

I certainly could continue investigating anomalies now instead, since higher levels for Terrified Slash on the Council or Unwavering After All governing Jasmak would provide a marginal benefit, but in the circumstances I deem it more valuable to leave them for a later generation of leaders... or for when the huge amounts of stored science accumulated during the chained investigations that last years have finally been exhausted.

2275.01.02: Excellent Scientist Recruit

As if to challenge my determination, the simulation presents me with an excellent recruit just days later. Irrepressible Legeteuse is an Alarian scientists working in the Rak-Rak Libararian dependency, a Scholarium trained investigator with a bent for bureaucracy. An ideal replacement for my final explorer scientist.

2275: A Change of Legeteuse: Welcome, Irrepressible. Goodbye, Half-hearted.

I decide not to compromise. As a planetary governor in the capital sector he most likely wouldn't provide better benefits than Keides After All's system governor benefits until he reached level 8, and I don't have any significant research planets outside the capital sector currently. So rather than expend many of the finite supply of anomaly investigations on helping him now, when I don't have a great use for what he could provide, I will let him work as a normal trainee for a decade or two first unless I come across several more great scientist candidates in the interim.

2275.02.05: Psionic Shield Research Begun

Three months on from discovering the basics of making ship-sized psionic shields I complete the current society tech and begin researching psionic shields.

2275: 15 months? Psionic research goes brrrrr...

2275.02.17: Megamine Rockworms

Megamine, the planet in the Soyun system I am preparing as a gift for Wholesale Redemption, just got better courtesy of an astral rift, from which I liberated a hive of rockworms.

2275: Rockworms are an Invasive Species

2275: Ambush in Ereba

The time has come. A few months past my gathered fleets blazed through Ithome's gate and into Ereba.

Led by Skrand Sharpbeak in the Boggwoss squadron of 110 modernized corvettes, which the simulation wildly overestimates as 75.4k fleetpower due to extreme evasion, supported by many smaller forces around 9k, and two significant frigate forces, this is a formidable force the Chosen cannot possibly defeat without the aid of fixed system defenses.

Registering the danger, the Chosen fleets withdraw to their capital system, there to make their stand.

And then... A miracle occurred. All the frigates withdrew from the system, for reasons the Chosen could only speculate about, but whatever the reason, the serious weakening of my presence in Ereba presented them with a unique opportunity for defeating the Alarian fleets in detail before the frigates I foolishly detached from the front make their return. Perhaps not a good chance, but the best they were likely to get. So they seized upon it in desperation.

2275: The Rush for Ereba

In their haste they failed to hold formation and one detachment of the fleet got ahead of the rest, but even as the fleet's command to notice of the swarms of corvettes, destroyers, and a few cruisers prepared to fight them right at the hyperlane exit, they remained ignorant of the greater threat.

2275: The Ambush

The 220 frigates of the hunter fleet, hiding in cloak even as the battle raged around them, awaiting the arrival of the main force of the Chosen.

2275: Torpedo surprise!

The Chosen inflicted serious damage to many ships before the ambush was sprung, but most of them managed to withdraw from combat. Once the main body of the Chosen fleet was committed, the hunter fleet sprang the ambush and the battle was swiftly won. The tattered remnants of the Chosen fleet escaped into hyperspace making for their capital system.

That left just the mopping up of their worlds with the assault troops already pouring in through Ithome's Gate and sending the bulk of the fleet to the Chosen's capital system to lie in wait to destroy their ravaged fleet when it finally arrived.

2276.01.01: Housekeeping on Conquered Worlds

The Chosen had three space habitats in Ithome's Gate and three gaia worlds in its capital system, Aspharelle, of size 18, 25, and 30. The habitats have fallen and their better defended core worlds await, but even as the Charynoi, for so the Chosen name themselves, are rounded up for identification and mandatory sensitivity classes to better assimilate them, I discern an abomination on the Abundance habitat. This will sot stand.

2276: Purge the Gene Clinic! It is an Abomination unto the Composer of Strands

2276.01.08: Home After All Encased

A glorious day has arisen. Where once the world boasted forests, fields, and lakes, oceans, wide plains, and mountains, with animals roaming the wilds and natives cursing the traffic congestion, only highly specialized mass produced buildings remain, covering the surface with the occasional carefully managed park as part of the integrated ecosystem.

In the governor's palace Keides plans a vast expansion of the planet's manufacturing facilities, and throughout the planet serenity prevails as the wild animals are now alll in zoos where they belong, the natives are in their offices with convenient access to cafes and every luxury of modern civilization, and the Luminary is on her throne.

Only the simulation's land-textures need to be updated now, but that can wait.

2276: Alarians Triumphant!

2276.03.30: Rogue Scientist Redux

It would appear that the rogue scientist had managed to conceal his major efforts. The Alarians thought that with his retrieval they would have plenty of time to deal with the Briscoll problem.

They were wrong. The pre-ftl natives have with commendable speed advanced from the machine age to the early space age in a mere 5 years and have just blow up the observation post with a nuclear missile, despite its cloaking being impenetrable to them, despite the strength of its hull and armour. All hands lost. An inquiry will be held to determine how they managed this feat.

Meanwhile, the Briscoll III government, the Czymian Society, demands their holy saviour returned.

2276: Always gimme, gimme, gimme

The cat is well and truly out of the bag, so what do I do?

They are a pre-ftl – even if they demand I give up the system, there is not much I can do if I refuse. But I am working with the mostly peaceful Alarians, and running roughshod over a lesser species might not – if we depart the classroom and assume this a real setting – sit well with them. Even if I could convince the First Ascendant of the necessity, if this really something to make an issue of?

The rogue scientist has been debriefed and is currently in therapy. Returning him would in a certain sense be exiling him, much to his pleasure and, possibly, the natives of Briscoll III, and given even a small amount of goodwill gained from our magnanimous gesture, now that we are in communications our competent diplomatic corps can surely leverage that to our long-term advantage. They should have no problem talking around the ramblings of the rogue scientist now we have his full updated psychological profile on hand.

2276: Sure, We'll Leave You Alone

2276: Soonest Done

2276: Soonest Mended

He really should have emphasized the Luminary's uncanny ability of turning foes into friends wishing to be subjugated rather than painting Alarians as demons to be avoided, if he had wanted his mad little experiment to stand a chance.

2276.07.21: Glimpses of the Abyss

In more worrying news than the drama playing out on Briscoll III, the horrific inverse mass on Lastus Prime has destabilized. This warrants further investigation.

2276: Stop screaming!

2277.01.22: Tragedy!

Unusual After All, the Second Ascendant, lies dead, having fallen out of a 4th floor window at night, landing in a swimming pool that was unfortunately drained as part of its conversion into an open-air tennis court, just prior to it being filled with cement in the morning.

The coroner is unwilling to commit himself to either falling damage, smashing, drowning, or suffocation in cement as the cause of death, but he is pretty sure that what they finally managed to excavate from the cement block was alive when it hit the floor of the pool based on a surveillance recording of his scream during the fall.

2276: His End was also Unusual After All

Everything points to natural causes, but the First Ascendant is blinded by her grief and gradually convinces herself despite the lack of evidence that this is murder most foul.

As weeks pass with neither accident nor murder proven, she orders her second child and heir to return to the capital to head up a task force dedicated to hunting down the killers.

While Unusual After All was well liked by the public, his sister is rather less so. Frightfully intelligent and one of the growing number of Alarians who have managed to adopt and be adopted by a brain slug, with a pale beauty that is the very image of her mother in her youth, her temperament could not be more different.

A precocious child turned tyrannical adult, she has pursued a career in the military where her acid barbs and tendency to treat opponents as enemies to be crushed is, if not welcome, then more tolerated than in society as a whole.

But for the task of hunting down the murderers of her brother none could be better suited. Her adult name was well chosen, and no obstacle will bar her way, for she is, and always will be, Unstoppable After All.

2276: Meet Unstoppable After All

2277.03.21: Negotiations with Reformists

Unfortunately the hunt stirs the still warm ashes of discontent, threatening to reignite the reformist cause, and that is a distraction the First Ascendant cannot afford during this critical period.

Blinded with grief she may be, but always a political animal and wise beyond measure. With every emotion urging her to crush the reformist cause once and for all, every stray thought insisting that the reformists are beyond the murder of her son, she will still not act against the law.

Because unless she finds evidence that they are linked, she will treat the murder and reformist agitation as separate problems. The second perhaps inflamed by the necessary ruthlessness of the hunt for his murderer, but nevertheless a problem of its own.

Yes, yes... She's a simulated person, but were she real, she would be like that. Such people are few and far between, but they exist, and they are scary in their righteousness.

2277: So, let's talk about constitutional guarantees

2277.10.04: The Chosen Unchosen

The final bastion of the Chosen, their homeworld Scion, a size 30 gaia world, falls, and the Chosen are no more.

2277: End of the Chosen

The Charynoi as in an existential crisis, wondering both how the Chosen people could be conquered and why they have not been killed, having serious problems understanding the concept of peaceful coexistence with anybody else, but that is as nothing to the shock of being split up in groups of 6 or 12 POPs, transported to different worlds, and then being put into therapy for assimilation.

On more than thirty different worlds, bewildered Charynoi ask themselves the fundamental question, ”what did I do to deserve this?”

The one extremely distant system to the galactic south-west that is part of the Chosen cluster is only accessible by jump drive. I've got that, so I could go visit, but I know it can be very expensive to build an outpost in isolated systems so I am leaving it alone for now.

2277.11.01: Curious Mechanism Extracted from Rift

That will prove handy.

2277: The Continuum

2278.01.01: Custodian of the Galactic Community

About time. I can now hurry up the galactic council, using emergency measures every now and then to save up to 720 days of downtime when the council is not in session due to being on the council, and ending every session 720 days early should I so desire. This means that the turnaround time of 6 years between each completed resolution is reduced to 4 years in general and 2 years when I can order a proposal passed as an emergency measure.

Assuming I have enough influence, that is.

2278: United After All Proclaimed Custodian

2278.02.20: Disabling the Dreadnought

Returning from the Chosen War, the hunter fleet disables the Automated Dreadnought. It is planned to repair it some time as a trophy ship, but there's no hurry. Why is there no hurry? I am not at war and don't need the fleet power inflating numbers.

2278: Eat Hot Torpedoes

Moreover, and this is a long shot, there is a chance of gaining access to PSI jump drives during shroud visits, and if I repair the Dreadnought after that it will be fitted with them, whereas if I repair it without that tech it will always be limited to a normal jump drive even if I later gain psi jump drives. This is truly a minor concern since I intend the Dreadnought mostly as a trophy ship rather than a combatant, but even so.

2278.06.01: Rubricator encased

Yet another great day for United After All as the once-rat-invested warren is paved over.

2278: Rubricator Restored to Ancient Glory

2278.08.04: Negotiations Conclude

More than a year has passed, Unstoppable After All has found no evidence of murder, and Undaunted After All has had time to grieve.

With regards to the reformist issue, reformist demands have proven to be mild. During negotiations they presented their demands before even listening to the official statement, defying the Luminary to oppose them, and she surprised them by accepting since she found their demands just – and less than she had been willing to concede.

2278: At a Crossroads

In the end a deteriorating situation that could have spilled over into civil war was avoided by reasonable behaviour on both parts. Most reformists remained loyal to the Luminary and were satisfied with the fundament of her rule if not all the details, and they trusted her word during the negotiations on the basis of the compromise of 2271.

The outcome of the crisis is that the government is strengthened, the workers have slightly more political power, and that most people are happier with the way the empire works.

Surprising, isn't it? Now, it must be said that had I not showed restraint in 2271 or had the empire been oppressive, the outcome of negotiations like these conducted from a position of weakness would have been rather different. In those cases it would have been better NOT to engage in negotiations on their terms but to enact a total crackdown, arresting all the reformist leaders, and THEN negotiating with them from a position of strength.
But since United After All is a pleasant place to live and the Luminary has proven herself reasonable and worthy of their devotion, time and time again over the last eight decades, the reasonable approach was also the wise one and much bloodshed and division dangerous to the long term stability of the empire was avoided.

2279.02.27: Who Watches the Watchers?

The pre-ftl natives of the Dacha system have contacted our observation post!

2279: Hello, Said the Habinte

2279: Habinte Hyperlane Distribution Network

2279.12.27: The Mad Matriarch

While the Tithyanki space cows are generally peaceful unless threatened, an especially large one discovered in the galactic south-west is not. Skrand Sharpbeak, who feels a need for action to make up for being stuck in stasis for millennia, has been ordered to bring an end to this ancient menace.

2279: Approaching the Matriarch

2280.01.01: Threshold to the Void

There is a considerable body of evidence suggesting that our efforts at containing the destabilized horrific inverse mass on Lastus Prime have failed, and that it is time to jettison it before everything goes to hell in a handbasket. The prices for off-planet transportation increase by the day, but the priest-administrators are confident they can still win this one.

2280: Too Late?

2280.01.01: Custodian Powers Engaged

720 days since the council began voting on the Administrative Insights resolution means...

2280: Democracy in Action

...that it is time to pass it by Custodian fiat, 78231 to 1907 diplomatic weight, at the bargain price of 190 influence, and to propose Greater than Ourselves for 200 influence.

It has been an expensive decade handling the Galactic Community, but worth it as my own priorities start to dominate.

Year 2280, the Fruits of Diplomacy

2280: Vassals Economy is doing great

The biggest economical change since 2270 is that science output has increased by about 40%, alloy output by 60%, and unity output has doubled to an impressive 14634 unity/mth. Diplomatic Networking is now a mere 0.5% of the unity output and pretty much irrelevant, while research stations are still hanging in there making up 4.1% society, 5.7% physics, and 6.4% engineering.

2280: The Czymian's of Briscoll III already love us

2280: 342 months to level 5

No problems here. Both domestic and foreign policy are doing their part.

Year 2280, Planetary Development

The greatest changes here are to the two ecumenopolises, Home After All and Rubricator, and three under construction, Jasmak Prime (832 days), Efoll Prime (2453 days), and Fen Habbanis (3593 days, started only 7 days before this save-point.)

2280: Home After All is always building arcologies

I have been currently running Home After All with a factory capital designation for some time to stabilize consumer goods while building ecclesiastical arcologies, but most of the time I run it with the empire capital designation that helps all jobs, and that is also the long term plan. It is supported by an orbital ring improving consumer goods and unity production.

2280: Rubricator ditto

Rubricator is also producing ecclesiastical arcologies, but will switch to foundry arcologies in a few years. It is supported by an orbital ring improving alloys and unity production.

2280: Scion: The Word for World is City

Another planet of interest is the Chosen's capital, Scion, a size 30 gaia world with lots of city and industrial districts I am planning to pave over and make into an ecumenopolis.

Year 2280, State of the Empire

2280: First Ascendant and Empire

2280: Traditions are done, and no changes to ascendancy perks since 2270

2280: I am FINALLY researching mega-engineering

2280: Last Researched Technologies shows a military bent

2280: Edicts, unity ambitions, and policies, oh my

2280: Council, Arms Open. At Tanagra

The Research Ratio

Ratio_particles = 4938*(1+183%)/(1+146%) = 5681
Ratio_militarytheory = 4932*(1+163%)/(1+146%) = 5273
Ratio_voidcraft = 2506*(1+160%)/(1+146%) = 2649

Comparing to the 2270 ratios of 4004, 3396, and 2007, physics has seen an increase of 41.9%, society by 55.2%, and engineering 32.0%, primarily through pop-growth and the addition of the Charynoi population, but the exhibiting of museum artefacts increasing the output of all priests on my highly populated worlds is a smaller but still significant factor.

The 2280Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

Note that it required 3.11.3 to play. Now that 3.12 has been released, you will have to set Stellaris to use the 3.11.3 branch to do so.

---

Author's note:

I performed a bit of save-file editing for the heir, Unstoppable After All. Stellaris thought is was a great idea for her to be a fiery redhead admiral with few looks in common with her blonde mother and a questionable dress sense. I disagreed.

2280: No. Just no. She is only arguably in uniform.

You can do it for any leader in the game following this procedure.

Open the .sav main savefile within the save's compressed archive in a text editor (I recommend Notepad++ if you are on Windows)
Find the leader whose portrait you want to change in the file
Within the leader's data block, insert a design block referring to the species art files, setting portrait, texture, attachment, and clothes to the variant you want
Save the file within the archive

I used the portrait picker for rulers in empire-creation from main menu to find the portrait I wanted, which was the 10th female admiral picture in the militarium Stellar Legions set, which means it has texture 9. (Since the first has texture 0).

As this portrait pack doesn't use attachments or clothes but only whole textures, the attachment and clothes variables must be set to 0.

Then I checked the portrait nomenclature for another of my militarium admiral leaders in the save game to see how an admiral leader was referenced, and based on that I added the following to Unstoppable's data block.

Code:

design={
		portrait="sl_militarium_admiral_female_01"
		texture=9
		attachment=0
		clothes=0
	}

And that's it. From that day forward she became, if not the spitting image of her mother, at least somebody who could credibly be believed to be a descendant. And better dressed.

Peter Ebbesen · May 19, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Ninth: 2280-2290

Welcome, class.

Today is dedicated to further political developments, the gradual urbanisation as people move from fringe worlds to the growing ecumenopolises, and the destiny of the Luminary.

Interrupted by a short victorious war.

I am also going to commit a mistake.

The Mistake

Remember how back in the 2260-2270 lecture I promised to ascend by stages, first integrating the Velutarian and Fellnoll Coalitions, developing the Moij-Huxxgan worlds, and then, two or three decades later, release them as vassals and THEN begin planetary ascension in earnest?

It is now two decades later. Given the current state of the empire, there are three approaches, presented here as I imagine a dim-witted undergraduate might see the issue if not distracted by sex, drugs, and sausage rolls:

Split vassals now, start planetary ascension. Downside: The few ecumenopolises cannot hold high populations yet, so you cannot highly concentrate population for minium ascension cost and maximum immediate benefits: much of your population will remain on unascended worlds. Additionally, you don't get to construct a network of gateways in the vassal states, so you will have a limited fast-travel gatework in my empire; Ideally I want at least one gate near every vassal capital
Split vassals next decade and only then start planetary ascension, as you will be able to concentrate almost all of your population on ecumenopolises by then, so you don't waste unity on more expensive planetary ascensions; You get to create a gateway network this way too, and research more technologies including some megastructures the vassals can then build
Split vassals next decade, but begin planetary ascension on your ecumenopolises now: This will cost you a lot more unity as much of the population will be on unascended worlds, and in addition a smaller fraction of the population will benefit from the ascension, which is a waste of unity. But at least you get to create a gateway network and release the vassals with better tech.

Now, the cost of any given planetary ascension depends on the empire size and the the total number of planetary ascensions in the empire at the time of ascension, given by:

AscensionCost = (EmpireSize*10)*(1+0.6*TotalAscensions)*(1+SumOfAscensionCostModifiers)

Having seen too many undergraduate papers that delay planetary ascension much longer than is mathematically prudent, I expect most of you would choose option 2), so that is what I will be doing this lecture.

This is a mistake, as both 1) and 3) are better choices.

For the first, don't hand over ALL territory in the zones to vassals; Exclude one or two central locations in each region where you will in due time construct gateways, and then hand over those systems once the gateways are completed; You get the best of both worlds, this way.

For the third, all the downsides are true, but since all ecumenopolises except the capital can be run as ecclesiastical ecumenopolises providing extra priest jobs due to the Holy Federation, you will be able to concentrate population on your ecumenopolises faster than you might think possible, and this will boost physics, society, and unity production from all those priests. Merely the 10 ascensions for taking Home After All and Rubricator from tier 5 to tier 10, and another 10 to take the third ecumenopolis, Jasmak, to tier 10 this decade as they gradually grow to contain much of the empire's population will be unity well spent. The remaining ecumenopolises can then be ascended after the split at a lower cost. The “wasted” unity will be much less than you expected when taking the increased unity output account, and you'll gain significantly increased physics and society output as well.

But in true moronic undergraduate style, I'm pursuing 2, going another decade to be sure that I can both divest vassals and have large enough ecumenopolises for most of the population I am keeping before I ascend any further. The only upside: This will give you some truly glorious before-and-after ascension numbers next lecture.

2280.02.02: The Beginning of a Beautiful Partnership

Neon Bellevue proves herself a true madgirl, when upon completing exploring an astral rift she gets an offer that is too intriguing to pass up on.

2280: She agrees... FOR SCIENCE!

Does the composite retain any of the original Neon Bellevue's personality or has it been completely overwritten by the foreign consciousness, as her assistants warned her might happen? Who knows? Who cares? The Neon Bellevue itself retains not only her skills, but her memories, and is in two minds about the answer.

2280.02.12: The Fate of the Oracle

Far beneath the surface of a remote world recently colonized, the Alarians have discovered the remnants of a civilization once led into ruin by a mad AI that had been granted full power to oversee and manage their lives for optimal performance. It is an old, old, story, playing out time and time again, and the results are invariable the same: All out war between the machine and the people.

2280: Did you foresee this, Abominable Machine?

2280: The Fate of the Matriarch

Skrand Sharpbeak's hunting expedition claims another victim.

2280: Giant Vicious Space Cow Eliminated

and, what's this, out of its torn guts flies a battleship it had swallowed, led by the indominable hunter Reth Unddol, who is more than happy to swear fealty to United After All.
2280: Reth Unddol, Mighty Hunter

Now, Reth Unddol's Shipbreaker and Material Liberator are of little value to me. The amount of resources they provide are tiny compared to the empire's economy. So those are practically wasted traits.

He is, however, an level 5 admiral with Hell's Heart boosting fire rate, and Material Liberator 3 will eventually give +15% armour hardening, making the trait useful after all, and he was lucky and gained Commanding Presence. He also isn't psionic so he cannot randomly evolve and die.

While he may eventually be surpassed by one of the cautious trickster Alarian admirals with increased weapons' range I prefer, he is presently my second-best admiral after Skrand Sharpbeak.

2280.05.02: Rak-Rak Librarian Integration

Since I am not releasing vassals this decade, it is time to integrate the Rak-Rak Librarians so I can release them together with everybody else next decade with state of the art technology.

2280: Integrate This!

2280.10.25: Ulaster the ~~bipolar~~Prophet

I am offered the service of a renowned paragon, Ulastar the Prophet.

2280: You are Mediocre

There are three ways to think of Ulastar:

Ulastar is an advisor council member specializing in unity, who is sadly marred by having the Shroud Preacher governor destiny trait
Ulastar is a Shroud Preacher governor, who is sadly marred by being the wrong class for a governor
Ulastar is a hybrid councillor-governor, who is good at both jobs until you have other councillors and governors with destiny traits

What this means is that had I received him as the first paragon, he would have been highly valuable, but at this point he is completely useless both as a councillor and as a governor. So why do I recruit him?

Because he's a prophet. Keep him along for long enough and he may prophesize a great destiny for United After All, which impresses the few Alarians who haven't realized that already.

2281.02.03: Museum of Exobiology Populated

2281: Impressive Society and Unity bonus

2281.10.14: Marauder Bashing

It is time to make the Fellnoll population happy. Confused by the kindness shown to them and the assimilation program enrolling them in the psionic community, I have decided to give the Fellnoll fleets I inherited something to do. Makework, really, but it is something they should appreciate, and undoubtedly something they'll prefer to my scrapping their fleet: I am sending them to bash the nearby marauders: The Zemmerpukans.

To ensure success I entrust the largest fleet to Skrand Sharpbeak flying flag from his Last Talon and the second-largest to Reth Unddol.

2281: Advance, Expendables!

2281: Marauder Stations Burning

That was fun. I'll need to gather a few more expendables before I continue on to the next Marauder system.

2282.01.02: An End on Lastus Prime

2282: It's Now or Never...

2282: Never, Said the Horror

Sadly, the priests were not up to the task. So that's 4 POPs dead and Lastus Prime lost, forever, never to become a super-charged size 24 Ecumenopolis with awesome science and unity output, which would have been its destiny if the priests succeeded.

Not all gambles pay off.

On the positive side, the inhabitants of Lastus Secundus have a spectacular if scary view of the night sky, as well as natural worries about how long their world will last with a black hole next door. With an Eldritch Horror sttriving to escape.

2282.02.04: Czymian Subjugation

The natives on Briscoll III agree that, all things considered, they have no choice but to accept subjugation.

2282: Where's Your Holy Saviour Now?

2282.02.04 Restoring the Strategic Command Center

In old Velutarian space an abandoned Strategic Command Center has long awaited the day, when the Alarians mastered Mega-engineering. That day has come.

2282: 4800 days? I don't think so.

It is time to finally take the Master Builders ascendancy perk and to enable both the Architectural Renaissance unity ambition and the Living Metal Mega-Construction edicts. This will increase construction speed by 150% and allow me to work on up to three mega-structures at once, which isn't possible yet but will be soon enough as I research more structures.

2282.05.03: Skrand the Dragonslayer

Continuing his hunt, Skrand kills the Ether Drake.

2282: Another one bites the dust

2282.05.05: Jasmak Encased

The size 30 relic world Jasmak is finally encased, a new ecumenopolis for the Alarians to exploit. In due time I intend this this will become their centre of worship.

2282: Jasmak Prime

Such an important planet surely cannot have such a boring name, so I decide to name it Midnight Wine in accordance with the Alarian naming convention.

2283.06.20: Chosen of the Composer

On this day the First Ascendant achieved immortality and became forever immune to random evolution by the Composer.

2283: Undaunted, I Pick You!

2284.01.06: Greater than Ourselves

Convincing everybody to work together just became that little bit easier. Next I will nominate the Military Readiness Act to increase fleet sizes.

2284: 190 influence to save 2 years

2284.08.20: Bird Flu

The crew of the Last Talon are suffering from rotting feathers. Alarian healthcare to the rescue! I choose to provide maximum funding for care, to delay the progression of the disease, as well as maximum funding for a cure.

2284: Feather Rot!

2285.01.04: Gift of the Habinte

It turns out that the “simple” pre-FTLs of the Habinte worlds have tired of our company and will gift us their largest gaia planet, Sol X, if we'll just leave them alone. They'll provide it gift-wrapped in our capital system to spare us the inconvenience of moving it, which is awfully kind of them.

2285: I like presents

2285.0430: Strange Sphere Threatens Capital

What can that mysterious strange sphere be? Well, obviously it is a communications device from exile extradimensional entity, these things happen all the time, but the Alarians don't know this and commence an intensive study. I instruct them to fast-track the project regardless of cost.

2285: Crystal Sphere

2285.06.07: Rak-Rak Integrated

With the integration of the Rak-Rak Librarians I begin – for the second time – improving their worlds in anticipation of releasing them as vassals next decade with vastly superior tech and access to all policies. But, for now, I'm having to cope with rather more systems and colonies than is comfortable.

2285: Welcome back, Rak-Rak

2285.11.11: Rise of the Khan

Having gathered enough of my scattered forces from various integrations to continue bashing Marauders, I attack the second Zemmerpukan system.

2285: The Marauders are sitting ducks

Even more Fellnoll die gloriously and it is my hope that their successors, now in training, may find their ardour for battle against the OTHER somewhat dampened by the reminder of their own mortality.

As it turns out, they are not the only ones learning lessons. The Zemmerpukans, realizing that they have a real fight on their hands, unite under a charismatic leader and in what appears to be a blink of the eye reactivate a large number of old mothballed ships.

2285: Great Khan Bokall Huketkin Sends Greetings

Now, I do have a considerable force in theatre consisting of the dregs of my early construction, refurbishing ships from the Tinkerers, most of the the integrated fleets, as well as Skrand Sharpbeak's Last Talon, but the hunter fleet is still distant, returning form hunting the horrors of the galaxy, and none of the battleships I have been building over the last few years as part of my scheme to build up a fleet capable of defending against the Fallen Empires have reached front.

2285: THESE battleships

A word about this design:

In terms of weapons this is a classic Arc-Emitter/strikecraft/missile battleship build with inferior strike craft due to energy considerations; This works pretty well against anything and doesn't require any deep repeatable technologies to shine
In terms of defenses, I am going with a mixed armour/shield setup with shield hardening. This is generally the best setup from the perspective of tanking incoming damage until you get into repeatable technologies. Due to the low engineering output and high physics output I will continue using a split armour/shield setup with shield hardening even when I get into repeatables rather than the popular all armour+armour hardening approach, because that approach requires strong engineering science
I am using an artillery computer rather than a carrier computer primarily for the boost to fire rate, despite the bug in the current iteration of the simulator (3.11.3) making the battleships charge the enemy at start, then withdraw, and secondarily because when used in conjunction with the outmoded fleets of lesser ships, having enemies target the battleships that can soak up a lot of punishment is a pretty good deal; One I have expended the lesser ships, other considerations may apply
Since production of battleships is still very limited and my minor relic income is high, I am using an archaeotech device for increased shields and shield hardening; Once I ramp up production I cannot afford such a lavish expenditure of minor relics and will replace it by another armour module and use strike craft III, which I already have, and better missiles once I have researched them
For this design repeatable techs once available are split for physics (energy fire rate, energy damage, shield harmonics), unified for society (strike craft fire rate, strike craft damage), and split for engineering (explosives fire rate, explosives damage, armour)

2285: Let me send two fleets of those to the front

2286.02.29: Integrating the Dar-Hesh Administration

Next in line for integration is the Dar-Hesh Administration that has been expanding considerably and is due to its strength the most likely of my vassals to build an outpost next to the Xenophobic Fallen Empire, counting on its overlord to protect it. Not that I expect it to do so anytime soon, but now that I have started churning out battleship fleets of 2.7k fleet power per battleship, every year makes it more likely I reach a tipping point.

2286: Integrate this!

2286.09.02: Gateway Construction

The gateway construction is well underway, and now the time has come to construct one in the Rak-Rak's capital system, so I will have easy access to protecting them once I spin them out as a vassal again.

2286: Ruk-Rak deserves a Gateway

2286.10.17: Divine Divinity After All

It had been long in coming, but after being Chosen by the Composer, gaining immortality, and becoming powerful beyond measure, the peoples' already extreme faith in the Luminary reached the limits of what could remotely be considered sane and threatened to descend into madness.

Over the past two years, Luminary Cults, once a small movement devoted mainly to ascetic living, sprang into existence across the empire with a stronger religious bent, worshipping the Luminary as Divine Undaunted.

So when the First Ascendant announced that she had discovered a way to channel part of her psionic power to better the lives of all her subjects, the Cults went mainstream.

Like the emperors of old, but with rather more justification and a better life expectancy, the people of the empire proclaimed her eternal God-Empress, insisting that all power be concentrated in her hands.

2286: Divine Undaunted After All

Ethics shifted from Spiritualist/Fanatic Xenophile to Fanatic Spiritualist/Authoritarian.

When things like this happens it is important to see whether it goes to the Luminary's head or not. In this case, not all that much. After deputizing a leading scientist to do perform the job of being a Divine Conduit for her power, Divine Undaunted made a point out of divesting herself of some of her authority, thanking the people for their good intentions, but insisting on a kindler, gentler, rule.

2286: She may be God-Empress out of duty, but she is no authoritarian except by definition

Ethics shifted from Fanatic Spiritualist/Authoritarian to Fanatic Spiritualist/Xenophile.

This was only possible because the Alarians have been supporting xenophilia from the start, and even so I was only at 19% xenophiles before the Rak-Rak integration, because it is really hard in strong spiritualist psionic empires for spiritualism to not end up completely dominant. For a while I thought I might have to start suppressing spiritualism to maintain a large enough population of xenophiles.

But now that the ethics have reached the final stage I set as a goal for the Alarians at the beginning of the lecture series, all is good. From this day forward every vassal I create will be Fanatic Spiritualist/Xenophile, and they will have lots of reinforcement for both of those ethics and are unlikely to drift into something else.

2286-2288: Fighting the Khanate

As expected the Zemmerpukan Khan's initial attacks were successful, in large part because I withdrew the forces I had on the front lines, denying him a chance to defeat them in detail and tempting him into overreaching. Now, a year on, by the end of 2286 that strategy is bearing fruit:

2286: Forces in Theatre

The Khan's rapid expansion westward has reached its maximum extent as a stream of new build battleships are approaching Frontal. The first 12k will arrive within the month, but there are are more on the way, many more. The Khan himself has committed a significant mistake, allowing himself to be cut off from the bulk of his forces by my two main battleship fleets.

Though his main fleet is formidable it is as nothing compared to what he is about to face.

The forces I have in theatre now should be enough to defeat the Khanate, but I do not have a blocking force in pace in case the Khan tries the desperate move of launching an attack to the galactic east into Wholesale Redemption, which could prolong the war, so I decide to summon a Dimensional Fleet to deal with that issue.

Yes, the Dimensional Fleet. As you are hopefully all aware, once you have completely explored five astral rifts, you gain the ability to pay a huge amount of astral threads to hire a Dimensional Fleet of extradimensionals, who will serve for a decade. The size of the fleet scales with your number of rifts completed, naval capacity, and years since you assumed command.

This representation in the simulation is a simplification by necessity, but in real life you will often find people from other dimensions willing to serve as mercenaries in return for the astral threads used to weave the astral tapestry, so for all of that, it is not an unreasonable simplification even if it might feel a bit silly when you can pay 1750 threads and a fleet appears as if by magic.

2286: I need YOU to support the eastern flank

2286: Block the Khanate in Agsilla

Meanwhile, Sharpbeak and Unddol are making the first attack run on the Khan, who can only watch in horror as some of his ships are torn apart by arc emitters, with waves of strike craft and corvettes following to destroy the survivors.

2286: Alpha Strike!

The battle rages for 18 days, the Khan's titanic flagship fighting to the last.

2286: An Escape Pod? Unsporting!

I spend the next eight months mopping up the western forces and waiting for the dimensional fleet to arrive to reduce the inevitable casualties when attacking the main horde, but the Khan made good us of the time as well, so perhaps I would have been better off going for the kill immediately.

2287: T'was but a flesh wound

And perhaps not. My chosen approach is extremely safe. The dimensional fleet is in position now, the khanate forces are bottled up, and a simple manoeuvrer sending my main fleet to collect the Dimensional Fleet, moving the combined forces into Ustir and hitting the main Khanate force in its captial in Sithois Maelstrom, will either eliminate all Khanate forces in one well swoop with my forces entering Sithonis Maelstrom from the Ustir hyperland while the Khanate's forces are assembling at the distant Urill hyperlane to take advantage of my removal of the blocking force, or will have just passed through it and be forced to return to deal with my incursion. Either way I should be able to ravage much of the system before their ships get a shot off.

2287: Attacking Sithonis Maelstrom

And that's just what happens. Caught out of position, the Alararians have a field day shooting Marauders desperately trying to reach weapons range. Thus ends the war against the Khanate.

2288: End of the Khanate

2288.01.11 Borderless Autority is Next

After 720 days of discussion, I invoke the curator's ability to end the session of the Galactic Community to pass the Military Readiness Act, and follow it up by proposing the Borderless Authority Act, which will draw my vassals towards Spiritualism and grant +1 holdings with every vassal at a moderate monthly loyalty cost. In the long run I will reducing the number of holdings in the individual contracts to compensate for the loyalty loss.

2288: Democracy in action

2288: Wholesale Redemption Gifted

My oldest ally, friend, and vassal, Wholesale Redemption, receive a gift as reward for their loyalty. The Soyun system with the Megamine:

2288: The Megamine Gift

In related news, they agree to hiking the basic resource tax to 60%, since between their vast system of corporate holdings and their now greatly increased mineral production, they can easily afford such an expenditure now.

2288: Taxes!

Why not 75%, I hear you cry? Because they have several new worlds to build up, and the difference between paying 60% (keeping 40%) and 75% (keeping 25%) is huge. I don't want to limit their potential or force them into a crash agricultural building program to survive.

2286.06.2: Feather Rot Cured

2288: Skrand is Relieved

2288.11.06: Dreadnought Repaired

The Alarians performed a crucial lobotomy of the Sapient AIs higher functions and installed a command bridge and living quarters as part of repairing and reactivating it due to the insanity of leaving an AI in control of a warship, but for all of that the repaired Dreadnought remains a formidable vessel.

Unfortunately it is a poor complement to my battleship design, focusing as it does on hull/armour damaging artillery, but it will make an imposing flagship for my grand fleet.

2288: Trophy Titan

2289.07.25: Activating Relics

With astral Lateral Artifacting I can now activate two relics at a time, so let me do that. First the Continuum for additional resources, as I will need hundreds of thousands of energy next decade to resettle population. This artifact only gives me 104k energy, but the thousands of strategic resources can be sold for even more.

2289: Click to profit!

For the second artifact, I choose the Plasmic Core.

2289: Click to mutate!

2289: Everybody on Home After All-Beta gains plasmic

After the great exodus from Home-After-All-Beta as its people sought new homes amongst the stars, most of the people living there are alpha-Alarians attracted by the sense of danger or more likely the low property prices, but many Beta-Alarians remain and a few Rak-Rak as well, all of whom have their cell structures realigned and strengthened by the Plasmic Core.

So I send a plasmic ocean-based Beta-Alarian to 5 alpine, 1 arctic, and 1 gaia world, most in territory I will be handing over to vassals next decade, and modify them to have Alpine preference. This should ensure they get safely embedded in to vassals, with a swiftly growing population due to high habitability and growth bonuses.

2289: You WILL like it in your new homes

I likewise send a plasmic ocean-based Beta Alarian to each of four desert worlds, and turn them into natives, and the remaining I distribute amongst my ocean worlds. In all cases I set the planet to force-grow the climate-appropriate plasmic beta-alarian.

2289.09.10: Gift of the Shroud

It may not be the highly desired Psionic Jump drive, but is is a decent second best.

2289: The Precognition Interface

2289.09.24: Selling Gas

Having sold all the exotic gases the regular empires can reasonably afford to buy, I am now turning to the two fallen empires willing to trade at half-decent prices (50%), the Xenophile and the Ancient Caretakers.

2289: Buy My Gas!

2289.12.30: Subjugating the Univted Huvidu-Zaan Committee

On the last day of the year, the United Huvidu-Zaan Committee agreed to become my protectorate.

2289: Welcome, Unbeliever

Year 2290, the Fruits of Diplomacy

Fortunately the war against the Khanate did not significantly impact economic growth.

2290: The Economy has seen significant growth over the past decade

2290: The subject empires are nearly as enraptured by the Divine Undaunted as the Alarians

2290: 853k fleet power; Things are looking up

No problems here. Both domestic and foreign policy are doing their part, and federation cohesion is so strong, that recovering from last month's subjugation of the United Huvidu-Zaan Commonwealth will be done in another two months.

Year 2290, Planetary Development

I now have five ecumenopolises: Home After All(21), Rubricator(25), Midnight Wine(30), Efoll Forest(22), and Fen Habbanis Prime(25), with four under construction, Sidor Prime(24, 853 days), Scion(30, 1159 days), Fellnoll's Loss(25, 2545 days), and New Light(25, 3600 days)... I should have begun the conversion of New Light in the old Chosen cluster earlier, but forgot about it.

Not much has changed for the Ecumenopolises since the end of last lecture save the construction of more ecclesiastical districts. I'll go more in detail about them next lecture when comparing their output before and after ascension, but here is a teaser, the output of a single priest on Midnight Wine, which is currently entirely unascended but does benefit from the First League Filing Offices, a PSI Corps, and being governed by a level 8 Truth Seeker governor.

2290: >300% increased output for all science, >400% for unity, that's not so bad...

There is one planet deserving closer scrutiny, and that is the old Moij-Huxxgan homeworld, which I originally began converting into an ascended energy world, but after deciding to delay splitting off vassals to the 2290-2300 lecture, I changed its desitiny. It is now intended to be the capital world of a new prospectorium centered in Moij-Huxxgan space and, as such, I decided to go all out to gift these caretakers of the Moij-Huxxgan legacy with a valuable world suitable to their role.

2290: Mistake After All

Mistake After All will lose its PSI Corps and its planetary ascensions when given away, but on the other hand it will receive significant production bonuses when under AI control in the simulation. This will become an extractive powerhouse.

Year 2290, Megastructures

While waiting for ringworld construction to become available I have not been idle. I have erected the first few shipyards in a frame that will form the core of a truly gigantic Mega Shipyard in the capital system, the site for a Science Nexus in Rubricator, and am busy upgrading both of those while building the site for a Strategic Coordination Center with state of the art Alarian technology in Kähkö, to support the restored ancient SCC in Neddum.

2290: Megastructures

The reason I am building a Science Nexus despite its science output even when fully developed being only a small fraction of the empire's existing output is that its contribution to research speed always makes it worthwhile.

I love using the Priesthood Tech build when aiding spiritualist populations united Under One Rule, but it must be admitted that it is agonizingly slow at entering the megastructure phase, being at least two decades behind other strong builds. Still, however long the Megastructure Age took to arrive, now that it is here I will take full advantage of it.

Year 2290, State of the Empire

Being the God-Empress of United After All, Joyful After All, and Custodian of the Galactic Community calls for a more impressive title in addition to the old ones of Lady, Luminary, and First Ascendant, so the ruler is now properly known as Divine Undaunted, or in full Her Imperial Majesty the Divine Undaunted After All, Lady and Luminary of the Alarians, the First Ascendant,

In recognition of the unlikelihood of Unstoppable After All inheriting, they changed the title of the Luminary's heir from Second Ascendant to First Descendant.

2290: Divine Undaunted and Empire

2290: With Galactic Wonders, all ascendancy perks have finally been picked

2290: Ringworld research, finally!

2290: Last Researched Technologies

2290: I probably should switch to Militarized Economy one of these days...

2290: A Council of Tech-Priests

The Research Ratio

Some pretty wild changes since last lecture. As I have been moving ever more people to the ecumenopolises to work as priests and in the process have shed some researcher jobs, physics is speeding ahead and engineering falling further behind.

Ratio_field_manipulation = 7583*(1+214%)/(1+165%) = 8985
Ratio_psionics = 5892*(1+194%)/(1+165%) = 6536
Ratio_voidcraft = 1938*(1+196%)/(1+165%) = 2164

Comparing to the 2280 ratios of 5681, 5273, and 2649, physics progress has increased by an amazing 58.2% and society by 24.0%, but engineering has actually declined by 18.3%. I am definitely going to be needing ring worlds if I want a significant number of armour and missile repeatables researched.

The 2290 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

Upon careful consideration I have decided to continue this AAR in its current form until all the objectives listed in the first lecture are achieved, and once that is done decide whether to end it or play on and demonstrate how to smite various boosted crisis once that is achieved.

Peter Ebbesen · May 29, 2024

Galactic Pacification for Dummies

Lecture the Tenth: 2290-2300

Welcome Class,

I am well aware that on a hot summer day like this it can be stifling to be stuck indoors following the lectures of a boring old professor, long past his prime, which is why I have retracted the roof and opened the doors so you can enjoy the sunlight and, perhaps, a gentle breeze.

On an unrelated note, given the importance of this lecture regarding splitting off vassals and ascending, the ejector seats have been primed. Anybody caught sleeping will be launched into orbit.

Gateways, Trade, and Protection

Before engaging in the major topic of this lecture, let me make some notes about how I use the Gateway network once I start expanding it.

Anywhere that has shipyard must have a gateway for easy gathering of ships
The capital – which also serves as the center for the trade network – must either have a gateway or must be connected through a string of adjacent systems with starbases to a system that has a starbase and a gateway; This ensures that all trade gathered by any starbase with a gateway will reach the trade capital without any risk of piracy
If it is deemed necessary to extend the reach of any starbase for the purpose of collecting a significant amount of trade, upgrade ONE starbase with a gateway to have full trade hub modules and a hyperlane registrar for +7 collection range. Combined with the range of 2 from the starbase itself, this will then extend your collection range to 9 from that one starbase and range 8 from any other starbase
Alternatively, if only minor amounts of trade are generated by starbases without a gateway, you might want to make one starbase with a gateway into a bastion with 6 hangar bay modules and let local collection continue. A Citadel thus equipped projects 92 trade protection to anywhere within range 5 of any Gateway
As you continue expanding the Gateway network and concentrating populations on superworlds that probably have a starbase and Gateway of their own you may find that you don't need either a trade or hangar starbase anymore

For the Alarians I have made a virtue out of necessity and turned the starbase in Aspharelle, the old capital of the Chosen on the edge of the Galaxy and home to two Gaia worlds currently under transformation to ecumenopolises into a hangar bastion. If I need to use a bastion at all, the edge of the galaxy is a good a place as any and better than most, due to the theoretical possibility of incursions from beyond leading to a crisis.

I still keep up the old trade-route corvette patrol, partially because of the XP granted from patrolling, but mostly because I forgot to end it and disband the corvettes.

2290: Planning Splitting off Vassals

This is the current situation:

471 districts
259 systems
80 colonies
1533 POPs
1200 empire size
8 vassals
-2.1 monthly loyaly from Dar-Hesh Administration currently being integrated
-0.9 monthly loyalty from the newly subjugated United Huvidu-Zaan Committee with low trust
+2.8 monthly loyalty or better from the older vassals

Given the number of vassals it would be ill advised to create many new areas, but a natural split suggests itself, since I have three large regions planned for splitting off:

The old Felnoll and Rak-Rak areas in the galactic south. Since the Rak-Rak used to be Librarians until fairly recently, I'll release this area as a Scholarium again with a significant population to take advantage of existing research facilities and provide a strong enough basic and advanced resource base that it can focus on research. With 15 planets and lots and lots of systems providing basic resources, around 200 POPs should do it, mostly Rak-Rak and Fellnoll, of course
The old Moij-Huxxgan area in the galactic central-south-west, with that lovely size 30 basic resource producing planet, Mistake After All, will become a Prospectorium. At 17 this region has even more planets than the Rak-Rak/Fellnoll region, but it has a lot fewer systems. 100 POPs are needed on Mistake After All, and I have ensured few research labs and plenty of basic resource jobs across the region, so something in the range of 200-250 POPs. That will require adding a few POPs, but most are already in position: Alarians who were born there after I colonized the worlds
The old Velutarian remnant area in the galactic east have few planets and doesn't amount to much; Most of the population has already been moved to the core worlds for reeducation ; I considered making it part of the Felnoll/Rak-Rak region to save a vassal slot, but that would be detrimental to map aesthetics. So instead I am making it a Bulwark populated mainly by Alarians guarding the eastern Flank, and in a decade or so providing me with the occasional high-level psychic Alarian bulwark commander. The Bulwark Retaliator and Sentinel traits are worth 3 repeatables each, and the Watcher is worth little, but not nothing, as I focus on battleships. Furthermore they only work in friendly systems. So it is not a big edge – but it is an edge. The other bonuses the Bulwark provides are worth little to the Alarain super-stable empire, but again, not nothing.

I know what you are thinking. With one Bulwark amongst 10+ vassals, the external commander recruitment pool will usually contain non-Bulwark commander candidates, and you are right. But you can trade for their own Bulwark-traited commanders, and they will then replace them from their own internal pool. This is a lot more expensive, of course, but it is one way to get an edge. Strictly speaking you just need a 1-system 1-planet Bulwark to provide this, and the simulation will happily support this if you choose to do so, but in real life splitting off non-viable vassals like that tends to cause problems.

Making them into a vassal each will take me to 11 vassals (-9 Divided Patronage penalty), one of which will finish integration in about 48 months, but I intend to split off Dar-Hesh as a new vassal after assimilation and re-education, so that does not change the long-term tally.

The minor Czymian Partnership is up for integration next, and it should easily be possible to maintain loyalty for all except Darh-Hesh (doesn't matter) and United Huvidu-Zaan (can tolerate their disloyalty and give them better terms to start building loyalty later).

I would also love to subjugate the remaining empires within the next decade, the Zelvan Polity, and the Zakly Star Bloc with its two vassals, the Kilik Cooperative and the Velutarian Associated Holdings. The latter two should then be integrated and joined to a greater whole, but one way or the other that is 4 extra vassals during the peak, and two after – or perhaps further consolidation.

For now, however, so long as I give the new vassals good enough terms that they start out with positive loyalty so I can buy a Pledge of Loyalty as well as loyalty to top them up, this should work out well enough.

2290.01.02: Great Recruit

Before starting the split, I welcome Nome up Khnu from the Beldroan Free Confederacy. He lacks the critical unification skills to serve on an ecclesiastical arcology, but he'll do well enough leading researchers on a research ring world, and I'll have some of those soon enough.

2290: Nome up Khnu “the Adequate”

2290: The Split

This is it!

2290: The Rak-Rak Librarians

2290: The Moij-Huxxgan Miners

2290: The Guardians of the Luminary

That worked well enough, but looking at the resulting loyalty numbers I decide to swap Vas the Gilded back on the council to increase maximum loyalty for the next few years.

2290: Calling Vas the Gilded

2290: Vassal Expansion Plans

Now to the fun part of gifting them all the systems in their areas except a few I reserve for myself:

Any system with a pre-FTL civilization
Any system with exceptionally high zro or dark matter deposits
Neddum, home of the Strategic Coordination Center
Omnicodex, home of the Omnicodex relic the Fellnoll gave me upon integration and home of a size 25 relic world currently being restored as an ecumenopolis

This takes place as a sequence of trade deals handing over bordering systems, carefully making sure not to hand over any of the exceptions above and, if the vassal controls a wormhole to another part of my domain or a gateway, making damn sure I don't accidentally hand over the wormhole connection or one of the other gateway connections (unless it happens to lie within the the region that is destined to be theirs, in which case it can significantly speed up handing over all required systems).

This I do, and nine month later the split is accomplished. As can be seen the unity and science outputs have taken significant hits, but the empire size reduction definitely makes it worthwhile.

2290: Swiss Chess Approach

2290: Planetary Ascension

The economy has taken a hit from the split, but that is about to change

268 < 471 districts
104 < 259 systems
43 < 80 colonies
1060 < 1533 POPs
708 < 1200 empire size

Now, in an ideal wide-empire highly ascensionist approach, each planet that is not a fully ascended highly populated worlds should have exactly one POP working a job that is difficult to concentrate on a few worlds, such as a gas, mote, or crystal gatherer, but I am not going that far – or rather, I am not going that far yet.

In the capital sector I will retain 2 archivists on each planet, and if it has a PSI corps, 2 telepaths as well. They are a major source of engineering science until I get ring worlds up and running.

More generally, I will leave more people working the strategic resource jobs on the planets for now until I start concentrating such jobs on ascended planets with most building slots used for strategic resource production – or switch to buying large amounts of strategic resources with monthly buy orders.

That still leaves at least some 300 POPs to move to the ecumenopolises, which will also allow me to destroy a large number of city districts (and others) currently in use, further reducing empire size.

So let's get cracking. I have two planets ascended to 5 already, Home After all and the Rubricator, and of the two the Rubricator can employ the largest population due to a much larger size and, if I switch its designation to Ecclesiastical, another 25% on top of that for extra priest jobs. So the simple solution is to start by migrating everybody I intend to end up on an ascended world that isn't on a world I plan to ascend already to Rubricator.

2290: Rubricator, pre-migration: 708 ES: 5>6: 29.7k unity

2290: Rubricator, post-migration: 622 ES: 5>6: 26.1k unity

The 516 POPs on Rubricator are ready to ascend and at a 12.1% discount due to the existing 5 ascensions having reduced the POP empire size of the 315 POPs moved to Rubricator. So that is what I do, and when I have done that, I advance the time by one day such that the cost of ascending from 6 to 7 is based on the new empire size adjusted for 6 planetary ascensions. (This is a limitation of the simulation. In real life, just ascend!)

2290: Rubricator, tier 6: 597 ES: 6>7: 27.2k unity

So I continue doing that, and the 17th of the month Rubricator is fully ascended, and looking at the crime I decide I might as well launch and anti-crime campaign while I remember it.

This is always a good idea in large empires, my students. If high crime ever allows you to launch an anti-crime campaign, do so. The increased upkeep of enforcers is negligible and it reduces the amount of micromanagement needed to deal with crime from then on.

2290: Rubricator, tier 10: 497 ES: Anti-Crime Campaign

Time to ascend the rest of my ecumenopolises as well as those planets currently under conversion to ecumenopolises. Let me start with Midnight Wine, which will eventually become the greatest unity-producer in the empire.

2290: Midnight Wine, tier 0: 497 ES: 0>1: 29.8k unity

Since Midnight Wine has a significant pre-existing population of 104 POPs, if I wanted to minimize the unity cost I should do this one stop at a time, advancing one day to adjust cost, just like on Rubricator. But frankly, I can't be arsed. I probably saved 15-20k unity on the 5 Rubricator ascensions by doing so, but Midnight Wine only has 1/5th of the population.

Next I ascend Efoll Forest.

2290: Efoll Forest, tier 10: 445 ES

Which is when I notice that the Ring World research project, that at the start of the year had an expected 2292.02 or 2292.03 end date, has just been completed, the greatly reduced empire size having cut off 14 or 15 months of the 25 month estimate.

Long story short, I continue ascending the ecumenopolises, moving POPs from Rubricator once they reach tier 10, and this is the result of this wave of planetary ascension.

2290: Ascended Alarians: 293 ES

I have fully ascended the ecumenopolises: Home After All, Rubricator, Midnight Wine, Efoll Forest, Fen Habbanis Prime, Scion and the planets under conversion to ecumenopolises: AR24_Sidor_Prime, AR25_New_Light, AR25_Fellnoll's Loss. A total of 90 planetary ascensions, the next one would at this time cost 96.7k unity, so a bit more than 1 million unity for the 10th world to fully ascend if it was done at this empire size.

I certainly won't need further ascensions anytime soon to increase space for POPs on fully ascended worlds, as I have comfortable room for somewhere between an additional 1000 and 1500 POPs on my existing fully ascended worlds, depending on which buildings I choose to build on them and assuming I use the Ecclesiastical designation. The next wave will commence once I have ring worlds for engineering research, and can get afford to get rid of all the unascended POPs working archivist jobs.

2290: Science and Unity Implications

230 < 268 < 471 districts
104 < 104 < 259 systems
43 < 43 < 80 colonies
1060 < 1060 < 1533 POPs
293 < 708 < 1200 empire size

The planetary ascensions have significantly increased the strength of the economy. Not only do I have a greatly reduced tech penalty through lower empire size, I now have much higher science and unity output. But how much is from splitting off vassals and how much is from ascension? Let me take a closer look at the outputs and the research ratios, as always these days calculated without research agreements for normalization purposes.

Start of year:

Unity output: 18834
Science output: 7583/5892/1938
Ratio_field_manipulation = 7583*(1+214%)/(1+165%) = 8985
Ratio_psionics = 5892*(1+194%)/(1+165%) = 6536
Ratio_voidcraft = 1938*(1+196%)/(1+165%) = 2164

The Split:

Unity output: 15393
Science output: 6489/4657/1532
Ratio_field_manipulation = 6489*(1+214%)/(1+103%) = 10037
Ratio_archaeostudies = 4657*(1+194%)/(1+103%) = 6744 // really 294% due to the building, but I have normalized for comparison
Ratio_voidcraft = 1532*(1+196%)/(1+103%) = 2234

Post-Ascension:

Unity output: 20538
Science output: 8124/5758/1302
Ratio_field_manipulation = 8124*(1+214%)/(1+32%) = 19325
Ratio_biology = 5758*(1+194%)/(1+32%) = 12825
Ratio_voidcraft = 1302*(1+196%)/(1+32%) = 2920

As the numbers make clear, while the split by itself helped increase the research ratio by a bit due to the reduced empire size and vassal contributions making up for the loss of priests and researchers to the tune of 3-12% increased research ratio, that is as nothing compared to the increase through ascension that the lower empire size made possible at an affordable cost.

Unity output is up by 12% despite the large number of shed priest and politician jobs in the split, so that's nice too, and consumer goods consumption took a significant hit.

But perhaps the thing that most clearly shows just how powerful planetary ascension is, that here and now, 2291, it takes only 8 months to research Shield repeatable 5.

WHOOOOOSH! AAAARRRRRrrrrrg...

Somebody must have been sleeping. Have a nice trip.

2291.04.01

The Science Nexus Hub finished construction, and rather than continuing to upgrade the hub, I begin constructing the frame for a Ring World in Impal Tov. Construction of the Mega Shipyard and the Alarian Strategic Coordination Center continues apace.

2291: Put a ring on it!

2292.01.01: Space Storm Thaloth

Due to my reliance on shields, I must carefully map which systems are affected by Thaloth when I am at war, but it can be ignored otherwise.

2292: Unprecedented, you say?

2292-2294: Extradimensional Shenanigans

Remeber that strange crystal sphere that arrived in the capital system, which the Alarians have been busy stuying ever since?

2292: A Rift Creation Device? Who'd have thunk it

Fortunately I have The Neon Bellevue, astral rift explorer extraordinaire with skill 15 and +35% astral rift exploration speed, so it takes a mere 13 months to fully explore the rift.

2293: A Wormhole to Somewhere Else? How nice

This seems potentially ominous, so I dispatch two full battleship fleets to investigate, one under the command of the First Descendant, Unstoppable After All

2293: An Ambush?

Fortunately it turns out to be safe enough. The wormhole leads to the galactic centre, where a weak fleet of 131k extradimensional invaders are attacking some other extradimensional invaders in some kind of space station. Upon detecting the arrival of my fleets they break out the attack to attack me.. Whichever of the two forces made contact with the empire using the sphere is irrelevant: The ones attacking me must be destroyed and then I will deal with the others.

2293: No sooner said, than done

The space station defenders ask us to defend them while they seek to close the gigantic crystal rift. I have no reason to trust them or defend them, but if they are really closing that rift through which extradimensional invaders arrived and attacked me I am certainly willing to let them give it a go. I would be stationing fleets in the systems to stop another incursion regardless due to the wormhole leading directly to my capital, so if they consider this to be protecting them, I am not going to disabuse them of the notion. Also, I want to know more about them and their technology. And the Alarians are bleeding-heart do-gooders, so simulated though they may be, I am sure they are all in favour.

2293: They Invade on Schedule?

2294: Second incurson defeated in a few days

I am shooting fish in a barrel, here. Though this incursion was stronger than the one I met upon the first arrival, it stood no chance at all. They rely solely on shields for their defense and against my battleships that is of no use at all. So I will skip the repeats of this and only return to the extradimensional loonies situation once it turns interesting.

2294: Dar-Hesh Intregrated, Next!

Empire Size jumped again with the integration of the Dar-Hesh Administration, and it is time to send off the POPs for assimilation and re-education on fully ascended worlds. Next up is the Czyrnian Partnership, the tiny empire created by the rogue scientist on Briscoll III.

2294: Integrate This!

2295.09.23: New Deal for Huvidu-Zaan

The empire I vassalized at the end of last lecture, the United Huvidu-Zaan Committee, hate me. Xenophobic to a fault, they accepted only grudgingly and started out with a slight dislike, that soon grew major after I created another three vassals and had to divide my attention. They weren't anywhere as near in my regard as they thought. Well, it is time to remedy that by showering them with subsidies until they are loyal, then agreeing on a Pledge of Loyalty, and, once they are fully committed, scale back on the subsidies to something more reasonable.

2295: Take my Advanced Resources!

2295-2298: They've Fallen and They Can't Get Up

After the integration of the Dar-Hesh administration I expanded into Tiyun Ort and sent an archaeological expedition to investigate the Tiyanki graveyard. This might annoy the Lozavatan Vestige, a fanatically xenophobic remnant of a once mighty empire with an annoying habit of looking down on lesser beings, i.e. everybody, and killing them. So I sent a few fleets to protect the archaeologists as a preventive measure.

2295: Protect the archaeologists!

2295: They were even angrier than usual

2295: Deluded Remnants of a Galactic Empire

Undaunted After All refused to back down, and sorrowfully accepted the conclusion that these ancient equal-opportunity-haters would never see reason, never accept the Alarians as equals, and, as a consequence, would never bow down gracefully to the only throne the mattered: HERS.

This, then, called for a different solution than the diplomatic, and further fleets were directed to begin the transit to Tiyun Ort, while for the first time since the Unification Wars armies began assembling, PSI troopers and Warplings.

By the end of 2296 sufficient naval force had been assembled to launch an invasion, though the ground component available in theatre was still meagre, but many more armies were on their way. It was time to civilize the fallen.

2296: Final Claims

2296: Fallen Response

The first target was the border fortress of Sapir, which was untouched by the Thaloth storm.

2296: Forces in Theatre

Sapir fell swiftly, while the enemy fleet disappeared from scanners – presumably it had returned to the capital in Zipir, currently in the fierce embrace of Thaloth. So I sent my fleet through Simtinasca to Siabaulia, while the newly summoned Dimensional Fleet of mercenaries reached Sapir.

A direct attack on the heavily fortified Zipir system while the Fallen fleet defended it being an incredibly bad idea as everybody would be fighting effectively naked, which would be bad enough against the Fallen fleet alone, but fighting the fleet backed by the strong fortifications with strong hulls and powerful long range hull destroying energy weapons seemed likely to lead to a pyrrhic victory, at best.

So I did something else. Thaloth was both a challenge and an opportunity, and with the Simtinasca system being affected by the storm, an opportunity for trapping the enemy presented itself.

2296: Setting a Trap

Seeing a chance to engage and defeat their enemy in detail, or perhaps overconfident and disdainful of traps based on past success, the Fallen reacted as expected.

2296: The Fallen Response

2296: Trap Sprung!

Caught in the crossfire, they stood no chance, though they inflicted a beating of their own on the Dimensional mercenaries. But that's okay. Mercenary meatshields is an old, old, tradition. A hazard of their profession. While only 10 escorts were destroyed in the battle and no battlecruisers, it is to be hoped that more ships were lost in the emergency FTL escape since many were heavily damaged.

Now it was time to strike the decisive blow of the war by seizing the Zipir system before the Fallen fleet return. Even without fleet support the fixed defenses were formidable, and there was no getting around the Thaloth storm nullifying shields, but how bad could it get?

Only one way to find out. The fleets sent out for Zipir, the Dimensional Fleet leading the advance to be the first into the grinder.

2297: Pretty Bad, Could Have Been Worse

When the Fallen Fleet reappeared, it became clear that it had suffered very heavy losses of battlecruisers during the emergency FTL jump. They reappeared with 25 escorts and 6 battlecruisers in Sapir, ten fewer battlecruisers than were thought to have survived the battle of Simtinasca.

Setting course for Sapir with every ship in theatre, I fell upon their damaged fleet, and the few Fallen survivors of this battle that attempted emergency FTL were never seen again, presumed destroyed.

2298: Their Final Battle

All that was left was to invade the remaining planets, and in particular the two planets in the capital system were very heavily defended, but the armies were finally arriving in significant numbers, so it was only a question of time before I could launch an attack on them.

2298.01.20: Balance in the Middle

Despite some vassals grumbling that the Divine Undaunted had gone too far this time, the empire's population were enthused when the Galactic Community passed a resolution that everybody, no matter where they lived, no matter who they were, even aliens, had inalienable rights, and that one of those rights was the right to social welfare.

2298: United After All Leads the Way!

2298.06.05: The Formless

Having defeated the final incursion of the extradimensional aliens and the crystal rift having been closed, it was time for answers.

The department of literature have provided the department of computer science with names for the extradimensionals that fall somewhat short of poetry. Since they didn't have body or fixed form, the defenders were called Formless, and since they were (allegedly, as told by themselves) the originals and the invaders degraded scions of theirs who had kicked their arse up and down the dimensions until only these few Formless remained, the invaders were known as the Aberrant.

2298: Formless Negotiations

Thanks for the exposition, and it is time to make a decision. Do I:

Accept them as equals and enlist the help of Zadigal, a legendary paragon
Threaten them with war if they don't hand over their most valuable relic, their throne
Tell them that in THIS dimension, THIS galaxy, there is only one throne that matters, that of the Divine Undaunted, and order them to bend knee like everybody else.

You ask a silly question, you get a silly answer.

2298: One of us, one of us!

The Luminarium subject type is quite unique, as befits the extradimensional busibodies. They are locked into prohibited integration, limited diplomacy, and prohibited expansion, so they will always and at all times have only their single system in the centre of the galaxy.

They are guaranteed to join all overlord conflicts and must be supported in all subject conflicts, which is business as usual in Joyful Union after All, and I am forbidden holdings and must provide unified sensors.

Taxes or subsidies can be set as desired, but given that they start with a tiny population of 10 and extremely slow breeders (-35%) neither taxes nor subsidies will ever amount to anything.

And their homeworld is a size 40 gaia planet, and I get their throne anyway since, as their overlord, it is only right and proper that Undaunted is seated on their overpowered relic.

Given this, the inquisitive student might ask whether it wouldn't be better simple to demand their throne, crush them in war to get it, and then claim their planet for your own.

It might have, were it not for one small thing. The final benefit of having a Luminarium subject.

2298: A 50% Discount on Physics?

This bonus is additive with the tech penalty, a straight forward reduction to physics tech costs. If the empire size penalty is, say, +140% so you would normally pay 240% of the base cost, then it will become +90% and you pay 190% of the base cost. If the penalty it is less than 50%, say +32% so you would pay 132%, you end up paying 82% of the base cost instead. Given the strong focus on physics in this build, I predict good times are ahead.

2298: Fear and Loathing in Joyful Union After All

The people sing hymns of praise to the Divine Undaunted for defending the galaxy from an extradimensional incursion, but the praise is tempered, perhaps for the first time, by fear.

The Formless have provided such evidence of their vast dimensional empire before the fall into warlordism as is possible, and it is clear that the incursion could have been much, much, larger. That what we defeated were merely small battle groups from one of the factions in their civil war, detached from the fronts of their ongoing power struggle to snuff out the Formless once and for all.

They have also broached the topic of their degraded scions final solution to the issue of sentient embodied species, or as they prefer thinking of them, prey.

And surely they must have sent back reports on our fleets, which means they now know that there is a population ripe for the harvesting.

It is time to build a stronger navy to counter the hypothetical threats of tomorrow.

2298.07.12: Proposing a Galactic Defense Force

2298: Ring World Frame in Impal Tov

Good news! Not only has the construction of the Ring World Frame completed on time and on budget, the space storm Thaloth has spent its fury and dissipates.

2296: Commence construction of the first section

2296: Commence construction of the second section

2299.07.26: Artifact Activations

Time to activate two artifacts again. Let me start out with my new toy, the:

2299: Eternal Throne

That's enough astral thread income that I can easily afford to run the Astral Binding edict granting another +10% output from all jobs to stack with the many, many, other bonuses, with enough left over to run the Astral Shielding edict when needed while also building up a surplus allowing me to run most Astral Actions when needed.

The passive effect granting all my leaders immortality is irrelevant at at this point. My oldest leader is 142 years old, with a life expectancy of 290 before the immortality rendered it moot, so without the throne I would only need to start researching repeatable lifespan techs by the 2440s.

2299: Continuum

The most valuable part of the Continuum's active output is the strategic resources since I trade those with Scholariums and Protectorates for Pledges of Loyalty and anything else I need from them, as well as occasionally selling excess to the few empires not yet subjugated as well as the Fallen Xenophile empire and the Ancient Caretakers.

2299: Missing Scientist on Briscoll IV

After the incident with the missing scientist on Briscoll III, that led to the farce with the Czyrmian Protectorate, now finally ended by their integration, ANOTHER scientist has gone missing from the observation post in the system, presumed missing while visiting pre-FTL natives on Briscoll IV?

2299: Missing Scientist? What could possibly go wrong

There could be any number of reasons, but in this simulation only one occurs. Briscoll IV is going down the same road as Briscoll III, led by an identical twin.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

I need stress relief. Any student that doesn't want to be immediately ejected, raise an appendage of your choice.

3.2.1... MASS EJECTION!

WHOOOOOOSH!

As I suspected. Less than half of you buggers were paying attention.

Year 2300, the Fruits of Diplomacy

The boost from ascension is really showing itself. The significantly increased empire size bloat compared to the start of the decade after ascension is caused by the redevelopment efforts in the old Dar-Hesh region, that has a considerable amount of POPs still living on unascended planets.

2300: The vassal economy has reached new heights

2300: Four empires left to subjugate

2300: Around 2 million fleet power, and 69 months to level 5

As usual, no problems.

Year 2300, Planetary Development

I now have 9 ecumenopolises, Home After All(21), Rubricator(25), Efoll Forest(22), Midnight Wine(30), Fen Habbanis Prime(30), Scion(30), Improved Light(25), Atomic Banana(24), and Fellnoll's Loss(25), with another three planets currently undergoing conversion, AR23_Nodro Prime(23), AR22_Nodro Secundus(22), and AR21_Romaccus Prime(21), old ratling tomb worlds in the capital sector. I am also busy building industry districts on Gift of the Habinte(25), the Sol X planet gift, for later conversion.

It is time to look at some POP efficiency, starting out with Home After All. It currently has the default Empire Capital designation providing a base 10% output increase to all jobs, that with 10 ascensions and going fully ascensionist becomes a 52.5% output increase to all jobs. It has an orbital ring boosting unity and consumer goods, and districts for consumer goods, alloys, and unity.

2300: Home After All

The capital provides about 90% of all consumer goods needs in the empire with a mere 8 districts of artisans, which is why I am not running it as a factory designation – I simply don't need more consumer goods, so better use a designation affecting all POPs than a bit less than a third.

If you look at the buildings, you can see the general setup I have been aiming for across the ascended ecumenopolises, leaving the old buildings mostly in place together with a PSI Corps until most or all districts are built, and then following a simple plan:

PSI Corps (on pure eccelesiastical ecumenopolises that only need unity support from the orbital ring, the PSI Corps gets moved to the ring when it reaches tier 3)
Ancient Refinery
Astral Nexus
Hypercomm Forum
Alloy and/or Consumer Goods building if relevant
Ministry of Production if relevant
Fortresses or Strategic Resource Refineries in the remaining slots

With the exception that the capital also houses the Grand Embassy Complex. Currently all politician and culture worker jobs are enabled on the ecumenopolises, since it made sense to divert from my “no inefficient jobs” policy earlier this decade when trying to cram in as many as possible on ascended worlds, but frankly it is an inefficiency now. I have jobs to spare on my fully ascended ecumenopolises, so there really is no excuse for still having either politicians or culture worker jobs enable. Disabling these jobs is a project for the next decade on this and all other fully ascended planets.

The CG/alloy/unity district split is an efficiency that made sense while I were building up the earliest ecumenopolises, but now that I have plenty of them the three-split makes little sense since the orbital ring can only enhance two, currently the consumer goods and unity production. Looking at per POP output efficiency we get.

2300: Priest output: 11.21 physics, 9.25 social, 32.45 unity, 2 amenities, 12 edict funds

2300: Artisan output: 40.45 consumer goods

2300: Metallurgist output: 26.37 alloys

I really should revamp it to full CG/alloy districts with minimal ecclesiastical districts needed to maintain full stability and change the orbital ring to CG/alloys too. Next, take a look at Rubricator.

2300: Rubricator

Districts are split alloy/unity and the designation is ecclesiastical, which allows even more priests jobs on the planet.

As strange as it may seem, running alloy ecumenpolises as eccelesiastical rather than a foundry designation simply to squeeze in more priests on fully ascended planets often makes excellent sense due to the cost of ascending planets making 25% extra jobs on a planet highly valuable, at least so long as the mineral needs of industrial jobs are still being met. Same goes for factory ecumenopolises.

HOWEVER, I am now in a situation where I have plenty of available priest jobs on other ecumenopolises, so it might make sense to switch Rubricator to a forge arcology saving on input minerals and perhaps change some of the ecclesiastical arcologies on it to foundries, while moving the now unemployed priests to another ascended ecumenopolis. The Ministry of Culture needs to be moved to my best unity world, Midnight Wine, and perhaps I will move the Sanctum of the Composer there as well, as it will affect more POPs once Midnight Wine is completely full, and the extra crime-fighting ability could come in handy on the larger planet too.

2300: Midnight Wine

Just another 5 ecclesiastical arcologies to go and it'll be time for building fortresses and strategic resource production buildings.

Year 2300, Megastructures

2300: Ring World Engineers

Year 2300, War against Lozavatan Vestige

Defeated in space their planets are open to invasion, but they fight hard. Very hard. I took their colony world of Sapir first, then proceeded to their colony world in Tierg, before proceeding to the capital system where I launched a major assault on the second and lesser defended world, the Boundary. “Lesser” being very much a relative term. The Boundary's defenses were formidable.

2300: The Boundary Will Fall

Meanwhile, a smaller force of assault troopers have invaded the colony world of Achernar, and that world is but days from falling. Their next target is the last remaining colony world in the adjacent Raskamir system, which is but lightly defended.

2300: Achernar Lost

Recently enough warplings arrived to provide a credible threat to the Lozavatan capital which has been under sustained heavy, but selective, bombardment for years, and I have launched an invasion. They should be enough considering the continuing bombardment, but, if not, the veterans of the Boundary campaign can join them once it concludes.

2300: Things Fall Apart, the Core Cannot Hold

I predict the end of the Lozavatan Vestige within the year followed by a very intensive reeducation and assimilation program as they struggle to understand their ending or, to put it in brighter terms, their new beginning as productive members of galactic civilization. They will

Year 2300, State of the Empire

2300: Divine Undaunted and Empire

2300: Traditions and Ascendancy Perks are Unchanged

2300: Technological progress is rapid

2300: Last Researched Technologies

Due to the sorting of repeatable techs in the list being neatly grouped by type rather than research order, I will instead be listing only the state of repeatable techs from the next lecture onwards.

2300 Edicts are Active

Enhanced Surveillance and Extended Shifts are disabled due to the Alarian empire being a pleasant place to live, where such authoritarian exploitation of workers is but a distant memory.

Mining Subsidies are on due to boosting strategic resource mining, Capacity Subsidies are on due to occasionally having electricians, while rebuilding integrated alien empires. Farming Subsidies should be on for the same reason, but aren't, which I'll fix. Crystalline Sensors are off due to not needing extra sensor range, and finally Nanite Actuators are off because I prefer only enabling them while at lower empire size, at least until I get a nanite income.

Which reminds me that I should pay the L-Cluster a visit one of these days. I have carefully NOT researched L-Cluster activation yet as I am unsure whether subjects I create will inherit that tech, and I want to open it with fleets prepositioned at L-Gates in case I rolled the Grey Tempest. I'll get around to it one of these days.

2300: Council is Strong and Stable

The Research Ratio

Ratio_field_manipulation = 10391*(1+230%)/(1+55%-50%) = 32657
Ratio_statecraft = 8217*(1+220%)/(1+55%) = 16964
Ratio_voidcraft = 2259*(1+212%)/(1+55%) = 4547

Compared to the 2290 ratios of 8985, 6536, and 2164, physics progress has increased by a truly awe-inspiring 263.4%, society by a whopping 159.5%, and even engineering is edging in on barely acceptable numbers after increasing by 110%.

The 2300 Save File

Can be downloaded from this Dropbox link for those who want to look at the situation or play around from this point.

---

Author's note

I feel a bit like an idiot constructing my first ring worlds before snatching those easily available from Wholesome Redemption or the Beldroan Free Confederary, both of which are Shattered Ring origins which, due to the idiocy of the AI, will never colonize their additional ring segments, or, for that matter, conquering the Ancient Caretakers and just using and repairing their several ring worlds. But I want my own in my capital sector, so there.

For optimal play I would have integrated a Shattered Ring vassal earlier and repaired their Ring for my own use.

With my fairly high physics research ratio, it is definitely time to start discussing endgame fleet composition, so that will be one major topic for the next chapter.

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