Brother Han's Traveling Salvation Show

[teukros]

I started a game last night (as the Alliance) using all of my changes (which include eliminating the Escort Carriers and Neb-Bs and changing the Mon Cal Cruiser's research to 1 and the X-Wing Starfighter's research to 2) but also Texas_Fett's suggestion for taking (Lieutenant?) Antille's Ship Design Research Capability and giving it to General Dodonna (designer of the A-Wing). Now Antilles is still an excellent character even without that ability (in this game his Leadership is ninety-eight), but Dodonna's Diplomacy Mission ability is far too valuable, early in the game, to use him on Ship Design Research IMO.

 

Eliminating Antille's Ship Design Research ability seems to have a big impact on the game. Fortunately I started with a few diplomatic characters (Karrde, Calrissian and Drayson) but unfortunately I did not start with either Tallon or Ackbar. So there is no Ship Design Research going on and I don't really know when it is going to begin either. So right now it is turn 130 and I have 125 Y-Wing Starfighter squadrons either constructed or ordered to be built.... (one good thing is that in my game the Y-Wing construction cost is 4 and maintenance is 3).

 

And now to (finally!) get to the main topic of my post!

 

The stage was set in the Fakir Sector:

 

Three of the systems were Allied - Mrisst, Obroa-Skai, and Ando (where Calrissian started and, appropriately enough, there was a Construction Yard).

 

The Imperial base in the sector, a mere toehold, was Carida (with 2 construction yards); Berchest was also controlled by the Empire and was under occupation by Imperial troops.

 

The neutral systems were Delaya (with a construction yard, a training facility, and a shipyard), Palanhi, Halowan (with a shipyard), Ralltiir, and Bimmisaari (with a construction yard and a training facility).

 

The Alliance's opportunities in the Fakir Sector seemed to be great! But, it was so far away from the Alliance base in the Jospro Sector!

 

But, Organa, Dodonna, Skywalker, Antilles, Solo and Chewbacca were all still on Yavin, supervising the final details of the Alliance evacuation of the Sumitra Sector.

 

So I had Calrissian make the short journey to Delaya, and then I ordered Chewbacca, Organa, Antilles, Skywalker and Dodonna to all crowd into the Millenium Falcon with Solo to make the much longer journey to Mrisst. Organa and Dodonna took turns complaining about Wookie smell, but everybody pretended that they were only kidding (even when Organa insisted otherwise). When they arrived, Organa, Skywalker and Dodonna all fanned out to Halowan, Ralltiir and Bimmisaari, and Solo, Chewbacca and Antilles went on a "diplomatic mission" to Palanhi (Calrissian had had success at Delaya and was now at Palanhi). The Empire had no diplomatic representatives in the Sector and so the results were predictable.

 

I built Guerillas at Delaya (I also ordered Infiltrators to be built), sent them on to Palanhi, and ordered them and Antilles (with Chewbacca as a decoy) to Berchest to incite an uprising. They failed, but not for lack of trying: oddly, three different Imperial fleets consisting of a Dreadnaught, a Carrack Cruiser, and two Star Destroyers visited the Berchest system and then left again, never attacking anything in the Sector. I was unaware of the first of these fleets, consisting of the single Dreadnaught, but luckily the Incite Uprising mission failed and Antilles and Chewbacca got out about two days before it arrived. One of the four Guerillas was eliminated so there may have been an Imperial general on Berchest, but he was never detected. I replaced my losses and then sent everyone back to Berchest to make a second attempt at inciting an uprising, noticed the approaching Star Destroyers, and evacuated everybody one day before they arrived in the system. Nuts. So Chewbacca is attempting to rejoin Solo and Co., and Antilles is sitting tight at Delaya looking forward to Andrimetrum's arrival (her dossier included a holovid of her being interviewed by Alliance officers so he is _really_ looking forward to her arrival, in a purely professional capacity of course).

 

Meanwhile, Solo, Organa, Skywalker, and Dodonna, thankful for the fusty and oily but now Wookie-free air in the Falcon, joined up with Calrissian and everybody headed over to the Corellian Sector, where there _were_ five neutral worlds. Skywalker restrained himself from whining long enough to convince the Selonians to join the Alliance so now there are only four, but every one of them has an active diplomatic mission as I speak.

 

Next stop: Sessawenna sector!

[Texas_Fett]

Nice narrative, teukros. I about spewed coffee on my monitor when I read about the "Wookie Smell".

 

I REALLY like having Antilles around early in the game. Although I tend to use him as a Commander for my insignificant sector fleets, his esp/sab is just too good to pass up. And working with Chewy...it's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

 

I've tended to use Dodonna as a diplomat in the Sumitra sector at first, then I rush him to the nearest shipyard.

 

Glad you're enjoying the results!

[teukros]

Antilles and Andrimetrum did eventually start a successful uprising on Berchest, and then they exceeded all expectations by convincing the Caridans to throw off the Imperial yoke and declare neutrality! Drayson dropped everything and headed over from the Sluis sector and he was able to negotiate Carida's entry into the Alliance. As a result of this the entire Fakir sector was Allied!

 

But then I seemed to settle into my usual pattern. Trying to balance building industry, refineries, mines, troops and (most important of all) Planetary Shield Generators on all Alliance systems, watching the Empire taking half of them (usually the ones with one Shield Generator and the second one already constructed and on the way ), and then gritting my teeth and digging in to develop the Rim and build 18 Mon Cal cruisers by turn 1500 or so.

 

I've got to be doing something wrong

[Texas_Fett]

But then I seemed to settle into my usual pattern. Trying to balance building industry, refineries, mines, troops and (most important of all) Planetary Shield Generators on all Alliance systems, watching the Empire taking half of them (usually the ones with one Shield Generator and the second one already constructed and on the way ), and then gritting my teeth and digging in to develop the Rim and build 18 Mon Cal cruisers by turn 1500 or so.

 

I've got to be doing something wrong

 

My suggestion: go on the offensive. Create a fleet with 2 escort carriers, several Corvettes/Gunships (to take care of small TIE garrisons rather than risking your fighters), a handful of Nebulon-B's (oh, wait! You deleted them from your game, right? Dang! Well then, sub in some Dreadnaughts) and a Mon Cal or two (since you are trying to build 18, hopefully you'll have a few to spare). Put an Admiral & Commander aboard (hopefully characters that double as esp/sab types) and load 'em up with spec forces. Then blockade a few Imperial systems. Sabotage a few facilities and when the Imp's come running, run away (which will work until Interdictors are introduced). It'll at least get their attention. They'll be too busy chasing you around the sector to invade anywhere, especially if you create a second fleet to harass another sector. It's the same "Hit & Fade" tactics used by the computer when you play as the Empire.

[R2-Opus2]

I use Han mostly to shuttle around diplomats in the outer rim. That's been the case in most of my games. One thing I have noticed though in bunching up diplomats as primaries in ONE mission, it seems to take longer to gain the system fully to your side as opposed to once it does turn, finishing it off with those diplomats on individual missions to the same world.

 

Sometimes though I've got a couple diplomats assigned to a fast ship, so that if their mission fails on a neutral system, they're still right above it and can start again...otherwise they'll be tied up in hyperspace.

 

I'm still playing with rebed some more, but in my current game, the opposition isn't taking that many risks in the rim yet.