A Galaxy Awakes: An Only Primitives AAR

[Ol' Johnny]

The many civilizations rise up and change, adapting to the situation around them or failing, but the Hahn-Mur state continues to grow.

I was going to make a joke about the bump, but wingren got here first.

 

[stnylan]

Wouldn't be surprised to see a Federation or two start to form soon.

 

[Mob_Cleaner]

YEAR 2275

2273, Tiffim System

Lokorik nervously turned to see the clouds crackle down the EM field, it's sparking illuminations providing the only light on the gang of youths who stole away into the park.

The mega-storms had become commonplace in the seaside town of Bigthik for several decades, the haunting swirls of wind looming ominously across the ocean, churning up the seas and spewing them for miles around. Once or twice these storms came within a few hundred metres of the town, when the winds would rip walls off of buildings and shred the bark off trees. The Electro-Magnetic Field had been put up in anticipation of the worsening climate forcing those monsoon like conditions up through the mountains, ravaging the wildlife as they went; it was many kilmoetres high wall of pulsating energy which utilised the same technology that had sent the Skanuri across the Tiffim system, fending off even the most powerful of gales. Days such as this when the storms were right up on the town were a sight to behold, as the rumbles of the tempest and the friction of the town caused electricity to spark down the field, popping in bright colours more beautiful than any firework display.

Lokorik had finally been allowed to come along with a group of teenagers from his school to hang out with them in the town's park. Usually when the winds were as extreme as they were tonight the park was closed, but the youths made it a habit to vault the low fencing and roam the empty and nocturnal park. Lokorik had never joined them to do this, opting instead to stay home to play in virtual reality, but there had been a female at school he had his eye on for a while. Firan. Her pelt was a deep and endearing purple, her laugh had always intoxicated him. He caught himself looking at her now, laughing with the other males who was with them. She was so beautiful. She-

"Lokorik, are you seeing this?" A friend said as he nudged him, pointing towards a coursing line of white working it's way down the EM Field. "They don't normally do that, you know? To see them run down the Wall like that?"

"Oh yeah, it is pretty nice." He mumbled, hoping to convey that he didn't really care.

His friend sighed, "I kept asking you if you wanted to hang out with us, Lokorik - the guys are alright if you get to know them-"

"As if!" Lokorik spat awkwardly, trying to act cool, "You see them acting up in school, right? I try to talk to them but it always seems like they hate everything - if it isn't the teachers it's some person on social media, or the 'aliens'".

"You know what the problem with aliens is..."

"I know what the problem with everyone else is!" Lokorik snapped, "You always hear about how destructive and evil they'll be, but we've not even met them! Maybe we should actually give them a chance before we start planning out how we're going to take them out!"

"Look, man, I really don't care," His friend spoke belatedly, "I just came here to see the storm and shoot some taffarplant, maybe it was a mistake inviting you after all..."

Lokorik turned to object but his friend had already moved away to join a group at the front of the pack. He quietly cursed himself for being so stupid as to start an argument, and spent the rest of the walk awkwardly listening to the music one of the guys were blasting out of their pod.

Eventually they had arrived to their location, the top of a hill overlooking the entire city. Behind them were miles of mountains, and in front were miles more of storms and seas. Waves of electricity whirred through the wall, creating great illuminations of electric red and blue. Lokorik was speechless; how could he have never seen something as beautiful as this?

"Honestly, I can never get sick of seeing this," one of the leading males said, "We can stay here for a while then. Jujrik, you've got the Taffar right?"

Another boy grinned, "Yeah man, trust me this shit is really good. I tried it out yesterday and was out for like five hours!"

The guys settled down and, amidst the thumping music and cracks of thunder, talked and laughed, exchanging jokes and needles among them. Lokorik sat by the edge of the group, sitting with his arms clasped around his legs and listening into their conversation. He wasn't used to talking too much, and couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't really belong in a group like this.

"Hey, Lok, you want some?" One of the kids asked, holding out a needle for Lokorik to take.

"Oh, no, I'm alright." He said, half-concentrating on what they had to say. He was looking at Firan, sitting at the edge of another group, poking her head in and grinning as some other guys laughed with her. A sharp pang hit Lokorik, and in a moment of courage picked himself up and strode towards her. He offered his palm to one of the guys, who nonchalantly shook it and, as far as Lokorik was concerned, he was in.

He was sitting behind one of the bigger guys, rocking on his haunches as he laughed along with what the guys were saying. He didn't really know many people in this group, but he suspected that many were here to try to chat up Firan. He hated how they laughed along with any of their jokes, cuddled themselves up close to her when they had the excuse, or looked at her for approval whenever she said a joke. Surely Firan wouldn't go out with someone so desperate - unless Lokorik didn't make a move of his own.

Lightning struck the wall, causing it to flash white as the entire town was temporarilty lit up. Many of the boys ran off in drunken, pretend fear, laughing has they jumped about in excite, and to Lokorik's joy Firan was left rolling in laughter by herself. This was his chance.

"Um, hey Firan." He said, waving to get her attention.

"Oh, hey there. It's Lok, is it?" She responded, wiping a tear from her eye.

He brought himself down to her, lying down with her as they watched the swirling wall. For a while he stayed there in silence, looking at the wall as he figured out what to say.

"You know, I've never actually come up here before" He said finally, "I can't believe I've missed out on this view."

"Right?" She giggled, wriggling next to him, "This is the best part of the week - the view, the guys, these things," she wagged a used needle in the air.

"You use those things?" He replied, slightly in shock. This hasn't been how he had envisioned her to be.

"Yeah, of course, everyone here uses them. They don't actually hurt you" She explained, "You want some?"

For a moment Lokorik hesitated, "Why not?" He giggled in responsed, holding his arm out for the excited Firan. She brought out a needle from her pocket and brought it to Lokorik's skin.

"You sure about this?" She asked, looking into Lokorik's eyes.

Lokorik winced. "Sure", he asserted, allowing Firan to pierce into him and press the needle down into his bloodstream, the excitement being the only thing distracting him from how his father would react later.

"This is exciting!" She squealed, snuggling up to Lokorik, "I always thought you were one of those kids who didn't really have a life, and know look at you! I'm almost proud of you!"

"So I guess I'm part of the gang now, right?" He said jokingly, bringing her to lie on his arm.

"I guess so." She responded, "Say, do you know Rill well?

"Rill? Yeah, I think he's in my maths class - what of him?" He asked, slightly concerned as to why he was being brought into this.

"Well - I don't know how to say this - but I was wondering if he said anything about me and him... his dad's a director in the Alien Subjugation Force you know!"

"You like him?" Lokorik half-snarled.

"Well, yeah... why do you care?" Firan asked, a hint of worry in her voice, "Does he not like you?"

"Did you not see him pawing over you earlier? Of course he likes you, I only thought you'd go for someone a little less desperate than him!" Lokorik spat.

"What is your problem?" Firan demanded, shifting away from him.

"Him and his xenophobic father, that's what! What do you see in him but his hatred for everything different?" Lokorik demanded.

"You're weird, man." Firan laughed, stepping slowly away. The other guys started to come back. Lokorik had ruined his chance. Drugged, drunk and confused, Lokorik staggered away into the park. Into the darkness.

---

The year is 2275, and with the coming of the 2.2 patch and the Megacorp expansion (which is the only DLC I've actually bought so far), our civilisations have an entirely different system to compete with. Today's instalment was especially focused on the new space-age civilisation to join us, the Skanuri Citizen Commonwealth, unique in the fact that they are the first Fanatical Purifier race to exist. And they've popped up right in the middle of the pocket of small, fractured nation-states right of the Hahn-Mur State

I'm quite pleased that we've got a new destructive addition to our already tumultuous galaxy, but with their severe disadvantage of being several decades behind their neighbours in terms of research will they be able to bridge the gap between them and carve themselves a galaxy in this divided section of the galaxy?

This next thing I'm about to show you has confused me to no end. Somehow the Vat'na-Ka Civilization, shown in the image below, are now the de facto overlords of the Endurga Civilization, a nation that was both older and more advanced than their southern ally. I'm sorry about this, but I really have no idea how this happened, but this new development will mean that the Vat'na-Ka wield unprecedented power over their portion of the galaxy. With the acquisition of the Endurga and their previous vassal state of the Ytrellan Pious Conclave, the fractured south may have more than just Fanatical Purifiers to worry about.

Finally I wanted to bring attention to a part of the galaxy that has never been talked about before; the west. Somehow the west has not been populated by a single space age civilisation, meaning that an entire arm of the galaxy has been left untouched and ripe for the picking. The powerful Vool Authority have already begun sending expeditionary fleets into this region, and in the north nations such as the Kingdom of Jurg-Sahuul have begun to slowly creep down south, but for any would-be expansionists claiming this branch is a race against time - this area is filled with steam-age and above civilisations, many on the cusp of space travel, and to compete with a whole new set of nations would be something our current cast of competitors would like prefer not to face.

That will bring an end to today's instalment. I'd like to take this chance to apologise for not posting in two weeks, there's not a real excuse on my part - I kinda got distracted with playing football manager But believe me when I say this trainwreck of a show will bundle on, pitting empires and species against each other while an entirely dynamic galaxy forms before our eyes. There's still a lot of territory up for the taking, but for several empires space is already slim and will soon have to decide what their stance with their neighbours will be.

With that said, thank you so much for reading and I'll see you next time in 2280!

The state of the galaxy in 2275

 

[Surt]

Wonder what is keeping the Vool from expanding more, too large an exploration fleet?

 

[stnylan]

So is the west to slowly become a Vool playround?`Time will tell I guess.

 

[wingren013]

Are you actually running the save in 2.2? How buggy is it?

 

[Mob_Cleaner]

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay to this week's instalment. There's been a bit of an issue with the save file. Like a fool I tried running the game in 2.2 because it seemed to be working alright, and now the save is getting really fucky. Like, empires are popping up all over the place, even within already established countries - there was even a rebellious Fallen Empire uprising on The Core! All sorts of things were going on, so I ended up reverting back to 2.1, and now the game crashes every time I try to play it.

I'm foolish, I know, so what I'm going to do is go back to 2270, play up to 2280 and fill you in on the changes to the game. I'll probably get the next part up tomorrow. Thanks a lot for understanding guys!

 

[LWE]

Strange, for me transfering the save form 2.1 to 2.2 worked fine. I guess that's what happens when you fill the whole galaxy with primitive nations like that...

 

[Mob_Cleaner]

YEAR 2280

2279, Frary System

I'm getting too old for this, Nushie-Noo Nip sighed as he heaved himself onto his throne. The council meeting today had lastest far too long - in his opinion, at least - and his evening was shaping up to be exhausting as well. Scrolls upon scrolls lay stacked beside him, and before him a large, intricately detailed map of the known galaxy lay dauntingly. Granted, not much of the galaxy was known to the Vhemm at the moment, so it only proved to exacerbate Nushie-Noo Nip's irritation that the grandeur of the map had to overcompensate their understanding to such a degree.

Nushie had been the Revered Elder of the Sacrosanct Vhemm Confederacy for over 80 years now, and had guided them throughout their early endeavours in space - and he liked to think that he had done a good job. The Vhemm currently stood unchallenged by all bar the frail and decrepit Orassian Shard in the southern constellations, and Nushie had been assured that whatever firepower they have had been amalgamated far away from them, targeting another poor species they now know were called the 'Jaazijan'. Their northern constellations were protected by an amicable species known as the 'Sakyt', and had agreed to become a protectorate under the Vhemm, stylising their new star-nation as the 'Galactic Sakyt Hegemony'.

Another gross overcompensation - the Sakyt were far too feeble for their 'galactic hegemony' to live up to it's namesake.

The Sakyt had proven useful in recent decades, however. Nushie-Noo Nip's warlike nature had garnered attraction in the 'Galactic Hegemony', and relations between the Vhemm and the Sakyt had been rock-solid. The Sakyt became a buffer state between the Vhemm and a northern threat in the newly discovered 'Kingdom of Jurg-Sahuul'. It had to be said, they were powerful, but if a war ever did break out between the two of them there was no doubt the Vhemm would overcome the Kingdom and wipe out their autocratic way of life.

Nushie-Noo Nip cackled to himself, then hacked out a cough - truly no-one in the galaxy now to stop their rise.

However, times were changing. Although elections in the Confederacy had become a mere formality, with the repressive police force and the popularity of Nushie-Noo's party keeping him in power for 80 years now, age was beginning to take it's toll. He was 122 now, and his citizens became increasingly aware that a new leader would have to take over soon. But with his own party breaking down into political plays and leadership challenges, and the opposition ramping up pressure for Nushie-Noo to name a successor, the future of the Sacrosanct Confederacy couldn't be more jeopardized.

With such political turmoil occurring in their own systems, there was trouble brewing in the northern constellations. The Sakyt had drifted away from the Vhemm throughout the 2270s, and had acted largely on it's on. Finally, just a mere week ago, they decided to announce that they wished to act independently from now on. They promised that they still wished to uphold their non-aggression pact, but would no longer act as a dependency of the Vhemm anymore. Nushie-Noo wished to act swiftly to crush such a defiance of their treaties, but his government no longer had the influence it once was - the police had laxed it's grip, the people spoke out more. There had been protests against militaristic action, against the rampant elitism in Vhemm society, against the special education granted to select members of society.

Nushie-Noo Nip had led the Vhemm through it's greatest period in history, but could soon leave it in it's darkest time. The galaxy was not so empty anymore. New species were found almost every week, some merely animals, some on the brink of space travel. The Kingdom of Jurg-Sahuul grew more powerful, and the Vhemm weaker.

I may have done incredible things, Nushie-Noo groaned, but I have still not done enough. And with that he turned on the light and picked up his first scroll.

---

The way the galaxy is shaping up, 2280 looks to be shaping up to be one of the last years of 'isolation' - where empires seem to develop without any knowledge of outside forces. Everyone has discovered at least one neighbour, and distinct clusters of civilisations are emerging in the galaxy. Today's focus had been on the Sacrosanct Vhemm Confederacy, one of the first empires in the game, who have been led by the strangely named Revered Elder Nushie-Noo Nip ever since their founding. They've become quite a force in their own cluster, but have a long way to go to compete with the likes of the Tuxkan Divine Foundation or the Hahn-Mur State.

With the way the hyperlanes are mapped out, the Galactic Sakyt Hegemony to their north protect them from both the Kingdom of Jurg-Sahuul and the Mandate of Riddigus, who have rivalled each other. Neither the Alliance of Poqats nor the Hythean Alliance stand to threaten them. Despite their problems internally, the Vhemm could be considered a powerful contender to become the leading influencer in the north-west.

Another dark horse with massive potential is the Gulk-Furki Empire. This authoritarian and materialistic empire sets itself apart from it's galactic contemporaries in the fact that it's unusually isolated, and they've exploited this fact by rapidly expanding into their surrounding space. Their only neighbour is the Jess-Inax Democratic Worlds, which cannot expand due to the only hyperlanes leaving their home-system lead to Gulk-Furki territory - also due to hyperlanes, the Covenant of Madfiv Vvada is very far away from the Gulk-Furki (I'll make another post soon showing all hyperlanes, for those interested).

The only issue is that the Gulk-Furki are fanatically materialistic, something that becomes an issue when you realise that their closest northern neighbour, the Makaru Autocracy, and their most powerful neighbour, the Tuxkan, are both fanatically spiritualist. However, for now, the Gulk-Furki future looks bright, and they may prove useful in halting the spread of the Tuxkan.

Speaking of the Tuxkan, let's take another look at them. Unfortunately for their rivals in the Menjeti Theocracy, the spiritualist slavers have increased their influence so much that they are unquestionably the strongest non-FE in the galaxy right now, as the Hahn-Mur State have slowed down growth somewhat (perhaps to maintain their borders so that they look like a penis with a tumour on it's shaft). They reign over 19 different planets, ruling over 116 pops and have enslaved 10 other species. Their economy has boomed and has redefined itself to base it's strength solely on the slave trade, which is one of the most profitable and lucrative businesses there are. Almost two-thirds of the population are directly affected by the trade, either as a salesman, a slave-owner, or as a slave themselves.

Their power is currently unmatched by anyone, although their neighbours do have potential to get up to level terms - the Commonwealth of Patraggor have adopted the same policy of invading primitives, and currently have 15 planets and 90 pops, and have a lot more space to expand into than the Tuxkan, and the Gulk-Furki Empire to the north have already been shown to have massive potential. However, all these are theoreticals, and right now the Tuxkan are far stronger than any of them. We could very likely see a situation where the Tuxkan slavers become the 'bad guy' of the universe, with other empires coming together to try to limit them, but unlike in the movies I'm not fully sure they're going to be stopped.

The question currently is not whether the Tuxkan can control the galaxy, but how much of it they're willing to take.

That'll rap things up for today. If you're not aware, there was an issue with the save file which made my previous save incompatible with 2.1, which is the version of Stellaris I have to go with. I've gone back to the save in 2270 and have simmed up to 2280, so there will be a few differences you may have noticed from the galaxy map in 2275 with the one now. Barely anything has changed, though, so we will be proceeding with the game as normal. One neat thing that has happened is that new empires have colours now instead of being black and white, which is neat.

Like I've mentioned before, the galaxy is closing up now. Soon alliance blocs will form, and tensions will begin to mount. This is the middling point of diplomacy - we have enclosed 'clusters' of empires, but no galaxy-wide diplomacy or wars are going to happen for a good while now. This is the age where nations decide who is friend or foe, and where the treaties that will define the rest of the game will be signed. This is the age of border tensions and proxy wars. There's still a lot of space left unclaimed, but for many the feeling that the galaxy is becoming less and less empty is becoming apparent.

For once we can finally claim that the galaxy has indeed awoken; whether it will be a dream or a nightmare is yet to be decided. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next time in 2285!

The state of the galaxy in 2280

 

[Mob_Cleaner]

Here's a map of all the hyperlanes if anyone was interested:

 

[stnylan]

The south-western outer arm remains stubbornly empty I note.

 

[Surt]

The hyperlanes also explains why the Vhool haven't expanded so much, there is only one way out ...

 

[Nikolai]

Glad you got the problems fixed

 

[Mob_Cleaner]

The south-western outer arm remains stubbornly empty I note.

Yeah, I'm not sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, it provides some of the lesser empires of the West the opportunity to grow, but on the other it means there's less immediate drama for our entertainment

The hyperlanes also explains why the Vhool haven't expanded so much, there is only one way out ...

True, there are a lot of things the hyperlanes explain, which is why I thought it important to show them. Tbh I'm kinda rooting for the Vool, they've got potential to become a strong underdog.

Glad you got the problems fixed

Hopefully! I've still got a sneaky feeling that my meddling might have caused some issues that'll pop up again in the future.