I3M - First Interstellar War

[szurkey]

I started playing I3M again, and thought you might find the First
Interstellar War (ISW-1) interesting.

Rules used include fast space combat, fast ground combat, capital
ships (including monitors) can split fire between two targets.

ISW-1 three weeks ago with me as the Terrans and "The Gorn" as the
Imperial Provincial Governor. It was the most even struggle for I
have even seen for the entire war. The forces and economies at the
end of the war are very even.

ISW-1 last Tuesday night with me as the Terrans and "The Gorn" as the
Imperial Provincial Governor. What an unholy brutal struggle for the
Terrans. I have never seen Emperor so favor the Gashida Province.
The Terrans got a few good licks in on turn 1, including a deep raid
all the way to Dingir. All though this raid cost most of the Terran
fleet, it took out all of the Imperial TR's, and most of their DD's,
1xCL, and 1xM. This bought the Terrans time to dig in, which they
desperately needed to do. Because turn 2 the Imperials got a Mandated
Offensive of 1xB1, 2xCA, and also a +5 RU budget increase. From then
on the Terrans waged a brutal guerilla war from then on, attriting
what forces they could. The longer the war went on, the more budget
increases the Emperor grant the Gashida Province. Eventually, all
Terran outpost were conquered, and only the three worlds of Alpha
Centauri, Beta Centauri, and Sol remained. The eventually, the
Mandated Offensive forces were withdrawn due to lack of increase in
glory, but promptly replaced the very next turn by another Mandated
Offensive force consisting of 2xB2, 1xCA, 1xCR. The Imperails invaded
the Terran world at Alpha Centauri. Orbital bombardment crippled the
Planetary Defense System, and allowed most of the invasion troops to
land. A prolonged and initially close ground battle ensued that
lasted a couple of turns. Eventually the battle for Alpha Centauri
turned against the Imperium and Alpha Centauri was held by the
Terrans. The failure to take Alpha Centauri cause the Emperor to
withdraw the Mandated Offensive, and the carefully husband Terran
Heavy Cruiser Attack Force that had been hiding on the surface of
Earth launched a determined counter attack. The war ended on Turn 8,
with the Terrans taking the Outpost at Banard's Star back on the very
last activation of the very last action segment. The other Terran
Outposts conquered by the Imperium revert to Terran control during the
Peace Step.

Ending fleet strengths:
Terran: 1xCA, 3xCA Crippled, 5xSC, 1xAT, 3xTR
Imperium: 1xDD, several AT and TR

Sound great for the Terrans until you look the economics:
Terran: 31 RU per turn + 4xOutpost building, largest allowed build is
B1
Imperium: 52 RU per turn + 13xOutposts building, largest allowed build
is CS

Yes, the Emperor gave the Gashida province an obscene amount of budget
increases... The Imperial Governor can build 2xCS for every CA the
Terrans build. This is not good for the Terrans at all.