The Robotic Imperium

Robot portrait from Planets Nu

The Robotic Imperium race icon from VGA Planets Nu

Race Characteristics

The Robots are based on the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica. They can build fighters in space, and they have quadruple minelaying capability. On the ships side, they feature very heavy carriers with low numbers of beams. The downside of those characteristics is the economic difficulty of having to build those large ships, mines, and fighters, and fuel the heavy ships.

Racial Abilities

• Can build fighters in space
• Torpedoes are layed much more efficiently (4x) into minefields.
• Stellar Cartography: Colonists and crew immune to Star Cluster radiation (though the clusters themselves still must be worked around)

Ship List

See The master ship list for a list of The Robotic Imperium ships.

Important Ships

• Q-Tankers are handy for running cash and fuel back and forth. It's usually worth putting T6-T7 drives on them, even if you only expect to sit them in one spot indefinitely. Early-game, build at least one transwarp QT.
• A QT carries enough (100 clans, 20 supplies, 300 money) to give a reasonably-temped planet its start.
• The Automa looks like a poor bargain compared to the Instru, but it holds many more fighters and can more effectively build fighters in the field. Instrus are good strike ships, but you need to keep a fighter reserve to refill them nearby, and the Automa fits this bill well.
• Golems are powerful but they are fuel pigs.

Strategy

Notes

• A forward Siliconoid starbase near your front lines is cheap, and can instantly produce resupply for your Cat's Paw (CP)s. A Transwarp CP with mk4 torpedoes can tow a warp 1 CP with mk7 torps!
• Use mk4 torps if you have too much minerals, use mk7 if you have too much money.
• Get a cloaker. It's the best thing ever.

Alliances

Overall

You are an attractive partner for most of the other races.

The Solar Federation

The Feds can provide Loki coverage and Fed carriers are fearsome (bonus bays and hull mass).

The Lizard Alliance

Have a planet with over 5,000 minerals (especially duranium) but less than 30% density? No problem, if the Lizards are your buddies. Just let them mine it (at 200% rate), then you can make good use of those minerals to build powerful starships.

The Empire of Birds

Allying with the Birds gives you access to a selection of cloaking ships, including the incomparable Resolute and White Falcon, giving you the ability to drop devastating minefields deep behind enemy lines.

The Fascist Empire

The Klingons can offer you both cloakers and a basic anti-cloaking defense.

The Privateer Bands

A great race for the robots to ally with. The ability to build fighters in space with the robots and their minelaying ability helps the privs to rob ships and then fill them with fighters. The Privateers will often be eager to ally, as contending with the Robots is not a pleasant experience for them.

The Cyborg

The Borg have the same problem you do in that the heavy ships take so much fuel to move around... but they have the chunnel!

The Crystal Confederation

Not much interesting to offer or receive from the Crystals.

The Missing Colonies of Man

If the Colonies are with you then they're not sweeping aside your minefields.

Enemies

Overall

A Robot empire with enough minerals and fuel is hard to stop. But here's how they will try:

The Solar Federation

Super Refit and 2x cash means that you can expect every Fed ship you encounter to have high tech minesweeping beams. And their main fighting ship, the Missouri, has 8 beams. Probably the best mine sweepers besides the Colonies; certainly not among your weaker opponents.

The Lizard Alliance

The main Lizard fighting ship, the T-rex, has 10 beams.

The Empire of Birds

Expect to see 8-beamed Resolutes and 10-beamed Dark Wings sweep mines and then slip in and try to destroy your Cats Paws.

The Fascist Empire

The tech 5, 10 beam Ill Wind Class Battlecruiser will be deployed against you to sweep mines and bleed off fighters. The Victorious also has 10 beams.

The Privateer Bands

Large minefields make things almost impossible for the Pirates because their primary ships are light and they don't have ships that have many beams. Plus, the large Robot fuel tanks are hard to rob dry when filled. The Robots can deal with the Pirates better than about anyone except the Crystals. Expect the Pirates to try to cloak over a planet as your ships move in and mine, then rob and run at warp 1 into the gravity well to avoid going through the minefields.

The Cyborg

Cubes are bad for everyone, even Robots.......

The Crystal Confederation

You might think you can crush the Crystals, but you have to be inside a web mine field to sweep it, and even the Golem has only 6 beams. You're not very well equipped to deal with these guys.

The Robotic Imperium

A stalemate.

The Rebel Confederation

Expect a lot of cheap 8-beam Iron Lady frigates.

The Missing Colonies of Man

Fittingly, a loaded Virgo is the last thing the Robots want to see. With its 10 beams and mine-sweeping fighter wing, it tears through minefields and it can stand up to your heavy ships in a straight fight.