The Lost Colonies of Man

Colonial race icon from [http://vgaplanets.nu VGA Planets Nu

The Lost Colonies of Man are patterned after the Colonial Warriors in the Television series of the late 70s, Battlestar Galactica. Tim Wisseman used them as the background for this race, and as such the Colonies are considered what is commonly called, a "carrier race" in VGA Planets. They are a race who fight primarily with carriers.

Overview

The Colonies of Man are very similar to the rebels and share many of the same ship designs. The flag ship of their fleet is one of the most powerful ships in the universe. This mighty ship is the tech 10 Virgo Class Battlestar that can hold up to 40 more fighters than the Evil Empire's battlecarrier and is only about half the size. Even with all those fighters it still has room for beam weapon banks.

Original Strategy Guides

These strategy guides helped inform and in some cases word much of what is contained in this article.

• Cain's guide to playing the Colonies by Ed Robinson
• The Lost Colonies of Man by Plotz
• A guide to playing the Colonies (shareware) by Sammy
• A fight to the death: a Colonies guide by Lionel Cai
• The Lost Colonies of Man by James "undead" Rocks
• The Lost Colonies Fleet by Sharkman

Race Characteristics

The Colonies main abilities revolve around two of the most valuable commodities in the galaxy, neutronium and the fighter. Many races value the Colonies friendship for this reason.

The main race characteristics that distinguish the Colonies from other races are:

• Build fighters in space:
  • With 3 kt Tri, 2 kt Mol and 5 kt Supply units for one fighter any Colonial carrier ship will convert this to a new fighter.
  • Other races need to spend 100 megacredits plus 3kt Trit 2kt Moly for a fighter.
  • The Rebels and Robots also have this ability.
• 60 clans can be supported on desert planets.
• Mine Sweeping:
  • Mines are virtually useless against the Colonies.
  • One Colonial fighter can destroy 20 enemy mines as long as the mines are within 100ly's of the ship.
• Money:
  • The Lady Royale Class Cruiser is a Gambling ship that produces 1 mc for every clan on board each turn.
  • These ships can be used in a pinch to help produce money early in the game and can be used to produce while on the move later in the game.
  • Not meant to replace the income generated by having a far-flung Empire.
• Fuel Production:
  • The Colonies can produce neutronium fuel while on the go.
  • The Cobol Class Research Cruiser makes 2kt / ly travelled.
  • The Aries Class Transport is an Advanced Alchemy ship that will convert minerals directly into neutronium.

Disadvantages:

• Many Colonial ships have few beam weapons.
  • Due to fighter mine sweeping ability, this is not a huge disadvantage.
  • Except against the Crystals you will need lots of beam weapons.
  • As a Colonial Player this means your Virgo's will probably double as your main web mine sweepers.

Ships

TABLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION COMMON SHIPS AND TAURUS SCOUT ARE COMPLETE

Name	Tc	Bm	T/F	En	MC	Dur	Tri	Mol	Mass	Car	Fuel	Crew
Small Deep Space Freighter	1	0	0/0	1	10	2	2	3	30	70	200	2
Taurus Class Scout	1	2	0/0	2	50	20	40	5	95	140	590	180
Cygnus Class Destroyer	1	4	4/0	1	60	6	20	5	45	20	170	126
Little Joe Class Escort	1	2	0/0	1	60	6	20	5	45	20	170	126
Neutronic Fuel Carrier	3	0	0/0	2	20	10	2	20	10	2	900	2
Medium Deep Space Freighter	3	0	0/0	1	65	4	4	6	60	200	250	6
Cobol Class Research CruiserBioscanner, Ramscoop	3	4	1/0	2	110	32	61	33	120	140	430	150
Lady Royale Class Cruiser Gambling	3	2	4/0	2	140	22	43	15	80	40	90	122
Aries Class Transport Advanced Alchemy	4	2	0/0	1	25	2	2	20	30	50	180	15
Sagittarius Class Transport	5	6	1/0	2	180	52	81	63	150	240	360	300
Large Deep Space Freighter	6	0	0/0	2	160	85	7	8	130	1200	600	102
Tranquility Class Cruiser	5	4	2/0	2	250	52	61	83	150	250	370	270
Patriot Class Light Carrier	6	7	0/3	2	380	52	61	123	180	80	190	322
Gemini Class Transport	6	6	4/0	2	280	25	45	89	113	35	140	240
Scorpius Class Light Carrier	7	8	3/0	2	380	52	71	93	180	280	480	348
Iron Lady Class Frigate	8	2	0/2	2	150	22	37	15	70	60	85	40
Neutronic Refinery Ship	9	6	0/0	10	970	125	150	527	712	1050	800	190
Super Transport Freighter	10	0	0/0	4	220	125	13	18	160	2600	1200	202
Merlin Class Alchemy Ship	10	8	0/0	10	840	625	250	134	920	2700	450	120
Virgo Class Battlestar	10	10	8/0	2	450	170	183	110	491	150	290	910

Only the most useful ships will be mentioned here.

• Cygnus Class Destroyer: This is a small and cheap torpedo ship. It is useful as a minelayer for laying small overlapping minefields to thwart cloakers. When used in conjunction with a Patriot it is a strong weapon.

• Cobol Class Research Cruiser: This is the Colonial ace-in-the-hole. This ship gives the Colonies the ability to create fuel out of thin air, or rather the vacuum of space. They are also good cargo transports and mine layers. They also have a Bioscanner.

• Lady Royale Class Cruiser: This ships is extremely useful in Privateer hands, less so in Colonial hands, but it does serve its purpose. The Lady Royale doesn't have a big cargo bay, but that cargo bay can be used to generate money provided it is filled with clans. For every 1 clan on board a Lady Royale, 1 mc is generated per turn. So a Lady Royale can build 160 mc/turn. This is not a whole lot of money, but if you have a Large task Force that needs to move across the map, and you are transporting clans, you might want to consider bringing a few of these guys along. 5 Lady Royales moving 10 turns with 160 clans = 8000mc when you would have generated 0mc if those clans were onboard other ships. That's enough for 222 MkVII Photon Torpedos. Build these ships when you have the hull tech, but can't seem to produce anything else useful from a planet. The additional money will make it worthwhile.

• Aries Class Transport: The Aries is an improved Neutronic Refinery Ship. It turns minerals into fuel on a unit-for-unit basis--but doesn't need supplies. It's also very cheap. Stick a Transwarp engine on it and send it wherever you would normally need a refinery ship. Send an Aries to the front lines if your warships are short on fuel. As you capture enemy planets, use the Aries to convert captured minerals into more fuel for your fleets--or simply use the Aries to "burn up" the minerals so your enemy can't use them if they recapture the planet. Be sure to protect the Aries so it doesn't get captured.

• Tranquility Class Cruiser: At first you may look at the Tranquility and say, The Cobol is a better ship with Ramscoop and Bioscanners. The Tranquility has its uses with 380 kt of Cargo space it can lay huge mine fields, as well as carry nearly as much Cargo into a warzone as a Gemini. You won't build a ton of these guys, but a few dedicated mine layers are useful to consider.

• Patriot Class Light Carrier: Light, cheap carrier that is a fire and forget weapon. It won't win the war, but when used correctly will push the tactical advantage in your direction.

• Gemini Class Transport: The Gemini is one of the best Colonial starships available. This ships power is derived, not by is ability in combat, but for its ability to make large amounts of fighters very quickly. The Gemini can be built cheaply and generate a huge fighter stockpile. A Gemini tied with a Merlin Class Alchemy Ship over a Bovinoid world can be your primary fighter production facility. A Gemini can produce a maximum of 40 fighters/turn. With this ship, there is no reason why the Colonies should ever need to spend a single MC on a fighter. Build some of these to fill your bases with fighters and to arm your Virgos.

• Virgo Class Battlestar: The backbone of your offensive fleet! With 10 beams and 8 fighterbays and 290 holds it can carry most of what you need into combat without batting an eye. Build these enmasse.

Strategies

The Colonies have several strategies open to them that take advantage of their racial capabilities. Overall the Colonials strengths are in maneuvering, self-sufficiency, and momentum.

Expand fast

Cobol's are excellent early exploration and expansion ships. They can drop fuel on planets ahead of your large freighters which can get your clans off of your Homeworld quicker than most of your opponents aside from the Rebels and the Cyborg.

Go on Offense

With nearly unlimited fuel, the ability to keep the space 100 ly's from your carrier free of mines, and the ability to build fighters in space the Colonial fleet can survive with nearly no support from home. Use this to your advantage.

Ally with cloaking races

A good tactic to use when you get your hands on a cloaking ship is to move the ship in advance of your main offensive fleet and then start separating out your enemies' main defenders. A common tactic used by Crystals, Feds, and Cyborg is to lead a carrier in battle with a torpedo ship. If you separate his fleets by towing them apart and taking them out individually you can lose fewer Virgos while decimating his heavy ships.

Build Task Forces

Task forces are important for the Colonies. Not task forces of destroyers, cruisers, and carriers. Rather, task forces consisting of Cobols and Virgos. This is the Colonial backbone. Each Virgo built should have one to two corresponding Cobols. These Cobols stay with the Virgos everywhere they go. It also won't hurt to rotate in a Gemini. Because your Virgo's should be fighting not building fighters. Have one of the Virgos tow the Gemini if necessary.

This task force has an unlimited fuel supply and a big, steady supply of fighters. These task forces can run independently and be used to harass an enemy's rear areas and supply lines without you worrying about having fueling locations. Usually a group of two or three Virgos is good to have. It isn't a bad idea to have one of your Cobols loaded with torpedos too. That way as they travel they can lay mines behind them. This discourages any following cloaked ships from performing a cloaked intercept. The main strengths of the Colonies is their ability to load a bunch of clans, supplies, minerals, fighters, and torpedos onto their ships and then bring destruction to the enemies doorstep, and to continue operating after it has sped through the enemies main battle lines.

Patriot Swarm

Build a bunch of Patriots and unleash them on your enemy. They are not meant to actually harm hard targets, they are meant to overwhelm your enemies defensive capabilities. Do not expect many patriots to survive. Do expect your enemy to be thrown into confusion and then take advantage of the holes opened in the enemies defense.