Distant Worlds Shadows Serial Number
PROLOGUEMy name is Nathan Myron Cohen. I am a space pirate.My parents were not particularly happy about my choice of occupation.
They preferred that I follow in my father’s footsteps and become a dentist. For the Keskudon. The nice thing about being a dentist for the Keskudon is that they have on average 428 teeth, as compared to the human’s average of 32 teeth.“More cavities, more fillings, more novacaine,” my father would say. “Nate, its a gold mine!”But a life of examining reptilian molars was not for me. For as long as I could remember, growing up on Jameniri Prime, I knew I wanted to be a space pirate. Sure, a lot of kids would pretend to be pirates, but most outgrew the dream.
It was all I ever wanted. My parents said I had to wait until I was 13, after my bar mitzvah.At first, I thought they were giving me lip service. But at my bar mitzvah reception, my uncle Abe, the one who made a killing speculating on Bifurian Silk, called me over to talk.“Nathan,” he said, chomping on his Falajian cigar, “today you became a man. And if you are serious abut this damned space pirate business, I’ll make you a deal.
If you finish high school with an A average, I will set you up as a pirate with a couple of spare ships in the Colancia system. There’s a few Phaerex there who owe me favors.
And when you get tired of pirating, you can come work for me, and make some real money!” He bellowed a laugh and the spittle hit me in the eye.Uncle Abe. The only one who took me seriously.So I finished my classes a year early, with an A+ average no less, and at age17 I left home and became a space pirate. My mother cried and reminded me to wear my rain jacket so I don’t catch a cold. “And don’t forget your allergy medicine!!”So there I was: an honest-to-goodness space pirate. Not a particularly good space pirate, mind you, but at least I chased my dream.
What follows is my story. The story of when the universe felt the wrath of Cohen.CENTER/CENTER.
This is an after action report of a playthrough of a modded version of Distant Worlds: Shadows, the latest expansion for a game that first was released by Code Force and Matrix back in 2010. I’m using two mods: Haree78’s (which adds 16 new races) and Martian’s (which upgrades the graphics in the UI and elsewhere).Beyond that, I have modded the game myself simply to include characters specific to the storyline, including our hero, Nathan Myron Cohen, space pirate. Modding DW is relatively simple, adjusting text files and putting.png files into appropriate folders.Distant Worlds: Shadows is expensive and overwhelming. And thus, not for everyone. I have managed to work through some but not all of the learning curve, and I can tell by the Matrix forums that there’s still a lot I don’t know. But you can automate as little or as much of your empire/pirate faction as you want and you can setup the game in thousands of different ways, so its possible to have fun with it even before the learning curve is conquered. It can be many games to many different players, and it as close to I’ve ever found to a space opera creation program.
It is grand strategy and grand drama in a SF setting.One of my all-time favorite games was Space Rangers 2, where you could fly around in your ship and play a ranger, mercenary or – best of all – pirate. So I was thrilled with the Distant Worlds folks announced that the Shadows expansion would let you play as a pirate, rather than just an empire. Because we all know running empires gets boring after a while.However I soon found that in the pirate mode of DW you cannot be as nomadic as in SR2. Even as a pirate you have a home base – a space port rather than a planet-based colony – and many of the trappings of an empire – fleet, economy, expansion needs – that to some degree make this mode more of a pirate in name only. That said, the goals of pirating are different – you want to conquer other competing pirates, but make friends with as many traditional empires as possible. Empires are your friends. They will give you smuggling missions, buy tech and maps from you, and maybe even let your harbor a secret pirate base.Here are the settings for this game:ulli4x4 Sectors, 250 Stars This is an intentionally tiny setup to make the AAR more manageable.
My god, its full of stars!Actually, not so much. There are five clusters of stars and lots of wide open spaces among them.
Distant Worlds Shadows Serial Number Online
I’m in the northeastern most cluster. My birth system, Jameniri (where humans are a minority, though we make up the majority of dentists) is the pink star and my new home – the Colancia system – is below that to the left (the small skull-and-bones flag). A closer look at that cluster:Its a cluster ripe for pirating. Here is my birthworld of Jameniri Prime, home to 2.6 billion rat-eating Keskudon.Trust me, I sat next to them in the high school cafeteria. They love their rats.And who are these folks, the many-toothed Keskudon? I found this in my high school Galactopedia:CENTER/CENTERA very old race, from when the Galaxy was a lot hotter place to exist. Dark skinned reptiles, of average height but an outer skin that is almost as tough as stone.
Keskudons believe this Galaxy is their own, they claim to be the first race to have ventured in to the stars and were once settlers over the whole galaxy. They will not reveal why they appear to be just now appearing though. Keskudons see all other races as Trespassing, claiming rights on every system in the Galaxy.Intelligent and very aggressive, Keskudons cannot be trusted as all other life is considered worthless, almost seen as an infection. A slaver race, the Keskudons military leaders are considered the most powerful and well respected of their race, how many slaves they own is an indication of power. For these reasons Keskudons make very poor allies and are unlikely to seek any alliances other than to create a temporary cease fire to gather for an assault later.Keskudons prefer hotter climates, without a relatively high amount of energy they will become dormant and docile.Race Family: ReptilianNative Planet Type: VolcanicDefault Reproduction Rate: +24%Characteristics: Very Aggressive, Slightly Cautious, Very Unfriendly, Quite Intelligent, Extremely UnreliableWell damn, I thought as I flew my space U-Haul to my new home. The empire closest to my nascent pirating operation is unfriendly, intelligent and unreliable.
This should be fun! A Beautiful Day in the NeighborhoodThe GPS in my intersteller U-Haul conked out midway through the trip, but I still managed to find my new home: the Colancia system. Best known throughout the galaxy for absolutely nothing.Yup, there ya go, nine planets, thirteen moons, and not a single one of them habitable. No wonder my uncle was able to set me up with a pirate base of operations. Its not like he was letting me in on prime real estate. Still, the system seems to have a ready supply of decent resources, including gold, lead, steel, hydrogen and helium.Eventually I made my way to Colancia 4, around which my pirate base orbited.
Pirates, you know, cannot control planet-based colonies, so our command centers are always based at space ports:Home sweet homeworld.When I arrived at the port, I practically crapped my pants. Easy web gallery builder crackers free. I thought Uncle Abe was giving me only a space port and some rusty freighters with more than 100,000 thousand light-years on them. Instead, my uncle gave me a boatload of brand spanking new civilian and military ships – a veritable pirate’s starter kit:Most were waiting for me in orbit around Colancia 4:My space port – my new home – is called “Colancia Hideaway,” which I’m not wild about. I decide to re-christen it “Nate’s Pirate Man Cave”:Its a fixer-upper, to be sure.
Hopefully the roof doesn’t leak.In addition good old Uncle Abe has set me up with three mining stations in neighboring systems:The first two are nearby in the Colancia system. The third mining station is in the Menas system, which is quite a bit away. Maybe my parents hope it will entice me to visit home. A Plan of ActionMy goal is to become the best friggin’ pirate in the galaxy. My plan is simple: one cluster at a time.
As I pointed our earlier, my forces are based in one of five fairly tight clusters of stars. I will spend the next few light-years eradicating all other pirate forces in this cluster, and I will do so before venturing out to dominate the other clusters.In other words, I’m not going to bite off more than I can chew.First I dispatch my two explorer ships to two of the many unmapped star systems in my cluster.
What I’m looking for, first and foremost, are independent colonies that are not allied with any of the major empires (and remember that thus far, I know of only one empire in this cluster).Next, I consult my expansion planner to look for valuable resources.Turns out that Colancia 4, around which my space port orbits, is home to several much-needed resources, particularly Caslon, which is the fuel for most ships. So, yes, my constructor is off to build a mining operation there.Third – I order my escort ships to do what comes naturally: escort my construction ship. Even though the constructor is not going far, having armed escorts will come in handy later when it ventures far from home.Fourth – I improve the defenses of my private sector vessels – my mining ships and freighters. I cannot control these ships directly but I can order them to be retrofitted to a better ship design:And because the best defense is a good offense, the upgrade I choose is to add a single blaster to each otherwise offense-less small freighter.
This, in the end, will be easier than needing military escorts for each freighter.I do this as well for all other civilian ships: medium and large freighters, mining ships and passenger ships:But note the warning – we are lacking in the requisite resources to actually do the retrofits for existing ships. This is fine for now, our mining operation has yet to get underway. Once the resources start flowing, the exisiting freighters will be upgraded.While all of that is gettig underway, I order my scientist, the aforementioned Dr. Nachman, to begin researching enhanced shields.He will also begin researching long range scanners, one the prerequisite proximity sensors are complete.Finally, I order the construction of more ships: 2 destroyers, 3 frigates and 2 more escorts for some more offensive firepower, and two large freighters to ramp up my smuggling operations.These are constructed right here at my space port, which has four construction bays. Later I hope to upgrade the port so that more bays are available. In the meantime, the destroyers are being built first while the new small freighters are cued. Also, I’m using the new freighter design, giving these civilian ships a single blaster for a bit of punch.
My pirating military-industrial complex is kicking into gear!To be continued. Baby StepsOne month later, construction of the ships I’d ordered is nearly complete. In advance, I group the destroyers and frigates into my first fleet, which I will use to defend the home system:So we’re set for action, and sure enough along comes our first offer.
A small planet in our cluster, the desert moon Chefoxe, is home to an independent colony of Ortains, who are seeking a pirate clan to defend them:This moon Chefoxe is in the Jameniri system where I grew up, not far from my home planet of Jameniri Prime.We bid on the offer and hope they’ll accept our protection.And exactly who are the Ortain? I open up my Galactopedia:CENTER/CENTERThe race originally called Ortain were a small grey skinned reptilian race.
The Ortain created machines in their own image specifically to do jobs and work such as war that an Ortain could not do as efficiently.The machines were created with complex AI and eventually were regarded as people along side the Ortain race. The Ortain machines shared most of the same laws and had positions of power where they were suited.Some event not described by history saw the Ortain wiped out as a species however the AI created by the Ortain lived on and filled the gaps in the jobs and power structure left by the cataclysmic event.The machines considered and treated themselves as people amongst their race as the original Ortain had done, and although largely designed for war attempted to carry on in jobs they ill fitted.The machine Ortain are an extremely paranoid race and can be very insular in behaviour.
They are very badly equipped for diplomacy and fitting in with other species. They are however well equipped for war.
Many still consider it their job to subdue other races because of in built behaviours originally designed to protect the Ortain.Race Family: MachineNative Planet Type: DesertDefault Reproduction Rate: +15%CharacteristicsQuite AggressiveExtremely CautiousQuite UnfriendlySlightly StupidQuite UnreliableGreat, a race of stupid, unreliable robots. I’m not sure I really want to work for them, but hey – as long as their cash is blue! Around Tainerus Prime are several independent freighters which (I hope) pose no threat to us.
My goal is assume control of both independent colonies that my explorers have discovered: this one and the moon Chefoxe. Control of indies is achieved by a variety of means, including establishing mining operations, space ports, or secret pirate bases on and around the planet or moon. Our work begins.But I need some help, so I ring up my cousin Stanley, who is actual the stepson of my mother’s first husband, so he’s not really a cousin. Still, we hung out while growing up, and he’s been out of work for a while, so I figure he wouldn’t mind commanding a starship.Stanley readily accepts, and I award him the captaincy of a military escort ship, the Grand Plague.Stanley’s new ship is dispatched from my base in the Colancia system to patrol around Chefoxe in the Jameniri system.
We need to make sure no other pirate factions come upon that valuable colony. “I’m counting on you, Stanley,” I radio to him as his ship picks up speed.“How do you work the microwave?” he replies. We also have other escorts and privately-run freighters in the area. Ears on the ground, so to speak.
Distant Worlds
And sure enough, my command base around Colancia 4 gets the radio dispatch that I’d been dreading.We are not the only pirates in this cluster!I immediately ask for all known intelligence reports on this faction, the Grim Spaceways:The faction is has firepower that is far less than mine, and they are described as taking a cautious approach toward us. So I am not immediately worried. Still, if they came out fighting immediately, I could probably kick their Grim ass.Still, my military advisers are concern and want me to order some espionage:Yes, my robotic secret agent Andy Droid, a special suprise bonus given to me by my uncle Abe.
Andy, off you go!I keep my fingers crossed. Success is likely, but if the robot is destroyed, I may have some explaining to do to my uncle.
We Are Not AloneTo recap, my burgeoning pirate clan is seeking – as an initial step to galactic dominance – to control one of five clusters. This involves eliminating all other pirate factions that stand in our way so I can basically have a monopoly on the underground economy. We are unconcerned about the larger, planet-based empires. In fact, it is my hope to sufficiently befriend and manipulate all such empires to our profit. Once I have eradicated all other pirate factions that set up in my cluster, I can start to think about expansion to the other four clustersThus far, only one pirate faction has reared its ugly head in our cluster. The Grim Spaceways, who don’t seem particularly friendly:And the Grim Spaceways faction are already proving to be a pain in my ass, with small skirmishes outside Chefoxe, which I’m trying to control. Hey – what’s that blue-white dot to the right of the planet?
I get out my telescope and take a look:Hmmm. Anyway, the raid on Tainerus Prime proves successful:My forces infiltrated the Central Bank of Tainerus and absconded with nearly 8,000 credits, which exceeds last year’s income. Its great being above the law!Despite the haul of cash, we continue to have a negative cash flow.
I’m not too worried at this point, since our resource extraction operation – using our constructor to build mineral and gas mining stations throughout the cluster – is just getting in to gear. “Its sabotage, Ed,” I tell him. “Pure and simple. Don’t mess up.” Ed salutes with a wide grin, taps his feet and is on his way.I’m worried about the guy, but not too much.
Besides, my pirate clan is doing quite well. My finances are in the black, and I now have control of two independent colonies, Chefoxe and Tainerus. As soon as I can afford to, I’m going to build Super-Top-Secret Pirate bases on each of those planets to secure my control:Our hold on Tainerus Prime is more tenuous.
The Grim Spaceways clan may also have its sights set on that colony as well, so I best move quickly.Meantime the skirmishes around Chefoxe continue. Meantime our scientists are doing great work, and I immediately order all our ships retrofitted with this new weapon, the Epsilon Torpedo.
I’m not sure what it is, but it sounds damn cool.And then, as my third years a space pirate draws to a close, one of my explorer ships travels to an unknown system and comes upon another empire:I immediately order an intelligence report on the Rotan Empire, and learn that they are made up of Enton. Friggin’ Enton, not to be trusted:Cautious and unfriendly. Sounds like they’ll be annoying soon enough. Still, there’s no reason not to start off my relations with this Empire with an offer to help.
For a small fee, of course:Not exactly what you want to bring home to meet the parents. But their cash is green, and its not like I have to have coffee with them.