Cosmic Wars

Cosmic Wars

Cosmic Wars is a turn-based strategy game produced by Konami in 1989 which is based upon the wars of the Gradius/Nemesis series. It was released only in Japan on the Famicom. The game has a spiritual sequel that was released 1997 called Paro Wars, which is Cosmic Wars' Parodius equivalent.

Description

Cosmic Wars is a turn-based strategy game, in the vein of the Famicom Wars series, pitting the Gradians against the Bacterians. Much like its inspiration, there are several types of units with differing abilities. Armies are formed, and both sides attempt to capture planets to control income, and eventually conquer a capital planet to win the battle. Turns are conducted through several different phases, starting with a Hiring phase, a Purchasing phase, 2 Combat phases, and a Planet Repair phase. Occasionally, events happen at the beginning of a player's turn which could be beneficial or detrimental.

Story

The introduction shows an alliance that lasted over 900 years between the Gradians and the Bacterians which was shattered by an unknown attack. It is unknown which side attacked first, but this event resulted in an all-out war. The player must take up either the Gradian or Bacterian side and conquer whole systems and finally take over their opponent's home planet. It is unknown what Gradius/Nemesis games this conflict is related to or if this is simply another branch in the series.

Playing Mechanics

Phases

• Purchase - Spacecraft can be purchased in this phase. Purchased craft will not be completed until your next turn. There are a limited number of manufacturing slots.

• Hire - This is where you hire the commanders needed to create a fleet. You can make an offer, and up to five potential commanders will show interest, at which point you can hire one or more at the price you offered. A higher price tends to attract higher grade commanders and more of them, but there is a heavy amount of RNG involved.

• Make Unit - You can create a fleet by selecting a commander you have hired, choosing units that have already been constructed from your pool, then placing it anywhere in your capital solar system. Units must contain a single Flagship unit.

• Warp - This phase has three functions:
  • Warp - permits a fleet to warp to any solar system connected to the one they are currently in, without the Base unit needing to be on top of a warp gate. This cannot be used if an opposing fleet exists in the system your fleet is warping from.
  • Disband - You may disband any fleet inside your capital system, which will return all units of the fleet to your production slots for the Purchase phase of next turn, allowing you to refurbish them at no cost. You can use this to repair a lot of damaged units for free, or to free up your highly experienced commanders of decimated units.
  • Trade - You can trade units between fleets in the same solar system.

• Combat 1 - This phase can only be invoked in solar systems containing fleets from both sides. There are three sub-phases called Move-1, Move-2, and Move-3, in which a player may move, attack, or perform special actions, eventually ending the sub-phase. A Warp command is available, which will allow a Flagship to warp if it is positioned on top of a warpgate. Both players receive a full set each of these three sub-phases, alternating them between each player. If all fleets from either army in the system are removed from play, Combat 1 ends immediately. A solar system that has had combat occur there cannot have a second separate round of combat occur by any means.

• Combat 2 - In contrast, this phase allows "combat" in solar systems that only contain your fleets. You can use it to adjust your positioning or capture planets in such systems, just like you could in Combat 1. A solar system that has just had a Combat 1 phase cannot have a Combat 2 phase. Note that the Warp command is unavailable; that command can only be performed in Combat 1.

• Upgrade - During this phase, you can repair damaged planets that are under your control. It costs 500 per bar, for a maximum of seven bars besides the first (which cannot be removed). You can only perform one upgrade per turn per planet. Each upgrade adds 100 to the dividend the planet will give at the beginning of the turn, as well as the amount of damage it can take before it is captured. It will take five turns to break even on a single upgrade (-500, +100 per turn).

Ships

There are several types of ships available to each side that can be used in your campaign to conquer your enemy. Their names and capabilities will be listed below. Each group has 10 ships (health) except where noted.

There are 4 possible weapon types:

• Bombs - Deals good damage to most targets
• Beams - For dealing with Fighters and Mecha, though there are generic beams that work on most targets
• Blasts - Which are great for D-Submarines and are otherwise useless
• X-Bombs - X-Bombs are interchangeable with regular Bombs, save for working well on D-Subs and poorly on Destroyers.

• Flagships

• Original Names - Flagship, Bacterian
• Fan-Translated Names - Warpbase, Starbase
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 5
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Cost-efficient against - n/a
• Cost-inefficient against - n/a
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - This is the most important ship in your fleet. If this is destroyed, your fleet will also be destroyed. It has high defense against all attacks, save for the instant kill of the cannons.

• Heavy Battleships

• Original Names - Battleship A, Big Core
• Fan-Translated Names - Warhawk, Samurai
• Price - 3000
• Moving Range - 4
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams (Range 3 - 5)
• Cost-efficient against - n/a
• Cost-inefficient against - n/a
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Artillery ships. These ships can fire from a long distance but cannot fire if they move. Tough to kill, and deals respectable damage to most ships. They cannot attack spaces below range 3, or counter-attack.

• Light Battleships

• Original Names - Battleship B, Little Core
• Fan-Translated Names - Baracuda, Ninja
• Price - 2500
• Moving Range - 6
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams (Range 2 - 3)
• Cost-efficient against - n/a
• Cost-inefficient against - n/a
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Same as the Heavy Battleship, except weaker and less expensive. The lower minimum range may help give fire-support to tighter formations, and the higher movement range may aid in keeping up with the main fleet. The Heavy Battleship is usually the better buy.

• Heavy Cruisers

• Original Names - Heavy Cruiser
• Fan-Translated Names - Injector, Wraith
• Price - 1900
• Moving Range - 7
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Cost-efficient against - Destroyers
• Cost-inefficient against - Fighters, Mecha, Missile Ships, Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Bloated expensive ship. Can deal good damage to most ship types, but will usually take too much damage to be cost effective. Can barely beat Destroyers cost efficiently most of the time, but RNG, commander stat differences, or terrain can easily swing this the other way. Cruisers can also safely defeat Fighters that have had their Bombs depleted.

• Light Cruisers

• Original Names - Light Cruiser
• Fan-Translated Names - Sunshark, Griffon
• Price - 1700
• Moving Range - 6
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Cost-efficient against - None
• Cost-inefficient against - Everything
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Same as the Heavy Cruiser, except weaker but less expensive. The loss in power is simply too great to attack Heavy Destroyers (or much else for that matter). Avoid.

• Heavy Destroyers

• Original Names - Destroyer A
• Fan-Translated Names - Eagle, Valkyrie
• Price - 1200
• Moving Range - 6
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Blasts, Beams (general purpose)
• Cost-efficient against - D-Submarines
• Cost-inefficient against - Missile Ships, Cruisers, Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Destroyers are equipped with the blast weapon, which is solely for attacking D-Submarines. Can fight Fighters and Mecha, but is not generally a cost efficient trade against them.

• Light Destroyers

• Original Names - Destroyer B
• Fan-Translated Names - Rogue, Demon
• Price - 1000
• Moving Range - 4
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Blasts, Beams (general purpose)
• Cost-efficient against - D-Submarines
• Cost-inefficient against - Everything else
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Same as the Heavy Destroyer, but weaker and cheaper. This version is only worth using for its Blast weapon on D-Subs. The loss in power makes it far less able to deal damage to anything else.

• Missile Ships

• Original Names - Missile Ship
• Fan-Translated Names - Falcon, Medusa
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 6
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs
• Cost-efficient against - Destroyers, Cruisers, Cannon Fodder
• Cost-inefficient against - Fighters, Mecha
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Can deal heavy losses to just about any ship, and costs very little. One of the few ships that Cannon Fodder can't be cost efficient against. However, its inability to do much against Fighters and Mecha keep this from being a prime choice.

• Ammo Tenders

• Original Names - Tender
• Fan-Translated Names - Skymoth, Bloodbat
• Price - 200
• Moving Range - 5
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Beams (63 charges)
• Cost-efficient against - Most ships
• Cost-inefficient against - Missile Ships, Fighters, Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - These ships can fill up the ammo of any vessel next to it provided the tender nor the receiving ship has moved/attacked. They can attack but are very weak, about the same as Cannon Fodder (weapon and ammo refill both use a Beam charge). This ship can actually fight and harass effectively against most ships, and has the added benefit of not running out of ammunition easily. Cannon Fodder is usually better for the task thanks to a lower cost. It IS a superior ammunition draining ship against weak vessels, however, thanks to its 63 beam charges.

• D-Submarines

• Original Names - D-Submarine
• Fan-Translated Names - Star Car, X-Tank
• Price - 2000
• Moving Range - 2
• Weapons - XBombs
• Cost-efficient against - Cruisers, Missile Ships
• Cost-inefficient against - Destroyers, Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Blasts, XBombs
• Description - The sole carrier of the XBomb weapon, which is almost identical in characteristics to a regular bomb, save for being good against D-Subs and bad against Destroyers. This ship only has 2 movement, but cannot be slowed by terrain. It has a very high defense against every type of attack except Blasts, XBombs, and the Cannon's attack.

• Cannon Fodder

• Original Names - Scout Ship, Cyber Eye
• Fan-Translated Names - Wombat, Firefly
• Price - 100
• Moving Range - 7
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Beams (general purpose)
• Cost-efficient against - Most ships
• Cost-inefficient against - Missile Ships, Fighters (discounting the Carrier cost)
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Cannon Fodder/Harassment unit. Rarely able to hit anything. However, the low cost means that the few hits that it does cost the enemy a lot more money. Can be used en-masse to wear down the enemy or deplete ammunition. Performs surprisingly well against Flagships. Keep it away from Missile Ships and Fighters unless you're trying to deplete ammo; you can't really fight them cost effectively with Cannon Fodder.

• Carriers

• Original Names - Space Carrier, Zelos
• Fan-Translated Names - Mammoth, Hydra
• Price - 4000
• Moving Range - 4
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Slowed by x4 -
• Weapons - Beams
• Cost-efficient against - None
• Cost-inefficient against - Everything
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - They are needed in the fleet if Fighter and/or Mecha are going to be used. They are very weak, but destruction of them will not destroy your Fighters/Mecha, though if a fleet warps without a Carrier, any Fighters or Mecha in the fleet will be lost.

• Fighters

• Original Names - Vic Viper, Vic Cyber
• Fan-Translated Names - Sunviper, Sunsabre
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 8
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x4 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Cost-efficient against - Cruisers, Missile Ships, Cannon Fodder
• Cost-inefficient against - Mecha
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Beams
• Description - They have very long range and are armed with Beam and Missiles weapons. They do some of the best damage with either weapon. Fighters get slowed down greatly by Vortexes (takes 4 movement for one). Weak to Beam weapons. Very cost effective against Cruisers, which the A.I. will stupidly hurl into them over and over. This is the ship to beat.

• Mecha

• Original Names - Battlesuits, Cybersuits
• Fan-Translated Names - Tommy, X-Trooper
• Price - 800
• Moving Range - 7
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x4 -
• Weapons - Beams (general purpose)
• Cost-efficient against - Cruisers, Missile Ships, Fighters
• Cost-inefficient against - Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Beams
• Description - The main advantage of Mecha is that this unit generally wins at cost-efficiency versus Fighters, though stat differences, RNG, and terrain can easily swing the battle out of its favor. Other than that, Mecha fight just as well against everything using their Beams as the Fighters do with either weapon.

• Capture Ships

• Original Names - O P S (Occupy Planet Ship), A P S (Anti-Planet Ship)
• Fan-Translated Names - Scout, Dragon
• Price - 200
• Moving Range - 4
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Cost-efficient against - Most ships
• Cost-inefficient against - Fighter, Mecha, Cannon Fodder
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - These ships are the second most important next to Base Ships in a fleet. They are the only ship capable of conquering planets. They can be used as harassment ships effectively, but Cannon Fodder fills that role more cost efficiently.

• Cannons

• Original Names - Buster Cannon, Cyber Gun
• Fan-Translated Names - Star Gun, X-Cannon
• Price - 6500
• Moving Range - 7
• Slowed by x2 -
• Slowed by x3 -
• Weapons - Beams (Range 4 only, hits all units in a cross shape)
• Cost-efficient against - n/a
• Cost-inefficient against - n/a
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - The Cannons are the most powerful vessel available but it only shoots at range 4 directly (but can hit range 3 and 5 with the splash). It kills anything (including friendly units in range) in a single shot. There is only 1 ship in this group so it's really easy to destroy. A well placed Cannon can instantly remove an entire fleet in one shot to the Flagship, making it a great defense option for your home system.

Commander Stats

There are four stats in this game, and three of them are used to determine the Battle Value of each combatant. These four stats can be as low as 0, and as high as 15.

Battle Value - This value is determined by factoring the weapon, the ship type, the enemy's ship type, the terrain they are on, as well as your attack, defense, and terrain (if applicable). This value is then measured against a random roll of 0 - 255 an amount of times equal to the attacker's HP (i.e. a 7 HP unit is measured 7 times). If the number rolled is lower than the Battle Value during any of these measurements, then a hitpoint is deducted from the enemy. The battle values are found at ram addresses 0065 and 0066, and swap sides depending on who initiates the attack.

Attack - This stat boosts the battle value of a given ship in combat. A stat of 15 can boost your Battle Value by about 18%. The fan translation calls this "Command".

Defense - This stat reduces the opposing ship's battle value. A stat of 15 here can reduce the enemy's battle value by about 6%. The fan translation refers to this as "Power".

Luck - This stat modifies the random result by adding the luck value directly into the roll. A stat of 15 boosts the random result by about 5%. HOWEVER... this stat was implemented backwards! A LOWER random number is desired, so you want to have the LOWEST VALUE POSSIBLE here. Maxing out this stat actually gives your enemy a 5% higher survival. This stat is called "Luck" in the translation as well.

Terrain - A high stat here simply mitigates the damage reduction of the enemy's terrain. A maxed stat results in an increase of roughly 20% when battling an enemy on terrain. This stat is called "Wealth" in the translation.

Stats are found starting at the ram address 6480.

Terrain

Some terrain offers a defensive bonus to ships residing on it, reducing the Battle Value of incoming fire from an opposing ship. It doesn't matter if you or your opponent initiate the attack. The Terrain score of an opposing ship will mitigate some of the damage reduction applied to it.

These scores are provided by the manual, and are not accurate (testing required).

Space - 0% combat bonus.

Blue Vortex - 37.5% combat bonus.

Green Vortex - 12.5% combat bonus.

Green Haze - 25% combat bonus.

Derelict - 12.5% combat bonus.

Asteroids - 50% combat bonus.

Ice Asteroids - 50% combat bonus.

Sparks - 12.5% combat bonus.

Starbase - 12.5% combat bonus. Starbase can refill ammo and also will heal 2 units per use of the Supply command (allowed once per turn), however you must have the funds. These are determined by ship type.

Warpgate - If you warp, you must exit from these. Additionally, you may use them during combat phases by placing the Flagship on top of them and choosing warp from the menu.

Volcanoes - Impassable.

Organic Wall - Impassable.

Red Organic Wall - Impassable.

Metal Rock - Impassable.

Comet - Impassable.

Planet - You need to conquer these to earn more funds. Every planet you conquer gives +$200 and every addition to them gives you +$100 to that each round. Also, all units adjacent to an allied planet can get ammo replaced during the resupply option in combat.

Capital Planet - You must capture this planet to win.

Sun - A large impassable object.

Events

(the BRC translation patch names are first, the originals are in brackets)

• Hope (Boom) - Money gained is doubled this round.
• Mine Find - Money gained is tripled this round.
• Gas Bomb (Space Storm) - Affected Fleet loses 2 ships in every squad.
• Bomb (Nova) - Affected Fleet loses 2 ships in every squad.
• Uprising (Space Pirates) - Total money is cut in half.
• Doom (Recession) - You get no money this round.
• Aliens (Plague) - All planets in a solar system lose one bar.
• Wars (Rebellion) - All planets in a solar system lose one bar. If the level of a planet is 3 or less, it may revert to neutral.

Strategy

Warping out has many strategic concerns.

-Warping cannot be done with a Warp Phase if an enemy fleet exists in the system, and must be done by the Warp command during combat by sitting the Flagship on a warp hole.

-Warping out during your turn with your last fleet allows the enemy to warp in on top of it and destroy it.

-Warping out during your opponent's turn allows you to regroup and warp back in on your turn immediately.

-Warping out also can end a combat phase prematurely if its the last fleet. This can be done on purpose.

-Avoid destroying your opponent's last Flagship if you want the combat phase to continue. Similarly, you can suicide your last Flagship to terminate the combat.

-Artillery can fire immediately on warp-in. This includes Cannons.

Other Information

• This game uses the combat model of the early Wars games. Both sides will attack simultaneously, and the damage dealt cannot exceed the amount of attackers.
• There is a heavy random element in damage dealing, influenced by the "Wealth" score. The same battle under the same conditions can have wildly different results.
• Damaged same class units can reinforce each other by stacking, as long as one point is missing from either one. *If the unit is over the max due to reinforcement, the remaining points will stay with the reinforcing unit.
• Unlike Famicom Wars, a unit that has been reinforced does not lose its movement. You can chain together many reinforcement actions to ultimately propel your forces much farther than they could have individually. Note that the ammunition of the resulting unit is that of the unit being reinforced (ammo of the reinforcing unit is lost).
• Commander ranks are G, F, E, D, C, B, A, AA, S, and SS (you cannot purchase above A rank). This is just a result of the total amount of the four stats, not a strength stat on its own.
• Higher hiring costs can bring in better commanders, but you must offer a lot of money to make much of a difference (and the result is highly random - it still might not pay off).
• When a fleet warps into a system, enemy ships underneath the units that warp in will be destroyed.
• Destroying certain stronger classes with weaker classes may net you better EXP.

See Also:

• Gradius
• Nemesis