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 that allows the player to fight as either the Humans/Gradians or the Bacterians. There are several types of ships that each race has access to which are different only in name/appearance. There are also several maps which increase the amount of systems on the map. The AI can also be programmed to fight itself, although this battle could take a very long time to finish. When playing, there are several different phases that go on, 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

Cosmic Wars is a complex game with plenty of strategy needed to defeat your enemy. Unfortunately, Cosmic Wars is an obscure game and not many guides have been created for reference. However, it has been translated into English so it can be observed. Here is some information one needs to properly play. Will be updated as needed.

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 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 you generally must offer a lot of money to have a decent chance of getting better grades (and its only a chance).

• 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 Base 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, returning the units to the pool at no cost the turn after that. There must be enough slots remaining to hold them (purchases made on the same turn do not count toward consumed space for this move, only a second disband will consume more space). 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. Both players receive a full set each of these three, alternating them between each player. If all fleets from either army in the system are removed from play, this phase ends immediately. A solar system that has had combat occur there cannot have a second separate round of combat occur by any means (i.e. a new fleet is warped in during combat of another system via warp gate, using the warp command).

• 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 (you can simply warp in the warp phase instead).

• 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). Performing two upgrades requires six turns to break even(-1000, +200 per turn, takes two turns to fully execute), while three upgrades requires eight turns(-1500, +300 per turn, takes three turns to fully execute). This gets progressively worse and worse the more upgrades you perform. Considering that just breaking even doesn't make up for not having as much money for a while, this also must be taken into account when calculating the worth of this move.

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, Beams, Blasts, and XBombs (Missiles, Beams, Anti-Submarine, and Torpedoes in the original text). The weapon of the defending ship will auto-adjust to the best one for the enemy target.

• Flagships

• Original Names - Flagship, Bacterian
• Fan-Translated Names - Warpbase, Starbase
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 5
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - ?
• Weak against - ?
• 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 many other ship types.

• Heavy Battleships

• Original Names - Battleship A, Big Core
• Fan-Translated Names - Warhawk, Samurai
• Price - 3000
• Moving Range - 4
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams (Range 3 - 5)
• Strong against - Cruisers
• Weak against - ?
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - These ships can fire from a long distance but cannot fire if they move. The heavy version sacrifice moving ability for more firing range, and has a bit more attack power and defense than the light version. 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
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams (Range 2 - 3)
• Strong against - Cruisers
• Weak against - ?
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - These ships can fire from a distance but cannot fire if they move. Their moving ability is higher than the heavy version, but with reduced firing range. Attack and defense are also reduced slightly. They cannot attack spaces directly next to them, or counter-attack.

• Heavy Cruisers

• Original Names - Heavy Cruiser
• Fan-Translated Names - Injector, Wraith
• Price - 1900
• Moving Range - 7
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - Destroyers
• Weak against - ?
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - General purpose ship. Decent movement, weapons, attack, and defense. Generally less cost effective than Fighters or Mecha for the same purposes, but can soundly beat Destroyers. The Cruiser can do heavy damage to Fighters and Mecha, but will take an equivalent amount of losses, which almost always makes the move not worth it. Heavy version has slightly better attack and defense, as well as an extra movement point. Probably the superior choice between light and heavy, as the attack often makes the difference in destroy an enemy completely and leaving it alive.

• Light Cruisers

• Original Names - Light Cruiser
• Fan-Translated Names - Sunshark, Griffon
• Price - 1700
• Moving Range - 6
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - Destroyers
• Weak against - ?
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - General purpose ship. Decent movement, weapons, attack, and defense. Generally less cost effective than Fighters or Mecha for the same purposes, but can soundly beat Destroyers. The Cruiser can do heavy damage to Fighters and Mecha, but will take an equivalent amount of losses, which almost always makes the move not worth it. With the light version, you save a small amount of money, but the ship is slightly weaker in battle. Probably not worth it.

• Heavy Destroyers

• Original Names - Destroyer A
• Fan-Translated Names - Eagle, Valkyrie
• Price - 1200
• Moving Range - 6
• Weapons - Blasts, Beams
• Strong against - D-Submarines, Mecha (heavy losses)
• Weak against - Missile Ships, Cruisers
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Destroyers are equipped with the blast weapon, which is solely for attacking D-Submarines. Probably the best counter to Mecha, as well a decent option for lower amounts of Fighters. As Fighter numbers climb, it becomes less and less cost effective to match them with Destroyers. Destroyer Beams are much more powerful than Cruiser Beams, making them work decently against beam resistant targets.

• Light Destroyers

• Original Names - Destroyer B
• Fan-Translated Names - Rogue, Demon
• Price - 1000
• Moving Range - 4
• Weapons - Blasts, Beams
• Strong against - D-Submarines, Mecha (heavy losses)
• Weak against - Missile Ships, Cruisers
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Destroyers are equipped with the blast weapon, which is solely for attacking D-Submarines. Probably the best counter to Mecha, as well a decent option for lower amounts of Fighters. As Fighter numbers climb, it becomes less and less cost effective to match them with Destroyers. Destroyer Beams are much more powerful than Cruiser Beams, making them work decently against beam resistant targets. The Light version is very close in power to the heavy version.

• Missile Ships

• Original Names - Missile Ship
• Fan-Translated Names - Falcon, Medusa
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 6
• Weapons - Bombs
• Strong against - Destroyers, Carriers
• Weak against - Fighters, Mecha
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Missile ships are not very durable, but the attack can be effective for the low cost. Decent against Flagships.

• Ammo Tenders

• Original Names - Tender
• Fan-Translated Names - Skymoth, Bloodbat
• Price - 200
• Moving Range - 5
• Weapons - Beams (63 charges)
• Strong against - ?
• Weak against - ?
• 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 (weapon and ammo refill both use a Beam charge).

• D-Submarines

• Original Names - D-Submarine
• Fan-Translated Names - Star Car, X-Tank
• Price - 2000
• Moving Range - 2
• Weapons - XBombs
• Strong against - Cruisers, Missile Ships, Carriers, Battleships
• Weak against - Destroyers
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Blasts
• 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. Has a very high defense against every type of attack except Blasts and the Cannon's attack.

• Cannon Fodder

• Original Names - Scout Ship, Cyber Eye
• Fan-Translated Names - Wombat, Firefly
• Price - 100
• Moving Range - 7
• Weapons - Beams
• Strong against - ?
• Weak against - ?
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Bombs
• Description - Cannon Fodder/Harassment unit. Rarely able to hit anything. More likely to be used to block an enemy or waste their ammunition. Can occasionally score a few kills on Flagships.

• Carriers

• Original Names - Space Carrier, Zelos
• Fan-Translated Names - Mammoth, Hydra
• Price - 4000
• Moving Range - 4
• Weapons - Beams
• Strong against - ?
• Weak against - ?
• 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 you warp without a Carrier, any Fighters or Mecha will be lost.

• Fighters

• Original Names - Vic Viper, Vic Cyber
• Fan-Translated Names - Sunviper, Sunsabre
• Price - 500
• Moving Range - 8
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - Capture Ships, Flagships
• Weak against - Mecha, Destroyers (heavy losses)
• 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 Swirls (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.

• Mecha

• Original Names - Battlesuits, Cybersuits
• Fan-Translated Names - Tommy, X-Trooper
• Price - 800
• Moving Range - 7
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - Carriers, Fighters
• Weak against - Destroyers, D-Submarines (stalemate)
• Preferred weapon to counter this ship - Beams
• Description - The limitation to beams makes this unit not as good at attacking some of the larger ships, but overcomes a lot of the deficiencies of not having bombs with sheer power. Fighters are more cost efficient for general purpose duty, but this can hold its own while being a huge threat to Fighters.

• 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
• Weapons - Bombs, Beams
• Strong against - ?
• Weak against - Fighter, Mecha, Cruiser, Destroyer
• 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.

• Cannons

• Original Names - Buster Cannon, Cyber Gun
• Fan-Translated Names - Star Gun, X-Cannon
• Price - 6500
• Moving Range - 7
• Weapons - Beams (Range 4 only, hits all units in a cross shape)
• Strong against - Instant death to any unit
• Weak against - Everything except Cannon Fodder
• 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.

Terrain

Check the unit map for unit movement reduction values

Space - 0% combat bonus.

Blue Swirl - 37.5% combat bonus.

Green Swirl - 12.5% combat bonus.

Green Haze - 25% combat bonus.

Derelict - 12.5% combat bonus.

Asteroids - 50% combat bonus.

Crystals - 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

• Hope - You get a boost in money this round (maybe 2X).
• Mine Find - You get a big boost in money this round (maybe 3X).
• Gas Bomb - Affected Fleet loses 2 ships in every squad.
• Bomb - Affected Fleet loses 2 ships in every squad.
• Uprising - Total money is cut in half
• Doom - You get no money this round.
• Aliens - All planets in a solar system lose one bar.

Other Information

• Like the Famicom Wars games, the instigator of an attack does more damage than when defending.
• The amount of force applied dampens the damage dealt in return, although this appears to be independent of how many enemy units are destroyed (it's possible to take damage even if you deal enough damage to wipe out the enemy).
• There is definitely some random element to the amount of damage done (tested with savestates).
• Similar classes of wounded units can reinforce each other by stacking so long as their total number is <= 10.
• 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).
• When defending, a unit will fire a preferred weapon if available (H Bombs over Beams, and Beams over A Blasts). This corresponds to the best weapon to attack the attacker.
• Commander ranks are G, F, E, D, C, B, A, AA, S, and SS (you cannot purchase above A rank). You gain experience by destroying and conquering. You promote when your stat values reach a total amount as a whole. This seems to just be a result of the total amount of the four stats, rather than 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).
• I'm not sure what the different stats do for the fleet. They are Command (Spade), Power (Club), Wealth (Diamond), Luck (Heart). According to a Japanese site, Spade is attacking strength, Club is defense, Heart is luck, and Diamond is "ability to utilize terrain".
• If you buy stuff, you have to wait a round before you get the stuff. Any disbanded units will show up on the build queue (and be repaired).
• When a fleet warps into a system, enemy ships underneath the units that warp in will be destroyed.
• Your funds maxes at 99999.
• Destroying certain stronger classes with weaker classes may net you better EXP.
• Giant Bomb manual scans
• Japanese Cosmic Wars site

See Also:

• Gradius
• Nemesis