Ruthless Conquest

Ruthless Conquest is a galactic strategy game in which you send fleets to capture planets, use their resources to build ships and expand your empire. You win by eliminating every other empire or capturing all the special planets. Local and internet multiplayer are supported, and six levels of AI are available for practice matches or to fill out a game.

Conquer and defend

Bigger planets produce more ships, but freshly captured planets stop production for a while, and planets stop producing when they reach capacity. Neutral planets slowly gather strength, while a very large empire becomes less productive. Ships can also slowly die on overcrowded planets. Send fleets carefully: overstretching your forces can leave your most productive planets open to attack, and planets with low empire productivity show their numbers in grey.

You can launch expensive satellites to defend planets. Their huge lasers fire on enemy ships in range, and their presence also hinders nearby enemy movement. You can temporarily disable satellites to let ships pass, including reinforcements headed for an enemy. Neutral satellites only fire on ships attacking neutral planets. Weaker players may sometimes receive reinforcements, which can turn the tide of battle.

Winning the war

You can win by capturing all special planets, giving even a smaller empire a chance to prevail through careful planning and sudden attacks on the right targets. The galaxy also holds the Antarans, who once ruled it and oppose factions that grow too strong.

The game rewards careful defence over reckless attacks. Build reserves, use small groups of ships to reduce losses from satellites, and look for opportunities when opponents weaken themselves against each other. Attacking the weaker of two opponents can be a mistake, and sending forces against neutral planets can leave you exposed when an enemy is nearby. You can also gift ships to neutral factions that separate you from a powerful enemy, or arrange continuous ship deliveries from safe planets in the back.