Dual Vacuum Collapse: Is it Possible?

Dual Vacuum Collapse: Is it Possible?

By far the most dangerous item in the Infinite Space universe is the Limited Vacuum Collapser, a doomsday device that causes a five-lightyear-wide area of space to instantly collapse into a lower energy state, thereby destroying all ships, items and star systems (including your fleet, if it is within the blast radius at the time of detonation) in that part of the map. Normally, this can happen only once per game, but in Sea of Stars, the player can do this twice if the following conditions are met:

• The map contains not only a Limited Vacuum Collapser, but also a Timeless Bauble (which can be used to create a second LVC even if one is already present on the map).
• The player creates an LVC from the Timeless Bauble (which can only be used once).
• When the first vacuum collapse occurs, the Glory system (where the Terran home world, Hope, is located), the player's fleet, and the second LVC (or unconverted Timeless Bauble) are all outside the blast radius - the game will end if either of the former two are engulfed in a vacuum collapse.

This is a rare occurrence, but I've made it happen a few times in the past. In fact, there may be legitimate reasons to do so. For example, you could use the first LVC to eliminate a major threat to Glory (Kawangi dreadnought, Primordius, Urluquai crusaders, Ravian invasion fleets, pirate reinforcements), and detonate the second LVC to remove an ally and/or alien home world(s) you don't particularly like. Here's a recent example.

This screenshot was taken during a game in which I detonated two Limited Vacuum Collapsers on two separate occasions. This is what part of the map looks like after the first vacuum collapse: up until then, the Garthan and Urluquai home systems were present, but now, they are no more, and at least three other star systems were also engulfed.

Recently, I found myself in a situation in which I could cause two localized vacuum collapses in one game: one from a Limited Vacuum Collapser, and one from a Timeless Bauble that I could convert into a second LVC. I detonated the first LVC in a part of the map where it would engulf two alien home worlds (which in this case belonged to the Garthans and Urluquai), making sure to do all the necessary trading between them before the vacuum collapse. After buying the items I wanted, I set the timer, retreated to a safe distance and watched the fireworks. In the aftermath of the "explosion", where there was once a star cluster, there was now a featureless void - but I realized that, with an Anti-Graviton Shunt already fitted to one of my capital ships, I no longer needed to recover the abandoned capital ship Damocles to destroy Primordius, and decided to remove that ship from the map through a second vacuum collapse.

This is what the map looks like in the aftermath of the second vacuum collapse - three more star systems have simply vanished. Among them are the Tchorak home system and the red-orange star system where Damocles spawned.

After the second vacuum collapse, Damocles and the Tchorak were completely gone from the map. Normally this would have made it impossible to get to Primordius, but with one of my capital ships already fitted with an Anti-Graviton Shunt, I was able to reach it anyhow, and converted my flagship (a Terran corvette) into a missile boat armed with two Multi-Missile Launchers - exactly what was needed to blow Primordius to bits. With careful use of a cloaking device, I had no trouble reducing Primordius to an unrecognizable mass of debris.

There was another way I could have dealt with Primordius under these circumstances, however. I could have detonated the second LVC in the Theta system, which was close enough not only to the black hole Chernobog (where Primordius was located), but also the Calatian home system - and considering that I could not make peace with the Calatians this time around, it would have made perfect sense. Had I chosen this course of action, the Tchorak homeworld would have been spared, along with Damocles, and I could have used the latter in combat - but with the Urluquai home world gone by then, I would not have been able to buy another cloaking device to install on Damocles. Nevertheless, I was pleased at how well this particular game turned out.

So why is it now possible to cause two localized vacuum collapses in Sea of Stars? Well, for one, the Limited Vacuum Collapser is no longer a unique item, as was the case in Weird Worlds - as such, there can now be up to two of them present at once on the map at any one time. This may also apply to the original Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, but not in Weird Worlds - unless the LVC is detonated first, and a second LVC is created in its place using a Timeless Bauble - and even then, I have never tried this specific method in that game, so I don't yet know for certain.

In short, causing two localized vacuum collapses in one playthrough of Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars is actually quite wasteful - there is rarely, if ever, any justification to do so - but it definitely looks spectacular, and can even be cathartic if you need to dispose of large numbers of hostile ships at a time without engaging them in direct combat, especially now that there is a limit to how many times you can use a Chromium Gong before it disintegrates. Just make sure your fleet and your home system are at a safe distance at the times of detonation.