The Worst Things That Can Happen

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

58. Just before SEV is released as a finished version, a mass computer virus strike eliminates all beta copies of SEV on all computers of Malfador and the testers..... back to the drawing board

[NullAshton]

59. Your SE5 CD spontaneously explodes.

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

38. You play a humans-only game as the most powerful member of a 19-pronged alliance against a single enemy, you are the top 19 on the list, and then your entire alliance is pounded into dust.
39. You prep your most important shipyard and start construction on the COMCA that stands between total victory and complete annihilation for you. The turn before it's finished the planet rebels and forms a new Empire.....

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

That happened to me a couple of times..... very much ouch

[PvK]

42. Patiently building up during a long period of peace an inactivity, you build up a massive empire with great care and attention, and are about to put several plans into action to finally use your carefully designed ships and strategies and everything is about to come together in some climactic battles, when suddenly and unexpected the game ends due to victory conditions you weren't expecting.
43. You find out too late, by the utter destruction of your main fleets during a carefully timed simultaneous attack, that your minesweepers actually have mineLAYER components on them.
44. Due to a transport loading error, strategy setting error, loss of a transport to a satellite, mine hit, quirky initial battle placement, or a random or espionage event, the results of your simultaneous-mode turn execution involves the unplanned mass-extermination by your fleet of billions upon billions of defenseless civillians, including those on your own planets.
45. You miss a PBW turn and haven't turned off the AI design minister, who retrofits most of your fleet to use Graviton Hellbore I's as their main weapons, throwing away most of your APB XII's.
46. You build up a massive armada and a glorious-seeming empire which is the envy of the other human players, until you learn for the first time how SE4 combat modifiers stack, and that you should really have paid some attention to aggressiveness, defensiveness, combat sensors, ECM, and ship and fleet training, which all add to give you a 1% chance to hit their ships, while they have a 100% chance to hit yours, and they all gleefully split up your empire between them while your massive fleets only serve to give theirs legendary experience levels. By the time you can train some ships and install ECM and sensors, their experience from killing your armadas means you still can't hit them.

PvK

[Starhawk]

47. You put your ENTIRE navy into a single fleet, and make an alliance with another human player, he does the same and you both launch a daring attack on an enemy empire's home system and acheive glorious victory over his navy!
The very next turn you find out that his "Navy" was only a single battlefleet among many as he simultaniously takes out you and your allies home planets, home systems and then starts working his way out.
Just as you are about to turn about to exact revenge your enemy shows you the little "surprise" he hid near the sun.....BLAM!

48. You decide to test out your new black hole maker on an enemy sun, only to realize that the system you destroyed wasn't the enemy's pink system, it was your allies!

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Oooh that's VERY painful.....

68. You place an order for a number of ships with your most trusted ally, and tell them where you want them. You see the ships entering your space alright, but instead of going for the sectors you named, they move to every single star in your space..... and the rest (and you) is history.

[Ron_Lugge]

69. This thread doesn't come to a sudden and painful end because you're laughing in class.