I need some suggestion...
 

Well, suggestions & help http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

First of all, I'm Getix, the Cromist Federation big boss..

Ok, let's start:

1) I can't find anymore the link which contained information on how to "maximize" your empire (from the empire creation screen).. It was all connected to changing the % in that screen..

2) Ship Design

Generally i play VS AI, and i use 3 different "design" types:

a. Destroyers
Fast (at least 5 movement), high supply, a pair of CSMs o Seeker Parassite. Used for scouting and "support" in fleets

b. Light Cruiser/Cruiser Support Ship
Ranging from a Cruiser with 2 repair bays to Light Cruisers/Cruisers filled with supply storage. Fast, they don't cost too much and improves general fleet performance. If possibile, on this ship is mounted a Point Defense cannon.

c. Cruiser/Light Cruisers Missile / DF
I create mainly 2 "design": Missile ship (CSM + Parassite + PDC) and Direct Fire (Mainly Acid Globule e/o Null Space Projectors or Wave motion Gun). Generally filled with Shields and (at least) 1 Organic Armor (it is 150kt worth of protection!). If possible ECM/Sensors/Multiplex.

d. Cruiser PDC
Cruisers filled with PDC, ECM, Sensors, Multiplex & (if availble) Long Range Scanners. They stay just behind my fleet and "cover" them from missiles. Heavily Shielded & Armored (at least 2 OA)

What kind of ship do I miss?
I also create some Pop Trans, Mine Layer & Colony Ship. I always try to have at least a Med. Trans free running around battlefield.
Also have some Ground Combat ships, generally full of Cargo, ECM, Shield and as much armor as possible.
I don't use Carrier (is this bad?)

3) What are DRONES? I can't find a way to buld them..

4) Strategy & Colony & Ship types
I generally create:

Ship-> repair ship, Point Defense ship
Colony-> Mixed colony (obvious, no? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )
Strategy-> Point Defense (fire @ seekers)

Shold i create any more?

Thanks to all http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

May the CROMA be with you.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Regarding Q3, do you have SE4 Gold?. Drones weren't introduced till then.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Ok, i don't have Drones http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

No, got SE IV from a friend who bought it but got "upsetted" by micromanagment/ship design and so on (he is now playing DooM 3).

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Well, you've gone missile heavy and you're sticking to smaller ships. When the AI develops the best PDC, and large hulled ships with high power shields, your advantage may slip away.

You seem to like playing organic, but don't care for carriers. The organic race gets a higher powered, yet cheaper fighter than other races, you might want to take advantage of your benefit here.

You've got the basics of a game vs. the AI down. Consider trying Play-By-Web. You'll want to have the min-max link you asked for before you do. Imperator Fyron's Version is right here {click}

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Yes, i like playing with organics, don't know why http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
About shields i'm going to use Phased Polaron Beam when the computer will start to use "heavy shield".

"" The organic race gets a higher powered, yet cheaper fighter than other races, you might want to take advantage of your benefit here.""

Are you talking about Parassite seekers?

Thanks for the link, i was exactly looking for that page!

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

2 OA is pretty much "light" armor in my book http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Especially for scouts what will be facing off with the enemy in tiny skirmishes (1 vs 2-3) You'll want to load up on OA to perhaps half the space on your ship.
With enough regen, the enemy simply won't have enough firepower to break through, and you can take all the time you need to kill them.

IIRC, in SE4 classic, your OA will start storing up regen points right from the start of battle. The longer you delay before reaching weapons range, the more points you'll save up and the more invulnerable you'll be http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

He is talking about building carriers and massing fighters using the small arc beam. Due to the organic cost you can easily outproduce players who need minerals for the fighter weapons.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

I think the fighter weapon everyone is referring to is the "Small Electric Discharge" To get the highest level of this weapon, research Organic Weapons, and then smaller weapons. This weapon is cheap, high damage per kT of space used, and is probably simply the best fighter weapon there is.

Other hints: Use larger ship sizes, up to at least battleships. If you use the battleship hull, you get access to a weapon mount which increases the damage your weapon does against your enemies. This alone is a reason to use battleships, and you can also put more armor/shields, plus your ECM, sensors and multiplex tracking. In addition, you might even have some space for a cloaking device.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Min-Maxing the Empire

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

The Organic weapon in question is the best for fighters, if you want a weapon with a rate of fire of one. The Small Telekinetic Projector is slightly weaker (and more expensive), and the best regular weapon is the usual DUC, if memory serves. The Small DUC does not even need research in Small Weapons, but merely one level of Fighters.

The weapon mounts should always be used, as they do not have any significant drawback. Note, however, that their relative increase in damage is weaker as the size increases; the Large Mount is a much greater improvement over no mount at all than the Heavy Mount over the Large Mount. (I might not want to use the Heavy Mount in one particular case, but that would probably not matter anyway)

I would like to make a correction Renegade though: there is usually not any need for cloaking devices. Instead, you will want to research Armour up to level VI, and put the Stealth Armour on your vessels. For 30kt, you will be given a +15 defence bonus, some added protection, and a level one cloaking device. You will also want to put the Scattering Armour for its similar defensive bonus.

The actual Cloaking devices are actually expensive to research and to use, and would only be needed if you played against someone who did not bother to put the best sensors in every system. (The research in anti-cloaking sensors is much cheaper than the research in cloaking) While the Hyperoptics I (Advanced Military Science IV) is enough to detect the Stealth Armour, you will need Hyperoptics III to detect the best level of cloaking available, in case someone is actually using these devices.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

well, I agree that you have human vs. AI down... but if you ever get SEIV Gold you will be slauted by the AI. I have found that unless you know all the AI races (how they attack, build ships, what they put on there ships) you have to be HIGHLY adaptible, I have never found a ship design that works all the time. many times I have beat one AI with a missile fleet and then the next race I meet has some other design that tears apart my wining fleet... in other words, don't limit yourself to those designs you said, try to keep yourself flexable. that is the samething you need to do in a PBW game... if you are not flexable you lose vary fast.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Wow Sefter! When did you become so wise?! Awestrickened
I am. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

The Organic Armor before the regeneration bug fix was super powerful. You could just put tons of organic armor and no weapons on a big ship and just ram your enemies. Of course, this didn't work against crystalline races.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Generally i try to have a fight with my enemy before changing designs of ships. So, if i find that he is using missile, i will go PDC etcetc...

Flexible? well, more than this! I generally keep my fleet missile-directfire-pointdefense to a 2:4:2 ratio... (that is my standard fleet).

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

In general using the larger ship sizes is better for several reasons:

First, you can mount bigger guns on them by using larger mounts.
Second, you can mount more guns on them simply because they are bigger.
Third, they can absorb more punishment then smaller ships.

I generally use missile ships until I get to cruiser sized ships and then I usually switch over to direct fire variants. Mainly because by then the computer is using larger ships with decent point defense so the amount of missile I have to use to kill one ship is rather annoying.

However, when you switch over to direct fire variants you lose the range advantage over your enemy. Usually this is not bad since you more then make up by being able to fire every round or two. However against psychic races losing the range can be anything from a slight annoyance to nearly lethal if they steal lots of your ships.

My usual computer stomping ship is a dreadnought with a Master computer, best engines, either quantum reactor or some additional supply ships, 3-4 shields, 3-4 point defense, 8 heavy anti-proton beams, and some stealth and scattering armor. Add in the usual scanner and ECM and just sen in a a few fleets. They make short work of the computers. And they work against anyone.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

you might try reading this Getting Started Guide It might have some usefull info for you.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

There is another guide out. I will try and find it. IT is far more detailed than the one I just provided the link for.

HERE IT IS It is a hell of a lot more detailed than the first one.

Re: I need some suggestion...
 

Man, it is a .exe file... i won't download that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif