Ow.
 

Note to self: don't get complacent, even against the AI.

I started up a game on Gold. Three planet start, low tech, 2000 points. Ended up in two systems, with my one system only connected to the other.

So I explore out. Oh, joy, the Krill are one system over. Fast forward about 30 turns. I've waxed the Krill (only found one homeworld, but they're dead), contacted the Eee, Sergetti, and Uk-Tral. The Uk-Tral appear to have about 12-15 systems to themselves, so they have lots o intel points. I manage to shut them down, and park the remainder of my Krill Genocide Fleet on my Sergetti/Eee border. The Sergetti and Eee are both friendly, but the Sergs keep throwing colony ships through, so I break. They get really pissed, really fast.

Fast forward more turns. I've developed all three colony techs, shields V, Torp 7, PD 5, Research, Intel, resources 3. I'm just happily camped out in my 7 system empire, building up my infastructure and fending off intel attacks from the Uk-Tral. I haven't purchased any new ships since the Krill War. The Sergetti have been throwing the occasional ship my way, but only colony ships and really, really pathetic (no shields, basic guns) LCs.

Then all hell breaks loose. the Sergetti hit my border with 2 BATTLEcruisers, and about 10 LCs. Worse, they're armed with PPBs, and I don't have armor installed, much less phased shields. My 30 ship defense fleet is wiped out, but it plays roadblock for a while, meanwhile I'm franticlly making new defense ships. And now, to add insult to injury, the events system has decided my turn has come up. One of my manufacturing planets near the Sergetti border is due to explode, and the warp point leading to my border systems is about to collapse.. leaving my poor 2 shipyard border all alone against the entire Sergetti empire.

This is gonna be messy.

Phoenix-D

Re: Ow.
 

Sending Phoenix-D a bandaid, some reinforcements, and technology, (saving some for myself),

Re: Ow.
 

How you gonna save yourself?

Re: Ow.
 

So that whole thing with the <blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr> really, really pathetic (no shields, basic guns) LCs. <hr></blockquote> was a feint or a coincidence that the AI had really ****ty ships that it wanted to get rid of.

If that was a feint i am impressed, even then a coincidence could make for some nice surprises. I should try that myself.

Re: Ow.
 

"How you gonna save yourself?"

Uh, liberal use of the emergancy build button and hope that nothing else explodes, heh http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Phoenix-D

Re: Ow.
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Phoenix-D:

I started up a game on Gold...

So I explore out. Oh, joy, the Krill are one system over. ...Phoenix-D[/QB]<hr></blockquote>

I started a Gold game, 255 systems in a midlife quadrant using the default "even distribution" choice. I also had an AI empire in an adjacent system. That is not my idea of even distribution. Can Aaron look into this?

Elmo

Re: Ow.
 

Elmo, might depend on how many opponets you have in game, don't know for sure

PhoenixD, does the original races play tougher in gold then original, haven'b been able to load game yet, darn storm knocked out all our power, been down since yesterday afternoon, currently at in-laws do to the cold

just some ideas mac

Re: Ow.
 

Well, the Krill were certainly no huge deal. Then again, two of their homeworlds went AWOL.. The Uk-Tral haven't hit me yet, probably too many systems in between. The Sergetti you know about.

The AI early game research seems a bit wacked in this game. Most of the AIs had extra colony tech before they were using shields!

Phoenix-D

Re: Ow.
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mac5732:
Elmo, might depend on how many opponets you have in game, don't know for sure... mac<hr></blockquote>

It's a PBEM game with one other person. We set it for max AI players. However even if there are 15 other players there is no reason for two home systems to be adjacent in a 255 system quadrant.

Elmo

Re: Ow.
 

Well PD....I've been in your shoes.......I did not Last to long tho http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif they just walked ALL over me I met them in about turn 8 tho so all Fregs and Escorts http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: Ow.
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
I've waxed the Krill (only found one homeworld, but they're dead)<hr></blockquote>

You got lucky with Krill. I my test games they are far more sophisticated then Sergetti (2.10 Version). Sergetti will only glass your colonies, while Krill would, however, conquer them and use them against you. They are definitely one of the best races I have seen so far.

[ 11 March 2002: Message edited by: Daynarr ]</p>

Re: Ow.
 

Hehe, lucky me, Krill waited until I had a bit of tech before they tried me....

Sergetti, now those little *&^%$# got me early on and wiped my home system...that's why I am in a new game with Nostopholo (sp), Red Gauntlet Mercs and Sherlon (sp).

Re: Ow.
 

Elmo, If we assume 3 wormholes per system and randome players placement, the chance that in 16-player, 255-system you will have a close neighbor is roughly 18%. You should expect it to happen quite often.

Re: Ow.
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by oleg:
Elmo, If we assume 3 wormholes per system and randome players placement, the chance that in 16-player, 255-system you will have a close neighbor is roughly 18%. You should expect it to happen quite often.<hr></blockquote>

oleg

I am not assuming "random player placement". I have checked the box for an "even distribution". The manual says this places home systems an "even distance from each other". Having an adjacent empire is not my idea of being an even distance apart. However the manual also does say this can vary so I guess that is what happened in my game.

Elmo

Re: Ow.
 

Imagine 256 systems in a square grid. Imagine that each system is connected to its 4 nearest neighbors. Place 16 players uniformly in this grid. Each player will be 4 jumps from each of his neighbors, at the "center" of a 16-system region. I say "center," in quotes, because the true center of each region is between the 4 center systems. So you'd have to pick one of the 4 center systems (say, the lower left) as the universal "center."

OK, now randomize the connections just a bit, so that connections can be either to nearest neighbors or to next-nearest neighbors, with a maximum of 4 connections per system. Also randomize placement of players within the central 4 systems of "their" 16 systems. Looked at this way, it isn't hard to see how you could accidentally end up only two jumps or even one jump away from a neighbor, even though the player distribution was initially uniform. However, you can still count on each quadrant containing 16/4=4 players, so in that sense the distribution is still "uniform."

Re: Ow.
 

Heh, heh, heh.

Revenge is sweet. My cut-off system held out- apparently that wave was the Sergetti's only wave.

So I bid my time, fortifying the two warp points leading out of my empire. the Uk-Tral managed to kill around 5 of my BCs, but only because I made the mistake of retrofitting at the warp point. The Uk-tral ships have been pretty pathetic.. no ECM or combat sensors.

I research and train my ships. On the appointed turn, they flood into Sergetti space, invisible behind their Cloak IIIs. Two turns later, they strike.

I plague-bombed EVERY Sergetti planet with plague 5 in a single horrendous attack. They're doomed. Three of their colonies have already fallen, and the rest are rioting and loosing 314m people per turn.

Side note: plague ships are stupid. You only need one hit, but my ships stood in range the entire time, firing. And got wasted by the weapons platforms. Oh well.

Phoenix-D

Re: Ow.
 

Pheonix-D, keeping a proud tradition of genocidal biological warfare.

Just like Hitler, Stalin, the Khmer Rouge and Milosevich...

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Nah. Me kid me kid.

Re: Ow.
 

EEEEEKKKKK! The Sharlon just wiped the universe of the Nostropholo and are currently pounding the Red Gauntlet....1 fleet is 33 dreadnaughts, another is 22 or 23...and there are singles running around..

Jeez I am having a hard time keeping a small fleet of 2 battleships, 3 battle cruisers and a small carrier up and running....

Re: Ow.
 

Now, now now. Let's not be crude. Hitler used primitive gas chambers, Stalin and the others the revoltingly crude BULLET. Comparing that to my fine, advanced plague agents really is an insult to all the great beings who made this possible!

Besides, I have all their numbers topped. Nyya.

;-)

Phoenix-D

Re: Ow.
 

(lurking intelligence agent) aahhh PhoenixD, you use plague bombs huh, good to know for upcoming extravaganza.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

just some ideas mac

Re: Ow.
 

Stalin's and Mao's favorite weapon for mass murder was purposely-engineered famine. Together they used it to kill tens of millions of "undesirables," many more than Hitler killed, even counting war casualties. The "great" thing about famine is that, not only does it kill directly at very low cost, but it also weakens people enough that plagues often start spontaneously.