|
Strategy Articles!
Strategy Articles are an experienced player’s thoughts on how to play a particular aspect of the game. They differ from FAQs or tips, in that they incorporate the big picture and tie in smaller elements in how to play SEIV with a particular type of strategy.
Many players have great ideas that very in complexity from basic to advanced. You may wish to take this opportunity to share your thoughts with the community. If you have been playing the game for a while, and don’t particularly have any coveted secrets to protect, please go ahead and write one. Some ideas: ____________________ ____________________ 0.5 Empire Design 1.0 Early Economy and Exploration 2.0 Managing Your Economy 3.0 Get the Most out of Fighters 4.0 Combat Strategies – Early, Mid, and Late Game 5.0 Rock, Paper, Scissors – (Which weapons and strategies counter others) 6.0 The Early Kill 7.0 Partnerships and Trade 8.0 How to Win in SEIV by Machiavelli XLVII 9.0 When To Attack [ March 13, 2003, 23:15: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
1.0 Strategy Article I: Early Economy and Growth
1.1 Principles I. Acquire all possible systems and planets while denying them to your opponent II. Expand immediately, continue to push forward, and backfill systems after the enemy’s position is estimated III. Protect your assets with minimal defenses until you are in a position to overwhelm the enemy with superior forces and technology IV. Maintain an economic harmony by practicing efficiency during your empire’s growth; Keep most of your planets constructing assets while not wasting resources (producing a large mineral excess that is wasted every turn) or slipping into a resource shortage (lacking enough resources to keep most of your planets producing) V. Build your designs according to a given planet’s production rate 1.2 Land Rush Build as many colonizers as possible in the first 10 turns. This will require the ability to construct one colony ship per turn, using emergency build. Even better; build one colony ship that includes a supply component (for longer range). Also, you may wish to include a design with cargo (for extra population, or units to accompany the new colony). The advantages to “Land Rush” are that you will have many colonies to give your empire a jump start, claiming systems before other players. The disadvantage is that you will have to cope with your homeworld on slow build for 10 turns afterward. This strategy involves elements in several areas: a. Empire construction. You will have to adjust your race’s construction rate until it allows you to build the desired ship in one turn, (IMPORTANT) after your homeworld loses population (the rate will drop after the first colonizer departs, unless you have advanced storage). b. Sizes of homeworlds. Check the game setting for the size of the homeworld you will begin with. Your rate of production will vary in respect to the population bonus to production. You will (generally) need to begin with a “good” starting planet to use this strat. c. Cost of ship. Don’t be afraid of building a ship with 4 engines in one turn, if a 5-engine ship will take you 2 turns. I’ve built ships with 2 engines to colonize planets in my home system (usually constructed with a Space Yard Base). Many players like to start the game building one or more Space Yard Bases. Building these in one turn is also very advantageous. Regardless, if you can’t produce it in one turn, there is no point in setting your homeworld on emergency build for nothing. Rather, tweak your empire’s construction rate until it offers the desired result. 1.3 Home or Away? Should I colonize in my home system to get things rolling, or send them through the warp points? I personally like to send them out, because of the fact an economic player wants to dominate all available space in the quadrant, while denying it to the enemy. When doing so, I try to colonize a planet in my home system by turn 3-4 so I can get another space yard on-line to compensate for my homeworld when it is in slow mode. 1.3.1 Your colonizers will not be protected and will be in trouble should they be so unlucky as to run into an armed scout. But if they do, they are far from defenseless: a. Colonize and launch mines (or build a weapon platform). This will take 3 turns. If you will be reached within 3 turns, go out the way you came. b. Sit at the back end of the warp point and set your ship’s strategy to “Kamikaze.” You will be greatly surprised at how often this works. c. Bait the attacking ship over an existing planet’s mines. 1.3.2 Key Point: The primary objective of your first wave of colonizers, is, believe it or not, to meet the enemy. This will reveal their position and allow you to follow up and do your best to box them in. If you go a long way without encountering them, colonize a nice planet when you are eventually low on fuel. Once a front line is estimated, your next waves of colonizers will be able to back-fill all those beauties you passed along the way. For the purposes of preparing for war, you want to colonize all you can near the front line to have ship production capability in a forward system. 1.4 The Clinton: Deny, Deny, …Deny The best way to deny territory to your foe is to lay mines or satellites at the warp points. You will need to get out there as early as possible. There is nothing like the crack of mines to deter an opponent from proceeding through a warp point. Many valuable turns are lost while he researches and produces minesweeping capability. In the mean time, you can establish the system, bring up defenses, or reinforce the point (if you have determined it is a logical choke point or “front line.”) 1.4.1 I prefer to research mines ASAP, as they are the best early defense. However, this will take a few turns. And you can’t build minelayers until then. So my secondary choice is to build satellite launching scouts, especially if I’m concerned that my foe is close. 1.4.2 Secret Revealed! My personal favorite design is a transport with 2 minelayers + cargo (if possible, I add a weapon and point defense). Secondary design is a transport with one satellite launcher + cargo + weapon + PD. Movement is 5 and you can get it out the door very early usually (at turn 3 or so). This design offers the following flexibility: a. Can lay units at forward warp points when front line is drawn b. Can destroy new enemy colonies c. Can destroy enemy colonizers and challenge enemy scouts if necessary 1.4.3 Hook and Ladder Immediately after you build your unit layer(s), don’t let it sit waiting for units from your home planet… Send it out right behind your colonizers. Load units from newly colonized planets along the way. Your new colonies on the front lines can immediately produce units to “hand off” to the layer that is following (a.k.a. Hook and Ladder). If you made a base turn one, build units with your base for it to carry. Otherwise, keep your home planet pumping out colonizers! 1.4.4 The Great Seal Lay sats at your opponent’s exit side of a warp point, so they will get first shot a point blank range. Enemy scouts will usually suffer bad damage or be destroyed. Sats are very unreliable elsewhere. Lay mines at your leisure; best position is your opponent’s entry side of the warp point. This is a gamble, however, as you will need to blindly warp first. If you are unlucky, you may lose your ship to the unknown waiting at the other side. Best bet: lay ‘em before and after, if you have enough. It is also sometimes effective to drop mines over planets your opponent will value, if you can’t get to the point to seal off the system. Your ultimate goal is to drop mines at every point in the front line system so your opponent is contained. At this point reload mines and continue to stack 1.4.5 Stop, Drop, and Roll If you encounter the enemy and are clearly outclassed, drop your mines and sit. A smart opponent won’t bite more than once. But you will find that you can move from point, as long as you have mines, and your opponent will have to gamble in order to attack you. If the enemy is a good distance away, your layer will be running low on fuel. To keep momentum, build a resupply depot (on emergency build, if necessary) so that layer does not have to break stride. It can load units, stay active, and cause havoc. And the next wave of colonizers can now refuel for extended range. The opening turns are probably the most crucial. If played correctly (and with a bit of luck) you will be well positioned for vast empire growth. 1.5 Production and Construction Junction Depending on the type of empire you like to run, you will start constructing various facilities while building ships. Regardless, the efficient rule of thumb is to maintain an economic harmony by practicing efficiency during your empire’s growth; Keep most of your planets constructing assets while not wasting resources (producing a large mineral excess that is wasted every turn) or slipping into a resource shortage (lacking enough resources to keep most of your planets producing). In summary, spend all of your minerals each turn, while resisting digging into your storage. You will need stored materials for retrofitting sooner than you think. 1.6 Tweak it! Build your designs according to a given planet’s production rate. This means that you will have to pay attention to the cost (usually mineral) of your designs. You want to be able to produce ships and units in the lowest amount of turns possible. For example, if your planet’s production rate is 2000, it does not make sense to design a weapons platform that costs 2100. Edit the design with a different or less expensive component, or remove a component so that it may be built in one turn. OR Build it in 2 turns; and edit the design so that it costs 4000. This also comes into play when using emergency build. If your planet is constructing 3000 on emergency build, by all means get the most bang for your buck, and create designs that cost 3000, 6000, and 9000. 1.7 fini http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif This concludes my article on Early Economy and Growth. I hope you enjoyed it, and, if you are new to the game, I hope you have taken something away. Any questions, clarification, or comments are most welcome. Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif [ March 12, 2003, 21:40: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Nice work stone. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
Then again, now that I think about it, I'll bet there is someone here who could whip out a "SEIV Production Rate Calculater" program? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif maybe, please? EDIT: Nice Artical! [ March 12, 2003, 23:53: Message edited by: Gryphin ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Thanks, guys. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I'm pleased that you enjoyed it.
Quote:
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
I'm not that great at writting articles so I'll leave that to others. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Slick, if you want, I will convert everything that is gathered together into HTML format for everyone to enjoy. I'm thinking of doing that for the FAQ too if the guys that did it do not mind it being done. But I have to ask them. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif [ March 13, 2003, 17:59: Message edited by: Ragnarok ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Really liked your work!
But think, it should be the chapter 2! The first chapter should be somethinkg like "How to create a good *.emp file?", because think that without a decent *.emp to play, is near to impossible try to win. After see the empire characteristics of an human player at the first contact, I know if will be a balanced game or not... |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Very nice article, Stone Mill! It left me wishing you had written the others as well http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
As a new player, your article really highlighted how much more aggressive I could be. I have frequently found myself either wasting resources (not enough storage) or waiting around for mining facilities to build. I won't be building any escort scouts in the early turns anymore either. Thanks! 3hd |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Excellent article, Stone Mill! Thank you, those strategies are very helpful! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Cheers, mates! Pleased to hear your comments. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Rags/Slick, I really appreciate your opinions on hosting this, you did such a nice job with the FAQ. As you can see, the format is a bit different. Are you suggesting a hosted HTML page on someone's site? Quote:
Quote:
A Strategy Article is an inside look how a player approaches a certain aspect of the game. It is not necessarily right or wrong, or all-inclusive. I welcome anyone who wishes to try one, you can model my format, if you please. It is a neat opportunity to do a bit of creative writing. If you have an idea, or wish for me to clean it up for you, you can always send me an email or forum message, or post here. Since this sort of thing is something I don't mind, I will continue to try an put together some decent articles. (As long as you don't get tired of my long-windedness). http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Good Work Stone Mill....
...but give me dirty laundry... |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Very nice. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Very helpful too. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
On the issue of a hosted HTML page. It could be a good thing but I have to say I am a little uncomfortable with this for a few of reasons. First, I am very unskilled at HTML; not that I couldn’t learn or that the necessary formatting would be hard, but a text file is just simpler. Second, having the file here allows us to quickly refer to it to help answer questions as well as cut/paste from other threads for additions; also, linking to other threads here is very easy. Lastly, I think it would be asking a little too much to have someone pay for a hosted site. If it was a free site, those usually come with pop-ups which I hate and access can be revoked on short notice. Maybe I am just a dinosaur when it comes to converting. Thoughts? Slick. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Nice article! Definitely gave me some new possibilities for my games.
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Very juicy info, soaked up by an eager newb.
More articles! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
Hope you are feeling better these days. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I've pondered this a bit, and have weighed your advice. I would be honored to have my Strategy Articles included in the FAQ. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif Giving away control is no big deal to me, and I really like the idea of one-stop-shopping. I hope I don't throw off your numbering system too badly... do you intend all strategy articles to be under #17, or for each article to have a number (i.e., 17, 18, 19)? FYI: I'm not writing them in any particular order right now; I'm finishing up "Get the Most Out of Fighters" next... |
Re: Strategy Articles!
For now I think the easiest way is to keep it all in 1 major paragraph for "strategy articles" or some such heading. I'd like to keep the other paragraphs available for other major areas of expansion. I'll take a shot at incorporating it in the next rev (from what is in this thread) and if it needs to be tweaked from there, that's easy too.
Slick. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Sounds good. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
So is the following ok? 17.1 Empire Design 17.2 Early Economy and Exploration 17.3 Managing Your Economy 17.4 Get the Most out of Fighters 17.5 Combat Strategies – Early, Mid, and Late Game 17.6 Rock, Paper, Scissors – (Which weapons and strategies counter others) 17.7 The Early Kill 17.8 Partnerships and Trade 17.9 How to Win in SEIV by Machiavelli XLVII 17.10 When To Attack So this first article will be 17.2, with the subsections 17.2.1 and so on? |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Looks good! I will use those general headings but I am very paranoid about running out of paragraphing room so I'll probably modify or group the lay out slightly so that there is still some open room around the higher 17.X paragraphs for future unknowns or expansion under this general strategy section. I'd like to save the other major paragraph numbers for other major expansion. Maybe Starfury, maybe SE5, the sky is the limit. Who knows how this area will expand later (?), I am sure others will add to this section so we'll keep some room to grow. Of course it is always easy to change later.
I will do my best to get it out by the end of the week. Slick. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Next article... coming right up...
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
17.4 Strategy Article V: Get the Most out of Fighters
17.4.1 Principles I. Use Fighters for early system defense II. Design good Fighters; with or without special tech III. Gain the battlefield advantage using massive mount on carriers IV. Use Carrier mounts for all ships until Light Cruisers are reached V. Surprise can be deadly 17.4.2 Overview So you think that fighter tech just gives you cool spacecraft with short lives? Think again. There are a number of strategies for using fighter tech that may help you get the edge on your opponent. Fighters are easily countered, and will usually have a limited window of effect, depending on your opponent’s skill. When I know I’m facing a very tough opponent, I usually spend research on more vital techs. But fighters can be very fun and unbalancing when they first show up in a game. 17.4.3 System Scramble! Fighters are excellent for early defense. They may be constructed and launched from a planet in 2 turns, making them the most ferocious system defense in the early game. A small fighter stack is inexpensive, maintenance-free, has superb range, and will usually burn through any early scout or colony ship (without sufficient point defense). This will give you a strong edge in obtaining control of a system. Try these strategies early in the game when you are competing for a system with another empire: a. Launch fighters from your planet to attack enemy colony ships and newly colonized enemy planets b. Block the warp points quickly. Remember, fighters can’t warp, but they do get first shot on whatever comes through. c. Add extra engines to your designs for long range interception in a system Residual Effects Deploying fighters causes your foe to waste valuable space on point defense. Knowing this, your next wave of ships may have an advantage in component efficiency, using less point defense, (if he is not also using seekers). Recon Your fighters have eyes. Launch them in a system to keep an eye on things. Have them sit on some mines. Building a ship with a small amount of fighter bays is nice for this job. Also, two ships with cargo in the same sector allows you to transfer a single fighter for launching for this purpose. Fighters are awesome for cheap intel; once you engage the enemy in combat, you acquire his ship designs for sacrificing a single fighter. What a Bargain! 17.4.4 Designs Fighters bring a great degree of variation, depending on your needs. Across the board, the more you can increase the amount of damage resistance (shields, armor) and defense (ECM), the better their survivability. Try some of these variations: Standard Tech, Small a. Kamikaze: explosive warhead + engines b. Rocket Pods III: (requires missile tech III) packs a serious wallop c. Long range: one weapon + all engines; fast strike but weak d. Short Range: reduce engines to keep fighters on pace with advancing ships e. ECM: makes them tougher to hit; remember only one fighter with ECM applies the bonus to all ships in the stack! Standard Tech, Medium a. armor, shields, ECM + weapon (Arkcon) Standard Tech, Large a. 2 x shields III + weapons (jim) Special Tech a. Organics Small Electric Discharge III: OUCH! b. Temporal: Time Distortion Burst III c. Psychic: Small Telekinetic Projector III 17.4.5 Mid-Late Game Deployment warp point Generally, fighters do best in large quantities, in a trained fleet (alone) in warp point defense, combined with supplementing ships/units (outside of the fighter fleet): a. In large quantities, they can be quite powerful. A pile of satellites or fighters, stacked full of defenses and weapons, sitting on the right side of a warp point, can do a lot of damage, and can tip the scales of a battle (PVK) b. IMHO fighters and sats keep their use even in late games. The key point as you said is "large numbers". 50 fighters are completely useless against a fleet of 20 or 30 ships but if you have 1000 large fighters with shields in Groups of 30 or even 50 you have a tremendous firepower and won't loose too many fighters. Sats are great as quick defense for warp points when you expand. Just move the sats with your sat layers to the new front line (Q) c. Fighter Base w/ ship yard at key positions can build tons of fighters, and is self-sustaining. Fleet Combat d. Big Wing: Basically, you need the largest fighters you can build with the best shields and strongest weapons. Build them and launch them in massive Groups. 100 is optimal if you can do pull it off. Since each group acts as one vehicle for combat purposes you will have in effect a vessel that can deliver a respectable amount of firepower with each shot. And the large size of the group and heavy shielding will allow them to withstand more than a few shots form the advanced PDC cannons and other weaponry you are likely to face (Geo) e. Draw Fire! Fighters perform much better with shields. Also, try matching their speed to your fleet so they do not outrun your warships. Otherwise your enemy will pick them off with beam weapons while waiting for the big targets. If they arrive with the warships, they will either be ignored and hit or targeted first, drawing fire (LGM) They also pull ships/ fleets set on maximum range into closer range. This confounds some long range strategies set to sit back and pick you apart. warnings There is a small unknown feature for mixed fleets with fighters and ships, the ship supplies decrease quickly, so avoid mixing fighters with ship fleets ! (PsychoTechFreak) the game is splitting the supply pool of the fleet evenly between the ship and the fighter, even though the fighter can't hold half the pool. (Ed Kolis) 17.4.6 Legendary Defense: Let me be “Crystal” Clear The Crystalline Shield Facility definitely does help fighters. The Crystalline Restructuring facility does add to "shield kT", either to each individual fighter or to a stack of fighters. And it gives those points to every fighter in the stack. I think they still work out as hitpoints, rather than shield points (S.J.) Just about the toughest configuration I can think of is a Legendary fleet (+50%) of a massive stack of large fighters (ECM, Shields III, and one of the nastier weapons) as warp point defense in a system with the Crystalline Shield Facility. Even Scarier: use combined with Temporal Event Predictor III (+30% to combat in system). This should be a legendary buzz saw. 17.4.7 Defending Against Fighters Unfortunately, once you show your hand and use fighters, your opponent will research and implement point defense (PD)on his ship designs. There will be a short window where your fighters continue to do some damage, but they will be eventually be no match for point defense, even in great numbers (against a seasoned opponent). a. Ships. Many players will evenly distribute point defense, including one, two, or three PD on each ship. This is a safe practice which spares a fleet from complete embarrassment when encountering seekers. I personally like to deploy point defense ships, especially if my foes are using lots of seekers. IMPORTANT Remember to give your PD ships at least one direct fire weapon, so they engage the enemy, and not run away. b. Units. Mines launched from an enemy planet will “kill fighters, dead!” Also, weapons platforms with point defense can ruin your fighters’ day. Satellites are… unreliable. But the edge goes to fighters early, and throughout the game as long as you maintain numerical superiority. c. Weapons. Direct fire weapons can hit fighters, but have an abysmal hit percentage due to the fighter’s small size and defensive bonus. You will need training (ship, fleet) as well as combat sensors (I, II, III) to hack down fighter stacks. 17.4.8 Carriers Use Carrier mounts for all ships until Light Cruisers are reached. With the 800 ton hull, you will get (nearly) the same amount of space for components that a light cruiser offers. The benefit of this is that you will essentially get the jump on an opponent that is using escorts, frigates and destroyers. The bad part is that the early advantage is usually lost when Light Cruisers are prevalent. LCs designs offer more cost/space efficiency. Unless you have struck early, you will eventually have to catch up with the ship construction research tree. Cargo Space The fighter bays on carriers are cargo spaces. This means you can use them for: -- moving population -- transferring units such as mines, sats, and troops -- Tip! Troop Transport for invasions; remember to assign it to “Troop Transport” class during design, and ship and fleet strategy, of course, must be “Capture Planet” General Use Don’t forget to use them for sweepers, repair, and supply ships. Breachers Early Game Strategy Tip: A nice design for bashing through light minefields with a threatening presence is using Breachers. It has mostly minesweeping components (10); it’s attack power comes from the fighters it carries. In the early game, the Breacher can tear through light minefields and terrorize systems. Even a seasoned player will have to adjust their research and strategy to deal with them. With Mines II, 5 Breachers will give you the sweepers you need, plus fighter attack power! Massive Mounts: Hunter-Killers Hot Tip! Use those massive weapon mounts to rule the battlefield early. That’s right; you will get the leverage of battleship mounts (increased range and strength) with Fighters I. Use Carriers as your main attack force and watch them whittle away escorts, frigates and destroyers… while deploying fighters to boot! Even if your opponent has sufficient defense against fighters, you will find that the fighters tie up a few ships while you move in for the kill. 17.4.9 Shanghai Surprise If you have the patience, a vicious tactic is to not reveal that you are using fighters at all. Defend yourself with anything else, but don’t tip your hand and allow your opponent to compensate. When you feel you are ready for a substantial attack run, unleash your Breachers and Hunter-Killers. Chances are, your foe won’t know what hit them. Press the attack and go for the end game while you have the advantage. It is very tempting to use the fighters and carriers as discussed above, but if you are in a position to hold off the enemy without them, do so and you shock the average defense fleet! 17.4.10 fini http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif This concludes my article on Fighters and Carriers. I hope you enjoyed it, and, if you are new to the game, I hope you have taken something away. Any questions, clarification, or comments are most welcome. Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Stoney [ April 09, 2003, 16:14: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Very nice article!
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Aaaarrghhh,
You are spilling all the goodies. I took a fall from high on the hill (KOTH) to learn some of what you are giving away for free here http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Seriously: Nice article, keep them coming http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Thank you, Gentelmen.
And Primitive, don't fret- reading about strategy is only a small part. Actually implementing these tips and working them into a game is much tougher... you almost have to be the kind of player (such as yourself) who is open minded, and has learned from his mistakes in order for this to make sense. ...the same kind of person whom I think gets the most enjoyment out of reading this stuff. I'll restrain from giving away the Super Double-Whammy Top Secret Tips... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif So classified even I don't know them! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
I have to say that I find using a Carrier as a carrier/troop transport is exceptionally devious and creative. I like it! I would have never thought of doing that. This opens up some other ship designs to explore.
Slick. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
First off, I have enjoyed reading your articles and have learned a number of new things.
Second, could I suggest a few topics? 17.2.X Research strategies 17.2.x.1 How to spend your inital points. 17.2.x.2 How to tailor your research to your goals. e.g. If you wanted to empahsives fighters as in your article, what would your research plan be? and as part of 17.10 How to identify the transitions and/or how to influence the transitions from early game to mid-game to end game. Being able to guage this accurately would seem to be critical to picking the best time to attack (in some cases). |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Might want to note that the "put static defenses on your side of the warp point for first strike ability" will NOT work if it is a one-way warp point coming from the enemy's system to yours... I learned that quickly in Furball IV - all my base were clustered up in the corner since the game didn't "see" any warp point in the sector (it was only an exit point)!
Oh, and you HAVE to include the "sneaky drone launcher hiding in a nebula or cloaked", not to mention its even more devious cousing, the "sneaky drone launcher hiding in a nebula or cloaked and firing CLOAKED DRONES!!!" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif (You CAN cloak drones, right???) |
Re: Strategy Articles!
All these articles are awesome, the problem for me is that I never play multiplayer, and using the fighter tactics against the AI might be kind of unfair.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Don't forget to add a spaceyard to that cloaked drone launcher, so it can build an infinite supply of cloaked drones http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Glad you enjoyed them, folks http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Claymore Righ, I like your suggestions. I'll keep them in the queue. What S_J and Ed Kolis are suggesting sounds like a new article to be called "Dirty Tricks." I was actually thinking of this earlier. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Nice idea. And Aloofi, don't be afraid to use this against the AI... in certain instances (playing on high difficulty with high AI bonus), you will find some of this will simply keep you alive!! [ April 10, 2003, 22:06: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
BUMP
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
17.11 Intel Operations
Principles I. Defense: Maintain an active Counter Intelligence (CI) project, but never let it complete II. Offense: Commit as many points (completed offensive Projects) as possible in order to consume the enemy CI points storage III. Use the most unbalancing intel projects, and forget about the rest Overview Most SEIV players agree that the intelligence model could be better. Nevertheless, should you play in a game that includes intel, it certainly adds another powerful variable. There are many nuances to the system that you should be aware of. Further there are serveral powerful operations that you should use... or be ready to defend! 17.11.1 Don't Get Caught Without It When creating your Empire, choosing to sacrifice your Intelligence Characteristic may come back to haunt you. This stat will relate to a bonus/penalty to the available intel points your empire produces each turn. This will hurt, as the intel system boils down to who has more points accumulated. Most players make the mistake of completely handicapping their Intel scores in their race design. That doesn't help! (1FSTCAT) Research Priority I recommend that Intel is researched in the latter part of the early game, usually for defensive purposes so that your empire is not exploited for lacking defense. Intel attacks can be defended with relative ease due to inherent defense bonuses. Intel rarely makes or breaks a game of seasoned players, except when noted later in this article. 17.11.2 Point Accumulation and Bucket Management The available points generated by all intel facilities +/- racial modifier, +/- partnership treaty each turn may be assigned to any project, of which one or more may be counter intel buckets, different projects, or repeat projects of the same type. When one or more offensive project(s) are completed, the projects are "live" and then measured against the defender's Counter Intelligence Points to determine success. Tip To control point allocation, turn "Distribute Points Evenly" off, as you may do in research. The project on the far left receives 100% point allocation. You may rearrange projects to keep them from completing so that you may "cook" them all off in the same turn at a later time. This will increase the efficacy of your offensive projects, and stop your CI projects from completing. And just to clarify, if you turn divide points evenly off, any points not used by the current(first in queue) project when that project is completed, will spill over to the next project in line (to the right), so you can thereby execute many projects one turn and not spend anything on the item on the far right in the queue (end). (Ruatha) Start with Defense To protect against intelligence attacks, it is best to maintain a counter intelligence project (i.e. "bucket") with the progressive meter growing but never completing. Generally, I start by ensuring I am protected by investing in a CI project so I can concentrate on other areas of the game. This is a solid investment because CI projects receive a bonus which helps growth more quickly. 17.11.3 Early Intel Offense? If you go on intel offense early, be aware that the Level 1 projects are not particulary useful. By the time you pay for a sufficient number of Level 1 projects, chances are you have foregone many other critical facilities (i.e. research, minerals), and may be behind the curve because of it. Although it is true that your attacks will succeed 100% when a player has no CI points, the empire you are attacking with intel will become annoyed with you, may now decide to fight with you conventionally, and will most likely decide to catch up with intel points. Other players in the quadrant may catch on as well. The rare situation where Early Intel is appropriate is when you have an especially good start and empire balance, and you can use Intel projects to support conventional military operations (masses of ship bombs or engine damage, for instance). Ask yourself if you will reasonably be able to keep and exploit the advantage of this particular enemy first. 17.11.4 The Scoop on Counter Intel A CI project is like a bank account. Available points are invested in projects (with interest). Attacks subtract points from CI projects. This exchange happens each turn and new points go into the CI project before your attacks come in. (Slick) Points added to CI in a turn are indeed used for defense in that turn if necessary. CI has no limit to the number of projects it can theoretically stop. (Imperator Fyron) For any given attack, if the defender has (greater than or equal to) stored CI points, the attack will be blocked, and the corresponding amount of points are deducted from your stored CI projects, starting from the rightmost one and moving left. When you have no CI projects or no points stored in any of your CI projects, any subsequent completed attack project against your empire succeeds at 100% (Puppet Political Parties is 50%). 17.11.4.1 Project Levels Accumulate CI points in the highest level available project. Don't complete or delete an old project, especially if you have new access to a higher level inter project; the points stored are cumulative across all active intel projects. All stored CI points work together as it were no matter if they are spread out amongst multiple CI projects. (Slick) Simply begin a new CI project and shuffle the old project to the right. -CI I You do not have Intel technology? but your partner does. 1.2 bonus to applied points -CI II is readily available with Applied Intel 1; use it. 2.4 bonus to applied points -CI III is available with Applied Intel 2. 3.6 bonus to applied points 17.11.5 Recovering from an Intel Barrage There may be an unfortunate time in the game when you are getting pounded with intel attacks from one or more parties, and your defense is depleted each round. This situation ranges in severity to annoying to unrecoverable (attaker may toy with you until game is ended). In general, it's usually a pretty bad place to be. Try the following: a. prioritize a CI project (highest level possible) to rebuild a defense; replace deleted CI projects as necessary b. build as many intel facilities as possible c. of course, destroying an opponent's intel facilities diminishes his attack points 17.11.6 Offensive Projects In general, there are guidelines for applying intel power. a. As mentioned earlier, ask yourself if you will reasonably be able to keep and exploit the advantage of this particular enemy before unleashing your attacks, while defending yourself against an estimated backlash. b. Because of the bonuses applied to CI defensive projects, you must whittle down your target's accumulated CI points. Go big or stay home. Attacking with a few weak projects here and there only alerts them to your intel ambitions and encourages them to increase CI points. c. HOT When you have unleashed your attacks and broken his initial CI defense, you can estimate how many and which of your attacks will get through. For example, one can breach the intel defences by timing several attacks to complete at the same time. Your opponent seems to be blocking about 20,000 points, and you have two crew insurrections attacks near completion. Add 2 ship bombs in front of them (to the left). All 4 complete together this turn. The 2 ship bombs were stopped... but the 2 crew insurrections succed. Time them based on the enemy's points. d. Applying Intel pressure is best with a buddy. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Or two. Heck, invite all your friends to join in. Nothing like the "Dogpile on the Rabbit" on the 1st place Talisman weilding empire. 17.11.7 Covert Ops Briefing Here are the most popular and useful Intel projects: Honorable mention Engine Damage: 10k, Multiple projects against a single ship in a fleet tends to stop the entire fleet in it's tracks. Also nice as a pre-attack warm-up. Ship Bomb: 10k, Running 10 ship bomb intels a turn has saved my butt on several occassions. Knock out key ships from invading fleets when your own fleets aren't quite upto the task. A few rounds of ship bombs can be nasty. (Cyrien) Order Snafu: 10k, Used against early raiders to buy your colonies some time. Ship Blueprints: 15k, I figured out, after much hmming and haahing, that stolen ship blueprints can then be plugged into the simulator to give you a much better idea how your ships will compete with available enemy designs. (Pooka) Tip: Write down the results of stuff like Ship Blueprints and Tech Reports because this will not be updated where you might expect (known technology for an empire, known enemy designs) - though this might have been fixed for Ship Blueprints. (Ed Kolis) Anarchy Groups: 15k, If you know or suspect your enemy's planets are close to riots (especially those filled with foreign population), this can nudge that planet toward unproductivity. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Not bad for the price. Communications Interceptors: especially fun in multi-player (PBW) games... prevents players trades and gifts from getting through. Puppet Political Parties: 100k, has a 50% of stealing that planet from your enemy... also a chance of causing a planetary rebellion (which also removes it from his control). Use against the best worlds... better if you can defend the newly acquired planet(s) too. This one is fun but not very reliable for the 100 K price tag. Technological Espionage (steals a tech level, 150k cost.) Expensive, but in the late game, if you went heavy intel, you can have enough points to do a few of these per round. Which will help since you likely don't have as much research points as the intel-lite races. Also great for sluffing points into when in order to make sure you are putting less than 5k points into your CI project (so it does not complete). (Spoon) Tech Reports: Helps with the above project (Technological Espionage) by listing a handful of your enemy's tech levels. (Spoon) Nastiest Attacks - Crew Insurrection (steals a ship for 50k) - Resource Procurement (steals 10k of each resource for 15k) - Food Contamination (kills 100M population for 15k) - Comm Mimic (makes one empire declare war on another for 20k --Crew Insurrection: 50k, Or, you can think more subtly... Capture an enemy Colony Ship... He's probably got dozens of them hanging around, so he won't miss one or two... What can I do with a Colony Ship, you ask? Well... now you have a sample of another race's population, which if you're lucky breathes a different atmosphere - and if you're even luckier he even has a different planet type so you can analyze the colony ship and steal his colony tech! Consider targeting transports- if you get lucky, you can get some breathers from another environment. If it is a minelayer/sweeper, heck, that is a good chunk of change you may save on research when you deconstruct & analyze. Use Crew Insurrection as a poor man's Technological Espionage - it's only 1/3 the cost, and you can get multiple technologies from a single ship! There are only two drawbacks: 1. The enemy has to have the technology you want actually deployed on a ship, not just researched. And 2. You have to manage to get the ship back to one of your spaceyards safely to get the technology! (EdKolis) --Food Contamination: 15k, Only use Food Contamination on smaller colonies - don't even bother with a homeworld! The population will regenerate in a turn or two and you'll have wasted 20K intel points. But if you use it on a smaller colony (such as 50M), you can wipe out the entire colony and force the enemy to send a transport to repopulate it before it can produce or build anything! --Resource Procurement: 15k, Resource Procurement steals 10000 resource points (lowers enemy total storage and raises your own stored resources by 10000), and only costs 15000... as opposed to Economic Disruption, which lowers enemy resource storage by 10000 points and cost 20000 intel. (Imperator Fyron) Never use the one that destroys resources, if you feel the urge to, use the resource stealing project instead - it's cheaper, has the same effect on the enemy, and you get resources as a bonus! (Note: some mods fix this oversight, check the mod before you try this!) (Ed Kolis) Bombard an enemy with many of these, and their economy eventually dries up. Unfortunately, only one successful subtraction will be made per turn. -- Communication Mimic: 20k, Forces an empire of your choice to declare war on another empire of your choice. Key impact: It wipes out treaties, removing up to 20% incoming and outgoing bonuses. This is huge, and well worth the project cost. It also just causes plain confusion. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif What about the other projects? Well... ughh.. they are pretty darn crappy. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif 17.11.8 Intel and the AI bonus And don't forget the AI bonus factored into the intel modifiers (#2): 1. Level of counter intel project: Level 2 will double, Level 3 will increase the effect three times of the counter intel points. 2. AI bonus: low 2x, medium 3x, high 5x the intel points you see on the score list. 3. Counter-Intel modifier in the seetings.txt file. IIRC this is set to 120% in standard game. 4. Consideration of intel points acquired by any partnership treaty (Q) 17.11.9 fini Well, that wraps up intel. I'm not the expert, so please add any other tips or strategies I have not included. Cheers and Beers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Stoney [ May 06, 2003, 13:38: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
Of course, this gives him your tech as well ... Soulfisher |
Re: Strategy Articles!
wow, thanks. I've been looking all over for good advice on Intel!
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Soulfisher- you are correct... that trade is often how I acquire colony tech from the AI. Remember, a human you are playing against may not be so friendly.
...Actually, now that I think of it, I have a friend who loves to target transports- if he gets lucky, he can get himself some breathers from another environment. If it is a minelayer/sweeper, heck, that is a good chunk of change you save when you deconstruct & analyze. Gwaihir- glad you found this helpful. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Any other feedback on Intel? Things I should add? Just wondering if this helpful. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
I found it very helpful !!!
[ May 04, 2003, 15:28: Message edited by: Maxx ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Is this just strategies for simultaneous games or do you want things such as tactical mode tips (my favorite part of the game).
Plus if you play hotseat with friends they can help a lot. (Or enjoy facing the AI in battle while grossly outmatched in ships) |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
Technological Espionage (steals a tech level, 150k cost.) Expensive, but in the late game, if you went heavy intel, you can have enough points to do a few of these per round. Which will help since you likely don't have as much research points as the intel-lite races. Also great for sluffing points into when in order to make sure you are putting less than 5k points into your CI project. Tech Reports: Helps with the above project by listing a handful of your enemy's tech levels. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
Quote:
[ May 06, 2003, 13:35: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Next up... Rock, Paper, Scissors – (Which weapons and strategies counter others)
I'm doing the best I can with this one. I'll need help from the resident experts to help ensure it's accurate. With luck, I'll post it tomorrow... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Stoney, very good articles! Thanx http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
If you don't mind (I think you don't 'cause you are a teacher in this field and every teacher wants to be usefull for as many as posible) I have copied these articles into Lithuanian forum (which was only recently started) to spread the word and help our players. I bet not all of them even know about the Shrapnel forum. Anyway, I would appreciate your feedback on letting us keep them or take them out and come here for reading. Thanx. *I remember my http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif in our koth game when loosing colony ships on empty planets yet mined. I even lost the count of how many... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif |
Re: Strategy Articles!
That's easy SM. Use DUCs, then PPBs (and maybe shield depleters if opponents get phased shields and you don't have APBs), then APBs + SDepleters. And always use IDs. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Most other weapons are useless for general ship design (except computer viruses and a few racial weapons that are comparable to the DUC/PPB/APB line). MBs are nice, but are overpowerd by PPBs, and way overpowered by later APBs.
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
Quote:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Who mined those planets? Little ‘ol me? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Funny, it seems like my current opponents do a better job of doing this than me. I keep changing my tactics so as not to be predictable. Lately, in the early game, I have been dropping satellites everywhere… just to mix it up. Quote:
|
Re: Strategy Articles!
***PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK! This is a DRAFT. Please excuse the format. This info would be best in a table, but hopefully this is usable.***
17.6 Strategy Article: Rock, Paper, Scissors – (Which weapons and strategies counter others) DRAFT 17.6.1 Principles I. Be on guard as to the ship designs, units, and tactics of competitors II. Address their strategies by employing effective counter-strategies 17.6.2 Overview There is no “Uber” weapon in SEIV; although, some weapons and strategies are more effective than others. SEIV offers players versatility to counter another player’s strategies… by allowing you to design a force that addresses the forces thrown at you. This article addresses units/ships/fleets. Note that economic, political, intelligence factors are generally not included (which are critical factors in defeating an opponent). This is a basic list. Please add anything I have missed. 17.6.3 Unit Strategies / Counter-Strategies 17.6.3.1 IF your opponent uses Seekers or Drones, small or medium amount or in size: Fighters, Missiles, Crystalline Torpedo, Drones. THEN: a. Use Point Defense (PD) on your ship designs, Design PD ships. Continue to research PD to increase damage output. b. If you have a lot of PDCs compared to the number of enemy seekers/fighters, get in close because you can overwhelm their seekers/fighters and take no damage (Imperator Fyron). c. If you do not have a lot of PDCs compared to the number of enemy seekers/fighters, you can survive by moving out of range of the seekers after firing your weapons. This is also known as "missile dancing". The idea is to make the seekers move up to their maximum range. At that point, they disappear and can do no damage. Use optimal or max range (difficult in simultaneous games) (Imperator Fyron). d. Use satellites or fighters (esp at warp points). Missiles can’t hit ‘em, but be warned… fighters can. 17.6.3.2 IF your opponent uses Seekers or Drones , large amount, or large size: Fighters, Missiles, Crystalline Torpedo, Drones; missile boat fleets, carrier fleets THEN: a. Increase Point Defense (PD) on your ship designs, Increase the number of PD ships. Research PD V as a priority. b. Strongly consider using fighters. c. (Versus fighters) increase sensors and training so that your direct fire weapons can hit. d. Attack with an equal or bigger fleet, direct fire + PD, short or point blank strategy. 17.6.3.3 IF your opponent uses Mines : THEN: a. If sparsely distributed, early game, include a minesweeper escort. b. Add armor to help absorb damage. Shields don’t help here. c. Mid to Late game, always travel with 100+ minesweeping capability. 17.6.3.4 IF your opponent uses Satellites : THEN: a. Use Point Defense (PD) on your ship designs, Design PD ships. Continue to research PD to increase damage output. b. Use armor to increase survivability. c. Fighters will clean them up, provided your carrier survives the initial attack and is able to launch. 17.6.3.5 IF your opponent uses Weapons Platforms or Bases: THEN: a. Counter whatever weapon type is used. b. Use short or point blank range. c. Ensure you have enough ships to absorb the attacks, if early game. Medium game fleets should typically overcome WPs easily with small losses. d. ECM and training will make your fleet much harder to hit; esp. medium to late game. 17.6.4 Ship Strategies / Counter-Strategies 17.6.4.1 IF your opponent uses Kamikaze ships : Including Ramming THEN: a. Target that ship type first in the firing strategy if feasible (i.e., “smallest, nearest”). b. Use max or long range. c. Ensure you have enough ships to absorb the attacks, if early game. Medium game fleets should typically overcome suicide ships easily with small losses. d. Use fighters. They cannot be rammed in simultaneous games. (Geo, Geckomolis) e. Ramming ships are frequently vulnerable to engine destroyers. Ramming ships that don't move don't ram much. They tend to focus on armor for hitpoints, since the attacker's shields are not counted when ramming. Of course, they could still slip a single shield generator on there, but many forget to do this (Krsqk). IIRC, ramming drops the attacker's shields to 0 (Imperator Fyron). 17.6.4.2 IF your opponent uses Ship Capture : Boarding Parties THEN: a. Use shields. Boarding parties hate ‘em. b. Use shield regenerators... even 1 point of shields is enough to stop boarding parties. c. Use self destruct devices. Note: your ship will still be destroyed, but not captured. d. Use security stations (not particularly efficient). Also consider adding additional crew quarters. (see FAQ 6.4). e. Target that ship type first in the firing strategy if feasible (i.e., “smallest, nearest”). f. Use max or long range. g. Consider using engine destroyers to impede the enemy's movement. 17.6.4.3 IF your opponent uses Shields : THEN: a. Use Phased Polaron Beam (PPBs). b. Use Null Space weapons. c. Use Shield Depleting weapons, designed so they fire first. d. Lure the fleet into a shield-disabling storm. 17.6.4.4 IF your opponent uses Armor : THEN: a. Use Null Space weapons. b. Use Engine Destroying weapons. 17.6.4.5 IF your opponent uses Master Computers : THEN: a. Use Computer Viruses. 17.6.4.6 IF your opponent uses Phased Polaron Beam (PPBs) : THEN: a. Use Phased Shields. Forego using any normal shield components. Any normal shield components must be removed, or they will nullify the phased shield protection. b. Use Armor. Get to Armor VI as a priority. Armor III is the best for hitpoints, and armor VI is needed for the full 15% defensive bonus from both stealth and scattering armor c. Engage with a longer range weapon (i.e., APB at advanced levels) or with longer range mount (i.e., WPs or base mounts) 17.6.4.7 IF your opponent uses Armor and Shield Skipping Weapons: Null Space, Weapon Destroyers, Engine Destroyers THEN: a. Engage with a longer range weapon (i.e., APB) or with longer range mount (i.e., WPs or base mounts) b. Forego using many armor and shield components. 17.6.4.8 IF your opponent is not using Point Defense: THEN: a. In general, deploy Fighters, Missiles, Crystalline Torpedo, Drones, satellites; missile boat fleets, carrier fleets. b. Fighter stacks will decimate missile boat fleets, since missiles can’t target them. c. Note: You always want to have 1 or 2 PDCs on your ships no matter what the enemy is currently using, even if they are not using missiles, seekers, and such. Because not doing so would leave you very vulnerable to a sudden change of tactics (I have seen many players in PBW fall into such traps). (Imperator Fyron ) 17.6.5 Ship Strategies / Counter-Strategies: Special 17.6.5.1 IF your opponent uses Allegiance Subverters: THEN: a. Increase ship defense bonus through training, ECM, and Stealth & Scattering Armor. Shields, Armor, Self Destruct Devices, boarding parties and security stations do not prevent subVersion. b. Use Master Computers. Even if your master computer is taken down (i.e., virus), it still is immune to subVersion. c. Tip: If the enemy is using Allegiance Subverters, use a MC and one of each (Bridge, LS and CQ) on your ships. This will make them immune to the AS, and they will not be disabled by a Computer Virus. Get the best of both worlds. (Imperator Fyron) 17.6.5.2 IF your opponent uses the Talisman: THEN: a. Attempt to wage war with a Religious foe before Talismans are available. They are expensive. You should be able to compose a better fleet with the amount of research he has foregone to do special research. If the talisman is already on the field, you have cause for concern. b. Avoid engaging his fleets and attack his resource base. Frag his planets with lots of small fleets, each well trained with 100+ minesweep. He will have to choose to either call off his attack to protect himself. c. Beat him with intel. Break his treaties, steal his resources, and steal his ships with Crew insurrections. Allegiance Subverters (psychic) used correctly (at a warp ambush) can be nice. d. Fight the battle on your terms, at the exit side of the warp point. Get first shot. Use fighter stacks and sats with a variety of deadly combos. Engine destroyers are nice. e. Use a longer range weapon, and engage from a distance. If you need a direct-fire weapon, consider the Wave Motion Gun. +30% to hit. Try to use a weapon that packs more punch. f. Use better shields and armor to increase your survivability. g. Or forego using shields and armor at all, and use the space for more weapons. If you do this, ensure your ships are fast and engage at point blank range. Ripper beams are a nice choice for this. h. Design heavy armored (preferably organic armor) ships that fight at close range and soak up damage, while your main force engages from a comfortable distance. You may consider making giant organic Kamikazes. i. If you can't engage with superior range, (i.e., Your APB vs. his PPBs) use point blank range to get the best chance to hit and cause the most damage since he'll always hit you anyway. (Imperator Fyron). I have found that point blank / ram with target nearest / nearest / nearest / nearest works the best. And Send in your best Direct Fire ships. Tested in Games against Talisman fleets. Because if you hang back and cannot hit him, his fleets sit back and destroy your fleet and gain experience at the same time. A lose-lose situation. (tesco samoa). j. Skip adding ECM. You won’t need it. k. If he is light on PDC, lure him into a fighter/seeker trap. Preferably at a warp point. Good players won’t give you the chance, however. 17.6.6 General Strategies / Counter-Strategies: 17.6.6.1 IF your opponent uses Point Blank or Short Range: Including Tractor Beams THEN: a. Use longer ranged weapons and consider repulsors. Increase your attack % and use a longer range strategy. 17.6.6.2 IF your opponent uses Optimal or Longer Range: Including Repulsor Beams THEN: a. If you aren’t doing well at longer range, use more powerful weapons and consider tractor beams. Use a short or point range strategy. b. Increase ship movement to engage faster. 17.6.6.3 IF your opponent is difficult to hit: THEN: a. Increase ship and fleet training, combat sensors, and move to short or point blank range. b. Increasing ship speed may be helpful. c. Next time, design your empire with berserker or warrior, and soup up aggressiveness/defensiveness. Or try the Talisman. 17.6.6.4 IF your opponent is hitting you often: THEN: a. Increase ship and fleet training, ECM, and move to longer range (as long as you are hitting him more). b. Increasing ship speed may be helpful. c. Next time, design your empire with berserker or warrior, and soup up aggressiveness/defensiveness 17.6.6.5 IF your opponent is doing more damage than you: THEN: a. Research more powerful and more advanced weapons. b. Use ship/unit classes with bigger mounts. c. Consider adding armor or more powerful shields. d. Overwhelm with numbers. 17.6.6.6 IF your opponent is attacking or capturing your planets: THEN: a. Early game against small fleets; Try the usual; mines, fighters. WPs, bases. Give you better range. Add sensors and multiplex tracking. b. WPs can pack a nasty punch if you stack quite a few on a select planet. Usually, you can bring an attacking fleet to a halt if you significantly damage on of its ships movement capability. This may stop prevent “chain attacks” where he wipes out several planets in a turn. Eventually, weapons platforms will be overwhelmed by enemy fleets, so your best defense against fleets will be fleets of your own. c. Scorch earth. Destroy all facilities the turn before it appears you will lose the planet(s). d. Garrison troops to kill his troops, if he is not packing many. 17.6.6.7 IF your opponent defending the warp point entrance: THEN: a. Play in the simulator to see if you can devise a strategy/movement so you can get first shot. b. Defending the entrance is not necessarily a tactical advantage, however, the defender on average gets into firing position first. 17.6.6.8 IF your opponent defending the warp point exit: THEN: a. He will get first shot at close range with most or all or his units and ships.. This is a serious tactical advantage. You must devise a way to ensure the survivability of your ships after his opening volley. b. Increase ship and fleet training, ECM, so that they are harder to hit c. Increase your ship size, add armor and shields (if appropriate). Design some “damage absorbers” with only a few weapons. d. Increase the number of ships in your attacking force (2:1 or 3:1 or better ship ratio, for example) e. Open another warp point, if possible. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif 17.6.6.9 This concludes my article on Strategies and counter-strategies. Enjoy! Feedback is welcome as always. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif [ May 28, 2003, 17:16: Message edited by: Stone Mill ] |
Re: Strategy Articles!
Feedback:
- Superb as always. These articles are really turing into a grand project and I thank you for the effort. Glad to see you found time in between making babies to do some writing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif - Typo: PPB = Phased Poloron Beam, not that funky name you made up http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif - Don't worry about formatting. Once you are satisfied with the "draft" and ready for incorporation to the FAQ, let me know and I will format it. I expect to get the next FAQ update done by the end of the next weekend. If this is not ready by then, no problem, it will go in the following revision. Slick. |
Re: Strategy Articles!
LOL! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Thanks, Buddy.
Particle Projection Beams http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif ... I'm getting my Sci-Fi universes mixed up... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif edited. |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:50 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2025, Shrapnel Games, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.