Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

Hey, I'm beginning to more closely fine tune my race after playing a little bit, and would appreciate it if anyone would give me comments or suggestions on where I'm headed.

Atmosphere Breathed: Hydrogen
Home Planet Type: Gas

Culture: Scientists

Physical Strength: 50%
Intelligence: 120%
Cunning: 120%
Environmental Resistance: 100%
Reproduction: 100%
Happiness: 100%
Aggressiveness: 100%
Defensiveness: 80%
Political Savvy: 50%

Mining Aptitude: 119%
Farming Aptitude: 119%
Refining Aptitude: 86%
Construction Aptitude: 120%
Repair Aptitude: 100%
Maintenance Aptitude: 90%

Advanced Traits:
Temporal Knowledge
Organic Knowledge

Happiness Type: Peaceful

Notes:
Basically, I try to use the empire for heavily defensive with massive amounts of fighters (construction bonus + temporal ship yards + small electric discharge) as well as intelligence operations. The total comes to 2000 points.

Is this going to be possible to win with in a multiplayer game? And how can I improve the race? Please give any suggestions at all.

Notes 2:
By the way, if it matters I am playing on 1.60 gold.

[ 15 April 2002: Message edited by: Kin-Chan ]</p>

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

Do this:

Environmental Resistance: 81%
Reproduction: 103%
Happiness: 110%

You will get a few hundred extra points, and the only effect on your empire will be slightly increased happiness. Environmental Resistance affects the rate of reproduction and the happiness level, although in reduced amounts.

Cunning at 120% may be a bit of over kill. Generally, I encounter one of 2 situations with intel wars.
1) One empire is really far ahead of the other (as in 10x or so intel), and is able to pull off several successful missions per turn.
2) Both sides have large levels of intel and are thus capable of fending off all intel attacks.

Defensiveness at 80% will lead to situations were the enemy can go at max range and still have a good chance of hitting you, where as you can't really hit them.

Don't under-estimate trade. In PBW games, most players will have a lot of T&R Treaties. This could lead to a big advantage against you in games with lots of players.

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

You may want to decrease the number on Organic reproduction and put them to use on Radioactives Production.

Organic will be rarely use (even with Organic Components) compared to the amount you will use Radioactives and Minerals as Minerals make the bulk of stuff you need to spend on building anything and Radioactives on the high-tech essentials such as Shiled Generators/High energy discharge weapons and engines.

Organics will be used mostly on stuff for the people such as Buildings, Medical bays and Life support so you will need few organics.

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

The one thing you will want to realize is the whole numbers work best.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>
Mining Aptitude: 119%
Farming Aptitude: 119%
Refining Aptitude: 86%
<hr></blockquote>

I would bring down Mining Aptitude to 115%
Farming down to 110%
and Refining up as much as possible with the left over points. Say 90 to 95%. You will want to keep this at a 100% if at all possible.

The rest looks great. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

I like to boost my race much the same as you have done here. Gives them more bang for the buck. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

I agree with imperator about the defensiveness trait. Especially if your style of play is defensive. Your enemy can't kill you if they can't hit you.

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

I usually reduce my repair rate to 50%, research Reapair III and everything is fine (pump those points into research or construction or an advantage like Hardy Industrialists IMO). But then again I reduce my Cunning to 50% as well so I may just be crazy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

I would definitly not reduce maintainance apptitude. I would trade off repair points for maintainance points. At normal settings about 2/3 of your budget will go for maintenance.

I would definitly boost happiness someway. Nothing is worse than having a system shut down and rioting due to an alien fleet sitting around doing nothing.


-----------------------------

OOPS, not that MOD!

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

I just wanted to respond to a few points from your responses:

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Organic will be rarely use (even with Organic Components) compared to the amount you will use Radioactives and Minerals as Minerals make the bulk of stuff you need to spend on building anything and Radioactives on the high-tech essentials such as Shiled Generators/High energy discharge weapons and engines.<hr></blockquote>
Good point, after you pointed it out, I noticed it alot in my test game. Ended up having a big surplus of organics while having not enough minerals (even with the bonus) and radioactives. It's changed accordingly now.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Cunning at 120% may be a bit of over kill. Generally, I encounter one of 2 situations with intel wars.
1) One empire is really far ahead of the other (as in 10x or so intel), and is able to pull off several successful missions per turn.
2) Both sides have large levels of intel and are thus capable of fending off all intel attacks.<hr></blockquote>
I'm not really sure why I put cunning so high precisely. Still, I figure if I have more points, I can run like 12 missions at once that are low cost, or maybe several high cost ones also. So it will still be helpful hopefully.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Defensiveness at 80% will lead to situations were the enemy can go at max range and still have a good chance of hitting you, where as you can't really hit them.<hr></blockquote>
Good point, I'll boost that up.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>I usually reduce my repair rate to 50%, research Reapair III and everything is fine <hr></blockquote>
That might be interesting, since I use so many fighters and mines, they shouldn't need repair anyways (since either full life or dead). I'll try that!

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>I would definitly not reduce maintainance apptitude. I would trade off repair points for maintainance points. At normal settings about 2/3 of your budget will go for maintenance. <hr></blockquote>
Less maintainance isn't such a big disadvantage for my style of play I think. Because fighters, mines, satellites all require 0 maintainance. So taking this penalty allows me to free up points at low penalty to myself.

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Don't under-estimate trade. In PBW games, most players will have a lot of T&R Treaties. This could lead to a big advantage against you in games with lots of players.<hr></blockquote>
The only problem I have against treaties is that anything above non-aggression allows their ships to enter my space. This lets them circumvent my wormhole blockades and strike / colonize. Or is there a way to prevent that?

[ 16 April 2002: Message edited by: Kin-Chan ]</p>

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Kin-Chan:
The only problem I have against treaties is that anything above non-aggression allows their ships to enter my space. This lets them circumvent my wormhole blockades and strike / colonize. Or is there a way to prevent that?<hr></blockquote>

Well... That's the point.
Anything above Non-Aggression is Not war so ships can enter and leave as they please.

But there are two ways.

One: Go into diplomatic isolation.
Two: Build ships that can close warp points; and close the warp points that connect your territory to others. If you want to keep in touch with the outside world, leave at least one warp point OPEN.

Re: Looking for Advice on Race Design
 

I don't know about that. I found that Stellar Manipulation ships are really, really expensive.

Anyways, can someone answer a quick question for me? How can a fighter fleet defeat a point defense fleet? Is it even possible? Argh. Strategies getting confused.