[Cyrien]

I don't much like the talisman... but that topic has just about been beaten to death. So let's leave it there.

As for effective racial weapons. I like them alot.

I usually take temporal and sometimes psychic. The disruptive power of a ship equipped with both allegiance converters and computer viruses is not to be understated.
Shielding you say? That is what Shield Accelerators are for 1 extra range and 30 more damage at all ranges for just a little more cost and equivalent in all other fields. Or you can go for the Time Distortion Burst with 30 normal damage and range of 7 (equal to shield depleter) but quad damage to shields. A lil less damage to the shields but with the ability to do damage to the ship as well.

Wave Motion gun? How about the Tachyon cannon faster fire rate less supplies more even cost distribution, plus 20kt smaller size and only 1 lower range and lil less damage per shot. And then there is the mental singularity generator with less supply use better cost distribution again 1 slower fire rate but even more damage and the same range and kt space as the wave motion gun. If you are going for the big starter shot to finish it off the mental singularity generator is the ultimate weapon.

As for null space projectors... how about Temporal Shifters? Available at a much much lower cost minerals 1000 rads 1000 for null space and 500 minerals 200 rads for temporal shifter and a lower research cost. 1 lower range 10 lower damage but it doesn't guzzle supplies like the null space does. An excellent early weapon.

As for the dominance of APB or PPB and DUC. Well... in the early game DUC is great. PPB is pretty good as well but can rapidly become much less effective with the onset of phased shielding.
It is outranged by the APB and out damaged and is more expensive to produce. How about the Time Distortion burst? Well it has 1 better range than PPB 1 less than APB and 2 better than DUC.
In the damage field things start getting complicated. All of them beat the DUC for damage but can't be researched as fast and early as the DUC, except for the Time Distortion Burst, which does 10 less damage than the DUC. At range the APB does 45 damage and the PPB 50. But once again the PPB is outranged. At the same range as the PPB maxes out the APB does equal damage as the PPB and at close ranges MORE. So how can the piddly TDB (Time Distortion Burst) compete? Simple. To be truly effective the APB and PPB both need shield depleters late game. The TDB doesn't.

Take Battleship X:

1 Master Computer, 5 engines, 2 shield gens for 750 shields, Multi Track, ECM, Targeting, Quantum Gen, 2 PD, Solar Sail, Stealth and Scattering Armor

THEN:
1 Shield Accelerator
7 TDBs
for 3060 damage against shields
and 630 against the ship.

Total Ship Cost - 19550 min 1000 org 11200 rads
SY3 - 7 turns to build and TSY3 - 5 turns to build

OR
4 SDs
5 APBs
for 2475 damage against shields
and 675 against the ship.

Total Ship Cost - 19950 min 1000 org 5000 rad
SY3 - 7 turns to build and TSY3 - 5 turns to build

OR
sacrifice the Quantum Generator or a PD and have
3 SDs
6 APBs
for 2160 shield dam
and 810 ship dam

Ship Cost minus QG - 19000 min 1000 org 4740 rads
SY3 - 7 turns to build and TSY3 - 5 turns to build

all damages at max range.
note that for APB the shield dam does include the APB basic damage and for TDB it includes quad TDB damage.

What this shows is that at max range... they are pretty even. At closer range the APB slaughters. And all for the same basic resource costs and build times with the edge in ALL build times going to Temporal based on the Space Yard they have.

So a TDB ship at max range can compete at close it can't.

BUT these were simple ship designes without taking into account what weapons, defenses and strategies the other guy may be using.

The best strategy is generally a mix based on each opponent. As an example none of the above battleships would Last ten seconds against an organic parasite ship. And of course this doesn't take into account other bonuses such as Temporal Predictors with an extra 30% combat ability for defending ships. This would of course allow the Temporals to hit better at max ranges.

The conclusion then?

There is no best SUPER ULTIMATE STRATEGY THAT KILLS ALL! Based on what the other guy uses you have to change what you use.

[ May 02, 2003, 15:54: Message edited by: Cyrien ]