[geoschmo]

Originally posted by capnq:
Would you consider Turn 112 to be early game? Because that's the most recent turn in my v1.67 PBW game in which mines significantly affected the turn result.

Well, that doesn't really prove anything except there are exceptions to every rule. If the players are careful mines should be almost irrelevant by that point in the game. I have a PBW game on turn 140 where I am getting ready to take a guys homeworld with a fleet full of LC's and DUC's. But I wouldn't try to tell anyone DUC's are a viable late game weapon in most cases.

About the only use in the late game for mines would be to heavily mine the other guys territory. This would require some time to setup and either doing it under cover of a treaty, or by having cloaking devices, which can also be defeated. It is possible to do, but even then it's more of a nuisance than anything else. Sweepers are so cheap you could simply have a few stationed in each system to ferry ships around.

Geoschmo