SE4 Strategy - An Art or a Science?

[Cyrien]

Here's my idea for how you would mimic Vietnam in SE4. Now work with me here.

Have your Empire (the US) have 12 or so systems well developed with good economy, military, etc. Stronger than all the other nations with stellar manip tech and cloaks on ships to safely blow up any planet (Nukes on ICBM and Nuke Subs) you want because no one has mines or scanners. Your race has the peaceful trait. They don't like war.

Now you have another Empire (the USSR) that is just as big maybe not as good economically and militarily but they also have stellar manip tech and cloaks blah blah. Their race has the neutral or warlike trait. Not really important for this demonstration.

These two Empires don't like each other (murderous) and engage in intel ops against each other all the time with lots of cloak capable star destroyer ships all over the place enough to blow up every enemy planet, but if you do that then next turn the other guy uses their cloaked planet buster ships on you just before maintenance takes em all out.

Now there are lots of other 2 or 3 or 1 star Empires. One of the 2 or 3 (France) star ones occupies a 1 star one
(Vietnam) in a subjugation treaty. The subjugated ones don't like that and break the treaty. The 2 or 3 star guy goes in and tries to beat em. The ships of Mr. 1 star are simpler and not as good. But their people don't mind the fight and their system is in a nebulae. They have temporal scanners (which can see in nebulae systems). The 2 or 3 star empire gets kicked out cause they do some incredibly stupid stuff tactically, strategically, etc.

Now this 1 Star Empire is split into two parts. Half the planets for these half them. They get into a fight and all that and one of the fighters believes in Mr. EVIL 12 system (USSR) doctrine and is all close and budy budy with them. So Mr. Other 12 system comes in and takes on the other half as their budy budy cause they don't want Mr 1 star to start following around Mr EVIL 12 star and maybe be on their side if war does start. Also they can't trade and stuff (in theory) with Mr. 1 star if he goes over to Mr. EVIL 12 star.

So now Mr. Big 12 star peaceful gets into this war. Now this race has the peaceful trait. They don't like the war. They start getting angry and rioting and stuff. Now Mr. Big is taking out 10 enemy ships for every 1 of his lost. The people don't care. They don't like ANY losses. Mr Big COULD win at any time if he used the planet busters or sent in enough ships to completly wipe out the other guy. But to keep all the other empires from getting mad and the other Mr. EVIL from using his planet busters they don't. So in the end they have to pull back and out to keep their people from rioting and having all this other bad stuff that goes along with it happening.

Mr half system for EVIL goes and conquers Mr other half system.

The end.

Now it wasn't technology that won here, and it wasn't strategy or tactics in the battle field. It was the art of using the other guy against himself. And the art of using two big MEEs against each other.