Sorry for the newbie questions but...

[spoon]

Originally posted by Shoujo:


2) I've been seeing a few threads about emissive armor, but most of them had too many numbers and tables for my liking (I'm not a math person). In a nutshell does Gold make emissive armor useful? Are they the all-purpose armor, or does regular armor III still have a use?

Probably worth it in the early mid game, before everyone gets heavy mounts, and if you plan on using the other defensive armors as well.

3) One thread mentioned how Meson bLasters and Torpedoes were viable candidates for the early game. Back when I used to lurk around these forums regularly, these weapons were hardly ever mentioned. Has something been changed about these weapons to make them more useful? I've always preferred DUCs in the early game... What reasons would I have to switch to Meson BLasters? (Torpedoes get a +hit. Fact or rumor?)

Meson bLasters are fine early game if you start at mid tech level and don't have to waste points researching them. Maybe Talisman players can use them later too, until they get a better weapon researched

5) Has crystal tech been given a boost of any sorts to bring it up to par with the other racial techs?

No boosts. Still underpowered compared to the other Racial Techs. The armor is good, but not worth the 1500 points, in my opinion.

6) Two fairly long threads talked about the horrors of playing against players using the Talisman. Hopefully, PBW hasn't suddenly become filled with Talisman Users... Roughly, what percentage of PBW players use the Talisman?

It is really the Talisman/High Defense combo that is the problem, not the Talisman itself. I think more people will be playing it now, since it recieved some publicity. But I think they won't fair as well as they have been, because everyone is paranoid about their potential power and will likely (for their own sake) team up and take out talisman players earlier in the game. Just speculation, of course. Not sure of the actual numbers, as most the games I'm in are pretty far along... I would guess about 5-10%, or one in every other 10-player game.

7) Is the Allegiance Subverter & Computer Virus combo still as nasty as it was pre-Gold?

Still forces your opponent to build more expensive ships with lots of PD, yes.

8) Do seekers and fighters have a place in a fleet, or are they generally still considered PD fodder?

Seekers are always great to put on new generation ships when all you have been using are direct fire weapons - but they still aren't viable as general use weapons. I've had some success with using fighters as cheap defensive warp-point blockers, but again, only if they aren't expected...

9) Gold supposedly adds new stellar phenomena (or is it -non?). Do these significantly alter gameplay in any way?

No

10) WPs get better range? Are they useful now as planetary defense?

I use them, but only as a deterent against small-fleet invasions. They still won't stop a big fleet from having its horrible ways with you.

11) For a non-organic race, is there any reason to not decrease farming when making a race?

Nope.

-Spoon