The neutral challenge

[henk brouwer]

A nice variation to the neutral challenge:

I started a normal game, high difficulty, medium bonus for AI, but it turned out to be far too easy. then I noticed that one of the colonies of one of the AI players had rebelled and started it's own empire, I have turned my own empire to computer control, and am playing the rebels now.

The rebels started out on a ice/none moon wich they can't breath, they already had quite a lot of technology (same as their original empire) and, luckily they had signed a trade and research alliance with the empire they rebbeled from.

Since all nearby planets are colonized by my 'friends' I am completely depending on remote mining and the trade and research alliance for income. I haven't yet encountered other races, but if I will I'll try to sign a treaty with them, so I am no longer dependant on the race I rebbeled from for my income and can declare war and free my people from slavery...

[This message has been edited by henk brouwer (edited 04 February 2001).]

[WhiteHojo]

Ok - an observation on the N.C.(Nuetral Challenge - tired of spelling it out)...

It seems that if left alone for 150-190 turns I seem to be able to obtain 1st or 2nd place out of 13 races w/o building any warships at all. W/tech cost on Med and low tech start, if left alone, most players should be able to maximize colonize your home system (max pops/fac on all planets).

My tactic is start as GG race and concentrate research on anything that will increase your research output - computers, applied research, etc. Build nothing but Reas Fac w/the occasional Storage fac & resource prod fac when needed. After est. a nice Reas output, start on colony techs and planet utilization techs.

I don't know what the impact of early discovery might be w/this strat b/c I haven't ever been discovered in this pattern.

My desire w/this scenerio is to find myself in the position of the underdog in the galaxy - to paraphrase Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, "Hurling myself in the Void w/o the faintest notion of what lies beyond".. all w/o the physical hurling of my pathetic little empire untill found.

So I started a new N.C. w/computer bonus on Low - 30 turns into it and I'm still in 12th place (Last), by a fairly large margin. So maybe I'll get my wish this time.

A side question - Low computer bonus gives the AI a 2X bonus in all areas, but when looking at the scores of all races, are the computers numbers before the bonus is applied or after the bonus is applied? (ex - if race 1 is showing 24.0K Research points per turn, is it producing 12K per turn bumped to 24K or is it actually producing 24K but using 48K?

------------------
Character is best defined as that which you do when you believe nobody is watching.

[Alpha Kodiak]

quote:

---

Originally posted by WhiteHojo:
Ok - an observation on the N.C.(Nuetral Challenge - tired of spelling it out)...

<snip>

So I started a new N.C. w/computer bonus on Low - 30 turns into it and I'm still in 12th place (Last), by a fairly large margin. So maybe I'll get my wish this time.

<snip>

---

You may indeed get your wish....

I started a new game and decided to give the AI a low bonus for pretty much the same reason. I got first contact with the Sergetti (sp?) on turn 37. We were naturally at war within a couple of turns. He has light cruisers with DUC 4s, CSM 3s and PDs. I have frigates (just finished researching destroyer) with DUC 2s and CSM 1s. I don't know how this is going to play out yet, but the first combat was a rude awakening.

I have played this set up a number of times and this game (turn 37) was the longest I have been left alone. I always pick the defaul large quadrant, either mid-life, spiral or galactic edge, with a high number of computer races but no neutrals. I almost envy those who get left alone for more than 100 turns.

[Daynarr]

quote:

---

Originally posted by WhiteHojo:
A side question - Low computer bonus gives the AI a 2X bonus in all areas, but when looking at the scores of all races, are the computers numbers before the bonus is applied or after the bonus is applied? (ex - if race 1 is showing 24.0K Research points per turn, is it producing 12K per turn bumped to 24K or is it actually producing 24K but using 48K?

---

If the score is showing 24K that race is producing 48K. The bonus is applied after these numbers - could be a bug, but I am not sure.

[Daynarr]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alpha Kodiak:
He has light cruisers with DUC 4s, CSM 3s and PDs.

---

This sounds like my Sergetti . Good luck.
Make sure you tell us how it went, so I could improve them more.

[DirkHowitzer]

You guys should try what Henk Brouwer suggested in his post in this thread. I did things alittle differently...did a little Role Playing as to a disasterous even on my home world(nuclear war, accident, etc...).

So anyways when I began the game I built one colony ship and sent it out having ditched my homeworld(abandoned...). I settled the poorest planet in my system and went from there. Did a little more role playing stipulating that I couldn't colonize my original homeworld for at least 100 turns due to high radiation levels or somesuch...

Anyways it was quite fun. You start out with a MAJOR population deficit and lack of research and production...quite fun.

Being ever the resourceful one, however, I have since claimed 5th place out of 16 and am beating everybody I've contacted in resources and research so it's not all bad...



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

"He's dead, Jim."-- Lt. Commander Leonard "Bones" McCoy |Chief Medical Officer / USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

[WhiteHojo]

update on the low AI bonus N.C. I mentioned in my Last post.

1st contact was achieved around yr 2412.0. The now hated Pionda race (look like rock faces). This very unfriendly race promp'tly attacked my homeworld - fortunately my race was rather suspicious of this strange new intruder so was able to put up a couple of small WP w/PDs & TPs - beat off the attack.

This incident, needless to say, led me to view ALL new races with suspicion, not initiating contact w/any new race untill they approached me 1st a verrrry nervous way to play if you're a small, weak empire hoping to not get crushed.

At 1st contact, I was in 11th (the EEE were actually in Last by a few points). But the notable thing was that the EA were already in 1s w/1.2 Million points to my lowly 112K (I had jacked up the Mega Evil Empire setting to kick in at 1 Mill and 200% of 2nd score - I believe EA was MEE at this time)

Anyway, I expanded to 2 neighboring systems, continued fighting my little personal war w/the Rock Heads - made Partnership treaties w/the 2nd & 3rd place races and have a TR treaty w/the EA - after I glassed one of their colonies in my adjacent systems (nothing makes me madder than goin thru all the trouble of building a Col Ship, sending it to the system to colonize a green plus world and finding that I was beat to it by some other race!!!) Fortunately the EA weren't too concerned w/the loss of 1 of their 195 planets (I had 5 - I am in such trouble).

I have clawed my way to 6th place, control 4 systems have 20 ships (cruiser/Lt Cruiser), have around 55K RPs, & 8K Int Points... of course, the EA have 2.5 Million in score, something like 100K Intel Pts, and over 200 ships & 1000 units (game limits were supposed to be 1000 units & 500 ships - on a 200 system galaxy - all pts were b/f the bonus is added, 2X I believe)

Pray for the mighty Nar Empire - now I know how Switzerland felt in WWII - the whole galaxy is at war and I'm trying to just survive.

------------------
Character is best defined as that which you do when you believe nobody is watching.

[This message has been edited by WhiteHojo (edited 08 February 2001).]