Turtle Tactics: load-move-launch, load-move-launch

Gandalf Parker · #1 October 18th, 2004, 02:57 PM

Turtle Tactics: (turtles are only vulnerable when moving)
OK I had those minor-AI's (non-spreading) in very strategic systems. I didnt want to take them out. In fact, I was going to strengthen them for awhile. But I did want to move thru their area and it was before I had cloaking.

I already had a small transport with the ability to launch satellites so I came up with this method. I would fly my limit of movement and launch satellites. Then next turn I would pick up the sats, fly as far as I could, launch sats.

It worked so well that Ive used it at other times when I needed to move thru hostile territory. Anything that would launch/recover seems to work well. I also did it with mines an cursed not remembering that they couldnt be recovered but it turned out useful anyway since it gave me a set of stepping stones exactly far enough apart to allow me ships to move thru.

It might be an obvious thing but it seems handy.

se5a · #2 October 18th, 2004, 03:25 PM

That IS an interesting idea...
not sure how well it would work similtanios though, since there is a large chance that if there is a ship set to attack your ship it will catch up before your ship gets to the end of its movement...

actualy, sats might be deployed after all movement, anyone know if this is so?

Fyron · #3 October 18th, 2004, 04:22 PM

Satellites can be deployed before and after movement in simultaneous movement mode. I forget whether they are deployed after you arrive in a sector or before you leave it, but you can certianly move 3 sectors, launch satellites, then move 3 more sectors in simultaneous movement games.

Playing against the AI is essentially cheating, as pretty much anything you come up with will not be counterable by the inept AI... Especially in sequential (default) movement mode. You should always play in simultaneous movement mode. The AI _always_ plays as if it was in simultaneous movement mode, so it can not exploit the gaminess and such of sequential movement as a human can. At least level the playing field a little bit...

narf poit chez BOOM · #4 October 18th, 2004, 04:30 PM

So, just to clarify, the satelites are a decoy the ai goes after?

Arakiel · #5 October 18th, 2004, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Playing against the AI is essentially cheating, as pretty much anything you come up with will not be counterable by the inept AI... Especially in sequential (default) movement mode. You should always play in simultaneous movement mode. The AI _always_ plays as if it was in simultaneous movement mode, so it can not exploit the gaminess and such of sequential movement as a human can. At least level the playing field a little bit...

Jeez...I must REALLY suck.
I still find the AI to give me a challenge depending on the settings I start with. Right now I'm playing an AI game in non-connected clusters (not all WP connected) and am hesitant to leave my home cluster. I had an AI warp in and that lead to a 50 turn war in which I never entered his territory and only stopped when I closed the WP. First time I tried this game setup I was housed with another AI in my cluster and he beat me to a pulp before turn 20

Gandalf - I'm confused as to what you are doing with the Sat's, can you elaborate?

Gandalf Parker · #6 October 18th, 2004, 06:33 PM

The sats are providing extra defense. Almost a cheap way of getting 5 "ships" there for combat instead of just 1. Its not great but it does get me across their system and I still have the sats with me which I can use somewhere on the other side.

And yes I do play against the AI. But even in human play Im thinking it would mean that he would need to have more than just an escort watching his borders in the early game.

Fyron · #7 October 18th, 2004, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Arakiel said:
Jeez...I must REALLY suck.
I still find the AI to give me a challenge depending on the settings I start with.

Play a few dozen PBW games and learn all the tips and strategies involved there that are necessary to compete with human playes. Now, go back and play the AI. You will find it disturbingly lacking.

Quote:

And yes I do play against the AI. But even in human play Im thinking it would mean that he would need to have more than just an escort watching his borders in the early game.

Unless he sticks that escort on the warp point, of course. Your transport would be slaughtered long before it got a chance to launch any satellites. Also, there is the problem mentioned earlier that you only get to launch the satellites at the end of your movement (assuming you wish to travel farther than a single sector per turn). Likely, the patrol ship would catch your transport mid-route for the turn and be able to destroy it... It can work, just not very well if you try to move more than one sector per turn.