The First Words - A Newbie's First Game

[zoutzakje]

we need Nuke Guardians for dif 9+

[keith.lamothe]

we need Nuke Guardians for dif 9+

Not outside of some appropriate AI plot   A nuke going off in the wrong place at the wrong time can easily be gg right there (not thinking of the human HW specifically, but that would do it).


Interesting to see the new-to-7 experiences here.  Seems like the game's going decently thus far   The trains may change that

[zoutzakje]

well, if they'd have the same rules as EMP guardians, nuke guardians shouldn't be too hard (only setting off after entering a wormhole). Only piss off the planet with one on it if you're sure you can kill it. And they'd be as rare on dif 9 as EMP's are on dif 7 of course. No AIP penalty of course. Just the big bang.

[Wordsmith]

Right. So I've looked over the stuff involving Guardians, and it turns out that they're basically the AI's equivalent of turrets, which is pretty neat.

After a little more scouting is done, though, I realize that I might have to take Bobo in order to reach TV's Frank (the planet with the Space Plane Fabricator), which means that I essentially did my Knowledge raid for nothing. Ah, well. As of now, it looks like I can take Joel, though the Armor Inhibitor is going to make that costly. I'll need to take it anyway, though, so I can use it as a stepping-stone to more resource-rich planets. Joel is looking like prime whipping boy material as well, given that the planet on the other side of the "bridge" it controls is Mark IV.

[Faulty Logic]

No AIP penalty of course. Just the big bang.

AIP free nuke? The abuse, from many players (especially me) would be unending.

[zoutzakje]

No AIP penalty of course. Just the big bang.

AIP free nuke? The abuse, from many players (especially me) would be unending.

well, they would hit player ships only of course... like the EMP. If you want to abuse AIP free nukes, Nuclear Command does basically the same thing. Just not on one of your planets.

[Wordsmith]

Right. I've got my first of four finals later today. After that, I should be able to update this. Sorry for the delay!

[Wordsmith]

So I've been stuck without internet for the past two days. Since I can't update my previous game, then, I've taken the time to try my hand at another one. I'm about four hours in now, and here are some notable moments:



The defense of Ferrus IV goes... poorly.



SONOFA-



WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE



Riot Starships prove their worth.



OH YOU SONS OF MOTHERS



One successful gate raid = Raid Starships are now considered invaluable.



Marauders: more intimidating than an army of T-1000s. Fortunately I have quite a strong defensive fl-



OH COME THE FU-



FOUND YOU



Transports prove their worth.



Mwaahahahahaha yeesssss kill one another my foes



A Fort IV, Ion IV, Warhead Interceptor, and Orbital Mass Driver, along with a Dyson Sphere? Yeah that's not happening sorry



Curse you, gravity drills! At least there are no Astro Trains to interfere this time-



EVEN NOW THEIR LEGACY HAUNTS ME

[Faulty Logic]

SONOFA-

Why yes, we astro trains are evil. Thank you for noticing.

WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE

Did we mention the evil?

Riot Starships prove their worth.

Was there ever any doubt?

Marauders: more intimidating than an army of T-1000s. Fortunately I have quite a strong defensive fl-

Marauders: because otherwise you might be able to feel safe.

EVEN NOW THEIR LEGACY HAUNTS ME

Why should we give you any peace?

I like the image-caption format.

[Mánagarmr]

That "Pain Train" sub-title is starting to make a lot more sense

[Wordsmith]

That "Pain Train" sub-title is starting to make a lot more sense

Indeed. I'm running multiple campaigns simultaneously now, jumping in and out of each as I feel like it. On one, I set Astro Trains to 4/10 on one AI, leaving the other one without any. It feels much less chaotic, while the Trains are still a noticeable force. Having them enabled on both makes it so that you're hardly ever without them making their way through your territory.

[onyhow]

Blow up command center on Admmi, and watch the Dyson fun!

[Wordsmith]

Right. It's been a while since I've posted here, and I've been through a couple games in the meantime. In all of them, I didn't get much farther than the four-hour mark, as I outright refused to turn down Astro Trains. This meant that I was getting mobbed by Golems from about the two-hour mark onward, and maybe some pros can deal with that, but I can't.

But, every time, I lasted a little longer. Every time, I learned a little more about the game. Finally, I turned down Astro Trains to 2/10 on both AIs and started a new game. This one is going much better. I'm two hours in, hold six planets (and plan to take at least one more very soon), have a Golem coming online and an Advanced Research Station within spitting distance, broke my first Mark IV planet, have a whipping boy that has proven itself capable of withstanding simultaneous attacks from 300+ Threat and an 800-ship wave of Vorticular Cutlasses, a powerful economy... things are looking good.

No screenshots this time, unfortunately, but here's a list of my thoughts on the game so far. Not, like, criticisms, but the stuff I've had to learn over the course of my previous failures.

• RAID STARSHIPS: Use them. Love them. Even Mark I Raids can pull off seemingly-impossible feats and make previously untouchable planets easy pickings.
• RIOT STARSHIPS: These are only slightly less necessary than Raid Starships. A Riot Starship outfitted with four Machine Guns, a Shotgun, and a Shield can break the back of massive hordes of fleet ships, even when their Mark level is incredibly high. These have brought my forces out on top of battles that I would have otherwise considered impossible.
• TRACTOR TURRETS: Mark II Tractor turrets give you more than enough stopping power to handle pretty much anything the AI can throw at you - at least, for as far as I've gotten into the game. Combine these with Heavy Beam Turrets and watch the fireworks.
• FORTRESSES: Never, ever, ever attempt to approach a Fortress, no matter its Mark, with anything other than Bombers or Heavy Bomber Starships. You will take horrendous losses and deal no damage in return. If you've got a Fortress defending something like an Ion Cannon that has to die before you bring your fleet in, use Heavy Bombers, not Raids, to bring that thing down.
• PLASMA SIEGE STARSHIPS: I've... never really encountered a situation where I've considered these to be all that important, really. Heavy Bombers and Raid Starships seem to be capable of handling any situation they could better. I still use them for stuff like Spire Shield Guard Posts, but they're much less lower-priority than Raids, Riots, and Bombers.
• FIGHTERS: These are your go-to ship during a battle when you need a specific type of enemy eliminated. More often than not, AI Guardians have Medium hulls, which means that Fighters are a hell of a lot better against them than I expected. At first, I kept chucking Bombers at them to little effect.
• ZENITH SPACE-TIME MANIPULATORS: Are a hell of a lot more useful than you might think at first glance. They let your fleet get from one side of your territory to the other in about half the time, which means that you get to defend that critical planet that much sooner.
• ASTRO TRAINS: Just don't bother. You can't stop them. Nothing can stop them. Armageddon will come, the Four Horsemen will ride out, and Death will be forced to pull his pale steed to a halt and hold up one skeletal hand to force the others to do the same, so that the invincible Astro Trains might pass. When the heat death of the universe comes, there they will be, steaming silently through the great black void, continuing their endless journey to nowhere.

[Mánagarmr]

Astro Trains were always designed to be unstoppable, even in their first iteration. They were supposed to be a constant annoyance and the only real way to deal with them was to reroute them. Eventually though, they just became a no-issue. This buff to trains put them right back into dangerous territory again. Some like them, some don't. I'm not a fan of trains and never were, but now that they actually bite, I might try them again.

[LordSloth]

No screenshots this time, unfortunately, but here's a list of my thoughts on the game so far. Not, like, criticisms, but the stuff I've had to learn over the course of my previous failures.

• RAID STARSHIPS: Use them. Love them. Even Mark I Raids can pull off seemingly-impossible feats and make previously untouchable planets easy pickings.

Beware Gravity Guardians. The mere presence of them is no threat. But if they end up guarding a wormhole post directly on your route, you will lose those Raids.

• RIOT STARSHIPS: These are only slightly less necessary than Raid Starships. A Riot Starship outfitted with four Machine Guns, a Shotgun, and a Shield can break the back of massive hordes of fleet ships, even when their Mark level is incredibly high. These have brought my forces out on top of battles that I would have otherwise considered impossible.

You do know how to respec existing Riots and how to save designs for later use, right? It has been made much easier and convenient with the development of Ancient Shadows. I often switch between a long-range, no shields kiting design, and a shielded model designed to drag loose threat through a wormhole into my systems. In particular, when dealing with Zenith Bombards. Neither of these two layouts are very good for -general- use, unfortunately.

• TRACTOR TURRETS: Mark II Tractor turrets give you more than enough stopping power to handle pretty much anything the AI can throw at you - at least, for as far as I've gotten into the game. Combine these with Heavy Beam Turrets and watch the fireworks.

Yep, they're great. If you see a new shiptype announced in a wave, hover over the announcement for a bit, there are a few ships immune to tractor turrets. If those show up a lot, consider switching to gravity turrets.

• FORTRESSES: Never, ever, ever attempt to approach a Fortress, no matter its Mark, with anything other than Bombers or Heavy Bomber Starships. You will take horrendous losses and deal no damage in return. If you've got a Fortress defending something like an Ion Cannon that has to die before you bring your fleet in, use Heavy Bombers, not Raids, to bring that thing down.

It's worth noting that AI Fortresses require supply, just like yours do. While the cost is almost always prohibitive, if you take down the local and all adjacent AI command stations or fire off a nuke, the fortress cannot shoot back at you. Cluster maps are midway between crosshatch and snake map for how viable the tactic is, so it might come up.

• PLASMA SIEGE STARSHIPS: I've... never really encountered a situation where I've considered these to be all that important, really. Heavy Bombers and Raid Starships seem to be capable of handling any situation they could better. I still use them for stuff like Spire Shield Guard Posts, but they're much less lower-priority than Raids, Riots, and Bombers.

Plasma Siege Starships are good, and can be great under certain circumstances, but your analysis is pretty much spot on unless you build around them. There are a few ship and AI types that can dramatically increase their value, however. A defensive, but not exceptionally fortress heavy AI (entrenched homeworlder, shield ninny), Force Field Bearers, and Gravity Drains (bonus ship) are all excellent reasons to unlock Plasma Siege Starships, especially since the the last one can result in the brutal death of your raid starships and heavy bomber starships. The engine damage can also help with some pesky low-cap ships although it isn't central to the role like it is for riot starships and spider turrets. There are a couple of silly fun things you can do with Plasma Siege Starships, like boost their speed to four hundred with Zenith Space-Time Manipulators and turning on auto-kiting.

• FIGHTERS: These are your go-to ship during a battle when you need a specific type of enemy eliminated. More often than not, AI Guardians have Medium hulls, which means that Fighters are a hell of a lot better against them than I expected. At first, I kept chucking Bombers at them to little effect.

Given their low resource cost and build time compared to bombers and frigates, I particularly like to send these guys on suicide runs against warp gates and tachyon guardians. Once all the tachyon guardians within two hops are dead, you can 1) scout farther 2) auto-picket your scouts for a great intelligence network - particularly helpful in hour four 3) pull back your pickets to support your higher mark scouts, and redeploy them easily 4) load raid starships into transports, escort the transport with two cloakers (one in front, one behind) and group move through dangerous threat buildup with complete ease, to strike at vulnerable targets behind the AI's frontline.

• ZENITH SPACE-TIME MANIPULATORS: Are a hell of a lot more useful than you might think at first glance. They let your fleet get from one side of your territory to the other in about half the time, which means that you get to defend that critical planet that much sooner.

Combine these with the slowing effects of logistics command stations, and you can have lots of fun manually kiting enemy forces with riot starships- just switch the machine guns out for the longer ranged lasers.

• ASTRO TRAINS: Just don't bother. You can't stop them. Nothing can stop them. Armageddon will come, the Four Horsemen will ride out, and Death will be forced to pull his pale steed to a halt and hold up one skeletal hand to force the others to do the same, so that the invincible Astro Trains might pass. When the heat death of the universe comes, there they will be, steaming silently through the great black void, continuing their endless journey to nowhere.