The non-warship challenge

[jim]

Quite a few threads over the years have involved how to play a different and challenging game against the AI. I wonder if anyone has done the one I had fun with a bit ago.

Never put a weapon on a ship.

[Spoo]

Did you win?

[Suicide Junkie]

Child: "How did we win the Great Drushocka war, Grandpa?"
Grandpa: "Well, we let them shoot at us till they ran out of ammo. You had to be pretty good at dodging in those days, but my navigator was the best. Anyways, after they were through and all their weapons were dry, we were still there. Those Druk had nothing left to do but panic and surrender."

[jim]

Sometimes, but not at first.

I think some of the strategies are obvious, but there are quite a few. I did not state any in the thread leader post in hope that someone would come up with ones I did not try.

[parabolize]

Originally posted by jim:
Sometimes, but not at first.

I think some of the strategies are obvious, but there are quite a few. I did not state any in the thread leader post in hope that someone would come up with ones I did not try. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">ram ships
capture planets (troops are not ships http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )
intel lots of intel

[Baron Munchausen]

Are there any other strategies in this circumstance than units, units, units? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif If you don't count stellar manipulation as 'weapons' I guess you go go for broke and try to get planet and star destroyers, and cloaks, as early as possible. But you'd still need the units to feed off the enemies until you got them.

[Arkcon]

Kay, so, what are the rules so far? Ships, weaponless, full of cloaks and shields, is point defense a weapon or a defense?

Planets can have any weapons they want. Sats and mines at warp points. Fighters can fly around a system, but if you use carriers, aren't they just semi-intelligent missiles?

Stellar manipulation all you want. Well, rushing to the turtling stage is one possible goal. TDM Modpack AI's will start opening warp points regularly -- and they put weapons on their manipulator ships.

Using intel can be interesting. But it's been done. With god-like cunning, you can do anything to the AI.

In a current TDM-Modpack game, I'm generating cloaking storms over some planets in a system I share with the Pyrochette. Maybe if they can't see me, they'll be friendly.

[ April 21, 2004, 10:36: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Atrocities]

I will take your ship with no weapons and up you one.

One ship class thats it, one weapon type thats it, and its you against the combined space navys of the best of the best that SEIV has to offer.

That my friend is one hell of a grand game.

[Alneyan]

Actually, there are some weapons that could even out the odds a bit against AIs. (Not the DUC I obviously) So let the challenged player choose his weapon, since it may spell his survival, at least for some time. Granted, you will have a hard time gathering a fleet numerous enough to stand up to this alliance, but...

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Yef:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Originally posted by Arkcon:
OK. How bout this. No research. Escorts, DUC I, CSM 1, Ion engine 1, you against the whole galaxy. Hmm. Think I'll try that now. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No way you can win like this.
Against 20 AIs?
Player against all AIs?
No way.

But keep us informed. It will be fun to see what happens. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This could be done, except for a few factors.

Intelligence
Mines
lack of point defense.

I think if you turn off intel and mines and allow yourself to research PDC you could pull this off.

Geoschmo

[dogscoff]

OK, it appears my two favourite games are now merging into one. We are discussing ascension conducts in SE4, it's only a matter of time before I start to see nullspace weapons and stellar manipulation spells in nethack.

My head hurts, I need to lie down.

--
dogscoff, killed by a Xi-Chung dreadnought while confused.

[Krsqk]

/me waits for vegan and ironman rules for SE4. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[edit]Dogscoff, you forgot the first rule of YASDs:

When surrounded by several creatures, the weakest one will inevitably get the death-blow.

Dogscoff, killed by a Xiati recon satellite while confused.

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[ April 21, 2004, 22:33: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

[Ed Kolis]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
dogscoff, killed by a Xi-Chung dreadnought while confused. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">ROFL http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

ya know in ZAngband you can hallucinate Klingons, Borg, and Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts of Traal... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Phoenix-D]

Oh, you could do it even with mines and no PD.

you'd just have to have an absolutely sick resource base, because your "Mine sweeping" would involve sending your fleet headlong into the mines, making sure its big enough to absorb all the mines.

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Atrocities:
I will take your ship with no weapons and up you one.

One ship class thats it, one weapon type thats it, and its you against the combined space navys of the best of the best that SEIV has to offer.

That my friend is one hell of a grand game. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">OK. How bout this. No research. Escorts, DUC I, CSM 1, Ion engine 1, you against the whole galaxy. Hmm. Think I'll try that now.

[Yef]

Originally posted by Arkcon:
OK. How bout this. No research. Escorts, DUC I, CSM 1, Ion engine 1, you against the whole galaxy. Hmm. Think I'll try that now. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No way you can win like this.
Against 20 AIs?
Player against all AIs?
No way.

But keep us informed. It will be fun to see what happens. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[geoschmo]

It takes a whole lot of escorts to clear a minefield. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif On the bright side the AI doesn't really use them all that much. Just on warp points. It's not like you'd have to waste all those ships over every single planet like you would against a human.

The no PD thing would be dealable too I guess. More so if you played tactical and did the missle dance. But even strategic if you make sure you overwhelm the enemy in sheer numbers.

[Kamog]

That's going to be really difficult! I find it very hard as it is, just to play against 19 A.I.'s on high difficulty with high bonus on team mode! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[dogscoff]

/me waits for vegan and ironman rules for SE4.
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well... You could play something like zen conduct in se4. You'd have to mod the game so that all planets, asteroids, warp points and enemy ships/units were cloaked, and that you had no sensors to see them... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif


ya know in ZAngband you can hallucinate Klingons, Borg, and Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts of Traal
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Nethack too. Daleks, stormtroopers and all kind of crazy stuff. In slashem you can also find and use lightsabers http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif