PBW PvK Proportions Game #2

[Ragnarok-X]

Minor question: I just thought about uploading my empire file, but then i remembered that the changelog shows a increase/decrease of racial point cost for certain abilities. So i cant really upload my empire file until the patch is ready, yes ?

[Alneyan]

You cannot indeed, unless you are willing to do the maths yourself and check whether your Empire will be valid after the next patch. It is only when PvK will add our Empire files that they will be checked against his Version, and Empires having used too many points will not work.

[Ragnarok-X]

just what i thought.

PvK, hurry

[PvK]

Ok, I'm hurryin' !

New Version should be available in the next couple of days. Pardon the delay.

PvK

[PvK]

Ok, the new patch Version should be available today. I seem to have caused a bug or two that needs to be hammered out, but that shouldn't take long.

We have nine players signed up! And I don't even see Dogscoff, Alarikf, or JLS listed!

Shall I try to scare some people away? I probably should give fair warning, that it may be a long game, and it would be best if we have players who are committed for a long time, because it would be best if we don't end up with a bunch of AI's.

I am thinking I will adjust the map by hand for the type of map described earlier, and then not actually play myself, until perhaps we have an intact empire that someone abandons, and no one replaces. That will help keep the empires under human control, give me a handicap, and balance against the knowledge advantage I'd have from being the map creator.

PvK

[Ragnarok-X]

Long games are no problem with me. But i really hope each player joins the game with the same responsibilty. Because it majorly suc*s if all 20 turns or somehting a player leaves, it somehow distrupts the entire games feeling !

[Ed Kolis]

I've been in "P&N on PBW take 2" for what, almost 3 years now? Granted we only average around a turn a week, but I rarely miss any, given that I rarely go out of town or do anything weird like that... pretty much only time I miss a turn is when my computer crashes

The question is, after all these new games I'm joining, will I have time for SE5???

[csebal]

Erm... sounds good.

PvK, i don't really know if its a known issue or not, but i feel a bit odd about the planetary defenses in proportions. Since the beginning to be honest.

With the extreme ammount of cargo space you have on your homeworld, and the range bonus on the weapon platform mounts, its easily possible to build defenses, the enemy will never get trough.

This wouldnt be much of a problem in itself, but as the defense platforms cost nothing to maintain and the ships cost a lot, its questionable you'll ever have an army large enough to survive even the first round of planetary defense fire.

Fighters / missiles just hit an invisible wall about 2 squares away from the planet, so they are not an alternative either.

I guess you've tought about that as well, i just would like to know, if its an unwanted side effect, or in fact you intended homeworlds to be this strong. (btw: the 15-20k shield - depending on homeworld size) make the planet strong in itself, without any defenses.

[PvK]

Good question csebal.

This was partly done for counterpoint. In the unmodded game, an artificially low limit on planet capacity ("Sorry - _planet_ "full"!") results in planetary defenses being incapable of fighting off a fairly large fleet. So it both makes sense and offers a new situation.

In theory yes it is possible to put an enormous amount of units on a planet with a breathable planet - particularly the homeworld.

In practice, there may be a very large number of units on important planets, and it makes sense to take advantage of this to protect them. However, there is not a stalemate situation except potentially with a human defending against the AI (due to its weaknesses).

One simple reason it's not a stalemate is that you don't have to fight the weapon platforms if you have your ships not fire on planets. The planet is then blockaded, and this can effectively remove even a homeworld from effective contribution to an empire.

Also, in practice, it's very expensive and time-consuming to build fleet-stopping defenses. In the time it takes to build them up, they become less and less up-to-date, too. It's usually a better strategy to concentrate on mobile forces and economic development, with just enough defences to prevent your planets from being snatched by cheap raiding forces.

Finally, there are weapons which can overcome even a formidably defended homeworld. Planetary weapons do huge amounts of damage, and there are shield-skipping and shield-depleting weapons which can still overwhelm a powerful planet... but it's generally risky and expensive, which is how I intended.

One vital tip is to scout first - send ships to view the defenses before assaulting. Also, custom anti-planet designs can help - expendable with cheap components (no expensive sensors, top-end engines, or elite crews) but lots of cheap armor and effective anti-planet weapons are good choices.

PvK