The neutral challenge

[Alpha Kodiak]

This sounded so cool that I thought I'd try it. I didn't have the "rules" at home, so I just played it by ear. I set up a rock/oxygen race and started the game in a large quadrant with a high density of computer generated races but no neutrals. I was dropped into a system that had precisely one other rock planet and one rock moon in it. Everything else was gas giant or ice. I colonized the available planet and moon, and spent almost all of my initial research on planet utilisation (sp.?) and gas giant colonization, figuring that I'd have plenty of time before first contact to get things going. Lo and behold, turn 26 comes along and I get a visit from a race (one of the ones I downloaded, can't remember which, right now) that turned out to be three systems removed from mine. I hadn't researched any ship or weapon technology to that point. I threw together a basic missile escort design and a missile weapon platform design and did a little bit of emergency build. I was able to get a trade alliance with them, but then they decided to get mad and go to war with me (not sure why). Fortunately, I had found a couple of decent systems in another direction from them, once I had been "activated", and I had some new colonies going to support a little more production. I have had to use the "missile dance" alot, since his ships are quite a bit advanced over mine, but I am starting to get the upper hand now.

All in all, I find this a very interesting way to start a game. It gives you a little sense of desperation when you suddenly find yourself confronted by superior technology. Some of the weaknesses in the AI actually fit into the roleplaying in this case, since you are outwitting the technologically superior aliens to defeat them.