what do you think of the racial techs?

Q · #1 January 17th, 2002, 01:38 PM

quote:
Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
How would you describe an empire that uses ALL 5 racial techs at once?
Fun != Optimal Race Choice.

Probably I would call it a doomed race in a low starting tech game!
At least my experience with two racial technologies showed me that these races are so weak in the early game that they usually don't survive to harvest the fruits of their racial technologies.

oleg · #2 January 18th, 2002, 02:42 AM

I really like Crystall tech. 8-9 crystall armour on ship makes it immune to seekers ! Nasty surprise for organic ships loaded with seeking parasites. Nobody so far mentioned Energy Transmition Lens. 60 shield points do not look much since ships routinely have hundreds if not thousands shield points. However, ETS works on fighters as well. The only problem that it adds 60 not to each individual fighter but to the whole stack. Stack of 20 will get just 3 points per fighter. So usually I make special "decoy" fighters launched in group of 1 and actual attack fighters in big Groups. Each decoy fighter usually have 2 shields and with help of ETS soak up 4 PDC-5 shots ! While killer group can approach without loses and wrek havoc. It is not easy to make it work in strategic combat but the effect is devastating.

Oleg.

Suicide Junkie · #3 January 17th, 2002, 04:09 PM

quote:
Probably I would call it a doomed race in a low starting tech game!
At least my experience with two racial technologies showed me that these races are so weak in the early game that they usually don't survive to harvest the fruits of their racial technologies.

Against AIs you get a pure military challenge, not insurmountable.
Against Humans, you've gotta sell your advantages:
"I'll give you 5,000 KT of ships, any design you like (incl. racial techs A, B & C), if you give me the non-racial techs required"
Sure, you may not have a good chance of winning, but that's not the point. Your gifted ships can influence the balance of power in the galaxy.

Egregius · #4 January 17th, 2002, 06:00 PM

Crystalline Armor 3 has 1 to 5 armor ratio (30 vs 150 damage taken) and a 30 damage reduction per hit per armor (15 channeled away, and 15 for shield hitpoints) for 70 minerals and 70 radioactives.

Organic Armor 3 has the same ratio and size for the cost of 130 organics, and it regenerates 30 hitpoints per turn per armor.
Also it heals ships up after combat.

So what does it come down to? Enemy tactics. If I was fighting an enemy with organic armor, I'd make sure I'd focus all firepower or as much as possible on a single ship at a time, that's when the regeneration of OA doesn't do squat.

Question: will the enemy do that? Because if he does Crystalline armor would be better in that case.

Q · #5 January 17th, 2002, 06:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
Against AIs you get a pure military challenge, not insurmountable.
Against Humans, you've gotta sell your advantages:
"I'll give you 5,000 KT of ships, any design you like (incl. racial techs A, B & C), if you give me the non-racial techs required"
Sure, you may not have a good chance of winning, but that's not the point. Your gifted ships can influence the balance of power in the galaxy.

SJ you have first to do the research to get this advantages! And for several racial technologies this will take a long time, in which your empire is quite vulnerable. Don't forget that you used all your racial points too for this while other races may have used them for quicker research, lower maintenance, better space combat and so on.
In a low starting technology game with hostile races nearby this may be fatal.

Suicide Junkie · #6 January 17th, 2002, 07:25 PM

Against AIs that is not a concern.
Don't play against humans, play with humans

. Unless you have a bad reputation, you have a lot to offer to the players next to you. (Who wants a crystalline-armor-invulnerable starbase with Alliegiance subverters and a talisman? Just be my friend.)
It dosen't take long to get racialtech worth selling, and you'll be getting normal tech from your trading partners... those who ally with you can essentially change racial traits at will by trading ships.

Rich04 · #7 January 17th, 2002, 07:49 PM

I have to agree with SJ.
One of the current games I am playing on PBW. I went for three racial techs just to see if it would be possible to survive. There are about 20 players in the game.
I have an agreement with one player for basic tech for special ships. Two other players that have racial techs I have agreements with for researching.
The net effect so far has been Two RTs maxed out and a third 3/4s of the way there. My only research has been in one RT. Yet my race is one of the most advanced in the game even with basic techs.
All it took was some major Rping and Diplomacy.