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[Updated on: Wed, 27 April 2011 06:19]

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loucipher wrote on Thu, 28 April 2011 07:01

I am not entirely sure why the concepts you mentioned should be included in the OSG to the extent you suggest. HG and HP are IMHO "basic" race design concepts useful in creating a monster race. Just any properly built race, if played right, can easily monster in most gaming environments. Thus, info on that is probably useful for most readers. Conversely, QS and -f are "advanced" ones, as they really build on one or both of the "basic" duo, and are kind of "specialized" designs, viable in certain gaming environments, but completely unusable in others. Thus, this info is only useful for narrow group of players - whose strategies call for this type of "unorthodox" tactics.

Thing is, the chapter on "Creating a Monster Race" is explicitly intended as an advanced guide to race design.

QS and -f are indeed advanced concepts, but a chapter which outright says it's to help people obsessing over it ( ) should mention them.

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HE and AR are fundamentally changing the gameplay, that's true. They are discussed to some extent in Chapter 2, and a dedicated section on AR is promised, but never published. Might be a good idea to add one. Still, it's probably a better idea to add sections on all PRTs not described yet, similar to the appendices on IT, SS, WM and SD which are present. Contents of those should be based on what's available now in the PRT subforums.

HE and AR are very different from other races in race design as well as gameplay, so they should probably get some discussion in the race design chapters as well as in the appendices (which are largely about how to use a race, not how to build one).

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Chapter 12: Operational Stars! by Example is, well, just an example. It shows possible strategies and describes in detail how one of them is implemented and relentlessly followed. For those who read just words, the "information payload" ends there. For those who read ideas, though, it's more to read than just words. This chapter is not all about one particular war strategy. It's about the effects of various operational factors on the overall gameplay. Various offensive and defensive techniques are described and their application shown in the context of a particular strategic situation. The reasons why the factors made the difference, the effect they had, and the conclusions to be drawn are presented, with hints on how these factors would influence other strategies too. For this reason, I think that this chapter is the best written part of any OSG I've ever read. And the title says it all about what's in it.

Yes, I understand all of that, but there should probably be more, and different, examples.

[Updated on: Thu, 28 April 2011 03:28]

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magic9mushroom wrote on Thu, 28 April 2011 09:27

Thing is, the chapter on "Creating a Monster Race" is explicitly intended as an advanced guide to race design. QS and -f are indeed advanced concepts, but a chapter which outright says it's to help people obsessing over it ( ) should mention them.

If I read it right, this chapter is "devoted to a hardcore analysis of common race design strategies". It also explicitly says that "The strategies and tips in this chapter are useful in designing any race."
Thus, it cannot deal with QS and -f race designs, for reasons I stated earlier - they are too "advanced" to fit in the confines of OSG. Those who want to explore these ideas are better served by one of the dedicated articles on designing such races.

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HE and AR are very different from other races in race design as well as gameplay, so they should probably get some discussion in the race design chapters as well as in the appendices (which are largely about how to use a race, not how to build one).

Reading the four available appendices on SS, IT, WM and SD I got quite a different impression. Each appendix contains info on how to design such a race (at the very least, what features might come in handy), discusses strong and weak points and gives hints on how to use it. I'd just say every PRT should get such a section and that would be fine, from my point of view at least.

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Yes, I understand all of that, but there should probably be more, and different, examples.

Could you be more specific as to what examples you'd like to see included? I'm no expert, but I just might try and discuss a few operational factors in the context of other war strategies for you - to the extent and in a way I understand them, that is.

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I have swallowed the Guide into the wiki here:
http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Stars!_Strategy_Guide

Update away. 'Ware the Hubris.

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