- 5 colony ships (Can AR use non AR colony ships?)

- NO history file (i.e. no pre-scanned planets) (Does this work?)

Bob wrote on Fri, 26 October 2012 15:52]This leaves all planets uninhabited and all races with an equivalent starting position.

From what I had read AR can use other races colonizers, and I confirmed it a few minutes ago. But I do not believe AR would be viable for this. They would have a great start. So would everyone else - and the other races would be spreading very quickly compared to a normal game. The AR would have to spread even faster (and would be able to), but the more space they occupy the more they have to spend on defense. Starting position would be critical and I think the AR would pretty much have to obliterate one neighbor quickly just to reduce the number of borders they have to be serious about.

I would be willing to give it a try, but I would be less surprised to be the first eliminated than I would to be the winner. I think you would have to go with a tri-immune for the fastest possible start. Once past the first dozen or so levels of energy tech real growth would be pretty much confined to spreading your population to new systems, further increasing the costs of protecting your orbitals and increasing to need to keep the fighting in other races space. It would be a lot like playing a hemopheliac berserker... attacking savagely, but once someone starts to draw blood it is pretty much over for you. A more normal AR would have much faster growth later on but the odds of surviving to that point are much lower.

Eh, tri-immune isn't entirely necessary. Reds can be used for spreading, too.

From what I had read AR can use other races colonizers, and I confirmed it a few minutes ago.

Marduk wrote on Sun, 28 October 2012 02:21

From what I had read AR can use other races colonizers, and I confirmed it a few minutes ago.

A standard clonizer pod unfolds to a fort for an AR?
Heck, who would have thought.

Marduk wrote on Sun, 28 October 2012 02:21

From what I had read AR can use other races colonizers, and I confirmed it a few minutes ago.

A standard clonizer pod unfolds to a fort for an AR?
Heck, who would have thought.

Bob wrote on Mon, 29 October 2012 22:19]I might look at doing something with it when I am confirmed the ruler of the current universe

Bob wrote on Tue, 30 October 2012 18:21]Ok, I thought the smileys were sufficient indication of my imminent death

XAPBob wrote on Tue, 30 October 2012 18:21

Ok, I thought the smileys were sufficient indication of my imminent death

And I thought mine was sufficient indication of my sarcasm.

Not that I know anything about your chances - I don't know your race design, after all.

My design? OK:

Tri Immune JoAT with 20% growth rate, OBRM, IFE, ISB.
1/700 Pop efficiency, with 15/5/25/3 factories and 25/2/25 mines and all cheap tech (except Weapons, which starts at 4).

Or maybe it's a little less optimal than that
But 6836 resources and 8250kT of each metal per planet per year would be awesome!

[XAPBob wrote on Tue, 30 October 2012 20:54

My design? OK:

Tri Immune JoAT with 20% growth rate, OBRM, IFE, ISB.
1/700 Pop efficiency, with 15/5/25/3 factories and 25/2/25 mines and all cheap tech (except Weapons, which starts at 4).

Or maybe it's a little less optimal than that
But 6836 resources and 8250kT of each metal per planet per year would be awesome!

Nah, that's suboptimal. If you can get a 20% growth tri-immune, it should be either HE or AR. HE because you have the hab to use that sort of crazy growth, and AR because 3i AR rush that doesn't die out within 40 turns.

Bob wrote on Wed, 31 October 2012 00:49]AR max planet size is deathstar (3million) at 26Energy/7multiplier = 100% * sqrt(3000000 * 26/7) = 3338 resources, half that which the JoAT achieves.
Although of course the JoAT might be mineral limited, but I doubt it - not for a long while!

HE suffer similarly - although I haven't looked at the resource integral - and there I think the AR would have an advantage - being factoryless there is plenty of cash to go to energy and construction research.

Not that any of this has any relevance to actual non-cheating games, of course.

Anyways, some starting race benefits might be required