Home » Primary Racial Traits » PP » PP and you
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| PP and you |
Thu, 05 December 2002 17:11  |
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I felt that while a lot of good things were said about the PP race in the HE thread, PP isn't HE. So I start this thread.
I'd like to start off by saying that with the packets scanning ability NAS is probably a good Idea with this race, since it works like SS and JoaT where you still have the innate abilities of the PRT.
Besides it isn't hard to for planets to build Warp5 flingers on orbital forts for small packet scouting.
[Updated on: Sun, 12 January 2003 09:29]
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| Re: PP and you |
Fri, 06 December 2002 07:37  |
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 Robert |
 | Lt. Junior Grade |
Messages: 393
Registered: November 2002
Location: Dortmund, Germany | |
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Did you play pp?
how can you say the terraforming isnt usable?
did you ever play a HP and feeled that pain to get the
yellows to work? pp races do not have that problem, planets
can be terrafprmed to greens very quickly, giving them a
quciker start... very powerful.
i think most people believe PPs are weak because their
"main power" the evil packets are no longer that powerful
later... correct.
in my opinion the main advantage of PPs is the terraforming!
most people think about terraforming own worlds, but whats
really great is de-terraforming others worlds. but poor PP
races cant do that because of same habs... if habs are
different (so design pp race careful), defenses are useless
against deterraforming! very powerful
also i like the ability to combine packets and bombers.
you can go for a world and send a 2-turn packet the same
turn. next turn you bomb the world with very few lbus, and
he cannot defend against the packet coming next turn.
PPs have the best one-turn-planet kill ability in the
game! but you need the combination with bombers, or it becomes
too expensive.
also you are a bad target for your enemies. it is nearly impossible to settle on your conquered planets, as it is not
possible to hold them long enough to build defs.
scouting:
taking NAS is not point mine for PPs... so i would not take
it - in fact it costs points. and pen-scans are good for
PPS in late games, too. ok - if there are SS races... maybe
NAS are worth the points you need to pay (yes - pps pay for NAS)
hiding home worlds:
hey... if you want to find someones homeworld, you find it.
and if you know the PP homeworld quickly... who is that stupid
to engage in such an early war?
also i think PPs want to be seen early. first of all people
tend not to settle to close, as planets can not be helt anyway,
also you have lots to trade (information).
if you dont need to scout because your "ally" scouts it anyway...
nice thing...
i have played PP 2 times, and in both g
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[Updated on: Thu, 05 June 2003 21:29] by Moderator
2b v !2b -> ?Report message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Fri, 06 December 2002 08:22 |
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| BlueTurbit |
 | Lt. Commander
RIP
BlueTurbit died Oct. 20, 2011 |
Messages: 835
Registered: October 2002
Location: Heart of Texas | |
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I have. And PPs are the great sucking sound of the galaxies. They should have been callued PUs. PPs have been discussed, dissected and vomited out by the experts. They have been measured, they have been weighed, and they have been found wanting.  This is no secret. This is why they are rarely seen in games.
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how can you say the terraforming isnt usable?
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The cost of doing the terraforming is much too high. Minerals are very much needed for building factories and ships to be wasted in high quantities on packets. Most of the packet is lost and not recovered. If you want terra or de-terra then play CA. Much better and faster than PP.
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hey... if you want to find someones homeworld, you find it.and if you know the PP homeworld quickly... who is that stupid to engage in such an early war?
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The PP gives HW away immediately. Others try to conceal this knowledge as long as possible. Who is that stupid? -fWM, -fJOAT, -f.... ar ar ar, Stop the AR invader with your packets.
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It is about playing and having fun, not winning, is it?
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The primary objective of most games is winning. This is why there are pre-game conditions described for winning. Win by most planets, or highest score, or player vote, etc. Never saw win by having the most fun? 
Fun is a good side effect of playing and playing is necessary in order to participate. It would be hard to play without playing, would it not?
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[Updated on: Thu, 05 June 2003 16:10] by Moderator
BlueTurbit Country/RockReport message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Fri, 06 December 2002 14:00 |
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3 things i look for in a game.
1. victory, nice but not essential. If you dont set out with at least an aim to win then what the hell are you doing?
2. Fun - it's game!!!!! if you lose then do some role play and have some fun with it!!!!!! Who would buy a game that wasn't fun?
3. Learning - Stars is deep and theres always something else to learn.
[Updated on: Mon, 13 January 2003 02:27] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Sun, 08 December 2002 06:10 |
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PP is not a winning race. Sure it can win, sure it can be powerful. But 9 times out of 10 it isn't. Having said that though PP is the most fun. Packets of destruction aren't really that effective, but they are fun. It's a laugh.
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| Re: PP and you |
Sun, 12 January 2003 11:39 |
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| Apelord |
 | Master Chief Petty Officer |
Messages: 99
Registered: November 2002 | |
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PP's are certainly not one of the great contenders for galactic domination, however they are by no means broken (I consider AR's broken due the the Kill Starbase order, etc. ad nauseum). The specialized tactics called for to make a viable PP are not as easily grasped and employed as the tactics other races use.
Weaknesses:
-No real economic or warfighting advantage
-Mineral Hogs
Strengths:
-Ultimate smart bomb (packets don't destroy factories and mines like cherry bombs/lub's and they don't work on a percentage basis like smart bombs)
-Virtually immune from packet attack
-cheap pen scanners. (NAS is a no-brainer)
Some notes from a recent win w/PP:
1) WM's are easy meat for PP's
2) Races with a narrow hab feild are also easy to attack (Use the terraforming capability to shift the planet to red and POOF!)
3) Use mulitple smaller packets to attack worlds with full defenses
4) Use an attack pattern of: Knock out Starbase, then packet.
5) Best defenses against are packets (in order of effectiveness): Unloading the packet in deep space, Mass drivers on starbases, planetary defenses.
6) Don't use packets as a first wave. Make sure you have ships that can exploit the results of a packet bombardment. I.e. interceptors to pick off fleeing freighters of colonists, troops to resettle blasted worlds, remote miners and freighters to pick up minerals from red worlds you packet into extinction, minelayers to cover scorched territory so those reds don't get resettled, etc. PP's must have very coordinated assaults to be successful. Too many try to play them as 'big artillery' only.
A PP can make it impossible for an enemy to establish a base anywhere near you and can, under the right circumstances, devastate a neighbor. Just by making sure no new colonies can go up, forcing a player to repeatedly dodge incoming packets (which costs them production) you can get an edge. My advice is if you are looking for a strong chance of a win, play another race. If you want a real challenge play a PP BUT pick
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[Updated on: Sun, 12 January 2003 18:55]
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| Spotting Hidden PPs |
Wed, 02 April 2003 13:05 |
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| vonKreedon |
 | Lieutenant |
Messages: 610
Registered: March 2003
Location: Seattle, WA USA | |
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I've played PP twice; did not win either time, but was among the contenders in games with generally intermediate players.
Both times I've played I've tried to hide my PRT in the early game due to my perception that other races react very badly to a PP neighbor and PP is vulnerable to quick starting races. However, the second game I played PP a neighbor identified me as PP within three turns! He put together seeing me move from two worlds, making me either PP or IT, with my default scout's icon to id my race as PP. I was flumoxed at not having thought of this before and pleased that he wanted to be friends.
Of course I killed him later.
[Updated on: Wed, 02 April 2003 13:06] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Thu, 05 May 2005 12:06 |
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| EDog |
| Lt. Junior Grade |
Messages: 417
Registered: November 2002
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA | |
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| Dyrham wrote on Thu, 05 May 2005 09:48 |
Just browsing through this old thread as I was thinking of trying my hand at a PP race ...
One thing that doesnt seem to be mentioned is that a PP could take a pretty remote hab range ( variables very high or low ). It could terraform planets for itself with packets, de-terraforming would be significant to most others and its planets would'nt be a very attractive target for anyone else.
Am I on the right lines?
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As an old hand at PP, I'd say this is a valid way to play one. HOWEVER...you'll run out of minerals very quickly terraforming, because ideally you'll need to use all three kinds. I'd suggest you go -f with a race like this. Also, it's MUCH easier to terraform a planet just a few klicks out of your hab range than one that's a big, fat red. With a remote hab range, you're not likely to find many little reds only needing a few packets to make habitable.
Just my 2c.
EDog
http://ianthealy.com
Born, grew up, became an adventurer
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| Re: PP and you |
Wed, 08 June 2005 13:00 |
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PP definitely fares best in a universe where CA is banned.
Granted, these days I'm of the opinion that CA should be banned in just about all games since it reduces the ability for a wider variety of races to succeed.
I played a -F PP with a great deal of success in my last game. Granted the game failed in the mid-80s due to my incompetent hosting (as i've become more slackerly in these recent years of playing).
This race was a -F PP, that actually had a relatively high number of factories operated (7/25/14). The intended goal was to build no factories, but occupy as many as I could get my hands on to boost the -F's growth in the midgame. In theory this was a great idea. In practice, all but one of the neighbors w/ compatible habs (ie. good for the taking!) were -Fs as well!! This more or less destroyed my mid-game growth. eventually ended up locked in a seige warfare against an HE for planets w/ facts.
Ended the game in 2nd place. The majority of my resources and minerals were spent on having the biggest, baddest, and most aggressive fleet at all times. I spared nothing on warship construction. As a -F, it's really the only way to go. Outspend your opponents on war and force them to put off building their economy. The packets were used primarily for pre-terraforming.
I didn't hide the PRT at all. I'd considered doing so though. If I want to hide my PRT, I won't be caught as a PP. I would've redesigned all initial ships and SBs to look like an IT or joat. If I wanted to move from world to world, I would planet hop. It's simple enough to hide if you do it right, but I didn't think it would be worth it. My hab range was so unappealing to most players that I was an unlikely target. Additionally, I was a PP. No one had ANYTHING to gain by attacking ME early. Besides, the cheaper early pen scans were just too damn useful.
Also, I don't get the whole thign on NAS. NOT taking NAS is a no brainer IMO. It's not a point mine. You get nothing for it, and you can't trade pen s
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g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Wed, 08 June 2005 15:02 |
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Yeah, good point. I ban CA since i like to see more WMs, SSs, PPs, and ARs. It makes life more interesting. Hmm..stars!=life? 
g.e.
====
"When the newspapers have been read, the TV sets shut off, the cars parked
in their various garages. Then, faintly, I hear voices from another star.
(I clocked it once, and the reception is best between 3:00 A.M. and 4:45
A.M.). Of course, I don't usually tell people this when they ask, "Say,
where do you get your ideas?" I just say I don't know. It's safer."
-P. K. DickReport message to a moderator
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| Re: PP and you |
Sun, 12 June 2005 19:40 |
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| Braindead |
 | Officer Cadet 2nd Year |
Messages: 237
Registered: April 2005
Location: Ohio | |
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In a tiny universe, CA is not the best option - middle of the road at best. In small - they become quite competitive, but aren't running away from everybody else. Starting with medium, I agree with you - they should be banned.
Braindead
Mess with the best, die like the rest!Report message to a moderator
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, but also because people know your PRT and your Homeworld(s) pretty soon. The Terraform-ability is very interesting in my eyes, but by far too expensive to be useful in real games. For most of the time Transporting with Freighters is faster and cheaper than fling a packet.
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Ummm, sure! 
I do FREESTYLE math.
Re: PP and you
Re: PP and you
