| Re: The Altai - an IS race |
Tue, 22 August 2006 00:45   |
|
 JasonC |
 | Petty Officer 2nd Class
Stars! V.I.P |
Messages: 58
Registered: July 2006
Location: Arlington, MA | |
|
Starting with no tech is no bargain for this race, whose entire point early on is the ease with which is spreads to long distances.
There is a point late in all games when resources are a drug to factory using races. They become mineral constrained, they can't use their resources. This doesn't happen to -f races, which generally remain resource constrained throughout.
But the value of higher tech in side fields is pretty marginal to begin with. You get it from trade and battles a bit anyway. The weapons and con are cheap, but the others really just aren't that important.
I wrote the operational section of the strategy guide, detailing a war I conducted with a -f IS race against an initially much stronger opponent. -f IS is hard to conquer. Even in a small. When spread virally in a larger universe, it is that much harder. The reason is the pop simply won't die. It dodges and it reproduces and it comes back.
One fleet battle doesn't get it done, and one pass over each planet doesn't get it done either, even if you pull it off. More commonly, planets near the front line have to be killed half a dozen times, and many others are untouched. Defenses and speed traps and resistence to invasion supplement that basic strength.
The wars take a lot of time as a result. They are not triumphal processions of the Grand Fleet followed by a resignation. 30 or 40 years of continual warfare to deal with a single opponent is perfectly normal. Only SD is tougher.
The point of the factory option is to avoid time being exclusively on the other guy's side. See, a reasonable strategy against the tough defenders is a blockade strategy, to counter their Mao, 2D spread, free wheeling planet killing war strategy. (Main fleet battle is not available, they just deny battle). A blockade strategy tries to contain a race spacially and then outdevelop and outproduce it. Sometimes without war, often with hyperactive skirmishing fronts supported by warfleets that don't seriously engage.
If an enemy applie
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