Warmonger,hybrid builder,or peacemaker?

[Sikander]

I played a lot of MOOII and beat it at impossible pretty early on. I always chose 'Repulsive' in my race design, which seemed to do very little damage to my diplomatic efforts (they all hate you on Impossible anyway!), but gave me plenty of points to spend. My Navy consisted entirely of destroyers loaded to the gills with Mirved Nuclear Missles, and few bombs (and eventually Fast Missle Racks). These guys practiced 'Shoot and Scoot' tactics, but 5 of them are quite capable of taking down a planet with a missle base. I called them my Katyushas, and they took down many a space monster and enemy planet in the early game. I really enjoyed MOOII.

Another great game was Master of Magic. So many ways to play, a zillion races (all with a large number of unique units to build) and a seemingly infinite number of ways to design your Wizard. The capability to build magical weapons to outfit your commanders was fantastic! I really hope they produce MoM2!

[Mihai]

Hybrid

My strategy in every TBS : in the begining I do anything necesary to control a vital space (10-20) cities/colonies and then go on strong defence, a rapid task force to retaliate an eventual invasion and bulding an strong industrial/technological/peacefully empire. After I have an important advantage in ind/tech I start looking for victims

[Blake]

As much as it sickens me I'll no doubt be a peacemaker , making friends left right and centre, trying to forge galatic alliances and being charitable to less fortunate empires . I'll use small highly trained well equiped forces to defend my empire. (I just dont like having lots of military, for one it stagments the economy, secondly it's not very nice sending poorly trained, poorly equiped recruits off to there deaths). I'll use my diplomatic prowess to keep my enemies busy fighting my allies, providing assitance to my allies to insure my enemies lose.

Finally when "Big qsuai-nuclear planet destroying weapon of evil" arrives, I'll build lots of them and destroy everyone which ever annoyed me. . With all the warmongers gone the galaxy will finally be at peace.

[Roman]

Originally posted by Stormhound
Did we happen to mention that you'll have to worry about logistics and having your supply lines cut?

Brilliant, I wish Civ 3 implemented this too.

[Stormhound]

It would probably be a lot harder for Civ3 to implement; with the jump lanes we have a definite topography to the game, and tracing lines of supply is a much less complex process.

[Roman]

Originally posted by Stormhound
It would probably be a lot harder for Civ3 to implement; with the jump lanes we have a definite topography to the game, and tracing lines of supply is a much less complex process.

You are probably right.

It would have been nice anyway...

[Roman]

To the topic now:

Hybrids rule - some war, some econ.

[Ubik]

Blake

I just looooooove your approach! Reminds of certain superpowers throughout history though...

[Chuckles]

I will be a hybrid. I have yet to play a game that you can not build the first half and anahalate in the second half. Unless there is an equivalent of getting rushed in the feudal age.

[Blake]

It hardly takes half the game for 'annhiliate' stage
Conquest is not a nessecary part of staying competetive in many TBS games (Civ2, SMAC, etc...). You can build and use a combination of ally buffers and your own "active defense" to keep your empire safe. Active defense as in you dont let the enemy set up camp on your border.
With supply lines and whatsnot being defensive could be even easier in MOO3. Which ironically may remove some of the challenge of playing a peacefull game

(Peacemaker is by no means the most effective strategy, but I find it the most rewarding, and the most challenging)

[Ubik]

I am the peacemaker type in any TBS game I have ever played (especially in Civ - biggest maps, with 3 or 4 civs ) but I found it quite hard to maintain a peacefull/builder status in MOO2: Them pesky aliens just got gun crazed without any previous notice (and while our relationship was at it's peak!) and they attacked without a warning...

...to get crushed by my powerfull fleet

Well, hardly a challenge, even at impossible...

I hope MOO3 goes in the right way (as it seems)

[moomin]

I'm a peacemaker at heart; I love to build up my planets and research like there was no tomorrow.

In Moo2, playing at impossible, I'd go out and get myself exactly nine planets. Build them up to max and research all you can. Go to Orion, whack it. Bulid 10th colony on Orion itself (never any more, I couldn't be bothered to scroll in the colonial management window). Once my tech is sufficient; build a huge fleet and exterminate all the rest.

Too easy. I didn't lose a single impossible game in over a hundered games, mostly playing with 300% races (only race penalties).

I think being a peacemaker should be more difficult - it's the only even halfway challenging strategy anyway. Conquest is easier still, but too boring. It's fun to give presents, frame and generally lick ass when you're still weak - and so much more satisifying to crunch all the critters that were threatning you when you get the tech and the production.

If Moo3 has made it more difficult to "dig in" and brown-nose, that'd be fun. I already agree with the increased difficulty in executing genocidal campaigns - that was _far_ too easy in Moo2.

I'm _really_ disappointed they cut out the space monsters, though. They were silly, true, but they were still fun to have around; "pay me 500 BC or I will pillage you puny subjects", indeed. Meet my stellar converter, Mr. Dragon!

[Sir Hawkeye]

Hybrid Builder with an attitude.

Whatever game I play, some puny little AI will interrupt my peaceful building and demand some silly tech. I, being the irritable galactic power I am, refuse. Then they proclaim my doom. Following that, the AI receives justice in the form of Plasma-Toting Heavy Doomstars/Veteran Howitzers/24-12-18*4 Blink Clean Gravships.

Hmm... What will the level of utterly lunatic AI belligerence be in MOO3?

[Deathwalker]

I always love to start a new game as a warmonger and work my way round to the other stagegies after I wipe out the UNiverse a couple of times

[Don K Hotay]

Originally posted by Stormhound
...with the jump lanes we have a definite topography to the game, and tracing lines of supply is a much less complex process.

so bypassing the jumplanes and a taking alternate, less direct routes to other systems is out of the question? If a my fleet was a in fact cutoff at key choke points, would a there be no way for it to hold the enemy fleets at bay until supply ships or even more fleets came in from alternate routes, maybe from the choke point flanks? Is what I say a making sense?

Also, will the galaxy and all the systems in it be on a 2D plane or 3D plane?


Quixote

"You know perfectly well we don't have 394 million dollars in cash!"
Randolph Duke, Trading Places