Custom Race- Best Stats?

[moomin]

I usually forgo all beams before neutron blasters for missiles anyway. More punch for your money.

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by Zealot
I have to strongly disagree with vmxa1.
Hv Af Mass Drivers are way better than Hv fully modded Laser beams. You should try comparing them against a BB with Zortium.
Check out wich is efficient and wich isn't.

What is there to disagree with, I never said they were better, only that they can be used, if you choose to pick something other than mass drivers. I have done it both ways. To me it is situational. I try to get by without using beams for as long as I can. I prefer to use phasors, but sometimes, I do not get that option. I may be attacked by ships that I can not kill with missiles. Mostly, I can get by with missile ships till I am past mass drivers.

[vmxa1]

So if I have Zortium armour, I will likely have Phasors and that is when I start making beamers, unless forced to sooner. Phasors can be used all the way, if you want to. I tend to switch to Disruptors when I get them. So it will be BB with phasors and titans with disruptors or DS. Below BB, missiles mostly.

[Zealot]

Oh my!
When I get Zortium I don't even have neutron beam/scanner!
Although yesterday I set my personal record by getting Autolabs by turn 113, I could have gotten Zortium earlyer.
But it was a 1v1 with another human player on a large map, organic rich and average tech, so the game might be a little different from what you guys usually play.

About the Lasers vs Mass Drivers issue, sorry vmxa1, I misinterpreted you.

[vmxa1]

No problem, I was not real clear, I think it was very wee hours. I should have mentioned, I am not a laser proponent. I have seen them be the best I could do at times. Garth Vader was the one who convinced me that they have a place. I normally like phasors, but often I do not have the choice as they may come see me before I can get them. Depends on my race the map and what races are nearest and so many things. The thing that makes the game fun after all this time is that you can not just cookie cutter the play. You need to adapt to the game at hand. Many things are fairly constant, but some need to be altered at times. Did I manage to steal a good tech? Did I have to bypass some shield or armor or beam? Did I manage to get tech that lets me fit these weapons in with numbers enough to help? So many factors.

[Zealot]

Originally posted by vmxa1
So many factors.

Such a great game.

[xoham]

finally won impossible

My new custom race, after having read this forum is:
low grav
spying penalty
ground combat penalty
creative
aquatic
subterranean
large homeworld

Because of subterranean, I get so much more population that I get far better research and production that when I go with my Psilon-like custom race. I form only a few colonies outside the home system before needing to conquer my neighbors. When I used my Psilon-like race, I wouldn't be able to make more than one before having enemies on the doorstep.

Man are the naval battles huge! They routinely have a dozen or more battleships though I still come out ahead because they can't hit my ships.

Thanks for all the tips.

ps. I used autofire armor piercing lasers early and they seemed to work quite well.

[vmxa1]

Yes that race will work.

[vmxa1]

Xoham, I should have pointed out that -spying can be a huge pain for a creative race in the early going. That used to be my favorite neg pick, but on a 8 players map the races will steal everything you have until you get the spy bonus techs. Even with 4 spies, the -10 agents lets them go to town and in fact will often kill your agents. If you have Draxx the assasin it helps. I try to not makeany contact early with that race or else get mad at the stealing. Below impossible it not as nasty.

[moomin]

Spy negative bonii are a pain. I go for light gravity instead.

[vmxa1]

Yes, someone recently posted that spying was great freebie and I let it go, but really it will not be fun at impossible level for most games. You can pick the Darloks face to help keep them out of it, but if they are in and make very early contact, you will lose all your tech and spies real fast. I stopped using it and use others. It is fine for non creative races as they will not have muct tech to steal for the early game.

[Sikander]

I didn't even know there was a v. 1.31, I have always played v. 1.2. I got it in a pack with MoM, MOO1 and two X-Com games (for 20$), which is probably the best deal dollar for dollar I have ever had for software.

I usually played with the following:

Demo, Creative, Subterranean, Large Home World

Repulsive, -Ship Defense, -Ground Combat

Impossible, Pre-Warp, 8 races, Huge

I found it quite easy, obviously.

My current game is (same game settings), but this time I have:

feudal, telep., warlord, creative and some other minor minuses. I am doing really well. I actually built all of my ships with scout labs to beef up my science early on. I got lucky with some good leaders, megawealth, diplomacy and a decent researcher (it helped with my pathetic science rate). I got into a bunch of treaties which saved my bacon with money and research, and now I have a fair chunk of the huge galaxy (about 35%). I am fighting and easily winning my first war, though the big boys are beginning to get hostile, so it could be tense for a while. Tech is at about the 1500 range.

I downloaded the 1.31 patch tonight, so my next game should be even more interesting.

[vmxa1]

The 1.2 version was way too easy and should not even be played.
1.31 key changes:

Creative 8 pick, not 6
Tactical combt, the attacker goes first
AI no longer surrenders systems at the drop of a hat. In the past it would be willing to give a system even though you were not really doing any damage to it, it was silly.
Gyros effectiveness reduce and they take more space.
Plasma Cannon same
Assault Shuttles no longer can be used more than once
The leader arrivial reduction eliminated
No refit of captured ships

These have made the game a bit better and creative is not the cake walk it used to be. It will still be strong if you make it past the early phase.

[vmxa1]

I can't speak to feudal on 1.2 as that was too long ago, but on 1.31 feudal is a real pain. You have to go to all out war mode to offset the research.

[moomin]

Actually, although if properly played you'll never notice it, they did away with the somebody first rule in 1.31 and have real initiative...