Droids to use or not to use

[Garth Vader]

Yeah I'd make Uncreative -10. I have tried it a few times and it's real tough.

[Alphard]

If u should use droids? The answer depends how interesting a game u want. Fact of the matter is that first i dropped playing with creative cos that made winning no fun.. and then i dropped using droids.. for the same reason. that is how i do it:

good for us the droids are on the same research field as research boosts.. u go for labs first.. as soon as u can for supercomp.. u will probably need the cyber link for holding back spies.. or you might not.. it is only 1500 you can research it. when you get autolab it gives you a HUGE boost in research.. ok.. a bit less in tiny galaxy but droids are already next. geting them quickly only requires a determined gameplan.

after u get droid workers, you will fill ALL your planets with population in 15 turns.. u only need lots of transports to help out those bordercolonies.. after that there is nothing stoping u cos bots dont use droids and u can beat any race's production at least 3:1

choose carefully what racepicks u make- choose them according to strategy.. u need a good research race for this strategy- the idea is to compensate for the production when u get droids.. being small and insignificant the first 2/3 of the game is fun when u can wipe them out in the last 1/3

[Alphard]

oh and i forgot.. droids are tolerant, so u dont have to be subterrainian to max out planets

[vmxa1]

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Alphard
If u should use droids? The answer depends how interesting a game u want. Fact of the matter is that first i dropped playing with creative cos that made winning no fun.. and then i dropped using droids.. for the same reason. that is how i do it:[/QUUOTE]
I do not understand all the post about Creative being easy. It is just another pick and at imposible, it does not make you a winner. I submit that Telepathic is the "easy" pick. You give up 8 picks to get the priviledge of not having to choose tech at each field. Yes in the mid game and later you are strong, but I am strong at those junctures regardless of my picks or I am dead.

Originally posted by Alphard
after u get droid workers, you will fill ALL your planets with population in 15 turns.. u only need lots of transports to help out those bordercolonies.. after that there is nothing stoping u cos bots dont use droids and u can beat any race's production at least 3:1

I think I proved that you will have less production than with normal colonist in the end, due to morale boost. In any event, why bother at this stage with it. The game is in control by the time I get driods, unless I beelined for them (never happen).

Originally posted by Alphard
being small and insignificant the first 2/3 of the game is fun when u can wipe them out in the last 1/3

I can do that with any race I choose. Mind you, I am not saying that you are wrong, only that it is not better or required. Well, I am saying you are wrong about the creative. It is fun and any race will be boring after a while. Thanks for the thoughts, but I do not see anything compelling about your arguement.

[Alphard]

ok i see you did not get my point. i do not argue that droids are more useful in the endrun. cos they are not. even if they were AS valuable as normal population they would be a liability cos they cannot be shifted from, say, prod to research..

however the droids main power is how fast they can be produced. usually terraforming and building all planets up takes forever, but with droids.. i guess you have to play with these settings yourself to see the sheer power of these tactics.. do a:

lithovore, artifacts, democracy (i usually take repolsive as minus + crap from beam attack and defence.. i usually waste most of the map with missiles with this race). with this race your research on your first turn already should be 60RP. (you might want to replace the artif with research +1 on huge map). go for labs and supercomp as soon as possible and after cyber and autolab + droid worker after that.. you just have to do minimal research in other fields cos your missile destroyers can keep anyone back at this stage.

its easiest wth a huge map.. with a tiny one i have to be a bit more clever cos computer players try to steal much in the beginning.. thats the only problem.. so i go for cyber-link asap. but even here you have a good start as u r lithovore and have a decent production..

i repeat just 1 more time.. droids will only rule when used MASSIVELY.

all games on v1.31.

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by Alphard
lithovore, artifacts, democracy (i usually take repolsive as minus + crap from beam attack and defence.. i usually waste most of the map with missiles with this race). with this race your research on your first turn already should be 60RP. (you might want to replace the artif with research +1 on huge map). go for labs and supercomp as soon as possible and after cyber and autolab + droid worker after that.. you just have to do minimal research in other fields cos your missile destroyers can keep anyone back at this stage.

Thanks for the post. Just for the record, I understood your point and did not disagree with it. I just said why bother? You may or may not, it does not matter. I say this as droids are 3500 rp tech. I do not rush for them, but rather do the other ones and in fact they are the last 3500 rp I work on and often skip it for advance city planning and come back later. Since I figure I will not be building any more planets from scratch or dam few. I will be landing on someone elses planets and they will have a good size pop or I will just kill everyone. I have enough to do with out tracking droids. The game is just a formality at this point. It may have a lot of action to go, but no matter what I do I am going to win. By the time I get to the 3500 tech, I want HEF and Plasma Cannons (if I did not get phasors). I need war items, not production. I have played Liv/Dems and usually if huge map take +1R instead of AHW, since the +R is for all colonies. In a smaller map the AHW may be better. I like the Rep as well and use -GC and -SD, but any will do.
BTW you will not get 60rp on day 1. If you stick all workers to SCI, but one you get 53 RP. 8/12 pop for med planet. 1 worker, 7 sci. 7*3=21 + 7*2 (AHW)=14 + 17.7 (dem) (21+14=35*50%=17.5) grand total 53.
Again, everything you said is correct and can be done. I just do not see any need to do it. I would also have to make a bunch of freighters, which I am loathed to do. I make only as many as I need to feed planets that can not do it yet (non Liv) and an occasional movement of pop. I sometime send Subt races to all the planets, not always, for the same reason I do not use droids. I just makes work for me, I already have the game on the down hill slope by then.
PS
If you are a Dem you might want to go for the Gov boost before some of the 3500 stuff. You get the 75% for R/P a big boost right then and goes into effect instantly.

[Alphard]

well-- yes.. all valid stuff there... i guess it depends on the strategy one picks.. i have played with this in multy and has worked for me.. cos i usually only build beam ships with moleculatronic and its right after the droids.. so this line of research is good for me.. might not be for others.. enough said..

[Urban Ranger]

If you pick Unification, it's a good time to use droids since morale boosters don't do anything anyway.

[Galvatron]

I always use them: they are content and eat nothing. It's even better if you use them on planets which allow only little or no food production this way you don't have to ship food around and you can produce them faster than the pop will grow naturally which means you can go on full production earlier as when you wait that a new inhabitant will be born.

[Thanatoxus]

Not sure if this have been mentioned but morale actually does affect android WORKERS. THis is great if your race is unification, especially a custom unlike klackons who gets the production bonus. Also, computer don't use androids so if you rush for androids, sell the tech to the all the computer, and you can easily catch back up on the techs that you sacrificed to get androids.

Generally, if i manage to get android early enough, I'll have all my science planet start producing android workers with any unused production, and I can a lot of androids that way without losing anything except maybe some measly BCs. Self-replicating androids is great, but I won't do this until I've set up all my production buildings, since the fastest you can get is 1 android/turn.

It really depends on how you play, but androids can be incredibly powerful if used properly. It's the reason I have to say the most powerful hero in the game is probably the one that gives you android tech (Andromeda?): You get all three androids and +% to labor, farming, and science to boot. Or if you somehow find a better hero than that, boot him and keep the tech *cackle*.