making moo2 more difficult

[vmxa1]

High score runs are very very tedious after you get the races eliminated. That is why I never went back to try to boost it. I was just going nuts at the later stages with all the colonies to deal with.

[moomin]

Actually, Balakov, the way quickest race to win with is
Charismatic, Subterranean and Omni.

[thora]

@vmxa1
Yes, i also think so, but in fact i haven't played moo2 for
more than a year and beside my four friends there were nothing to compare with. So highscores are one way to do this. Beside this being elected isn't fun for me. I want them all;-). At the end, i think you can speed up by build housing. It took me to turn 480 at the mention game and i'm just trying again.

By.

[vmxa1]

Yes in the very high 400's is about right for huge map to do all planets and artifical ones. You must go to housing to met the date. Well at least for the last bunch of planets anyway. I just buy all the pop boost and go to housing.

[Garth Vader]

One thing I haven't seen posted is the starting tech level.

My biggest problem in winning on impossible is the AI's bonuses can allow them to overwhelm you in the early game. They can expand, tech and build ships at the same time. I have had games where I get hit by a few battleships at the time that I am making my first colony ship.

This is an issue in pre-warp and average games. On advanced it is less of a problem. I can't remember losing an advanced tech start, using creative.

[vmxa1]

Starting with a Battle station does provide some sense of comfort. You also get a fleet using all the command points.
Anyway my position is that talk is cheap and I am dubious of the idea that there is some legit means of play that is so far better than any other that one never loses at impossible, but if there is please clue me in.
It is not a case I my saying I am so great that no one can do better as that is crazy. I am not sure I even play the best way I know how to play. I know of several here who I have a great respect for their knowledge of the game. I only claim for myself is that I do have a lot of games under my belt at all levels with all types of race traits and have won at all of them. I also have lost with some of them. The game is complex, but not complicated. IOW it does not take a genuis to figure the moves.

[Urban Ranger]

My idea of having fun is not to strain my brain too much. What is odd to me is there is a huge gap between Average and Hard, and an even huger gap between Hard and Impossible, in MoO 2.

I can kick butt in Average without even thinking everytime. I lose about 40% of the time on Hard and all the time on Impossible. What they could have is a more gentle change between the difficulty levels.

[vmxa1]

Now here is an honest player. I suspect maybe a bit too modest though. The trick is to become acclaimated to the differnces in the game. Impossible can put you in a big hole and it can seem that you can not get out, but sometimes you can. Once you see that you can, it is easier not to give up and use a differnt tact.

[vmxa1]

Urban Ranger go look at the games that are posted by Garth and play it out with the road map and see if that works for you.

[bakalov]

I agree that Subterranean + Omniscent +Charizmatic may easily win a diplomatic victory

[bakalov]

Charizmatic + Telepath is better diplomat though :-) Sometimes may declare 2 treaties + non aggresion on first meeting; alliance a couple of turns later ....

[vmxa1]

bakalov, Moomin is talking about turn 7. Not playing out the game.

[bakalov]

ok :-) I am new to this forum and have missed a lot but I'll try to catch up .....

As this thread topic is to "making moo2 more difficult" I'll suggest an interesting game: Try to win on impossible with 340% difficulty, huge map, with no save/load allowed .....

Probably you'll have to start on advanced tech level, not much chance otherwise .....

[vmxa1]

Yup, I posted a run with only 10 negative picks. I suspect that if one would not even take repulsive with their fav race, they are not going to try no picks.

[GePap]

Well, I have had games in which the glaxy is ready to elect me, but I am not ready to win, so I abstain or vote for the other guy for several election cycles, until only two races are left, and thus no more elctions.

I think ways to make the whole game more challenging:

Improve the AI.s ship design mentality late game. If the AI decided to build ships based on lots of beams and beam powerups like structural annalyzers and high energy focus, and then took an aggressive approach (as always) a lot of players would see their fleets thorn to shreds. As is, the AI relies on some space-wasting strategies. After a certain point even antaran ships are a joke, and Loknar's ship I rarely use since the ships I used to kill the guardian are so more vastly powerful.
Also, have the AI use more exotic techs like timewarp generators and phazing cloaks. Could you imagine an AI fleet of phaze cloaked titans with lots of disrupters and plasma beams using achilles targeting units and time warp generators? I have used them and they are killer.Shoot one turn, phaze the other. then theyc an't even shoot back. In the 5 turn you get, you win.

The AI does not build enough buildings to maximize its potential. It spends heavily on ships, which is fine until you can overtake them in etch and then you produce much better ships (see above), and then its done.

Have the AI go after the Antaran homeworld: this would be a killer. This would ruin so many game strategies, wouldn' t it?

Have the AI colonize more aggresively, terraform planets earlier in the game., and make use of planet construction.

The AI should be more amenable to taking colonies rather than blowing them up, and more likely to blow up things once it gets stellar converters, specially against he human.


And if someone wants a real challenge, play a race with no race picks, or only negaive ones. that should pose a real challenge.