Playing at impossible difficulty...

[korndoll82]

Okay depsite playing this game for a huge number of years (I forget how many, but a HELL of a lot), i still cannot even gain the upper hand in an Impossible difficulty game. The opposition always seems to be in control faster than I am.

Does anyone have any tips as to how I can take control early in the game, or any strategy's that are bound to help me?

Please, I just wanna be able to beat impossible difficulty at least once before i move to MoO3...

thanx,
Li

[vmxa1]

I would say if you use the concepts put forth by Originalbork in the custom Race thread you should be in the hunt.
First for most players, you will have a hard time beating impossible with just any race, it can be done, but failure is common. So what you need is a super race. This could take the form of a number of traits, but the best ones are Unitol and UniLith with complimentary boost.
In order to get the job done in ultra quick fashion you need to do some extreme things, but to just win you can be a bit less drastic a la the few I have posted.
The thing is you have to use your worker in a specfic manner and use some specific research and build paths.
These are reported in some of those post.
I know I did not give credit to some other players, but you will see their names in the thread.

[Kaptain Ken]

vmxa1 is right on. I too have played Moo2 off and on for years and am just now learning how to play it well enough to win on impossible. Thanks to these posts by people like vmxa1 , Originalbork and many others, I am finally getting it.

[korndoll82]

Well with thanks to all various sources studied, most noticably this site, I have succeeded in winning on Impossible three times today. I guess I just wasnt using custom races to their maximum pontential...

Unification/Telepathic/Repulsive with various modifiers seems to work well for me....

cheers guys.

[vmxa1]

Good to hear.

[Nephilim]

Another good combo is lithovore/telepathic/charismatic... sweettalk the big and nasty AIs into trade & research treaties while mindconning the weaker ones into submission (gaining neat techs and a nice population boost along the way), then crush the rest using your massively increased industrial base.

Sucks if you start right next to the Silicoids or Darlok, though. But you should have no problem winning otherwise.

[Kaptain Ken]

I preferr to not use lithovore as its too easy. Yes there are some starts you could not win without it, especially at impossible. IMHO you lose strategy almost as much as using creative, I like the difficult choices and food can sometimes be cut back without affecting population much.

[Kaptain Ken]

korndoll82,

Have you tried any other custom races on impossible and if so what seems to work and what do enjoy playing the most?

[korndoll82]

not many yet....skoolwork has taken my time away from M002 this week, but ive tried using simple Creative/Telepathic/Ominiscent combos mostly....of course that makes rushing the opposition much more tricker but i manage to get a huge focus set on research early on, keeping safe, assimilating several races, usually the sakkra for the population benefit. Then when I have decent technology to build larger powerful weapons I begin to take control of the galaxy rather quickly....

Sometimes i play Tel/Tol/Omni but with somethin stupid like Repulsive...but always make use of the -10 ground combat, seeing as Telepathic practically negates the need for it...

[KhanMan]

I win on impossible about half the time...it depends on how things go in the first third of the game.

I go with either super-science: creative-democracy-science bonuses or super production: creative-tolernat-rich-large hw. Yes, I almost always use creative-it's in the game, and if you want to win on impossible, imho, it's the best racial pic.

On research:

1. computer-research lab
2. heavy armor-auto factories
3. hydro farms/biospheres

(in that order, pausing to install each as gained)

4. the techs needed to build colony and other ships


The first part of the game is all research and installing improvements-I alternative 100% scientist with 100% workers (minus what I need for food). In moo2, specialization works best.

Second part of the game is sending out scouts, then grabbing every good world I can colonize before I meet oither races.

Third part is when I meet other races, I pull back, build spies for a short while, then 1 battleship apiece for each system I own, while slowly expanding. In this time, I bribe races to give me research and trade agreements, and, of course, non-agression pacts. (never alliances)

Fourth, I hold position with a good number of worlds 5-10 systems, and research and improve colonies up the wazoo.

Fifth, I build a fleet of battleships and transports, and gang rape each enemy race in turn.

-KhanMan

[vmxa1]

KhanMan an honest man it would seem. If you want to up your percentage of wins, dump the creative race and use a Uni. Unitol, UniLith. Mind you I find it fun to play more or less like you mentioned as well. No more heavy armor though, unless you steal it or beat it out of them.

[KhanMan]

V-My win percentage is good, and even the losses are fun in some ways.

Of course, my ultimate pick for evilness is TolLith. No food. No pollution. Just total power of specialization

[vmxa1]

There are several viable race and in fact you could win impossible with any race, but a couple as far above the rest for consistently out producing the others.
I will not always use the best one as I like to try different things from time to time. As you say, it is about having fun. Some time I miss the early games of Moo and Moo2 were I could get into big trouble and have to sweat it out on lower levels.

[ABX]

You must be charismatic in this way you can estabilish a non-aggresion pact with the AI.

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by ABX
You must be charismatic in this way you can estabilish a non-aggresion pact with the AI.

I hardly ever use that trait as I do not want to trade or bargain with the AI. It is too easy to abuse them. I tend to go with Repulsive so they will not even talk to me, except to go to war.