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If you think you know the game, try playing gigantic/abundant,suicidal, ONE opponent

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If you think you know the game, try playing gigantic/abundant,suicidal, ONE opponent

from Stardock Forums
Based on forum conversations both here and in the High Command's, forum I thought I'ld step out of my little stardock default settings at suicidal shell where I was winning roughly 80% of the time and try some of the games the other folks play.

My first game went to a huge universe. It played exactly the same way as the large universe, Until I owned half the universe. The battle I posted came from this game. The INSTANT, I wiped out the Terrans, The rest of the univers declared war on me.
That 163 ship is good, but I couldn't defeat 4 races simultaneously. I also couldn't build anything, because I lost 3-4K bc in trade revenue over night.

But I knew what I did wrong there, hubris, and decided to play gigantic and make everything abundant. I over clicked number of races, and the computer decided ! was a good number. Try it sometime on suicidal, it was a trip. The Aceans never attacked me, They just swalloed my entire empire with influence!

My next ry was to face the full complement, but this time I turned off tech trading. Man, I am back to little ships, and Mumblefratz planets. I never realized how much of a crutch it was to be able to trade for competitive war techs the moment someone declares war. The Drengins haven't handed me my head yet, but if the Drath ever decide to use their ships against me rather than give them to me, EVERY TURN, I think I am in some serious trouble. And I thought I was just going to rack up some gigantic scores to push us past the Diplomats, silly me.
22,108 views 34 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hehehe,,I know what you mean... Sending those 80+ speed freighters taks a LONG time.
Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top
For me so far, I've found that Medium maps are the most difficult at the higher levels. (Crippling and above.)

I usually play Abundant Stars, loose or scattered; Abundant planets - but only Common habitable planets. Tech trading on, tech research either normal or slow. 5-7 random AI opponents with random intelligence; Minors on.

These are tough for me because there are not many habitable planets - but lots of stars - and the AI at higher levels usually gets a few more. It's a challenge to try and beat opponents who have twice as many planets as you - and I'm talking 10-15 compared to my 5-7.

It's also a challenge with a small number of planets because you really have some decisions to make about how to utilize them...
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #29 from Stardock Forums Top
For me so far, I've found that Medium maps are the most difficult at the higher levels. (Crippling and above.)

This has been Brad's assertion and it's probably accurate. But what really matters is the effective density of planets and opponents. I've found that a Huge map with 4 or 5 opponents is really pretty much the same as a Gigantic with 9. You could probably play a medium with 1 or 2 opponents and it would still be pretty much the same game.

IMHO the fewer the planets and the closer your opponents, the more difficult, at least for AI's with high bonus levels. I think you're at a much greater disadvantage against the suicidal AI with 5 planets vs. 10 than you are with 50 planets vs. 100. In my opinion, the reason for this is the potential for planet specialization.

Certainly the AI specializes it's planets but not nearly to the degree that the human can. With only 5 planets, there's very little opportunity to specialize. Being outnumbered 10 planets to 5 with a 200% bonus to *everything* on top of that is pretty much insurmountable. But with 50 planets, I can build up a tech research planet that produces 11,000 RP’s per turn and a handful of production planets that can produce a 4,000 bc battleship in two turns. This still won’t be enough to out research or out produce a suicidal AI with 100 planets, but it’s enough to keep you in the same ballpark. From there the humans superiority in strategic battle is sufficient to win the day.

What does Control N do?

It generates a new map and starting planet with the same opponents and galaxy settings as previously configured.
Reply #30 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Certainly the AI specializes it's planets but not nearly to the degree that the human can.

I don't feel the AI does much at all with their planets. They seem to utilize planets about 50% of what they are capable, but it could be the game setup I'm using. If they were to build their planets they way a human player does, I'd be playing at a much lower difficulty. I'm not complaining, it's just an observation. The AI plays well enough.

Reply #31 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Being outnumbered 10 planets to 5 with a 200% bonus to *everything* on top of that is pretty much insurmountable


No, not insurmountable...but very very very tough. I am playing a medium game at Maso right now (pretty much set up as in my above post)...and that is exactly where I am. I am finding it extremely challenging...the game is actually dictating my strategy, i.e. I am having to adjust to it rather than just following my original plan.

I am playing the YOR...and my intention was to go for a conquest...but I have been forced to specialize my planets in research ... I am the TECH LEADER for crying out loud...just to be able to keep my few ships a tad bit superior to the other opponents.

I am also using Intensive CPU setting so the AI gets to use advanced algorythms...it is extremely fun becasue the AI is countering my weopons tech advances very quickly - I am really having to stay on my (metal) toes.

I don't think I will win this one...but the challenge has really impressed me - the AI is extremely good...it's not just the bonuses that are making them tough as in so many other 4x games.

You should try this setting at least once...if this is where Brad optimized the game it is a tribute to his skill.





Reply #32 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
i ususally play large with 5 opponents on abundant. Any bigger my crappy computer slows down too much in the midgame.

I play 2 levels above tough (I forget the name) and have never ever lost or even come close to losing. The problem is with the AI's management of fleets and how many defensive ships they build. When an opponent with maybe 3x my military rating declares on me it hardly matters because all of my ships are offensive in nature and I easily outmanovre and destroy their fleets. Only once have I come close to losing and that was when I was fighting a three way war and then the galaxy's biggest civ came after me with ships perfectly designed to waste mine. The thing that really bugs me is the hundreds of basicly useless defender ships the AI builds. I mean if they used the amount of production they spent on those immobile defenders to build offensive ships then maybe i would be in trouble.

Every game i play goes like this.

The AI ususally gets 2x as many planets due to increased starting money and my conservative rush stratergy.

I focus on building economy and a big starbase network as well as researching up one weapon tech.

Seeing my small military a neighbour declares war and my elite force of warships wipes out their mobile forces and runs through their empire wiping out starbases and freighters. Ususally i ask for peace at this point but as their worthless defensive forces often have a higher mil rating than my entire fleet its hard to get.

then I roll over their whole empire planet by planet.
By the end of this I am bigger and more powerful than any other and usually I get bored as there is no way I could possibly lose. I play through to the end about half the time.
Damnit I just wants me some multiplayer
Reply #33 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
How do you get medals?
Reply #34 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Hi!
Every game i play goes like this.

The AI ususally gets 2x as many planets due to increased starting money and my conservative rush stratergy.

I focus on building economy and a big starbase network as well as researching up one weapon tech.

Well, works IF your closest neighbour aren't Drengin. With them there's no time to max planets AND starbases. In one of my maso games (medium, all abundand uni), when I used the same stragey you describe, I needed every trick I had in my sleeve to convince them to go after someone else. They attacked me in one occasion, and literarily wiped out anything I had in space in just 3 turns. Their main ship was medium hull with speed 14 and ~10 mass attack, and they had about 20 of them in my space. Despite I fielded two-three battleships with quite good armor, I never managed to group them in one fleet. Drenging picked them at the turn they were produced, and lost 1-2 fregates in every fight. More BBs I couldn't afford, as I ran out of money, and were losing planets quite fast.

That's the main difference between medium and gigantic universe. In gigantic it takes 5 turns just to get fast ships to the neighbour, in medium that's the time needed to completely destroy all his ships and orbitals and invade most of his planets.

BR, Iztok