GUIDE TO PLAYING THE COALITION ============================== By Christian M. Jadot, 28.1.2001 "Here's a 3rd party race that I just turned into Tim. I did a quick players guide for them, its only a quick one because some of the devices change a lot of in-game stats, and a lot of people will have to think about what weapons to use against what ships, and stuff like that. " Tips: ===== You can't use smelters, so remember to build enough Xelovi colonies, you need them for mining. Use your highguard wisely, you will need them for advanced Coalition ship's to be used in the bio-computers. Med-Packs are very useful item to this race, in many cases used growing organic armor, powering bio-computers, and saving colonist. So always keep a good supply around. Government Race buildings: Race buildings are military space ports. Each race is unique on how they govern a planet. The Arerrans are your agrocultural race, when you build a Arerran Capitol Building, you get the benefits of 200% Farming, plus farms make free Med Units, which you will need later in the game, Arerran law restrict mining (it does not prohibit it though), so you get 1/8 the mining rate. When you build a Xelovi Hive palace the colonies mining rate goes up by 3 times the normal rate, plus you get free smelting. The Xelovi also tax thier colonist by 150% the normal rate, but they only can transfer 1/8th of the normal income to the galactic bank. The Nawole Elvated Gardens give you the benefit of giving colonies 200% the normal income to the Galactic Bank, but because the Nawole government see farming plants as a savage act (because the are plants), they restrict farming to fungus, which drops the farming rate to 1/8 of the normal farming rates. Each race building also allows you to build that races starships, plus a universal Starport. The only way to build the combined technology ships of the Coalition is in one of these Starports. Devices: ======== Organic Armor: For enemies weapons being fired at the ship armor drain is divided by 5. Kill power divide by 5, then add to armor drain. Then it is rounded to the nearest whole number (including 0). Uses 1 med unit to grow back 1 armor(like borg except with med units.) For all weapons (AD/5)+(KP/5)=Armor Drain for Organic Armor. For the Privateers Kill bonus is added in to the equation first, or UEA negivtive. For Privs (AD/5)+((KP*3)/5)=Armor drain for Organic Armor. For UEA (AD/5)+((KP/2)/5)=Armor drain for Organic Armor. Ships with organic armor can not use normal armor in anyway. So when you build a ship with Organic Armor, it starts out with no armor. Can not replace organic armor with normal armor. Always active, when device is turned on, Organic armor uses med units to repair itself. During combat Each ship that has a Solar Gamma Ray Active will drain 1 armor for 1 tic. Gravitonic Orbit Stabalizer: Always turned on. Does not allow a ship to move, be towed, or enter hyperspace, or be chunneled. (Meaning it can't move once a ship with this device is built) Always active. Plasma Stream Enhancer: Increase plasmabolt: 3X Range, 3x Accurcy, 3x Ord usage, x.25 Charge Time Bio Computer: Adds +50 evasive, +100 attack bonus. Organic computer takes control of the superweapon and ship devices, super weapon cannot be used nor can anyof the devices without organic computer being turned on. Organic Computer can only be used while a Coalilition (and only Coalition) High Guard is on board (they can be prisoners), if there is no highguard on board computer automaticly turns off, and ship cannot fire its super weapon, or turn on any devices if the Bio computer is not on. Use 4 med units per turn when on. Target Enhancer: Increase pd accuracy (+30), and pd incoming fire chances(+30), and Adds +25 attack bonus to ship, 5X the chance of a weapon hitting a targets soft spot. Uses 1kt of fuel for each PD every fired. Neutrino Nullifier: Disables all superweapons during combat Neutrino Shield: Counters the effect of a Neutrino Nullifier for the ship that contains the device. Gravity Sensors: Detects all Gravity mines, gravity wells , Gravitonic Accelerators, hyper drives, jump drives, jump gates, and warp chunnelers when they are being used, (plus future things like worm holes, black holes dimensional rifts, or anything that would create a high gravity field.)within 400 light years. Gravity Rift Generator: Disables all Gravitonic mines with out the owners knowledge, and disables all gravity wells , Gravitonic Accelerators, jump gates, warp chunnelers, with in 100 LY. Uses 25 fuel every turn. Hive Mind Channel: Only works with races with PSI abilities of 35 or above. For every ship of yours in combat with the Hive Mind Channel, adds +2 Evasive, +3 attack, works up to 10 ships. Exotic Hull: Charges an upkeep cost to the Galactic Bank. The upkeep cost is 1/100th of the hull cost. If upkeep is not met, the entire fleet of ships with an exotic hull takes damage. Damage is detrimined by by the percentage not paid of the total cost= percentage of damage to each ship in with an exotic hull in fleet. SDI: Destroys probes before they can land on a planet within 25 lys. Records in ships log where the probe originated from. Increases warp signiture. of ship when on x2. Ships ===== Arerran Interstellar Class Frigate: The workhorse of the fleet. It should be used for exploration, cargo running, refueling, and boarding actions. The only moveable Coalition ship with a pod bays. Arerran Odin Class Carrier: The main battle carrier of the Coalition fleet. Able to produce type 2 fighters in deep space. Often used for its Gravity Rift Generator which seals off jump gates, and slows down Pirates, and makes its way through gravity mines, with out disturbing them. Nawole Willow Class Survey Ship: This ship was built to for scanning planets, looking for life, and keeping an eye out for enemy mines and destorying enemy probes. These ships are faily well defended with Bio Armor and Target Enhancers, although Disruptors work quit well against them. Nawole Evergreen Class Science Vessel: This ship was meant to manipulate a planets enviroment, and bending the physics of minerals. This ship is quite capable of playing its secondary role as a cruiser, which is often seen in the second wave of attack, looking for the soft spots in ships with its Target Enhancers. Xelovi 240 Comb Class Escort: Used for mine laying and sweeping, boarder patrols and escorting colony ships safely to their destinations. Through the Hive Mind Channel they are able to communicate and cooredonate ship movements, increasing each ships attack and evasive bonuses, with the eyes and ears of the other ships in the battle space. Xelovi 1260 Royal Class Heavy Cruiser: The main warship for the Coalition fleet. Very powerful for its size, capable of being armed with 12 Turbo Laser Arrays, although it is light on armor, and small weapons. Xelovi ships seem to be poorly constructed, but have a good role as out gunning the average enemy ship. Binary Class Starport: These stations are required to make Coalition Vessels. It can not be moved due to the Gravitonic Orbit Stablizer, but it can build jumpgates, but use them with caution since they will be right over a planet which will most likely have a militery base over it. Well armed and suited for base defense. Can only build hulls at tech levels 7, 8, 9, and 10. Coalition Maelstorm Class Light Cruiser: The only ship of the Coalition designed with offence in mind. Its primary use is to hit strategic targets behind enemy lines. It has a cloaking device, which should be useful when pentrating the enemies flank. Coalition Lotus Class Pursuit Ship: Can only be built in space. Is very fast for destroying enemy reacon ship, and raiders. Often used for hit and run tactics, and for intercepting enemy ships. It is the best the parts of the Coalition rolled into one extremely well put together ship. It has a maintence cost due to its exotic hull which is a mere 35 GC a turn. To take full advantage this ship has to offer you will need to place a Highguard on board to mind meld with the Bio Computer and control the ships devices. Coalition Aurora Class Flagship: The best the Coalition has to offer. No expense was spared while building this ship, or maintaining this ship (750 GC a turn). One of the most elegant, and dangerous ships in space, with its ablity to disable superweapons and keep its own active is scary for any race going against it. Use these ships to lead attack fleets, or defend the most vaulable of colonies from other ships with superweapons. It does not have the same speed as the Pursuit ship, but it is at the top for combat capabilities (and price) in the Coalition line up. It to has a Bio computer on board which requires a highguard to operate its devices, and its super weapon. Enemies: ======== The Feds: Use standard Tactics, also make use of thier high soft spot with your ships with that have a target enhancers. Lizards: Be careful of the lizards tough cloaking ships and high ground attack rating, since you can't move colonist around like other races, they can easily wait for wear down a colonies population faster than you can grow it back. Quite possibly one of your most feared enemies. Equip all your bases with Combat Rescue Teams, so you don't take as many casulties. Crystals: Treat as a standard race would treat them, protect your worlds with an Odin, or if you have the money to spare an Aurora. Use grav mines to protect from the feared Crystal Light Ship. Make sure not to let an Evergreen fall into thier hands. Stormers: Use your Quasar fighters in numbers, also use ships with target enhancers to draw then destroy thier incoming fire, easier than most races. With 1500 Quasars fighters, even the shots from the Deth Spec become easy to shoot down (even though they are harder than most).Still be aware of thier cloakers, which will be a threat, and thier high troop combat capablity. Use plenty of grav mines, and make sure not to disable them with your own Gravity Rift Generator. Birdmen: Treat the birdmen as any other race would, very catiously. You have no real advantage over them, other than disabling thier super-weapons. Use ships with security shields to try and avoid being captured. The CyBorg: Your best weapon against the CyBorg is the Odin's gravity rift generator, to disable thier warp chunneling. They are use to not owning a super weapon, so they will fight against you as almost a normal race. Other than that use standard tactics The Privateers: Your thier biggest threat, while they are one of yours. You can see them with your gravity sensors (when they use thier Gravitonic Accelerators) then, you can cut thier GA out with the Odin, which makes them very vunerable. On the flip side of the coin with thier 3x kill rate makes your organic armor very vunerable to thier weapons, so be aware. Robots: ??? Empire: ??? Rebels: ??? Colonies: ??? Confederation:??? Earthers:??? Controllers:??? The Peeps: They have big soft spots, and you make them bigger. The University Alliance: Cover your planets with an SDI equipped ship, to destroy thier probes, and track where the probes are coming from. Seal off your jumpgates with an Odin's gravity rift Generator, and use their jump gates for a 1 way attacks. The Scavenger Tribes: Thier ships often have high soft spots, and low weapons which makes them very vunerable to ships with target enhancers. Be careful of thier cloakers. The Draconians: Treat as a normal races. Keep your jump gates closed with the Odin. Beware of thier cloaking ships. Draconians: The scariest enemy you have, the ones that drove you out of your home galaxy. 4 out of your 10 ships have Organic Armor, including your most powerful warships. The Solar Gamma Ray drains Organic Armor of a rate of 1 armor per 1 tic in combat, for every 1 Solar Gamma Ray active. Use lots of fighters. Use mostly Xelovi and Arerrian ships. Your malestorms will be one of your best weapon, since the Draconians are fairly vunerable to cloaking ship. The UEA: Grav Mine alot. Use the Odin as your main defense with its Gravity Well , use lots of Quasar fighters. Destroy thier strike ships with your Lotus's. Make your Boarder worlds Xelovi, since they will not surrender. Use Organic Armored ships against them since they have a low weapons kill rate. You have a great advantage over them.