(as told to Peter
Chambers,
February 2003)
Mark says: I think my
strategy
is not really suited to the majority as I play very aggressively.
Afterthoughts
added in red, 2005
1) Colonise as rapidly as you can in all directions - usually 1
colonist
per planet (Ed: see the Mark Heinrich "rock" tactic). Find
the natives and contraband planets. The first wave of ships then
continue outward and usually never come home. Send a second wave
of ships to add more colonists when you can. Maximise farms and
build
usually 10 mines - no smelters - ship ore back to Ship-building bases
asap. Later
thoughts following Host changes: colonising rapidly in all directions is
now essential especially as if you don't have access to bioscanners -
you can only find natives by having a ship in orbit or base on the
planet. How do you now find decent contraband planets?
Pot-luck. Colonise Farming planets as top priority - food is now
essential commodity as it limits your high guard production.
2) (Usually): Keep as many colonists on your homeworld as
possible
- no smelters, training centres, etc... breed asap - build cities to
max
out Income.
3) Pod crew to nearby planet - build as many training centres as
possible
and develop lots and lots of troops and high guard.
4) Send as much money to central account over everything else -
1000MC
on a 'fodder' ship that will take 10 turns to arrive is an absolute
No-No.
If your Homeworld is safe then avoid building unneeded extra Mechs or
Fighters.
5) Build only the ships you really need - every single spare MC
to
the Central account and Tech Levels. Don't build 1,000 factories on your
HW - you don't need them. You don't need lots of minerals either
as you are building so few ships.
6) When you bump into another race attack ASAP. This usually leads to a
truce or war. Take out their forward bases as this puts 80% of
the
players into retreat mode. Focus all your attention on killing
that
race unless they give in to your bullying. Make deals with others to
avoid
fighting on too many fronts at one time[1]. Try to capture their
ships instead of killing them. (You can do this with the Borg, Birds or
Xtals, but not really with the Aczanny and its crap for the Scavengers,
so I'm currently trying to develop a less confrontational style by
playing
these races). Later
thoughts: I wonder now [following new Host changes
making alien hulls useless at combat] if its worth capturing enemy
ships - it might be best to blow them up and salvage the wreckage.
7) Longer term spread out colonists, develop clusters of planets that
support
a central ship building base, don't be afraid to lose ships and/or
retreat,
it's also more fun when life is on the edge. Lay lots of mines,
this
deters many players.
8) If you can 'see a
planet' (appears yellow on your main screen), set any ship to transfer
to it and at least you can see the 'surface items'. This should
indicate if it has been visited by others
9) If you have a local wormhole put a ship or even better a
fighter wing over it set to attack - this will avoid uninvited guests
sneaking in the backdoor - even if you lose, you'll at least know what
is incoming.
10) If you have Privateers in the game, set your initial fighter
wings to autointercept anything within 50LY - they should be able to
take out the starting MBR which (if not refitted) is usully poor
against fighter wings - protect your Food as you need it for High Guard
Production. If you are the
Privateers and your MBR starts producing High Guard, retire it to your
homeworld and use it only in very low-risk operations.
11) If you have a ship with bioscanners, build it asap (even with rubbish engines and other parts)
[1] Londo Mollari advised that "only a fool fights on two fronts and only the heir to the kingdom of fools fights on twelve fronts".