Computer players cheats

[Urban Ranger]

How badly do the CPs (computer players) cheat on the Hard and Impossible levels? The game is too easy on Average but the CPs start to cheat something fierce on Hard.

Other than being Omniscient - CPs never use scouts and they know exactly which one of your planets to attack - and have bonuses in production and research, what other dirty underhandedness do they perform?

[Garth Vader]

They get extra race abilities, often things like aquatic or high G.

[Urban Ranger]

What kind of nasty bonuses do they get on these levels anyway? Does anybody know?

[aaglo]

I've seen the AI on harder levels (MOO2) gain these "extra pics"
- rich homeworld
- large homeworld
- artifact homeworld
- +0.5 BC
- +50% growth
- aquatic
- omniscient

...and maybe some others that I can't remember. Many times they also seem to be repulsive, because I can't make have any diplomatic negotiations with othed races.

[Zealot]

They usually get +6 race picks than the average, on impossible. I've seen on impossible the silicoids with tolerant, lithovore, repulsive and subterranean! Now that's a really nice race to assimilate and send one of them to your fully populated planets!
But sometimes they are unified or have +50% pop instead of subterranean.
Psilon love to have +10 espionage and lose the low-g penalty.

Etc, etc.

I really love to play on impossible (in fact I only play on impossible) because I assimilate all the races that are better than mine. Darloks, Bulrathi and Alkari are usually the last races I assimilate, because they usually have only ship bonus.

[Urban Ranger]

You suffer a -20% moral modifier when you mix races, though. AFAIK the only good thing you get of yout hypothetical race is subterranean, which lets you double the population on a planet.

[Frank Johnson]

Also, if it isn't obvious.......there's a ground combat modifer on hard and impossible. It lists it right up there with the good ole weapons and such, it will say AI bonus +1, but its really something like +5 or +10 depending on the level.

Also the penality for mixing races can be removed with a xenorelations center, or something like that, so adding subterranian, or other neat features is definatly productive.

[Forrest Gimp]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
You suffer a -20% moral modifier when you mix races, though. AFAIK the only good thing you get of yout hypothetical race is subterranean, which lets you double the population on a planet.

That's why I play Unification-Telpathic. No morale. Hehe. But seriously, the AI also gets a slight movement bonus. (More than once had the AI beat me to another system even tho he had a lesser drive, and no he was not transdimensional). And when I caught up to him none of his ships had a hero with navigation either.

[Garth Vader]

You suffer a -20% moral modifier when you mix races, though. AFAIK the only good thing you get of yout hypothetical race is subterranean, which lets you double the population on a planet.


An alien management center is real cheap for the +50% population(not double). But you often get tolerant AI races which is more pop, and less pollution, and they often have many +'s research, industry, which I don't have.

[ravagon]

Its not the racial bonus picks thing that bothers me so much but the way the AI's can form alliances right from the very start.
Having one race halfway across the galaxy issue a DoW to you isn't much of a problem as you can usually take out the nearest planet and prevent his fleets from reaching yours. Problem then comes about when the bad guys form an alliance with your nearest neighbour and can then hit you wherever they like. This can become very frustrating...

As a matter of interest has anybody else ever used the editor to give all of the opposing races all of the positive race bonuses and then gone against them?
My best attempts at this are a couple of games in which I've survived but have ended up voted out by the council due to the high pops the AI's are able to generate.

[Joe R. Golowka]

On impossible the enemy AIs like to spontaneously declare war on you for no particular reason. I've had people I'm allied with at harmony declare war on me for no reason. Impossible usually turns into a hobbesian war of all against me game when I play. I prefer hard because it's not a cakewalk like on lower levels but the AIs don't constly declare war for no reason.

[aaglo]

Ridiculously fast upgrading of units!
In one game the sakkras (IIRC) were way ahead of me. They captured orion with a fleet of +10 titan-class ships. After 2 turns the "capture" I attacked the orion system where this fleet was. And all those ships had xentronium armor and black hole generator... ridiculous...

[Forrest Gimp]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
AFAIK the only good thing you get of yout hypothetical race is subterranean, which lets you double the population on a planet.

NOPE. if you put a sakkra on each non-subterranean planet, you also get at least +1 farming after you terraform it, (and not penalized if he is high-g). Also if he's tolerant then you can put him to work for a bonus. ALWAYS READ THE RACE STATS - it makes life easier....

[Forrest Gimp]

Originally posted by aaglo
Ridiculously fast upgrading of units!
In one game the sakkras (IIRC) were way ahead of me. They captured orion with a fleet of +10 titan-class ships.

Whoa. If the sakkra already had titan class ships running around then you are way past due in taking out Orion. And I only play IMPOSSIBLE.

Remember: the minimum you need to take out the Guardian is as follows: 5-10 crusier boats with zortrium armor, fitted with

4 mrv, fst, eccm, egs (Emmisions Guidance), arm MERCULITE MISSLE (this is the actual weapon that kills)

1 eccm, fst, arm NUKES (these are 'dummy' missles used to soak out the Guardian's anti-missle defense)

x2 SHOTS!!!- any more is a waste

battle pods & fast missle racks.

HERE'S HOW THE BATTLE GOES:
TURN 1: guardian zaps 2 missle boats & launches 2 torpedoes. player fires all merculites w ships, ea ship moves forward, then fires all nukes. Nukes have a couple spaces headstart b4 mercs.
TURN 2: guardian moves forward: uses particle defense and spatial compressor to take out dummy nukes. Torpedoes strike 1-2 cruisers, instantly killing them. Guardian kills 3-4 more boats with death rays and particle beams.
Merculites now strike guardian. BOOM!!!!


I was nerdy enuf to save the game b4 I struck Orion. And here are the success stats: 5 ships - 05%, 6 ships - 10%, 7 ships - 30%, 8 ships - 60%, 9 ships - 90%, 10 ships - 95%. It really depends if one of your ships explodes taking out precious merculites.

WELL HOPE THIS HELPS OUT.

[vmxa1]

Yes you need to capture Orion before they do. I prefer Hard and go after Orion as soon as I get Plasma Cannons.

[aaglo]

Well what can I say about those sakkras beating orion before me... my starting location sucked...

[Zealot]

Ehem. AFAIK, the minimal guardian fleet is in here:

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~iraqisp.../guardian.html

I'm not being really successfull in version 1.31, but it worked really well in version 1.2.

[Forrest Gimp]

Originally posted by Zealot
Ehem. AFAIK, the minimal guardian fleet is in here:


I'm not being really successfull in version 1.31, but it worked really well in version 1.2.

THANX 4 THE GREAT ARTICLE.

Great ideas. But I never got it to work for v1.31 (at least with just space scanner.)

But the only real difference is his use of reinforced hull & using scanner tech. (which BTW is about 1350 research for neutron scanner).

So I researched neutron scanner and used my "old" design. And voila! Instead of 5-10 cruisers it takes 4-6!!!! Hurrah!

I then tried a different design, using reinforced hull. I'll call it the 1040EZ cruiser since it doesnt have 1/2 the amount of micro-twiddling the article had for its ships.

1040 EZ CRUISER:
3 mercs 2x mrv, eccm, fst, emg
1 merc 2x mrv, eccm, arm, fst
1 nuke 2 fst

battle pod, fast missle rack, reinforced hull.

With this cruiser I got down to a minimum of 3 ships with a 2 out of 5 success rate, which is still comparable to the article's minimum of 2 cruisers and 2 frigates - AND WITH A SIMPLER BATTLE PLAN.

Again thnx 4 the article dood. I can now proceed to kill the so-called 'experts' at the local comic store even faster than when I first played them. Haha!

[vmxa1]

On Hard, I use 6 battleship with 6 plasma cannons each. Most times I do not lose any ships, sometimes I lose one. I like to have all four pilots before the attack. This allows me to have Lokai as the 5th pilot. I have played 1.31 since it came out, I can not recall the differences from the older versions.