MOO2: Impossible is.....well, impossible.
Jason McCullough
I've dragged out Moo II yet again to play it; I figure I've put about
150 hours into this game over the years, or more. This time, I'm
trying to win the various size maps on Impossible difficulty with
non-cheeseball races (No Creative, Subterranean, Lithovore, and
limited use of Tolerant). The medium size map with 5 opponents is
unbelievably difficult. I've been having some success with
combat-heavy fighter races, but the closest I've gotten to winning was
a game where I managed to eliminate every opponent but one, but they
pulled away from me around Phasors and wiped out my empire with
Stellar Converters. :)
Does anyone have reasonable recommendations for races? The only thing
I can think of is that I wait to long to bother with Terraforming; I
normally don't even research it until the midgame. Maybe Android
Workers, but they seem to be useless if you've taken Tolerant, and
they're ten miles down the tech tree to boot.
Jason McCullough
http://zebco.home.dhs.org/
anthony stuckey
Android workers can be useful on Toxic or other annoying worlds where
true settlers would be at a major disadvantage.
Captured alien workers can be very useful. Sakkra, Meklar, and others
may be more useful than your own colonists. Watch out for the multiracial
penalties.
Terraforming is useful in several different ways. Buildings like the
Space Port that increase income become more useful, as well as the raw
production increase from the greater population and better planetary
attributes.
Blockades are useful. Send any ship you can to enemy planets often.
Keeping their fleet off-balance may be useful, as well as the production
dampening effects. Just make sure that they don't have Subspace
Teleporters or other such items that will let them destroy you before you
can escape.
Remember that you can gain tech by capturing and scrapping enemy ships.
Some of my favorite races are organized towards piracy.
Telepathic races don't need troop transports. :)
--
Anthony Stuckey stu...@uiuc.edu
System Administrator, students.uiuc.edu
Achim Dabrunz
sff.games.antares.moo2.strategy (don't exist any more). The approach
described there gives an idea what's to do :
<quote>
From - Fri Dec 11 15:03:24 1998
From: mont...@austin.asc.slb.com (Mike Montgomery)
Newsgroups: sff.games.antares.moo2.strategy
Subject: Re: How fast can you win?
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 23:12:08 GMT
Reply-To: mmont...@slb.com
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On Sat, 05 Dec 1998 11:04:29 +0200, Uri Noy <uri...@ibm.net> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Small galaxy, 8 players (you and 7 CPs), Pre-Warp, average, tactical
>combat, no antarans, no surprise events, your favorite custom race.
>
>How fast (how many turns) can you win this game? (without cheating)
>200 turns? 150 turns? 100 turns? 50 turns?
>
>Uri Noy
>ISRAEL
Well, I just tried these exact settings using a missile blitz
strategy, and I won on turn 59. I believe I could shave at least 10
turns from this by more careful play, but I was playing fast and
loose.
Here are the details:
Race: Unif,Tele,AHW,RHW,+1prod,Repulsive,-GC,-BOCV
General:
I kept at least 1 person at my home planet on production at all times.
After my research got a 20% chance of completion, I pulled everyone
but 1 person off of research.
Details:
First, sold MB. Researched Power(1). Then Researched Chemistry(1).
Built two scouts (extended fuel tanks only). Explored all reachable
planets (BTW, nothing good came from this, so it was just a
distraction, slowing me down from winning the game. I lost one scout
to a space dragon. The other scout eventually refitted to a missile
frigate.)
Researched Power(2). Researched Chemistry(2)-Deuterium Fuel. Then
put everyone on production. Hired a leader with Navigator skill.
Refitted scout to missile frigate (3 missiles only). Built a second
missile frigate.
Turn 29, finished buying a missile cruiser (15 missiles only).
Turn 31, arrived at Sakkra homeworld with fleet. Defended by cruiser
and two frigates. Cruiser attacked (dumb!). Destroyed cruiser.
Destroyed starbase. Mind control Sakkra - eliminated. Got Fighter
Bays. Sakkra are tolerant! Build some freighters, then started
building new starbase.
Turn 33, arrived at Silicoid homeworld. Defended by battleship!
Battleship attacks (dumb!). Eliminated battleship. Destroyed
starbase. Mind control Silicoid - eliminated. Silicoids are
tolerant. Started building freighters and starbase.
Turn 35, arrived at Klackon homeworld. Defended by battleship!
Battleship attacks (dumb!). Eliminated battleship. Destroyed
starbase. Mind control Silicoid - eliminated. Silicoids are
tolerant. Started building freighters and starbase. Most Klackons
put on farming for all of my colonies due to farming bonus.
NOTE: In retrospect, this was NOT an optimal way to play for speed. I
should have started building a missile frigate or destroyer on each
planet, and not worry about research or food. By turn 59, I had
Chemistry(3) - pollution processor, giving MIRV missiles, but I never
bothered to refit. I also researched Physics(1), research labs,
reinforced hull, and autofactories, none of which helped speed up my
victory in any way.
Anyway, to continue the report:
Turn 38, arrived at Alkari homeworld. SB has reinforced hull.
Defended by two frigates. Frigate explosion seems to take out a few
missiles. Fired all missiles, but still about 20 SB structure left.
Forced to retreat.
Turn 40, arrived at homeworld. Started building cruisers at Siliciod
and Sakkra homeworlds about now.
Turn 42, arrived at Mrrshan homeworld. Destroyed SB and mind
controlled.
Turn 44, arrived at Darlok homeworld. Defended by Cruiser. Cruiser
explosion destroys too many of my missiles. Forced to retreat.
Turn 46, arrived at Cryslon. Have built a second cruiser which joins
my fleet.
Turn 48, arrived at Darlok homeworld. Defended by Cruiser. Destroyed
Cruiser and SB then mind controlled. Also, built outpost near Trilar
with outpost ship that had been sitting there for last 4 turns. Have
built a third cruiser which moves to outpost near Trilar.
Turn 51, arrived at Trilar. SB has reinforced hull. Defended by
Cruiser. Cruiser explosion wipes out too many missiles. Forced to
retreat.
Turn 52, arrived at outpost. Third cruiser joins fleet.
Turn 53, arrived at Trilar. Destroyed SB and mind controlled.
Turn 59, arrived at Alkari homeworld (clear across galaxy). Destroyed
SB and mind controlled. Game over.
In retrospect, I could probably shave off at least 10 turns by:
1. Not worrying about food, research, or starbases after I build my
first cruiser. Just build some extra disposable frigates or
destroyers to join my fleet to take out any defending ships (by
missiles and self destruction) to avoid defending ship explosions
eliminating missiles headed toward the starbase (or having enough
extra missiles to take out the SB anyway). Try to avoid firing at SB
until enemy ships are gone, the have the cruiser fire and retreat.
All of the frigates and destroyers fire and run, retreating just
before missiles arrive. (Nobody seemed to have Dauntless Guidance
System.) This hopefully would have ensured that every conflict was
successful, so that no time would be lost retreating.
2. Pick an optimal path, rather than worring about which races would
be better slaves to capture first. In my case, I could have made a
single loop taking out the Mrrshan, Darlock, Trilarians, Silicoid,
Sakkra, Klackon, and Alkari. This would have saved several turns,
particularly if I never had to retreat (which was always due to losing
missiles in enemy ship explosions). A Cruiser and 2 Frigates have 21
missiles, which is easily enough to take out a SB with reinforced hull
and a Cruiser, which is the toughest opposition that I had which did
not make the mistake of attacking my first. And if I did point (1)
properly, I would have more frigates joining my fleet quite quickly.
Anyway, using this route, if I had never needed to retreat, and
assuming I could get the outpost built and deployed in time to reach
Trilar, I could have made this circuit in 16 turns, which would have
put my victory at turn 45.
In any case, I think the point is, a blitz may be accomplished much
faster than most people are aware.
- Mike
</quote>
You should be able to transform the strategy to Medium Galaxies.
--
Achim Dabrunz
Nich Hills
>
> I've dragged out Moo II yet again to play it; I figure I've put about
> 150 hours into this game over the years, or more. This time, I'm
> trying to win the various size maps on Impossible difficulty with
> non-cheeseball races (No Creative, Subterranean, Lithovore, and
> limited use of Tolerant). The medium size map with 5 opponents is
> unbelievably difficult.
I usually play on large with 7 opponents (normal start) but some of my
strategies may be applicable .
> I've been having some success with
> combat-heavy fighter races, but the closest I've gotten to winning was
> a game where I managed to eliminate every opponent but one, but they
> pulled away from me around Phasors and wiped out my empire with
> Stellar Converters. :)
Phasors? Stellar Converters? What are they? ;-) Go on the offensive
once you have MIRVed nuclear missiles. At the early stages of the game
the computer players can't withstand them.
You'll need a production heavy race. My current favourite is
Subterranean, Unification, +100% population growth and Rich homeworld.
You can substitute Telepathic for the population growth but the rapidly
filling planets makes the necessary transports quite affordable.
You'll need a bunch of negatives. I choose -spying (Unification or
Unification/ Telepathy will help offset this) -ground combat (an easy
choice if telepathic; just build more troop transports if a rapid
breeding).
You'll need 4 more negative picks. If I'm expecting to win with my
missile boats; I'll go -ship offense and ship defense. If I'm in for
the slightly longer haul I'll pick -money. Minus money is a pain, but
as a fast breeding subterranean I've got twice as many taxpayers so I
can manage. If necessary I'll bump up the tax rate to 20% or put the
odd planet on producing trade goods.
HTH.
Cheers,
Nich
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Nich Hills Email: nhi...@ActOnline.com.au
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jason McCullough
>I've dragged out Moo II yet again to play it; I figure I've put about
>150 hours into this game over the years, or more. This time, I'm
>trying to win the various size maps on Impossible difficulty with
>non-cheeseball races (No Creative, Subterranean, Lithovore, and
>limited use of Tolerant). The medium size map with 5 opponents is
>combat-heavy fighter races, but the closest I've gotten to winning was
>a game where I managed to eliminate every opponent but one, but they
>pulled away from me around Phasors and wiped out my empire with
>Stellar Converters. :)
>
>I can think of is that I wait to long to bother with Terraforming; I
>normally don't even research it until the midgame. Maybe Android
>Workers, but they seem to be useless if you've taken Tolerant, and
>they're ten miles down the tech tree to boot.
Thanks to everyone that responded. I actually managed to win Medium,
Impossible, 5 races last night with a heavy early production race
(large, rich, artifact, +2 production, telepathic). Democracy, +1
science, artifact, telepathic, large also worked.
I guess the problem was the early game production is a *lot* more
important than I thought. With both you can either colonize a good
chunk of the galaxy before meeting anyone.....or just play a game
without colonizing a single planet yourself, which is what I did last
night. Viva le Telepathic!
Jason McCullough
http://zebco.home.dhs.org/
Geoffrey Tobin
Suggestion for a different way to win:
Telepathic, Charismatic, Spy +20, Dictatorship,
sprinkle herbs to taste.
Use a balanced careful mix of espionage and diplomacy
to win friends and galaxies (while periodically stealing
their tech).
--
Best wishes!
Geoffrey Tobin
Email: G.T...@latrobe.edu.au
WWW: http://www.ee.latrobe.edu.au/~gt/gt.html