When is the best time to use emergency build?

[CW]

This is a rather little talked about topic, so I would like to start a discussion and hear what you guys think. In the 0.99 demo with the 200% emergency build rate and 50% slow rate I tended to use emergency build a lot, but in my opinion the 150%/25% rates in 1.41 made emergency build not as worth while. I can think of only 3 cases where EB is useful:

SITUATION 1) I love to play games with max tech starts, since I'm too lazy to learn about the tech trees. So, at the start of a game I would design a space station with 1 bridge, 2 life supports, 2 crew quarters, 1 space yard III, and 1 cargo bay III. This would cost 7200 minerals, exactly 150% of the normal build rate for a 4000M homeworld. I would kick the planetary spaceyard into emergency mode and start pumping out space yard stations, by the end of the year when it goes into slow mode I would have 10 extra space yards ready to crank out more ships.

SITUATION 2) Do exactly as above, but design a colony ship with 1 bridge, 1 life support, 1 crew quarter, 1 quantum engine III, 1 solar sail III, 1 solar collector III, 1 cargo bay III and the colony unit. Cost: 5110 minerals.

SITUATION 3) You have got a true-and-honest emergency, when you are really in deep sh*t and you want more ships NOW!

Can you think of any other uses for emergency build? I'd love to hear about it!


[This message has been edited by CW (edited 03 August 2001).]