How good are you? Find out...

[Chronon]

Yes, the rematch ended the same way as the first one. You're right BG, the blockade did slow down my expansion quite a bit. Note to self: don't let the homeworld be blockaded...

[Baron Grazic]

Everyone starts off with a loss or 2.
Fortunently for me, my first 2 one-on-one losses were playing 1.49 KOTH matches, so no-one knows about them.
Good luck, and you might as well join the KOTH games.

[geoschmo]

Slynky vs Geoschmo Ratings Challange 7

Well we met finaly around turn 25. We used a medium randomly generated map and for once it seems to have done a fairly good job of spacing us out.

This will indeed be a great challange and test of my ability. On top of being a highly skilled player and a fast expander, Slynky has chosen to play a religous race in this game. Being that we both had so much room to expand he has had plenty of time to develop the talisman. I expected it, and had it confirmed in our first combat this turn.

This will be a good test of those theories we developed for dealing with a talisman race. No allies to rely on to gang up on him this time.

Geoschmo

[Slynky]

Geo vs Slynky (that would be me):

Yes, very interesting map/matchup. In fact, one of Primitive's map preferences ("choke-point boy").

You can see the map (altered by me to hide warp links) that shows the point of contention...in the middle of the map. I am on the left and he is on the right (a slightly bigger portion...the pig!). There is another connection point that I am aware of (on the south) but that's it for now.

Funny part is that I was 1st place the whole game till we met. RIGHT after that, he swooped into 1st place. Been building everywhere I can and have LOTS of ships off the line but can't change position. So, is it the Talisman vs "brute force"? Throw in a mixture of strategy and skill and who knows.

One thing I DO know: Never take Geo for granted.

Glad I have over 100k in research; glad I have lots of resources; glad I have the Talisman (I think I will need it).

[parabolize]

Primitives Challenge 2:
Well so much for me being in first. The organic scum has overpopulated his side and moving into my side
We are still flying same size fleets at each other.
I have been killing DNs in Groups of 20.
He has been killing base ships in Groups of 15.

edit: turn 52

[ October 01, 2003, 20:14: Message edited by: parabolize ]

[Slynky]

Originally posted by parabolize:
Primitives Challenge 2:
Well so much for me being in first. The organic scum has overpopulated his side and moving into my side
We are still flying same size fleets at each other.
I have been killing DNs in Groups of 20.
He has been killing base ships in Groups of 15.

edit: turn 52

Beware the hoardes! Though primitive, they are brutish! To have joined in a game with the likes of him shows bravery at its best!

[Alneyan]

SE4 Rating Games VI has ended by, quite surprisingly, a victory for the Arcadia League. (That is to say, my side) This time, training and sensors weren't forgotten. *Winks at Geoschmo*

We both had economical problems in the early game, but Loser was more efficient on this field in the short run. (He was first until turn 50 or so) However, in the long run, his initial edge wasn't enough. His strategy would have worked as he tried to invade my worlds, if it wasn't for a minefield deployed two turns before. I am not sure though what would have happened if I did need to commit what little forces I had by then. (A few Light Carriers with the mighty DUC)

After turn 50, my economic was in a much better shape, including enough research centers to... erh, research at a good pace. Not much happened then, until turn 70 or so when I launched a few skirmishes against his worlds, protected by minefields. My attacks were delayed a bit as I waited for minesweepers (three or four times enough to sweep any minefield), and during this pause, Loser built a warfleet in a border system while also trying to steal some of my damaged ships in his worlds. (The stolen ship was "recovered" nevertheless by an interceptor built for speed, only one sector away from the closest Space Yard. But this ship wouldn't have given much, only Fighters technology)

As one would have expected, the first and only main battle took place in the turn 85 or so, at a warp-point when Loser tried to invade my worlds for the second time. And although I had both a technological edge and a tactical position, the combat was a close one, leading to the destruction of a good portion of my fleet stationated there. But it also meant Loser had only a few warships available after this battle, and certainly not enough to fight off on multiple fronts.

As for the maps, there were quite a few exposed systems in both our sides, meaning defense was a problem. And I would tend to believe the map was gentler with me than with him, as there were not many breathable planets available in his side of the galaxy, and no moons.

Still, it was a close game, especially at the begining. Thank you for the game Loser.

[Loser]

That's about how it happened.

I made the Mad Five Base Budget Busting Colonization Push at the beginning of the game and paid for it. I didn't find _any_ breathable mineral worlds within four systems of my homeworld and foolishly did not consider the More Smaller Mineral Colonies possibility to get me by.

Instead, a couple of years in, I started breaking down the Research Centers on the homeworld to make room for more Mineral Miners. I didn't have any research colonies at that point so research actually came to a halt. That's not a Success Strategy, I am thinking.

In the more minor battles earlier in the game, Alneyan's Fighterless Light Carriers trounced every one of my ships they safely made it to, only defeated, really, by Planet Sector Mines.

He beat me, but I can't help thinking he could have beaten me worse if he'd included some Fighters.

[Alneyan]

I didn't use many fighters because they were expensive to build in the early game (every mineral counts when your storage of minerals is only a three-figures number, usually 120 or so), and later on I was eventually replacing my old Carriers by Dreadnoughts. But still, I had fighters during the Battle, although I believe they weren't launched during the fight and I didn't launch them manually before.

Still, I should have built more fighters instead of weak Carriers here and there. Even if fighters are rather slow compared to the rest of my fleet. (Only a speed of 7 for a common design with 2 DUC, while even baseships were travelling at a speed of 9. And baseships aren't what you would call the fastest hull available) They weren't many PDC around, a dream for fighters, especially against these planets.

And yes, there was a shortage of mineral planets in this game. The only ones really suitable were asteroid fields, (read, remote mining and/or Stellar Manipulation. Yes, I even researched Stellar Manipulation to transform these 275% huge asteroid fields into planets, hopefully breathable planets) and the occasional uncolonizable, unbreathable tiny planet here and there. Sure, a planet with 0% mineral isn't going to help much when you lack mineral.

I was even lacking radioactives, but that happens when you are building a hundred heavy mount PPB at the same time.

Edit: oh, one of your ships managed to actually destroy one of my Carriers in the skirmishes. It was a capture ship which took over a Carrier with no supplies left. Erh, well, perhaps it isn't an exploit. However, your ships were rather strong, as the final battle resulted in heavy losses on both sides.

[ October 02, 2003, 15:49: Message edited by: Alneyan ]

[geoschmo]

Geo V Slynky, turn 48

Things have stabalized along the border Slynky mentioned in his map. The southern choke point that he briefly mentioned was actually a main point of contention and he was building up for an invasion while playing it all cool like in his post here. Of course I knew this because I had snuck in stealth ships and was watching him assemble his fleet.

I sent small raids in the south and at one of the north warp points to give him something to think about and do a little damage to his collecting fleets. Wiped out both and then withdrew to lick my wounds as despite being victorious I suffered significant damage in both assaults.

A bit later he discovered my spy ships and destroyed them. At that point I decided defending two warp points in the north was not worth the couple of rinky dink planets in that system and withdrew so I could concentrate my defenses on one. I plan to keep him fairly harrased though because I don't want him to build up too comfortably in that system.

In the south his large assault came with around 30 light cruisers and cruisers attacking in force. All were captured or destroyed. The defenders are holding fast and receive reinfocments all the time.

So the situation is static for the moment with us facing off accross the two warp points. If either player is able to break through in either spot I expect them to be able to do significant if not fatal damage to the other.

[ October 02, 2003, 18:08: Message edited by: geoschmo ]