Momentum as uni on a huge map

dacole · December 16, 2003, 02:01

ok attempting to optimize playing a momentum game as uni on a huge map. Usually end up in first place on the power graph with second being spartans or gians. Question is when do I begin to attack? Tried runing a transport war early but the map distance seemed to make that really ineffective. Is it better to go builder in this situation till choppers and then attack in full force with drop units? Or am I just not bringing enough ships with my early rush? Any thoughts (other than I'm stupid for playing a momentum game with a builder faction on a huge map...I know that

Anyway thanks for the help!

dacole · December 16, 2003, 02:21

Oh yes also what time period should I have a game like this on transcend won by? I am a decent player but trying to make myself into a great player. Mistakes I was makeing that I know already,
1. Not beelineing for IA (fixed that real quick)
2. Not useing Free market
3. Not building enough crawlers (need at least three per base before you do anything else)
4. Not useing nerve gas pods (I'm playing immoral researchers attempting to take over the world and I can't commit an atrocity good greif..)

Anyway thanks again

Blake · December 16, 2003, 03:11

I think Miriam said it best when it comes to momentum play:
"My God is an Impact Rover".
As long as your pumping out impact rovers at a crazy rate, your doing it right

If you wait for 3 crawlers per base and run FM... your not playing Momentum

Beeline to impact rovers and conquer your neighbour(s), just to prove your serious about this world domination thing and to gain a handy submissive. If you have no neighbours... then just forget about it and build, transport invasions are way too tedious to bother with.

On standard maps you can conquer the world with impact rovers, without building infrastructure. But on huge maps you'll have to settle for securing your continent then building up and waiting for the serious invasion techs, Cruisers, Choppers and Drop Pods.

dacole · December 16, 2003, 14:26

Ok thanks had someone on my continent once, its a pity that it take so long to get orbital insertion...(sigh)

Blake · December 16, 2003, 17:26

The other excellent way to attack people on other continents is to wait for mag tubes and super formers and build a nice landbridge over to them. It doesn't take very long at all. Ofcourse with the WP you can invade even earlier, assuming the distant is short.

Land bridges are a fairly common invasion strategy, with magtubes they are way less tedious to invade with than transports, and you get extra land to build bases & boreholes on, and extra shallow water to build kelp/tidals.

dacole · December 16, 2003, 20:48

hmm do you have to use sea formers to build land bridges or can you use land formers somehow? Curious does the WP give you the ability to build Mag tubes..never tried that but it seems like it should. How good of an idea is to build a land bridge for a moderate distance spread it out some build cites on it leave one tile away from the other persons land then when drop pods become availiable go to town. Anyway thanks!

Anyway thanks again!

timotheus4 · December 16, 2003, 22:07

I attack only in late game when playing as a builder, but when I do, better stay out of my way. In the Uni game I mentioned in the yang thread, starting in 2300 I eradicated 4 factions and made the other two surrender in 25 years by using a 'chop and drop' strategy. I purposely postponed DeeDee's destruction by one turn so I could rush build the Ascent.

SynthetGod8 · December 17, 2003, 00:07

Dacole,
Land bridges can only be built with land Formers because Sea Formers cannot raise land higher than sea just below sea level.
WP doubles the rate at with Formers raise and lower land (and other things that aren't important to the question). Super Formers also raise land at double rate, so in the end, those Super Formers would raise land 4 x as fast (would that be 2 turns?).

dacole · December 17, 2003, 01:25

where is the yang thread?

jtsisyoda · December 17, 2003, 10:11

Synth, I'm pretty sure WP gives a 50% speed increase, for a total of three times normal speed for a super former. Still pretty impressive.

Mead · December 17, 2003, 23:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Blake
The other excellent way to attack people on other continents is to wait for mag tubes and super formers and build a nice landbridge over to them. It doesn't take very long at all. Ofcourse with the WP you can invade even earlier, assuming the distant is short.

Land bridges are a fairly common invasion strategy, with magtubes they are way less tedious to invade with than transports, and you get extra land to build bases & boreholes on, and extra shallow water to build kelp/tidals.

Another way is to use the chop n' drop with using locusts to supplement the droppers to help occupy the bases that are too far away for a non-orbital drop. Locust also help to rapidly take sea bases which can't be dropped into.

Mead

Mr. Harley · December 18, 2003, 02:39

Another handy technique prior to your getting orbital insertion is the Chopper Colony Pod (if you build it on the right peripheal base, you can have one "building" that gets completed with a materials pod, useful when ocean pod popping). Have the unit make four moves, building a base on the last movement point. Other Chopper can move in right behind it, and use some locusts for the conquest of the resultant empty bases (that your choppes have emptied

). You can produce fission trance garrison scouts as you conquer, freeing up locusts for the next offense. I typically don't do this prior to Fusion Power, though you could as soon as you have Centauri Genetics and Man/Machine Interface.

Ogie Oglethorpe · December 19, 2003, 22:56

Quote:

Originally posted by Blake
The other excellent way to attack people on other continents is to wait for mag tubes and super formers and build a nice landbridge over to them. It doesn't take very long at all. Ofcourse with the WP you can invade even earlier, assuming the distant is short.

Land bridges are a fairly common invasion strategy, with magtubes they are way less tedious to invade with than transports, and you get extra land to build bases & boreholes on, and extra shallow water to build kelp/tidals.

Very much agreed and to add a little twist with my own pet unit the land transport.

Imagine using former after former building roads and then mag tubes. One little problem is that they are exposed out in the open.

Take that little ole land transport run on the mag tube rails up to the former that has exhausted itself via t-forming either a road or a mag tube. Take said former unit and re-activate it and hit "L". Move land transport with former in tow back to safety of base in the rear. Repeat with land transport until all formers that were magtubing are removed from harms way.

Like wise any stranded land units on that are required to take out interfering units along the magtube can easily be relocated via the land transport to relative safety of a base.