Biggest weakness of UC, along with a suggestion.

Copied to clipboard!

Adder007USA

Newcomer

Message

Adder007USA

Newcomer

14 700g2g pts

6 years ago

Feb 2, 2019, 2:05:31 AM

UC are fun but....there's one thing that makes them siginficantly weaker than the other races. Their method of colonizing. It's novel, it's cool...but it takes time, and it very quickly becomes an excercise in frustration as you get blocked at every single turn, even if the person intercepting your hack isn't the target. Add this to the fact that the UC cannot expand as fast as other races, one can quickly find themselves boxed in and financially unable to fund a navy that could potentially engage in more hostile tactics of territory expansion. In particular, the mechanic of the diplomatic "blackmail" where you aren't able to target an empire's systems for 10 turns is utterly crippling if every single system around you is occupied, and every single AI has somehow become nearly omnipotent when it comes to detecting your hacks.

As such, I suggest one or more of the following.

1. Give a penalty to the detection of a UC hack if the end target is a completely unoccupied system.

2. Make it so that in order to block a hack of an unoccupied system, the race in question must be at war with you, similar how ordinarily, a race must be at war with another to shoot down their colony ships.

3. Make it so that if a race has declared war on you, their "diplomatic immunity" to being hacked is null and void. This is kinda stupid really, that someone can declare war on you, and yet you're forced to keep a "promise" not to hack them.

4. Fleet relay. If you have a cloaked ship in a system that your hack is routed through, then the ship becomes the relay point rather than the system, stopping your opponent from interfering as long as the ship remains there.

I get that in some ways, the UC have a fairly large advantage in being permanently cloaked...but this quickly becoms nulified due to detection technologies as the game progresses, usually by turn 100 in a standard game. I feel that a combination of 1 and 3 would be best, but then again, the race is new, maybe I'm missing something.

I would be interested in hearing other opinions or other suggestions.

Updated 6 years ago.

0badgesSend private message

stl0369

Enthusiast

Message

stl0369

Enthusiast

16 900g2g pts

6 years ago

Feb 2, 2019, 4:01:06 AM

I don't know multiplayer, but I've found the UC to be the fastest race to expand. They just send out a hack while doing other things. After setting up a sanctuary, they start from there for the next one. Food is not diverted from the home system. There is no increasing cost. Each new system helps build up the home system too.

One thing I really enjoy about the UC is that I've completely changed up my research order. Make sure you prioritize planet colonization for planets that give bonuses back to your home system and getting a third hacking option quickly. Like no other race, you have to prioritize food too (though I'm not sure why the game has a cap of 1 pop per turn anyway).

There main downside I see is in being Pacifist with a strong tendancy to science later from exploring so many curiosities. I think the key I'm missing here is that I need to meet and force peace on everyone as soon as I can. I've been trying to hide in the Shadows, but there isn't any benefit to happiness that way.

0badgesSend private message

Adder007USA

Newcomer

Message

Adder007USA

Newcomer

14 700g2g pts

6 years ago

Feb 2, 2019, 12:31:49 PM

I see what you're saying, but my question is this. Is there a way to colonize more than one system with just one hack? I'm finding that no matter how fast I research colonization techs, by the time I can occupy other planets in systems, my hacks are being blocked and I find myself unable to get onto additional planets beyond the first hack. Particularly annoying once the research comes out to reveal tier 2 and 3 strategics that you didn't know where there on the first hack.

0badgesSend private message

stl0369

Enthusiast

Message

stl0369

Enthusiast

16 900g2g pts

6 years ago

Feb 3, 2019, 3:56:10 AM

Each hack can only colonize a single planet. However, you only have to colonize one planet to have your toe in the door so to speak. As long as you have already colonized one planet on a system, you can colonize the rest at your leisure (though it's possible to be traced once a colony is up and running).

Also, if you are trying to spread wide, you should prioritize setting up a sanctuary on a system when someone creates an outpost. As long as you can get a hack there before the outpost becomes a colony, there is no detriment. Additionally, you now have a system where you can put sleepers if you want. Honestly, I don't see much point in sleepers except to get umbral shadows. The FIDSI loss from creating them isn't worth the bonus resources from the other empire in the games I've played. At least not until I've filled all my sanctuaries, which doesn't happen before I win even with pushing food.