Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 20:45:39 -0400 
From: Kevin Michael Bernatz <kb32+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Sun Tzu's Guide to Taking 4th Space

Well,
	I figured I would get your attention with the title, but I also figured
I had better clear my name before this gets any worse.  I can understand
why people are against taking neutral races, since I also consider it a
scum thing to do (yes, that does make me a scum in the current
situation).  Unlike most people, I do not rule it out as a last resort
to cracking a tough LPS/TPS.  These are the general guidelines/thought
patterns that I go through when thinking about taking 4th space.  I am
not posting them to suggest that people use these, but to show why I
took Kli space.
	First, I will never take 3rd races.  If one side has not already
genocided one race I will never condone taking a neutral side in a clue
(tm) game. If we're just horsing around, I probably wouldn't have any
objections.  I was not horsing around in the Fed-Ori game that caused
this "debate".  If it's a question of taking 4th space (which would
reset the galaxy just the same as taking the last race's space) I will
take it in the following situations.  
	1)  I've been playing on the same side for a while, and all "my" good
people leave and they get a better team.  This is what occurred in the
Fed-Ori game.  If I played normal, I could probably hold off *our*
genocide for ~1+1/2 to 1+3/4 hours.  I would end up pissed at my
teammates, and very frustrated.  I would *not* enjoy the game.  I could
quit, but I am not a quitter.  If I've played for over an hour on the
same team I am going to want to see it through.  If I go for 3rd space,
I might be able to distract enough of their clue to allow my clueless
teammates to beat up on their clueless newbies and maybe genocide.  If
their clue doesn't respond, then it's a race between how fast they can
retake Ori space and some of Fed space vs how fast I can take Kli space.
 Either way, I have fun and the clueless people have fun since they have
no idea of what's going on.  
	2)  As in the Ori-Fed game, we attempted to genocide for at least 30
minutes.  I will not go take 4th space as soon as we get them to 2
planets.  Hell, if we can get them that far down we can usually genocide
or let the timer kill them.  However, with the change of clue it was
inevitable that they would come back.  Isn't it my job as your opponent
to prevent you from coming back and winning?  It hardly seems fair to
*my* team to sit back and let you win, which is what would have happened
if I didn't take Kli space... Hell, it almost happened anyways if I
remember (it isn't often that I can take a planet from under two
defenders....one being Paulson and the other Bathhurst).  	
	I realize some people were upset because their game was "ruined", but I
ask you why should your game come over my game?  Don't I have a right to
enjoy the genocide that was rightfully ours had the same players stayed
in?  Over half the people wouldn't know what was going on so they would
still have fun battling over Ori-Fed space, so you can't say that I
ruined the game for everyone but me.  You say that I didn't deserve the
genocide, but this is where I disagree.  If I put 2 hours into
genociding the Roms and then pushing the Ori's to the core, I don't
think it's fair to play another 2 hours losing all that we gained solely
because their twinks got upgraded to Rear Admirals and my Admirals got
downgraded to twinks (no offense to anyone who came in to replace Yea
Boy!!! and Eek!!!).  
	Another reason that this surprises me is that the clue on the Orion
team did not even remotely try to stop me.  Bathhurst uses a scout
against my Assault...not very efficient.  If you want to prevent a
person from taking 3rd or 4th space it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO easy that I find
it surprising that you bitched so much about it.  All you do is ogg the
person every time they die as they try to return to 4th space.  If
you're incapable of doing it get another clue on your team to.... you
had Paulson on your team, if you had told him to ogg me repeatedly I
never would have taken Kli space.  You can ask Mucie himself about the
effectiveness of this......since I have used it on him and 2 of his
teammates and still stopped them from taking more than 2 planets in the
4th quadrant.  It's awfully hard to run from Guardian in a 90% damaged
AS.  Taking 4th space is a viable option *if* you have attempted to
crack the TPS/LPS and have been thwarted by losing players/their gaining
players, but it is an equally easy tactic to stop.  Once you see someone
doing this, simply ogg them repeatedly (some of you may want to do this
simply 'cause you don't like the idea).  If you can inflict enough
damage on them to neutralize their bombing attempts, then the rest of
your team should be able to come back (since I am assuming that the
person is only taking 4th space as a last resort).  If they have the
better team and still are taking 4th space, then yes, they are weenies. 
I did *not* have the better team.

-KB
 Rear Admiral "I'm not a weenie! <holds up 2 fingers>" Akira
 Commodore "Read My Lips 'No New Weenies!' " Sun Tzu
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA