From: vancleef@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: alt.games.gb
Subject: Re: Stale socks.
Date: 13 Aug 92 15:00:00 EDT

In article <Aug.12.19.01.12.1992.9246@pilot.njin.net>, macko@pilot.njin.net (Peter C. Macko) writes:
>  rlewis@isi.edu (Roger Lewis) writes:
> 
>>I think that if Garrett actually limits resource availability like
>>you wanted him too, that there won't be enough fuel around in the game
>>to allow people to leapfrog past your front.  (I don't consider this
>>a good thing though).
> 
>   Neither do I.  

Actually what I am more likely to do is make things more expensive
resourcewise. Everything else will probably stay like it was before.
resourresource 

> 
> 
>>I think my problem with limiting resources is that I don't want
>>resources any rarer at the beginning of the game than they are
>>now.  *Perhaps* there is a surplus of res later in the game,
>>but I feel that the amount of res at the beginning of the game
>>(the first 35 updates or so) is just perfect.
>>I still think that there isn't actually a surplus of res even
>>later in the game, I think that it piles up for the
>>two following reasons.
>>
>>One: There are so many newbies around that you rarely need all
>>the res you can lay your hands on, the newbies that are getting
>>wiped out DON'T have surplus unused res.  But the experienced players
>>like Feep are swimming in it, because their opponents are too unskilled
>>and you just don't need many ships to wipe out unskilled neighbors.
> 
>   I think I've had some of the largest res stockpiles (250K+) in gb 
> history and never have I felt that I had a res "surplus".  You can't
> build REAL fleet without at least 10-20K res.  By a real fleet I
> mean 2-3 X's (filled with f's, ^'s, +'s, & s's), an O, 5-6 B's, and 12-20 
> lesser ships like C's & d's.  What most people call fleets aren't 
> well-balanced fleets but small squadrons of poorly equipped destroyers
> or cruisers that are too easily lost since armor is almost worthless.  A
> smart opponent can eliminate these easily at little cost to himself if
> he knows the various inherant weaknesses in such squadrons.
> 
>   The reason why I've been able to gain such stockpiles is because
> newbies and inactives are plentiful in most gb games.  You can usually
> take a planet away from a newbie without causing signifigant damage to
> it thus maintaining the efficiency of most if not all of its sectors.
> Almost every battle I've won against an active experienced opponent has 
> cost me copious amounts of time and resources while gaining me little 
> except some shattered and burned out planets.  Turning a planetary 
> wasteland into something habitable is an expensive proposition especially 
> when the planet is drained of resources.  This is why experienced 
> players tend to avoid fighting each other when possible.  There is little 
> to gain and too much to lose.
> 
> 
>>Two: It takes time to monitor and control all the ships you can
>>build.  People don't have a surplus of res, they have a deficit
>>of free time to order around all those ships.  They can't imagine
> 
>   I strongly agree with you here.
> 
> 
>>building more ships when they're losing track of the ones they have.
>>So I have to agree with people (including Feep) who propose larger
>>ships.
> 
>   I'd rather have a smarter interface.  In the last few games I've played,
> I wrote a battery of perl scripts to create macros depending on the
> data output by different gb commands.  Unfortunately, wars and alliance
> politicking still required too much of my real time.  So I haven't played 
> much lately. (wistful sigh)  One of these days, when I find the time,
> I'm going to have to take up Dan's offer and do some corroborating on
> Robo-Hydra.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 					-Aes
> -- 
> 
>   Peter C. Macko                      Internet: macko@pilot.njin.net
>   LCSR/Network Research                         macko@cs.rutgers.edu
>   Telecommunications/Network Services     UUCP: {backbone}!rutgers!cs!macko
>   Rutgers Computing Services,  Rutgers University (Piscataway, NJ)   
Newsgroups: alt.games.gb