Tips for new commanders

[OUFOOTBALLROCKS]

Assassin will/should beat a cruiser one on one 9 out of 10 times, but 2 on 2 it is very likely you will lose a assassin. Assassin hits for 9 so 9 hits times 9 = 81 = dead cruiser. Cruiser hits for 5 so 9 hits times 5 = 45 = 5 points left and a weak but living assassin, usually.

[Tapsa]

A cruiser needs ten hits to kill an assassin (5*10=50). An assasin needs nine to kill a cruiser (9*9=81). So yes, with a little luck a cruiser can destroy an assassin. Sometimes this game is all about luck This is very evident if you defend planets with interceptors, and the enemy sends an interceptor to take the planet. Sometimes the battles end with both dying or with one ship left with 2-4 armor, but sometimes one of the ships could have as much as 10 armor left after the battle

On some of the harder conquest galaxies, I would restart quite quickly just because one of my initial attacks failed because of bad luck. And when playing the gauntlets, if you get an "unlucky" level towards the end of the gauntlet, and don't buy enough ships with your War Chest, you could be dead before you know it...

[Kruztee]

hmm, thanks to both of you for the replies. I'm not going crazy then

So there is there a random chance that an attack will "fail", or is there some kind of random modifier applied to the damage each hit? I'm thinking that it just comes down to which gets the first hit in...

[Tapsa]

From the manual:

An attacking ship randomly selects a target for each shot, so that each enemy
ship in that sector has an equal chance of being targeted. Each ship does a specific amount of
damage per shot (with 50% probability of hitting), and an enemy is destroyed when its armor is
reduced to zero.

So there's a pretty big chance of the attack missing.

[Kruztee]

RTFM

I did glace at it briefly, I promise....

[Program Fatebringer]

There is an element of chance in any Cruiser-Assassin or any identical ship encounter. I believe it was Sun Tzu who said that you should never fight a battle unless you know you are going to win. This applies here. If luck is a factor, then you are probably doing something wrong. Having said that, I myself have been in countless situations where I could do nothing but pray that my ship kills the enemy before it is itself killed. However, since it came down to luck, it means I probably should have done something different along the way. It should have never come down to this

The gauntlet is a tricky beast. Let's say you have have $600 to spend on 10 maps. One idea is to try and spend an average of $60 per map. However, that's not the best idea. I think that you've gotta assume that one map is going to be super hard and be prepared to spend A LOT more money on it. Therefore, I try to spend $50/map and try to save the rest for a rainy day. At least, that 's my take on the Gauntlet.

[Tapsa]

The gauntlet is a tricky beast. Let's say you have have $600 to spend on 10 maps. One idea is to try and spend an average of $60 per map. However, that's not the best idea. I think that you've gotta assume that one map is going to be super hard and be prepared to spend A LOT more money on it. Therefore, I try to spend $50/map and try to save the rest for a rainy day. At least, that 's my take on the Gauntlet.

Although I have only finished one gauntlet (the cadet) so far, I fully agree. Don't spend more than you absolutely need to get going and secure a basic defense for your starbase. In my books, that would be an interceptor for a quick planet grap, and a scavenger + assassin for base defense. This adds up to 60$. I'm currently working my way through the Ensign gauntlet, and have started some of the first maps with just a few interceptors, if the area looks secure enough and there are good planets nearby. On one map, I started just with an assassin, as my base was near a corner with just one planet nearby, that was sitting perfectly between me and all the enemy bases. But that didn't work as well as I thought, as I had to move the assassin too much, which pretty much ruined my income at the start

Of course, I'm no expert on gauntlets yet, having only completed one and still stumbling on the next

[StratFanatic]

The gauntlet is a tricky beast. Let's say you have have $600 to spend on 10 maps. One idea is to try and spend an average of $60 per map. However, that's not the best idea. I think that you've gotta assume that one map is going to be super hard and be prepared to spend A LOT more money on it. Therefore, I try to spend $50/map and try to save the rest for a rainy day. At least, that 's my take on the Gauntlet.

Although I have only finished one gauntlet (the cadet) so far, I fully agree. Don't spend more than you absolutely need to get going and secure a basic defense for your starbase. In my books, that would be an interceptor for a quick planet grap, and a scavenger + assassin for base defense. This adds up to 60$. I'm currently working my way through the Ensign gauntlet, and have started some of the first maps with just a few interceptors, if the area looks secure enough and there are good planets nearby. On one map, I started just with an assassin, as my base was near a corner with just one planet nearby, that was sitting perfectly between me and all the enemy bases. But that didn't work as well as I thought, as I had to move the assassin too much, which pretty much ruined my income at the start

Of course, I'm no expert on gauntlets yet, having only completed one and still stumbling on the next

I totally agree. I actually use the same strategy on gauntlets - i.e. use inteceptor for quick/easy planet grabs (even for one far far away from any enemy ships/bases) and keep an assassin/scavenger combo for base defense and income simulataneously. From there, just branch out to grab planets as with the regular campaign. It does depend on the map though so yeah, save some $$ for the harder round. Just 2 more to go to beat cadet (with a high score, that is). Greed does kill though since I only spent $35 on one level and my starbase almost got creamed. $50 mininum is good insurance.

Tried Ensign and gauntlet after that and early thoughts are this game will give me some months (if not years) of fun. Gee, it's already been over a month since the release.

Happy 1-month+ anniversary, Space War Commander!

StratFanatic