I was playing on hard setting, 6 races, large galaxy for a few rounds and couldn't get traction. other races would just target me and that was the end of it. I was trying to build missle boats to keep myself alive, but it was a delaying tactic at best, and didn't work.

My race was a custom Darlok race ( repulsive, -20 ship and ground combat)(dictatorshop, subteranian, aquatic, large rich homeworld and Telepathic)

I went with the standard opening, but decided on Misslebase instead of the factory. HUGE differnce. it let me turtle until my Research was capable of producing suitable technologies. Once the transporters were online, it was such a piece of cake that it was silly really. I only built 3 cruisers, no shields with tritanium armor, and was against phasor classed zortrium armored titans, on multiple fronts and it was no contest. I felt like the Borg :)

all that is needed is neutron beams, decent drives, and the transporters. I think ill try with assult shuttles to see if it works faster.

Gonna try this out on impossible.

Whoa, impossible is .....hard. No traction yet, are they ever aggressive.

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER choose Missile Bases over Auto Factories. This is suicide on Impossible UNLESS you happen to be like a Unified race with +2 Production/Rich Home you can make it without them.

Early on you can build 2-3 Destroyers with 6 missiles with 2 volleys each. This is enough to defend your Home Planet with as you shoot their rounds and retreat leaving the Star Base to finish off the enemy.

Also if you research Merculite missiles quickly you can then MIRV your Nuculears to have them deal 4x the damage. This early on is quite deadly so can give you an edge.

Remember by only having 2 Volleys of missiles instead of 5 you can double the number you fire in the first 2 turns to quickly take out the most dangerous of your enemies.

Thanks EvilL, I generally have to agree with you on this, but with the game circumstances i had, i couldn't build the boats fast enough. but maybe i waited too long. Who knows :)

I did end up trying it on impossible and man thats tough! I ended up beating it with a telepathic warlord large rich repulsive - ground combat and -race ( large, impossible, average, average tech, 6 races) . Tough battles in the mid game, i must have swapped planets with the sakkra a half dozen times. my end score was pretty crazy ( 2337) I didn't take out Orion, no need really. Telepathic with neutron beams is just total Imba.

Telepathic with neutron beams is just total Imba. - Telepatic is total imba with anything, playing telepatic you would need to intentionally hurt your race design in order to actually research neutron blasters, as game usually is over before it.

hehe, I just started an Impossible game, average size, 6 other races, average tech, average age. I took fuedal, telepathic, warlords. Now THIS is how to play impossible :) Steam roll phase starts at turn 15 or so lol. No reasearch, just production and food. I think this was the first time i used extended fuel tanks ( aside from the scouts). But MAN does the computer cheat. I had a the psilons blockaded, and they still built a Battleship in 3 turns!