You must sign in to post. | Don't in-fight :: Dec 18, 2006 @ 11:21pm |
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 philhassey
Joined: Nov 30, 2006
Posts: 797
Location: Zarcon | Let's say you are in a game of three people:
Bob, Joe, and Ron.
If Bob is winnning, and Joe and Ron fight between themselves, they only further secure Bob's victory.
But if Joe and Ron both attack Bob -- they stand a good chance of whiping out Bob, and then Joe and Ron have a good chance of getting to duke it out for first place. | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Dec 19, 2006 @ 7:36am |
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tim 
Joined: Nov 30, 2006
Posts: 31
Location: Lake City, Colorado, USA | But then say ron retreats back to his own planets. That leaves Joe and Bob fighting each other, which would likely secure the victory for Ron. | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Dec 19, 2006 @ 4:50pm |
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weasel 
Joined: Dec 17, 2006
Posts: 21
Location: Victoria, BC | Not to worry - then Joe can fall back to his space and defend, while Bob takes out Ron from behind! | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Jan 16, 2007 @ 3:17am |
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 l.w.
Joined: Jan 16, 2007
Posts: 13 | I've often noticed in three player games someone will attack you even if they know the will lose to the other player... What can you do if they're intent on a suicide attack on you? :\ | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Jan 16, 2007 @ 12:24pm |
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thirdparty 
Joined: Dec 20, 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Eastern U.S.A. | "What can you do if they're intent on a suicide attack on you?"
Well, there are four options, right?
1. Retreat. Pull all your ships back to the planet that's furthest from the fighting, prepared to launch them away if it too comes under attack. At this point, since you control no (or almost no) planets, one of the other two players will have a majority of productivity: the other will have no choice but to attack him immediately before he's completely dominant. If enough of your ships survive, you'll be able to reestablish yourself during the chaos.
2. Counterattack the suicider. Try to pick up the suicider's home cluster while he's picking up yours. As long as you avoid having your fleets collide, neither of you will have been too hurt by the battle, and so the leader still won't have a won game. Maybe the suicider will realize his mistake and stop fighting, or maybe he'll panic and retreat.
3. Attack the leader with everything you've got. This gives the suicider control of both your planets and his own, and puts him at war with nobody; the leader will have no choice but to bring him into the fight. (It helps that the leader was probably planning to attack both of you at once, and so will have many of his ships positioned to attack the suicider; he'll be hesitant to redeploy them rather than just using them.)
4. Defend, visibly shifting ships around to make it clear that the attack won't win. Maybe the suicider is bluffing, hoping that you'll choose option (1) or (3), and will break off the attack if you don't. (Or maybe the leader will attack too early, deflecting the suicider's ire.) If not, well, he'll learn a lesson when the leader dominates the map, and maybe next time he'll attack someone else instead.
Which option to pick depends on the details of the position and on the psychology of your opponents. | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Jan 16, 2007 @ 9:03pm |
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l.w. Joined: Jan 16, 2007
Posts: 13 | Hmm, I've noticed a few good players manage to pull off the retreat and re-establishment trick... it seems really difficult though. I haven't been able to pull it off yet. It might be map size dependent. It seems like if you want to do this you will be far behind the other players so you will have to time it just when they are fully committed to fighting each other. Also, geography becomes important. You want to attack a cluster that is large enough that you can make a serious grab quickly, but no so large that the defender can counter-attack with enough ships to hurt you badly.
In my experience, playing the defender usually results in an eventual demise for both of you, particular in a three person game where the leader is free to expand and wait until you're done killing each other. Maybe on larger maps it can be pulled off if you have superior production. Presumably, you can then take the attacker's planets with a counterattack if other players are similarly occupied. | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Jan 20, 2007 @ 11:53am |
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becephalus 
Joined: Jan 19, 2007
Posts: 130
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota | I agree playign the defender however sensible, doesn't seem to work as they just try harder. I love watching people make attacks they know will fail siphoning off 800 or so ships from both players...
I find it work best to quickly shoot up to 100% and go into migration mode. Wait for them to start fighitng and then try to swoop up some big planets away from the main fleets.post updated on Jan 20, 2007 @ 12:27pm | | Re: Don't in-fight :: Jan 20, 2007 @ 12:23pm |
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colbert Joined: Jan 20, 2007
Posts: 5 | "Smart" players may call off an attack if it is clear that you have a comparable fleet and intend to defend your planets. However, a lot of players will still continue to rush into you and cost you both a lot of ships.
Also, as mentioned in the Dilemma post, having a reputation for abandoning ship when you're under heavy attack could be detrimental as it could make it more likely that you will be attacked.
The high production penalty that you incur from retreating from your planets means that it can be effective if the remaining players engage in a heavy attack against each other. If a stalemate continues, or if they keep a defensive fleet around, retreat may not do much good.post updated on Jan 20, 2007 @ 12:24pm |
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