35 replies to this topic

[Decay]

Hi all! I've had PR for quite a long time but lacked a system that could really handle GC until recently, so I stuck with skirmish up until now.

I've got to say though, I have no real clue on how to attack playing a GC. I want to do a Core Worlds campaign as the Empire, but I just can't see how to really. Every planet around my own planets have GIGANTIC pirate fleets, and it seems like it would take ages for me to even build up a big enough fleet, and that doesn't factor in the limited money.

So I guess what I'm looking for is some general GC advice. How do I get started?

Any advice would be well appreciated as I very much want to experience how awesome PR truly is!

(And yes, I realize it will change significantly in 1.2, but still)

[sargeantsandwich]

When there's too many big pirate fleets around me, I build as many mining facilities as i can to get some income, build shipyards, but most importantly I whittle down the pirates by attacking with any ship that holds fighters/transports, and send them into combat while my larger ships (the ones that can be destroyed) stay back in formation. once my fighters/transports are destroyed I retreat and do it again. after two or three attacks the enemy is usually small enough to attack conventionally. I feel like it's cheating sometimes but any good commander would use any advantage he had....

[Stormhawk]

First, choose tech paths. Very important. You don't want to upgrade TIE Bombers some, then upgrade skiprays some etc... You want to pick certain ships to fufill certain roles so your fleet is efficient as possible without too much overlap. The first major choice is Acclamators vs. Dreadnoughts to serve as the backbone of your fleet for the first phase. Build another lvl 3 starbase at Courscant, research facility at Carida and immediately begin upgrding whichever cruiser you chose. Also, get Vader to the Squadron upgrade, as he runs great fighter cover for your fleet. As soon as you have 5-7 cruisers, depending on your level of confidence, you can start killing stuff.

At the start of the Core Worlds campaign as Empire your closest easy targets lie is a sector north-west (Not really, since it's space, but you get the point) of Courscant. Draukyze, Caprionril and Tangerene, I think, are conquerable with a moderate sized cruiser force. If you have the money to do so, you can build up lvl 3 starbase production at Byss as well, and start launching attacks on Kalist IV and Khomm as well.

At this point, you need to take one of the planets on the Perlemian trade route. I suggest Corulag, if memory serves that is one of the less defended ones compared to Chandrilla and Brentaal IV. Still, bring at least a dozen cruisers with support. At this point you should have the economy and infrastructure to start teching to Star Destroyers.

Hope this helps.

[Decay]

Awesome that's some sweet advice guys

And... I know this is a lame question, but what exactly do different combinations of space stations do? Like what's the difference between building a Golan or a Space colony, etc?

[Talmane]

Inner Rim might be a better campaign to start with, just to get a feel for things. There are several planets that can be taken without too much difficulty, and the Empire starts with several mining colonies.

On the other hand, Core Worlds can be done, it's just a bit more difficult. I'd recommend taking Dolomar early on, as it's not as heavily defended as most of your other options. Doing so would also deprive the Alliance of a base, and open up a path to several other lightly defended worlds like Tangrene. After that, you might want to work on linking Coruscant with Byss and creating a pocket of Imperial space in the northwest of the map. Once you've accomplished that and built up your fleet, you can drive towards either Ghorman or Alderaan, and then onwards to victory.

For ships I suggest using Dreadnaught Heavy Cruisers, preferably Mark IV or higher. Their heavy turbolasers allow them to be very effective in large numbers, as the range means they can concentrate fire more easily. Another tactic that you can use, though it may be something of an exploit, is sending carriers. If the enemy has a starbase at the planet, they usually won't mount much of a counterattack on your forces when you invade. This, combined with the free and replenishing nature of carrier based fighters, means you can send in some carriers, leave them at the edge of the system while the fighters and bombers do as much damage as possible, and then retreat if it seems that victory is impossible. Rinse and repeat until you've taken the planet. A little cheap, but it works.

Hopefully at least some of that was helpful.


Edit: It seems I took too long typing, and this post is rather redundant. Sorry about that.

Edited by Talmane, 17 June 2011 - 05:28 AM.

[Phoenix Rising]

Hi all! I've had PR for quite a long time but lacked a system that could really handle GC until recently, so I stuck with skirmish up until now.

Let me just say that we hear you and are doing or have done everything we can to optimize GC without compromising the spirit of the campaigns in v1.2.

I feel like it's cheating sometimes but any good commander would use any advantage he had....

I've always felt that the term "exploit" exists so developers can blame players for their mistakes. Some things I can't control because of the engine, but if it's a part of the game, I'd say go ahead and exploit it.

Edited by Phoenix Rising, 17 June 2011 - 04:39 AM.

[Decay]

Oh, I in NO way meant that post to sound critical at all PR! I love the mod, and it isn't your fault my previous computer sucked.

[Phoenix Rising]

None taken. We just feel like you shouldn't need a high-end machine to play.

[sargeantsandwich]

Yeah I wish sometimes that you weren't restricted by the engine.
My computer used to run PR just fine until it crashed. My new one won't.
Building a golan is just for planetary defense. I wouldn't recommend even using golan I's, but when you have a few Golan II or III's then your planet will be significantly harder to invade- provided you have fighter support for the Golans. Bombers will tear them apart generally, they are made to take on capital ships. space colonies increase the population cap (?) and allow the construction of more advanced structures

[Decay]

Thanks sarge.

Is there a way to tell what you have built in orbit? And what's the difference between a Star Base and a Space Colony? Lastly, is there any difference to the level of a star base/space colony besides armament and tech level?

[Stormhawk]

The space station system is reasonably complex. There are four major types of station:

Space colony: Basic station, provides population but more importantly unlocks larger space stations. Colony 1 unlocks Starbase 1 and XQ5 platform, Colony 2 unlocks Starbase 2 and Golan I, Colony 3 unlocks Starbase 3 and Golan II, Colony 4 unlocks Starbase 4 and Golan III, Colony 5 unlocks Starbase 5. Unarmed in combat, but large colonies have huge shield and hull values.

Starbase: Produces ships, divided by class. Starbase 1: Fighters and Bombers, Starbase 2: Transports, Freighters and Corvettes, Starbase 3: Frigates and Cruisers, Starbase 4: Destroyers and Capital Ships, Starbase 5: Star Dreadnoughts. Production time scales with the number of Starbases. For example, a planet with one Starbase 3 will take twice as long to produce a dreadnought as a planet with 2 Starbase 3's. Carries decent armament, which scales with level quite rapidly, along with shields and hull.

Golan: Pure defensive station. You've seen this in skirmish. Large amounts of firepower, mostly in proton torpedoes with a powerful tractor beam as support. Huge shield value, relatively weaker hull. Garrisons some fighters, depending on level. Golan I is not too useful, Golan II‘s and III's can be a huge defensive asset, but take an extremely long time to build. I usually just rely on a defensive fleet.

XQ5 Platform: Customs station. Provides income based on number of trade routes passing through a planet. Minimally armed.

Unfortunately, FoC's GUI does not allow for a way to see what stations have been built at a certain system.

Edited by Stormhawk, 18 June 2011 - 06:55 AM.

[Stormhawk]

After that, you might want to work on linking Coruscant with Byss and creating a pocket of Imperial space in the northwest of the map.

This is very difficult. N'Zoth and Empress Teta are both very very tough to crack. I would suggest letting your worlds operate autonomously for a while. Don't try this before either you have Star Destroyer Tech or 20+ Cruisers.

[Decay]

Thanks Storm, that post was super helpful!

[Decay]

Sorry, another quick question. Do space structures ever replace other ones I've built?

[Stormhawk]

Sorry, another quick question. Do space structures ever replace other ones I've built?

No problem. I remember how many questions I had when I was new to this. In fact, I still ask a ton of stuff.

Space stations never replace others (see correction below by Madurai), most planets have a space station maximum that's pretty large, so it just fills up the spots you can't see on the interface. I think the interface shows you the first two stations, on the left if you zoom in on a system. I'm actually not sure how it's determined how many stations can be constructed at a particular system.

Edited by Stormhawk, 19 June 2011 - 10:50 AM.

[Zeta1127]

Stormhawk is correct, it can be confusing that it only shows two, so one must know what each planet is good at and already has before one builds more space stations.

[evilbobthebob]

The best thing to do is choose the level of shipyard you want to construct on a planet, and sticking to it. Then, you first construct a shipyard of that level, so it appears in the first slot. Then, if you want a defence structure, you build a Golan II or III. After that, when you look at the planet, you always know that it is marked to produce shipyards of the level shown, and that it has some static defence. This means that you don't need to make notes about which planet is designated your frigate producer. You could also grade planets. Building a Golan first might mean that this will be a mostly defensive planet on your front line; having two stations in the slots might suggest a planet aimed purely at production. This is just a guideline, of course. On some planets you may want to have a mix of shipyards. But when dealing with the limits of the FoC interface, I think it's probably the best solution.

[Madurai]

Unless I'm missing something, space colonies replace themselves as they're tiered up, but starbases and weapon platforms do not. There's never more than one space colony on the tactical map, no matter how many times you've expanded it.

[evilbobthebob]

Exactly. Their level appears on the galactic map view, and in orbit around the planet when you zoom in. They have the same upgrade mechanic as the vanilla starbases.

[sargeantsandwich]

I'm pretty sure that the number of stations allowed is caused by how many markers for them there are on that planets space map.