8 replies to this topic

[BusinessRaccoon]

• How does one build the Phoenix class ships? I was trying to find them yesterday to aid in colonizing a planet but I was unable to find the research requirement/place to build it. 
• What is the best way to start a game? I seem to be getting pounded by fleets of the enemy where as I only have one mediumish fleet. 
• What is the best way to start bringing in resources? 

Thank you to all who read this ^^ I've never really played Sins Of A Solar Empire and in turn; the mod. I'm enjoying it so far though! 

[SternuS]

 

• How does one build the Phoenix class ships? I was trying to find them yesterday to aid in colonizing a planet but I was unable to find the research requirement/place to build it. 
• What is the best way to start a game? I seem to be getting pounded by fleets of the enemy where as I only have one mediumish fleet. 
• What is the best way to start bringing in resources? 

Thank you to all who read this ^^ I've never really played Sins Of A Solar Empire and in turn; the mod. I'm enjoying it so far though! 

 

It depends on the faction you're playing as. Each one has different starting characteristics.

For the UNSC it is important to get the Anchor as soon as possible. Do not rely on SMACs or any other defensive structure for the early game. Colonize enough planet to have a solid starting income. I usually upgrade the planets first (the population upgrade, the main one) and build the asteroids to get the minerals, then depending on the type of planet I build a trade station or a refinery (if it has a lot of asteroids, I get the refinery first, then the trade). Then on the most tactically important colony I set up another round of foundries, for frigates and capitals.

 

For the Covenant it is quite the same although they get the trade station much more far in the game, so you'll have to rely on more planets. I usually colonize a lot, even if it means some of them will get destroyed. They rely on getting a mobile fleet and on a more "unstable" defense system, so you might suffer a planet loss and then immediately recapture it without much of a debilitation. 

[BusinessRaccoon]

It depends on the faction you're playing as. Each one has different starting characteristics.

For the UNSC it is important to get the Anchor as soon as possible. Do not rely on SMACs or any other defensive structure for the early game. Colonize enough planet to have a solid starting income. I usually upgrade the planets first (the population upgrade, the main one) and build the asteroids to get the minerals, then depending on the type of planet I build a trade station or a refinery (if it has a lot of asteroids, I get the refinery first, then the trade). Then on the most tactically important colony I set up another round of foundries, for frigates and capitals.

 

For the Covenant it is quite the same although they get the trade station much more far in the game, so you'll have to rely on more planets. I usually colonize a lot, even if it means some of them will get destroyed. They rely on getting a mobile fleet and on a more "unstable" defense system, so you might suffer a planet loss and then immediately recapture it without much of a debilitation. 

By SMAC i assume you the Mac station? I'll try out your advice this time and see how I do. I came close to winning last game with a fleet of around 13 and an Infinity however I didn't see my AI Teammate getting destroyed by the AI. 

[Whitehalomango]

with a fleet of around 13 

Umm, what? If that is the number of ships you had, that might be the problem. You should have close to if not more than 100 ships altogether. Albeit, always prioritize capital ships when playing UNSC, you still need diversity with a mix of Halcyons, Eions and Thanatos Halberds. 

 

My simplest strategy for this game, like many games, is to expand far and quickly. I always prioritize colonization and economy to military. 

[Crisiss]

I disagree with Sternus's advice. The SMAC station is way cheaper and way more replacable and not a giant bitch to set up. You can also get a lot of them. An Anchor will be quickly killed by a medium sized fleet even at its super expensive and time consuming fully upgraded status. The SMAC is also longer ranged and has more killing potential than the Anchor. With a supporting fleet to screen and take shots for the SMACs you should be pretty much invincible.

Start UNSC off by focusing on rapid expansion and immediately get trade stations up. Make your combat fleet mostly out of Marathons and Parises. Choose nukes in the ability upgrade always. The Orion can kill any militia planet that doesn't have the Athens on it. Make sure to send a second cap or 3 Parises in support when taking those.

The game is entirely built around counterattacks. The UNSC excels at this. Wait for the enemy to assault one of your worlds, demolish their fleet through coordinated defenses and your own large fleet (at least 50-60 ships) and attack their worlds. Try for chokepoints, they are decisive. Capital ships are your heavy hitters and the Halberd is your mainline combat frigate. Use them a lot. The UNSC is a late game faction and will be at a massive disadvantage early game until they catch up through techs.

The Covenant is slightly different in that the ORS can kill small fleets and all militia worlds on its own. This makes the early game much easier. Colonize aggressively. Eventually start building your fleets of CPVs and CCSs with whatever else you want to build thrown in. The OAS is kind of costly but good for tanking. The Patrol Station is your only viable defensive emplacement. Be extremely aggressive early game before the UNSC catches up.

In general, use refineries to bring in more resource income. In SotP the refinery gets more resource income for every planet they are adjacent to and the one they are built on. Each asteroid only accepts one refinery so don't spam them. You also get more trade income for every planet having a trade station (long trade links generate more income) so build that first on every planet.

That should get you started decently well. Have fun.

[BusinessRaccoon]

I disagree with Sternus's advice. The SMAC station is way cheaper and way more replacable and not a giant bitch to set up. You can also get a lot of them. An Anchor will be quickly killed by a medium sized fleet even at its super expensive and time consuming fully upgraded status. The SMAC is also longer ranged and has more killing potential than the Anchor. With a supporting fleet to screen and take shots for the SMACs you should be pretty much invincible.

Start UNSC off by focusing on rapid expansion and immediately get trade stations up. Make your combat fleet mostly out of Marathons and Parises. Choose nukes in the ability upgrade always. The Orion can kill any militia planet that doesn't have the Athens on it. Make sure to send a second cap or 3 Parises in support when taking those.

The game is entirely built around counterattacks. The UNSC excels at this. Wait for the enemy to assault one of your worlds, demolish their fleet through coordinated defenses and your own large fleet (at least 50-60 ships) and attack their worlds. Try for chokepoints, they are decisive. Capital ships are your heavy hitters and the Halberd is your mainline combat frigate. Use them a lot. The UNSC is a late game faction and will be at a massive disadvantage early game until they catch up through techs.

The Covenant is slightly different in that the ORS can kill small fleets and all militia worlds on its own. This makes the early game much easier. Colonize aggressively. Eventually start building your fleets of CPVs and CCSs with whatever else you want to build thrown in. The OAS is kind of costly but good for tanking. The Patrol Station is your only viable defensive emplacement. Be extremely aggressive early game before the UNSC catches up.

In general, use refineries to bring in more resource income. In SotP the refinery gets more resource income for every planet they are adjacent to and the one they are built on. Each asteroid only accepts one refinery so don't spam them. You also get more trade income for every planet having a trade station (long trade links generate more income) so build that first on every planet.

That should get you started decently well. Have fun.

I'm unfamiliar with a few of the terms you've used. Like I said, I am completely new to this mod xD 

By SMAC do you mean the MAC Stations? Or something else entirely? I've been using the MAC Stations my worlds in such a way there are no blind spots and multiple killboxes. I do however also make use of the Anchor Stations due to their ability to repair ships should a repair ship be lost somewhere, their ability to stop the planet from being lost whilst it is still up and the later unlocked Slipspace Gate. 

The main thing I find problem with is gaining the funds needed to start production on fleets, be it credits, Titanium or Derilium (Is it spelled correctly?) I've been pushing to get the Infinity out quite early as a suitable addition to any fleet be it small or large. 

[SternuS]

I'm unfamiliar with a few of the terms you've used. Like I said, I am completely new to this mod xD 

By SMAC do you mean the MAC Stations? Or something else entirely? I've been using the MAC Stations my worlds in such a way there are no blind spots and multiple killboxes. I do however also make use of the Anchor Stations due to their ability to repair ships should a repair ship be lost somewhere, their ability to stop the planet from being lost whilst it is still up and the later unlocked Slipspace Gate. 

The main thing I find problem with is gaining the funds needed to start production on fleets, be it credits, Titanium or Derilium (Is it spelled correctly?) I've been pushing to get the Infinity out quite early as a suitable addition to any fleet be it small or large. 

That is because Crisiss doesn't understand the difference between an experienced player and a new player.

 

Yes, SMAC stands for Super-MAC, which is the MAC station. The ability that prevents the planet from being conquered is, in my opnion, useless and money-consuming, as the first thing your enemy will try to bring down, after the SMAC stations, is your Anchor. So the ability won't be as useful as it seems, 99% of the time. You should invest more in other stuff.

 

That depends on many things, I have found myself multiple times having to rely on the black market to get a resource because of how the map got generated, e.g. I had no planets with titanium asteroids near my home planet, and had an abundance of Deuterium, so I had to constantly buy and sell resources on the market. Refineries are necessary to both races, and as Crisiss said, don't build more than one on each planet, but build more of them on different, adjacent planets. Balance the research of stuff with the building of ships.

[Crisiss]

I'm unfamiliar with a few of the terms you've used. Like I said, I am completely new to this mod xD
By SMAC do you mean the MAC Stations? Or something else entirely? I've been using the MAC Stations my worlds in such a way there are no blind spots and multiple killboxes. I do however also make use of the Anchor Stations due to their ability to repair ships should a repair ship be lost somewhere, their ability to stop the planet from being lost whilst it is still up and the later unlocked Slipspace Gate.
The main thing I find problem with is gaining the funds needed to start production on fleets, be it credits, Titanium or Derilium (Is it spelled correctly?) I've been pushing to get the Infinity out quite early as a suitable addition to any fleet be it small or large.

Yeah, the SMAC is the MAC Station or ODP (Orbital Defense Platform). It's your big stick. Now, you don't want to spread your ODPs out. They are MUCH better in clusters. If the enemy wants to sit in a corner of your gravity well and watch you, that is great. They can do that. Now, what Sternus is apparently utilizing the Anchor for is, well, literally as an Anchor. I'll go into detail since he didn't. The Anchor has an Orbital Government skill/ability that prevents the orbited planet from being purged of your forces through orbital bombardment. Instead, they need to blow up your Anchor station as it has your planetary officials on it. This is undoubtedly a good strategy. Next, you want to layer your SMACs around this Anchor (also, preferably place the Anchor as close to your planet as possible) in rings, preferably layered. The size of the rings don't matter. This becomes a killzone of doom. Of course, this is super expensive and is really hard to do at any point but late game, which is why I deem it "expensive and time consuming". Resources, it's really luck of the draw. Usually games come down to buying off of the black market but sometimes you'll score some awesome planets where you can get a ton of resources off of them. It's a hit or miss, really. Rushing Infinity is generally, in my opinion, a really bad idea. The ship itself isn't that great at taking on whole fleets like it does in lore and is more of a single target killer. It is also ludicrously expensive and takes forever to build. You're better off building a lot of shitty, cheap ships than one big target. Infinity is only good with a supporting fleet otherwise it gets eaten alive in fleet battles. But again, building as many trade stations as possible is a good idea. Prioritize the economy techs (top of the civic tech tab) and dedicate planets to certain purposes. Make some military/production, some frontier and thus volatile (I usually just put frigate factories and trade stations on frontier worlds) whatever you want, your internal planets (adjacent to your capital) for techs, and everything in between just spam trade stations. You'll make a ton in no time, though you will definitely run out of money fast either way. What difficulty do you play on? AI gets super cheats at certain difficulties so you might want to get used to the game and its mechanics before trying anything harder than normal.

That is because Crisiss doesn't understand the difference between an experienced player and a new player.

Yes, SMAC stands for Super-MAC, which is the MAC station. The ability that prevents the planet from being conquered is, in my opnion, useless and money-consuming, as the first thing your enemy will try to bring down, after the SMAC stations, is your Anchor. So the ability won't be as useful as it seems, 99% of the time. You should invest more in other stuff.

That depends on many things, I have found myself multiple times having to rely on the black market to get a resource because of how the map got generated, e.g. I had no planets with titanium asteroids near my home planet, and had an abundance of Deuterium, so I had to constantly buy and sell resources on the market. Refineries are necessary to both races, and as Crisiss said, don't build more than one on each planet, but build more of them on different, adjacent planets. Balance the research of stuff with the building of ships.

SMACs are nothing new to the game or universe. They are featured in 2 of the most popular Halo games to date. There are also multiple audio cues he can listen to to get the idea. It's not even called a MAC station. I assume most people that play this mod are Halo nerds and know the difference. No need to be a dick.

[BackisGabbe]

Well if we're talking planetary defense I'd like to point out that it's generally a good idea to mix in a couple saber hangars in your SMAC clusters. Not only do they provide you with fighters but they also have are a great force of tackling enemy bombers. The covenant starbase can do a similar task as the saber hangars and since they're moveble you don't need alot of them. (they can also dish out a considerable amount of damage)  

 

NOTE: I use the starbase as a defensive structure to defend my patrol stations since Covvies don't have anything similar to the SMACS.