11-13-2011, 02:53 PM
At the point that I made the decision to go to war with you, I began investing more in military tech. You, on the other hand, opted to continue colonizing and developing your colonies. Since we all started out even, for the most part, I theorized that the military tech would give me an initial advantage in our conflict, but that you would probably gain an economic advantage, as the conflict proceeded. Thus, the initial turns of combat could prove decisive.
Once our two empires were at war, I theorized that it was you who would be forced to adapt, more so than myself. Far better to let the other guy adjust his strategy, than to adjust my own, was my line of thinking.
The unknown, of course, can be a powerful tool to use against enemy players in some PBM games. The advantage of learning your home world location, combined with the fact that you had no clue where my home world was, was a powerful advantage. I could send my starships to your colony world and to your home world, and even if I lost my entire fleet, your ability to then launch retaliatory measures against my empire was effectively zilch. The Far Horizon of space cloaked and protected my empire.
Not knowing how to colonize other planets was a disadvantage to me, but one that I turned to my own advantage, since that lack of knowledge effectively foreclosed that option to me. Thus, your enemy's lack of knowledge of the game's mechanics worked more to your disadvantage than to your enemy. There's more than a little irony in that, I think.
In war, there are perceptions and there are realities. To the player whose homeworld is under attack early on, and who has no clue where the other guy's home world is, in order to at least offer the prospect of retaliation as an option, perceptions can quickly and easily become reality.
You telling the entire universe that half the Consortium navy had been vaporized probably didn't help your cause. If I kill one ship, and that constitutes half of your fleet, then it doesn't take a lot of skill in mathematics to deduce how many starships that your empire has left at its disposal.
Your biggest failure in our relatively short-lived conflict, from my perspective as your enemy, lay in the area of how you chose to communicate with your enemy. Your forum postings were humorous, at times, but you made no real use of communications to gain reprieve from Darkseid's fury. The message that you sent to Darkseid was that your species was arrogant, boastful, inconsistent, and fearful. That's not to say that it was never entertaining. Rather, your method of communicating facilitated me giving priority to the role playing aspect over all else. If one knows that Darkseid is the enemy, what message does one truly think is wise to send to an entity of that nature?
Winning was never an issue, concern, nor priority of mine. The slow pace of traditional Play By Mail games is one factor that helps to ensure that players of such games tend to seek out conflict, early on. It makes such games more fun and entertaining.
Once our two empires were at war, I theorized that it was you who would be forced to adapt, more so than myself. Far better to let the other guy adjust his strategy, than to adjust my own, was my line of thinking.
The unknown, of course, can be a powerful tool to use against enemy players in some PBM games. The advantage of learning your home world location, combined with the fact that you had no clue where my home world was, was a powerful advantage. I could send my starships to your colony world and to your home world, and even if I lost my entire fleet, your ability to then launch retaliatory measures against my empire was effectively zilch. The Far Horizon of space cloaked and protected my empire.
Not knowing how to colonize other planets was a disadvantage to me, but one that I turned to my own advantage, since that lack of knowledge effectively foreclosed that option to me. Thus, your enemy's lack of knowledge of the game's mechanics worked more to your disadvantage than to your enemy. There's more than a little irony in that, I think.
In war, there are perceptions and there are realities. To the player whose homeworld is under attack early on, and who has no clue where the other guy's home world is, in order to at least offer the prospect of retaliation as an option, perceptions can quickly and easily become reality.
You telling the entire universe that half the Consortium navy had been vaporized probably didn't help your cause. If I kill one ship, and that constitutes half of your fleet, then it doesn't take a lot of skill in mathematics to deduce how many starships that your empire has left at its disposal.
Your biggest failure in our relatively short-lived conflict, from my perspective as your enemy, lay in the area of how you chose to communicate with your enemy. Your forum postings were humorous, at times, but you made no real use of communications to gain reprieve from Darkseid's fury. The message that you sent to Darkseid was that your species was arrogant, boastful, inconsistent, and fearful. That's not to say that it was never entertaining. Rather, your method of communicating facilitated me giving priority to the role playing aspect over all else. If one knows that Darkseid is the enemy, what message does one truly think is wise to send to an entity of that nature?
Winning was never an issue, concern, nor priority of mine. The slow pace of traditional Play By Mail games is one factor that helps to ensure that players of such games tend to seek out conflict, early on. It makes such games more fun and entertaining.