Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 68: Bait and Switch

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 68: Bait and Switch

Normally, when a theme for a CSR round is selected, the host goes through with it and lets it run normally for a week, with the next few days reserved for reviews and results. However, very rarely, circumstances force the host to step down and let the next highest-placed finisher in the previous round take their place. Once this occurs, a new rule set is chosen and the round is restarted from the beginning. Hopefully, the new host would ensure that the round would finish exactly as planned - on schedule and exactly to other users' wishes.

So far, this forced bait-and-switch has only happened twice in the history of CSR: in the 39th and 111th rounds, the entire contest had to be restarted from scratch with a new rule set. In each case the new rules proved to be very popular with the entrants. However, in the first of these, the original rule set was actually very unbalanced, since it heavily favored certain car classes over others - an undesirable situation in any case. The rule set that replaced it was therefore deliberately designed to avoid this problem.

This leads us to another issue that could potentially affect any round of CSR (or other forum contests, for that matter): balance, or in some cases, the lack of it. Within a given rule set, some car bodies are better suited to it than others. Take AGC 1, for example. When I decided to host it, I quickly realized that there were a few car bodies that had too little drag, and was forced to exclude them from the list of items that could be used. On the other hand, there were also a few bodies that, despite being eligible for use (and a few users did indeed choose them for their entries), were simply too big to be as effective as they first seemed.

So what have we learned from all this? If you ever get the chance to host any Automation forum competition, especially CSR, make sure that you are physically and mentally up to the task, lest you have to step down and force another user to reboot the contest with a new theme. And whatever rule set you come up with, make sure it's sufficiently balanced, to avoid the contest being dominated primarily by one type of car and/or engine type.

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Zorg Frigate

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Zorg Frigate

Among the many capital ships you can add to your flotilla in Sea of Stars, the Zorg Frigate is one of the more unusual options. For starters, its turret placement is geared more towards defense than other ships of a similar size. Specifically, it front turrets are positioned a considerable distance from the ship's centerline for wider coverage, while its third, smaller turret faces aft. As such, it is much more difficult to attack from behind than any other frigate. In fact, the locations of its turrets remind me of a scorpion - the front turrets act as the claws, while the rear turret acts like the sting in the scorpion's tail.

A Zorg Frigate fitted with high-end weapons and equipment - definitely a force to be reckoned with in any battle.

Like most frigates, it is heavily armored and has six equipment slots, allowing for a wide variety of customization options. However, its slow speed and turning are also typical of a frigate. The best way to use this ship is to keep it in the back of your formation, which can be beneficial when you expect to be ambushed from behind. In such situations it tends to be quite effective, but keep in mind that the aft turret cannot face forward, unlike the central front-mounted turrets found on most other frigates.

In short, the Zorg Frigate brings some much-needed variety to the frigate class, and is a formidable fighting machine in its own right. When used in combination with other ships that have better frontal weapons coverage, it can be almost unstoppable - especially when fitted with the Meson Lattice Shield so commonly used by high-ranking Zorg commanders.

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Muktian Corvette

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Muktian Corvette

The Muktian Corvette is one of the most common ships in the Muktian fleet, and along with its bigger cousin, the Frigate, has been present since the original game (the Scout and Destroyer were only added in Sea of Stars). In the first game, it would remain in your flotilla until you encounter a Muktian fleet, at which point it would leave your flotilla. However, in Weird Worlds, it would be part of your flotilla indefinitely until it was destroyed or you ended your voyage. Sea of Stars also features this ship, but it must now be purchased at the Muktian home world, Bandur, for 3 coins (as an upgrade from the Muktian Scout), although unlike the Frigate and Destroyer, the Muktian Corvette can be bought at any time during the game. So what do you get for your money?

A heavily upgraded Muktian Corvette, armed with a Multi-Missile Launcher - the weapon of choice for Muktian commanders.

At first glance, the Muktian Corvette does not seem to have as much to recommend it over similarly-sized counterparts from other factions; it is slower, less maneuverable and more expensive (3 coins as stated above, compared to 2 coins each for Garthan and Zorg Corvettes), with room for only four equipment slots in a class where most ships tend to have five. However, it's slightly larger and heavier than those ships, and carries more armor as well. In addition, its turrets are positioned very much like the eyes of a pigeon (i.e. on the sides of its nose); this gives them a smaller area of binocular vision than other ships, but on the other hand, makes them more useful for firing broadsides at enemy craft, since it reduces the ship's dependence on having to turn towards a target in order to get into position for an attack. Moreover, these turrets are well-placed for aiming at targets behind them, since the ship won't have to turn as much.

In short, the Muktian Corvette, for all its shortcomings, can actually be a more useful ship than most players think. In the right hands, it can be just as effective as other ships in its class, especially with upgrades installed.

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Muktian Destroyer

Sea of Stars Ship Reviews: Muktian Destroyer

Having already reviewed the Terran lineup of capital ships, and also some Calatian capital ships, I have decided that doing the same thing to other factions' capital ships is a logical extension of this series of blog posts regarding Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars. To this end, I'll start with the largest non-Terran capital ship available in normal gameplay other than the Damocles and Kestrel, both of which only appear in their respective quests. I am, of course, referring to the Muktian Destroyer.

A highly upgraded Muktian Destroyer parked at Urlu's Vortex of Shining Deals.

The only way to acquire a Muktian destroyer during normal gameplay is to rescue the Farseeker (a Muktian scout), deliver it to the Muktian home world intact, and convert it to a destroyer for 5 coins (even if it has already been converted into a corvette or frigate; even so, the destroyer is not offered for sale until late in the game (around 4595 AD). But when you do get your hands on one of these big beasts, you'll be able to make it into one of the most powerful ships in the entire game.

For starters, it has four universal hardpoints (two in the front and two on the top); the Terran Destroyer is the only other capital ship with this configuration. However, the Muktian Destroyer's hardpoints are arranged in a square instead of a diamond. This provides better all-around coverage against targets attacking from behind; as such, it is more useful in a defensive role. Nevertheless, this ship is focused firmly on offense due to its frontal hardpoints having very wide coverage. A commonly used setup is a Multi-Missile Launcher on each frontal hardpoint and a Proton Blaster on each dorsal hardpoint, as shown above.

The sheer size of the Muktian destroyer also gives it plenty of space for armor. Indeed, it has one of the most durable hulls in the game, rivalling the Terran destroyer. It's big on the inside as well, with six equipment slots for shields, targeting systems, scanners, etc. However, all that mass makes it one of the slowest and least maneuverable ships in the game, even with a Reactionless Thruster fitted. As such, I tend to let it hang back and snipe enemy capital ships with missile salvos whenever I deploy it in combat.

A Muktian destroyer attacking a Tchorak Vent Mother with the help of two Terran destroyers and a Calatian super-dreadnought.

In short, the Muktian destroyer proves that sometimes, bigger really is better, especially when attacking larger capital ships at long range. Stay tuned for more ship reviews in the future - there are many more ships in the game worthy of a detailed review from me.