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| == Introduction ==
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| '''VGA Planets''' is one of the deepest and most complex strategy series ever developed, and '''Planets Nu''' is no exception.
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| The objective of '''Planets Nu''' is to achieve galactic conquest by conquering as many [[planet]]s as you can.
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| ==Getting started==
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| You start by making an account at planets.nu. You will be asked to choose a race for your very first game, but you wont be restricted to that race for new games.
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| I recommend you select a versatile race for your first game. Solar federation is a good choice.
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| You should be aware, that all new players will be given one months free play. After that, you will have to pay a small monthly fee.
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| If you dont want to pay, you can still play on, but with a tech level 7 limitation to all new bases.
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| All new players, will be placed in a giant melee game, pitted against other new players.
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| The Giant melee games are pretty hectic, with lots of players, placed very close together.
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| It will let you see some action really fast, but is not how the game was originally intended to play.
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| When the game is started, you will be guided through the first couple of turns.
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| Follow the assistant, but be aware that some of the advice is actually not very good.
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| for example, you are being told send freighters through deep space, at warp(speed) 7, towards unknown planets.
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| There are 3 reasons for that to be bad advice:
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| In the giant melee games, most planets will be taken, so you dont want to send unarmed freighters towards unknown planets.
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| Secondly, all ships ending their turns in deep space, will be visible to other players at a distance of 300 lys(lightyears)
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| if you can, try to jump from planet to planet instead. Ships in orbit of planets are not visible to everyone, so it will hide your ship from other players.
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| and finally, warp 7, is advice from old times, when all new players was restricted to that tech level.
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| You can choose to play on in the giant melee game, but you can also resign, if you dont like that type of game.
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| Normally it is considered very disruptive to drop out of games, since it destroys the balance of the games.
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| But the giant melee games, are designed to handle dropouts.
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| If you play on or not, it is now time to get some actual training.
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| Go to "my games", and then select "start game"
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| All new players should first complete basic training, followed by the training scenarios, and then a single player game against an AI controlled enemy.
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| Even if you are a veteran of the original game, its a good idea to play a single player game, in order to get used to the interface at planets.nu, so you dont start a new game by making mistakes.
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| ==Your first classical game==
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| When you feel ready, its time to find the first classical game to join.
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| goto "JOIN GAME", and select "SHOW JOINING" in order to find a game that has not started yet.
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| Its almost always possible to find a new beginner game.
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| if not, try again next day. you cant, and you shouldnt join games with experienced players
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| And then it is time to select a race
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| If you are completely new to the game, i suggest you select a race that is not to hard to learn.
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| I rate the races like this, with the easiest race to learn first:
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| 1. Colonials (free fuel, fighterbuilding, and moneymaking ships, if you cant find any good natives)
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| 2. Robots (fighterbuilding, and 4*minelaying for good defense)
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| 3. Rebels (fighterbuilding. Falcons are good, but requires extra tactical skills)
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| 4. Federation(Good versatile race with plenty of money)
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| 5. Crystal(Very good defense, but you have to learn how to manage your webs)
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| 6. Lizards(richest race in the game, but have to be played very intensely, and requires good logistical skills.)
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| 7. Birds(You can hide for a long time, but to attack someone, you need to learn guerilla tactics. And you will lack firepower)
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| 8. Empire(Weak early in the game, and requires good logistical skills to build up)
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| 9 Fascist(versatile race, but you have to master the economical advantages, or you will fall behind in firepower)
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| 10. Privateers(Simply requires lots of skill, and is a lottery race. Find yourself between 2 loki races, and youre dead. Not a good experience for a new player.
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| 11. Borg (very weak early in the game, requires lots of skill to master)
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| == The First Turn ==
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| : '''Notice''': This tutorial does not apply to ''Giant Melee'' games as they give you more planets and more ships. Your first will also not necessarily be turn 1, either.
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| === The freighter ===
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| To start colonizing planets, you transfer cargo to your starting freighter (which has a '''Transwarp Drive'''). Transfer about 160 [[clans]] and 40 [[supplies]], invert it if you are [[The Cyborg]]. Carry about 300 to 500 [[megacredits]], to be dropped to a very important planet to facilitate maximum growth.
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| Move it to adjacent planets. Make every attempt to avoid going into deep space (or [[Disguising Ship Movement|disguise movement]] if unavoidable). Your freighter can move up to 81.54 ly each turn, although a '''warp well''' can allow you to go further.
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| === The planet ===
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| With respect to the home planet, it is a good idea to build some mines (about 50 more, 150 more if you are [[The Solar Federation]]) and factories (about 100 more).
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| There are two different approaches to [[taxation]] practices that you can use to raise [[megacredits]]. It is imperative that you learn to ''growth tax'', especially if you are playing as [[The Lizard Alliance]]. This way, you get the most of your [[colonists]] and, therefore, your [[megacredits]].
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| With ''growth taxing'', it is usually a good idea to knock the happiness down to 70, let it grow to about 100, then knock it back down to 70, and so on.
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| === The starbase ===
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| [[Starbase]]s are key [[Space Objects]] that orbit a [[planet]]. If you are a premium member (and newly registered players get their first month free), ''always'' raise the [[Engines|Engine]] [[tech level]] to 10 so that you can build the most efficient engine, the '''Transwarp Drive'''.
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| The first build is a key choice to make, and ultimately depends on the race you are playing and what you would like to do.
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| ==== Lizard ====
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| The [[Lizard Class Cruiser]] (tech 4) is an excellent ship with a superb cargo hold and cloaking capability. Be aware that it requires 8 kT [[Neutronium]] to cloak. With torpedo tubes, it is also a great mine layer.
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| ==== Privateer ====
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| The [[Meteor Class Blockade Runner|Meteor Blockade Runner]] (tech 5) is one of the most powerful ships [[the Privateer Bands]] can employ. It is equipped with a [[Gravitonic Accelerator]], allowing it to move twice the normal speed (162.54).
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| It is also potent for exploiting the '''Rob''' mission (steals [[Neutronium]] and other cargo from hostile ships), and can lay decent minefields as well with its torpedo tubes.
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| ==== Cyborg ====
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| Don't let the [[B200 Class Probe|B200 Probe]]'s small cargo hold fool you. As a tech 1 design, you can easily get away with dropping only a single clan on each [[planet]] (assuming they have non-[[Amorphous]] [[native]]s). A common suggestion is 5 [[clans]], 10 [[supplies]]. It can also [[hyperdrive]] about 350 ly at the expense of 50kT of [[Neutronium]].
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| ==== Empire ====
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| The [[Pl21 Probe]] (tech 1) is another [[hyperdrive]] ship, extremely potent for its uses, as it can detect enemy presence with its '''Dark Sense''' mission.
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| ==== Robotic ====
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| The [[Cat's Paw Class Destroyer|Cat's Paw Destroyer]] (tech 2) is [[the Robotic Imperium]]'s only mine layer, but it is extremely powerful. It's 300kT [[cargo]] hold allows it to easily carry enough clans and supplies to colonize planets and when the time comes to lay minefields, it will lay quadruple the normal amount of mines for the same grade of torpedoes.
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| ==== Rebel ====
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| The [[Falcon Class Escort|Falcon Escort]] (tech 2) is the last of the [[hyperdrive]] ships. It can remotely commence '''Rebel Ground Assault''' against opposing planets (after movement). It is also an excellent remote minesweeper late-game.
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| ==== Other races ====
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| Another [[Medium Deep Space Freighter|Medium Freighter]] (tech 3) is usually fine. If you are building something other than a freighter as your ship build, then '''X-Ray Laser''' [[beams]] (tech 1) are usually fine accompanied with (if supported) '''Mark IV Photon''' [[torpedo]] tubes (tech 5). In any case, always equip your first ship with '''Transwarp Drive'''(s).
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| === Finalizing the first build ===
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| Once you've decided on your first build, then raise the hull tech to the tech appropriate with your hull and if what you plan on building supports torpedoes, then raise the torpedo tech to level 5 as well before you enter the space dock.
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| The space dock is where you construct the various ship parts and assemble them to form a new ship.
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