Homestead - the non-violent way of putting potential planets "on hold"?

from Stardock Forums
My empire is expanding quickly, however there is a series of uncolonized class 18 planets just far out of my colony ships' reach. I am trying to device a plot to lay claim to them before the AIs do - Homesteading like the early American settlers. It involves 8 recon ships sent from the home sectors and the new colonies. They will converge on the unclaimed world and form a blockade around all of its possible incoming vectors. Since enemy ships cannot stack with my own, they will be forbidden from colonizing it.

Has anyone tried this tactic yet? I will keep you posted on my rude territorial claims.

~SDC~
2,541 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
My empire is expanding quickly, however there is a series of uncolonized class 18 planets just far out of my colony ships' reach.
End of quote


Are they any low PQ planets that could be used as range extender?
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
That's too funny... LOL

I guess I could see doing that for a 26, but for 3 18's? that's 24 scouts. Holy tomatoes.

-Smack
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Acks... the plan only worked on delaying the pesky Yors from capturing all of them. I end up couldn't support all the little ships while in the tech / building crunching mode. By the time I could extend my range, my colony ship was bumping head with theirs.

There is a compelely empty sector between my frontier planets and that cluster so I had to get the range extending technology first.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
A constructor would be quicker to build than eight scouts, and would definitely extend your range, if the logistics didn't cause a problem.
I do use the ring of eight ships technique, but only to protect valued minors from conquest by others.

~SDC~
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
this tactic was one of the reasons scouts were given a maintenance charge. Originally scouts were free to maintain (as were frieghters - infinite range) which made them perfect for this strategy.

Paul.

~SDC~
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Icevic - either colonise a nearby low PQ planet with 1 million people and destory it once you have the first colony setup or build a constructor matey :)
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
I was thinking about this and thought I should mention another cheap trick...

3 scouts manouvered in front of a speed 2 colony ship will reduce it's progress to 1 square/turn.

5 scouts will stop a speed 2. Place them in a line in front of the wave of colony ships.

5 scouts will reduce a speed 3 colony ship to 1 square of progress. And so on. Often you can buy time with these tactics, IF you are silly enough to have that many scouts/drones in the neighborhood.

-Smack