Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[stabbymcstabstab]

Happerry's Plan: (4) Happerry, Cnidaros, strongpoint Stabby
Khan Boyzitbig's Plan: (1) Khan Boyzitbig
Operation Zebra: (1) Roseheart

Happerry's Plan: 1 Interceptor each to Bogey 001 and 002, 1 Skyranger with NOTSOFT troops to Bogey 003
Khan's Plan: 1 Interceptor to Bogey 001, 1 Skyranger to Bogey 003
Operation Zebra: 1 Interceptor to Bogey 001, 3 Skyranger with rookies to Bogey 003

This seems a rather interesting arms race.

[Madman198237]

Welcome to Arms Races, in which you do or die.

I think you need to review the turn order: We DO NOT HIDE our stuff in Arms Races, we develop new the next turn. We use it, or we lose. There's no penalties to losing rookies OR more advanced soldiers, we can always "buy" the exact same number of troops/vehicles/equipment every turn, until and unless our equipment costs decrease. We use our advantages (Such as they are) now, or we don't use them now, because they're our "best" thing and we don't want to "spoil the surprise"...but then, when DO we use them? When is it appropriate, in your idea of how this works, roseheart, for us to deploy our best things?

Happerry's Plan: (5) Happerry, Cnidaros, strongpoint Stabby, Madman
Khan Boyzitbig's Plan: (1) Khan Boyzitbig
Operation Zebra: (1) Roseheart

Happerry's Plan: 1 Interceptor each to Bogey 001 and 002, 1 Skyranger with NOTSOFT troops to Bogey 003
Khan's Plan: 1 Interceptor to Bogey 001, 1 Skyranger to Bogey 003
Operation Zebra: 1 Interceptor to Bogey 001, 3 Skyranger with rookies to Bogey 003

[RoseHeart]

The NOTSOFT program is faulty it's not ready yet.

We can polish it some more and when we do reveal it it will have a bigger impact. Or let me correct myself, a better impact.

If we use our NOTSOFT right now, literally the worst thing we can do is win the battle.

This is the first turn they do not know what to do. They do not know what they need to counter.

If we show them strong units and actually win with stronger than normal units. Then they will know that that is what they need to counter. They are going to be building units to take down strong units.

We show them just basic troops, we show them that we can take down their UFOs. We show them that they need to be focusing on their UFOs. And then... And then... We show them that we lied.

We will know when it's the right time.


However I can see I'm playing the world's tiniest violin and I have already lost this discussion. Remember that I made a strong line in the sand here. Cause I know it's going to have the effects that I've forecast.

[Madman198237]

...


You ASSUME (Wrongly) that the enemy will be unable to defeat basic troopers armed with basic gear. They'd be FOOLS to have not upgraded SOMETHING. NOTSOFT gives us an advantage we NEED. Aerial recon is good, but it doesn't actually kill the enemy.

I think you're INCREDIBLY wrong about trying to fake them into improving their UFOs, because they might have done that anyway. Let's do everything possible to WIN, and after that we can worry about how best to counter them.

Arms Races don't leave room for subtlety, we can't successfully pull off such a ridiculous fake, because *it's not logical*. We MIGHT get them to improve their UFOs, but then guess what we have to do? We have to improve our interceptors to keep up.

Basically, there's no point to saving anything unless it was a theoretical design (i.e., we research railguns without a practical aspect, because we know they're probably Very Hard or even Impossible, and so we "hide" the design until the next turn) or it was an outright failure. NOTSOFT is suboptimal but it does produce better troops than normal.

[RoseHeart]

I don't mean this as an insult. I mean this as a tactical observation. You have a loser mentality.

[Madman198237]

You are, in fact, incorrect.

I have a highly practical mentality, in which we lose if the enemy deploys something upgraded and we don't.

You are trying to be sneaky. Sneaky does not work in ARs. Not in the first turn, anyway.

[RoseHeart]

Your convictions only strengthen mine.

If you are to tell me that "this is how arms race is played", I'm not here to correct you. And in fact I never was in disagreement with you. And in fact I'm counting on them to think the same way. "counter" "no point in saving"

You have to think differently to have a better success rate than 50%. Which is all that you are going to get from me. And it will be painful, hard-fought, and costly just for that chance.


You need to have fakes, decoys, and distractions to get ahead. If all you are doing is strengthening your forces and sending them out to clash over and over, you're leaving it to the fate of the dice, and not using your brain. We may as well be playing the lottery.

[10ebbor10]

Be nice to each other.

[RoseHeart]

I don't mean to insult anyone, and again I apologize if it came across that way.

I believe I am correct, however I know that the real learning that I need from this game is how to work with a team. And I am grateful to have one.


GM

Is there a limit to how many weapons a soldier can hold? How many soldiers in a SkyRanger?

What are the penalties to loss of rookies? Don't we just replace them for free?

[10ebbor10]

Is there a limit to how many weapons a soldier can hold

A sensible amount.

How many soldiers in a SkyRanger

1 Squad

What are the penalties to loss of rookies? Don't we just replace them for free?

Replacement is free. Getting all your forces murdered may cost a victory.

[RoseHeart]

Thanks for clarifying.


I just have to say this. Do we really believe that one squad of NOTSOFT is going to do better than 3 squads of rookies?

It is one UFO, it has one complement of crew. It's not getting extra reinforcements or anything.

The ideal time to use them, is when we MUST send only one squad.

Operation Zebra would also allow 3 squads to gain experience at once.

[Madman198237]

Yes, because sending three squads to do one squad's job means we fail to intercept a UFO entirely (We'd need 3 Skyrangers and thus have only VPs and UPs left for a single interceptor). That's not a good plan at all, because it means that instead of (hopefully) ensuring two UFO kills and risking one ground action, we're reliant on the success of infantry everywhere.


I'm...glad?...my conviction strengthens your own? I mean, it's not going to change the fact that you don't win Arms Races unless you actually deploy your cool toys. That's kind of the point of being an Arms Race engineer, actually---build cool things and deploy them.

[RoseHeart]

"When you surround the enemy
Always allow them an escape route.
They must see that there is
An alternative to death." -Sun Tzu

[Madman198237]

Leaving no route of escape worked pretty well for the Russians.

[RoseHeart]

I value your perspective. This is my first Arms Race, and I am sure you have insights on the game I do not.

However the teaching of Sun Tzu and The Art of War have had great benefits when applied to a diversity of fields, business for example.

I trust those that contemplate them in a war game, will find benefit.

Bogey 002
Size : Small
Altitude : Space
Location : South Africa
Current Trajectory : Orbital reentry

Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.