MOO1: Early Militarist?

[Diehard]

Just got into Moo1 after wandering across Sirian's site (great stuff, btw). I really enjoy going to war early to make some quick grabs, and I'm curious to know which race is the most effective at building an early military advantage over the AI (presently playing on Hard).

I'm the Silicoids right now, who seem to have some talent for early warfare, though the population issues are a bit of a hurdle. I've also played Bulrathi, but without some kind of production advantage its hard to get a decent fleet early on. Based on the AI enemies I've fought, the Meklars seem like they have the ability to quickly produce some serious fleet power (though that may just be a function of the difficulty level).

Thoughts?

[Zed-F]

Early war, huh?

Well, Klackon are good at everything early. They have the quickest start out of the blocks of any race.

For straight up ship to ship combat, Alkari are quite strong early, Mrrshan slightly less so. I give the edge to the Alkari because they have good propulsion technology, and getting to decent engines and a decent strategic speed is critical to getting out of the molasses stage when you're stuck at warp 1-2. See the OSG7 threads for an example of early war as the Mrrshan.

Sakkra and Bulrathi are good at early war as well, but you have to take a completely different tack to war as them. In their case you don't worry so much about defending your holdings with ships and guns. Rather you simply storm new, underdefended enemy colonies with pop points to make sure the fight's in enemy territory. See OSG1b for an example of what I'm talking about.

Silicoids are good at expanding like weeds, less good at defending their colonies while they build them up. Expect to lose a few while you marshal your defenses, unless they are all on rocks the AI's can't land on yet (they generally don't bother attacking uncolonizable worlds much.) I probably wouldn't pick them for early war unless you feel very comfortable about your ability to defend your worlds.

[vmxa]

Yup Klacs are very strong. The biggest issue for them is they are poor on propulsion and may not get an early engine.

[neutrino]

early war ... eh? personally, i tend to avoid one unless i am forced into it.

in terms of war objective, they are usually limited. a contest over a couple of worlds or repelling invasion fleet, for example. low tech and immature economy constrains military power, hence rarely results in an early war of annihilation (unless the opponent is decisively weak from the start).

having said that ......

Alkaris are probably the best bet, if you are looking for early war. i think having superior propulsion tech is particularly handy in the early game as you can recon farther and a fleet of more maneuverable warships is advantageous in combat. if played well, Alkaris can expand almost as cancerous as the Sillicoids.

Klackons can be nasty w/ their increased worker production bonus, if they end up translating it into a massive fighter fleet early on.

overall, probably the best reason for an early war is if you decide your neighbor is isolated and weak, hence an easy picking. however, this cheap shot becomes less effective as diplomatic relations spread across the galaxy and enough tech and economy are achieved to field planetary shields and bases.