Anyone play as uncreative?

[Minor Annoyance]

Last year I played as uncreative because I was tired of always having mostly the same ship designs every game. I was uncreative, unification, warlord, production +2, spying -10, ground combat -10, and large rich homeworld. It didn't seem to go too well because I failed to realize that spying and ground combat would be important for an uncreative race since I'd need more ways to get technology. I didn't have any new weapons between fusion guns and plasma, and had very bad shields and armour. That was all solved by capturing Antarian ships and getting particle beams, damper field and their armour and I won the game. I did however save and reload a dozen or so times to capture Antarian ships, which occurs to be if I was trying to make the game harder I shouldn't have done that.

Next time I think I'm going with large rich Hi-G homeworld (I play on small galaxy so the homeworld is more important) uncreative, unification, +10 spying, -50% growth, and not redo Antarian battles to ensure a capture.

I've also been playing with a mod that changes some weapons, equipment and buildings to be more balanced.

 

[Honkoid]

I've done that for the same reason, to get a bit more variety. And you're right, spying is extremely important for uncreative races. If you catch a technology that's in your research tree, that's good as well, because then another technology in that field is now researchable for you!

 

[MooFun]

Tried [DemoLith with Unc, repu and +1 res] and [huge, imp, prewarp, 8, aver, all on]. It's pretty luck based.. In 1st game I couldn't get research lab, automated factory, super computers, robo miners, and loads of others.. It went total fiasco . 2nd try I had labs, comps, autos, but no miners, game is progressing slowly...

 

[vmxa]

Uncreative = crap shoot. It can go ok or it can be a nightmare.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

You should take race picks that enhance non-research ways of obtaining technology, like spying and ground combat. Those would usually be poor choices for pics, but that's because everyone expects to be playing as creative.

 

[Aabraxan]

I've played as uncreative. Like vmxa said, it's a crap shoot. It can work out OK, but when it stinks, it really, really stinks.

 

[vmxa]

I think the +res is not so useful and +spy could be a good option to try.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Research bonuses are usually not as useful as production, the reason being that workers and scientists are interchangeable.
When you research a new building or need to build a new ship you have to take people off research and into production. The faster you build things the faster you can put them back into research. A bonus to science gets you new things to build faster, but then while they slowly build your new stuff your science bonus goes to waste and you can easily get a backlog of new stuff to build . Less time working means more time researching so it evens out to getting new tech in the same time, plus building were operational sooner so what ever positive effect (more science or production) they had is in use earlier. Now you may be thinking that more research will get me new buildings to enhance production faster and it will, but then you still have to build that factory, slowly.
Spying and ground combat pics are more valuable because with creative you will get many spying and ground combat bonuses anyway so taking a disadvantage in them won't be noticed. Without creative you likely won't have many spying or ground combat techs so you'll likely be at a disadvantage in those areas for the whole game, which indirectly hampers gaining tech because you don't have alternatives to research.

 

[vmxa]

It is not so much that you won't be getting combat or spy bonus things as it is you will probably not be getting important things like research boost or production boost such as robo miners.

Terrraforming techs may be missing as well and hurt your empire. The under 3500rp techs hurt the most as they are the ones that get you rolling. Missing Labs or auto factories will prevent that take that is not made up late in the game with some other tech.

 

[Minor Annoyance]

Yes, I know spy tech isn't important technology compared to other things, I'm saying negative spy picks weren't relevant because you got those spy technologies, and you didn't need spying at all if you got every technology anyway, but if you don't get key techs and you don't get spy techs then

 

[neilkaz]

I finished a Large Impossible 8 player game last night trying uncreative and it really should be more than -4 !!

I played my UniTele race (UniTeleAqua, large rich HW) but with repulsive and uncreative rather than repulsive -ground - ship def. What a big difference not having labs, factories or robominers ! I managed to steal factories with my spies, but not early enough to give me an initial push.

It didn't seem to be a good map for a tele-blitz and I couldn't get a mirved nuke BB built fast enough to take out the star base with just one. (Perhaps should've tried 2 CC's) No merc missiles was a big minus to my playing style as normally a few mirv merc missile boats (research to zort armor) and I can easily take over much of the entire galaxy.

No pulson missles either (although to merv them, you need a 4500 RP tech) and unable to steal either missile when it mattered.

I did have decent computer techs (no autolab either) and decent physics so I got disrupters and maulers and was OK, but my early game was much slower than normal.

I was unsure whether to beeline for supercomps (900 RP) but decided to go for a mirved nuke boat instead, but there was no one nearby to teleblitz and it wasn't until I had three of them that I could roll thru Sakkra colonies.

Lots of spying techs helped and my spies were +45 agents +60 and even the run away Darloks never got a theft. I'd have lost the game for sure with a decent human controlling the Darloks, but in the end I managed a 339 turn win, clearly more than 100 turns behind what I could have done if not uncreative.

 

[neilkaz]

Attempt two with that uncreative UniTeleAqua race resulted in a loss. No labs, no factories, no supercomp, no battle pods no merc missiles. I felt I had to get aggressive but wasn't lucky getting stuff I needed from conquests. Around turn 125 the bugs decided to jump me from the west. My nuke BB and starbase barely killed their BB (better tech shields etc) but their followup BB was lots tougher..= the end as my only good planets are gone and I have not finished off the Psilons who are building a counter attack.

Uncreative could probably be -8 or -10. .. neilkaz ..

 

[Minor Annoyance]

I play with a mod, and I think it had uncreative as -7.

 

[neilkaz]

I play with a mod, and I think it had uncreative as -7.

Uncreative is certainly lots worse than repulsive which is -6 in vanilla.

My 3rd game with the Uncreative UniAquaTele is going much better than the 2nd. This time I started in the upper right corner, and with and even worse selection of early stuff. No labs, supercomp, factory or miners and a no early selection of even mediocre drives or fuel cells !! However, I got quite lucky with spying and fortunately had my beloved Mirc missiles available (my early beam techs aren't so good). I defended myself and counterattacked a couple AI's and was fortunate with the techs gained from conquest.

This is almost like a normal nonuncreative game, but maybe 80 to 100 turns behind. I expect to win this one.

 

[neilkaz]

Playing as Uncreative is making this game fun again for me.

I am now using UniTol uncreative..ie standard UniTol but with uncreative rather than -def - ground.

I've yet to lose although one game I likely would've with a human controlling the massive Sakkra fleet that I simply managed to avoid a major conflict with. It killed many of my planets but my empire was spread out so I could rebuild while I pounded Sak planets finally reducing his CP and much of his fleet was gone.

By turn 300 the AI's can have some pretty nasty fleets (I never see that if I don't play as uncreative since I've usually won earlier) and also the AI may take Orion by then.

As UniTol I hope to have research labs, since if not, my early research can be quite slow. Spying and stealing techs via conquest is essential.

In general I still think that a typical uncreative game for me is at least 100 turns slower.

One thing I've realized with my land and conquer almost everything style is how nice Powered Armor is.

Anyhow..I need a new game and will DL the GalCiv2 demo and see what I think.

.. neilkaz ..

 

[Barbu]

It adds a challenge, but it's certainly not a gamebreaker, even in the worst case scenarios.

I find the klackons to be by far the easiest of the default races, and they are uncreative.

 

[El_Machinae]

I think it's a great pick, it probably adds the most variety to the game of all the options. It forces new tactics in each game, instead of letting you optimize the way you play each game.

 

[neilkaz]

Yeah, Klackon is a production oriented race, so it probably is easiest for a human production oriented style.

Barbu's post has lead me to try playing each standard race in my usual Impossible 8 civ Cluster map game.

Last night's Psilon game seemed to be a somewhat easier win than my Klackon game was, but I started in the corner as Psilon and wasn't attacked quickly and waited until the Coids were involved fighting other races to take a few of their planets afterwhich I had unstoppable expansion and tech.

My Klackon game had one of the worst selections of non-creative tech I'd ever seen and I had a tough back and forth rather early war with the Sakkra which I eventually won but I was at more risk of losing than in my Psilon game.

Next up for me is Human or Sakkra depending on my mood.

I expect to lose a few of these games as some of these races really suck, IMHO, and I may get dealt a bad spot as well.

.. neilkaz ..

 

[Barbu]

I'm trying the same, I won with all but 3 races. I am having a hard time with the Alkari though. and I expect to run into similar difficulties with the Bulrathi and Mrrshans. No wins at impossible difficulty yet in 2 attempts with the Alkaris.

 

[neilkaz]

Easy enough win as Sakkra and Human was a win once I survived a war and then some run amok Mrrshan ships wasting too many of my planets as they had stealth as a bonus attribute.

Then I tried Mrrshan myself and was attacked too soon and couldn't survive.

Now trying Meklar and probably will be OK.

Perhaps we should create a new thread?

Anyhow...I'll be away til after Labor Day so my Meklars will have to wait.

.. neilkaz ..