RE: [OT] Unpredictable AI

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Griffin [SMTP:carbon_dragon@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 2:22 PM
> To:	gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
> Subject:	RE: [OT] Unpredictable AI
> 
> 
> --- "Bell, Brian K (Contractor)"
> <Brian.Bell@dscc.dla.mil> wrote:
> ...
> > Your points are well taken, however they are still
> > at a disadvantage in many
> > fighter on fighter engagements. Both Interceptors
> > and Heavy Fighters would
> > be devistating.
> > 
> 
> Given equal numbers of them. Given 2:1 odds though
> (2 Sv squadrons to 1 human), it's the humans who are
> in trouble. 
> 
[Bri] That's true regardless of what species the fighters
are.

> Now how many fighters the Sv can field
> depends on their biomass and probably other things,
> but they seem to be able to generate a LOT of fighters
> if they're willing to lose a lot of biomass. Now this
> might leave them vulnerable, but you might not be
> in a position to capitalize on it if you're being
> mobbed by a bunch of fighters all the way across
> the board.
> 
[Bri] It depends when you can launch fighters. We usually
start the game with fighters on the ships. SV cannot 
grow fighters in the turn that they launch fighters. Stock
SV ships have less Fighter Wombs than the equivilent
ships of other species have Fighter Bays (4:6 for CVH,
and 2:4 for CVL). So the other species get between
1.5 and 2x the number of fighters on the board in the
first turn. It then takes 2 more turns for the SV to 
catch up (1 to grow them and 1 to launch them).
If you use custom ships, you can build soapbubble carriers,
so non-SV get an advantage due to special fighters. 
If you launch before entering the board, then non-SV are at
a disadvantage (as the SV get soapbubble carriers in effect).

> I think their fighters do standard damage, so it's 
> just standard beam damage, averaging out to 0.79
> destroyed fighters per fighter in each squadron.
> Interceptors are better, but often the interceptor
> squadrons get mauled before they can fire in our
> games (some of them anyway) because not all of the
> interceptors go first (play alternates between 
> squadrons on each side -- I *think* that's a standard
> rule not a house rule).
> 
[Bri] Interceptors do much better (average over 1.15, I think). And
Heavy
Fighters are killed by Standard Fighters at a much lower rate (average
less
than 0.62?).
If you can keep the fighter groups seperate, 1 on 1 dogfights, the
damage is
simultaneous. If you get to 3 or more groups in a dogfight the advantage
goes to the player with inititive (as he/she gets to fire first). 

My comments above marked by [Bri]
---
Brian Bell