Playing as the Borg

[geordie]

I continue my game, started to show the TWH bug.
In my opinion the FS is too low in the mid game:

Screenshot 2023-12-19 174549.jpg (520.74 KiB) Viewed 4785 times

It's turn 370 and I am barely able to defend the Borg systems against attacks of 4-5, 15-18 or up to 35 Romulan or Klingon ships. And I am not able to expand without a risk of losing systems, so immediately losing FS points. After so many turns I have 14 cubes, 4 diamonds and some probes, + 2 cubes under construction. I would need at least +25% more ships to try to expand. The only chance is a war between Romulans and the Dominion.

I have enough deuterium for now, but had shortages in the beginning, even the level dropped to about 10 deuterium after 3 or 4 jumps. So my approach was not to use TWHs (only as a rescue jumps) and to move fleets as rarely and as late as possible. I strongly believe that the Borg should use TWHs and it should be the core element of the game.

I would propose to lower FS points of the Probe to 10 or 15. In fact it is only a scout.

[Iceman]

From what I can tell, FS is too low because you have only a few systems?
Only 16 systems by turn 370, that seems to be due to a lack of assimilation targets, maybe because of the size of the galaxy?
Would this happen in standard sized galaxies?

Re TWHs, I'm guessing you have a lot of those, maybe also because of galaxy size?

I'll see about the Probe's maintenance.

[the6the]

Well, pop and garrison are represented in different scales (300 garrison is not the same amount of people as 300 pop); the Borg are the exception in that they're represented by the same number, but that's for it to make some kind of sense (in that they're all "soldiers").

I'll see if I can come up with something; might be simply increasing garrison damage for Maximum Damage, for example.

No, I get that. It's just weird seeing a pop of 56 and a garrison of over 400 in a system that has a max pop of 300 or so for instance.. I get that different races have a different calc there but, and the different bombing has a different impact, It's.. just weird seeing it.. to me that is

You don't need to change anything there, I guess I was just so surprised that I thought it was a bug

[the6the]

Is that the ubermassive galaxy you were playing? The Borg would be horrible to play in that setting! Not enough assimilation targets, as Iceman says.
I agree on the TWHs. It is so good, it must be utilized to the max, and be the core of the Borg gameplay.

[Iceman]

To notice that a 128x128 galaxy is ~4x as large as a regular Large galaxy, and a 256x256 galaxy is 4x larger than a 128x128.
In such massive galaxies things tend to break down; personnel, research, etc.

[geordie]

Everything is OK. I started playing more risky, almost lost 2 systems, but I have 22 systems now.

[geordie]

Is that OK that TWHs do not work in two separate areas? I mean I cannot send my ships if there is no long connection through 'normal' space.

[Iceman]

Is that OK that TWHs do not work in two separate areas? I mean I cannot send my ships if there is no long connection through 'normal' space.

What do you mean there is no long connection

[geordie]

One TWH and a cube are on my territory and the second one on a separate island for the cube - a probe can access it, but a cube can't. In effect I cannot send that cube between those two TWHs. I had another TWH between them, but I have removed it to increase FS back, not expecting such problem.

Screenshot (7).jpg (571.66 KiB) Viewed 3735 times

[Iceman]

Ah, I see.
Since there is no valid route between them, the fleet cannot move.
This needs to be handled properly, namely making TWHs work exactly like wormholes.
Can you post that save please? Should be very useful to test fixes.

[geordie]

This time YOUR wish is my command!

SP Borg Huge Irregular 425.zip

(1.07 MiB) Downloaded 58 times

[geordie]

Could you take a look for a recently assimilated system called Minos Korva (89,40), please?
There is a starvation, but only as an effect of a borgoforming - the number of the Regeneration Alcoves is too low for the final population, after some turns of the borgoforming and I am not able to construct another one fast enough.

[Iceman]

This time YOUR wish is my command!
SP Borg Huge Irregular 425.zip

ROTFLMAO.
Thanks!
I'll look into that system.

[Iceman]

Could you take a look for a recently assimilated system called Minos Korva (89,40), please?
There is a starvation, but only as an effect of a borgoforming - the number of the Regeneration Alcoves is too low for the final population, after some turns of the borgoforming and I am not able to construct another one fast enough.

I got no starvation sitrep neither on load nor on new turn.
Alcoves are enough for the current pop, and since you're building another alcove (which will cover max pop) before a maturation chambers (the first in the system), all is good.

[Iceman]

Since there is no valid route between them, the fleet cannot move.
This needs to be handled properly, namely making TWHs work exactly like wormholes.

We'll probably need to handle it the same way as moving through wormholes, with a fleet order; in this case, when the order is given, a dialog is presented to the player with all the other TWHs in the galaxy (by sector name), so that they can choose to which one the fleet will move.