Solar Vengeance
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Solar Vengeance is a real-time strategy game developed by Silicon Commander Games. Players take the role of a Star Lord as they command fleets of ships against other Star Lords.
The goal of the game is conquerring your opponent's Capital Star System, and there are usually many neutral Star Systems that you can conquer to claim more resources to build your fleet even stronger.
Players can play online against other players on SCG's PrismServer.
Solar Vengeance also boasts Scenario scripting and AI (called Brains in Solar Vengeance) scripting, and a vast collection of fan-created scenario and AIs are available on the Solar Vengeance webpage.
The current version of this game is Solar Vengeance v4.0 which the demo version is still available here.
[edit] Screen Shots
Image: PrismServer
Image: 2-Player Game
Image: 3-Player Game
Image: Game Progression
[edit] Solar Venageance FAQ from silicmdr.com
Frequently Asked Questions
(See the Build Log at the end of the FAQ for feature lists by Build number)
The Computer Brains are too tough and I always get swamped early on in the game
You can set up your game to use the Beginner Brain until you are more comfortable with the game. Also, use the Double Cluster Scenario instead of Classic, or better yet, one of the other Scenarios with much larger maps. This will give you more time before you encounter enemy StarLords.
When I test my Brain the program crashes'
First of all, get the newest Build! I've taken alot of precautions to make sure script errors don't result in crashes anymore. Also, the latest Build has features that make the development process MUCH easier, plus you'll get a detailed error message when something goes wrong with your creation at runtime. Finally, be careful to initialize variables in Brain scripts. Not doing so can lead to hard to trace bugs.
How can I see cloaked StarShips?
You can't see them ... that's why cloaking is so deadly :) There are a few things you can do to contend with cloaked StarShips. Use a CloakDetector. CloakDetectors pulse when cloaked StarShips are within their range, and they point to the direction of the closest cloaked StarShip. Use InkSpotShips. InkSpotShips "tag" any enemy ship they get next to. The tagged ship remains visible throughout the rest of its life, even if it was cloaked.
When I tried to join a Multi-Player game it warned my that it was not an Authorized Scenario. What does this mean?
Only the Scenarios that are listed on the Solar Vengeance web site are authorized. Authorized Scenarios are downloaded from the web site at the start of the game, so you know that you're always playing in a fair Multi-Player game. Some players were modifying their own copies of the Scenarios to give them an edge. This feature nullifies that behavior. I'm sorry I had to stoop to such extremes, but I want all players who play on the server to be assured that they're playing a fair game. If you have a Scenario that you want to authorize, just send me a copy over Email.
When I joined a Multi-Player game I got a warning, "Resource Imbalance." What is this?
As of Build 18, Solar Vengeance will warn you whenever a Multi-Player game starts with any kind of imbalances ... Resources, StarSystem Values, or Scanners. Some players were rigging Scenarios to give themselves an advantage so you're now warned whenever any kind of imbalance occurs.
How can I exit a multi-player game without surrendering?!?
If you've been swamped in a multi-player game and want out, of course the ethical thing to do is surrender :) However, there are legitimate times when you need to leave a multi-player game without surrendering, such as when all participants want to quit and resume at a later time. To do this, press the Exit button, but answer No when asked if you want to surrender. You'll then be asked if you want to Exit the game ... reply Yes.
Note: This means that you CAN drop out of a multi-player game without surrendering ... but the game WILL continue for your opponents, and if they complete the game and conquer your Capital, the rankings will be adjusted.
What should I do when I get the yellow message that one of the players has dropped in a multi-player game?
When someone drops from the game you should save the game as quickly as possible and meet back in the Lobby area. Then, re-open the game.
How are rankings calculated?
You build up your initial rating during your first 5 online games. You get 100 points for each game you win, and 50 points for each game you lose. So, you will have a rating of between 250 and 500 at the end of your fifth online game. Until you complete 5 online games, you will be listed as "Not Yet Rated". After this point, your ranking fluctuates as you win and lose games against other rated players.
The quickest way to improve your rank is to defeat other Players with rankings higher than yours. If you keep playing players with lower rankings, your ranking will increase, but much more slowly.
The new version of Solar Vengeance seems sluggish and the screen updates slowly. Is there anything I can do?
Solar Vengeance 4 is optimized for 256 color graphics modes. Usually if you drop your screen color resolution down to 256 you'll see a remarkable improvement. On newer, faster CPUs the animation engine performs equally well in higher color modes.
I sometimes get a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) when playing Solar Vengeance 4. What gives??
If you encounter one of these errors, send me an EMail describing the circumstances of the error. I'm trying to root out and eliminate any lurking bugs in SV.
Build Log
Build 34 (5/5/2000)
I'd introduced another "invisible ship" bug that rendered all StarShip sprites invisible when you conquered an enemy. This is corrected. I'd introduced a resource leak condition in Build 31 that I patched up in this build. Fixed one of the tips messages to correctly describe the mute buttons on the caption bar.
Build 33 (5/3/2000)
The anti-BSOD build. Tried to eliminate all BSODs when scripts encounter errors. Fixed the "invisible ship" bug discovered by Armagnac. Fixed another related bug; your solo Glyph wasn't being loaded when you opened a saved game. Added the print( string ) debugging statement to Brain scripting.
Build 32 (5/2/2000)
Found and fixed another bug that could kill the graphics engine. Added the Auto-Brain Duel mode, where you can run one Brain Duel after another without intervention.
Build 31 (5/1/2000)
Fixed some help hint popups in the Editor interface. Tracked down and fixed an obscure bug that killed the graphics engine from time to time. Added the "Fast Brain Duel" feature. Added Scenario, Resources, Value, and IP to the info recorded in Brain Duels.
Build 30 (4/15/2000)
You can now assign a glyph to Brains. Just save a 32x32 bitmap file with the same name as the Brain (but a BMP extension of course) Brain names now appear as StarLords, instead of the randomly assigned names. You can specify your StarLord name and glyph in the Select StarShips area instead of being prompted every game. A bug which allowed Brains to build StarShips with more Engines than were legal has been fixed.
Build 29 (4/5/2000)
Fixed a lurking bug that prevented you from building StarShips in certain spaces. This was most noticeable in VVS and Extreme Duel (trying to build as the red player in the top-left position.) Brain 1 now executes on Impulse 1, instead of waiting till 10. Brains could order NukeMissiles and DoomMissiles even if they had an order. This is corrected now.
Build 28 (4/4/2000)
I had to increase the priority of the logic processing thread because the graphics thread was pre-empting it too much and causing the Impulses to move too slowly. The priority is now tpNormal, and everything works smoothly. The music/sound toggles are now little caption bar buttons, on my snazzy new caption bar. I had left an image of the Eskimo Nebula in the Build 27 that caused the size of the EXE to bloat (I was wondering why it was so much larger!) The distribution packages are now back to their nice trim sizes. I added the "New" button in the game editor, so you can create a new Scenario or Brain right off.
Build 27 (4/2/2000)
Fixed an internal flaw that allowed Brains to unfairly determine where the enemy Capital was. Graphics are now 16-bit as opposed to 8-bit. The new StarSystem sprites are included. Fixed a small bug that had JumpGates appearing as normal WormHoles after opening a saved game.
Build 26 (2/5/2000)
The unregistered version now allows you to play online games, but you are stuck with the first 6 StarShip types. The game editors are now prohibited from the unregistered version. I cleaned up the StarShip selection list interface ... try it and you'll see what I mean.
Build 25 (1/28/2000)
I added a buzzer to the Lobby that rings whenever someone else is online. When a player drops from a game, a MessageBox appears. No more excuses!
Build 24 (1/9/2000)
Just when I thought I'd got the last bug. This Build fixes the bug that prevented you from sending a line of chat in the game lobby after you've completed a game with the Communications window docked *whew*.
Build 23 (1/9/2000)
Corrects a bug that was introduced in Build 22. If you docked the Communications window, the letters you typed in there were being interpreted as hot-keys for StarShips control.
Build 22 (1/8/2000)
A syntax color editor for Brains and Scenario scripts. This makes it much easier to write these scripts. Some bug fixed that caused problems when starting games after completing previous games. Improved StarShip and StarSystem lists, and they are dockable. Running Brain scripts with errors will produce an instructive error message, telling you what type of error occurred and the exact position in the script. The ability to jump to an exact position in a script by typing the position in. Brain vs. Brain duels can be registered with Silicon Commander Games. To do this, just complete a game with 2 Brains only. Make sure they are different Brains. After the game is completed you'll be asked if you want to register the outcome of the duel with the Silicon Commander Games server. I'll be publishing a web site devoted to the results of these duels. In this way, everyone can help updating the Brain duel database just by running Brain vs. Brain games now and then.
[edit] Strategy Guide
Here I'll be releasing periodic strategy tips and techniques for Solar Vengeance 4.0. I'm also looking for third party contributions. If you'd like to share a tip, technique, or strategy, please Email it to Silicon Commander Games.
INDEX
- Two Triad Rushes (Lord Venom 4/11/2000)
- The Ranged Attack Theory (Lord Venom 4/1/2000)
- Supreme Startillery Fighter (Pokemon 2/22/2000)
- 50/50 Blitzkrieg (Drake 2/7/2000)
- Anti-Defender Strategy (Lord-Venom 1/22/00)
- Drones: The All-Purpose Dead Meat (Hauptmann 10/17/99)
- ScanShip Scouts (Hauptmann 10/15/99)
- The WarShip: A Primer (Glitch 10/13/99)
- The Phantom (COLOMBIA 9/21/99)
- Game Opening (Glitch 9/19/99)
Game Opening (Glitch - 9/19/99)
Whenever I start a game, I typically use a standard opening that can be divided into two phases. The first phase consists of creating WarShips with just enough Weapons to conquer the un-owned StarSystems in my immediate vicinity. If I see that a particular StarSystem has more than 6 or so Shields, then I'll build multiple StarShips to conquer that StarSystem, as this is more cost effective. For example, if there is a valuable StarSystem in my Scanner Radius with 11 Shields, I'll build 2 WarShips with 6 Weapons each. I typically give these WarShips about 5 or 6 Engines, since they don't have to travel very far anyway.
If there are no StarSystems within my immediate vicinity (see screen shot below) then I build 3 or 4 scout WarShips with 4 Weapons and 8 to 10 Engines, depending on how far away the closest StarSystems are. The bottom line is ... try and capture some StarSystems early to get your production rolling!
After building the first batch of WarShips and giving them their Target orders, I move to phase 2 of my opening. I usually build one fairly fast SpyShip with at least 5 Scanners and one StarTillery with about the same Engines and Range. I give the faster of the two StarShips an Escort order to Escort the slower one. This way, I can give Move orders to the slower StarShip and the formation of the fleet will not be compromised. I then move this small fleet out in search of my enemies' Capitals. If the scenario has the Capitals starting with a large number of Resources, I will even cloak both of these StarShips.
Once the opening moves are completed, I can focus on expanding my empire by building more WarShips and conquering un-owned StarSystems or lightly defended enemy StarSystems. Once I make contact with enemy forces, I shift gears ... but that can be left for another article :)
(In this example, take a look at the Strategic Map. There are no StarSystems in my immediate Scanner Range, so I build 3 scout WarShips to explore the closest StarSystems. Chances are I'll be able to conquer one or two right off the bat with this initial scout force. After sending the scouts on their way, I build my SpyShip and StarTillery. I built the SpyShip first, with 15 Engines and a Scanner Range of 5. I only had Resources left over for a StarTillery with 13 Engines and Range of 4. So, since the StarTillery is the slower ship, I gave the SpyShip the Escort order, and I give the StarTillery the Move order.)
The Phantom (COLOMBIA - 9/21/99)
Hi Dion look this is my strategy for a fast victory in a good world.
Ships: Warship, Freighter, E-mine, StarTillery, ScanShip, MineSweeper
Scenario characteristics: Resources : 500 Capital Value: 20
Strategy:
Phase one: Build a ScanShip with 6 engines an 20-24 scanners for discovery of the enemy players. Then Build 2-4 StarTillery with 10 engines and 6 range, forming a protective circle against enemy ships and some e-mines (Note from Glitch ... StarTillery cannot affect E-Mines!). After that, build a small SpyShip (6 engines 10 range), a powerful cloaked Warship (10 engines 15 weapons) and a cloaked StarTillery too(10 engines 6 weapons).
Phase two: This is the difficult part. I use the SpyShip to discover the kind of enemy ships (E-Mines) near the enemy capital. Then I use the cloaked StarTillery to escort the Warship and the SpyShip. Say to my warship the target and let's go.
Phase three: I am careful to keep my Warship hidden until arriving at the objective and then..... shoot my weapons (Even sacrificing my StarTillery ship). Work done. The rest is history.
This is my perfect strategy, however I have one more secret and it is ................?That the force go with you but the resistance is futile.
The WarShip ... A Primer (Glitch 10/13/99)
The WarShip is the primary offensive StarShip type in Solar Vengeance. With only Weapons and Engines, on the surface it seems that there's not much to consider when thinking about WarShips. Let's take a closer look ... we'll uncover some useful facts and rules of thumb to make our Empire building more efficient and effective.
Attacking StarSystems WarShips (and DoppleShips, which are just specially masked WarShips) alone can conquer enemy StarSystems. Because of this, they are the most valuable unit in Solar Vengeance. You use the Target order to command a WarShip to target an enemy StarSystem. The WarShip proceeds to its target, only attacking adjacent enemy units if this option is selected. When the WarShip reaches its Target, it attacks, destroying Shields equal to its Weapon rating. The WarShip itself is destroyed in the attack.
A StarSystem is conquered once it is reduced to BELOW 0 Shields. This means, for instance, you must attack a StarSystem that has 1 Shield with a WarShip with 2 Weapons in order to conquer it.
You should try not to waste Resources by throwing more Weapons at a StarSystem that are required to conquer it. Also, for StarSystems with many Shields, think about breaking up the attack using several WarShips instead of one massive one. As you can see in the graph below, a WarShip's cost rises dramatically as you tack on more and more Weapons.
For example, say there is an independent StarSystem with 11 Shields in your vicinity. You might think ... "OK, I'll send a WarShip with 12 Weapons to conquer it." Assuming an Engine rating of 8, a WarShip with 12 Weapons would cost you 56 Resources. However, an Engine 8 Weapon 6 WarShip costs 20 Resources. So, sending 2 E8W6 WarShips at that StarSystem would cost you only 40 Resources, a savings of 28%.
(Chart of WarShip Cost by Weapons for WarShip with Engines 8)
Attacking StarShips You use the Target order to command a WarShip to attack a specific enemy StarShip. If the WarShip's attack adjacent option is on, it will also attack any enemy WarShip that happens to move next to it. WarShips will not attack enemy StarShips that they know they cannot affect.
Each Impulse that a WarShip attacks, it does a random amount of damage, from 1 to its Weapons rating. This damage is applied to either the enemy's Engines, or their auxiliary System (if it has one). The respective values of these parameters determines the chances of which one is damaged. For instance, if the enemy has 10 Engines and 5 Scanners, chances are 10/15 (or 67%) that the Engines will take the damage. An enemy StarShip is destroyed when its Engines or auxiliary System are reduced to zero or below.
Attacking WarShips An important rule to remember is that a WarShip has no effect on an enemy WarShip with equal or greater Weapons. In fact, if you attack a WarShip that has equal or higher Weapons, your WarShip is destroyed! That is one of the reasons why it is so important to maintain adequate intelligence by using SpyShips. SpyShips reveal the characteristics of enemy StarShips. Thus, if you see that an enemy WarShip fleet is approaching, and they all have 5 Weapons, you can send out a fast WarShip with 6 Weapons to mop up the invaders.
ScanShip Scouts (Hauptmann 10/15/99)
[E=Engine, S=Scanners, W=Weapons, R=Range]
In Solar Vengeance, ScanShips, cheaper than SpyShips, are quite useful. Better to be cloaked, but quite expensive, they often make a difference in a game. Let me show you how it can be used for helping you build a winning strategy.
First, ScanShips can be placed on the limit of your StarSystems' Scanners to warn you that enemies are coming. If the opponent is in cloaked mode, combine it with a CloakDetector. The quicker you see an enemy approaching, better are your chances to elaborate a good defensive strategy. (The best way is to have a E6/S10 Cloaked)
It can also be a scout who let you discover valuable StarSystems. Early in the game, a quick ScanShip (E12/S5 Non-Cloaked) can tell you if StarSystem is worth enough to be attacked, and which Weapons to give to your WarShips. The basis strategy is to build a WarShip (or a group of WarShips) with Weapons of (Number of Shields)+1. In SV, we cannot throw Resources away without being disadvantaged.
It is a good explorer. Another quick one (E12/S5 Cloaked, this time) who is in opponent territory can easily see his capital and make you orient your ships in a useful way. (If you have lots of Resources, you're better to make a path of Scanners, to avoid meeting enemy ships before being in right place.
Strategy #1: Destroying from distance Ships needed: StarTillery, ScanShip, [Drones] (in [] when facultative) Strategy Type: Defense Resources needed: ±174
First, build a Cloaked E12/R6 StarTillery. After, build a Cloaked E10/S8 Scan Ship and put on the limit or your territory, or, if you are fairly aggressive, in the limit of his. Finally, build two Cloaked Drones E8 for protecting these ships against hazardous encounters.
Drones: The All-Purpose Dead Meat (Hauptmann 10/17/99)
The Drone really rocks in an SV game. Their low cost give them lots of purposes, which means that it's a must for your 6 StarShip types. If you pick up more than 8E, it costs more than E-Mines, but it can be a lethal weapon. Okay, they are destroyed after every attack...so what? Who cares anyway, they're so cheap! I have them, and I use them many ways.
Drones used as cheap mines For prevention, or when your system is attacked, Drones can be the key, especially when the enemy has a slow but highly equipped army. Effectively, a, for instance, an E8 Drone costs 9 Resources. (If you calculate it well, you save..1 Resource. It seems useless, but it can save your life in many occasions.) However, mines are more effective on a speedy, expensive army.
Drones used as scouts The great thing with Drones is that they're not forced to be cloaked to be effective versus a pro-cloaking player (such as me). So you can send some E15 (25 Resources) to check if neutral StarSystems are valuable enough to be conquered by going next to it. Furthermore, it gives you an hint about where enemies are, when they got killed. :)
Drones against a pro-mine or pro-drone player That type of player really pisses me off (hey, I have the right to be vulgar, it's not my language). Well, you're about to conquer him and he destroys your WarShips! With Drones, used as kamikazes, you clear the way for your WarShips, so you won't be enraged. But try to make it huge...
Frenchy's Strategy #2: Crushing an E-Miner Ships needed: WarShips, Drones Strategy type: A "finish him" tip, which can be classified as Offense Resources needed: To make it quick, it must be deadly; 229 (depending of how many Shields the Capital has)
This is best used with few StarSystems collaboration. Make them value 8 and over... it will be faster. First, build 10 E8 Drones, followed by 4 E12 W8 WarShips (considering whether or not your opponent is a ShieldGenerator freak, so the Capital has a maximum of 31 Shields.. so readjust as the game goes on). Afterward, more your Drones directly to the Capital. Then, watch and enjoy the show. When all that is done, and the enemy as no E-Mines and Resources left, send your WarShips. If it don't work, retry one more time. It will.
Stay tuned for more to come.. :)
Anti-Defender Strategy (Lord Venom 1/22/00)
Ships Required: WarShip, SpyShip, StarTillery, MineSweeper, RepairShip, TechShip
20 Cap Value, 20 Starting Resources (I like low resources) Optimized for Classic.svscen
After saving up 5 resources build a TechShip and move it away from your capital towards the nearest corner. Then conquer nearby StarSystems like you normally would. After you see the first sign of the enemy, build 1-2 R8 W20 StarTillery. Don't build any other ships except for places whose value is 10 or less. Move the StarTillery to the front between you and the enemy. Concentrate on building up your forces, building only R8 W20 StarTillery and SpyShips. Be sure to build a E20 RepairShip and a A8 E20 MineSweeper as well, and replace as needed. Use your SpyShips to scout the front, and if you see that the enemy is bringing in E-mines, take them out with the MineSweeper. It's really fun watching your StarTillery kicking the computer, since they build low-engine drones and warships and can't do anything about it. Mass StarTillery are near perfect; the only thing that can make it through is E-mines, which is why you have the MineSweeper. It's that simple. Once you've got him under control, if you can see his capital save up for a W13 E20 warship and just ram it. Be sure to use your other ships to escort it. If not then just "push" forward with your SpyShips/StarTillery, advancing on the systems he conquers and re-conquer them. if he tries to get near the StarTillery will prevent him. Continue "pushing" until you reach his capital, then do the thing above.
50/50 Blitzkrieg (Drake 2/7/2000)
I call this the 50/50 blitzkrieg because it will work about half the time its used. You will need DoomMissiles, SpyShips and of course, WarShips. Drones help too. When playing the popular 1000 resources classic against 1 person (against 2 or more this is risky at best). Build a SpyShip with 1 engines and as much range as you can get for about 600. On classic this will almost always reveal the capital, frantically working to expand their empire but leaving the capitol exposed (who attacks in the first 30 impulses anyway). Then build warhead 1, engine 20 doom missiles (8 or so normally does fine) and fire them at the capitol. Quickly build warhead 2 or three engine 20 warships and send them directly behind the missiles. Keep sending them till your out of resources and pray. If it works the missiles will blow up all Emines, and knock out almost all shields. Your opponent will be so freaked out by the early attack (normally within 50 impulses) that they often cant respond in time and you will conquer them easily, making them look like fools and you like a superstud! By the way, if it doesn't work, surrender, this is an all or nothing strategy.
POKEMON (Suprem Staraltray fihgter) [A 9 year old StarLord!]
The Star lord fighter starts with a high range staralrtiry and finds enemys always starts with 1000 rescorsuce and start making stronger ships. A game played in (12/4/1999)
glitch and pokemon played this game with 8 brains
this game they had huge fleets. pokemon starts off with a spy ship and a jump gate and glitch and pokemon alli to defeat them.jump gates to set the places that are very far from each other and destorys the rest with there fleets..He who see brains seeks to destroy them and makes even better ships.
while glitch sets a defence of 3 star alrtairy...
while the red starlord POKEMON sets up a massive Fleet of army and a small fleet of cloaked staraltreys With raged 5's 26's and more or lower one to defet them..
The Ranged Attack Theory (Lord Venom 4/1/2000)
Here is a strategy that I devised that is very useful against other opponents; I used this strategy against Glitch a few times. See the thing is most ships in SV are melee assault units, which means they can only hit units right next to them. The StarTillery however is a weapon to be reckoned with; for it is the only ship with a ranged attack. If you play Starcraft think of it as this: Drones/WarShips/etc. are like Zealots or Zerglings. As more experienced Starcraft players may know, if you have like 20 Hydralisks they can easily take care of 20 Zealots (I think.) The advantage that ranged attackers have over melee attackers is that they can hit farther and thus their attacks pile up. This is evident in the case that the enemy chooses to defend his capital with Drones (For Glitch he used E10). A good way to breach a formation such as that is to build HORDES of StarTillery. Depending on the defender's situation you will have to choose the stats of the StarTillery, whether to cloak it, and whether to back them up with InkSpots. In my case I built about 20 R5 E15 StarTillery; when they got near and encountered the E10 drones they were able to hit them with up to 6 points of damage, due to the clustered formation of the StarTillery pack. This is similar to Hydralisks and Zealots. If you'll notice when you have tight clusters of Hydralisks they fare VERY well against oncoming packs of melee attackers, in this case, Drones. (One peculiar thing is that there are Drones in both SC and SV; but I'll only talk about the SV version here). Thus if you have enough of them you'll find that you can easily breach any Drone/Warship formation defense. If the enemy is using E-Mines, forget it. Use a minebreaker strategy. For Extreme Duel if the enemy is using a cloaked E20 Drone defense (This type of player is sooooooooooooooooooo annoying!) build at least 20 high-range StarTillery and use mass InkSpots/WarShips to reveal the drones. Known Defenses this works against: Drones HijackShips WarShips/DoppleShips Known Extreme Duel Cloaked-E20 Droners (Extreme Duel:Solar Vengeance::Big Game Hunters::Starcraft): Salitica
Two Triad Rushes (Lord Venom 4/11/2000)
Here are two ingenious strategies for Triad 20/100:
Rush 1: The Blitzkrieg Rush (Best against two players, risky against three.) Build one W13 E20 WarShip and immediately head it into your enemy's sector, which is the top one if your enemy is Red, bottom left if your enemy is Yellow, and bottom right if your enemy is Cyan. You can find out what color your enemy is by clicking on the Alliances button . Act fast, quickly moving your Warship next to every star, if that's their capital, strike, if not, quickly move on to the next star. If your enemy is smart he will most likely be able to repulse the attack. But if you catch him unprepared you've just earned yourself a quick victory. Don't try this against the same person multiple times unless you know that he/she is a COMPLETE IDIOT! If it doesn't work your chances of winning are lowered by about 20% :)
Rush 2: The Center Rush This one will work against any number of opponents. Immediately build four W6 Warships with at least 8 engines (The more the better, as long as you have four). Immediately after those are built send them down to the center, and move them next to the nearest star. If its resources are more than 70 or so conquer it. If not you can either conquer it or move on to another star. After you get a star that has a considerable amount of resources use its resources to conquer all the other center stars. Maintain reasonable defense in your capital cluster and in the center, and if you're able to hold the center you're likely to win the game (Unless you suck :))!
