by Grickster
Process: To develop dual Exploration strategies in which you can effectively delay Combat with other players in a 4-player game, one strategy for each side a player will start on in relation to you (left or right).----
My favorite race in Eclipse is the Hydran Progress. Unfortunately, all of their racial abilities and starting resources considered, they are probably the weakest of the races in terms of military strength from the get-go. A popular strategy for them, then, is to turtle. After numerous plays resulting in losses to equally experienced friends, I can only say this about turtling: It is easier said than done, but is it really? Let’s take a look at our options in the worst case scenario: Your neighbor is playing Orion and he’s building right to you.
Your range of options will vary depending on which side of you the Orion player is sitting. Either way, you will be pressed to make a decision as the Orion player will attempt 2-3 Explore actions to connect with you. If he does anything else--including Researching Advanced Hull--then he is not an experienced player, and you can only give yourself so much credit if you win or place ahead of him. The reason I say this is simple: At the start of the game, he is significantly stronger than you. If he wants an easier fight than ancients, he’ll attempt a connection with you. Because let’s say that Advanced Hull comes up in the starting Technology, he skips Researching it on his first turn--a popular choice on this forum, it seems--and I get it instead. What am I going to Upgrade it to and eventually Build? Discovery Tiles aside (which I never plan on anyway), I don’t have the starting Money, Science or Materials as Hydran to compete with any other race on the first turn of the game. So, with that in mind, any smart Orion player will make the necessary moves to engage an adjacent Hydran on the first turn of the game. Any later and the odds may be enough in Hydran’s favor for him to expand and strengthen. Plus, any other player’s starting hex is enough incentive to invade their space, so why wouldn’t you ASAP on the first turn of the game?
The most favorable situation is if the Orion player is sitting to your right, because if he Explores a hex containing an Ancient in it (50% chance at game start), then you can effectively block him. This holds true, because the only way that he could explore from the Ancient hex, is if he sent enough ships into it to the point that one isn’t pinned. All of that takes too much time, and you will have blocked him off by then, Ancient hexes, discarded hexes, or not. Even if the Orion player explored the same hex sitting to your left, he will still be able to Explore his sector two and connect to you that way--you can expect early Combat when Orion is sitting to your left, but you can help prevent it from happening on Turn 1 and give yourself a chance to fight back on your subsequent turns.
The most unfavorable situation is if he Explores a sector one that has four or more adjacent wormholes, and no Ancients. This scenario is worse if he is to your right, because at that point, he will have another avenue to explore into your space and probably connect. When he is to your left, he already has that option, and all you can hope for is that one of the hexes (sector one or two) that are drawn between you two contains an Ancient, as it will allow you more time to build up before actually fighting him.
What To Do If Connection Is Imminent
If the Orion player uncovers a sector one with four or more adjacent wormholes and no Ancient, then there will be a connection. If the Orion player is sitting to your left and uncovers an Ancient hex, and orients it so that the wormhole will connect to your sector one, even if you block that connection, unless you get a specific hex (Capella Sector, #106), then he will still be able to get to you through his sector two. You should Explore your sector one first for several reasons. For one, you could uncover an Ancient hex and buy yourself time by making him have to go through that first. You could uncover the aforementioned Capella Sector and block him off entirely. Overall, you need to create a buffer between him and your starting hex. And even if a connection is formed, and you’re invaded and eventually taken over, remember that all the hexes you lose in Combat still produce for that Turn. So it’s very possible that you can make a comeback and reclaim that lost territory in the following Turn with those extra resources. It’s very possible that the Orion player might not have enough Colony Ships to start benefiting from your hex. The bottom line is that while Combat with other players is inevitable and that you might get into it earlier than is preferable, you need to adapt to the situation and increase your chances of dealing with it for the next Turn. This may involve losing your starting hex and coming back from the depths of a sector three. You probably won’t win in this case, but there are other players on the board to consider, and the balance of power can shift very quickly.
What To Do If Orion Draws An Ancient Hex
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And that is where I will leave off for now. I need to get to bed, but I was hoping to get a conversation started at the very least! I will edit/post more later.