Challenge Details
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Objective: Achieve victory in as few turns as possible.
Rules:
8 Players (7 Computer, 1 Human)
Average Difficulty
Huge, Average-Age Galaxy
Tech Level: Pre-Warp
Tactical Combat
Random Events
Antarans Attack
Single (start-of-game) Save
Video Details
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Time:
59 Turns
5 Minutes, 21 Seconds
Race:
Dictatorship
Food Production: +1
Ship Offense: -20
Ground Combat: -10
Rich Home World
Repulsive
Telepathic
Trans-Dimensional
Game Options Enabled:
- End of Turn Wait
- Auto Select Ships
- Show Relocation Lines
- Auto Save Game
Other options, including GNN Reports, End-of-Turn Summary, and Animations are all disabled.
Battle Options Enabled:
- Missile Warnings
- Fast Animations
- Show Legal Moves
- Show Shield Arcs
- Display Grid
Baffling Tactics FAQ
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1. How do you know where all the enemy home worlds, wormholes, etc. are located? Are you cheating somehow?
I played the same map many (probably hundreds) of times, starting from the same start-of-game save each time (see “Rules” above). I thought this would make for a more interesting challenge (and video!) than starting blind every time.
2. Why build the Scout on turn 8 if it isn’t used until turn 20?
Building the Scout on turn 8 affects the random number generator and causes Administrator Houri to appear on turn 24.
3. Why ignore the Silicoids on turn 33?
I don’t actually destroy the Silicoids until turn 54. If I don’t officially ignore them they’ll spend 20 turns bothering me with offers of peace.
4. Since you never use him, why don’t you fire Commander Grum after rescuing him on turn 45?
Firing him would only save 14BC. Keeping him on means one less menu to open.
5. In battle, sometimes your ships run away from the enemy missiles and other times they just take the damage. Why the difference?
The positioning of your ships effects the in-battle random number generator. The deployment for each battle was chosen to ensure that enough damage is dealt to the enemy star base to destroy it.
6. For most of the speed run you use both the F1 and F2 keyboard shortcuts to cycle through your fleets, but after turn 48 you only use the F1 shortcut. Why?
There is a bug where pressing F2 will sometimes crash the game. In my speed run pressing F2 after turn 48 will always crash the game.
7. Why declare war on the Mrrshan on turn 53?
Sometimes, just before I arrive at their home world, a race will build a single defensive ship and be able to hold off my attack. For some reason preemptively declaring war on them causes them to not build that ship.
8. For the last few turns of the game your colonies are all building colony ships that they never finish. Why not make a little money doing ‘Trade Goods’ instead of just banking more production?
At that point in the game more money isn’t helpful. The ships have already departed and all the money in the world isn’t going to make them fly any faster. I backstop all my production queues with a Colony Ship so the game won’t automatically open the colony view when the queue is empty. It saves a few seconds.
9. Starting on turn 51 you make no use of any of the captured colonies (and in fact leave them starving!). Is there anything they can do to help you save time?
Unfortunately no. It’s too late in the game for them to contribute anything of note.
