Multiple planets sounds very cool, but I'm on Windows, so I guess I'm screwed?

Not if you know how to compile C code... or if someone else does it...

You're an idiot. 

You're not worth talking to.

I've made a crazy mod of UQM melee, modifying all the ships and populating the arena with extra planets. I think it rocks.

^_^

Anyhow, I'd love to play someone with these rules. All the ships' point costs probably need rebalancing...

To install, download this: http://eli.cedarswampstudios.org/1.1.0-src.tar.gz
replace the src/ directory with it, and compile as normal.

If someone on Windows knows how to compile it, it would be nice of them to post a Windows binary... a lot of guys in #uqm-arena were unable to do that, so it would be awfully useful.

(Geez... As usual when I post up something like this, it's late and the posting is almost nominal. Maybe I'll go into more detail tomorrow.)

If we're talking about AI, then there's not just one ship that can beat almost anything:
Utwig
Chmmr
Androsynth
Thraddash
Mycon

and plenty of matchups that are trivial on BOTH sides:
Androsynth vs. Chmmr
Orz vs. Chmmr
Druuge vs. Chmmr
Thraddash vs. Chmmr
Androsynth vs. Thraddash
Androsynth vs. Slylandro
Ur-Quan vs. Zoq-fot
Spathi vs. Kohr-Ah
Mycon vs. Mmrnmhrm
Supox vs. Ilwrath
Supox vs. Umgah
Thraddash vs. Utwig

... the list goes on and on. I could easily name twice as many.

Let's use this thread not to discuss human vs. AI, and not to discuss percieved hostility...

P.S. yes Drachefly, I'm from wesnoth... there's only one Elvish Pillager!

Chmrr > VUX

The Chmmr can take major damage, at least if it's not careful.

Melnorme > Umgah

A skilled or lucky Umgah that reverses right next to the Melnorme can do serious damage. Melnorme can't really stop that strategy.

Supox > Zoq-Fot-Pik

This battle is pretty even. The Supox doesn't even have an advantage.

Syreen > Ilwrath

The Syreen is big and doesn't have particularly good acceleration. Ilwrath are very good at gravity whipping.

Thraddash > Ilwrath
Thraddash > VUX

Yeah, if you have infinite patience.

Utwig > Chmrr

Chmmr can slam Utwig into the planet, or fake Utwig out, or hit it with the tip of its laser when it's not ready. None of these are easy, but Utwig is definitely at high risk in this matchup.

Druuge against Yehat or Utwig.

From what I hear, it's pretty easy for Druuge to fake Utwig out.

Androsynth>Chmmr
Spathi>Kohr-Ah
Chenjesu>Druuge
Everyone>Illwrath
Everyone>Umgah

You've been playing the AI. Chmmr can avoid bubbles easily, Druuge can avoid DOGIs easily and don't sacrifice crew constantly if they're human, Ilwrath can gravity-whip, have high acceleration, and tend to beat Earthlings even without that, and Umgah's backwards movement is easier to use than you give it credit for.

There's literally nothing that has a guaranteed win against a human-controlled Chmmr Avatar (or at least, against an Elvish Pillager-controlled Chmmr Avatar.)

The faster ship has a duty to try to deal damage, because the faster ship is the one that chooses whether any damage is done or not.

Of course, this goes only for situations where one ship can avoid the other (and it doesn't have to be by speed, either.)

The fact is, there is no situation when whoever attacks, loses.

Actually, there are quite a few such situations, or at least ones where either player would be quite better off being attacked than attacking. For examples, Ilwrath vs. Mmrnmhrm, Supox vs. Zoq-Fot, and Androsynth vs. Androsynth.

What is behind the Utwigs' masks is...



...an Umgah! Har! Har! Har!

The best answers are mechanical - implementing a time limit or a stalemate system - I like the 'no hits' rule suggested by Spektrowski

That rule has the same problem I suggested above (Chmmr vs. Orz out and Shofixti in reserve)

Mechanical solutions seem like they always encourage one player, and not the other, to stalemate, as opposed to the current situation, where both players are basically forced to agree not to delay forever. And, ideally, no one should be trying to cause a boring stalemate.

That would raise situations like this:

I have Orz out, and Shofixti left in my fleet. My opponent has only Chmmr left. If I lose this battle, then my best hope is to blow us both up. However, if I was able to do that, it would mean that I had done enough damage as Orz that if I had been using Shofixti first, I would have won. In all situations, it makes sense to use the Shofixti first, so I keep out of the way for a while in order to switch out.

Worse, it might become a meta-staring-contest if the Chmmr tried to avoid my Shofixti and switch me back to Orz.

There's an underlying problem with any gameplay effect after a time limit: The gameplay effect probably benefits one side or the other, so that side will try to waste time in order to get the effect. It's even worse than wasting time by fighting in a cowardly fashion, because here the purpose is to waste time.

[Game rules]

Game rules
Maximum 200 pts per fleet
Maximum one of each ship type per fleet (no duplicates)
Maximum 40 minutes per melee - Timed out games result in both players losing and exiting the tournament (an effort to nulify boring stalemates)

Teams set up before connecting, right?