Show Media Item - The Complete Interview - Black KnightThe Complete Interview - Black Knight
Here is the complete interview as seen in the Planets Newsletter.
PN: Tell us a little about yourself.
B: I have a bachelor's degree in computer science. I am a card-carrying member of Mensa. I am married and have a wonderful wife and 3 kids. I own and run my own business, which oddly enough, is not computer related at all. I'm a collector of books (just a hobby, not work related) - mainly science fiction and fantasy. In my spare time, I paint 25mm minatures for use in RPGs. I play all kinds of games. Board games (Axis & Allies is my all time favorite), chess (easy to guess from my handle, right?), RPGs (most recently Pathfinder), and the incredible online strategy game here at Planets.Nu.
PN: When did you first start playing?
B: I started playing in early 90's.
PN: What's your favorite race and why?
B: The Colonials are hands down my favorite. Why? Fuel. As in, properly played, a colonial playernever has to worry about fuel. The Cobol is just an amazing little ship.
PN: What do you build on first three turns with them (or your general opening strategy)?
B: In most cases, regardless of race, I build 3 LDSFs. It is critical to get your economy growing as fast as possible.
PN: How many games do you play at the same time?
B: I try to play only two games at once. More than that, and I find myself having to rush through my turns. Nothing I hate worse than knowing I could have played a better turn if I'd taken just a bit more time with it.
PN: What types of games do you like playing most?
B: I have to say that the melee games and campaign options are the most fun for me. I've played many, many games with just the 'classic' version with no addons (Timhost), so meeting another player playing the same race in the game I'm in is still a novelty for me. And I find that the melee games are far more challenging than an 11 player game. In those, you can't go to war with the space navy youwant. You go to war with the space navy you can afford.
PN: What's your most memorable game, and what made it so interesting?
B: My most memorable game was one played offline with friends. I caught a large warfleet arriving through a chunnel and attacked them with their shields down. Killed 17 ships - 5 Biocides, 3 Annihilations, 2 Fireclouds, and 7 other smaller assorted ships. I only lost 1 Cobol and 1 Virgo. Amazing!
Name a memorable friend and/or a memorable foe, and what made them stand out.
PN: Give an example of excellent tactics you've used or seen (w/ details so readers can view it, if possible).
B: The poor man's cloak detector is one of the neatest tricks I've seen in awhile. Leave a ship with at least 1 mc on it with fc set to btm. If any ship (even one cloaked) is in orbit with that ship, the mc will disappear from your ship.
PN: What do you think is the most important skill for a Planets player to succeed?
B: All players need to be good at logistics, strategy and tactics. But you need to be great at diplomacy, as it is the only thing that can save you from having to fight a two-front war.
PN: Describe the process you use to make a turn.
B: I view any VCR battles first. Then I view on the starchart the local area where each battle occurred. I analyze any new information about enemy ships and planets that I have just received and how that impacts my local tactics. Occasionally, when my enemy does something new or unexpected, I have to adjust my overall strategy to overcome their newly revealed trick or advantage.Then I go through each ship sequentially, checking them off as I am done with them. As each ship comes up in sequence, I handle that ships's area. Newly conquered planets FCs are randomized, if they haven't been already by this point. Then planet management. Each planet has a target number of clans and when they reach that number they get a double check. Building ships comes last since by now I know what I need to build.
PN: What is your favorite thing about Panets Nu?
B: I absolutely love the starmap and stellar cartography. It really adds a lot of flavor to the game. But my favorite thing is the ease you can back out orders. In the old Timhost, you would have to restart your turn if you sold off too many supplies, etc. At Nu, you can easily reverse that decision and many more...
PN: Is there anything else you would like to add?
B: I am playing my first sphere game here at Nu and I think the implementation of sphere is nearly seamless. I don't even notice the edge when playing unless I go out of my way to do so. Great job!
The only thing I am missing from the old Winplan is the ability to cycle through your ships by their ship names. This was a huge time saver because you can group ships together by region or by task.Thank you to Black Knight!
You can view Black Knight's profile here.