Spaceward Ho! FAQ

by
Ben Beecher (beecher@columbia.edu)
Brian Davies (davies@ils.nwu.edu)

Last modified Dec 7th, 1999

Graphics & sounds © Delta Tao Software

Game Specs

Q:
What's new in version 4.0?
A:
Here are the new features:

Q:
How does The Ho! 3.0 determine the difficulty rating of a game?
A:
On page 40, the manual lists computer intelligence, skill level, number of allies, galaxy size and game duration as factors. Armageddon divides the difficulty level by two. Alliances subtract 1 per ally from the difficulty level. Game length gives you a +1 difficulty for finishing faster than 1000 years (very hard). For a precise computation, look up the base difficulty on the following chart, then add or subtract the modifications listed below it. 
        Base difficulty:    opponents:     1    2-3   4-8    9+
                            difficulty:    3     4     5     6

    Computer Intelligence      Galaxy Size               Galaxy Shape
      Dumb         -3            Small        +1           Circle        0
      Average      -1            Medium        0           Random        0
      Smart         0            Large         0           Ring          0
      Diabolical   +2            Extra Large   0           Spiral       -1
                                 Humongous    -1           Grid          0
    Player Level                                           Cluster      -1
      Novice       -2          Galaxy Density
      Beginner     -1            Dense         0
      Normal        0            Sparse       -1
      Advanced     +1
      Expert       +2

Q:
Why does it take longer to reach the higher tech levels?
A:
Spending requirements increase linearly, so advancing any particular technology to level 8 costs 4 times what it cost to reach level 2. But because of diminishing returns, a huge spending increase will not produce a large jump in your tech levels. On this subject, Joe Delta says, "It's not an exponential increase, but a linear one. There is an exponential decrease in the effect of the increased spending typically found later in the game. So, effective spending is proportional to the square root of actual spending."

Q:
How high can my tech levels go?
A:
Technology levels will max out at 50, although the ship graphics stop changing well before that. Ship savings hits the ceiling at $1 billion.

Q:
Can I get AU versions of the sounds in the game?
A:
Hey, that's not a game spec question! The answer is yes, here.

Radical Technologies

Easter Eggs

Planet Names

The Art of War

Q:
What's the best way to win?
A:
A winning strategy involves balancing the goals of defending your planets, exploring new planets and colonizing those which are hospitable, eliminating the assets of your opponents, maintaining superior technology, and ensuring your own flexible response capability by stockpiling metal and adding to your ship savings.

Many strategic principles were first described by Sun Tzu in The Art of War during the fourth century B.C. These principles are still used today by military strategists and in other competitive arenas. Several relevant quotes from his book have been included throughout this section, like this:

Your aim must be to take All-under-Heaven intact. Thus your troops are not worn out and your gains will be complete. This is the art of offensive strategy. When ten to the enemy's one, surround him. When five times his strength, attack him. If double his strength, divide him. If equally matched you may engage him. If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing. And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him, for a small force is but booty for one more powerful.

Q:
How do Sun Tsu's strategic principles apply to The Ho!?
A:
Attack where the enemy is weakest. Avoid fighting heavy battles on two fronts simultaneously. Deceive the enemy before your attack by feigning an attack somewhere else first. Try to get the enemy to attack you where you are strong, such as a well defended planet.

All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity.

Q:
What can I do to deceive the enemy?
A:
Before launching your attack send a few ships to explore some other planets that are some distance away. The enemy will respond by toughening the defense of those planets.

Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious allurements, and make them rush to any given point.

That the impact of your arms may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg, use the science of weak points and strong.

He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

A wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy.

Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.

Q:
What's all this stuff about diminishing returns?
A:
The best way to advance your technology, extract metal, and terraform planets is to keep your spending nearly constant over a period of time. Make your adjustments gradually. A small allocation that continues over a long period has a much greater effect than the same money spent in a few turns.

Q:
How should I budget my spending on new technologies?
A:
The weapons technology is most important, with speed and shields close behind. Range tech should get some money, too, and if you have extra cash spend it on radical tech. Be sure to spend plenty on weapons and shields, even if you don't expect any battles soon. Mini tech is less important in the beginning, but it becomes more important as the game goes on. Speed is very important because the faster fleet shoots first in a battle, and that can be the deciding factor.

Q:
How does galaxy type affect the game strategy?
A:
In circle, random, and spiral galaxies, the central portion is the most desirable and hence the most bitterly fought region of the galaxy. If you colonize any planets in the central region you must defend them strongly. This is true to a lesser extent in the grid galaxy. The ring and cluster galaxies have no central region, so you can only be threatened by one or two enemies at a time. In those galaxies you don't need to expore very many planets, just grit your teeth and prepare for a fierce battle with one of your neighbors.

When he prepares everywhere he will be weak everywhere.

Q:
Why should I build up ship savings?
A:
If you maintain a stockpile of metal and plenty of ship savings you will be ready to respond to an attack. This gives you the flexibility to leave some planets unprotected.

Q:
What should my strategy be at the beginning?
A:
Getting a strong start is very important. On your first move you want to send scouts to some or all of your neighboring planets. If you're playing at novice level you will start with plenty of metal, so you can send scouts to all reachable planets. When you find a good planet, send your colony ship immediately. Keep sending scouts while you are terraforming your first colony, so you can find any nearby enemy planets.

Q:
What are the advantages to playing aggressively?
A:
If you locate an enemy's home planet before he or she finds your home planet you have an advantage. You can press that advantage by sending a fleet to destroy their home planet. That will only succeed if you commit a large portion of your metal and money to the task, and you'll have to leave your home planet lightly defended during this operation. If you are willing to take some risk you can often get a jump on the enemy.

Also, bear in mind that the computer opponents are somewhat predictable. They will send a single scout to investigate before sending their fighters to attack. Human opponents are much less predictable, and they might send a big fleet to check out the neighborhood. This strategy works quite well if there are several planets close to your home planet. You can send a colony ship to refuel your big fleet of fighters, then move on to the next planet. Don't get too far from home, though. The key to this aggressive strategy is to commit a lot of money and metal to the assault fleet. In the beginning phase of the game you can wreak havoc with around 5 fighters at 3/3.

Q:
What if my home planet is off in a corner someplace?
A:
If you start out with few close neighbors you can take more risks, because you are probably some distance from your nearest enemy. The bad news is that you don't have many planets to explore and colonize. Take advantage of the relative safety by sending a colony ship to explore your closest neighbor. Send scouts to the other neighbors, if any. This saves a lot of time, metal, and money. This situation can occur in a sparse galaxy, or sometimes in a dense galaxy. You can find yourself at the edge of the galaxy in circle, random, and especially spiral galaxies.

Q:
My assault fleet was crushed and my colony ship is following close behind. What can I do? (suggestion courtesy of Donald Wong)
A:
Create a meteor shower! While your ship is en route to a planet scrap the entire ship type. When the scrapped ship was scheduled to arrive a meteor shower will occur at the destination planet. Meteor showers will go through satellite defenses. The down side is that your ship type is gone, so new colony ships must be built at full development cost.

Q:
When should I counterattack?
A:
The general consensus is that an immediate counterattack yields the best results. The enemy's colony ship will arrive around the same time as your counterattack, and the enemy's attack fleet will still be there, unless it has enough fuel for a double hop.

Defense

Q:
What if I'd rather play defensively?
A:
A defensive strategy works quite well, and should be used when your neighbors are strongly defended. You will save money and metal by building satellites instead of fighters.

Strip mine all the planets you find, making it harder for the enemy to find metal (the scorched earth tactic). Create satellite traps where you expect an attack. Spend little on range tech, favoring weapons and shields.

Q:
Where can I expect to be attacked?
A:
When you destroy an opponent's colony you can expect a counterattack. Also, if your opponent finds one of your colonies lightly defended, and is rebuffed, you can expect a big attack there shortly.

Spying

What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

Q:
How can I find my opponent's home planet as quickly as possible?
A:
When you encounter enemy scouts early in the game you know several things.
Therefore, you can determine the distance from point of contact to the enemy's home planet. Sometimes it only takes one or two contacts to pinpoint the location of the enemy.

Q:
What about later in the game?
A:
After a planet has been explored and possibly strip-mined it is common practice to leave a lone satellite or scout before abandoning the planet, especially if it is near a large colony or the home planet. If you find a planet with enemy ships abandoned on them, check out the weapon/shield levels of those ships. Lower tech levels indicate earlier discovery, hence the closer you are to the enemy's home world.

Cheating

Q:
Is there any way to cheat?
A:
There is supposedly a program called Cheat II that lets you edit saved game files. The FAQ authors have never seen it and don't know where to find it. Spaceward Ho! includes cheat checking -- the program will play a "Hey! No Cheatin'" sound if you modify a game file.