This thread is meant to update and make-semi-official the exploit rules discussed by some of our veterans way back in dathon's exploit list. Comments, corrections, and suggestions are always welcome.
[EDIT: Belatedly updated 8/19/13 with the new url for dathon's list and information on kyrub's patch.]
The following exploits should be avoided in playing the Imperia, from most to least damaging (in my opinion) - note that some of us take these rules to greater extremes, e.g. never using the wait button at all for any reason, never mounting bioweapons on ships except for special variants, never requesting Declarations of War against a race's ally (or even of any race to which we're not allied ourselves) even if at war with the target race, never redirecting a retreating fleet from its default retreat orders, etc. - but that these extremes reflect personal preferences and play styles, not absolute exploit rules. The following are the ones that are pretty much universal:
1. Infinitely Recharging Specials: If a ship has Automated Repair System or Advanced Damage Control, it may never "Wait" unless it's undamaged. A ship that has already fired a "Special" weapon (one that goes in the "specials" slot instead of the regular weapons slots) in a given turn may not hit the "Wait" button. NOTE: This rule DOES NOT APPLY when using kyrub's 1.40M patch, as the relevant bug has been FIXED!
2. "The Yo-Yo Trick": Don't fire missiles unless you expect them to hit (i.e. wait until you're close enough that you don't think the AI will dodge them successfully) -- especially when defending one of your planets that has missile bases. If you're not sure if the AI will dodge them or not, don't strain yourself worrying about it. The point is to avoid abusing the AI, not to force everyone to analyze every possible tactical maneuver on the combat screen.
3. "Spectator Wars": Also known as "Let's you and him fight." We may not ask one AI to declare on another race with whom we are not already at war ourselves.
4. Bioweapon Bug: Also known (thanks to Blake) as the Sssspin Department bug. No using bioweapons on the tactical combat screen (Orbital Bombardment is okay) unless you are in a state of declared war with the race whose planet you are attacking, and that race controls at least one other world. Note that this rule may be partially relaxed for certain variants (e.g. Imperium 29, where we were not allowed to acquire normal Weapons technologies beyond lasers and nukes by any means.)
Okay, so those are the big 4 (or 3 with kyrub's patch). The following, looser rules are for tactics that, while also exploitable, are usually not as severe in their impact on the game; though players should avoid leaning on them, and should "break" these rules sparingly if at all, occasional use of the restricted tactics below is not severe enough to turn your Imperium into a shadow game:
5. Retreating and Ammunition: If your entire fleet retreats from a battle over a world where you have no colony, any stack that fired expendable weapons (missiles, bombs, or bioweapons) during the battle must be sent away to another star - not just back to the planet you just attacked. (Ignoring this in a game that's already won just to avoid a little tedium is probably fine; breaking down an alien homeworld's defenses with warp-1 2-rack missile boats that fire volleys and retreat over and over again every turn is going way over the line.)
6. Empty Threats: You may "Threaten to attack" an AI race from the diplomacy screen only if you feel that race could believably regard war with your empire as a legitimate threat. This is obviously a highly subjective rule; the point is, don't abuse the option to bully alien races into giving you all sorts of stuff. It's usually more fun to find ways to beat them in space (or to take back what you lose when you can't) than to just threaten them off anyway, in my experience. (NOTE: This rule really needs to be tightened up and made more specific. Suggestions are welcome; I'll have to think about it.....)
7. Baiting: Any ships which will not actively participate in a battle must retreat at the first opportunity. Anything that's expected to contribute directly to the battle (firing on the enemy with weapons that are expected to have an effect, or at least soaking up damage) can stick around, but leaving a single scout in the back row just long enough for enemy ships to get slaughtered by your invulnerable defenses, and then retreating it when they finally get close, is indeed exploitive and silly.
[EDIT: Belatedly updated 8/19/13 with the new url for dathon's list and information on kyrub's patch.]
The following exploits should be avoided in playing the Imperia, from most to least damaging (in my opinion) - note that some of us take these rules to greater extremes, e.g. never using the wait button at all for any reason, never mounting bioweapons on ships except for special variants, never requesting Declarations of War against a race's ally (or even of any race to which we're not allied ourselves) even if at war with the target race, never redirecting a retreating fleet from its default retreat orders, etc. - but that these extremes reflect personal preferences and play styles, not absolute exploit rules. The following are the ones that are pretty much universal:
1. Infinitely Recharging Specials: If a ship has Automated Repair System or Advanced Damage Control, it may never "Wait" unless it's undamaged. A ship that has already fired a "Special" weapon (one that goes in the "specials" slot instead of the regular weapons slots) in a given turn may not hit the "Wait" button. NOTE: This rule DOES NOT APPLY when using kyrub's 1.40M patch, as the relevant bug has been FIXED!
2. "The Yo-Yo Trick": Don't fire missiles unless you expect them to hit (i.e. wait until you're close enough that you don't think the AI will dodge them successfully) -- especially when defending one of your planets that has missile bases. If you're not sure if the AI will dodge them or not, don't strain yourself worrying about it. The point is to avoid abusing the AI, not to force everyone to analyze every possible tactical maneuver on the combat screen.
3. "Spectator Wars": Also known as "Let's you and him fight." We may not ask one AI to declare on another race with whom we are not already at war ourselves.
4. Bioweapon Bug: Also known (thanks to Blake) as the Sssspin Department bug. No using bioweapons on the tactical combat screen (Orbital Bombardment is okay) unless you are in a state of declared war with the race whose planet you are attacking, and that race controls at least one other world. Note that this rule may be partially relaxed for certain variants (e.g. Imperium 29, where we were not allowed to acquire normal Weapons technologies beyond lasers and nukes by any means.)
Okay, so those are the big 4 (or 3 with kyrub's patch). The following, looser rules are for tactics that, while also exploitable, are usually not as severe in their impact on the game; though players should avoid leaning on them, and should "break" these rules sparingly if at all, occasional use of the restricted tactics below is not severe enough to turn your Imperium into a shadow game:
5. Retreating and Ammunition: If your entire fleet retreats from a battle over a world where you have no colony, any stack that fired expendable weapons (missiles, bombs, or bioweapons) during the battle must be sent away to another star - not just back to the planet you just attacked. (Ignoring this in a game that's already won just to avoid a little tedium is probably fine; breaking down an alien homeworld's defenses with warp-1 2-rack missile boats that fire volleys and retreat over and over again every turn is going way over the line.)
6. Empty Threats: You may "Threaten to attack" an AI race from the diplomacy screen only if you feel that race could believably regard war with your empire as a legitimate threat. This is obviously a highly subjective rule; the point is, don't abuse the option to bully alien races into giving you all sorts of stuff. It's usually more fun to find ways to beat them in space (or to take back what you lose when you can't) than to just threaten them off anyway, in my experience. (NOTE: This rule really needs to be tightened up and made more specific. Suggestions are welcome; I'll have to think about it.....)
7. Baiting: Any ships which will not actively participate in a battle must retreat at the first opportunity. Anything that's expected to contribute directly to the battle (firing on the enemy with weapons that are expected to have an effect, or at least soaking up damage) can stick around, but leaving a single scout in the back row just long enough for enemy ships to get slaughtered by your invulnerable defenses, and then retreating it when they finally get close, is indeed exploitive and silly.
One exploit that I find broken myself is to repel enemy colony ships and scouts with scouts. I don't place scout ships in orbit around planets, ships may only orbit planets if they carry at least one weapon. This makes for a very interesting early game in small and medium galaxies.