Thread:Ecoraptor3339/@comment-5496489-20160524151005/@comment-25309944-20160921222933

@Gorzill I... I guess that kind of works if you want to force a realspace battle, which the French are equipped for. I'm not sure a device which would cover only the gravity well of a single planet would solve anything, given that we're talking about a region of space the size of the French Empire.

I've built the French Empire in such a way that it's a complicated network which needs to remain connected and in communication in order to function. When those connections exist, the Empire is self-reinforcing in that it uses every corner to grow and get stronger. This is why the French place such a great emphasis on controlling large tracts of space, given that they not only need to defend their territories or planets, but the vast stretches between them which are needed to keep them in communication.

This makes for a lot of strategic play, given that these vulnerabilities multiply the number of options available to you in fighting the French. Can't fight an open naval battle against the French Empire? No problem. Use void hunters and stealth ships to prey on their shipping from Borealis, from which France gets a lot of its andasium, metals, rubber, etc. Or prey on shipping from Andromeda and the Milky Way, to cut off the flow of food and water to net importers of food such as Borealis and French Mirus.

My concern, as I've mentioned before, is that this is way too easy for the UPD given Accel Space tech and far too hard for the French to stop them. Thus, Accel Space comes across as bluntly overpowered.