AutoScore

Authored by Tim Wisseman for AutoTroll

AutoScore is the scoring system used to evaluate the military strength of each race in VGA Planets games hosted by AutoTroll. AutoScore is a very simplified scoring system that is easily understandable so that each AutoTroll User can evaluate his and other's AutoScores without having to muttle through a milliion different parameters and/or adjustments. AutoScore was written by Tim Wisseman (creator of VGA Planets) exclusively for use by AutoTroll.

The regular VGA Planets Scoring System that players see in the game itself has long been considered more of an informational statistics board and has not been considered a true and accurate evaluation of a race's true military might. Therefore, AutoScore was developed to fill this need and for use by AutoTroll.

AutoScore Scoring System:

AutoScore takes each item to be added to the race's AutoScore and breaks it down by each items' cost of construction, both Minerals and Money. Then AutoScore awards 1 point for each Credit and 5 points for each Mineral used in its construction. These Points are totaled together for each item of military strength in the race's empire to total that race's total AutoScore. That's it!

The following Military items are the items that are scored towards each race's AutoScore:

WARSHIPS: Any ship with a Beam, Torp Tube or Fighter Bay is considered a Warship by AutoScore (yes, even a Q-Tanker). Each Warship's AutoScore value is totaled based on the entire cost of the ship. This includes the cost of the Hull, Engines, Beams, Torp Tubes and Armament (Torps and Fighters). Totals do not include cargo on board.

The remaining three categories are totaled and then halved due to the fact that they are not mobile and therefore pose less of a threat to a mobile fleet:
BASE DEFENSES: The cost of the base's Defense Posts and Fighters are totaled for addition to the race's AutoScore.
PLANETARY DEFENSES: The cost of the planet's Defense Posts are totaled for addition to the race's AutoScore.
MINEFIELDS: The total number of mine units contained in all minefields, owned by that race, are totaled, then divided by 100 (this assumes Mark 8's) and fractions are truncated. The cost of this many Mark 8 torpedoes is then totaled for addition to the race's AutoScore (in terms of per mine unit, this would yield a value of .69/2 = .345 points per mine unit).

Some Insight into AutoScore.

(for the truely curious).

Underlying theory of AutoScore.As surely you have noticed, AutoScore has assigned no value to such things as Factories, Mines, unused minerals, Starbase Techs, Freighters, etc... The theory behind this is simple. AutoScore values are concerned with the military might of each race, not how they achieved this might. If a race wishes to become powerful, they will build an economy capable of producing a warfleet because their warfleet is their power. Therefore all races will build freighters, tech their starbases, mine their planets and so on. But how they then use these freighters, teched starbases, mines, factories and so on can only be measured by what they are able to produce, A WARFLEET. This is the, quite basic, Basis of AutoScore.

Other interesting points to note:

Minefields: Mark 8's are used as a basic common denominator for the minefield calculation. But if you took the time to figure it out, more efficient minelaying topredo types (i.e. Mark 7's) will produce a slightly higher AutoScore for the same money investment but at a slightly higher mineral cost. This is, of course, if you wish to arm a ship to fire Mark7's VS Mark 8's to then be able to lay this field.
Racial Abilities (free fighters, Fed taxing bonus, etc...) Obviously the Fed will have an easier time producing military items that cost cash if they choose to efficiently utilize their taxing advantage. As well, the Empire, Robot, Colonial and Rebel can create fighters at a cheaper value than can other races while still receiving AutoScore based on 100 credits per fighter (i.e. all fighters are worth 125 points in AutoScore, no matter who owns or how it was produced). And the Robots lay 4X the mine units although they pay only the nornmal cost to produce the torps uned to lay these mines. These are inherent racial abilities that are used to produce military might but have been previously game balanced by the game creator (Tim Wisseman). Therefore AutoScore leaves this game balancing act to the game creator and does not attempt to readjust for it once again.
There may be other notable points possibly needing further explanation but AutoScore's simplicity should make for very few of them. If you still remain curious, just write a note to one of the AutoTroll administrators who can help you further. Still, AutoScore's simplicity should allow each player to understand exactly how each point of AutoScore is calculated. Possibly saving players many hours of hair pulling and/or calculator punching :)