Help4Newb -- Is there a point continuing?

I've played strategy games for... sigh... decades actually and there are some in which persistence in the face of incredible odds can bring amazingly positive results, and others in which, well, you gotta know when to fold and reroll the dice.

I'm playing a huge on painful with otherwise stock settings, and a random number of opponents. Here's the problem. I got started in a corner with a cluster of about 5 planets, mostly mediocre. I was able to take one good planet from a minor race.

To make a long story short, there are only two other major races (!! sic), and one of them rules about 80% of the galaxy, the other 15%, and me my little corner. I'm doing great on trade, economics, have a cluster of starbases but six planets vs 30 seems like inevitable disaster long term. I have a feeling I can sink another day into my little sandbox and suddenly I will wake up and be blown away in one or two turns, watching my carefully constructed military platforms and economic bases vaporized in casual drivebys that the bad guys will hardly shrug at.

Or is there something that would turn this around if I hang in?

I'm a noob. I got no ego at stake here. At what point do you vets decide the map is so bad that it's time to reroll. Of course I didn't know how few races there would be until I finally got most of the galaxy explored.

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Theres a tooltip underneath your minimap with a button for "ownership." You can generally see how many other major races you are going against and where they are located even at the start of a new game, despite the fog of war.

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If the other two are not allied estabilish trade with the 'big' guy and take out the 'small' guy. Prepare first though. Get transports, constructors and attack ships pre staged. Bribe the big guy to declaring war on the little guy. Mop up what remains quicklt incase the little guy dosen't surrender to you.

It's a long shot but that may work.

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I would stick with it. When learning the game a loss can be a better learning experience than a win. Analyze the way the AI directs their war and counters what you attempt, could prove useful in later games.

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Mumblefratz

Join Date 07/2006

+139

Sticking with it is the best advice, but a reasonable compromise is to gear up for all out war and just start taking planets, the small guy first like FC suggests, but once I finished with him I'd just keep on going. That way you either turn the tide and win or it becomes a lot more obvious you'll lose. In either case you don't spend too much time in a losing situation.

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When going to war against the big guy a key question is relative military strength in the field of battle. Even if your enemy has overwhelming military based on the graph, if he can't mass his force effectively to take you out you can start chipping away at him.

Fight on your terms with superior firepower. This helps minimize your own ship losses and begins to shift the military balance.

This may also be an opportunity to form a bastion or enclave area containing military starbases to power up your own forces. Lure him into these killing fields and knock him out.

If he has resource mines or trade routes you may also send in fast ships with light firepower to knock them out, assuming these are lightly defended.

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It can be a lot of fun to lose.

With that in mind, I recently played a game where I was in a similar situation. I owned four planets and was fighting a war against the Thalan Empire, which had approximately 66% of the galaxy and 30 planets under its control.

I managed to stave off defeat with five combat ships left and reorganize my trade routes so as to build the strongest possible relations, and, eventually, an alliance with the Arceans, Iconians, and Altarians, all of whom were very weak.

In the end, I won very easily after having played my cards properly. It is possible to bring victory out of most situations, if you are very careful with what you are doing and think about all of the possible outcomes.

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Many thanks to all of you for some fine answers, great tips (including the tool tip I missed), and good advice.

"Into the valley of graviton beams rode the 400.."

Oh and, Happy New Year to all!

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It can be a lot of fun to lose.

I have to nominate this for the quote of the year.

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You have 3 options, either ally yourself with the other little civ and attack the big civ, ally with the big civ and wipe out the little civ (getting a cosy alliance victory either way)or take out the little guy, absorb his resources and go on an all out, no holds barred genocide run on the larger race (this way is the most fun)and hope to win or take as many with you as possible. When a map is as bad as you say, you have little to lose but everything to gain.

It's little challenges and uphill battles that separates the men from the boys, even if you lose, it shows you have the guts needed for a lot of stuff that Galciv2 will throw at you. Look at it like that, you'll be a vet in no time, remember, you don't have to win to come out on top.

"Use your strengths against their weaknesses, it's a good place to start"

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