How do you beat bright AI?

The key is to trade technology often with everyone early in the game. If need be, buy a tech from one of the races and round-robin sell it to all the other AIs. I do this initially so I can continue deficit spending at 100%. Eventually, it gets to the point that I only trade non-military techs to every race for cash. Also helps keep their cash reserves low so they're not overly aggressive, and it helps build warm relations quickly. Or, at least keep off the drengin off my back long enough for me to have researched superior weapons and shields so when the time comes, a smaller but more potent navy to take anyone on!

May I make some recommendations?

If yes than continue.

Set up your diplomacy points for at least 20% (build that diplomacy super project first if you do) -or-
Set up your diplomacy points for at least 50% (no need to build but sure makes it easier if you building the diplomacy super project)

Trade your arse off with the minors at first. Take them over first unless there is a really weak primary civ, much later.

You only need about half the ships the aliens have to keep them off your back. They seem to look at your total package not just your military, if only the rest of the world did.

Next, fast build your first lab, hopefully its on a bonus tile.

Next, fast build your first factory, hopefullys its on a bonus tile.

Alternate between colonizers and constructoids in building, if you can get a decent ***above 8*** planet near your initial planet, colonize that. Look hard for bonus resources in a circle pattern out from your home world. Kinda like the vampires in the "Dusk to Dawn" series. Do not fast build your ships, especially by borrowing money. Always make at least two tiles into market tiles to offset the cost of your colonies. You can demolish one later in the second phase (soil enhancement or higher) and build a farm there if you have the proper morale built.

Good luck and good hunting.

That is until we meet!

W/R
Suralle Straykat
Kat Lord @ Large

i'm playing always at intelligent level and ideological war scenario simply because i really don't like how tech trade is managed.the scenario is a 3vs3vs3 war or humans,altarians and iconians vs drengin,yor, korx vs torians,arceans,drath.I can say that the strategy i'm using is always winning and it consists in an early warmongering against my next enemy civilizations. i always go for weapons technology and planetary invasion technology.At the beginning intelligent AI is always building colony ship, constructor or scout, while I colonize as many planets as i can but also begin to build my first attack ships and send them to my next civilization.When my ships are near their planets i always do great damage blocking planets of my enemy and destroying every constructor or colony ship, when finally planetary invasion is discovered i build my transports and go for invasion technologies to improve my soldiering.my first enemy is always wiped out and my conquest are also a big advantage for the rest of the game because i have in the middle of the game always 1/4 of the entire galaxy which is too much in a 9 races game.In the middle of game AI is anyway a real pain and always i pay for my errors but at the beginning AI has a lot of limits because doesn't build any attack ship so can be easily exploited.My advise is simply RUSH your unlucky neighbour.l

I've never once lost a bright game. I usually just focus on my economy while building up military in spurts, usually when I want to take over a weak neighbour, or when I'm attacked.

But then again, I'm cheezy with a custom race that starts with ion drive so I can make colony ships that move at 4 parsecs/turn. That's a bit unbalanced imo, so for it to be harder I'm gonna stop that.

If your always get beaten by the bright level, then I recommend you start on one or two levels lower. Try making a custum race and puttin attributes into skills you think you will do. For example, if you want to have a grand economic power, put 5 points into economics and select the federalists.
Basicly what im saying is, just mess around with stategies on tiny, small, medium maps. So that the game will be quick and you can find a good starting strategy. Practice makes perfect, if your always losing, make sure you change up your stategy. Remember that starbases are you friend. Economic, and military bases hill help you harness extra productivity and weapons bonus always come in handy.

edit: woot i'm a commander now

It all depends on what type of player you are. I'm a passive-tanker. Which means I always love to defend and research everything, and then build a huge fully teched-up army and crush the enemy. Unfortunately, GalCiv2 (and Galciv1, for that matter) do NOT allow my type of player to win militarily, at least not just by military means. The problem with military victory is that you simply cannot let your guard down - you always have to press on the attack. The AI is relentless and brutal, you have to keep attacking and building like crazy. This is WAY too frantic and aggressive for my taste, I don't like this sort of play style. I'm usually crushed before I even get to defend myself, because I always think: "My ships will be useless without this tech. Oh, and this tech might be nice. And this one, too, and that one, as well, and I just got to have this one and...oh, the Drengin are knocking on the door....". By the time I'm building my ships the enemy is so far more advanced than I am (they use brute force and downright intimidation to get their techs).

Therefore, the only way for us tankers (or turtlers) to really win the game is by wheelin' and dealin' and backstabbing everyone behind the scenes, it's quite easy and fun, and can keep you alive and well in the most dire situations. Pick a custom civ, give yourself A LOT of diplomacy bonuses, research nothing but the diplomacy tech-tree (the yellow one) and you'll be fine. Just offer a stupid little tech to another civ in exchange for alot of money, or convince them to kill each other while you build up your defenses, anything goes. Use the diplomacy screen nearly every turn. I usually let others do the fighting for me. At higher difficulty levels it's a bit more tricky, since the computer civilizations aren't so gullible, and you'll have to think deviously. This is quite fun, and it's a real treat and a very viable way to win through a diplomatic victory, or a technological one, even though a technological victory is much more difficult to pull.

In my last game I was up to my neck in defending my borders from pirates and the Yor, while trying my best to keep the HUGE yellow stain on the mini-map to engulf me from the other side (the Arceans had a REALLY huge influence power - I had to build influence bases like crazy). It was a race against the clock until, finally, I saw that "1 more turn to technological victory" in the left corner of the screen and I've won. Barely. It was really fun

Don't be fooled - the influence victory path is very much like the military victory one. That's right, you're not using any weapons, but the play style is basically the same - rush, expand like crazy, and keep on spreading your "disease" all over the galaxy. Too aggressive for me, as well.

Economics, are...well...troublesome. Why? Because I can get so much more money with a few well made diplomatic trades and a few strings pulled than I can with slowly building my economy and trade-routes. And even though economics are better on the long run when it comes to currency power and buying empires off, it's quite hard to start your little Universal-Mitrosoft there when at the beginning of the game empires keep knocking on your door. Diplomacy can deal with most problems early on until mid-game. Diplomacy major disadvantage, however, is on the late-game, when everyone has alot of tech and its becoming increasingly difficult to pull strings.