Minor race tactics

from GalCiv2 Forums
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this before. I find the minor races pretty useful as trade partners, and so I generally try to keep the local ones alive if i can. In one of my recent games oone of them asked me for help against the Drengin Empire, who were sending fleets to destroy their defending ships. I responded by giving them some of my own ships which I wasn't using, but then because they don't usually have military ships outside of their own orbits, they just left the ships where they were, even as their planet was repeatedly attacked and eventually conquored. In my opinion it would make sense for them to at least move the ships back to their own planet to aid in the defence, but apparently their AI doesn't cover this. Does this happen for everyone else, and if so is it something that might be addressed in the future?
10,779 views 19 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's been discussed many times over - the minor races (and even the major races) don't seem to make use of newly-given ship until you save and reload your game. Bug.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'm currently no longer experinceing this and am fully updated but I am not sure if it was that or my progressing to higher difficulty settings. It is pretty annoying though! I once gave such an advanced ship to the paulos that it could wipe out any fleet the terrans sent, well, they just ignored it and took out the planet, wiping out the race, and thus the ship.
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Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Minor races are great you can use them to get xp on your fleets + they tand to have good planets hehehehe
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
This happened to me in my current game. The Dark Yor, which I have a close relation with was under attack by the Torian. (I really hate those bug eye ugly MoFos, but have to be nice since i'm "GooD". I don't wanna ally with the Dark Yors since they are an "evil" race and I can't be seen with them.) Anyways, I gave the Dark Yors some of my advance Draco Class Battleships (which is the most advance ships in the game so far). The idiots Dark Yors just left it there.

I tried saving and restarting the game but still, the most advance ships still sit there idle. Luckily the Torians are, in some bit "You got no legs Lt. Dan." so the Torians keep attacking the ships and having their fleet destroyed.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yesterday I gave some powerful ships equipped with Black Hole generators to the Snathi and the Dark Yor and they used them. The Snathi even destroyed some freighters of a enemy civ. I was playing in cakewalk. But I agree that they should be able to use them better. They are too easy to destroy.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I had same problems, but sometimes i gave them ships, but i think they have been out of minor race range, so i move my ships to minor race planet and then i give them. Also i have been reading that minor races do not expand. In my last game, Jesuins grow to some respectable power, manytimes jesuins are been in war with two major races. Very interesting, and i like this, you never know what to espect with every new game.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I love the minor races - they're what keeps me afloat in the earlier stages of the crippling difficulty level. Since your diplomancy is so much more than theirs they hand you technology without any problems, they have great economies so they're a great place to get cash when you run low, and later in the game when you have a stable economy (for me that means the ability to run 100% spending with a surplus) they have great planets to steal.

Whats annoying - they'll build the maximum amount of ships and leave it on their planet and thats it... or they'll build tons of starbases and just clutter the map. (Is there any plan to change the starbase ai? I'm finding myself going to war all the time because I get too many starbases from oher races (minor/major) in my territory. How putting some blocks in the AI so they don't just spam enemy territory with starbases?)
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I played a game the other day where I made an alliance with two minor races vs my major race competitor. I was trying to arrange a post wwii germany type scenario for the finish. So just to make things interesting, and to find out what would happen, every time I conquered an enemy planet I would give it to one of my minor race allies. I alternated which one I gave it to each time and they ended up with five or six planets a piece, while I kept only the enemy homeworld for myself. After that, while they didn't colonize/build space stations, they seemed alot more prone to having warships in the field rather than strictly in orbit. I wanted to stay allied with them til I took out the other major races, to see if it would give me the 'military' victory or the 'allied' victory. Unfortunately I ended up having to break the alliance before then, because the little guys get attacked by someone practically every other turn, and it was screwing up my trade routes in addition to just being annoying.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Dumb question perhaps but how do I tell if a race is a *minor* one?
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's been discussed many times over - the minor races (and even the major races) don't seem to make use of newly-given ship until you save and reload your game. Bug.


THANKS this would help me a lot I have given some AIs tons of ships and I wondered WTF they were doign witht hem. But some do seem to use em, altough retardedly...
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Dumb question perhaps but how do I tell if a race is a *minor* one?

2 ways - It wasn't one of the ones listed during the setup, and it shows up only under the minor race tab on the diplomacy screen.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
What makes a race a "minor" one? Are they limited to the number of planets they can have? Are they easy to enslave...heh.
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
What makes a race a "minor" one? Are they limited to the number of planets they can have? Are they easy to enslave...heh.


They cannot colonise other planets. However, they can be given planets and also influence flip a planet. I don't think they can invade either.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
They should be minor races not a minor annoyance. They should have like 2-4 plantes only in that one system, and they should be allowed to attack planets but not take over them. Instead they would be able to potentially destroy a planet say like every 1 or 2 B ppl takes a planet down 1 level to eventually 0, thats still pretty weak imo kuz with only 2-4 planets they dont really have the pop to take out a planet(and even if 1 no big deal really kuz it was prob low PQ if they destroyed it) very easily ...assuming they are at war with you.
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In my current game, I'm at a point where it just me and the Drengins. Last night, just as we were both cranking out ships for the impending battle, the Vegans pop up on a class 15 planet. Luckily, I had a couple fleets close by, and a a few leftover transports on the closest planet. Needless to say, I greeted them, and then wiped them out within 2 turns. I kind of felt bad, but at that point in the game I couldn't risk letting the planet fall into Drengin hands. I just feel that tossing a minor race into the game that late is like a game of musical chairs - whoever gets there first, gets the planet. Not that they ever stand a real chance, but that instance sort of struck me as rather cruel. Maybe next time time I'll take it upon myself as a challenge to defend them (kharma).
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I kind of felt bad, but at that point in the game I couldn't risk letting the planet fall into Drengin hands.


LOL I like that kind of thinking - the only way to protect them is to invade them and absorb them.

There isn't a good way of protecting minor races except maybe having a fleet nearby to constantly protect, and even maybe give them a ship or two.
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
yea.. minor races need major tweeking... they need to grow and adjust to other races around them
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
In my eyes they are good for building a planet up for you to take it over.