How come the enemy has better ships?

What do you mean the alien's ships are better? They have better techs? More firepower, more hit points or what?

There are many factors that can affect ships, such as Military starbase bonuses, tech, discoveries from anomalies and experience.

Tony

And events. Ethical choices can give huge benifits to ships constructed on a given planet. I have seen up to a 51% bonus to ships from these events

Wouldn't you have won before finishing all research, unless you turned off that victory?

You can't have finished all the research, it takes a mind numbing amount of time to get the tech tree. Wonders etc, and I'm betting the AI is just better than you at optimising ships. Tell us every tech you're using.

Two words:

Military Resources.

I think we need to start with: What stats do their ships have, and what stats do you have? I play on Tough, and I can assure you that I can recreate almost any enemy ship I encounter, baring military resource, military starbase, ship experience, or racial miniaturization bonuses if I have the same tech as said enemy.

In what way are their ships better?

Wouldn't you have won before finishing all research, unless you turned off that victory?

Not necessarily. You can research all of the military techs without coming close to a technological victory, or you can gain a technological victory without ever researching more than the first handful of levels of a single weapon branch. They're on entirely seperate tech branches in GC2.

Even in GC1, you had all military techs (except the Excalibur) long before you got a technological victory.

For instance, there's a Dreadnought from the Domion of Korx, no where near full tech, but has like 197 Mass, and 157 of all defences or something. I quickly got concerned and bought their entire fleet of them. I didn't realise those starship bonuses only happen on certain planets. That could be why they are so strong. Is there anyway to find out which planets had the bonuses to starships?

Oh my top ship has like 66 Attack Beam, 44 Armor, 20 of both other defences or something like that.

O.K., there is a rather large bonus attached to any ship orbiting a planet. I can't remember if it's to attack, defense, or both, but I seem to remember it's a 50% bonus. There's also the possibility that the ships are within the area of effect of one or more military starbases, which can add quite a bit to the attack and some to the defense.

Also, those stats seem low for an endgame ship, unless that's a medium or small hull. I'll have to tinker in my current game to see what kinds of ships I can build, but I seem to remember being able to hit 100 attack or more using end game weapons.

Ok, he's the stats of the Terran Alliance. 50 286 0
215 95 71

That is over powered, but this is without any benefits or abilities. I bought it just so I could see. I checked the spec (wot equip it had) and tried to match it with my own design, I run out of space way before I add all it's equipment on. I have researched everything, I even produce ships on a planet which has a 46% bonus, yet my enemy still produces mega ships in comparison, and they have no additional miniturisation, what gives? This is so unfair. Do the AI eefectivly cheat on tough?

My ship in comparison, I managed to get at 286 Lasers, and 122 Sheilds. Still not comparible to my enemies average ships. They have no military resources either. This is also the strength without aid of starbases.

No they don't cheat. How do you know about miltary starbases? did you cheat to see the whole map? You know about miniturisation wonders as well right?

Okay, I've finished all the research and fully kitted out my ships as far as they can go yet the AI build better ships than I do.

Stupid question but what is your difficulty level? I think to remember having read that at highest levels, all AI get miniaturization bonus.

I'm playing it on Tough, I didn't realise they get minurisation bonuses. Also, no I havn't cheated, I just happen to be the most powerful nation on the map. I know everything that goes on and I have all the resouces except for 2 military that I've given to my allies. My economy is at 56500 BC, where the runners up is 6500 BC. Thats why I can see the whole map, although I only have 43% of the colonies, I have sensor ships everywhere. My own design for massive range. This has cleared the matter up, monuments and bonuses for higher difficulty levels. Cheers guys. On subject, what is the attributes of the higher difficulty levels then? Does the AI get smarter at ever level?

I'm playing it on Tough, I didn't realise they get minurisation bonuses

Well, on though (Intelligent AI), you are supposed to be on the same playing field than the AI. So they shouldn't have any miniaturization bonus appart form what you can see from the race selection screen. And I wonder if some get multiple Hyperion shrinker due to invasion of others AI