The real problem- Missiles and Beams are what everyone uses, mass drivers don't seem to get used ever due to the fact it takes forever to make them useful (usually not until Nano Ripper)

No idea how to solve the problem...

if enemy is concentrating on missle techs and using armour defense..you should use beam weapons with missle defenses i.e. pd combos...this is just an example..the idea is to counter your enemy's weapons with appropriate defenses,and to have weapons yourself that makes the enemy defenses pretty much useless..

i usually when i reaserarch the massive hull tech..i cram all three defenses,and all three weapon types with a couple of good engines for speed..for better results max out minitirization research..and you got your self a pretty powerful ship..back it up with a few support ships..and go destroy other civilizations

One advice I can give you is never make a ship with a 1 attack rating, always go for at least a 2.

Defence works is effective vs other weapon types by the square route of the defence.

EX.

Shields 2 gives a 2 defence on beams but a 1 defence mass drivers and missles.


So if the enemy has a 2 defence rating in anything and your ship only has a 1 attack value it won't be very effective.

Now early in the game I usually research up to LaserIV or V or even Plasma before I make my first ship. This is cause in the begining I make small fighter craft and heavy fighters which beam weapons are the best for. Sure I have to pay off some of the other races but once I start pumping out fighter ships with 6 attack ratings they usually calm down.

Now before I even produce a Medium ship I try to have a 2 defence rating in something (a 1 defence doesn't give defence bonuses to the other types). This is usually in Missle defence since the Dregs almost always use missles and they are the most aggressive race.

Now depending on the game I might even research 2 types of defences.

Ex.

Normally I would make a medium capitol ship with a 4 missle defence rating (giving it 2 defence in Mass drivers and Beam). However in this game the Dregs aren't that big of a threat but the Korx (mass drivers) and Yor (Beam) are causing some problems. So I make a ship with a 4 missle defence and 4 armor defence. This means my defence is actually 6 missle defence, 6 armor defence, 4 beam defence (sometimes it does pay to research more then one armor type).

Thats just the numbers however, it's up to you to decide whether you are going to research up to a 4 defence rating on something or just add 2x 2 defence components. Usually by endgame you know what weapons pose the biggest threat to you so just focus on that defence.

Never change weapon development unless the enemy is extremely well defended vs your weapon type. If making a mixed weapon ship take into consideration the maximum defence your rivals have. It's pointless adding a beam attack of 4 and missle attack of 4 while the enemy has a 9 defence in Mass drivers (since it gives him a 3 defence in the other catagories meaning your ship will inflict very little damage).


Everygame is different and once you find the system that works for you in one map setting, doesn't mean it'll work in the next.

disregard please

Whatever is least defended against is, of course, the best.

If your enemies are using equal defenses in all categories (or, more likely, you have multiple enemies you need to deal with at once and they all researched different lines), you'll just have to choose the best you've got. Often, especially with tech trading, you'll be able to take two or three types on each ship. In that case, I suggest taking your two best (rather than diluting it with all three).

But, eventually, it comes to this:

Missiles have the best damage per point of hull space, followed by lasers. Mass drivers have the worst, but the Black Hole Gun is the smallest super weapon, so I find myself squeezing it in sometimes even when I'm not making a gun-based ship.

It's more or less equally easy to defend against each weapon, though shields are the least useful line to reasearch if you're faced with equal amounts of each weapon--Zero Point Armor is the most efficient armor in the game, and Aeron Systems give you a good trade item. Shields are only worth the effort if someone is using lasers on you.

In my experience, the AI is equally likely to use any given weapon or defense, so you always need to check what they're using before you research a line--you can't be told here, or assume.

As for style, I like the Black Hole Gun. Besides looking good, I find it amusing that I've got a rail gun which shoots black holes.    The Black Hole Eruptor is sleek looking, but it doesn't seem as nifty to shoot something that generates a black hole, even if it is a bigger one. The Doom Ray looks like Plasma 1, which I find silly, and there's not a very satisfying explanation of what it's actually doing for story purposes.

No, don't max out miniaturization. Leave the last two techs unresearched or you will lose effective space because of how the sizemod works.

Care to explain?

As I understand it, the size of each part scales up based on hull space or something. So basically, as miniaturization increases hull space, the size of the parts increases slightly as well. I hear it's fixed now though.

Not now, but it will be in 1.3.

Still, that only applies to weapons and defenses. More miniaturization ALWAYS helps with putting engines on constructors and troop ships, so I've always maxed it out (as I always need orders of magnitude more constructors and troop ships than anything else).