RustyAnkles

Join Date 09/2006

Some Self Taught Strategies - Professional Opinions PLZ

I recently picked up this game and am loving it. The Dev's really do their best to keep the community happy which I think is great.

I have been playing around with all sorts of different strategies and have come up with a few that I have been using. I would like to hear some feedback to see if I am shooting myself in the foot.

1. I use minor races as much as possible to stay ahead in Technology. Trading techs with minors make them tougher for my enemies and keeps me ahead.
2. I go for Impulse drives ASAP to get fast colony/constructor ships
3. I play Drath for the spy bonus (don't really know if it is actually useful or not). I like knowing what the other races are doing.
4. I try to take out at least 1 other race (militarily) very early in the game.
5. I will restart the game over and over until I get a home planet with a high manufacturing bonus.
6. I try to research "Good and Evil" as soon as I have at least 5 planets to get the alignment bonuses early.
7. I usually will not build a starport on a planet 5 and under. I make them specialty planets(research, economic...etc)

Any other NOOB insights would be great. I am having issues with my early game economy. Even with economic bonuses. I am wondering if I am building planetary improvements too quickly. Anyway, I am glad to have found this game...(I havn't been this addicted since the release of the original Civilization)

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Sounds to me like you are doing just fine.
I wouldn't say it's the best strategies I've read but definitely playable.

The beauty of GC2 is that you'll probably still be refining and discovering new strategies 6 months from now.

Have fun

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Hi!

I am having issues with my early game economy. Even with economic bonuses. I am wondering if I am building planetary improvements too quickly.

Don't worry. We all do.

Just don't buy colonizers on your HW (buy factories to BUILD them), and put more pop in your colonizers. Since revenue from the pop is under square root, it's very good idea to export pop from your heavily populated HW to good colonies. With GC2 version 1.3 HW starts with 8B pop, so you can even fill first few colonizers with (2-5)00M pop, depending on what number of planets you expect to colonize. If few, then even with 500.

BR, Iztok

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Alstein

Join Date 07/2004

+55

1) I turn minors off.

2)I usually go Diplomatic relations to rush build Diplomatic Translators, then go Impulse Drive

3)Usually use the Korx- I like sneaky evil

4)Always a good idea if you can do it. I prefer to build and not fight till I get medium hulls out at least.

5) I don't do that, I take what I am given

6) I usually avoid the alignment stuff unless I need weapons

7) Good idea- I usually go research.

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1.) Minor races are usually Toast first. Better you get that PQ 15 world than some other.
2.) Just don't forget to use the good ol' Ion Drive Colonizers and Constructors while you are doing the research. Its key to grab the best planets and resources as fast as possible. Your neighbors will be doing the same.

5.) You don't have to do that, but I suppose it helps learning the game.

7.) My style is I use PQ 7 or less. Most 8 can be terraformed and can do something reasonable with it.

Insights. Use trade to help balance your economy. Trade with those neighbors that aren't going to be attacked by you soon. Economy base or two on your routes helps also.

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5. I will restart the game over and over until I get a home planet with a high manufacturing bonus.

Try hitting ctrl+N instead of restarting to get that uber planet.

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1. I use minor races as much as possible to stay ahead in Technology. Trading techs with minors make them tougher for my enemies and keeps me ahead.

Are you trading tech for tech or buying it out right? I will trade cash for anything but never give them tech. I use the minors for trade as well. And if an AI goes to war with them you can usually buy peace for the minor.

2. I go for Impulse drives ASAP to get fast colony/constructor ships

Very sound strat. Build your own colies. 1 version w/ ion, 1 with imp, and 1 with warp. If you are playing Huge or Gigantic you could still be grabbing planets late game.

4. I try to take out at least 1 other race (militarily) very early in the game.

Never tried that. I bribe them to slug it out with each other until I have completed the tech tree. Then destroy them all. This makes for a lower overall military score but I make up for it in economics.

5. I will restart the game over and over until I get a home planet with a high manufacturing bonus.

Try hitting ctrl+N instead of restarting to get that uber planet.

Yep. Bonus squares are nice but I am more concerned about placement. I want to be in the middle. If you are stuck in a corner it is harder to branch out, harder to meet the other AI, you loose part of your sphere of influence, and have lower total area for sucking up those anomolies.

6. I try to research "Good and Evil" as soon as I have at least 5 planets to get the alignment bonuses early.

I have that about 23rd on the tech tree. I go engines, sensors, morale, and economics, with dilpomacy mixed in to get the advanced forms of gov't.

7. I usually will not build a starport on a planet 5 and under. I make them specialty planets(research, economic...etc)

Class 9 is my lowest. It's up to you though.

Any other NOOB insights would be great. I am having issues with my early game economy. Even with economic bonuses. I am wondering if I am building planetary improvements too quickly. Anyway, I am glad to have found this game...(I havn't been this addicted since the release of the original Civilization)

The BC anomolies will help keep you going. As someone said above, you will be refining the way you play for months. There isn't one really great way to play that I have found but htere are a bunch of really good ones.

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You're on the right track dude, although with minors I wait and trade techs with them before I kill them. I get all the techs, and they don't get to sell mine on to others. I also get a juicy planet at the end.

Here are some other general tips:

I don't know if you already do this or not, but on the first turn go straight to the Domestic Screen and set your spending capacity to 100%.

Don't be afraid to adjust the economy sliders. In times of peace, you can often get away with a very high Research %, so when you do need ships they're top of the range.

Don't research too many ship and weapon techs at the expense of production techs. There's no point having the best ships if it takes 20 turns to build them at your best planets!

Don't research improvement techs too quickly, or your new worlds will take forever to develop (unless you're a rich bitch).

Unless your planning on killing everybody quickly, it might be a good idea to go for Trade early to make money. There isn't a lot of point setting up trade routes with someone you're going to kill.

Don't build too many improvements at the beginning, or you will spend too much on production and go bankrupt.

If you want big ships, don't neglect logistics.

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1. I use minor races as much as possible to stay ahead in Technology. Trading techs with minors make them tougher for my enemies and keeps me ahead.

Exactly what I do but I go further. So long as I am good/neutral I nurture, help and protect minors. In return I exploit them for trade/tech/money/influence points. I consider them vassel states to my empire. I usually form a alliance with them and the leader of my race uses them as vacation spots where he can be whorshipped as a god.

When I am evil I just exploit them fullstop. When I get bored of them I conquer them usually, sometimes when in a particular foul mood I mass driver there homeworld and then destroy colony.

2. I go for Impulse drives ASAP to get fast colony/constructor ships

Same here. Heh yr good.

. I play Drath for the spy bonus (don't really know if it is actually useful or not). I like knowing what the other races are doing.

I play Drath for there 50% defence bonus. I always have advanced diplomacy on all major races that I have not eliminated yet...

4. I try to take out at least 1 other race (militarily) very early in the game.

Wow u read my mind. I do exactly the same.

5. I will restart the game over and over until I get a home planet with a high manufacturing bonus.

I consider this cheating, I make do with the tools the random god give me, its more fun.

6. I try to research "Good and Evil" as soon as I have at least 5 planets to get the alignment bonuses early.

If evil I put off researching this until the colonisation phase finishes. Good I research it as quick as possible. Neutral I flip a coin...

7. I usually will not build a starport on a planet 5 and under. I make them specialty planets(research, economic...etc)

I build starports on every planet. Sometimes buy wonders/unique buildings on those worlds to save a important tile on a bigger world.

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Thanks for the insight fellas. Good stuff!

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7. I usually will not build a starport on a planet 5 and under. I make them specialty planets(research, economic...etc)

I build starports on most planets, small PQ worlds are very good for pumping out constructors and as a poster mentioned above they can be used for special trade goods so you don't waste a tile on a bigger PQ world.

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