Advice for Game Settings
Help please...
from 
GalCiv2 Forums
GalCiv2 Forums
Greetings everyone,
Now that I have the full version of DA installed, I'm ready to begin a new game. But as usual, I am still torn between the settings that I should use for game set up. I can't decide if I should play on a Medium or Large galaxy (and the ideal number of opponents for each size), I'm unsure about the Research Speed that I should set, I don't know if I should disable Tech Trading all together, and I am undecided about how many Anomolies I want there to be. Basically, what I want is:
- A challenging game where each planet is indispensible. I want the loss of a single planet to mean something to me or to the AI. I really enjoy the tension and apprehension that exists in the early stages of the game, and would like it to continue until victory or defeat.
- I don't want to control too many planets becuase I like to micromanage a little (although Starbase management becomes tedious quickly), but at the same time I don't like to wait 70 - 100 turns to research some of the techs. However, I also don't want military techs to become obsolete quickly. I know, I'm being very demanding.
- I want each AI to have a fair share of planets and plenty of asteroids to exploit.
I hate it when one AI has 15 planets, and their neighbor only has 4. I wish asteroids were in open space, not just around stars.
- I would like range to mean something. I've contemplated modding range so that it's less than the current default, but I'm afraid of how it will affect the AI.
- I like the concept of having to explore several systems before finding a good planet, but I become frustrated when the AI beats me to them or colonizes the available planet in my home system (Mars for example). I'm probably being too critical though.
- I want research decisions to matter, and a distinction of abilities and skills between the races. I don't like it when all the races are pretty much the same (although I know I won't be able to achieve StarCraft variety for example).
- I want Minors to play a role in the game, but I HATE how easy they are to exploit by me, especially since the other AI's don't attempt to exploit them. As a rule of thumb, I usually disable them if I opt to play with Tech Trading on.
- I really love the concept of Pirates and Space Monsters because they add an element of surprise and apprehension to the game (when I used to play CivIV, I usually played with Raging Barbarians on). Is there a way to mod this into the game?
What I AM sure of is that I like abundant stars, Abundant Asteroids, Mega Events, Super Abilities, Blind Exploration, all Victory Condions, Avanced CPU Algorithsm, AI difficulty set to Tough, and I don't like abundant planets (5 planets around every star just looks weird) or galaxies smaller than Medium (I like a variety of opponents). I usually tend to play methodically, focusing on strategy and thinking carefully about my choices. I love the intricacies of diplomatic relationships between the races, and I try to roleplay with the race I'm playing as. I usually prefer the Terrans, but I've also played a bit with the Arceans. I don't mind playing a game that lasts several weeks (even though I have limited free time), but I get frustrated when after several hours of time invested in a game I realize that there's either no chance of me winning, or no chance of the AI challenging me anymore. Although I must admit, I've never finished a game and maybe I haven't given Mega Events a good chance to kick in and spice things up. I also haven't researched far into the tech tree in any of my games (I know this even though I always hide the techs that aren't available to me yet... I wish I could set this to be the default setting in the Research screen).
I appreciate any advice from veterans and newcomers alike, and as always, I am grateful for the wonderful support that the Stardock team has given to this great strategy game. Thank you!
Now that I have the full version of DA installed, I'm ready to begin a new game. But as usual, I am still torn between the settings that I should use for game set up. I can't decide if I should play on a Medium or Large galaxy (and the ideal number of opponents for each size), I'm unsure about the Research Speed that I should set, I don't know if I should disable Tech Trading all together, and I am undecided about how many Anomolies I want there to be. Basically, what I want is:
- A challenging game where each planet is indispensible. I want the loss of a single planet to mean something to me or to the AI. I really enjoy the tension and apprehension that exists in the early stages of the game, and would like it to continue until victory or defeat.
- I don't want to control too many planets becuase I like to micromanage a little (although Starbase management becomes tedious quickly), but at the same time I don't like to wait 70 - 100 turns to research some of the techs. However, I also don't want military techs to become obsolete quickly. I know, I'm being very demanding.
- I want each AI to have a fair share of planets and plenty of asteroids to exploit.
I hate it when one AI has 15 planets, and their neighbor only has 4. I wish asteroids were in open space, not just around stars.
- I would like range to mean something. I've contemplated modding range so that it's less than the current default, but I'm afraid of how it will affect the AI.
- I like the concept of having to explore several systems before finding a good planet, but I become frustrated when the AI beats me to them or colonizes the available planet in my home system (Mars for example). I'm probably being too critical though.
- I want research decisions to matter, and a distinction of abilities and skills between the races. I don't like it when all the races are pretty much the same (although I know I won't be able to achieve StarCraft variety for example).
- I want Minors to play a role in the game, but I HATE how easy they are to exploit by me, especially since the other AI's don't attempt to exploit them. As a rule of thumb, I usually disable them if I opt to play with Tech Trading on.
- I really love the concept of Pirates and Space Monsters because they add an element of surprise and apprehension to the game (when I used to play CivIV, I usually played with Raging Barbarians on). Is there a way to mod this into the game?
What I AM sure of is that I like abundant stars, Abundant Asteroids, Mega Events, Super Abilities, Blind Exploration, all Victory Condions, Avanced CPU Algorithsm, AI difficulty set to Tough, and I don't like abundant planets (5 planets around every star just looks weird) or galaxies smaller than Medium (I like a variety of opponents). I usually tend to play methodically, focusing on strategy and thinking carefully about my choices. I love the intricacies of diplomatic relationships between the races, and I try to roleplay with the race I'm playing as. I usually prefer the Terrans, but I've also played a bit with the Arceans. I don't mind playing a game that lasts several weeks (even though I have limited free time), but I get frustrated when after several hours of time invested in a game I realize that there's either no chance of me winning, or no chance of the AI challenging me anymore. Although I must admit, I've never finished a game and maybe I haven't given Mega Events a good chance to kick in and spice things up. I also haven't researched far into the tech tree in any of my games (I know this even though I always hide the techs that aren't available to me yet... I wish I could set this to be the default setting in the Research screen).
I appreciate any advice from veterans and newcomers alike, and as always, I am grateful for the wonderful support that the Stardock team has given to this great strategy game. Thank you!
