Enough with the constructors

Typical midgame

from GalCiv2 Forums

My typical game usually starts with REXing (I'm playing the Terrans on large at challenging), and once I've got every planet I can, have a decent defense, and enough planets have built starports, I start building constructors and starbases.  Here's where the game gets boring.  I usually end up having fifteen to twenty starbases (including resource bases), although I only stop building starbases when I win the game.  As long as there is room for starbases, I keep building them.  (I max out on economy, have tons of specialized economy planets, so $$$ is not a problem.)

Here is a typical midgame turn:  Six or seven constructors get built.  Launch all constructors.  Manually select their destinations.  Send them off.  Get popups from constructors that have made it to their destination this turn.  Select the module.  Say yes to the $$$ popup if it is there. 

Next turn:  Rinse, repeat.  At an average of twenty-five modules per starbase, an average of five modules per turn, fifteen starbases, I'm doing this for a LONG TIME.  And that's my game experience.  Everything else I love.  But I'm starting to hate constructors, yet I can't stop because I know that without the bonuses provided by starbases, I would get waxed. 

So, is there anything that I can do to automate this process?  Is there anything Stardock can do?  I'm sure that they want to keep players from doing repetitive, non-fun tasks.  Micromanaging constructors is not fun. 

4,848 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
On the interface section of the menu in the game there are two things to check off, Prompt to upgrade, and prompt to pay for upgrade of the Starbase.

Other than that, there is little to do for this issue. I would actually like to see a game where only 1 sb is allowed per grid (as an option only to still keep happy those who are sb happy) and be able to turn influence starbases off altogether. The Starbase upgrading on an immense and abundant settings is absolutely brutal.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Try these suggestions:

Launch all constructors.
End of quote

In the options screen, turn on the option for "Auto Launch ships from orbit"

Manually select their destinations.
End of quote

You can set rally points for destinations and then use the Govenors screen to send constructors to that rally point.

Get popups from constructors that have made it to their destination this turn. Select the module. Say yes to the $$$ popup if it is there.
End of quote

You can turn off the "Do you want to pay the extra money for this starbase module" popup, it's in the options screen.  It's called "Prompt to pay for starbase modules".  You can also turn off the prompt to upgrade the starbase, if you wanted, and it'll pick the upgrade for you.

the game gets boring
End of quote

Also, you can turn up the AI difficulty to help keep you from getting bored with your routine.
Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If you're playing "Challenging" I am not surprised that eventually you will get bored. I rarely build economy starbases, simply because I can't afford to pour all that money into something that's just going to cost me more money (and is often an unneeded boost).
The only starbases I build are the ones on resources, very véry occasionnally I'll build a few econ starbases to boost construction around a few planets that got very lucrative events upon colonisation, but more often than not, I build no conventional starbases whatsoever...
If this really is your routine, I'd advise reading a few strategy guides, to get some ideas on different ways to play the game. Try, for instance, to get a Zero Year Win (beating the game within 48 turns), or perhaps manipulate your opponents into very early wars against eachother, to get some early action that'll keep you busy with other things than building starbases.

The constructor will stay relevant, because you can't pass up resource starbases, but they won't be anywhere near as game dominating as they appear to be in your playstyle.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks for the tips. I configured my options and my rally points, and there wasn't as much moving around the map to send my constructors over to starbases. There aren't enough customization options to completely automate the process, but it's close enough, and removing those steps makes it much much less of a hassle. I figured out how to switch my rally points once my starbase is fully loaded, and it's not much of a problem if my ships make a bit of a detour should I miscalculate the number of constructors needed.

And, yeah, I think I will have to raise the difficulty so that I'm forced to move out of my comfortable strategies.