questions regarding early expansion

from Stardock Forums
I have just started playing the game and have a few questions. I completed one game on a medium map with 'common' inhabitable planets and all the aliens set to 'fool.' It was too easy, but used it to get the hang of a few things.

I then started a large map with 'occasional' inhabitable planets and all the aliens set to the next level up, which I think is 'beginner.' I was started in a corner of the map with 3 inhabitable planets in my range. Then there was void. My colony ships couldn't travel out far enough to reach any other planets. I built a starbase figuring this would extend their range, but it didn't. Perhaps it needed to be upgraded? I don't know. I started over. Maybe this was just a bad draw, I don't know. Is there a strategy around this? (or is it called 'reset'?)

Do starbases extend the range? I got that notion from the message that said the colony ship was too far away from a planet or starbase.

So I restarted and am able to reach more planets, but the AI seems to be reaching the best planets way before I can. I bought 2 colony ships on credit and waited out the rest. Should I have bought more? The future payments seem pretty outrageous.

Thanks
348 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Starbases: Yes they extend range but you need to build them farter out. Farther away from the nearest planet the more range it will extend.

Restart: I would restarted that game too most likely

Expansion: I personally expand like this. I don't buy anything. Set Military to 85% and Research to 15%. Social to 0%. Government spending to 100%, taxes to 50%. Build nothing but colony ships on Earth. Should pump one out every 2 turns. New colonies should also do colony ships, with a couple scouts tossed in to find more systems. I keep doing this until I've claimed every world I can. I'm playing normal level currently and I can out expand the AI almost every time. Then I set spending levels to about 33% each and adjust as needed the rest of the game.

:D
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Try to have morale on all planets equal to 100 at the start - you'll get double pop growth with it. Then you have just several systems, this is even more important because you'll get very low additional income from taxes (compared to your 1000 starting bc), but you'll lose a good % of your possible population.

Say, morale 100 instead of 54-99 in first 3 turns - you'll get (1,06/1,03)^3=1.0899 or 9% of population of our entire empire till late midgame. This is a HUGE difference for just several bc.

~SDC~
SoundPackager - Customize the Windows sound scheme
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
-of your entire empire-

Also, don't set research slider to a fixed amount (more important on larger galaxies) - you'll lose any excess reseach. (say, tech cost 1000, you have 300 research points/turn -> research in 4 turns, you'll lose 300*4=1200-1000=200 research points)

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
"Don't set your research slider to more than the amount that gives you the next tech."

This means that you have to micro-manage your research slider whenever you're about to research your next tech. I consider this to be a design flaw in the game.

Either:

- The extra research points should carry forward to the next tech.
- Your sliders should auto-adjust if you would be wasting research points.

In fact, there's rumored to be a bug in the way the research screen is updated after adjusting your sliders. So, following Ellestar's advice may lead to you wasting an extra turn to get your tech. I don't know if this was fixed in the latest version.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
If you change taxes, game updates all numbers. Don't know if it bugged even with this (suppose it is).

Another tip - sort techs by cost in descending order - just to be sure that you are not trying to research Dreadnought for 10 bc.

~SDC~
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
When claiming a new system or placing a new starbase, you have to wait until the next turn for the extended range to take effect. That may have been the problem you had. Did you hit the generate turn button before you restarted?

... stuck in the corner like that, I would have probably restarted as well before I got hedged in.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

enigma - you're right, it takes a turn to take effect. I figured it out in my new game.

also regarding the info on the research sliders, etc, I realize I have a lot to learn about the game. thanks for the info though
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
The advice in the manual about rush buying colony ships seems to be, well, bad. The system that bonscott explained works much better. I like to throw some Constructors into the early mix as well, though, since the AI will snap up resources very quickly if you aren't careful.