challenging level--early strategy

First of all, if you've only colonized 4 planets after 30 turns, you need to get your expansion strategy straight. You WILL lose the game colonizing that slowly unless the computers are set to be pretty dumb. You'll hear different strategies but my preference is to set 100 mil / 0 soc / 0 res and 100 spend, with a tax level that puts my approval rate in the mid 90s. That way you can crank out a colony ship in 2 turns from Earth. Use the Freedom to Innovate to colonize a world as quickly as possible and crank a couple scouts out of there so you know where to send your colony ships. You'll get the hang of it. The initial expansion phase is hands down the most important factor in whether you win the game or not.

As for being behind technologically, I always am in the early game and I simply don't sweat it. Once I am done with the expansion phase I tend to blow them away technologically. Also remember that you can gain a huge edge by tech brokering. That should help you snap up all those little techs you left behind and also create a glut in your treasury. I find that with all the computers set on intelligent, with a pretty good expansion, I am doing about half of the entire spending in the galaxy by the time the expansion phase is done. Most important is to remember not to think of the minor races as minor races. They are piggy banks. Nothing more, nothing less. Either you will take their money, or the computer will. Sell them your techs for obscene amounts of cash and use it to superfuel your economy. If you don't, the computer will just take it from them with threats or by selling them technology.

-Drake

~SDC~

thank you a lot!

One more question
When I am trading with minor or major,
if they are willing to pay 80% of the research cost, is it regarded as a good deal in the AI? (I have read that AI values their tech a lot, downweighing others)

Just adding to the advice above, since challenging is my preferred level of play. Do not worry about an early tech disadvantage. That can easily be fixed by researching something not on the AI's normal early agenda. Something like Battle Armor or Instant Communications. Or, go the riskier route by going into debt buying a trade good and peddle it off to some harmless minors so that they give you some tech and/or cash to work with. That should catch you up a bit on the tech. (I am still playing 1.04.059, so I do not know how the trade goods rush goes in the newer version.) Then consider becoming a tech broker or not.

The biggest thing you must learn in being a tech broker is that if you drop a tech on one player, you might as well sell it to them all at the same time. Either put it on the market or keep it to yourself. It doesn't really matter how much money they offer you, as they will all pay widely different prices, as long as they all pay. The profit comes from selling it to like 6 or 7 players at a time. It is alright to withhold a key technology that you deem you need to keep to maintain an advantage, Advanced Diplomacy for example. But realize that by being the broker, you are speeding up the research for all the empires you are trading with. That means the tech you withhold should either be something the AI takes a long time to get to, or is critically important for a short term goal (like withholding Nanbots in an early rush to get a soldier advantage right as the transports hit the targets). But you are better off just selling most everything to everyone because that overall sped up research is going to quickly overtake the tech you are holding back.

I see! It was very helpful. Thank you!

If you have excess colony ships after colonization, just bring them back to an already colonized star. You can add the population in the ship to a world you've already colonized--just have it travel to the star and then click on the planet that you want to add population to. (You lose the ship by doing this.)

Gerakken's advice is probably the best, but I would also like to add that the number of planets you should get is highly dependent on the size of the galaxy as well as how common good planets are. Since you didn't provide that information, Richard Heaton's advice may or may not be right for you. I often play tiny/rare, where I'm doing well if I can get one planet other than earth in the initial stages. 4 planets is about right for small/common (another favorite of mine). Adjust according to size. I'd also like to add that if you are going to be tech brokering, diplomatic translators are indispensible. Good luck.

thank you guys for all your helpful information!