<t> Could be a bit of all of the factors you mention. Also that I usually quit once the game is well in hand, which happens before major fleets.<br/>
<br/>
Mostly, I find that I don't need much fuel because I can take any planet using troop transports. Against most planets, no escort is needed ...

<r> Ditto Bing on 1 and 2.<br/>
<br/>
3.: "reducing" is what you'll see for shields when you are some nasty gas clouds.&nbsp; (You'll see "lightning" in the cloud when zoomed way out.)&nbsp; Generally, stay out of such clouds.&nbsp; There are no systems there (or very few), so you usually won't ...

<r> <QUOTE><s>[quote]</s>everyone that used them noted a serious rep hit with even a small number of planets destroyed. Myabe it's a function of the many settings or difficulty level.
<e>[/quote]</e></QUOTE>
I posted that in an AAR. On the other hand, I may have not really understood what was ...

<t> The AIs don't get your designs, only pirates can.&nbsp; But pirates for the most part only build little ships -- I've never seen larger than cruisers, and even that rarely.&nbsp; So, they might get your little designs (if you even use them -- I don't).&nbsp; <br/>
<br/>
Pirates seem to get new ...

<t> I like thiosk's idea.&nbsp; <br/>
<br/>
To Bingeling, it is true that a colony should be able to bootstrap itself -- eventually.&nbsp; But it should take imports to get it to happen quickly.&nbsp; This is no different than here on Earth -- if you are building, say, a new subdivision, you don't ...

I have dreamed about many games.&nbsp; It happens when you are immersed in them, usually when you are up the learning curve a bit and picking up speed.&nbsp; Your brain needs to sim the same or something.

Other AI empires might get pirates to join them, though, and so might get your design.

Ships cannot be captured.

The AI can use your designs, though.

<t> Binge, yes to all.&nbsp; Depends on how you like to play.&nbsp; The game certainly will not tell you when two of your allies are starting to feel nasty towards each other, so you'll have to poll (how often?) to find it out.&nbsp; You can do that.&nbsp; But do you want to?<br/>
<br/>
Getting ...

<r> Agreed: an EU2-like casus belli system would be a nice addition to DW.&nbsp; Not all wars are created equal.&nbsp; Also, DW ought to consider stealing EU2's badboy system as a bolt-on for reputation.&nbsp; As it is, it is all to easy to expand militarily.&nbsp; (Having better war-fighting AI ...

<r> <QUOTE><s>[quote]</s>Mutual Defence Pacts - they're horrible! Not worth the little extra you get over the Free Trade Agreement! The AI is far too fickle and gets into wars far too quickly for my tastes.<e>[/quote]</e></QUOTE>
<br/>
Agreed. Also, you can often sell a declaration of war for a ...

<t> You cannot really defend against troop-drops, although the AI is often haphazard about it and you can toast its transports with a big base (or fleet).&nbsp; And of course it is best to kill enemy armies when they are helpless.&nbsp; Still, you need to keep your own counter-force of armies in a ...

<r> On pirates, yes they definitely should be stealthed, and basically hide themselves as well as they can.&nbsp; I mean, it is not realistic for rational beings with lifespans of years to take up piracy if they can count on a survival time of days or weeks.&nbsp; And that is certainly the case when ...

<t> I noticed the problem and took to playing with fewer pirates.&nbsp; There is sort of the opposite problem with zero pirates -- there is no obvious way to improve your reputation.&nbsp; (Whereas there are many ways to trash it, many of which your AI subcommanders will happily do if you give them ...

<t> I like the idea.&nbsp; It is a succession game!&nbsp; I'll play if it is vanilla.<br/>
<br/>
I'd suggest that we limit play to particular periods of years in the game, and/or hours of actual play, whichever comes first.&nbsp; Especially with full control of fleets, a war should take a lot of ...

I do not have ROTS.&nbsp; I see ships in fuel distress all the time, both the AIs and my own if I let the AI control them.

<r> Really good fuel management is potentially quite hard.&nbsp; But there's a big gap between where DW is (at least vanilla), and really good.&nbsp; It doesn't take heavy programming to make these relatively minor changes:
<UL><s>[ul]</s><LI><s>[*]</s>know when a fleet is "idle" (basically, has no ...

<r>
<QUOTE><s>[quote]</s><B><s>[b]</s>Most repairs do not consume resources<e>[/b]</e></B>. The only exception I am aware of is the repair of the World Destroyers or Devastation Moon Project capital ships.<e>[/quote]</e></QUOTE>
<br/>
What about repairing a never-completed base? When you stop ...

<t> I also have vanilla only.&nbsp; I've been playing the Dhayut a bunch, and can certainly confirm Apheirox's points.&nbsp; At least wrt them.<br/>
<br/>
Just today I was trying semi-hands off, letting the AI do all the warfighting.&nbsp; My fleet started out with a load of armies, and it ...

<t> Turn-based tactical combat does have role in 4x; I enjoyed MoO2 just like everyone else. However, it is very hard to get the balance right in the absence of decent AI. If you give the player control and a complex combat system, he will be able to overcome ridiculous odds and beat an AI ...