Effective expansion policy

[concern]

I am wondering if some of the more experienced players out there can tell me what an effective expansion policy is?

At the beginning, should I colonise aggressively, claiming all decent worlds I discover, or should I conservatively colonise a couple of choice worlds and wait for them to bring in a tax income prior to pushing out further.

How do you balance this against the requirement to grab worlds before your competition does? What reports within the game actually assist you in making the decision that it's time to expand further?

Thanks.

[2guncohen]

Be "selective" when you Colonyze planets or mine resources.
Best thing to do, is to frequently check the list of resources Your Empire Need.*
And keep an eye for  "Rare luxury goods".

* Check what your resource-demands are => and see that mid-game you have them all in the pocket.

When you made contact with aliens, check the resources needed on galactic scale. => Im not 100% sure but when you see resources in this list => this is the demand of other empires => this means more income for your BNP.

I know this tips are not detailed enough, but its just my "2cents "to try to understand this game and rule an intergalactical Empire [:)]
And share my thoughts with other people.

[Fishman]

ORIGINAL: concern

I am wondering if some of the more experienced players out there can tell me what an effective expansion policy is?

A consistent expansion policy I have found to work well and put you far ahead of the AI is "SPAWN MORE OVERLORDS". If you aren't constructing a colony ship, it better be because there's nowhere for it to land and you don't expect to ever find more. Every time you plop a colony ship, your population increases by +10M or more, depending on your level of colony ship technolergy. SPAWN MORE OVERLORDS! Prioritize grabbing independent worlds, particularly populated ones. If they don't want to join, and you can't colonize them with a spare colony ship of a compatible race (yours is probably incompatible), then invade them. If you see an enemy colony ship, declare war on them and shoot it down.

[Canute0]

my priority
- with ultra rare resources (spice, fluid,...)
- with independed population , more tax, more bonus abilitys
- with artefakts, better colony development, maybe empire bonus
- with useful resources.

You should avoid to colonies at other empire systems, mosttimes your population geting unhappy, rebel and join the other empire then. But you allways can use these colony to trade with that empire.

Basicly colonies anything, at last any colony is a cheap refuel point.

[2guncohen]

ORIGINAL: Canute

- with independed population , more tax, more bonus abilitys

You should avoid to colonies at other empire systems, mosttimes your population geting unhappy, rebel and join the other empire then. But you allways can use these colony to trade with that empire.

I forgot those two.

1- Pirates are good to trade info of locations to Independent Planets.

2- I would never trade it [:D] I Would accidently click war and invade the Alien Colony [:D]
or
You can try to make that planet rebel and then invade it ?=> never tried this...

[concern]

Maybe I am still recoiling from the challenges of the various 1.04 betas, but I recall that an unfettered expansion policy quickly results in bankruptcy as your constructors build too many unprofitable mines and your private citizens build too many ships, to support colonies that still don't produce tax revenues.

Has this changed since we moved out of beta?

[Fishman]

ORIGINAL: concern

Maybe I am still recoiling from the challenges of the various 1.04 betas, but I recall that an unfettered expansion policy quickly results in bankruptcy as your constructors build too many unprofitable mines and your private citizens build too many ships, to support colonies that still don't produce tax revenues.

Slightly, although allowing your constructors run amok building things was never advisable to begin with, and I can always find something useful they can be doing myself. As for unfettered, you clearly need priorities, but you also need to keep DOING it.

[concern]

although allowing your constructors run amok building things was never advisable

Does this mean constructor automation is still broken in 1.04? ie: it doesn't make sound economic judgements.

[Fishman]

ORIGINAL: concern

Does this mean constructor automation is still broken in 1.04? ie: it doesn't make sound economic judgements.

Not a clue. Given the opaqueness and lack of reason given to some of these decisions, though, I am not inclined to trust them. The AI has not demonstrated that it is capable of anything approaching prudent fiscal management. It once asked to build 50 escorts, several dozen destroyers, and a resupply ship. No rationale was given for why it would want such a thing, especially given that such things did not actually exist, yet a cost was proposed anyway. After receiving many such dubious, unexplained suggestions, I stopped listening to its advice completely.

[Canute0]

My constr. ships are all automated and they are running fine overall.
90% of the time they just build what your empire is needed, that include research stations too and it dont help to made these stations Obsolent. You should build these at your own pretty fast.

And when you discover a debris field, const. ships like to repair these too, even when they are still guarded by creatues.

[Wenla]

My expansion speed depends on my financial status. I expand as fast/slowly as my financial status stays black. This means normally slow and carefull expansion, which is my overall strategy with all another games also, and usually it works well.

[Dadekster]

Depending on the map and scouting I generally colonize several planets quickly to get a base going. I only use 2 constructors as they are expensive and I select what to build depending on what I need as far as strategic and luxury things I need. You end up with a decent surplus but depending on how much you build certain things can run out (the red rock thing and something that looks like a pearl, can't remember but they are both strategic). Once I've got about 5-10 colonies I tend to expand in gulps of 3 planets at a time as I find them. Once I am a decent sized empire and start meeting other races I build up 4 dedicated fleets for offensive and defensive operations. For pirates I generally just grab a couple local escorts and frigs once I find their base and deal with it. My mining and gas stations are decently armoured and armed so pirates are just a nuisance and I don't design anything under capital for pirates to steal (besides whoever heard of an escort imperial star destroyer??!? Awesome mod btw!) Once I hit twenty planets or so I keep an eye on the profits on the other colonies and while I will grab a nice new planet if I see it I am much more selective in what I launch a colony ship towards. Ruins, nice resource spread, native population etc are big factors in what I snag. I play humans a lot so when I get a race that can colonize swamps your planner will many times blow up with planets to colonize. It's at that point you have to cherry pick of its easy to crash your economy.

But that's just me.[:)]

[2guncohen]

ORIGINAL: Dadekster
(besides whoever heard of an escort imperial star destroyer??!? Awesome mod btw!)
But that's just me.[:)]

Pirates ? [:D]

[taltamir]

The most effective colonization plan is to colonize, colonize, colonize. Colonize EVERYTHING (literally every planet you can... but only if not in a system claimed by AI)...
Acquire races that can colonize other types of planets ASAP. (specifically, ice, volcanic, and ocean).

Colonize priority:
1. Ruins.
2. Luxury resources - NOTE: they might be in order, but you should prioritize #1 and #2 significantly. Especially in early game.
NOTE2: Aim for the largest variety of luxury resources, and prioritize rarer resources over less rare.
3. Regular resources
4. No resources.

But still colonize everything you can.

Note, that you should trade maps and tech... The goal is to get as much maps as you can and ALL the tech. Once you are ahead you should, ideally, buy other's maps with tech but NOT sell them your maps, maps are worth more then tech!
Furthermore, there will be empires that seem to just swim in cash, literally in millions. SELL them tech for cash. use that cash to buy colony ships...

Example. in one game I swapped map and tech so I have it all, then I sold some tech for 1,200,000 money (what is the unit of money in DW?)... I used that to buy 200 colony ships at 6000 a pop. In under 5 minutes I gained 200 colonies... then I sold more tech and repeated... I ended up going from under 100 colonies to 600 colonies out of 730 (I got the rest when I conquered the other empires )

[Shark7]

My Priorities:

-Colonies with independent populations that are 'likely' or 'possible' for colonization
-Luxury Resources
-Resources I need
-Proximal to my capital
-all others when the first 4 options are taken

[taltamir]

ORIGINAL: Shark7

My Priorities:

-Colonies with independent populations that are 'likely' or 'possible' for colonization
-Luxury Resources
-Resources I need
-Proximal to my capital
-all others when the first 4 options are taken

Independents are not worth a colony ship... send a troop ship!
Not only are troop ships cheaper, but you can reuse them... you can claim all the independents with one single troop ship. No risk of "failed colonization" (which wastes a colony ship), its faster (no need to build a colony ship first), and it works every time even for races that hate you.
The rep hit is really irrelevant.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: taltamir

ORIGINAL: Shark7

My Priorities:

-Colonies with independent populations that are 'likely' or 'possible' for colonization
-Luxury Resources
-Resources I need
-Proximal to my capital
-all others when the first 4 options are taken

Independents are not worth a colony ship... send a troop ship!
Not only are troop ships cheaper, but you can reuse them... you can claim all the independents with one single troop ship. No risk of "failed colonization" (which wastes a colony ship), its faster (no need to build a colony ship first), and it works every time even for races that hate you.
The rep hit is really irrelevant.

That's not the way I play. I'm Mr. Uber Nice Guy for the first part of the game, till I build up my massive fleet and backstab everyone. It probably is cheaper in the long run, but if you want to get your rep up high for the first half of the game, you need to limit that kind of action.

I'm Emporer Palpatine when it comes to 4X games. Be nice until you are in a position of ultimate power, then screw every one else.

[taltamir]

ORIGINAL: Shark7

ORIGINAL: taltamir

ORIGINAL: Shark7

My Priorities:

-Colonies with independent populations that are 'likely' or 'possible' for colonization
-Luxury Resources
-Resources I need
-Proximal to my capital
-all others when the first 4 options are taken

Independents are not worth a colony ship... send a troop ship!
Not only are troop ships cheaper, but you can reuse them... you can claim all the independents with one single troop ship. No risk of "failed colonization" (which wastes a colony ship), its faster (no need to build a colony ship first), and it works every time even for races that hate you.
The rep hit is really irrelevant.

That's not the way I play. I'm Mr. Uber Nice Guy for the first part of the game, till I build up my massive fleet and backstab everyone. It probably is cheaper in the long run, but if you want to get your rep up high for the first half of the game, you need to limit that kind of action.

I'm Emporer Palpatine when it comes to 4X games. Be nice until you are in a position of ultimate power, then screw every one else.

I am also mister nice guy... and I used to say the same, but then I noticed that the rep impact from sending troops is really not all that bad. Nobody REALLY cares that you do it.

[Fishman]

ORIGINAL: taltamir

Independents are not worth a colony ship... send a troop ship!
Not only are troop ships cheaper, but you can reuse them... you can claim all the independents with one single troop ship. No risk of "failed colonization" (which wastes a colony ship), its faster (no need to build a colony ship first), and it works every time even for races that hate you.
The rep hit is really irrelevant.

Well, the rep hit is not significant. It's not completely irrelevant, but given the choice between failing colony ship landings and a rep hit, I'll take the rep hit. However, once you OWN one, you can produce and land colony ships: While troopships are reusable, to a point, landing a colony ship will give you +10-50M pop no matter where you're landing it, and if you're landing it on an existing independent colony, you will immediately be able to collect tax revenue from them, as opposed to landing them on a bare planet with 0 dev. Just imagine the independent colony as a particularly fancy ruin.

[taltamir]

ORIGINAL: Fishman

ORIGINAL: taltamir

Independents are not worth a colony ship... send a troop ship!
Not only are troop ships cheaper, but you can reuse them... you can claim all the independents with one single troop ship. No risk of "failed colonization" (which wastes a colony ship), its faster (no need to build a colony ship first), and it works every time even for races that hate you.
The rep hit is really irrelevant.

Well, the rep hit is not significant. It's not completely irrelevant, but given the choice between failing colony ship landings and a rep hit, I'll take the rep hit. However, once you OWN one, you can produce and land colony ships: While troopships are reusable, to a point, landing a colony ship will give you +10-50M pop no matter where you're landing it, and if you're landing it on an existing independent colony, you will immediately be able to collect tax revenue from them, as opposed to landing them on a bare planet with 0 dev. Just imagine the independent colony as a particularly fancy ruin.

you immediately get the tax benefits of a conquered planet as well...