Tips/Tricks/Etc

[Kayoz]

ORIGINAL: adecoy95

check the strength of your troops, if your playing a weak race, you may find that fielding robotic troops is actually a better choice than your own... for my recent game, the securian race only had a 7000 troop strength, but the robots had 6000... not too shabby for such a cheaper replacement

EDIT: the maintenance was only around 13k VERY manageable if you ask me, for being such a help early game

there are alot of advantages to it.

your research potential is always enough to prevent wasted points.

getting civilian ships out of the docks means resources will start moving alot quicker, try it a few times i bet you will notice a difference. i did!

you can start exploring the galaxy faster by queing up 20 explorers, usually i field 20 or so in 1400 star games.


later in the game, when strategic resources are well stocked, it makes building custom fleets alot faster. since you can build all of them at once.

i promise that you will notice a difference in resources moving around, luxury resources still move kinda slowly, but strategic resources move very well. for most of the early game, especially if i find some good lost colonys, there will STILL be ships waiting to start being built at the spaceport, for months!! even with 20 shipyards... i couldent imagine how long it would take to field them if it was still a medium

if you are concerned about the matience cost of the space port, since its possible that the reason i find it manageable is due to the quality i put home systems on (i want them to feel meaningful to capture and to control).... remove the research labs (you wont need them) and shields from your small space port designs.

100?!? Egads, you're plaing on far different settings than me. No way I could afford that, without severely hammering my income. Maintenance on those buggers alone would come to 50k a year - a pretty hefty chunk. That's not to consider trying to manage that many freaking explorers. Go to war, and the swarm all heads to scout the enemy. A serious pain in the arse, if you're still trying to explore! 100 manual reassignments? Ugh!

Generally I use the "quick start" epic game setting, as the AI spread on the "new game" maps is atrocious - which means I generally have to be pretty careful about how I balance guns vs. butter. If there's a way (without using the editor) to alter home systems settings with this game start method, then I haven't seen it.

My main concerns are:
1. maintenance cost of the base. Sure, you crank out the civilian ships quicker, earning yourself port income. But that isn't endless - once the civvies have enough ships, you're left with an economic boat-anchor, and you will have traded quick explorer swarms for economic base - since those not using your tactic will have the same total money coming in over a longer period of time - without the incredible maintenance costs. Or that's how I see it - maybe I'm missing something here? But maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps the explorer spam can pay off - you're bound to find more abandoned ships and get more tech bonuses from being the first to the ruins - but it feels more like an exploit than a legitemate tactic, to me. Mrmm - I'll have to give this one some thought.

2. research labs - With vanilla RotS, it would make sense. Far better to stick them around black holes. But with RotS, my perception is that it's more efficient in terms of cost/performance, to have research facilities in your ports, since it's cheaper to pay the additional upkeep for the port, than it is to pay the upkeep on a whole new research station. I know the AI places a wretchedly low value on research stations, but it seems a bit silly to put all your eggs in one basket, and not spread out your research - so that one attack won't cripple your whole research infrastructure. Again, you don't HAVE to, but it seems again, an exploit - like having 30 research stations sitting around a single black hole in 1.06. You get gobs of research coming in, and I've yet to see the AI take a poke at them - but it feels like it's exploiting the stupidity of the AI, as opposed to playing with a "reasonable" empire setup.

[PaulP]

I generally make my research stations very small and very cheap. No guns, no shields, minimal equipment.
 
Heres a energy research station example at the start of the game:
Command center
Fission reactor
Standard fuel cell
Docking bay
2 energy collectors
Hab module
Life support
5 energy labs
 
Size 153, it costs a mere 1353 with 683 for upkeep and pumps out 100k research at base tech levels. At the very start I often build a couple at the homeworld if I don't see any planets to colonize yet. They build very quickly, so even if I find a planet right after I start one it won't be long before I can get the colony ship out. Then I scatter them around where there are research bonuses - special planets, black holes, supernovas, neutron stars. I believe only the highest bonus in a single research area actually counts, but I figure it doesn't hurt to collect the two highest just in case I lose a site in the future. Six of these stations will fill the early game need for research, then I just tack on a few more as needed. And the best part is, if I want to shift the focus of my research I'm not really losing much to scrap a few.
 
Thats another reason I keep research stations. I often like to specialize my research. For instance, early game I often focus primarily on colonization techs so I can start grabbing up those marshy swamp, ocean, and desert planets before my neighbors do (especially if I find loros fruit or korabban spice). But after I get those basic colonization techs I usually swap the focus toward hyper drives and fusion reactors to make my transport ships faster and more fuel efficient so they can keep up with my expansion. I like the missile weapons, so I generally put little focus on weapons tech - missiles are very light on the research requirements. When I want to swap research I just build a new station or two in that category and then scrap the ones I don't want.

[Kayoz]

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

2) Sell your territory map and tech to ai right after taxes are collected and before they spend the money on colony ships. You can determine this by watching your cash balance early in the game, or your civilian's cash balance later on, in the empire summary screen...

How do you identify this moment?
Edit: forget that, my brain-dead-not-reading. I'll have to try this.

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

5) When you discover a spaceport in one of the restricted zones, then IF you immediately buy 4 ships there, they will build on the next turn. IF you choose your design right, then you can get 7-8 size 850 cruisers from the resources of a single zone port. So the trick is that you do NOT enter the zone unless you have enough cash to buy those cruisers...

I haven't tried this. So what happens to those resources if you don't use them straight away? If you don't have the cash on hand to make the immediate purchases - why can't you buy them later?

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

7) When you can build big ships and have long range scan technology, design an explorer with a LONG RANGE scanner (size 72 component) on board, with an extra reactor or two and 400-800 fuel. Build one at every spaceport which is near a nebula so that you can find the restricted zones which seem to be most likely to be in nebulas. Later on in the game, you can use those poor busted up old LR scan explorers at systems whose spaceport does not yet have its LR scan active...

As a warning regarding this tip, having all those LR scanner equipped ships running around will cause SERIOUS performance degradation. You'll find that they will make DW unplayably slow.

[adecoy95]

they also eat fuel like its going out of style

[sbach2o]

ORIGINAL: Kayoz

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

5) When you discover a spaceport in one of the restricted zones, then IF you immediately buy 4 ships there, they will build on the next turn. IF you choose your design right, then you can get 7-8 size 850 cruisers from the resources of a single zone port. So the trick is that you do NOT enter the zone unless you have enough cash to buy those cruisers...

I haven't tried this. So what happens to those resources if you don't use them straight away? If you don't have the cash on hand to make the immediate purchases - why can't you buy them later?

The resources stay until they are consumed, through shipbuilding usually. Or until the base is scrapped. It may sometimes be a good idea to scrap those bases as soon as convenient. Otherwise one should have an eye on where the ships retrofit/refuel. Those restricted zones are slow to get out of.

Jeeves' main point about having the money to buy those cruisers on hand is that, when you wait too long (however long that is), the orders you place at such a base do not complete as quickly.

Btw: in none of my games to date (not too many, yet) I could build size 850 cruisers by the time I found the last of those restricted zone spaceports. I always get them pretty quickly, scouting and buying info from pirates aggressively. If you find the right ruins on some planet in time, this would be different.

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

7) When you can build big ships and have long range scan technology, design an explorer with a LONG RANGE scanner (size 72 component) on board, with an extra reactor or two and 400-800 fuel. Build one at every spaceport which is near a nebula so that you can find the restricted zones which seem to be most likely to be in nebulas. Later on in the game, you can use those poor busted up old LR scan explorers at systems whose spaceport does not yet have its LR scan active...

As a warning regarding this tip, having all those LR scanner equipped ships running around will cause SERIOUS performance degradation. You'll find that they will make DW unplayably slow.

You shouldn't have *that* many explorers equipped thusly. The point is to use them to look for the remaining specials and to get coverage of where your stationary scanner installations don't reach. Not that there should be a need to find more hidden specials. Unless something significant has changed since my last pre-expansion game, I'd expect to have found everything of note in the galaxy through other means before reaching this technology level. A use a small number of LR scanner equipped exploration ships to look for pirate bases or derelict ships.

Spaceports and stuff are usually more of a problem regarding scanners. In my last game(s) my spaceports starting with the medium model had those, and later in that game I had several hundred such spaceports... This may be almost as bad as installing the scanners on too many ships, but my guess is that ships are worse, as they tend to move around and so they may cause more updates to the galaxy map view.

Still, it may be a good idea to leave LR scanners out of spaceports and build specialized monitoring stations instead.

ORIGINAL: adecoy95

they also eat fuel like its going out of style

Agreed. And the size of 72 units should make everyone pause. How much additonal propulsion and fuel cells would a ship need to compensate for this? Or other compromizes, like reduced general fitness for whatever primary role a ship has to fill? These components are strictly for bases and one or two very specialized ship designs.

[unclean]

If you're going for an economic start, keep pirate bases alive, pay their protection (not alliance) fee, and sink your spare cash into buying discoveries whenever possible. Most of the time you'll just get info on ruins, but you'll end up finding abandoned and repairable ships, and sometimes even a WD, way earlier than the other empires will. As a bonus your bought pirates do a good job chasing away the construction and colony ships of other empires off your turf and let you maintain your pristine reputation.

Also if you double click the name of a ship you can view its cargo, design, and a few other details.

[adecoy95]

do you have tax rates set to automated? if so, your like i was for quite a while.

TURN IT OFF!!!

depending on your races happiness or your usage of space ports with medical/recreation facility's, your happiness could easily reach extremely high amounts... which in turn causes the tax rate to go to 50% with less than 500m population [X(]

needless to say this is bad, if you go manual, and turn the tax rate down to 0% on these worlds, they will grow extremely fast, with some races i have seen the population grow as much as 10-20 TIMES FASTER!

to be honest, i always thought that population growth was modified by happiness, and not tax rate, but i was very mistaken, its directly effected by your tax rate, and it dosent matter how happy your population is

[BigWolfChris]

Try manually changing them when you have over 100 colonies... harder than it sounds

[Data]

well, tax does affect happiness so it will drag it down even when other factors increase it
that's why you see this seemingly direct relation with the pop growth, adecoy95

[elanaahova]

Big wolf,

re tax rate on manual, w 100 worlds, go back to auto, but check the colony screen, and look for Un happy colonies, manually change their tax rate, but leave auto on.

[Data]

have tried that also in the begining but on auto you'll always have to keep an eye out....i find it easier to have it on manual

[adecoy95]

yes, tax rate does indeed affect happiness, but happiness does not effect population growth, even a little bit.

also, because of the way taxes effect population growth, unless your running on hard times or you need the money for defense, i would leave all your worlds at 0% until they max out in population. assuming your in it for the long haul. the difference in growth rates is huge!

to be honest, the situation is kinda strange, i think that if you have a happy population, they should have a high population growth regardless of your tax rate, but it doesn't seem to work that way. happiness seems to go up and down for... i guess... chance at rebellion?

[barbrady]

A good start is always important:

1) Increase your research output quickly:

- Design a HIGH capacity research facility with 20 research labs, plus the necessary support equipment. No weapons, no armor and no shields. This base gives you 400k research capacity at "cheap" cost.

- Build it as soon as possible at your home world or on a very near research location at the beginning of the game, to make use of your research potential as soon as possible!! (You have around 500k research potential on initial game play).

- On later game, when you have build normal research facilities around research locations you can retire this initial research base.

2) Don't waste your initial construction materials, those materials should be destined to colony ships, strategic mining stations and private sector:

- Pay pirates for protection; don't construct many military ships on the first years.

- Pay pirates 5.000 for colony locations, this way, you get materials and population faster. Depending on your finances consider paying 10.000 for interesting locations too.

- Construct mining stations for strategy materials, don't look for luxury on your first years, specially, be sure you have: steel, calson, polymer, carbon fiber..., those mining stations should be near your systems.

- Construct some extra exploring ships, but not too many. 3-7 extra exploring ships should be fine for the first year.

3) Quick develop your colonies:

- Design a cheaper small space port with no weapons, no shields and no research. Build it at your new colonies. Later on, when you see that this space port has queue a lot of ships you can consider retrofitting it to bigger designs.

4) turn off automatic troop recruitment. And be polite to your neighbours, at least in the first years

5) Consider building a resort base once you get your firsts colonies and you have build your basic strategic resources mining stations.

[Fishers of Men]

All good ideas!!

[BigWolfChris]

ORIGINAL: barbrady

A good start is always important:

1) Increase your research output quickly:

- Design a HIGH capacity research facility with 20 research labs, plus the necessary support equipment. No weapons, no armor and no shields. This base gives you 400k research capacity at "cheap" cost.
Very good idea

- Build it as soon as possible at your home world or on a very near research location at the beginning of the game, to make use of your research potential as soon as possible!! (You have around 500k research potential on initial game play).

I'd suggest homeworld, since anywhere else is an easy target
I'd say to have a slightly weaponized research base with 1 of each lab for bonus locations

- On later game, when you have build normal research facilities around research locations you can retire this initial research base.
Personally I don't think you'd ever need to retire it

2) Don't waste your initial construction materials, those materials should be destined to colony ships, strategic mining stations and private sector:

- Pay pirates for protection; don't construct many military ships on the first years.
Beware that too many will bankrupt you

- Pay pirates 5.000 for colony locations, this way, you get materials and population faster. Depending on your finances consider paying 10.000 for interesting locations too.
Scouts tend to work out cheaper if used correctly, but for some it's still handy

- Construct mining stations for strategy materials, don't look for luxury on your first years, specially, be sure you have: steel, calson, polymer, carbon fiber..., those mining stations should be near your systems.
Another way could be to have a luxury collector aboard any normal station on planets with luxuries, the upkeep isn't that high

- Construct some extra exploring ships, but not too many. 3-7 extra exploring ships should be fine for the first year.
Depends on the map, more stars = more scouts required

3) Quick develop your colonies:

- Design a cheaper small space port with no weapons, no shields and no research. Build it at your new colonies. Later on, when you see that this space port has queue a lot of ships you can consider retrofitting it to bigger designs.
This will quickly become an easy target, it needs at least enough defence and firepower to hold off two destroyers, or survive until help arrives
I have small ports on every colony I have, designed in such a way that the weapons and shields come online before completion

4) turn off automatic troop recruitment. And be polite to your neighbours, at least in the first years
A good idea, but as soon as you suspect something happening, recruit troops, since it's not instant you still need time to build up defences

5) Consider building a resort base once you get your firsts colonies and you have build your basic strategic resources mining stations.
Depending on who you ask, resorts are nearly as important as mining stations, since if built (and designed?) correctly they can be very profitable

[barbrady]

6) Collect more taxes quickly:

- Design a new medium station with a medical and a recreational center.
- Retrofit your home space station to this new station, and you will get more money because your population is happier. Left the automatic taxes on, it works fairly well.

@BigWolf, all this advise is for take quickly advantatge on an earlier game, 1-2 years. I have won games with home system on Harsh and AI home system on normal settings (it's better to retire 1 constructor and 1 destroyer with those hard settings). Of course you don't have to pay a monthly fee to pirates, only the first 6 months, and maybe a little more if you have not finished your initial infrastructure. On a later game, you have to kill pirates, build more explorers, increase your defenses...

I'd say to have a slightly weaponized research base with 1 of each lab for bonus locations

Good one!

[tofudog]

Troop ships again.
In my games I make troop ships the biggest design I can build, with speed, protection, many troops and nothing else.
Opposed to the default mini-ships I get my men down fast and have to do less herding.
These only see use in taking big enemy worlds anyway.
With the unhappiness factors in place I am bombing small enemy colonies and planting my own people there (far from being a nazi myself, in DW I go for racial purity as much as I can). The rep-hit I take seems worth it so far, if I dont go overboard and glass a homeworld (and I mitigate this by whacking pirates - show me a similarly easy way to deal with alive malcontents [8D]).

[Data]

you may miss their racial bonuses this way, some of them are quite usefull....if not all of them

[tofudog]

Ah, the trade-offs...
But not to worry, the way the game works I always get enough illegal aliens on my worlds for both bonus and unrest.
And let´s not forget the homeworlds, for which I build my dreeadnought size troop transports. After all this strategy started when I burnt one instead of invading and suddenly both my empire split in half from unrest (seems my people looked up the meaning of "atrocity") and the rest of the galaxy declared war on me, including the seceded half of my domain.
Did I ever before feel like Nixon at watergate must have? I would have lost the game if not for a recent autosave, but this is one of my "[&o][&o][&o][&o][&o] to the devs" moments.

[elanaahova]

illegal aliens? LOL!!!!!!