Your game settings?

[WoodMan]

Copied and pasted from another thread, but its more relevant here.  Enjoy! Its role-playing mixed with quite a challenge, the insectoid races have all turned out rather big and powerful, but some of the good guy races have smaller Empires with a higher tech level.

My settings for this game are:

Galaxy Shape: Spiral
Star Amount: 1400
Colony Prevalance: Scarce
Independent Life: Rare
Expansion: Starting
Agression: Normal
Research Costs: 480k (Have to type it manually, twice as slow as slowest on slider)
Spcae Creatures: Few
Pirates: Few
Pirate Distance: Average

Your Empire:
Home System: Harsh
Size: Starting
Tech: Starting
Corruption: Normal
(I took a Human Republic, not that it matters)

Other Empires: (all set to random distance from me)
This I have a little house rule, I always have had, but this time around I changed it a bit to make it more extreme, as I wanted to feel like I'd just reached the stars and the galaxy out there already had developed a lot and had a history already.  So this is my new way of setting up and is a bit complex and you need to check Galactopedia a bit:

One of every race, except Human, cos thats me.  Set each race to Harsh Homeworld, Starting Tech, Starting Size and choose their govs, I give the special gov types when available and for the rest pick one I think suits them, like Ikkuro Republic or Dhayut Monarchy.  Then go through each one at a time applying the following changes:

For Aggression: Quite Agressive +1 to their starting size, Very Agressive +2, Extremely Agressive +3
For Growth Rate: 16% to 20% +1 to homeworld quality, 21% to 25% +2, above 25% +3, also an extra +1 for Utopian governments
For Intelligence: Quite Intelligent +1 to tech level, Very Intelligent +2 to tech level, Extremely Intelligent +3 also +1 for gifted scientists trait and +1 for Technocracy government

So under those rules Boskara came out: Hive Mind, Mature, Starting, Trying while Quameno came out: Technocracy, Starting, Level 5, Harsh

Other House rules: No automation allowed, except ship design which is left auto to prevent you out-designing the AI making the game easy.

[Bingeling]

I started this one yesterday, but ended restarting and restarting to test the performance of my single early explorer. Fits nice with the updated patch [8D].

What I ponder is:

No automation apart from ship design? Are you talking empire policies here, or no automation? How about exploring, construction, ships on auto? As hinted at in the other thread, full manual explorers did not work so well, and seemed tedious.

[WoodMan]

Oh lol, yes you can put ships on auto, I just meant in the game settings.  I usually use my explorers manually at the begginging of the game to ensure a quick and efficient spread, but then put them on auto later on.

[Bingeling]

I wondered if you were insane or not...

Of course I can do anything I want, at least when it comes to how to play the game.

Some quick star jumping to look at the nearby systems seems wise yes. I am not 100% sure if that will always discover any colony option or not though, the sensor range comes it for resources, i think...

[WoodMan]

Let me know how your game turns out Bing, mine had a very slow start (which I don't mind) but has turned out very interesting.  If you took Human I seriously suggest researching other planet types colonization techs asap, as some of the other civs will already have them due to starting at a higher tech, you don't wanna get left behind.

At the moment I still have only 3 colonies and I have explored 10 entire sectors including my starting one!  The Sluken put trade sanctions on my yesterday but I haven't attacked them yet their military strength is over 20000 to my 2000, so ten times greater than mine.  On the other side of me is the only other civ in the galaxy I've discovered so far which has good relations with the Sluken, thats a Giz Empire with 40 planets (to my three) but their military strength is only 6000 so less threatening than the Sluken.  My population is 7 billion, the largest population I have found is the Boskara who have 60 billion and a military strength of 10000.  The Sluken are at about 30billion.  Most powerful good guy race is the Kiadian who I think have about 15 colonies and about 10billion population.   Everyone in the entire galaxy except the Gizurean has either trade sanctions or war against the Sluken now [:D]

[Bingeling]

Of course the Boskara is biggest early on with that setup...

I don't mind being small, as long as the first contact is not a massacre to my disadvantage.

My main issue with getting started now, is that I am a big bioware fan, and Dragon Age 2 unlocks in 7.5 hours. So even if I would not mind to start now with the new patch, I kind of... Maybe better find something else to this evening. I hope for the next game to be long and epic.

Colonization tech is a pretty given start, really. Torpedoes too. And some bigger yards never hurt. I figure in this game it is all about find some blues to befriend, and be prepared to bribe your way out of early wars after hopefully a quick gain.

[Bingeling]

I have played a bit today (no disappearing ship, but not so much "stop" either).

I had a very slow start, waiting for non appearing research location to build research stations. Well, I finally found some to have two of each (in non-secure areas).

I feel I have been lucky. I found a Quameno independent which gave me ocean colonization and a nice planet. In the same system there was a debris field, which have given me multiple very nice ships. A couple of minor for other nations, ships with two capitals at 628 strength and 3 cruisers at 324 strength for me... Quite good early game to say the least. In addition I have found way of the ancients which I have as my government type.

No war so far, those debris ships are almost all of my navy. A single one works as a local protection and pirate hunting fleet.

The gizzies are provoking by shooting at my freighters. I hope I can get 500 size yards before war breaks out. If not, well... Their military strength is 4300, and I guess I can shoot up their fleets easily enough by gathering a few of my big ones.

But I only have 2 continental planets. One desert from a Teekan colony ship, and a bunch of ocean planets. This could really have been a rough ride without those frogs. For instance, my cash flow is negative (but positive), although having only my capital at 20% tax probably helps

A link to an image of my diplomacy screen. You can see who have some size and who has not. The Boskara are in war with 9 empires. I think they are too large and aggressive for their own good, which may hamper their chances of world domination.

Btw, found devastation moon project, and used is as a target for a firing practice of my first (repaired) capital.

Edit -link : http://bildr.no/view/850132

[cookie monster]

Hehe I have trade sanctions against the Hive.

The Mortalen's asked by offering two disputed mining stations.

It was an offer I couldn't refuse.

[Bingeling]

A last? Feedback from my game with your settings.

I am not good at following dates in this game, but.

On 2809.01.11 I got population victory with 33% of the galaxy. I have not had too much war, but have wiped one homeworld (from Ikkuro which I accidentally got a rep hit with after simultaneous invasions or something).

Otherwise I have stripped the Gizzies down to only home system, and grabbed some minor planets from the Mortalen.

I bought my way out of war with Boskara as I was busy hitting the Gizzies... 250k was cheap Finding Quameno independent early was indispensable. Finding Way of the Ancients didn't hurt.

I lead on all victory conditions. 20% economy, 33% population, 26% colonies. I well ahead on all statistics except economy where the Ancient Guardians are a bit ahead.

I will go on to see the story lines, I have not played much with them activated. No action in those so far.

Ship design on auto, constructors and explorers on auto, the rest manual. I have decoded the AI designer I think, and may manage to coax the cruiser design below 500 next time