Blank sheet start

[feelotraveller]

I use minimal fuel tanks on my colonisers. Main reason is to keep the construction time down.

Hydrogen does not get used for fuel on these (it is very early game and the only reactors I have use Caslon) but for the colonisation module - 400 units worth. Nothing you can do about this. (You also do not have to purchase fuel when it comes from your own sources but you do have to pay for the same stuff used to build ships. Part of the jungle of the resource use/money connection in the game [;)] - I really have to sharpen my machette.)

I have now given this start away. After another couple of months Steel hit 2.5 and my bare bones coloniser was priced about 17500. Once again I had heaps for my own use having built nothing but Caslon and Steel mines. The clincher came when, after 18 months of game time, I opened up the editor to see how the computer players were doing and found that less than 1/3 of them had built or ordered a spaceport. Many had mulitple constructors (unable to build mines because no spaceport) and defensive bases. The moneymaking races were doing much better than the others. So Ketarov, Securan and Shandar (in that order) were already miles in front of the rest.

If (probably should say when) I try this sort of game again I will leave the spaceports of the computer players in place. It is too much of a disadvantage for them not to have one and the build algorithm obviously does not highly prioritise them. No exploiting this now you know about it, you nasty players. [:-]