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Yeah, that spy was pulling Steal Research missions with a 96% chance... sadly it ran out off luck eventually. Right now I have a super-CI agent- which is really good as the Pirates and increasingly some other empires are hitting me quite hard trying to steal my research. Thanks, I am nearly to the point of being a bad guy and taking several nearby Banoserit empire colonies.

With Pre-Warp starts I don't see a good reason not to keep taxes low early on and grow my population to max as soon as possible. I have never seen the AI do the same, it generally taking much longer for AI pops to reach max.

It's a limitation of the AI. The AI will (and should) set a high tax rate at 2B pop. It's too bad it wasn't higher, but 2B pop is what the AI considers a large colony. So in RetreatUE, all AI's follow a tax policy of 0, 0, 3. Small colony=0 tax, Med colony=0 tax. Large colony=3 high tax. It's the best you can do.

I might be wrong about large colonies starting at 2B, it could be 1B. I'd have to play a game to be sure, but either way it's still a small number.

OK, cool and thanks. That does explain what I always see. However, I hasten to point out that this limitation does not really AI too much later in bigger games.

Since the last update, all (known) Pirate bases within 2.5 sectors of the Zenox home planet have been eliminated, this resulting in the destruction of 6 more Zenox heavy cruisers. This view shows the beginning of the next major phase of Zenox operations the war against the Banoserit. There are four separate Banoserit empires quite close to the Zenox sphere of influence, and with the Pirate threats handled for the moment (not including the at least SIX mining and gas mining stations that have been destroyed by-presumably- Pirate espionage agents) it has been decided to move against the Banoserit empires before they become any stronger than they already are. As of this screenshot, war has yet to be declared.
TF-A (task force-alpha) will jump into the Othares system and eliminate enemy forces present there simultaneous with the main attack against NIlgaemon 1. 1st Fleet will enter the NIlgaemon system and eliminate the enemy fleet and orbital defense presence, to be followed by the ground assault. NIlgaemon 1 has 40 infantry battalions garrisoning it; Invasion fleet will land 112 infantry battalions. While it is not disputed that the Zenox re more powerful and technologically advanced than the immediate enemy, the complicating factors will be how the other Banoserit empires will respond to the coming unprovoked attack. The gaggle of burnt-orange military ships seen in the upper left corner ( in the Beta Kapola Arm) are some of the survivors of the battles in the Astra system some years ago, falling back without fuel to an unknown Pirate base.

As can be seen here, the growth of the Zenox military has shrunk the State cash flow- indeed, the only reasons the cash flow is positive currently are that I recently stopped all protection payments to Pirates and just finished Enhanced Logistics. Otherwise, the economy is coming along nicely.

Nugdra 4 is in Sector I10 and was colonized normally. There can be seen a Hidden Pirate Base that needs to be taken care of- it is at 60% and is the second attempt by Pirates to establish a presence here since it was colonized. Note that Vrilya’s tax is still at 40% and the smaller colonies are still at 0%.

Shows the relative change in population levels.

Several AIs are beginning to expand now.

The economy comparison screen is one of two that I pay the most attention to.

This is the second one.

The attack begins.

Most of the defending fleet has been destroyed at this point, and war has not yet been declared by either party.

9/15/2214

The planet's defenders have been cleared, the Invasion Fleet is en route, and war has finally been declared. Ultimately, nine empires declared war on the Zenox.

11/12/2214

The invasion began three days before this shot was taken.

This series demonstrates how long it takes (at this tech level) and the relative losses involved.

Plenty of pirates attacking since this war began...

Pay attention to the dates on the last 4 shots. Also realize that at the end of this fight, I had lost no units... several were severely depleted.

Banoserit Territory 10th Fleet and Pharus Authority 8th Fleet are pursuing Invasion Fleet, falling back on a refueling base closer to the Zenox system.

Notice the difference between the two pursuing heavy cruisers.

So... the Pirates are still very much in evidence but are currently other empire's problems. This Banoserit war is likely going to heat up before it's over- I am already planning to construct 20 more cruisers (which will take me negative in cash flow)and also to construct a few more troop transports.