For what it's worth, here is my basic starting strategy for masso:
There is only one hardfast rule: The only war you should ever be in is one that you decide to start!

I like to play industrialist (military and social production bonuses)
Take planet quality bonus, military production, and diplomatic bonuses
Don't bother with a poor starting position ctrl-n until you get something you like.
Sol should be PQ20 or higher.
Don't lease anything in the early phase of the game! You need to stay debt free to manage the tight economic margins
Crank military production to 100%. You will be losing money in your treasury, but this is still cheaper than leasing. Start cranking out colony ships. You should be able to get one every other turn.
Send about 200Million colonists in each ship
If you chose the PQ bonus, feel free to colonize planets of PQ 14, but I wouldn't take a 13 unless I really needed it for stratigic reasons.
If you get any morality events, always choose the good option. Planet quality bonus is an exception -- take the evil option in this case, but try hard to play as good otherwise.
Once you've built all the colony ships you need and they are on their way, keep an eye out for resources that are close by. If you happen to see any of these, crank out a contstructor or 2 and try and grab them before the A.I. does. If you don't see any, don't worry about it at this point.
Next set military production back down to 0. and move research and social spending up to 50% each. Research weapons theory, phasers, photons, and corvette. The idea here is to build a paper-tiger military with corvettes to keep the A.I. from seeing you as easy-pickin's.
Don't put everything into your social build queue. Things that improve economy, planet quality, and some manufacturing boosters are good. Generally though, nothing that costs more that 2 per turn to maintain.Only put shipyards and things like that on your best producing planets (+20PQ).
Don't build moral boosing projects until later in the game when you can afford them easily and when the planets are really getting overcrowed. At this point the huge planet populations (increased tax income) makes it worthwhile.
Once you are able to produce corvettes, set the sliders to about even so that you can produce corvettes on all your planets.
Next research translators and trade while you build corvettes.
:)You should try to keep your military rating to at least the middle of the pack. Don't look like the class wimp or you will get attacked! You may never actually fight a single battle, but you need a military deterence.
You might need to take the social slider down to zero to help boost you military production rate.
After you have trade, send out a couple of ships to trade with your nearst major race. You want to be in good with them because they are close by.
Try to get frigates as soon as possible. As soon as you do, switch from buiding corvettes to frigates.
Try and trade as many techs as you can with the minors. The majors don't trade too much at the early stage, but sometimes they are willing. Take whatever you can get because they will eventually get it anyway, so you might as well get something too.

Hope this helps!

They do. I go direct for Translators, and try to trade techs with them early, then send freighters to them ASAP.

Very map size dependant. On smaller maps, it's better not to extend too much but build up your influence in your own sector(s) since the ai will flip border worlds like nothing early on maso.

I still don't understand how a corvette paper tiger is any better than a starfighter paper tiger. That just costs two useless techs. If you used the corvettes, OK, but here, I can't see them as more deterrant than the starfighters. What's the point of losing turns on Photons/Corvettes instead of getting UT and trading techs?

A paper-tiger military makes much more sense with corvettes. Corvettes cost the same to build as Starfighters, have the same maintenance, but they have slightly higher stats. As a result you don't have to build quite as many. Your up-front and maintenance cost are both lower. They just sort of hit that price/performance sweet-spot.

I thought corvettes had the same attack but better defense, and defense was irrelevant to the rating. I still consider that researching dead-end techs is bad, and corvette requires 2 techs which are otherwise useless. I remain unconvinced.

I think this changed a couple patches ago. And Corvettes are no longer a dead-end tech in 1.1.

I *do* still think that bribes are more effective than a paper tiger military, but to each their own I suppose.
[Message Edited]

LDI, along the way somewhere, defense was added as a balancing tool to the rating.

I have found corvettes useless on Maso as well. The Puter gets the bigger ships too fast for them to be of much value other than in tech trades with a minor if you can get em first. In that case, I've parlayed corvettes into mucho tech's. But unless you go right after em, you can't get em first.

Bribes are far more effective vinceable. I put in a request to stardock to stop the IP trades. It's too easy in my opinion.

Well either that or limit the diplo choice to +30 maybe.

The IP trade even works without the huge diplo bonus (not quite as well obviously, but it's still effective given the negligible cost). It's one of several things that I consider unbalancing and don't do.

Maso Tiny Walkthrough

1. Choose Populists, +60Diplo, +1Spd
2. Choose Tiny, Rare
3. All AIs to Pure Evil or leave them at default
4. All AIs to Incredible (for an easier Maso game, put 2 AIs to Genius)
5. Ctl-N till you have at least 1 yellow star in starting sector besides Sol
6. Colonize Star
7. Send surveyor to establish contact with AIs, esp Alexians and Carinoids. Try to get +1 wpn or free warship/s (corvette or starfighter is best)
8. The key strat is a frigate rush. If you are more experienced, you can substitute with an earlier SF/corvette rush before moping up with frigates.
9. Build Soil and research up to Universal Translator asap.
10. Establish contact with minors. Note the techs they don’t have and research them (eg, Medical Theory). Trade your tech with as many techs they have. Good early ones to get are Industrial Theory, Cold Fusion, Impulse Drive, Trade, Basic Env Ctl. Trade with the minor with more techs first. Then use techs obtained to trade further with the minor with less techs. Check the majors to see if you can trade techs but that may be unlikely as the majors should be well ahead. If you want, you can buy a rare tech from one Major and trade that to the others for more tech. Always buy at 100 turns.
11. Your build queue should focus on the various social improvements – Soil, Bank, Habitat, Entertainment, Fusion, Manufacturing, Antimatter. Order depends on when you get the tech. Focus here is on growing population and industrial production.
12. Minimize research if possible by trading and buying techs. Important techs to get subsequently are speed (warp, hyperspace), pop growth (imp env control), soldering (nanobots) and production (interstellar refining, zero-grav manufacturing).
13. Get Diplomatic Translators and Gravity Accelerators asap, likely to be through purchases (thank your lucky stars if Minors build them because they will cost less).
14. Trade for Energy Channeling and Space Militarilization, research Interstellar Tactics. Buy this tech from Minor if available.
15. Once your production plants are done and your population is high enough (1-2Mil) to support transports, look around for nearby targets. Minors can easy to take and once they have outlive their usefulness, take them out quickly before they fall to Majors (before you do that, see below on bribing). Your soldier can kill 2-3 of the enemies (esp if you have soldering techs like nanobots), so if you don’t really have to load full transports if you can get the numbers right. You need to factor in population growth in the target planet as the transport travels.
16. Build frigates and transports. 2-4 frigates are enough if you do it right. You need to estimate transports and troops based on 1:2 ratio (to be safe).
17. For Majors, the Arceans are the easiest to take out from experience as they launch all warships in war, including defenders and battleaxes. Sometimes, they would move out of orbit if you bait them with an undefended transport.
18. Bribe Minors to attack the Majors (with tech, if possible). If you can’t bribe a Minor, bribe Majors but you would likely have to use cash (buy over 100 turns). Once the warships vacate the planets, attack all the Major’s planets in an alpha strike. Take them with your transports. All your ships should be staged nearby to execute this in a single turn. If all warships vacate, only colony ships would be defending their planets so you actually don’t really need frigates for this case. Starfighters, Corvettes or Hero can do the job as well. Frigates are needed to take down defenders and battleaxes that don’t leave orbit. Another exploit you can use is to buy the enemy defender or battleaxe but they will be expensive.
19. The AI would likely have Battleships or Dreads by now, if you are lucky, they will have them in production. Gauge the need and rush them if necessary (over the longest period). If you get a capital ship now, your alpha strikes will be much easier as you can take orbiting battleaxes down.
20. Repeat strat by bribing and alpha striking the other AIs. Note about bribing - don’t do it too soon because the AIs may make peace before you accomplish your mission.
21. Use speed to your advantage. Evade enemy ships and only attack transports if they threaten your home planets.
22. AIs’ transports will launch when they go to war. That’s good because they reduce population on target planets. Don’t bother about them unless they become threats.
23. One of the main problems you will face is AIs declaring war on you before you are ready. You can either use the 1 influence exploit (give 1 influence point as tribute every other turn) or just deal with the transports if they come. Your ships should be fast enough to evade their warships.


~SDC~

I tend to play much more pacifist (but then on bigger maps -around medium-):
Populist, +60 diplo. Other pick used to be speed, I tend to think culture would be better on medium or smaller maps.
The idea is to weather out until you can get everyone at war with one another, and build a strong culture base. By that time, since you have no military, you will give in to threats very often, but have the money to do so. Giving techs and TGs is also a great way to boost your love rating. (You can also use the influence exploit if you like)
The only TG you want is Diplomatic Translators, but take your time before building it. Other TGs are for selling and exchanging techs/war treaties. Any one of them early game is enough, preferrably one the ai's are not likely to be building (f.e. the minors don't have the tech).
Build all Culture wonders you can afford. Build culture starbases near your opponents and boost them (I usually do 1 base per sector in each surrounding sector).
Totally forgo any military tech. Never reasearch any. Trade for them only if you can't get anything else out of your trading partner, and sell them for war declaration. Note that it's easier (less expensive) to tell a strong ai to go to war than a weak one.
Trade like crazy with majors. They'll love you and have even more cash than you, but what's the problem?
When the majors have researched all techs available, you just keep them at war, and build starbases to flip them. This can be long, so when one of them starts becoming weak (or gets nerfed by fundies), you can build a few ships (AMMs and combat transports) and take a few of their planets. You should only do that to an ai that is so bad in a war all their ships are being destroyed by other civs, so you don't have to defend your own. AMMs are only there to destroy planetary defenses.
I tend to end up winning by alliance with the strongest survivors. The key of the game is to avoid war (you must NEVER lose the elections, otherwise you drop from +20 to -30 in diplo and will be killed in the 2 years when not in control of the senate).
Note this doesn't provide big scores (you'd have to culture flip every system to win a military victory and keep researching techs past the point they are useful).

Thanks for the tips, particulary the walk-through tutorial.

Rick

Hi maso players:

I have played two maso games on tiny, rare but my economy is really short on cash. The only reliable way I can figure to generate cash is through trade and star base boosters. At the lower levels, one can get cash for tech but not at maso so tribute levels are very low (4 for 20 months from minors when I sell them a bunch of tech or 1 for 6 months or so from majors). Working within the amount generated by taxes and trade means I can't run production at 100%. What do others do to generate cash at maso level? Thanks.

Rick

If you get everyone to go to war with everyone else--at least in the early game--then you're the favorite trading partner of every race. This gets you a lot of cash--on small maps or rarer stars you should build up a big surplus even with 100% spending.

If you get everyone to go to war with everyone else--at least in the early game--then you're the favorite trading partner of every race. This gets you a lot of cash--on small maps or rarer stars you should build up a big surplus even with 100% spending.

Agree with vincible that trade is key. I always try to buy freighters from AIs and set up routes asap.

Another thing to keep in mind is minimising maintenance, both military and social. You have to optimise this area and ensure that you don't build anything you don't need. Minimalist attitude here.

~SDC~

Ray, this is 19 in your walk-through tutorial post above. I am confused. Could you expand or rephrase this? Thanks.

About the cash flow problem on maso . . . Thanks vincible and Ray. I still need more help. My first batch of research after getting the yellow (comm, universal translator, & diplo) is the "green tech" (med, basic, improved). I then trade the green techs for other techs (and freighters) to try to get to the point where I can build a manufacturing capital on my home planet and have my 2 or 3 trade routes. When I get the techs necessary to switch to social projects, I use any other techs to try to get the AI to war with each other and I also continue to buy freighters. It seems to take 3 or 4 or more techs to get the AI to fight each when I can do it.

Am I waiting too late to get the AI to war? Are you doing that with your green techs? Hmmm . . . I appreciate the advice but maybe I am just not executing it well. Time for more practice. LOL.

Please continue to share your thoughts on economy in maso 1.1. If I could get my economy cranking, I could do better. As it is right now, I am mostly keeping the AI off my back with diplomacy while teching toward cult max and then rushing constructors for a culture bomb win. I trade for diplo translator and other tg and don't bother with wonders because the AI beats me to it. My early constructor building is for about 3 starbases in my home sector, which I boost with trade enhancers and military/social factories to get more money and more constructors respectively. Then I crank constructors and try to domino flip my opponents with 150-200% culture enhancing starbases (depending on whether I can trade for the culture focus/franchises). It is not elegant but seems to work so far on the "easy maso".

I think I got dependent on the "tribute" income from sub-maso levels and need to learn maso economics. Thanks again for help with the maso economics.

In addition to help with the maso economics, Ray could you explain how you culture bomb using planets? I thought I read where you say you find a 10+ PQ planet to colonize. Is that in the opponent's sector or adjacent? How do you keep from getting yourself flipped? Is that only after you get a bunch of influence enhancing wonders? Thanks.

Rick

A little optimization thing: consider not researching diplo, but trading for it. You'll probably be able to pick it up from a minor basically for free. The AI hardly values it for some reason.



No to both. I do it later, typically after I get my Manufacturing Capital and maybe even after I've built a trade good or two. It's easier later, when the techs are more valuable.

I used to go for the green techs right after the yellow, but my last couple games I've been getting Ind. theory and Nano-metal and then trading for the green. You might give it a try.

I generally go down pretty deeply in debt--generally all the way to -500 BC, where spending gets curtailed--before trade income starts to really kick in.

It will be easier on rarer star settings, since trade will be a larger fraction of your income. Have you tried that?
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This is a good point for advanced players. Don't be scared to go into the red till -500bc because I find the morale hit insignificant as long as you don't stay there too long. I do this especially if I'm building a wonder or TG.



Rick, when you conquer an AI planet and find a partially completely Death Knight, you could consider rush-building it. The leasing company you choose is up to you but I usually use either No 2 or No 4. A Death Knight in hand would really help you to alpha strike other AI planets whose additional income would help to defray the leasing costs of the ship.



PQ10-PQ13 planets cost only 5bcs in maintenance so they are preferred. The colony ship culture bomb should only be executed with an huge superiority in influence and that usually happens in the near the endgame and with me having most of the influence resources, TGs, wonders. I land them in the sector with the AI planets whenever possible. Adjacent works as well if your influence is huge.

Yes, you do get flipped easily if your influence is not high enough. I've not tried this on Tinies, mostly the bigger maps.

~SDC~

Thank you very much vincible and Ray. I am taking notes.

Vincible, today's game went a little better. I waited to start the wars every time I saw in the "treaties section" that an AI had started a trade route. When I saw the yellow line between two AIs, I said, "OK now you two have to go to war". It worked reasonably well because I certainly had more trade money today on my third maso game than on the first two. Also with the cash flow better, it is more likely one can get the unique techs or better yet, a couple of trade goods to bribe the AI with.



OK . . . confused again. What do you mean by "it". Are you referring the game in general or a particular strategy? I am playing rare, tiny which is the easiest maso right?

Ray, I finally understand the planet colonization culture bomb tool and how it is an endgame wrap-up tool. One of my problems is I seem to be pretty bad on rushing. All 3 of my maso wins are from culture bombing rather than rushing. Today the Torian battle axe would not leave orbit even though they were at war with the Dregnin. When I attacked the battle axe with 3 frigates they all got biffed. So I ran away and let the Drengins do the heavy lifting before I coasted in with my combat transport. It would really be sweet to get a Death Knight to clear the orbitting battle axes AND any combat transports. I lost frigates to an orbitting battle transport too. They were at war but the combat transport just sat there with its 16 defense points. To get an opponent's combat transport (like the Torian)to leave orbit does the warring AI (like the Dregnin at war with the Torian) have to have a non-guarded planet or something?

Thanks guys for all your help. This is all new and very fun. With your help, after another 20 or 30 or these maso games, I might get the hang of it. LOL.

Rick

Exactly. Go to war with the Tors and leave your planet unguarded. The C.transport will launch the next turn.

~SDC~

Whoa... I had no idea that that was what the yellow line meant. Thanks!



Economics is easier on rare maps. Say you're playing large/rare and have five planets, each of which is producing 100 BC and can spend 200 BC. If you're earning 500 BC from trade you can spend at 100%. Now say you play abundant: you have 30 planets, each of which produces 100 BC and can spend 200 BC. Now if you have that same 500 BC from trade it makes no difference to your empire's overall economy. Therefore, trade routes are more helpful on small or rare map settings.

Understand now - thanks vincible

Does anyone build scouts or is that a waste on maso? Should one just scout with the survery ship Hero?

Does anyone build embassy? Is it cost-effective? Build only on Earth or only on planet in danger of flipping or not at all?

Thanks. I am starting to have a decent (not great) cash-flow. Last game, was able to afford two terror stars for the endgame finale.

Rick

I build a couple scouts. Not just for exploration, but also for making contact with other civilizations as quickly as possible.