LTjim

Reply to Cannot figure out how to make money. in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Two is not a lot of planets to do much with. I also build little on planets before ~1B population for the reasons others have already noted, but I think you had a very unlucky galaxy layout. Also, I buy very sparingly in the early game, and that includes others' techs. One thing I did not see mentioned was if you had built more survey ships. They add money by finding cash anomalies and also by contacting Minor races with which you can buy/sell stuff.

Reply to custom ships question in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

SCampb29 is correct. Note, though, that upgrading to the latest tech is not always a good thing. At least, that is the case in DA, which is what I play. Consider ion engines. I research impulse engines for the speed boost that ALL ships get - no matter what engine they use. However, I keep using ion engines. Compare the cost and space per engine speed unit and you will see what I mean. There are other such cases, as well.

Reply to new to the game, have some questions in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I never used stock ships. Just open the Shipyard, select the hull size, and add stuff until you run out of space. Then look at the stats of the ship, in terms of range, speed, offense, defense. It's that imple. As you research, you "unlock" the larger hulls (with more space for stuff), the pieces get better, what you can fit into a given hull becomes more (miniaturization), etc. The easiest thing to do is start a game on easy with the highest tech resea

Reply to Influence Starbases in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I think it does turn in to your territory. I recall one game where I was lamot at the % level to get the Influence victory, and built a couple Influence bases and found myself over it. However, it could also have been thatthe population of my planets had grown during that period to male it. A test would be to bild several Influence bases, check your % towards Influence victory, save game, then destroy the bases, and check again the next turn to see if your % had dropped.

Reply to What does it take to get an alliance? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

One thing to keep in mind is that for an Alliance to be made, both parties must have researched far enough in Diplomacy or governments or whatever it is to be able to have that treaty. Often, I have to gift or trade/sell that tech to the race I want to ally with because they have NOT done the necessary research (though I have).

Reply to Zero rate tax! in Dark Avatar GalCiv2 Forums

Wow, indeed! Have never seen that. The closest to it I have seen is when I hadn't yet learned to turn off auto upgrades and "stole" advanced farms and did not realize it. My population overage drove down approval and I couldn't figure it out what was happening. By then it was late enough in the game that I was trying to go quickly through turns and had rally dialed down my micromanagement.

Reply to Early Game Expansion in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Neat trick, Zarnick! Since I put a lot of resources into early research, I do not make a new colony ship for several turns. That leaves me with only the one you start with and the converted miner. I generally send the flagship in one direction and the colony ships in two others. If the flagship finds a high PQ one that I cannot pass up, I shift production gears then. Similarly, if a gree resource is spotted, I shift to building a constructor. I covet ea

Reply to New to game in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

It should work, best I can tell based on your description. The only explanation that I can think of is that you did not actually put the constructor module on the ship. (I confess to a similar mistake once in a while with survey ships, when I added a sensor module or something instead of the survey one.)

Reply to Understanding Production Capability and Spending Distribution in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

It's been a couple years since I dove deep under the hood of this game, so I would defer to any whose knowledge is more recently gained. I think the initial colony building, as well as all the "improvements" list their specific particulars in the colony screen. For example, you look at a factory as if you were going to build it, etc. Add them up, etc. For your second Q, know that there is a difference between DA (which I play) and TA with regards to focus.&nbsp

Reply to Over maxed HP in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

It's a "bug" that most players welcome as a "feature." That is, many rationalize it as an additional gain over and beyond the gradual "leveling up" that comes from battle.

Reply to influence starbases in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

I am confident that the Influence Starbase itself does not affect tourism. However, one would need to look at the modules you can add to see if you can double duty it by adding commerce or tourism modules. That is, build an Influence Base and see which modules it will let you add when you run another constructor to it. Remember that if it IS possible, you will still need to wait until you get the tech for the module you want.

Reply to Normal difficulty is too hard (for me) in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

In DA, one can win with an "all factory" approach on any difficulty. It is frustrating not to be able to win, so you might try that to get a few wins under your belt. There are threads here on "all factory." Try resetting via "Control N" until you get a good homeworld, or at least one that will fit your style. You could, for example, reset over and over until you get a 7X tile. Perfectly good, though, would be a 3X tile and a morale bonus one. One 3X

Reply to Normal difficulty is too hard (for me) in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

Chris Gallop's #6b is key, especially when playing Terrans. (I play only DA) That is, you simply must get the full benefit of the Terrans' diplo skills. After all, you gave up other stuff that other races get for that skill. If you do not keep the AIs in wars, you are not maxing the use of dilpo. At the highest difficulties, I generally try to keep every AI warring with not one but two other AIs as soon as it looks like the colony rush is winding

Reply to Getting destroyed right after early game in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

I don't play ToA, but I do still play DA some, and many of the same pronciples apply, IIRC. You should consider different racial bonuses, I believe. I did not see any economic or morale bonuses on your list. Economic bonuses are critical, especially in the early and middle game. You need to maximize your income so as to put off the moment you might have to face bankruptcy, etc. Similarly, morale bonuses allow you to increase your tax rate, other things be

Reply to Kill the Survey Ship in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Also, those bonus things that give money or bonuses respawn periodically in the games I play. I generally keep 3 - 5 cargo hull survey ships active all game long. They are key in suicidal games. Additionally, one can do "emergency" conversions of survey ships to colonizers or constructors to grab valuable planets or resource anomalies (esp the green and red ones), respectively.

Reply to colonizing planets: quality or quantity? in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

There is also the research angle to consider. One needs a few planets fairly early so that the N+1 research advance limit does not limit advances. Thus, if playing on a slow research setting or using a slower research strategy, the N+1 won't be a problem. OTOH, on a faster research setting or with a research-focused race, the N+1 will hurt you earlier.

Reply to Meanest Acts you ever did in a game. in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I had a situation similar to that described by dnzrx1. That is, a race stole all the tech of the most advanced civ. However, they were far away from me and there was not practical way to threaten their homeworld. The setting was suicidal, the situation was desperate, and I had won only a few suicidal games back then. So, I gave them a planet. One deep in my space with a token pop, with the rest having boarded transports and ready

Reply to Trade Goods in Twilight of the Arnor GalCiv2 Forums

Interestingly enough, if one builds the trade good, one loses it if one loses the planet upon which it is built. However, if one traded for it, one appears never to lose it.\ One thing I have always wnted to test, but never got around to it, is to confirm that the loss of the planet did not make the one it was traded to lose it, also. I don't think that loss is supposed to occur, but i have never confirmed it. Generally, when I have traded for a trade good,

Reply to Benefits of larger populations in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I aim for 12 - 15 pop per planet later in the game, and do build a happiness building on each one. I do that because I end up invading and invading on large maps, and I want the pop of the planets to recover by about the time another transport is built.

Reply to The community of past, current and future GalCiv2 players. in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

This "old newbie" still checks in ~weekly. Never bought TA, but would if they fixed it.

Reply to Benefits of larger populations in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

The AIs will finish all research on Suicidal, which is what I play, even at normal tech speeds. I began to disable the research victory when I kept losing Suicidal games due to allies or multiple foes all generating the research victory imminent warning at the same time. The one that finally made me do it was when one AI that I was at war with gave the warning, and I mobilized everything to take its last planet before the 10 turns were up. Then, on the last turn, I got t

Reply to Benefits of larger populations in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Neilo is, sadly, quite correct. I say "sadly" because I have never seen the AI react after completing research. Thus, turning off the research victory allows the human player to outwait the AI for a path to victory. That is, the AI will still be hobbled by those useless facilities (and even paying maintenance on them!) while the human builds them over with stock exchanges and/or factory-type buildings.

Reply to Creativity/luck reloading in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

The Influence reset bug also allows an exploit. Specifically, if you have a planet that is threatening to revolt or switch allegiance, one can "buy" time - one turn at a time - to build a constructor or influence planetary improvement by saving and restarting. Similarly, if one is in the middle of an influence takeover run, saving and restarting (say the next day) means that all the planets you have poised to join you all reset and you have to wait a turn, etc.

Reply to Is there a concensus on settings that fix TA's eccentricities? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

I agree with puntarenas and still play DA. I never bought TA, as the problems made the game quite unappealing. However, if they fixed the game, I would buy it. I still would, but they still haven't.

Reply to I need help. I can't seem to get into a mid-late game. in Strategies GalCiv2 Forums

One thing to consider is your overall racial strategy. High PQ planets can be critical for pumping out warships later in the game, if you put lots of factories there. Esp if there are bonus tiles for manufacturing, etc. If you seek the conqueror route, that's the way to go. Planets, esp high PQ ones, with bonus tiles for happiness can also support a high population when those bonus tiles get happiness improvements built on them. Such planets become great ca