Def Zep

Reply to Is PQ worth it in 1.03? in Strategies Stardock Forums

I still take it, because (although it is not as useful as the initial PQ+10/+15) there are still Precursor special events. Once one of those occurs, the affected planet zooms through the stratosphere. Now (admittedly) this is a random which may (or may not) occur. But I have found that, with the Luck bonus, it happens more often than not. Also, (should SD permit officially sanction them), there are some mod's which greatly benefit from even a +5 PQ bonus. So I am undec

Reply to Espionage Level Break Points - Not Population Dependent in Strategies Stardock Forums

The randoms (at least in 1.02) are still affected by continued spending. (I cannot speak to 1.03, because I have not played it enough.) However, reports, etc. are unaffected. My recommendation is, unless you are suffering from an incredibly bad RG, drop the spending once you have achieved the level of penetration you want. (OMG, my GF says I sound like a bad Trojan commercial. Leave it to her to point out the obvious.) (Hope she doesn't read this now that she's getting

Reply to 1.03 AI in Strategies Stardock Forums

Umm...with all due respect (to some of the very best players/posters in this game)... I have not seen any clear "cheats" employed by the AI in 1.03 except at "Incedible" difficuly, where their advantages are clearly stated by Brad & SD in the Forums. Instead, the AI's are far better at maximizing their inherent advantages...and at the very beginning (i.e., the first turn) of the game. Like most players, the AI's now maintain their morale at the best "break-even" point,

Reply to MOD library suggestion and or request. in Mods Stardock Forums

#4 To the esteemed jury, I once again would like to reiterate the position Counsel has advised: "I didn't do it. And nobody saw me." ;) That said, I would also like to submit the following amicus curiae: (1) Angelina Jolie IS a babe; (2) RustyBlade certainly has good taste; and (3) The original gfx is definitely worth getting. ~SDC~

Reply to Peition for lock spending & lock slider sommand, plus research & production overflow in Strategies Stardock Forums

#1 Second Za H's excellent recommendations! Thx. ~SDC~

Reply to Stardock: If mods are "try at own risk" in Mods Stardock Forums

#7 EDIT: "It would probably also help to have a notice on the in-game popup asking whether you would like to submit your score to the MV." That is, if the game in question has been modded. I.E., "NOTICE: This game contains outside modifications. As such, it may be disallowed (in the future) for scoring. Would you still like to submit it to the Metaverse?" ~SDC~

Reply to Stardock: If mods are "try at own risk" in Mods Stardock Forums

Also, on the subject of "try at your own risk"... A noble approach, but it is one that is bound to "trip up" novices like myself if it is not clearly stated on the Forums and in the masthead of the Library. It would probably also help to have a notice on the in-game popup asking whether you would like to submit your score to the MV. I say this because I know of younger friends, not as saavy or well-read on this issue as myself, who are currently playing the game with a

Reply to Stardock: If mods are "try at own risk" in Mods Stardock Forums

#2 Cpt. Bizz: Very good recommendations. However, I am one of those players who downloaded all the mods in good faith before all this controversy started, thinking that since they were on SD's own site, they were okay for use in the game and posting to the MV. I would basically have to do a complete uninstall/reinstall, then update, to get a "clean" version of the game. That said, play experience proved some mods to be so unbalancing, that I deleted their file

Reply to Buggy files, and how to fix them yourself in Mods Stardock Forums

Thanks H5O! I can confirm, v. 1.03 does not correct any of these errors. I have made the changes myself using Notepad, and recommend others do so as well...it only takes a few minutes. If we make these changes ourselves, will our games still be permissible on the MV? Or are these considered unauthorized hacks/"cheats" of the data files? (I hope not, because they all seem to actually be in the spirit of the game rather than not, i.e., the intent is to get these

Reply to Stardock Certified mods in effect? in Mods Stardock Forums

I too have the same question & concern. I downloaded and installed all the available mods when I first got 1.01 at the store, and all my games have used them. Ive been posting them upon completion to the MV presuming there would be no problem, since they are on SD's official site. I would like to know if this is okay, or should I plan on starting all my current "in-progress" saves over, since they are modded to the fullest extent possible (i.e., if it's there on the board, it's

Comments on JoB Mods in Mods Stardock Forums

Jesus of Borg, I have played (and greatly enjoyed) your mods on the website in my games. Thank you for them. If I could, I would like to submit a recommendation on two of them in particular: (1) Enhanced Terraforming: With the recent changes to PQ ability in 1.03, a +40% is too strong. One can easily colonize and make habitable even sub-10 PQ worlds with this bonus. May I recommend changing it to a more reasonable level, say an additional +5 or +10 (max)? This

Reply to Alliances. How to get Close with your friends? in Strategies Stardock Forums

#4 TFM, Trade routes/freighters seem to be the single best way to improve diplomatic relations. Apparently you gain a +diplomatic bonus each turn you have an active trade route with an AI Empire. (You might also get this per route, so multiple routes = more bonus points.) By establishing commerce with an AI over time, they think better and better of you until they finally reach "close" relations. At this point you can propose an alliance, if you have researche

Reply to Early Strategy in Strategies Stardock Forums

#15 Fleabit, I agree. This game has far more viable opening strategies than Civ3 and others I have spent way too much time on for my GF to be happy with. I am also rethinking my starting build (social improvements) strategy. I am starting to think that, although the production bonuses are very nice to have in place mid-game when your populations begin to fill out, early on the benefit you gain from, say, a manufacturing plant is still only 2-3 pp's. Thus, I am

Reply to Excess Colony Ships - What to do? in Strategies Stardock Forums

EDIT: OK, if the third time's not the charm, you'll just have to use ESP to divine what I'm trying to say... "Running Imperial, morale is relatively insignificant, and you can keep taxes >60 & some planets under 50 without significant penalty. However, at the higher levels of governance (especially Star Federation), failure to keep any planet over 50 (and, actually, >60 is preferable) will lead to a very big I-League, very soon." ~SDC~

Reply to Excess Colony Ships - What to do? in Strategies Stardock Forums

EDIT: OK, it's not my word processor...it's this board. For some reason, it doesn't like quotation marks and parenthesis. (It might also have something to do with the refresh rate of the postings...I notice that whenever this happens, my screen "jumps" and I lose text). Anyway, let's try this again: "Running Imperial, morale is relatively insignificant, and you can keep taxes >60 & some planets 50 (and, actually, >60 is preferable) will lead to a very big I-League, ver

Reply to Excess Colony Ships - What to do? in Strategies Stardock Forums

EDIT: Sorry, for some reason my WP randomly deletes entire lines of text when I post. My first 2 paragraphs should read: "Running Imperial, morale is relatively insignificant, and you can keep taxes >60 & some planets 50 (and, actually, >60 is preferable) will lead to a very big I-League, very soon." ~SDC~

Reply to Excess Colony Ships - What to do? in Strategies Stardock Forums

#9 Jubala, Running Imperial, morale is relatively insignificant, and you can keep taxes >60 & some planets 50 (and, actually, >60 is preferable) will lead to a very big I-League, very soon. Also, if you are playing War Party or not taking any +Morale bonus points as a Civ trait, overpopulation can get out of hand on the better PQ planets in the early game. Since Combat TR's take a while to research and are (generally) not yet available, Colony Ships are the best soluti

Reply to Espionage questions in Strategies Stardock Forums

#12 Vanir, The stats report is the same at bot Medium and High penetration levels. However, at High + above, you will get popups telling you when an AI declares war/settles peace, or if you are being destabilized. ~SDC~

Reply to Everyone is Friendly with me- How can i make them close to me and thus ally with them? in Strategies Stardock Forums

#1 Duglis, Trade is crucial to promoting goodwill. Research that advance and maximize your permissable # of routes with the Empire you are interested in allying with. Over time, positive bonuses will accrue, and your relationship will move to "close". At that time, by researching "Alliance" (Comm Theory ---> Universal Translator & Nano-Electronics ---> Diplomacy; Weapons Theory ---> Phasers ---> Instant Communication), you can propose to ally with that Empire, via the

Reply to Excess Colony Ships - What to do? in Strategies Stardock Forums

#1 Librarian, Another idea... On larger maps, you can (eventually) obtain enough +Morale bonuses (through SB modules, life resource mining & social improvements) that even "standard" planets (i.e., PQ20-25) can safely hold up to 50B people! Up-load your excess population to a colony ship early game, when you are building your infrastructure and having problems maintaining morale due to overpopulation. Park it somewhere. Late-game (before you are about to win), return y

Reply to Short Game (Tiny or Small) Tips in Strategies Stardock Forums

On Tiny, speed is a tremendous attribute. Take +1 and research the Propulsion path to increase it even further (and gain +10% range). Conquest is the key to a tiny map. Avoid diplomacy (unless you are specifically going for aan Alliance win as a challenge) and concentrate on Military techs & production. BattleHammers and Battleships reign supreme. If caught by an enemy offensive, build a SB and bulk it up with defensive modules that add to your ship values. It

Reply to NOTICE: 1.03 incompatible w/1.02 saves in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Vridian, It does work (i.e., you will be able to load and play your saved games), but certain calculations will be off. For example, in my game (gigantic/painful, started under 1.01), my espionage costs differed radically from what ZaH calculated should be the correct values. A 2nd save (of a Medium map) I had to scrap, because it set all production of a certain social improvement to "398 turns to completion", no matter what the planetary production. But I'm happy to hear that

Reply to 1.03.53 in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Thanks, Brad. Your level of support is simply incredible, and very much appreciated! ~SDC~

Reply to Long game!! Finally Done. in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Congrats, BB! I too just finished two (!) games today: a small and a gigantic, both of which I had started under 1.01. (I put the small aside when I finally felt I knew enough to start up a gigantic.) I finished the Gigantic earlier today, then decided (since I had it laying around) to finish and post the smaller one as well. It dropped me from #245 to 300+, but I like having 3 games to my credit on the MV now! :) Keep going...I'll probably post my 4th game (another Gigantic)

Reply to Where are the "Space Sharks"? in Galactic Civilizations I Stardock Forums

Good idea, Daetrinn! That one also occured to me as well...AMM's certainly will put a dent into the Great Whites. Just don't run out of MP's and park one of your ships by them when they go off! ;) ~SDC~