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I added a chapter to your story... ~SDC~
They do cheat at the highest difficulty levels, at least in terms of getting some extra bonuses. ~SDC~
eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate ~SDC~
[quote]Always seems that by the time I have settled all worlds within my grasp and built two improvements, the AI's are already to frigates and... too late to hit them unless they were weak and pitiful anyway.[/quote] The general way to beat more advanced opponents in tiny maps is to wait until they're at war with someone else (or pay them to start the war) and their warships should leave their planets. You can then attack with just transports and maybe a battle cruiser to take out any
That would depend on the maximum possible number of military resources in a gigantic galaxy. ~SDC~
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I used to play with library mods, at a time when the game was starting to seem stale. Some of the 'event' mods are a bit buggy - the effects of the 'good' choices don't always do what they're supposed to, since good choices that benefit the player are forbidden. ~SDC~
I think Maso is going to be a lot harder in the next update. A lot of people are probably only surviving at the moment by using 1 IP bribes. ~SDC~
1 It takes four upgrades and 5000BC to turn a starbase into a Terror Star (once you have the Terror Star technology). 2 My usual starbases are designed for one single purpose. I use these types: A resource base - build a base on a resource somewhere in space and upgrade it with the Mining techs to improve your entire empire +50% trade (Build several in a sector where your mini-freighters spend a lot of time. If you have a lot of trade routes going to and from the same place
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I never put too much faith in population growth bonuses... In my last game I experimented with population levels. I found that in the later stages, I could take 75% of the population off the planet and all it would do is reduce the planet's income by about 10%. Is it different in the early stages before economic% bonuses trigger the income cap? It was an odd game, a Gigantic Maso. I got a great start (all the AIs in one corner) and was so busy expanding I missed most of the early trade
Buff the Minor is what you play with the minors you want to conquer, not the ones you want to trade with. In my last game I tried the Super Slingshot game (while it's still possible). That's when you build about thirty speed+ bases in one sector. If you do it right, you send your mini-freighters almost all the way round their trade route in one turn, into the last and highest-paying sector of their journey, where you put all your trade bonus bases. Can also be used for military invasions - f
[quote]That is quite disturbing, Downie![/quote] Their deaths were not in vain! They died for the highest cause of all, the cause of Art! [Message Edited]
GalCiv: not so much a game, more a way of life. But within GalCiv, there is plenty of room to invent your own mini-games. What do you play? Buff the Minor In this popular sport, you farm minor races, protect them from harm, and give them the techs for things like economic and manufacturing capitals. When they’ve built everything you want, conquer them immediately. Starbase Lucky Dip Fun for all the family! In Masochistic games, the AIs won’t give you money for your te
The default population on a colony ship seems to be half the population of the planet. This is far too high, and is very annoying if I've selected Auto-Launch Ships. Trying to colonise a PQ 13 world with 10,000,000,000 people is likely to cause a rebellion. I would suggest making a colony ship normally contain 100 million people or half the population, whichever is lower. This would prevent The Solitair Gambit. And if you're looking to change the unsuccessful mass-driver invasion technique,
I've sometimes had this happen. Sometimes you just have to wait a really long time for them to flip. I think AIs have a varying Loyalty / Cultural Resistance modifier. ~SDC~
[quote] AI should, however, be more aware/pre-emptive of terrorstars being built by others.[/quote] The problem is that if you've saved up enough money and built enough constructors, you can build terror stars and destroy the AI's entire space empire in one turn without him getting a chance to be aware or pre-emptive. I'd suggest there be a three turn delay between building a Terror Star and being able to use it. Then if you built them next to all the AI's stars, he'd have a chance to r
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I kept meaning to put all my stories into a single sequence on the WotW, but I never got round to it. Now that the 1 IP cheat is going, we'll have to find new ways to abuse the game, such as saving and then using the map-whole-galaxy cheat and noting down the locations of all the good stars and resources, and then reloading so the cheat doesn't stop you scoring. Of course, the AI already has that advantage. ~SDC~
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I wrote this (long) story in an attempt to describe a logically consistent relationship between GalCiv, the Metaverse, and the Fellowship. Most of the jokes about AI flaws will hopefully not be valid for much longer. In Winning, We Lose “Hello? Anyone down here?” Downie looked around. “Psst! In here!” said a low voice. “Five-o? Is that you?” “Shh!” A small hand came out from round a concealed door and beckoned. Investigating, he foun
...and 1 IP gifts seem a lot more effective than giving money. I'm sure it's a bug. With good Diplomacy, 1 IP can guarantee peace until you can reach Cultural Conquest techs, and the AIs haven't a clue how to defend against that. (On the other hand, I sometimes kind of like this bug. I don't use it routinely, but when a game has gone wrong and I'm starting to feel doomed, I feel better after winning this way than I do after losing.) ~SDC~
[quote]Later on you will probably have to reduce spending to keep a positive bank balance. [/quote] ...unless you can boost your income through good trade routes or through selling stuff to the AI. ~SDC~
30% is pretty good. I suggest giving them free gifts instead. ~SDC~
Zero pop planets seem to grow OK. They're sometimes created by library events or UP votes. If you're looking for an in-game justification, the zero refers to the number of tax-payers. There are other people hiding who you don't know about. ~SDC~
The 3/2 configuration is my favourite way to play. The Alexians always seem willing to pay money for techs, which tends to keep me in the 100% spend rate zone. It doesn't score quite as much as a pure maso, but I can win on it without using any major cheese. It works better on the larger maps, where the genius AIs tend to survive longer. ~SDC~
I suppose trade is supposed to be specifically about exchanging culturally unique products. Once they've joined your culture, they will no longer produce such products. In this case, trading with yourself would make no sense. I think the way it works at the moment is pretty interesting and shouldn't be changed (except maybe by capping the starbase trade bonuses). For example, do you trade with your most powerful enemy? If you do, you will be making him even more powerful, but you will also be im
I don't think the metaverse was ever much about helping Stardock improve the AI. It's more about giving larger meaning to your games, a reason to play them all the way to completion even after your victory is assured. Past debates about scoring tended to get rather angry in tone, to the extent of actually driving people away from reading these boards. With almost all other subjects, such as asking for in-game help, we're very friendly. Whatever you say on the subject of metaverse scori
Resource mining bonuses (like bonuses for Wonders and Trade Goods and for researching technologies) are empire wide. You can get up to 68% bonus from a resource starbase if you have the right technologies. Other starbase bonuses are sector wide. If you build factory type bonuses, eg +5% productivity, it applies to all planets in that sector. Starbase trade bonuses apply to the little automated mini-freighters only while they are passing through the sector that the base is in. Culture