[quote] The senate should simply NOT allow war to be declared on any ally. [/quote] If the government is Evil you just stick the heads of a few Senators on pikes and call for a new vote. Only under Imperial government you say? BWAHAHAHAHA!!
[quote]Wonder how a patch can affect things that were working before... [/quote] Either sarcastic or NOT a programmer (or both). :D I try to fix at least two bugs for each one I introduce during the fixes. I *usually* succeed. By the time I finish the two games I have in progress, 1.13 should be out! -- HtL (aka Admiral Glacier)
The various maso strat threads in this forum led me to win my first-ever maso after only about 5 or 6 games at lower levels. Best to absorb the info that is already out there. There are many different strats that can beat maso (not necessarily all the time); mix and match to suit your playing style. You might choose to play a game or two at painful or crippling before taking on maso. If you find those levels too easy to be fun, come on up to maso. If you find maso to be fun even while gettin
[quote]Trade will be split evenly between the two empires that one has a freighter and the other a starbase.You can also benefit from any freighter that passes thru the sector that has one of your starbases that have trade modules installed even if you aren't trading specifically with that empire, unless you are at war with them.[/quote] Finally a direct answer! Thank you, kind sir. I never dreamed I could get a benefit from a route that doesn't involve me at either end. It makes som
Oops. Embarassing to miss a personal message from CariElf! That could get me nailed to the wall of the Metaverse! I plead that messages scroll so rapidly off the first page... I'll have to try the Revealed Wisdom next (thanks CariElf). The rest of this message is probably moot, but I'll report it anyway. Last night I updated her system to DirectX 9.0b and to the latest driver for the Intel 82845G chipset, but no joy. The instant I click "Install" it hangs with two entries of
I finally used Terror Stars in the game I posted yesterday...and also discovered several ways NOT to use them. The first "oops" was when I discovered that I couldn't take over a resource with a Terror Star, because "only constructors can move over a resource." So I ended up with what looked like an extremely-well-guarded resource. The more embarassing one involved a Terror Star with an escorting stack. I clicked the TS and then right-clicked the target...and the escorting stack attacke
Thanks for the clarification. After getting familiar with the maso threads I'm past the stage for a beginner's guide (though I've probably forgotten some fundamentals along the way...if ever I knew them!) As you noted, some of the old advice is dated due to changes from the patches or changes in the state of the art. [No doubt I'll get my head handed to me in my next maso game after "vacationing" at mere Painful difficulty.] -- HtL
[quote] Although the 1IP trick works, you don't have to use it. Other gifts will work. You can give 100IP. You can give some money. A tech if you have it. Build a few spare defenders and give one away. If you get some free ships from anomalies, giving those away early can really help.[/quote] 1IP does seem cheesy. I like to make my IP gifts proportional to the number of IP in play (basically meaning how long it's been since the last UP vote). One click to the right on the IP slider
G.A.S.: I'm asking about trade routes with my star systems that *they* initiate. With the routes I found myself, I can usually create a trade clump to give a decent boost to my trade income. The routes they found go to semi-random systems from semi-random directions; I'm wondering if I can boost that revenue or if I'd just be wasting constructors (and maintenance). Actually, I don't have that much control over my own routes since I've been going for *early* routes by trading for frei
Small sample size and all that, but my single tech steal was indeed from the Drengin.
I know that trade routes yield the same income for both parties...but do trade starbases boost *their* routes as well as your own? [I assume not.]
[quote]ric - yep, the early development phase contains the GCCG heritage. I still think that was very nicely worked out by EBZ and it taught me a lot about the tech tree - basically that you should try and know the tech tree like the back of your hand and really plan your path in detail. When you've got a clear path, it becomes easier to adjust on-the-fly if something unusual strikes.[/quote] OK, I'll bite. What's GCCG and who is/was EBZ and what thread might I look at for this discuss
[quote]Anyway, it's cheaper to have 5 billion people sitting in a CT rotting without shore leave than it is to build up VR centers and Spin Control. And if I don't even need the troops, sometimes I'll decommission the full transport. No more ship maintenance cost, no buildings to maintain, no outcry from the populace about friendly fire losses.[/quote] Not only that, you get a decorative ring around the planet when you space five billion citizens. Up close, the facial expressions are p
Well...I used one for standard PQ or startup worlds, one for high PQ ship factories, one for worlds which need morale help, and (believe it or not) one for worlds where I wanted to max my research. Now I tend to ignore or just use the one governor. Because I'm being lazy I end up doing more work micromanaging. [Nice move, ace!]
I've only scored one steal, but it happened to be Dreadnoughts so it was memorable!
rb: Hmm...leaving some items poised at zero turns sounds like an interesting idea (assuming that I remember to change the build order at zero!) You're building something you don't need against the time when you expect to need it later. I suppose the idea is that this doesn't waste money because you'd be spending for that production even if you didn't use it. Either that or you're "investing" in infrastructure (or both). Comments?
[quote]1% to a scout is like more than useless.[/quote] Well, it probably makes the captain of the scout feel better for the millisecond before being blown away... Thanks for the clarifications!
[quote]I concur. At least an update button would be welcome. Also, the amount of BC available in the main screen is not refreshed every turn. You can force it by going to the economy panel, but it's painful to do it every turn when you're borderline. [/quote] I'll third the motion. In particular, while adjusting sliders there should be a small on-screen indicator of the number of turns to go in research. I use F2 so I can see (roughly) what's happening to the build turns, but it's annoy
I think the "hull improvements" are specific to the ship that found them, or is that just when it specifies "hit points" (which appear instantly on that ship)?
LDC: I find them *very* cumbersome, like a decent idea that either didn't work out or wasn't implemented very well (like a number of features in MY software; I'm not bashing CariElf!) Being able to move them would help, or at least something akin to Military Swap where you say "Switch all Rally Point 7 to Rally Point 12" or some such. The thing that aggravates me most is if I use a rally point to gather constructors for a starbase. As more constructors approach the base I want to chec
Stardock Forums
[quote]When I get the fundies event, I usually rush them: Immediately stop everything you do, build ships and transports and take one of their systems. Do this before they build (many) ships. They start with 0 ship, so that is the time to strike.[/quote] Same principle with the Draginol event (of course you already know this). In my first maso win (this week!) I was planning to culture bomb after taking out one AI with a frigate rush. When the Drengin got Draginol it seemed like an imm
Thanks, Cypher (for the post and for the congrats). It's good to see there are multiple strategies that work even at Maso level...and good that you can combine or change strategies. In some games (Deity level of Civ2, IIRC) you have multiple routes to victory, but once you commit to one it might be suicidal to try to switch, or to fail to commit *everything* to the chosen path. Hmm...maybe I like the Gray Side of the Force (or rather, the Zebra Side!) -- HtL
I'm here to thank the experts for helping me win my first maso game (posted today). Yes, it was a tiny map, and it was "easy" maso, with two AI as mere Geniuses, but the advice here is so powerful that I was able to use a hybrid of Ray's "frigate rush" with the "culture bomb" route. I took out the Torians with a frigate rush, then built up a clump of culture palaces. As I waited for the Altarians to flip, a problem arose. First the Yor surrendered to the Drengin, and then the Drengin got the D
> Well, look at the UN Security Council, where some of the permanent members are *substantially* less powerful than some of the non-members.
A billion here, a billion there...pretty soon you're talking about REAL atrocity!