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OK game 1. Note again that my only positive is Unification and my only negative is Repulsive. Game 1 will recap will have lots of details, especially starting out. Hopefully my starting details will help some newer players improve.
This race, while better at production than many standard in game races isn't a production powerhouse. Even though I spawned (Draconis 1) very close to the upper right corner I have only 1 mediocre planet in my home system to colonize. Thus I decided to not sell the star base and get my lab and factory built prior to building my colony base. Of course I sold my barracks as I don't need it for moral.
Turn 21 I buy my lab paying 60 BC for 30 pp. Along the way, while research the pre-req electronic comp and then labs when I'd gone far enough into research to have a decent percentage chance to complete the tech, I move one scientist over to become a worker to save 5 pp/T building my colony base. This saved production isn't lost when I switch tasks and this time things worked perfectly and I was immediately able to buy my lab exactly half built. Now my research jumped from 18 to 29 per turn.
Turn 33 Factory is bought paying 50 for 25 pp. All pop not farming is now put to work making my CB. Yes there's plenty of pollution but I want that new colony built. Research now plugs along at 5 RP/t from my lab as I want a freighter fleet and a couple of scouts out soon.
Using the F9 key I can tell that 5 red stars are within reach of scout ships my my homeworld. Hopefully, one will be a great system guarded by a monster and then research will be directed to quickly take it. Hopefully, I'll find another decent world or two to farm as well.
Turn 39 I buy my CB paying 160 for 80 pp. All but one worker now goes to research on my homeworld D1. Draconis 3 an ocean planet is colonized. Draconis 2 is a gas giant.
Turn 41 I buy a freighter fleet paying 50 for 25 pp and move a worker over to D3 to help build my factory and then lab. Had I moved a worker prior to having freighters I'd have lost a unit of pop to starvation. Note that it isn't possible to starve that last colonist on a planet to death. Now I started making two scout ships with nothing but extended fuel tanks to reduce costs.
Turn 47 I buy the factory on D3 paying 48 for 24 pp and my second scout is built and sent exploring.
Turn 49 CS construction is started on D1.
Turn 51 My lab is bought on D3 paying 48 for 24 pp.
Turn 52 I now leave just one colonist on D3 and he's building population at 190k/T meaning that a new worker will be born about every 5 turns. D1 is soon maxed out at 12 pop but I am researching Biospheres with my 10 RP/t from my two labs.
Turn 53 Exploration of my corner has show nothing great but things seem acceptable. Ubar is in the exact corner and has nothing but a gas giant. Above me against the upper side is Kyusho with two toxic waste dumps
for planets. To the left of Kyusho is Gurion which has a low G small Gaia which can take 10 population and will be great for farming. There are two other planets in the Gurion system as well.
To my left below Gurion is Juga with nothing but two hot Jupiters. Below Juga to my southwest is Zin which has one large barren normal planet. Unfortunately there's no nice rich or better planets and no great monster system. This start isn't looking so good, but I think I am isolated enough to turtle with 7 planets for quite a while and be unknown. I won't yet colonize Zin since surely I meet aliens then and will need spies and may not be able to defend it early.
Gurion's Gaia also has artifacts so I discover a free tech. LOL it is scout labs..so useless. Perhaps if I could put more than 1 on a ship, I could make a few more frigates (FF) or destroyers (DD) up to my CP limit and let them sit around and gain experience, but with just one scout lab per ship I'll pass on that idea.
Turn 57 I hire Galos for 30 BC and must pay him 1 BC/t. He is cheap enough but with only 10% boost to my income in Draconis, is only just paying for himself. But he'll help out a bit more once he promotes and once a system is more built up. I'd never hire such a weak leader if not repulsive, but I've played entire games as repulsive where only 3 or 4 colony leaders ever showed up looking for work.
Turn 60 Biosphere research is completed and Biosphere's are inserted ahead of the CS in the queue on D1 as I need more space for colonists there. Soil enrichment research begins. The extra 1 food will be really 1.5 food due to being Uni and I want to free up colonists to do other things than farm.
Turn 65 I buy my CS paying 92 for 46 pp. Of course I'd liked to have purchased it earlier but hadn't the cash. The CS is sent to Gurion 2, the Gaia. I leave one worker to make another freighter fleet so I can send colonists to G2 noting that I still am building housing on G3. The rest of the workers head to the lab to help research Soils.
Turn 76 I buy Soils on D1 and now can use a few more colonists as workers to build another CS which will go to Kyusho. Research is now on Neural Scanners which is the pre-req for Supercomps and will make my spies better. Research is just being provided by my buildings currently. A scout ship could now reach Hermidon to the left of Juga but it has nothing but asteroids and a hot Jupiter however, some needed cash was found.
I'd post a screen shot or two if I knew how to take and post them. MOO2 from GOG so DOSbox and Win 7.
Turn 77 I buy the factory on G2 12 for 6 pp.
Turn 81 I buy the lab on G2 18 for 9 pp and start soil enrichment as I am farming there as well. Gurion 2 has become a functional planet and I continue to transport newborns from my housing on D3 over to G2.
Turn 85 I buy soils on G2 paying 112 for 56 pp and start work on biospheres since I need more living space.
I've received a couple of strange TV signals, likely bouncing off a galactic cloud. They have this goofy robot and he told of a plague on planet owned by something called Sakkra. I am not sure what they are, but I look forward to eating them. Something called Gnolam have gotten lucky and discovered technologies. Methinks the Gnols won't consider themselves to be lucky once they see my ground troops landing.
Turn 88 I buy biospheres on G2 36/18. My total pop is 22 and I am still housing on G3. All this is so slow and weak when compared to playing a power custom race but it is at least comparable to playing one of the weaker AI races so I am not unhappy.
Turn 93 My 2nd CS is out and sent to Kyusho. I kept some cash for later rather than buying it. Now all but one non farmer on D1 is sent to the labs and my total research is 55 with a pop of 24. I hope to be able to turtle alone and considerably longer. Ideally I can have labs and supercomps on my 7 planets and that will generate 105 RP/t just from the passive buildings. With biospheres to enlarge these mostly low pop planets I can have more scientists and roll down to techs needed both for more infrastructure and for war.
More later but so far I feel OK this game. Starting in the corner means than my weak race isn't yet threatened.