Newbie Questions

[Talonsin]

I just found a copy of this game in a bargan bin and I have played a few times and really like it but I am having trouble finding answers to questions.

1. If I have a planet with no starbase, is building factories on it useless? I am having a hard time grasping if planet buildings effect the whole or just what happens on the planet. If factories only help produce ships on the planet they are on then I am really doing it wrong.

2. Do you guys specialize small planet at all? Like maybe use a class 4 planet as a research only colony?

3. I am not building any type of military until I think I am about to be attacked. I dont want to pay for ships I dont use and I dont want to build ships that are gonna be obsolete in several weeks due to new discoveries. Is this right?

4. Lets say I have a class 12 planet with max population, Should I build a few economic starbases around it to get more taxes from it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Aquila SPQR]

1. If I have a planet with no starbase, is building factories on it useless? I am having a hard time grasping if planet buildings effect the whole or just what happens on the planet. If factories only help produce ships on the planet they are on then I am really doing it wrong.

Factories increase overall production IMO. So increase also social - buildings/wonders.

2. Do you guys specialize small planet at all? Like maybe use a class 4 planet as a research only colony?

Sometimes. But mostly I always try to build labs, markets and factories on one planet.

3. I am not building any type of military until I think I am about to be attacked. I dont want to pay for ships I dont use and I dont want to build ships that are gonna be obsolete in several weeks due to new discoveries. Is this right?

I am playing for a looong time and I fought only with two pirate ships. But I play a mod which slows gameplay so I don't know how the thing would look like in a "normal" game. It is always good to have ships though - other civs seem to pursuit techs leading to planetary invasions, so imagine their huge fleets of transports advancing to your undefended planets.

4. Lets say I have a class 12 planet with max population, Should I build a few economic starbases around it to get more taxes from it?

I try to build economic starbases next to all planets.

 

[scratchthepitch]

I just found a copy of this game in a bargan bin and I have played a few times and really like it but I am having trouble finding answers to questions.

1. If I have a planet with no starbase, is building factories on it useless? I am having a hard time grasping if planet buildings effect the whole or just what happens on the planet. If factories only help produce ships on the planet they are on then I am really doing it wrong.

2. Do you guys specialize small planet at all? Like maybe use a class 4 planet as a research only colony?

3. I am not building any type of military until I think I am about to be attacked. I dont want to pay for ships I dont use and I dont want to build ships that are gonna be obsolete in several weeks due to new discoveries. Is this right?

4. Lets say I have a class 12 planet with max population, Should I build a few economic starbases around it to get more taxes from it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

I'll answer what I think I can, but I'm only a very inexperienced player at this game, so my answers may be wrong.

1. What the factories produce is applicable to the planet, but the income they generate is taxed and added to the empire's base. The more factories on a planet, the faster it produces other installations and ships. I read somewhere that one player put 2 factories up as the first thing they would produce on a planet.

2. Small planets are very limited in use and you still need to think of future defenses, maybe, and they take up sectors, also. I guess it could be used for research till later techs allow a few more sectors to be worked. But I don't really know.

3. The most fun I had with this game was designing the ships. I didn't build a lot of them, and most of what I built was those constructor & colony ships. I didn't fight any wars in the limited amount of play I had, also had good relations with the other aliens. So didn't actually build many of the warship designs I came up with. I would say it depends on your neighbours. If they show signs of aggression, them yeah, build those warships, and get them over to border regions those guys are at.

4. If I remember correctly, you are only given a limited amount of "slots" (for lack of a better term) for all star bases. The special element (the coloured crystals) count in that total. The total limit increases with certain techs. I would use economic star bases in places where their range could affect the largest number of systems with the best economic output. But then they could be used to boost low output system groups to make them useful, too. Depends on the map, you may need influence and military star bases more than economic ones. It's a judgment call. Might save a couple slots for emergency use.

 

[Sparthage]

Just a question. What version is it? Vanilla, or one of the expansions?