StoweMobile

Join Date 11/2004

What should I do?

Ok, in my current game (I am playing as the Yor on a Giant size map) I have the most industry, and the most reaserch (3 reaserch reasorces), but my economy and my military are pretty week. Overall I am about 2nd overall. I am loosing alot of money because about a year into the game the event occured were there is a boom in everyones economy, and I used this increase in cash to finance tons of new colonies. I did this becasue I reasearch a few of the extreme world colonization techs before other civs, and wanted to rush a bunch of the juicy planets. Well the boom ends and I am loosing about 700bc a turn. Im loosing so much because I miscalculated how much I would be in the red after the boom ended and build too many industrial centered worlds compared to economic planets. Another reason my economy is so bad compared to others is because I was late meting alot of the other races, and the thalan, unlike me, used the economic boom to build a masive navy (they are right behind me in industry), and used to it to force a few of the other races into an economic treaties with them.
-This seems a like a bad situation, and was hoping some people could give me some tips on what I should do. Lukily some of the other Civs are at war with each other, and are too ocupied to take advantage of my relativly week military.
--My plan is to initiate a war between the Thalan and the Drengin (the two strongest military powers, and possibly other empires. While my economy isn't all that great I am also not paying the huge ship maintainance that the others are. I'll bide my time as the strongest militaries destroy each other, decreasing spening in military and social area, but leave research the same or higher. Hopefully I'll have time for some of my developing economic planets to offset my large number of industrial ones. By the time the major wars are over (again hopefully) my economy will be improved and ill be far enough ahead that I'll be able to defend off the larger militaries with my superior ships, eventually overcoming my enemies with superior techs + industry.
---My question is, is what I sugested a good strategy, and if not what else should I do or what should I do to improve it. I know that this is a stinking long post, and thanks to those that read it and help.

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Start flipping the orientation of planets until your proportions are no more than 1/3 industrial/research worlds to 2/3 farm/economic worlds.

examine your worlds carefully and build just enough farms/food distro centers on each world so that it will slowly grow to between 16-20 population. Only go to 20 on a world with some extra morale benefit, like the morale bonus of the civ capital or a Mystic Spring. Don't build straight morale buildings, but do build the Counter-Espionage Center; its a wonderful thing to put on a Mystic Spring tile - it DOES get the bonus.

STOP the improvement of 2nd farms on any worlds that have them so you don't go over 19 (20 on selected worlds) capacity. build over any 3rd farms; build lots of financials instead - they are eventually worth more.

build some bare bones trade stations out along your trade routes, but quickly max up the Trade Post, Adv Trade Post, and Trade Ctr modules. Choos spots that cover the most possible trade routes both your own and those coming to you from others.

Try to put at least one heavily gunned small guard ship at each significant world, and keep the tech on it up to snuff either with upgrades or replacement. Don't bother with space for engines or sensors, and prioritize defenses behind plenty of weapons. Try to look slightly scary. If you have several armed ships at a world, put them in a fleet just off the world, not in orbit.

Destroy factories, labs if you have to on secondary or not-yet-fully developed worlds; convert to financials. Don't build farms, morale buildings, spaceports on young planets until you really need them.

You are past the initial colony rush. Keep your tax rate high, only low enough to keep your least morale planet that is still growing at 41% morale. Morale on max pop worlds can drop as low as 21% with no real impact. BUT VERY IMPORTANT - BOUNCE YOUR GENERAL MORALE UP TO ~60% on ELECTION weeks. You cna check for the next election week on the civ manager screen.

drrider

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Ok, thanks much. My taxes are a little high, and I still have 71 overall aproval. This is because I also have 2 moral reasorces. Something else I forgot to mention. The Arcean are the weakest empire, and are completely surrounded by my borders. Their military is the weakest in the galaxy, so it is also on the agenda to take them over fairly soon.
-I defiantly like the idea of raising taxes as opposed to eliminating social/military spending. So my aproval can go as low as 41% without seeing large consequenses? I didn't know that. This will be good as my largest expense is a massive colony maintainence from newly colonized planets that arn't yet developed, so as they develop I should see a increase in my economy.

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Hi!

my largest expense is a massive colony maintainence from newly colonized planets that arn't yet developed

Start ferrying to those small-population colonies pop from your large planets, that are close to maxed population. If you have troop transports, use them, and unload about 500M pop to each new/small colony. If you don't have trop transports, put on a cargo hull two colony modules for 500M space. Advantage of that design is it costs you zero to maintain, because it's not a warship.

With two morale resources you probably could afford to safely push taxes on 13B planets to over 70%. Though I'd not build the second farm on big planets (15+) until I'd have the third morale resource fully mined. It's safer to build there a new Stock Market instead.

700BC hole with lots of planets sounds very doable. If you really can't cover it, clear building queues on those new colonies until they grew enough population to support themself. Also, don't build Stock Markets (costs 120BC) on those new colonies with low production - it will take too long to have them up, while you'll be receiving no bonuses. Start with Trade Centers (50BC) for quick increase, and only then convert them to Stock Markets. And downgrade Industrial Centers on planets you don't need, back to Manuf. Centers(?), or outright convert them to Stock Markets.

HTH and BR, Iztok

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Also, don't forget you can make a few thousands selling non-essential technologies to your opponents.
Have you reached your maximum number of trade routes + do you have research potential on economic technologies / trade technologies?

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Thanks for all the responses. LoL I completely forgot about moving populations to my new colonies. I even have extra colony ships from doing that earlier. I do have enough tech to trade for money, so I'll probably do that. Should I still try and start those wars?

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Mystikmind

Join Date 06/2004

+20

Start flipping the orientation of planets until your proportions are no more than 1/3 industrial/research worlds to 2/3 farm/economic worlds.

bingo! but perhaps 1/3 is a bit generous?

As a general rule, all planets without factory bonuses become economic worlds. Also i typically ignore first level science bonuses and make those planets economy worlds as well. Sometimes if there are too many planets with factory bonuses, i will just put a factory on the bonus but still make it an econ world. I don't even bother putting a starbase on econ worlds (or science worlds) unless there is a factory bonus.

In your situation i would probably start building empty hulls - ships without components and start reseaching defence technology like blazers! Once some idiot AI declares war on me i would then upgrade all the empty hulls to mega strong ships and begin dessimating them while my economy slowly climbed out of the massive dept left from the upgrading. I'm not researching any techs, so what! they give me techs as i take their worlds!! Oh yea, try to get all low level techs you skipped over before all this happens so you don't get given useless techs when you take their planets.

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Ok, I've got it under control a little better. My younger colonies have began to develop, and I am now the strongest economically, and 3rd strongest militarily. My problem now is that the mega event occured where the Arcean Empire (atm the weekest) discover some sort of artifact that will gradually lead them to dominate the galaxy. To survive I need to take them out while I can, but the issue is that they have massive trade with me and declaring war on them sets me back to around -500bc. what would be the best thing to do in this situation?

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Mystikmind

Join Date 06/2004

+20

what would be the best thing to do in this situation?

well if it was me, i would ignore the issue. potentially it could be fun to let them get strong so you can have a big war at the end but they would probably take too long to get to that point. If the event happened to a powerful race, then i might worry unless i wanted to experiment with fighting a super strong race without having to increase the difficulty level of the game.

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how long do I have before they start getting really powerful. I guess what I should ask is how much do their abilities increase per week or per month, thanks again.

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Mystikmind

Join Date 06/2004

+20

how long do I have before they start getting really powerful. I guess what I should ask is how much do their abilities increase per week or per month, thanks again.

I saw a post on this some time ago.... I forget the exact amounts? Apparantly it is insanely slow in Galciv1/DL to the point of not being relevant to the game. but i hear it is a bit quicker in DA? So i guess they wanted to make it relevant to the game this time? If so then you should probably be concearned??

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I'll Probably bide my time untile the hit from the lost trade won't hert me as much, and then strike. Since it isn't all that apparent the exact rate of increasing abilities, I'll probaby keep a save incase I wait too long and get over ran... That sounds like cheating, but I don't want to lose the time i've invested up to this point.

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how long do I have before they start getting really powerful. I guess what I should ask is how much do their abilities increase per week or per month, thanks again.

Don't worry about it. They are your best trading partner, an important component in your current strength. a) the effects of the event are quite slow.

the event tends to add a bit of prejudice against them with every other AI. c) the Arceans don't get along the best with any other warlike or expansionistic races in the game.

So you stay on good terms with them but not allied. Let them fight with others. the pace of the artifact event is slow enough that you can probably out grow it yourself, if they are currently the weakest. If it reaches the point where its just you and them, fight them with superior tech vs their bonuses, or ally with them to get the diplo victory.

drrider

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BTW, no one seems to know exactly what the growth rate in bonuses from the artifact event is, but from observation I believe it is something like a 1% bonus per week to one of their racial characteristics, i.e. influence, defense, attack, economics, trade, diplomacy, etc.

drrider

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Oh, you should try to get their economic and research treaties, if you don't already have them. That way you can benefit a little from the event.

drrider

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Mystikmind

Join Date 06/2004

+20

BTW, no one seems to know exactly what the growth rate in bonuses from the artifact event is, but from observation I believe it is something like a 1% bonus per week to one of their racial characteristics, i.e. influence, defense, attack, economics, trade, diplomacy, etc.

drrider

So basically it is like getting a 1% bonus anomaly per week?

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See this is another problem, the Thalan got a jump and intimidated alot of races into treaties with them, so the Thalan (most powerful race atm) would be the ones benefitting the most from that. Also I should mention one reason i have so mutch trade with them is that there is a UP treaty that doubles all trade values...so I have like 400bc a week of trade going with them right now. I think im going to just cut back spending in everything except reaserch again, and when I take them out I will just convert alot of their planets into econ planets to offset this loss.

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kryo

Join Date 05/2003

+458

There are two versions of the event--the regular one, which behaves like that, and the mega event version, which increases most/all abilities every turn.

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I respect the answers you've gotten from everyone, but I'll add my two cents worth....build some freighters and send them to some non-arcean ai's....just set them next to their planets as i doubt you have any trade lanes available. Then when you declare war you can quickly get trade routes reestablished with some races that will now be less likely to declare war on you.

I like to just squash all the competition, and planets that have buildings already on them are just too good to pass up on. If someone is weaker...I have at it with them and enjoy the fruits of their efforts.

Just another perspective from a very aggressive player

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Hi!

So basically it is like getting a 1% bonus anomaly per week?

I've been watching allied Humans in one game (likely DL) some months ago, where they got the slow version of that event. It looked like they got an 1% increase per 2 weeks (turns) in every possible ability. So after about two years I saw them having 4% Crime, 3% Government, 6% Homeworld quality... Lots of abilities, that were intended, but never or no more used in the game. OFC they got increase also in usual abilities, but the growth was so slow, it would make impact only after many years of the game. I haven't had the patience to wait that long.

BR, Iztok

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Ok, I think I've got it under control. I decided to go ahead and declare war on them. I took them pretty easily because of my large research lead over them. Luckily for me they surrendered to me alot earlier than I though they would. I had to decrease spending a little, but im almost back to where I was before the large trade lose. Im set up pretty good because the arceans had a military and another research resource for me. I also found another research resource and economic resource, and managed to claim another morale resource of the drenging that someone else destroyed. That puts my total up to 4 reaseach 3 morale 2 economic, and 1 military resource. There is a minor farily close with another morale that I plan to take soon, so I should be pretty good. Another good this is that the other races are too occupied with wars betwixs themselves to bother about me.

-Thanks for all the responses guys.

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There are two versions of the event--the regular one, which behaves like that, and the mega event version, which increases most/all abilities every turn.

Cool, kyro - That's a useful explanation. Thanks.

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how do you tell the difference between them

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