Minor Races- Questions

Minor races that come later in the game have comparable tech. In a recent game the Vegans showed up with Beyond Mortality, which I’d just finished researching. I got a warning that they were about to get a technology victory! Fortunately for me I got the tech victory the next turn.

Otherwise, minor races have never been a threat. I’ve never seen them expand, and by the time there are wars raging they get eaten like popcorn. I have to admit I like conquering them since their planets have a huge influence. In a recent Altarian AAR I conquered 3 minors around the Yor, and whose planets almost immediately started flipping as I covered most of his home territory with my influence. Influence equals tourism cash, and denies it to my adversaries. Very nice! There is also the prospect of denial: I don’t want opponents (or even allies) to get them since they are such an important part of an empire.

Other factors with minors, they are easy to extort once you get a large military. You may not get any tech from extortion, but you certainly can get cash. I haven’t had much luck at all tech trading with them, but when you conquer them you do get a tech.

I never bother with espionage against minors, but I suppose they could be doing it to other empires. I know I would in their situation!

Hydro

They always start out lower than me, but they can advance rapidly. Which is understandable considering that they only have the on planet to pay for, freeing up more of their taxes for research.



No, not really. They just usually sit there. Though in time they can end up with large ground forces to take out. A couple of troop fleets are usually sufficient though.



Minor races don't expand unless someone gives them planets in exchange for techs. Nor do they have any ships other than scouts, constructors and orbital defenders. Which usually consist of un used freighters.



Yes, I find that to be the case. I can usually make better deals with them.



No you can't. You get a message about not wasting spies on minor races.

Erm. Can minor races win?

Ps they're mostly puppets.

I find that I just trade all their techs so I can climb the tech tree ladder more rapidly. I give them many good techs, but seeing as I never attack them this just makes them stronger and better able to defend themselves against other major races that do. If the major races are wasting their time fighting them that's all the better for me!

PRECISELY! however i usually won't sell them any techs unless at least one other race already has it or i plan to sell it to everyone anyway. I keep my unique techs very well guarded.

I mooch off minor race techs until I have everything I want from them, then I conquer them with influence. Less messy than ground battles, I say.

Unless you plan on killing them with a surprise attack in the same turn.

hehehe yea

Is that even possible? I've had minor races well within my borders for the longest time, and none of them have ever flipped to me. I've even added Influence bases around their planets, but they didn't seem to have any effect at all.

Minor races neither generate (until a major conquers their planet), nor are affected by influence. So all those influence starbases they are extremely fond of building are totally wasted, apart from increasing range.

Hi!
At the difficulty level I play a minor race means just a nice big planet to the mayor that first gets it. So my minors werealerady for a long time excluded from my games, and they'll stay so until they became so strong they can withstand a non-fully-commited attack from a mayor civ.

IMO that's a pitty. In GC-1 they were quite an obstacle or valuable partner, depending on my approach to the game.

BR, Iztok

Yeah, I was acctually wondering if this was a bug of some sort just because, economy or military starbases would serve the same affect of extending their range and acctually be usefull to them, Also I've seen them once or twice acctually on a second or third planet, it would be nice sometimes if this happened more regularly.

If you trade with a minor race and always sell them plenty of techs, they normally keep up quite well.

I also like to sell my weaker ships to them once my fleet support costs start getting a bit high.

Indeed. I sold several fleets of obsolete heavy fighters and frigates to the Carinoids in one game, and they provided an excellent buffer against a Drath invasion that kept some of my best economy starbases safe until my fleets could get to them.
Now if only they wouldn't place down influence starbases everywhere. I mean, what's the point!

Hi!

I did that in old 1.0x DL times. The exclusive tech I sold became common in just a few turns.

Way too many of my old games with minors developed in almost identical way regarding them: when I found a minor it was already almost cash-less, because other mayors have already sold their tech to them or have extortet them. When one minor was under attack, was that a start of a hunting season on all of them. Since I prefer games with 5-10 planets per player, was that class-15 planet just too big a bonus for the player who'd managed to get it, including me. So my minors are off until Stardock makes them more survivable. Pitty. Since minors don't expand, they should be somehow protected: maybe a UP law forbidding attack on them could help.

BR, Iztok

I actually had a minor race that was attacking civs and took planets. When I went to halt their progression they had powerful ships, not as powerful as mine, true, but powerful enough to cause problems. They also sent out troops ships to all of my worlds and some fell because they were so powerful on the ground and I had no ships in orbit.

As I said in the original statement had I not stopped them right then they could have gone ape on the galaxy. It sounds like that isn't a common occurance, but it did happen. . .

i quote myself in answer

I am yet to see a minor go ape on the galaxy, but I'd like to see it. I've heard of it happening before and it sounds like it could make things interesting.

I have often ended up with super strong minors but never have they rolled over any AI race.

My experience is that minors start with pretty high tech. I've had a minor race come in with 100% in soldiering. They were pretty tough to invade. This was near end game, so I think their starting tech level depends on some function of the average galactic tech at the time.

Well, if you don't like them, I guess you could always just turn them off. The ones I encounter usually just sit and trade with the closest major race until someone decides to take them out.

I want to break the minor races dont expand thing.

In a recent game of mine they did. Took three system(almost) and went to war with the Yor.

Boy it was fun to watch them beat up the Yor.

Play Galciv1 then. They actually colonise! (after a moderate delay period).

I like trying to keep them alive throughout the game. They can be very useful. Yes, they won't expand or threaten anyone, but that's wny I like trying to think of them as civs to defend. Especially if I'm playing a "good" civ. If I'm evil, I'll crush them ASAP!!!!

It depends on their location for me. If they're near my core systems I exterminate them. I wouldn't want my citizens in such close proximity to vile alien scum, after all..
If they're near a border with another power, I'll keep them around for a while, bolster their military so they'll be a thorn in someone else's side.
If they're far away I'll try to keep them alive as long as I can milk them for their economic/research treaties.