AI doesn't colonize class 14 and below?

from Stardock Forums
I haven't quite figured out why the AI won't colonize class 14,13 or 12 planets. I have played up to normal difficulty and the behavior is the same.

I always eventually colonize those planets, heck a couple quality social projects and you can have a nice 16 or 17 quality planet. It will never be grand, but it produces revenue and research!

Any idea why the AI stays away?
782 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
They don't want anything that could potentially be a financial and morale drain on their civilization. If you build social projects on a low class planet even with terraforming it will usually cost more to maintain than it makes but it does provide a little research. I generally don't colonize below class 15 in my games. I tried it in my first game and didn't see any real return on my investment from those planets.

~SDC~
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
This makes the Class+15% trait extremely useful, as Class 14 planets become Class 16... having systems just lying around for you to colonise at your leisure is quite nice :)

~SDC~
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Planets with class 15 and below are both morally and economically unjustified.

Once I colonised 2 palnets with 13 quality. Well, they ware the biggets pain in the ***. With all the ecology ungrades and population at around 200m their moral was still very low. Now I never bother with planets below 15. Only in very special curcumstances (e.g. when AI has many more planets than I do) i will colonise planets of class 14.

-TLA-Russian
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Don't forget that if you build a starbase with a lot of production upgrades, your class 13 or 14 planet can be a real gem.

Asmodean

~SDC~
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
Once you get the terraforming tech that class 14 can be bumped all the way to 18. Planets as low as 11 can be bumped up to 15. Terraforming is very pricy though.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
I've just read the strategy guide that Brad put out and it seems that the idea of colonizing (in my case classes 11-14 planets) and then building them up via improvements is a "really bad" idea. The tax rate of these planets means that one will have economic difficulties quite soon.

I think soon I'm going to play a game where I will not colonize more than a few stars w class 18 (or maybe 20, if I can find them) planets. Seems some of the AIs do that and they are doing great!

How on earth (to coin a pun) do the AI get a planet of rating >40??

~SDC~
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Is there information anywhere on how the class of the planet affects the stats? I mean really hardcore information? How does a Class 13 planet lower taxes and morale - or maybe I mean by how much.

I'm playing on a small map with almost very few 15+ planets, and I own only one :) and yet the better planets really do seem to crank out massive taxes and production. So, it obviously makes a big diff...
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
LOL yea, I was afraid someone would ask that question. I had to go search all over. Here it is ..
http://www.galciv.com/encyclopedia.asp?action=showpage&page=http://www.galciv.com/docs/undocs.html

Check under "Undocumented Economics" ;)

~SDC~
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Just as I feared, that link didn't quite work... It is on the Galciv.com website, and here is a direct url to it.. http://www.galciv.com/docs/undocs.html

Good luck!


~SDC~
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
That is an interesting read.... and may explain some unusual behaviors when you try to figure out the logic behind the bonuses and why you're not actually seeing bonuses to your production anywhere close to what it should be if you were just doing a straight Base Production + (Base Production * Bonus %) = Total Production calculations... Though it seems like it would be a heck of a lot less confusing if techs showed two percentage numbers "Increased Base Production" and "Bonus Production" so you could, at a glance, see what it is REALLY doing and what portion of that increase costs you more money and which portion is really a free bonus.

~SDC~
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
What if you have the Miracle Worker ability for planets? This turns 13 planets into 15? Do they really become 15 planets or do they still cost more to maintain?
Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top
' What if you have the Miracle Worker ability for planets? This turns 13 planets into 15? Do they really become 15 planets or do they still cost more to maintain? '

They really do operate as class 15 planets with a single exception: other planet quality increases still act upon the planet's base class of 13, not the adjusted class of 15. That is to say, adding two +10% Planet Quality improvements will increase to planet class to 17 (13*135%=17.55), not to 18 (15*120%=18.0).

~SDC~