New Player Question

from Sins Forums
HI! I just bought it and have completed the tutorials.
Could someone please tell me what map and what size is best for a brand new player like me getting his feet wet?

Thanks!  :) 
17,309 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
I would definitely start on a small (something like Close Encounters). Keep it to around 10-12 planets so you don't get too overwhelmed, and just give yourself one easy AI.

The game plays pretty differently from what most people are used to, and a fair number of newer players find the easy AI to be a good enough challenge to practice on. If you have no trouble with easy, of course step it up :)

Adding multiple AIs with unlocked teams introduces the whole diplomatic element, and can be frustrating when just learning because it's not uncommon for AIs to want to team up on you because they're afraid of your big scary powerful empire :)
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Thanks for the info! I havent been this excited about a 4X4 game since Ascendancy. Woot!
Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Feel free to ask questions :P There are quite a few nifty things to the game that aren't really mentioned in the tutorials ;)
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
Ah, Ascendancy... that brings me back to the college days. This game does remind me of Ascendancy with its use of phase lanes :)

Start slow, just like Annatar suggests. I started on small with one easy AI. Then I moved to medium with 3 easy AIs (and lost). Tried again and won. Then I moved on to a medium sized map and normal AI. So on and so forth...

Enjoy!
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!!! This game is addcitive! :D

I started off on a very small system with one AI like you guys said but the pirates are murder plus a not very friendly empire.
I'm gonna start again but stay in one system until I'm built up and maybe not have pirates until I get the hang of it.
I love how easy it is to learn but I'm forced to think.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
You can start a Small Random with no pirates if they're making it too difficult to start with.

One piece of advice about them I can give you is to open the Underground tab on top of the UI (Diplomacy, Research, Underground buttons) and the pirates have a screen there where you can see around when they're launching - save up a bunch of credits, and when you get the notice and the timer reaches 0, dump your saved up credits into bounty on the other guy so they go after him :)

You have between 30 and 90 seconds between the warning and the actual launch time to do the bidding ;)
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
Use the pirates to your advantage. Be the highest bidder when their timer reaches zero. But babysit it for a minute or two after that. They don't immediately set out until a short time after that and the bidding can go up (and onto you) in the meantime. And don't go after them (until you are really, really ready).

Expand as fast as you can for the first few worlds. Clear out each system with your free capital ship and colonize as you go. Remember to build up your infrastructure so you are maximizing your tax income after you claim a world. Scouting is also your friend. Build a couple of scouts and enable auto-scout.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Heh. Between Annatar and myself you'll be up and running in no time! :CONGRAT:
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
Ahh, I'm denied an edit :P Anyway, bit of a shameless pitch, but for some more advanced dealing with pirates (and inevitably siege frigates by the AI), you can read over this thread, people found it helpful, I think :P

I tried to make sure everything useful from replies got into the OP until the thread died, but there might be something I missed:

WWW Link
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
This is really useful info. Thanks guys! :HOT: