TA, focus buttons and the all-X strategy (questions!)

from GalCiv2 Forums

I hear rumours that the focus buttons have been changed and the all-X strategies have been dethroned as the optimal way to play.  Can anyone give more details?

I'm considering whether to buy the expansion and this is probably the major decision maker for me.  (I know that sounds an odd thing to decide on, but I really disliked the way I felt forced into the all-X strategy in Dark Avatar/Dread Lords; going for a balanced approach and deliberately playing suboptimally was just too weird.)

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Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think that they changed it so that industry was not good for research (could not make as much research points when focused as before) and vice versa.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
They have added a significant amount of "waste" when using the focus feature. Rather than transferring the full 25%, you only produce a fraction of the 25% when using focus. Perhaps this is good new for you. It is a little harder to use now.

But, and there is a but, with a few alterations to the strategy, I've been able to modify the approach to win with both all labs and all factories. In fact, depending on the race tree you have access to, I've found it even easier in TA.

To give you peace of mind, I won't tell you how I altered the strategy. Now you should have no problem playing how you like...


And really, you should buy TA anyway.

~ Wyndstar
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks. As long as the advantage isn't so mathematically blatant, I'll be happy (in Dark Avatar, you can clearly match the normal production from a balanced approach by going all labs and focus, resulting in 3 or 4 times the research *and* have enough tiles left over to fund all that extra cost with stockmarkets! The downsides are far too minor compared to that huge upside.)

Actually, it's nice to hear the all-X approach does still work...ideally I'd like it to be race and map dependent which is the best balance to strike.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
And I would hope you dont feel you are truly forced into an all-X strat in DA to compete or to be "optimal", because that is really not true. I rarely use that sort of strategy and usually play a more balanced approach and really don't see it as sub-optimal. They all have pros and cons.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
'Fraid I do feel so forced. It's the reason I stopped playing Dread Lords so much and the reason I played only a handful of games of Dark Avatar. Other things I consider dubious, such as allowing planets to be invaded just so you can reinvade and steal tech, I can simply choose not to use. But you can't avoid researching and producing, so you have to make a decision where to put the balance. At that point, any choice but all-X is arbitrarily handicapping myself IMO (we'll have to agree to disagree about a balanced approach being suboptimal!)