How to cope with TA Economy?!

Do you do this very quickly at the start? If so, the maintenance costs would be disastrous.

I go easy on the buildings at the start. Once I have a bunch of colonies, then I can go nuts on the planetary improvements, and still have plenty of cash to spare.

I tend to trade the most useless extreme world techs for alien cash, and bankrupt the aliens in the process. Then I cook my building, research and military production up the the max. Try to Trade the same tech to all the major and minor races in one turn - try to get all their cash...and nullify the advantage they have over each other with the same techs.

I keep researching these extreme world techs, and I trade other less advantage giving techs.. and I keep doing this throughout the game.. until I no longer can do so anymore.

And by the the time I'm ready to destroy and conquer, the aliens have as much chance against me as cavemen.

That's all and good -- but how do you manage to set up the infrastructure for accomplishing this? Your strategy still assumes that you have much more research available than they do; how do you afford those labs, and that huge TA research cost? I've read many people saying to never reduce the production slider from 100, but I have to almost always -- I simply bounce over and under the -500 each turn otherwise, and my morale crashes. By the time I strike a balance, I'm not out-researching the enemy. This is the basis of my problem. Even trading techs with a high diplomacy difference in my favor, I can't get much. They're either broke or just not willing to pay much.

First, no, I don't do that at the start. To start I go with three labs and the rest banks on my homeworld -- since it starts with good pop, the 1bc maint doesn't hurt; often I have to place a morale improvement or two -- my homeworlds always hate me!

Second, what do you mean "a bunch of colonies"? I can get three MAYBE four planets, average quality 9 or so, in the rush, on medium. Again, on a bigger map, sure, but I hate the monthlong cleanup! And how long do you wait? If I wait until I can have "cash to spare," that's about a year, and I can't make up that gap! Not to mention that if I wait that long, the computer will pounce me soon after I ramp up my research...

When you say you are nowhere near the others on research, is it actually affecting the game outcome? Are you relying on the graph to tell you that you are behind on research?

I ask because I have come to trust the graphs less and less. For example I just completed a game where the Torians had 3x my econ, mil and research but when I came to attack them they didn't seem to have that much of anything... I think the graphs can be misleading.

Cheers

I always slide spending to the max. I build factories for ships on 1 designated manufacturing planet first, then make research infrastructure on another. I build a bigger army for the aliens to like me more, I get the diplomatic translators, and I spend 45 to 50% on research. And I trade with the research heavy civilizations. I tax the population just enough to tighten the financial hole.

I trade very shrewdly for those extreme world techs with some quickly researched techs of my own.

And the Aliens tend to research these techs themselves. So you build a transport here and there if I'm in need of one of the techs. I try to get some research treaties in exchange for some techs here and there. Hopefully and Survey ship will get some more cash here and there.

I sometimes buy factories outright to quicken my civilization's infrastructure development curve. I buy colony ships when they are not totally complete...and I colonize rapidly.

I do heaps of stuff. It's sorta like a controlled financial decent.

I try to strike early, and stunt their ability to blossom when they are in development and expanding out with small populations.

Minor Races aren't much of a threat.. so I am more liberal with the techs I exchange for cash with them. I find that they tend to pay some good prices for the right techs as well.

Here are the TA econ tips that helped me really improve my econ:

Build a recruitment center on every newly colonized world! Unless the planet is above average (size, special tiles) don't build anything else until you can actually afford it. Keep morale at exactly 100% as long as possible (for doubled population growth), adjust the tax slider every turn. If you reduce it, check your second happiest planet to stay at 100% there, if you still need more keep the next one at 100%, etc. The next breakpoint is 76%, you definitely want to stay over that on your home world early on. Putting a morale building on the home world very early is often useful.

Also, about 1/4 of your worlds should be purely econ (other than the factories you need to build your social projects). Later in the game try to evenly distribute population: one farm per planet, no farms on the homeworld. I usually also put a stock market on every planet. Usually all the econ worlds get over the other worlds are lots of stock markets. Maybe an extra farm if you have a morale tile, or you might put the farm on a double food tile. Never put a farm on a quad food tile.

Also, 100% production should be the natural setting of your spending slider. Anything else means you're wasting maintenance. Sometimes lowering it cant be avoided, but that usually means you have too many buildings.

About buildings: the maintenance costs are higher in TA. This just reinforces what's always been true: building factories/labs is just spending money to spend more money. First you pay to produce the building, then you pay for the maintenance and increased production. Never forget that. With the higher maintenance costs you need to decide whether every building is worth building. If you see you wont be able to pay for the added maintenance and production either build nothing or put a stock market on that tile. With races that have efficient buildings (basic replicators, slave pits/canyons, schools, slaveling labs, some one per planet stuff) you have to do this a lot less, so if you don't like having to think about every building you could play one of the races that have those. The only ones that stay efficient at higher tech levels are the slave buildings however.

More about buildings: check the efficiency. For an industrial sector you pay 400 to build it, then 10 maintenance for 12 production. For a manufacturing center you only pay 150, then 6 maintenance for 10 production. So you pay 4 extra maintenance for 2 extra production, and an added 250 in production costs. Unless it's on a bonus tile that's rarely worth it. With those 250 production you could almost have built 3 constructors and made an econ starbase, easily getting you more than just 2 added production (usually only worth it maintenance wise it if it affects multiple planets, construction cost can also make it unviable). Like you should think about every new building you should think about doing some upgrades. If you don't have some good resource starbases or lots of capped econ starbases you probably shouldn't even research industrial sectors. For labs it's a bit more complicated. Efficiency gets better until you get to research academies. The invention matrix is crazy expensive and less efficient. Discovery spheres are actually less expensive and only slightly less efficient. Neutrality learning centers are more efficient again, but at 500 production cost they are overpriced IMO. Further: maintenance wise power plants and research coordination centers are excellent. The production cost is high though. High level morale buildings get really bad cost and maintenance wise BTW. If you really need a high level building first build an entertainment network, then put the better building over it.

Of course different races have different buildings. Before you play a race, look at their tech tree and check out their production buildings. Galactopedia is an excellent tool for that.

Bottom line: Know your production buildings and don't build too many of them. If you see an empty tile, a stock market is ALWAYS an option. Upgrading buildings is optional. And don't forget about recruitment centers on new planets, those babies rock!