ToA Noob questions

Auto explore and other space mysteries

from GalCiv2 Forums

Hello,

I'm new and slowly learning the game and came across a few annoyances that maybe someone can help me with. 

First, I notice that scouts on auto explore do this congo line thing; they all follow the same route.  What's up with that?  I made like 3 scouts early in the game, put them on auto explore, and like 30 turns later I notice they have formed their own little fleet and are exploring the same place.  Also, I notice if I micro manage one by manually right clicking it where to go it will go as far as it can for that turn but on the subsequent turn the flight path is still there but it won't continue to move.  Many turns can go by before I notice sometimes...  Maybe I'm spoiled by scouts in Civilization 4 that auto explore or maybe I'm just doing something wrong.

Second, is there a shortcut key to cycle through idle units?  The turn button doesn't turn green sometimes and I'm left wondering what unit didn't get moved.  If there are more shortcut keys I would love to see a list.  Less mousing the better for my poor carpal tunnel.

Third, I turned off the anomalie survey popups after the first game.  Clicking that popup nearly every turn got a bit old.  Is there any way besides turning it back on to see what my flagship is finding?  Ideally a history list would be nice but I couldn't find one for anamolies explored.

I still haven't finished a game.  I'm learning slowly and always just want to restart when I realize I totally missed the boat on some basic gameplay mechanic.  The more I play the more I am liking it though.

 

3,055 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

The auto explore has been a problem forever, I try to circumvent the conga line thing by manually sending them far apart before hitting the auto. Usually works pretty good for awhile unless they meet up again.

You can find a list of shortcutkeys here https://www.galciv.wikia.com/wiki/Keyboard_shortcuts (linking seems broke or something)

I don't know of anyway to findout what the anomolies gave besides that little popup, sorry.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I don't bother with regular scouts. They are not very efficient at their job. Too small of sensor radius, too slow, and not enough range, plus they are built upon a such a puny hull.

I suggest you design your own ship, a sensor ship. Start with a cargo hull, and add some sensors, engines, and life support. Smaller maps don't need much, since they are quickly searched, as such you might want to favour life support so you can scan everything with your first ship. Bigger maps can take much longer to scan so you may want to research several levels in sensors, life support, and engines so you may later upgrade/replace your sensor ships when you are able to.

An important thing to note is, a ship may not have a sensor range greater of 15. I heard that having a number larger than this created some problems when the game was first released, including game lag, so thats why there is the limit.

As for search menthods, there are two you should know. The first is to search the immediate area you are likely be dealing with. Things like colonization works better if you know where the best planets are, as do getting galactic resources. Back when I was still new to this game, I saw a constructor belonging to another civ pass by my homeworld, and nab a galactic resource I didn't know about mere parsecs away. The other is to do a thorough search of the whole map (or whatever you can reach). A good place to start is in the corner of the map, and then scan every sector along the edge while you make your way to another corner. Once done, move over a sector or 2 and repeat the process.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I generally use colony ships to scout large swathes of area if they have to move any distance between systems. Get the spacing right and they look like combines mowing down a Kansas wheat field. Beyond that, several fast survey vessels set to auto will do a pretty good job at scouting without the conga line problem.

Also fun is to have a constructor following any minor civ constructors you see leaving their planet. As long as yours is faster, you can use them to point out resources for you - they already know where they are going.