Automatic colonisation - please!!!

I like the colonization part the best.

My only wish that that left button colony screen would show the type of planet it is (toxic, radioactive, etc.).

The colony expansion rush is my favorite part as well.  There's tons of strategy there: grab the distant but juicy class 16 you may not be able to protect (or even reach before somone beats you to it), or claim the nearby class 7 before someone else does and you have to share your system with them?

But if you don't like it, there are some ways to make it more convenient.   Colony ships won't search out colonizable planets for you, but the way GC2 is set up, you really wouldn't want that anyway: colony ships are too slow and have very little sensor range so they'd be terrible for finding good planets.

What you want to do is take your scout ship, double-click on it (or press the details button), and select "auto-explore".  This will make your scout search out all the unexplored areas on the map for you.  Design and build a few more scouts if you can afford them and set those to auto-explore also.

As new planets are uncovered, they will be added to the planets list you can bring up with the button on the left of the bottom row (or maybe F1 as well).  Once you bring up the list of planets, click on the "unowned" tab, and it will give you a list of every planet not currently owned by anyone, sorted by quality.  Now, select your colony ship and pick a planet on the unowned list with a quality > 0.  This centers the map on the planet.  If you like the look of it, right click on the planet to send your colony ship there.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

this strategy is good when planets are common or rare, when you have hundreds of worlds available, it's probably better to just focus on colony ships

Please, fellows.

Automatic colonisation gives you the chance to focus on other things!

I'll be a bit weird when i recommend this short of a built-in code function that would automize colony ships dispatching...

1-- StellarCartography,

2-- Rally-Point(s) for every last Stars found on the map,

3-- assigning your output shipyard source(s) by way of Governor/Rallying,

4-- Auto-launch (TA does a better job at this though)

4b-- repeat 3 once the first colony is on its way to "re-direct" the next ship.

PS; but... i'd also suggest the four 'cartesian distribution' approach to maintain one each for N-S-W-E of most far away Rally-Points. While ships are in travel mode they're bound to uncover some systems on their way to the target destinations, then select off and re-assign for colonization.

It might also be a good idea to keep close watch on the SurveyShip for at least 10+ turns or once all anomalies are picked & gone, then set this precious fast detector on Auto-Explore... right there is your highly mobile rally-points hinter for colonyships already sent by means of the above method.

Spread 'hem all out, once there they'll actually be near enough to colonize anything you wish.

I'm late to the party, but anyway.

Hard code problem, can't be moddable.

Sorry.

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Aside from that, Zyx's "solution" isn't too bad.

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Considering all the other micromanagement that this game calls for, I really personally don't see it as that big of a deal.  And I guaranfuckingtee you that the "auto" setting, if there was one, would colonize that class 2 instead of that class 16, because it's 3 parsecs closer-something no human would ever do.

I agree with SS.

Auto colony would be inefficient.  I like to colonise towards other civs, to prevent them expanding. I also like to leave a few small planets uncolonised, so than another race with zoom in and take them, only to flip to me a few turns later, saving me a colony ship and some infrastructure.

Besides, any Rally-Points can be moved around as often as necessary. I find the colored mini-map quite useful to "guess" where AI Homeworlds could probably be and thus, try to evaluate my chances of getting to a theoretical empty system - first.

It's certainly one of those "silly" AIs algorithms flaw that makes me shiver at the prospect of snatching the biggy straight off their hands while we both simultaneously discover such systems! One more reason why i gave all X-Worlds ColonyShips some extra sensors & IonDrives by default - just in case THEY or I might use it efficiently.

At least, we know the purple stars DO have *The* Higher PQ.

LintMan,

Many thanks for your advice, which I have printed off. I shall try it. I should still like that automatic colonisation option!

Live long and prosper.