FreeOrion

Hi everyone,

First, thanks for making this game! I've played it on and off since May/June 2018, very casually, and I like it. I think the version I had on my previous computer was 0.4.6, but I'm not sure.
Now I've downloaded 0.4.9 in order to play it on a different computer, and I noticed some big changes. Some things I like better, others not so much (in fact I'm completely puzzled) so I decided to give some feedback just in case.

Starting with the good in 0.4.9: Some graphics improvements , scout ships actually feel like scouts (they can travel far and faster, fuel lasts for longer), some systems have more than 3 planets (yay!), the research tree is easier to read (you can tell which techs you have/haven't researched at a glance much more easily, especially on list mode), and, new alien species! (I think?)

Not so good: I don't understand how stockpiling works. I kind of get the concept but don't really see the benefits of it or don't seem to understand how to actually accumulate points into the pool. I built some stockpile transfers and am still not getting the hang of it. I need my points to build stuff, there is not much to spare... which kind of leads me into the next topic...
...Research and production. With the new version I'm always in scarcity (perhaps because I don't quite get how to use stockpiling really ). Building anything seems to take forever. Maybe it's just me?

All I'm saying is that 0.4.9 appears not as straightforward to use and understand as 0.4.6. Whether or not the game is too difficult or unbalanced is hard for me to say (because I'm obviously trying to figure out what to do about stockpiling) but it would be great to see some kind of recommendations about it . I remember when I first played in 2018 read this guide https://www.freeorion.org/forum/viewto ... e3e7d4260b and that did it for me. But that guide is not that great with the current .9 version. Perhaps there is something else I missed?

Thanks!

The point of Imperial Stockpile is to allow for distribute (supply-disconnected) empires, which also happen to pair well with hidden planets strategy. The kings of this strategy are Sly (the gasbags), thanks to their great stockpiling trait and planetary Stealth. Laenfa are second here, but they don't need to use that strategy. Sly most often are forced to do it, because they have the worse supply of all species. Whenever you are playing with average+ supply species, or with average or bad stockpile, the rule of thumb is to avoid using Stockpile (i.e. play as if it didn't exist and try to avoid putting PPs into the stockpile).

The points in stockpile can be used by any planet, but unless you have huge populations and some stockpile-boost techs, or a good/great stockpile species, the total amount of PPs you can take from the stockpile each turn is rather small and hence pretty useless.

What species are you playing?

Could you elaborate on your problems with stockpile?

You might find some useful answers here.

Ornamental wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2020 2:18 pm Not so good: I don't understand how stockpiling works. I kind of get the concept but don't really see the benefits of it or don't seem to understand how to actually accumulate points into the pool.

The base line is - if your planets are supply-line connected, there is just minimal use of stockpiling. In that case you can skip using it.

If on the other hand your empire is having a lot of disconnected planets you need a lot of good stockpile species. Try playing the Sly to learn how to use stockpile, they have great stealth, abysmal supply and great stockpiling, so it is easy to play an extended disconnected empire (und do use bubble flux hull colony ships). If you know how to use stockpile with the Sly you will also know how to use it in other cases.

Thanks! That helps.

I usually play human and my planets stay mostly connected, which explains why I didn't see much benefit from it. After mucking around with disconnected planet networks I see it actually do something.

I think it's me just finding it counterintuitive, I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Maybe there is use, even if your colonies are connected to supply. If you didn't use all of your PP (I often forget to set new productions), the wasted PP are transferred into Stockpile. If you now place more items in you production queue then your PP output is, Stockpile is used to fill that missing PP. Thus you can finish more items due to stockpile. In principal that's a good feature for someone with low attention like me