FreeOrion

After many, many, MANY (many) losing games... Ive figured out how to win reliably.

I didnt get my first win for maybe 30 games.

Its not that the learning curve is too steep (its a little steep, but not horrible), its just that you may try things (like I did) and get nowhere.

Ok, first tip : You probably thought 'ok, while learning, set number of systems to something really low to make it easier'.

That is WRONG. It will make it much harder. Set it to 150-200. This gives you time (moves) to breathe before the 'fun' begins.

This is a game of micro-management. Optomize everything you can every step. Build that factory. Make that ship, yes, even the sucky starter ships, make those if you have resources to spare.

Your first ship(s) should be colony vessels.

Your first research should be in things that will increase your population. Some technologies increase population for (sm, med, lg) planets, making them habitable. Keep checking if a planet that was at like -1 is now at +2, for example.

Start with the race with + to research. The one with +400% manufacture, I have not been able to get anywhere yet.

You can plan out your whole research tree on the first round. I do this. If you show all the unavailable things, you can select them and que them before theyre reachable. I select a few from the first column, then 2nd column, etc... I generally dont research any planetary defenses as Im rushing +population and +research. Once I see an enemy scout, (>move 100) I immediately enque planetary defenses and drag them up to be the next thing. Usually each takes 2-3 moves by then.

Ive had to figure so much out about this game with trial and error, theres features built in that I havent seen documented anywhere.

I dont know everything yet though, like, should I build factories on EVERY planet, or 1 per system? Can I set a waypoint for ships to be sent to on being built? That kind of thing. Im still not sure on how attacking a planet works in every situation. Ive also never seen a guardian of orion (from MOO1) but heres hoping!

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:Can I set a waypoint for ships to be sent to on being built?

No, although that is an often-requested feature.

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:should I build factories on EVERY planet, or 1 per system?

Just one per empire.

Cpeosphoros wrote:

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:should I build factories on EVERY planet, or 1 per system?

Just one per empire.

Agreed. Also one per empire for things like Genome Bank and Solar Orbital Generator (blue or white star system ideally).

If you are using the Asteroid Reformation Processor, that is a special case.
One per empire, if all you need is the Rock (or Crystal) armor.
Otherwise, one per system where you want to build asteroid hull ships.

(I usually skip the asteroid technology, and stick with the Robotic / Self-Gravitational / Titanic hull path.)

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:Ok, first tip : You probably thought 'ok, while learning, set number of systems to something really low to make it easier'.

That is WRONG. It will make it much harder. Set it to 150-200. This gives you time (moves) to breathe before the 'fun' begins.

I would say that needs to be balanced with the number of AI's.

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:Your first ship(s) should be colony vessels.

Well, these days there's also outpost vessels as an alternate. Also, if you happen to have other habitable worlds in your starting system you might consider colony bases.

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:Ive also never seen a guardian of orion (from MOO1) but heres hoping!

No Guardian, however there are the Experimenters which may or may not happen to show up.

xdsfgdfghdf wrote:This is a game of micro-management. Optomize everything you can every step. Build that factory. Make that ship, yes, even the sucky starter ships, make those if you have resources to spare.

Your first ship(s) should be colony vessels.

Your first research should be in things that will increase your population. Some technologies increase population for (sm, med, lg) planets, making them habitable. Keep checking if a planet that was at like -1 is now at +2, for example.

Start with the race with + to research. The one with +400% manufacture, I have not been able to get anywhere yet.

You can plan out your whole research tree on the first round. I do this. If you show all the unavailable things, you can select them and que them before theyre reachable. I select a few from the first column, then 2nd column, etc... I generally dont research any planetary defenses as Im rushing +population and +research. Once I see an enemy scout, (>move 100) I immediately enque planetary defenses and drag them up to be the next thing. Usually each takes 2-3 moves by then.

Some thoughts on your thoughts.

Your first ships should be scouts scouts scouts. And maybe some more scouts, depending on how many get killed and how big the area is to cover.

What you do in the early game is largely dependent on what you find with those scouts. While there is supposed to be at least one colonizable world within easy reach of your starting position, that doesn't mean there will be any more, so it might take a while to research enough tech to make further colonization feasible.

There are two ways to colonize, colony ships/bases and outpost ships/bases + colony starts. The former is slightly faster (by one turn) but costs more, which in early game might translate into one more turn anyway. The outpost ships are less risky too, as they didn't cost as much and losing one through mishap is less painful. Most of your colonization will tend to be that method.

If you come across independent homeworlds, then invading those generally take precedence. If they are higher tech with defenses, you might need to build some warships. Generally I try to avoid Mark I ships because they aren't very useful, but sometimes you need them.

One of the things that can change philosophy is the presence of roaming monsters. Not only are they a hazard to navigation, but many of them will "grow up" and become even more of a problem. Do not ignore Larval Kraken! So you might need to kill them and Find That Nest to shut down production.

Sometimes good stuff is protected by maintenance ships. One key here is that they don't hit very hard, so if you have a ship or ships with basic shields they will be able to stand in without damage (watch for molecular clouds though). If they can at least in turn overcome the MS shields then they can grind them down over time.

I usually don't research defenses. The best defense is a good offense, so I concentrate on getting military tech and production ahead of the AIs.

Different people have preferences on ship types. I've tried most of the varieties, but I have usually been happiest with robotic hulls in the early going then straight on to Titanic hulls. I prefer not to mess around with asteroid processors and organics and such, but others disagree.

The following text was recovered from a superior electronic device found in an asteroid.

50 Turns of Egassm
The main problem of the Egassm Empire is it's need for science. I start with 5 Research Points (Bad Research -50%) and 19 Production Points (Ultimate Production). The other two advantages are great Supply (starlanes can be longer without an outpost in between) and Great Troops (200% less costs to produce a huge amount of ground troops to invade planets). An Egassm Empire is easy to rule. I don't care about bad population or the narrow planet tolerance.

Turn -1: 200 Systems, 3 AI, Maniac, Random Seed

Turn 0: Welcome to the Universe
First I setup the Research Queue. Since Planetary Eco only costs 4RP for 2 turns. I do that first to increase max population size which also increases production output. Second Algorithmic Elegance to catch the remaining RP
Research (5): 1: Planetary Eco 2: Algorithmic Elegance
I want to expand as fast as I can! I need to see where to go. Building Scouts! I'm trying to reach the nearest systems first and use the frigate too! I tend to modify the Destroyer M1 class in the Design Manager. Removing one Massdriver, adding a scanner, saving the design as Scout (Destroyer). This comes in handy if I need to cross a stationary monster with high armor which I cannot destroy right now. With 5 ships I reach pretty fast the point where I cannot go any further b/c my ships are out off fuel. I jump out off the supply lanes and back in to reach more systems without letting the scouts getting stuck. I increase my range by placing an outpost towards the direction that seams promising . Also I invade every planet with top priority if they don't have any shields. After the invasion I set the focus to research if that race doesn't have any penalty on research.
Production: 1: 1x2 Scouts 2: 1x1 Outpost Ship 3: 2x2 Troop Ships 4: 1x1 Outpost Ships 5: 3x2 Scout (Destroyer)

Turn 3: What a Universe
the Planetary Eco finished so i put Subterranean habitation on top of research queue to further increase population size.
Research(5): 1: Subterranean habitation 2:Algorithmic Elegance
I found a Sentry. Lost that scout, exploring further. There are some Ugmors right next to my system! They are going to be eradicated since they have research -50% and production +150% but also prefer inferno. Egassm is at +400% and favor inferno planets too! greetings from Darvin. Changed the production queue to build troops early.
Production(22): 1: 2x2: Troop Ships 2: 1x1 Outpost Ship 3: 1x1 Outpost Ship 4: 3x2 Scout (Destroyer)

Turn 5: Luck
Found the "Happybirthday" Race. A ship producing, robotic, telepathic race with research bonus (150%) - Bingo! Strange name. Screw those Ugmors they will be invaded later.

Turn 10: Plan ahead
Placed the starting frigate at the system with the happybrithday race and send 2 Troopships (24 Troops) to invade them. Also Subterranean habitation finished so i put Robotic Production below AlgoE. First I need to fix that research problem. Second: There is lot of deep space next to the Sentry that destroyed my Scout. I need to get rid of that monster to place an outpost in that system since this is blocking my expansion. That monster is 3 Turns away from my capital. I put Massdriver 2,3 and 4 on the researchqueue. Producing 2 Destroyers will take 8 turns. My Troops arrive in 3 Turns at happybirthday. In three turns the second fleet of troop ships will be ready to travel to the Ugmors.
Research(5): 1: AlgoE (4Turns left) 2: Massdirver 2,3,4 (12Turns) 3: Robotic Production
Production(23): 1x2 Troop Ship 2: 1x2 Destroyer(M1) 3: 1x1 Outpost 4: 1x1Outpost

Turn 15: sometimes waiting is fine
Invaded the Ugmors and happybirthday. Found an other Sentry next to the happybrithdays system guarding a large barren with an ambient superconductor special planet inhabited by Trenchers. Wonderful! Need more Destroyers but gladly the first two just left the yard. I'll wait a turn to have the last Massdriver update ready before I attack the first Sentry.
Research(8): 1: Massdriver 4 (3Turns) 2:Robotic Production
Production(28): 1: Evacuation @ugmors 2: 1x2 [email protected] 3: Basic Shipyard @happybirthday

Turn 20: don't wast - notice the problem early
First Sentry died fast. I'm sending the two destroyer back to the capital to get repaired at the drydock. I want to boost the production further. Also I set the focus to evacuate the Ugmors planet. Exploration stoped completely since I was blocked by monsters or short supply lanes in all directions.
Research (8.75): 1: Robotic Production (2Turns) 2: Fusion Generator (7 Turns) 3: Nascent Artificial Intelligence (11 Turns): 4: Orbital Construction (20 Turns)
Production (28.6): 1: 1x1 Outpost Ship 2: 1x1 Destroyer (reduced it to 1 Destroyer) 3: Basic Shipyard @happybirthday

Turn 25: evolve and expand
my little fleet consists of 3 destroyers and they are on their way to attack the second Sentry. I decided to go for military robotic control and and robotic shields. I still need to invade those trenchers. Also I found medium inferno planet next to my home planet I totally missed and send my initial colony ship. The same system contains a medium ocean planet which is favored by happybirthday.
Research(9.25): 1: Fusion Generator (1Turn) 2: NAI (6Turns) 3: Military Robotic Control
Production(32.5): 1: Basic Shipyard @happybrithday(1 Turn) 2: 1x1 Outpost Ship @capital (1Turn) 3: 1x3 Troop [email protected] (4Turns) 4: 1x1 Outpost [email protected](6Turns)

Turn 30: stay focused
Second Sentry died. The one troop ship i had left from the invasion of happybirthday is on the way to invade the trenches. Exploring the region behind the first Sentry. I colonized the 'newly' discovered inferno planet at Stalaz alpha and produced an outpost base for the medium ocean planet in the same system. Happybirthday will settle here soon. Happybirthdays home planet in Rheims beta will be the first fabric of the robotic ships since the other side of my empire is 'shielded' by deep space and empty systems. The ugmors planet Stalaz beta was evacuated and an Egassm colonization is on the way.
Research(9.58): 1: NAI (1Turn) 2: MRC (4 Turns) 3: Orbital Contstruction
Production(39): 1: Egassm Colony @Stalaz beta (1Turn) 2: Orbital Drydock @Rheims beta (3Turns) 3: 1x3 Troop Ships @capital (2 Turns) 4: 1x1 Outpost [email protected]

Turn 35: the universe can work towards you
Durring exploring the deep space the next scout got destroyed by a Sentry. And what do we have here? A SnowFlake nest. Nice! SnowFlakes are excelent scouts with a detection Range of 150. But that nest is 12 Turns away from my Destroyer fleet and 7 Turns away from my capital. Let's build a second fleet. The trenches didn't argue with the troops so sad they cannot colonize other planets so they are stuck at the barren one they call home. The NAI kicked in and gave every inhabited planet +2 RP (capital, happybirthday, trenches, Stalaz alpha and beta). Also the robotic hull with shield shall have lasers.
Research(19.6): 1: Orbital Construction(3 Turns) 2: Orbital Generators (10 Turns) 3:Domesticated Mega-Fauna (11 Turns) 4: Laser 1 5: Microgravity Industry (18 Turns)
Production(44): 1: 1x2 [email protected] (4 Turns) 2: 1x2 [email protected] beta (4 Turns) 3: 1x2 [email protected] 4: Happybirthday [email protected] alpha

Turn 51: shit happens - deal with it
The space behind the trenches was a dead end. I Moved all ships to the other side of the empire and the robotic shield fabric is at the wrong side too. Move the planet? wormholes? I'll think about that later. Maybe it's easier for now to build an other dry dock at the second happyborthday colony. I found a colonized planet of the Zone Empire. They only seem to know one sentence. They sayed "Get the hell out of our galaxy!"
the stats so far: PP 70; RP 22; 16 Ships; population 80; 5 Planets inhabited; Microgravity Industry Research is 1 turns short to complete, first two robotic hulls shipdesigns with robotic shields and massdrivers are almost ready. they are the only two with massdrivers in that game since I didn't know where to spend the PP since laser wasn't ready yet.

Final Words
This text was transmitted through space and time. Nobody knows what it mean, who is addressed to or what it's origin is. Also the author seems to be an emperor who partly fails to see the obvious

The following text was recovered from a superior electronic device found in an asteroid.

Nice example!

You can plan out your whole research tree on the first round. I do this. If you show all the unavailable things, you can select them and que them before theyre reachable.

As an example, the very basic research tree, I usually select at the beginning:
1. Nascent Artificial Intelligence - extra research, to get on
2. Organic Hull - faster and cheaper colonyships, for expansion (now I switch the planetary focus to industry speed up colonization
3. Subterrenean Habitation - get more population and planets colonizeable
4. Adaptive Automation - extra industy
5. Xenological Genetics - having even more population and exobots have enough support to settle astroids, so...
6. Exobots - very important if you have less native species to settle with!
So, there is no Fusion Generation, Industrial Center or Battle Fleet Technology in there yet, but they are of course important to.
If you are a bit surrounded by monsters you need to give priority to for example Lasers, Robotic Hull and Force-Field Harmonics.
I usually pull in Fusion Generation and Industrial Center somewhere up to 4. to get a better production.
It very much depends on what species you play and what your starting conditions are.
Edit: I forgot the very important orbital construction, I often push it up the research queue early when I realize I'm not going to get my supply routes together missing only a starlane. This is not that important for Egassem as they have good supply.
I play Humans pretty often, they have a very balanced stat set in every respect.

Taking the Turn number I compare it to Production and Research output, to get a sort of quick rating of my progress:
Is the Turn Number bigger than the Outputs is a sign for slow develepment, except for early stages up to turn 50, due to limited resources.
At about Turn 50 I try to get about 50 in prod and research, if that works out it's very good. Normally I get only about 30 to 40 each.
If I still have less then 100 in prod and research at Turn 100 I'm developing to slow. From this point on the outputs should rise exponentially and shouldn't be lower than the turn number any more.
In my latest game it where 200 Production and 135 Research at Turn 102, but playing with high planet density.
Don't know if it's helpful in any way, it's just a lazy indicator. If you want to compare your progress directly with the other players take the graphs

Scara wrote: Taking the Turn number I compare it to Production and Research output, to get a sort of quick rating of my progress:
Is the Turn Number bigger than the Outputs is a sign for slow develepment, except for early stages up to turn 50, due to limited resources.
At about Turn 50 I try to get about 50 in prod and research, if that works out it's very good. Normally I get only about 30 to 40 each.
If I still have less then 100 in prod and research at Turn 100 I'm developing to slow. From this point on the outputs should rise exponentially and shouldn't be lower than the turn number any more.
In my latest game it where 200 Production and 135 Research at Turn 102, but playing with high planet density.
Don't know if it's helpful in any way, it's just a lazy indicator. If you want to compare your progress directly with the other players take the graphs

That's almost exactly the same as my targets so I suspect we're both on the right sort of course.

xdsfgdfghdf wrote: You can plan out your whole research tree on the first round. I do this. If you show all the unavailable things, you can select them and que them before theyre reachable. I select a few from the first column, then 2nd column, etc... I generally dont research any planetary defenses as Im rushing +population and +research. Once I see an enemy scout, (>move 100) I immediately enque planetary defenses and drag them up to be the next thing. Usually each takes 2-3 moves by then.

Initially I only plan out about the first ten steps and then update it as the game unfolds, depending on what my priorities become.

Examples:
If you run into an nearby aggressive species early on you might want to concentrate on weapons and hull techs early.
If you have asteroids nearby but not much else you might want to go for exobots earlier that usual.
If you have usable planets further away you might want to concentrate on supply line boosts earlier.
If you see an Ancient Ruin that you think you can exploit in the near future, you might want to hold off on researching shield and weapon techs in case you learn death rays or multi spectral shields from it.

If you plan too far ahead you will spend more time rearranging the research queue and this can lead to issues where you accidentally leave prerequisites further down the queue, delaying a tech that you tried to prioritize.

defaultuser wrote: I usually don't research defenses. The best defense is a good offense, so I concentrate on getting military tech and production ahead of the AIs.

I usually skip the hitpoints branch because Gravi/Titans have already enough hitpoints. The saved RP are invested into increased research into defenses, so that makes up for increased surviveability. Also, all external slots will be used for weapons, which works in a way also as defensive bonus as it will reduce combat rounds (ie. damage my ships are going to take)

I find that always being ahead in defenses 1 tier in comparison to the AI weapons makes my ships nearly invincible.