.com.unity Forums - Strategy Guide in the Archive

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The "SE4 Dubious Strategy Guide" is an edited compilation of threads from the forum. It is a "work in progress". Comments and additions or corrections are welcomed in the discussion forum under topic "Strategy Guide in the Archive".

Revision 23 Oct 2001: Added new sections "CLOSE COMBAT WEAPONS", "BUYING TIME". Confirmation satellites are not launched from planets in Strategic Combat, autoluanch using Ministers under "SHIPS, SATELLITES, ETC"; resource bookkeeping sequence, which types "stack" under "FACILITIES"; ground combat lessons under "TAKING PLANETS"; added new subtopic "Ground Combat Lessons"; added a bit on "capture planets", thread on "how big does your navy get", on ship vs fleet orders, and fleet simulator bug, formation preferences, default ship orders under "FLEET OPERATIONS"; a (different) thread on how to capture a planet, general tips, related patch v14.9 fixes under "STRATEGIC COMBAT"; added a thread to "REMOTE MINING" effects after v1.41 patch; added 2 lengthy threads on how to be successfull versus human opponents, handling "missed turn" situations, related patch v14.9 fixes, "PBW Guide" thread under "PBW/PBEM"; thread on "Natural Merchant" racial ability under "GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS"; further discussion under "CLOAKING"; some sequence of events, general questions, calculating supply costs under "AI BEHAVIOUR"; more on installing shipsets under "MODS AND MOD PACKS"; using subjugated race to colonize, peculiarities of subjugation / protectorate requests & offers as "trade" under "TREATIES"; long thread on PPBs, and a short one on Allegiance Subverters under "WEAPON RESEARCH COMPARISONS"; summary of factors affecting happiness of "Neutral" race trait under "RIOT CONTROL"; poll on ship design preferences under "FAVORITE DESIGNS"; update on warp points in the same sector under "ANNOYANCES AND THE UNEXPECTED"; defending small planets under "BUYING TIME"; some clarification on ship design under "CAPTURING SHIPS"; some clarification on repeat research under "RESEARCH STRATEGIES"; allies roaming your system under "RESTRICTING SYSTEM ACCESS"; cloaked can't sweep under "MINE SWEEPING".

Revision 06 Aug 2001: Moved and revised new "WARNINGS" topic to the beginning of the Guide (before "Getting Started") and added "CI bug" to it; new sub-topic "Riot Control"; advice on attacking Satellites under "FLEET OPERATIONS" sub-topic; new sub-topic "Underappreciated Weapons"; comments on Ground Combat lessons learned under "Taking Planets" sub-topic. Added more specific info on incorporating new races which are missing ".emp" files into the game; adding different Nebulae images under "Mods and Mod Packs" topic; some clarification about the use of the "Load Cargo" command, reestablishing contact without planets under "ANNOYANCES AND THE UNEXPECTED"; discussion about "Human" player Partnerships swapping ship designs under "PBW/PBEM" topic; mention that Satellites no longer launch under "Strategic Combat" topic; discussion as to how the "build minister" decides on which ship design to use, about victory conditions, how to induce the AI to trade, and how much time you have when a 'star is about to explode' under "AI Behaviour" topic.

Revision 01 July 2001: New "PBW/PBEM" topic. Added some more "STRATEGIC COMBAT" peculiarity discussion; comments on the tone used in a message affect on AI response under "Politics & Anger" & "AI Behaviour"; comments on Environmental Resistance characteristic, creating maps, which cultural modifiers are not working, & the effect the different AI starting bonuses under "IN THE BEGINNING" sub-topic; report that fleet experience is functional & another about lost contact under "FLEET OPERATIONS" sub-topic; why to "save empire" during a game under "ANNOYANCES AND THE UNEXPECTED"; added Default Races Chart to "AI BEHAVIOUR".

Revision 24 June 2001: Added some fleet strategy to "STRATEGIC COMBAT" topic; instructions on automating newly contructed ship delivery to a waypoint under "ANNOYANCES AND THE UNEXPECTED"; some additional tips on satellite use under "SHIPS, SATELLITES, ETC"; additional design ideas under "Satellites" sub-topic; added a tip about an unexpected tactic under "Minesweeping" sub-topic; added discussion on how to add new shipsets and about victory conditions under "IN THE BEGINNING" sub-topic; about advantages between ship vs fleet training under "FLEET OPERATIONS" sub-topic; more discussion about Counter-Intelligence under "Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence"; about how Ministers handle a new ship class under "AI Behaviour"; disucssion about multiplexing under "Fighters in Defense" sub-topic; discussion about the worth of Auxilliary Bridges, the relative worth of Ripper Beams and Shield Depleters, and how multiple repair bays work under "Ships, Satellites, etc"; a clarification about what damage is stopped by Phased Shields under "Armor, Shields, and Damage"; further comparisons on relative weapon types under "* WEAPON RESEARCH COMPARISONS".

Revision 17 June 2001: Added "Formations" and "Cloaking" sub-topics under "PROJECTING YOUR INFLUENCE". Added discussion on using Ministers; the effect of Environmental Resistance, and unit limits under "AI BEHAVIOUR" topic; on Temporal Weapons and some old discussion about Emissive Armor under "Armor, Shields, and Damage"; some old info on Long Range Scanners under "Scanners and Obscuration"; about defending Warp Points under "Restricting System Access"; trading tricks under "Treaties"; subtleties of patching discussion under "PATCHES". "Favorite Designs" has been promoted into a major topic with specific ship and unit types as separate sub-topics to enhance searching, with MUCH added discussion including the enlightening "Face of the Enemy" thread and after-action report; added tip on achieving zero maintenance under "Combat Tips" topic (obsolete with the next patch which requires a minimum of 5%). Added new major topic "ANNOYANCES AND THE UNEXPECTED".

Revision 10 June 2001: Added warning about avoiding corrupted save games under "GETTING STARTED"; added new sub-topic "Favorite Ship Designs" under "PROJECTING YOUR INFLUENCE"; added some info on missiles and torpedoes under sub-topic "Weapon Research Comparisons"; added some discussion about AI component use under "AI BEHAVIOUR" topic. Added new topic "STRATEGIC COMBAT".

Revision 03 Jun 2001: Added some forum commentary on "colonization strategy" under the "Colonies" sub-topic; on unzipping new race files under the "Mods and Mod Packs" topic; on combating a technological disadvantage under the "Combat Tips" sub-topic; on Satellites under "SHIPS, SATELLITES, ETC" topic; on using Sensors with Missiles and PDCs under the "SCANNERS AND OBSCURATION" topic; on 'why an AI appears to be doing nothing' and 'what affects population growth' under "AI Behavious"; on clarifying who is dominant when proposing Subjugation treaties under "TREATIES" topic; on population limits for colonizers under "Colonies" subtopic.

Revision 28 May 2001: Added some forum commentary on "recommended mods" and "combining mods" to the "Mods and Mod Packs" topic.

Revision 20 May 2001: Added sub-topic "Basic Strategy" under "Beginner's Game Tips". Added to "Research Strategies".

Revision 18 Apr 2001: finished adding MM site Q&A to the beginning of appropriate topics. Created separate sub-topic for "Scanners and Obscuration" under "Projecting Your Influence". New sub-topic "Fighters" under "System Defense". Additional ideas under "Minefields", "Opinion" under "Beginner's Game Tips", "Fleet Operations".

Revision 15 Apr 2001: Added new topics: "AI Behaviour"; "Projecting Your Influence" with subsections on "Fleet Operations", "Mine Sweeping", "Boarding Parties", "Capturing Ships", "Taking planets". Add to topic "First 50 Turns" new subtopics "Facilities", "Colonies", "Ships, Satellites, etc" (including color code for the sensor level Nebulae obscure), "Intel-CI", "Research Strategies", "Remote Mining", and rearranged some postings to them; rearranged some postings to topic "Beginners tips" and subtopic "Exploration". Also started adding in MM site Q&A to the beginning of appropriate topics.

Revision 12 Apr 2001: Added new topics: Nitram Draw's "Beginners Game Tips", with subsections on "In The Beginning", "General observations and recommendations", "Must have technologies", "Combat tips",
"Opinion"; topic "System Defense" with subsections on "Controlling Costs", "Treaties and System Access", "Minefields". Added items to First 50 Turns; First Contact subsection on Treaties.

Revision 10 Apr 2001: Added to First 50 Turns, Research Strategies, First Contact, Exploration, and Weapon Research Comparisons.

- Dubious