My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

The solution to the problem "what to do when playing SEIV becomes as boring as work" is known to be "just stop playing"; I wonder if my own current feelings towards the game would qualify as being under this situation.

So, while I definitively like the game early on (when research actually matters and when you are building your Empire), I find most of my games to grow more and more boring as they slowly head for the endgame. For example, I like the 1vs1 games (or 2vs2) because they do not usually require a lot of time to play, and you will seldom reach the "almighty Empire" state. But I just cannot find the fun in games such as Adamant 011, where I am having so many colonies it isn't even funny, not to mention the flotilla of Stellar Manipulation ships under construction/already built, the Monolith and Atmosphere Converters, and so on. Note that this feeling doesn't depend on the mod; the vanilla game is even worse in fact.

So, am I the only one who feels thus, or are there other players who aren't too fond of the late games in SEIV? Even when doing little micromanaging (selecting fifty construction queues at once and ordering them to build something), I simply cannot repress an urge to yawn when having to do one turn for these big games.

I gather I will have to put more of my games as "looking for a replacement player". So if I am being lucky, here are the ones which could benefit from another player, who would be fond of economics:

- 001 Ultimate Game: This time I mostly brought it upon myself by constructing Base Space Yards. But I didn't pay enough attention, and ordered the newly constructed BSYs to keep on building other BSYs, and ended up with some 500/600 BSYs in my Empire, and the resources to actually build something with most of them. But since I can only build fighters without collapsing my economy due to upkeep, all these bases cannot be used without extensive macromanaging. So you will either have to be up to the challenge, or just decide to be done with the whole madness and scrap most of these BSYs. This game is under Devnull, and so you will have to use a mod if you would like to play in it.

There is also the matter of turtling which just seems to be the most rational choice in this game; Warp Openers are cheaper than in the standard game, and with all the asteroids you have at your disposal, you can afford to have an Empire with only ten systems. But I am digressing.

- Adamant 011: 415 planets (with more being colonised as I speak, and planet creation under way), too many ships, nearly four million points, six Stellar Manipulation ships already built, seven others doing their retroseries, seven others in Spaceyards, quite a few Atmosphere Converters, some Ringworlds under construction, and converting the economy to a Monolith-based one. The perfect game if you love economics, and/or if you hold a grudge against Asmala (you are at war with him, but none of the involved parties have done much warring yet). Be ready for a very long war against Asmala, but the figures should be in your favour. Still, there is quite a difference between "having the figures in your side" and "winning a war".

- Adamant 014 and, to a lesser extent, Adamant 013. These two are much smaller games, but might end up with the same feeling. They are interesting if you like Empires with a powerful colonial base, and are still small enough to be considered as being "reasonables". As usual, the figures are in your favour, but they shouldn't be trusted.

- For the sake of completeness, both NGC4 and Pairs would fall under "big games", but my Empires in these two games are unlikely to survive for too long, and so a replacing player will probably not be needed.

I should remain in the games aforementioned if no willing player steps in, but you should expect quick turns and little in the way of diplomacy.

Thanks,
Alneyan

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

Ultimate Game.
It is unfortunate to see yet another regime of my ally collapse. Hopefully any new leader will be as reliable as you or your predecessor. To any prospective replacements the empire in question has no problems, in fact I would place them second (technically they're first but thats just cause of all the bases he built), they just have an usntable political structure that means every few years their government collapses and is replaced (Unlike the Glory of the Negation which is eternal http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif). We had a sort of arms race to see who could build the most bases. I quit when I realised that he was making no sense as there was no economic way he could be supporting all those bases without his resources running out.

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

Heh. Remote-mining works well enough to enable all these bases to run, and most of them to construct (along with resource conVersion, trade treaties and so on). I would say all bases can construct something if I were to turn off the units I build at my planets without a SY.

However, there is indeed no way I could even *think* of building these bases without external income. My own resource production is ludicrous, and most of my efforts have been to increase intelligence and research (remote-mining research has never worked well). And my BSYs have only Space Yards I, so if you happen to have a better technology, you do not need nearly as many as I do.

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

For Ultimate did you want to carry on till a replacement or put the game on hold till one. We just began a new phase.

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

I will likely be carrying on until a replacement can be found; I will be doing my best not to hold the game for too long (I have been the Last uploader for the past several turns).

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

Yes, I agree with you. I love the expanding phase, but when my ship count and orders get too high to hold in my head. And i must look at each one to see what it should do, it gets pretty boring or at least tiring.

If your Pairs Empire is doing bad http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif, I am really worried http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif.

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

Hrm, thanks for the warning =) I have six games in the running, but only a couple are gonna get as massive as that... I want to keep playing under an hour a day. I like turns short and sweet, and dislike massive micromanagement of things... I didn't even bother figuring out strategies (I'm using USM mod so just pick the appropriate strategy from that)...

In danger of hijacking this thread lol, if you have to use another mod... let's say proportions, but you want the strategies in USM mod, is it possible to create an empire with USM mod, open the empire file, and cut & paste the strategies into the proportions empire file? thx.

Brian

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

Since it is my thread, I should be the one to hijack it. At least, I should preside over any hijacking attempt.

This attempt at levity aside, there is a way to achieve what you would like to do. Cut and paste the strategy file from USM in Proportions, and create a new Empire. Voilà! You have a Proportions Empire file with USM strategies. You cannot alter the Empire files themselves however; besides, USM and Proportions Empire files are not comptabible with each other (they have different advanced traits).

Now I am going back to my hopeful quest for a replacing player loving economics.

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

You can add new strategies manually in game via the Strategies screen. It is accessed from the Empire Status screen (crown button). You can not just cut and paste them in for a game in progress, however. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Sick.gif

Re: My PBW games, late game, and replacing
 

I would love to take over one of your games, but alas! I am already in 10 games, and do not think I can handle any more. But dont' go away, I might manage to squeeze another in http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif We'll see.