[Pax]

Originally posted by couslee:
Pax, yea, all the different PR traits is Stars! have very stong points. Claims adjuster don't need to spend anything to optimize a planet, opens up a LOT for colonization. You super-fockers die off every turn trying to colonize that -12 to +5 planet until they get it to the + side. in the same time period, I have built mines and defenses, and orbitals, ect...
Thats what makes it so nice. it is one of the more balanced 4x games I have played. not to mention, the AI can give you some grief from time to time. try playing stars and turn the scanner view down to 10%. lol

The trick is, any lanet -- even a 100% -- gets colonised with a small seed of people (to 1/4 local max-population levels), while one or more privateer-hull ships park in orbit, full of population -- to rain babies down on the colony below.

People die on the surface, true ... but thatd oesn't matter to an IS; more people are born in orbit and beamed down, than die on the surface, until around 400% population levels (if you keep the orbital fleet growing proportional to the planet's habitation range; 1 privateer for every 5%, or one superfreighter per 20%, is usually fine.

As for building mines, etc ... never EVER, with a non-CA, terraform until you have enough points to do so AND build 1+ factories, per turn. Then, put the terra (the most you can finish 100% in a given turn) into the top of the queue as an auto-build line.

Lastly, the AI in Stars! -- is a joke. Seriously. I regularly played with the scanner pane turned down to TWO percent -- the better to make sure no 98%-cloaked SS ships can slip through into "my" space.

Given an IS/NAS combination, with TD's installed, I could turn it up as high as 10%, but still usually went for 5% "just in case". And that's still a good hundred to hundred-fifty fleets in space.

Try playing against a set of good, solidly-skileld humans ... you too will come to agree the AI is nothing but a pest to be brushed aside with the other mosquitos.