Sorry for the delay; I missed a few days, and the topic got pushed down
.
The is a cheater trait allowed the construction of "scenario resource ships", which had a hugely negative maintenance cost.
I used that to create my "Chess" scenario, using that hull as the king so when it is lost, the rest of your forces rapidly die from maintenance costs.
That was only used for that one situation, so the hull might not even be available.
As for playing a pirate or nomad race:
#1 priority: Get boarding parties!
#2 priority: Meet new races!
#3 priority: Capture their ships, or leech off them via a trade alliance.
The key to surviving as a pirate or nomad is to be a leech. Nomads can also make use of 99% less maintenance on their ships, but
you must add the maintenance reducer component manually! Be aware that ships with a damaged maintenance reducer will cost full price, and should be repaired or destroyed immediately (since they cost 100x more now).
First build some exploration escorts with swashbucklers or boarding parties.
The key is to find another race
before they develop shields, since then it is easy to capture technology and resources.
The first ships you capture should get you bigger hulls and weapons technology. You can then use that to defeat and capture larger ships, and shielded ships, and so on.
If you already have the tech, you can scrap the ships to fund your raiders, or retrofit them as new capture ships.
Tips:
- Explore and meet quickly: It is nearly impossible to capture ships with shields and self-destruct devices. You don't want to fall too far behind in technology.
- Make use of the "Budget" mount to save 20% on ship prices & maintenance.
- Stick with Ion engine III's for the early game: They are very fuel efficient, and have a low cost per movement point. You can always use numbers to overwhelm advanced tech, but solitary ships.
- Build outPosts. Even an escort can hold a pirate's spaceyard, use it to build cheap space stations in storms and nebulae. The base can then be used as a field repair/retrofit/scrap base, as well as providing supplies for ships when you fleet them with the base.
- Choose your battles: taking one ship at a time is a lot easier than attacking an entire fleet. If you capture an enemy ship, its friends will likely destroy it, leaving you with no profit.
- Troops are great! If you can take over a large mining world, you'll be rolling in money for years to come. Don't be afraid to sell out if the enemy fleets come
.
- Capture colony ships as a priority. They provide population to boost your production, as well as new colonies.
- Be wary of your income. You get 1000 of each resource by default, but only if you aren't producing any of that resource yourself. Building your first SlaveLabour camp can crimp your budget, but with enough, you'll make profit. Be sure to save up lots of resources and have lots of facility slots ready before starting the project.