Around here, fireworks weren't a good idea for us on Canada Day (July 1st). We haven't had any rain for about 2 weeks, and we really don't want to start a massive forest fire.
As for racial points, my personal setup always has me choosing Advanced Storage Techniques, a 10% (at least) boost to maintenance, along with boosts to construction, mineral generation, agressiveness/defensiveness, research.
The boost to Maintenance Aptitude allows you to build many more ships, which in turn increases your score. To be honest, score isn't a very good reflection on how you're doing in a game. In my current game, 200+ systems, TDM AI's, I was in 7th place for quite some time (out of 8 players total). Yet, no AI could touch me, I had nearly impenetrable defenses over a few warp point chokepoints.
Score really doesn't matter much, it's how you use available resources and your overall strategic plan that usually are what effect the outcome of the game.
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Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says "I'll try again tomorrow".
Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future.
Download the
Nosral Confederacy (a shipset based upon the Phong) and the
Tyrellian Imperium, an organic looking shipset I created! (The Nosral are the better of the two [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Grin.gif[/img] )