quote:
Originally posted by neofit:
What settings can I modify to make the game a bit harder, not too hard of course 
If you set the difficulty below High, you are crippling the AI. Set that to High and add some bonus. You may want that at High also. In addition, you may want to use the TDM-ModPack or other mod races. Most of them are quite a bit more challenging than the stock races.
Your strategies seem to be good, but, when the AI starts putting PDCs on its ships, your CSM fleets are goners. You might want to use PPBs (requires Physics II) in the midgame.
quote:
Oh, the questions:
1. I didn't notice my ships gaining experience in combat. Then I found an old year 2000 post on this board saying that ships don't gain exp for firing missiles.
I think that's been fixed. Ships just gain experence slowly.
quote:
2. What is the difference between Ship experience and Fleet experience?
They are separate and additive. If a ship leaves a fleet, it keeps its ship experience but loses its fleet experience. If it joins another fleet, it gains that fleet's experience.
quote:
3. What is the difference between the 'Move' and 'Attack Commands'?
If you are already on the enemy fleet or planet, you can use the Attack Command. Otherwise, they are the same.
quote:
4. Is there a trick to speed up population growth, besides constantly ferrying people between planets that are at/near maximum and the less populated ones? Besides making the population happier through gathering military facilities in the sector and building Urban Pacification Centers? I have found a Climate Control facility and have yet to assess its use and usefulness. From what I read on this board there are also some kind of 'atmosphere changing' facilities along the research tree. Anything else?
What is the max population growth rate one can have? Mine was 20% (which in fact is 2% if you do the math) on an Optimal planet with Jubilant population , can it go higher?
Is it possible to ferry population between two planets with indigenous population from different races?
I think you got most of the tricks. Growth rate can go higher than 20%, but I don't know the maximum. Yes, you want to match the planet's atmosphere with the population.
quote:
5. How to subjugate a race?
It all depends on the relative score and the race settings in the politics file. Turn on the "See scores of all players" option. For most races (and all the neutral races - the ones with the simple flags and limited to one system), you need ten times their score to get them to accept a surrender demand. Score depends on their tech levels, production, ships, and bases. So all you have to do is destroy all their ships and bases and station a ship over (blockade)
each of their planets to drop them to minimum score. If your score is ten times theirs, they will accept a surrender demand - unless, of course, they require 30 or 50 times their score or if they will never surrender Like some of the ModPack races.