Holy Noob!

[Barronosod]

Please forgive this idiotic noob question. I'm a long time fan of 4Xs, or any empire builder for that matter. I've played everything from Starflight to MOO3, but somehow I've missed SE:IV?! Anyway, the Gold edition is on it's way to me and I'm tremendiously excited. My question is if any of you recommend paticular mods, threads, links, etc. Foolish since I haven't even received the game yet, but I figure I have 4 years of catching up to do. Do you recommend trying the standard Version first, or should I skip straight to a mod. After playing the demo I grasp the basics, and understand that there'll be quite a bit more to learn as I go. I've skimmed down the "Noobies look here" thread, but do you have others that you prefer? Any kind of input is appreciated, long or short, for those who have a moment. Just trying to get up to speed.

Thanks, and I'm looking forward to joining the community.

[Kiedryn]

I think that Star Trek mod is the best...
http://www.malfador.com/se4mods.html

[Baron Grazic]

G'day and Welcome Barronosod.
I would recomend sticking with the Gold (Patched to the latest Version) until you can take on the AI at Hard Difficulty.
Then head on over to PBW to try your skills against other humans, in either one-on-one (check the Ratings & KOTH threads here for details) or multi-player. I would suggest taking over an existing race for starters, you won't win, but you will be in the action almost straight away.

Mods - I personally like P&N (Pirates & Nomads) & Puke's Junkyard Wars.
The mod that increases the AIs ability in solo mode, is also a must. It's late in Oz, I just can't think of its name however.

Good Hunting...

[Randallw]

Originally posted by Baron Grazic:

The mod that increases the AIs ability in solo mode, is also a must. It's late in Oz, I just can't think of its name however.

Good Hunting...

TDM.

[dogscoff]

Welcome aboard.

Personally I'm a huge fan of the Proportions mod, but TDM is a good one to start with since it doesn't change the sctual gameplay at all, it just makes the AI better.

Make sure you download lots of lovely shipsets - check out the State of the Art Shipyards (SotAS).

[Atrocities]

Welcome to our universe.

The game is going on four this month, (Beta release), and is still going strong.

There are a lot of great mods out,
TDM - for Stock game playe with exceptional AI,
Proportions - for a slower game with a lot more depth.
Devellon (Sp) for fun
Adamant - For Scifi 4x Fantacy gaming (Cool Mod)
AST - SEIV meets Star trek
STM - Star Trek Mod ( Full ConVersion plays a lot like BOTF)
And many many more excellent mods.

Also you will want to get the Image Mod (Planets, Facilities, Components, Combat) from www.spacempires.net as soon as you get your full Version of SE IV Gold.

Welcome to the game and enjoy.