The Importance of Organics

[ckotchey]

I've only played a few solo games so far, but I'm curious about the seeming lack of importance on Organics. Almost never have I been short on this resource, or found the need to build more than a minimal amount of Organics Extraction facilities. Is there any point in a game where this resource becomes more of an issue than I'm seeing? I have the same question to a lesser degree with the Radioactives.
What makes me curious is how the game Stars! manages the resources. In general, of the 3 basic building materials, each one becomes critical to certain components (Boranium for beams & bombs, Ironium for missiles & armor, etc, Germanium for factory construction). I was wondering if the same sort of material needs arises in SE4.

[kalthalior]

Organics are not usually utilized much unless you pick the Organic Technology as a racial trait. Radioactives aren't utilized as much as Minerals, but their use picks up (some) with higher level technologies. Minerals are really the focal resource in the game. I believe some mods try to address this to some extent.

[dogscoff]

Later in the game radioactives become far more important for things like stellar maniuplation. Organics are important for organics races, and for a few of the more obscure components and facilities.
But basically, yeah. In the standard game, M rules and O&R are only good for trading with the AIs. (Or for feeding into your resource converter.)

Once you start playing with mods, however, O&R come into their own. Proportions, Devnull and P&N all have more balanced resource costs, and probably other mods as well.

[Suicide Junkie]

In the PBW P&N game I'm playing now, the exchange rate I trade at is:
70 Minerals = 130 Organics = 120 Radioactives.
My engine tech is picking up now, so I expect radioactives will soon become even more valuable.

[Mylon]

How do you use resource converters anyway? Is it automatic based on empire surplus, or is there some special way to activate it?

[tesco samoa]

build it on a planet... and when you click on that planet the icon will highlight at the top and you select it..

Then on the left is resources... on the right you select what you want to convert them to..

Click on the left for how much...