SEIV Game Turn- Order of Operations

[Stone Mill]

What's your routine for completing a turn?

Many of us have a system that we found works effeciently for getting through a turn. Here is my basic process, which makes sense with my management style:

1. Scroll through the Log File. Select "Go To" for significant events and note the location.

2. Fill the research queue, based on what was completed in the Log File.

3. Create or upgrade designs in the Designs window (if necessary), based on the new technology in the Log File.

4. System by system check, using the quadrant map. While in key systems, manage ship orders on-the-spot.

5. Finish the remaining ship orders using the Ships window (with "orders" view displayed).

6. Check Empire Resource window status.

7. Construction screen (usually with facilities view selected). Toggle back and forth to Empire Resources until I am satisfied with expenditures.

8. Intel projects.

9. Empires- Communications. Ensure I send any Messages / responses.

10. Occassionally check Planets, Colonies, and Score.

11. End turn.

[HercMighty]

Any additions to this thread I know I would find helpful. Thanks Stone Mill

[capnq]

1. (auto-display) Log, Go To items that require something obvious to be done.

2. (F8) check Research queue.

3. (if applicable: F9) Empires: check Intelligence queue.

4. (F11) Empire Status: check income.

5. (if applicable: F4): send out colonizers.

6. (if applicable: F3): update Designs.

7. (F7) check Construction queues.

8. (if applicable: F5) check Colonies for sufficient Cargo space for current build orders.

9. (F6) check for Ships with no Orders. Sometimes giving orders requires more checking on (F5) Colonies.

10. (F10) Log again, and (F9) Empires if necessary, for politics and diplomacy, and double-checking for things I missed on the first pass.

[oleg]

Very usefull option in global construction queu menu is to choose the far right option in sorting. I think it is called "queu status" This way, empty queu are on the top.

[Suicide Junkie]

0) Check newly colonized planets. Fill queue with facilities and police troops.

1) Scan Log (~15 seconds) for a general overview of events.

2) Pull out Political Messages. In multiplayer RPing game, write out incoming Messages into appropriate Comms-Racename.txt file. AIs get immediate responses.

3) Pull out critical events. Critical events are such things as errors (insufficient storage, Catastrophic-level random events, etc)
Deal with them immediately.

4) Deal with routine events requiring management. Ship constructions, etc.

5) Visit frontier systems and battlezones.

6) Reply to RPing Messages, making a copy in the text files as above.

Any time I enter a system during the above steps, I deal with all of the local issues before returning to the list.

[Stone Mill]

You are welcome Herc- and thanks to SJ, oleg, and Capnq for ideas... Some of your logic is similar to mine.

Capnq, hmmm, maybe I should try to integrate hotkeys. Never used 'em. Neat.

I know that turn length may be a bit frustrating, especially to those just starting out, as there is no obvious "Wizard" for guiding you through a turn.

Any other ideas?

[capnq]

It's fairly easy to memorize the hotkeys for orders you use a lot, since the corresponding hotkey displays when you mouse over the order icon.

After two years of playing SE IV, I rarely need to click the orders icons anymore.