How to manage a large empire toward end game?

[paplan]

Hi--I'm at the late-middle end of an SE IV gold, TDM3.40 game vs the computer. I started with 12 races, and now there's 5 left; the Klingons and I are on top. The hard part is all of the tedious stuff in managing 70+ planets and 100s of ships. I'm using waypoints to bring my new ships to the "front", but the front keeps on shifting by the time the ships are built. Also, I spend lots of time sending my carriers back for more fighters, and repairing damaged ships, designing ships, and updating ships, etc. Any tips on how to make things simpler? Are the minsters effective for these tasks?
Thanks

[rdouglass]

IMO ministers are effective at nothing....

[AMF]

Note that you can change waypoints that already exist - so that they point to a different location - and all ships enroute to that waypoint will follow it the new location. Hence, you could have your waypoints "keep up" with the frontlines...

[bearclaw]

Some ministers will help but I don't use them. Here are some things that might help

1)build a series of transports. One in each system is what I do. Then set them to load fighters from where they are being built and drop them on a planet with lots of cargo space in the next system. Put the transport on Repeat Orders. This will create automatic supply lines for your fighters (or any other unit for that matter). As your front moves ahead, all you need to do is build another transport. I use small transports because they typically won't need a huge amount of space.

2) Build a series of supply/repair ships using the largest hull size you've got. If you have the Quantum Reactor then you can dedicate the rest of the space to repair/SY's. It doesn't have to be very fast as you will want it to stay behind your front line ships anyway. Again, as your front moves ahead, you can then move your supply/repair ship ahead as needed. If you don't have Quantum Reactors, then you'll need to load it up with Solar Panels. If you use a Large Transport or Baseship hull, you should even have enough space for lots of cargo which will make the ship (or ships) mobile reloading points for your fighters and carriers as well.

3)be sure to use fleets. Keeps the ship numbers easier to handle. (also, a resupply ship will supply others only if they are fleeted together)

4)As for the number of planets, you could put those on ministers but I don't. By late game, most of your smaller planets should probably be fully developed and too far from the front to be of much concern anyway. (by the way, if you think 70 is a lot of planets try 300+)

5) to speed up the time it takes to get your ships to the front, research Stellar Manipulation and create your own warp points. Just be careful not to leave an opening for your enemies.

Hope that helps.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Or leave an opening for your enemy's...With about 50+starbases and a huge planet packed with WP's on the other end.

[Alneyan]

Don't forget the stack of satellites, a few fighter squadrons (where "a few" means ten thousand), and drones to spice up the battle. You know, the more, the merrier.

Big Empires (where big is defined as having several hundred planets and more than one thousand ships; Return to Hell anyone?) are indeed annoying to manage. Very annoying if you don't love this part of the game. Even setting a "all ships go to that sector" order for all your planets take time, especially if you have to build ships *not* intended to go to the front. Laugh as you will, but I am known to send colony ships with warfleets by mistake. Granted, they can still do 200 points of damage when ramming, but...

Other suggestions include not using fighters or other units (when your production of units reaches fifteen thousand per year, you are in trouble), and focusing on building ships by the hundred. You can also add a *Colony Finished satellite/platform for your colonies to build, when they aren't doing anything else. Put this construction on hold, sort your construction queues by name, and you will have all your planets not doing anything set apart from the rest. Then you may want to select all your spaceyards currently unusured (with the Shift key), and order them to build a single ship design.

Oh, and do not overlook the Last possibility: surrender your Empire to your closest neighbour. *Ducks for cover*

[tesco samoa]

use repeat for orders...

With large empires i suggest you use build ques and set up a bunch of them...

for the fighter problem

Build a couple of large transports and have them on repeat going to the planet building the fighters ( which you have on repeat building as many fighters per turn as possible )
loading the fighters and travelling to another planet and drop them off.
Have this planet set up as a waypoint
have the shipyards that are building the carriers set to this waypoint.

that will clear that up

I also recommend that since your sending ships to this waypoint planet... that you just have all your ships go there.
put training facilities on there and have that planet build base yards. have them build fighters as well

[tesco samoa]

as for updating ships.

Send them off to die.

Build new ships ... to replace those.

upgrading and retrofitting is for the weak and timid.

[bearclaw]

Okay, one crazy dancing Twinkie-monster is one thing but when you post twice, tesco, that's one of the most bizarre things I've seen in a long time. Cute, but bizarre.

[Karibu]

Return to Hell -games have teached me many things of managing large empires. At the moment, managing about 200 planets and nearly 1000 bases takes no more than 30 minutes each turn. I will not talk about my ships for understandable reasons.