Zero Ship Support, how to do?

[rdouglass]

quote:

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Originally posted by Saxon:
Howdy,

The idea of not having to pay upkeep for my ships is very attractive. The problem is that I can not figure out how to get the figure to zero.

I took the 25% maintenance bonus, then jacked up the maintenance trait up to 150%, but I still pay, at least a bit. Can someone fill me in on the little detail I am missing?

Thanks

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I think you need the Engineers setting at game setup....

[Nitram Draw]

The most you can reduce your maintenance characteristic in an unmodded game is by 20%, down to 5% maintenance. The Last 5% must be done by choosing the Engineer culture, as pointed out.
You reduce maintenance by increasing your maintenance toward 120%. Weird huh go up to go down!

[Saxon]

So the term “zero maintenance” is a misleading one in the regular game? That is good to know, I was feeling pretty stupid, but I only missed the engineer part. I generally choose artisans, as you can then take 10 points off happiness and end up neutral. Everyone else seems to get fewer points, but I have to review that, as different attributes cost different amounts to raise.

Thanks for the quick answers!

[Taqwus]

And, if you're in a PBEM, be prepared for war as soon as the other players notice that you've created a monster. ;-) They probably don't want to face wave after wave of fleets... even low-tech tiny ships can be threats if there are hundreds of 'em.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[PsychoTechFreak]

It's the merchants culture with 5%, engineers just have 2% *sigh* . I sometimes mod the cultures if I don't trade (e.g. with bloodthirsties)