Gameplay tips & tricks

[Ed Kolis]

Yes.

[Slick]

You can't transfer cargo off of a Plagued planet.

[Alienboy]

I couldn't upload my game turn due to a server problem on SEIV PBW so I thought I'd come on here for a while and ask another silly question. I think I'll choose one from a book I have been reading lately entitled "The delicate art of creating mindless conversation" by Myndles drivelle.

Anyway, In our game we have had a race surrender to another race (nevermind Bearclaw, better luck next time mate!) I am GM for the game. The surrendering player left the game a turn after surrendering (I removed him from the game). It was then pointed out to me, by another player in the game, that I should have left the player in the game so that the "dead race" isn't listed as "open Slot" as it was after I removed the surrendered player. It didn't make sense to me to leave a player in the game that isn't actually participating in the game. I assume that player would still get "last player to upload" messages etc. I didn't see the point in that. Then I got to wondering why would a "dead race" be listed as an "open slot" on PBW? I asked Geoschmo what would happen if someone was allowed to apply and join our game using that race. His reply was that that person would not be able to do anything due to the fact that that race has no planets, ships etc. Other people I have spoken too have said the same thing.

I decided to get a new account with PBW and apply for that open slot in our game. It has been two or three turns since the last player surrendered that race. I then downloaded the current turn and accessed that race (Sons of Thunder Clan) As expected there are no planets, ships etc but the race still has all comm channels and technologies and 200 points of each resource. My normal race in the game is the Sethillans and in that races current turn the SOT are listed as dead and I can no longer communicate with them. So what I did with the SOT race is to send the Sethillans a message asking for a gift of a planet or two. I then ended the turn and upload the game file. The idea is to see if a "dead race" can be re-established. Geoschmo has told me thats this is as far as I will be able to go. I am keen to see what happens next turn!

Now,... for the silly question! lol
What sort of cheese does narf poit chez BOOM like?

[Parasite]

On Upgrading ships, write down the cost of each upgrade the first time you do it. Go to the ship screen, show orders and sort by Ship class, then orders. All the upgrade orders will then at one location in the list. It makes it easy to count and multiply even if there are upgrades at multiple locations.

Check out the turn order to see what comes first, but I am pretty sure that Maintanace, resource conversion and gifts/trades come first, then upgrades, then production and building.

According to what you are upgrading make sure you are mineral bound. Vast engine, SM, or PPB upgrades can really suck down the Radioactives... Even more than you expect. Production later in the turn will then cover up the lack.

[Alienboy]

Parasite said:
On Upgrading ships, write down the cost of each upgrade the first time you do it. Go to the ship screen, show orders and sort by Ship class, then orders. All the upgrade orders will then at one location in the list. It makes it easy to count and multiply even if there are upgrades at multiple locations.

Check out the turn order to see what comes first, but I am pretty sure that Maintanace, resource conversion and gifts/trades come first, then upgrades, then production and building.

According to what you are upgrading make sure you are mineral bound. Vast engine, SM, or PPB upgrades can really suck down the Radioactives... Even more than you expect. Production later in the turn will then cover up the lack.

Thanks for the advice, I have been working at building my resource storage and production. Where I think I have been caught out is converting too much Radioactive or Organic resources into Mineral resources, leaving myself short of the Radioactive and Organic resources. It would be great to have an upgrade cost tele in the Ship screen.

[Warshed]

This was proboably listed a million times already but from most important to least important:

1. Better AI (possibly upgradable/patchable through a learning algorythm like in galactic civilizations)

2. More interesting research tree (something like Master of Orion 3 or Civ 4), just not like lasers 1, lasers 2, but maybe lasers, then phasers, then quark gun, etc. Also have an option for your empires, like in MOO3, which determines how many techs are available to your empire to research (forcing you to trade for and steal techs from other empires).

3. Better graphics, and possibly combat using fleets, rather than moving one ship at a time, you move one fleet at a time, with damage being assigned just like in normal SE4, but to individual ships within a fleet.

4. More lucky specials (which is a selectable option when configuring the galaxy), lucky planet specials, lucky tech specials (on planets or a random event, or you get the option to buy them using resources).

5. Rare resources that can only be found on certain planets, which are used to build the most powerful weapons. This will force people into war or trade for those rare resources.

6. Ship and system heros like in MOO2.

[Slick]

Warshed, I think you posted this in the wrong thread. Looks like SE5 wishlist stuff.

[Hunpecked]

With regard to upgrades, I believe the total of resources available for upgrades also does not include points reclaimed from recycled facilities in the same turn. I sometimes keep track of retrofit expenses with Excel, and I got burned one time when I was retrofitting down to (almost) the last mineral in storage.