Newbie has questions!

[capnq]

That's one of the great things about SE IV. Everyone has their own playing style.

The way my games usually start, on the first turn I turn off Divide Points Evenly, and put my initial research points into either one of the largest projects I can finish in one turn, or one or two of the Theoretical Sciences (especially if I took a racial tech), plus something cheap to catch any leftover points.

If I have any breathable worlds or colonizable Ruins in my home system, I build colonizers first; otherwise, I build a scout ship. I don't start putting up construction bases until I'm having trouble storing all of my production.

[Ruatha]

I build colonizers, then shipyards as first facility on all planets i colonize, then they make colonizers.
trade for colony tech.
Initially I might build a mineral storage facility or two or three.
When you start to go down to zero in resources and have a negative balance it's time to switch half the production to mineral mines, the rest continue to spew out colonizers.
When every possible spot has been colonized build research facilities.
Later on other things as intelligence facilities.

Research-
I try not to divide research points as I might loose almost an entire turn of research points, if I don't check it every turn (any wasted turns on completed projects are wasted if you divide the points, but not if you have them sequentially)

I go heavily for solar panels. first astrophysics then solar panels 1-3, engines up to level 3 or 4.
I never build supply depots, add 1-3 solar panels 3 to your ship depending on size and it will never run out of supplies.
When I have solar sail 2 I build scouts and sends them out to find strange new civilizations I can trade with.
Not having supply depots gives me more productive facilities.
Any ship that shall be mothballed goes to the homeworld where there is a supply depot from the beginning.
Later I try to research atmospheric modification plants and stellar manipulation for monoliths.
For military tech I go with physics and phased polaron beams initially, later on everything!

(I've never finished a single game though (am a newbie) but I've used this strategy in my current games that I'm still playing)

in other strategy games I've played I've found that expansion is a good winning strategy!

[ November 25, 2002, 10:33: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Pax]

Originally posted by Baron Grazic:
Just remember this is the way Pax plays, and it doesn't mean it is the correct way.

Absolutely true, and it's not even the ONLY way I play -- it's what I start from, as far as what I expect to do.

For example ... if I find I'm in a system with mad numbers of right-atmosphere worlds to colonise, I build colony ships MUCH sooner (don't need a lot of range to colonise in-system, after all). "More than two" usually triggers that change.

But it's a good thing to try and start with; it seems lots of people do agree on the orbital spaceyard to increase overall ability to build ships (if nothing else, to slowly build up a small stable of light warships in case of early conflict), and seeing others' general starting strategies is often useful in discovering your own.

[Taz-in-Space]

I agree with Pax on the shipyard base. However I then have the shipyard produce ANOTHER SHIPYARD BASE, until I get 4 shipyards in orbit.
After those 4, I then have no trouble redirecting the homeworld to upgrades.

I also get a couple of levels of DUC and upgraded engines along with the destroyer hull.

Only then do I go for the theoretical sciences (physics and chemistry) and then go for computer upgrades.

[Ruatha]

I never build space yard bases, they need maintnance and colonizing a small or tiny planet in the first system, there building a shipyard, gives a shipyard with faster construction rate and no maintnance needs.

example
(2 turns to build colonizers on home world, three on new worlds):

t1-2: 1col ship at homeworld.
t3 colonize neighbour
t4-9 build space yard there
t3-4 new col at homeworld.
t5-6 col new world.
t5-6 new col ship at homeworld
t7-11 new shipyard at new colony 3
t7-8 col new world.
t9-14 new space yard there 4.
t9-10 new col at homeworld.
t10-13 new col at first colony 2.
t11 send colonizer through wormhole (unless that's already been done)
t11-12 new col at homeworld.
t12-14 new col at world 3.
t13-14 new col at homworld.
t14-17 new col at world 2.
t15-18 new col at world 3
Now the other colonies start to kick in and in an exponential curve you'll soon have 40 planets! (Some must start to make resources)

[Desdinova]

which thread is going to be used. Game Styles or Newbie has Questions. its a little confusing reading from one then jumping to the other about the same thing.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by desdinova:
which thread is going to be used. Game Styles or Newbie has Questions. its a little confusing reading from one then jumping to the other about the same thing.

I think the threads are so tangled one can't untangle them.

But we could try to keep this thread strategy focused and the other game-style focused.


[ November 26, 2002, 09:54: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Elowan]

I think that advanced research should take precedence over everything else with some other things added to the mix. That said, here's my WODT (way of doing things).

Firstly - you have a research point bonus starting out so I load in AdvRes2 as first in the queue followed by ShipCon, Engines, Physics, Chemistry and set the queue on Divide Points and Repeat - that way I don't lose points on a roll-over.

I set my build queue to build one scout at each HW; CS; CS; CS (depending on how many breathable planets are in the system (Check the World icon on upper left > breathable atmosphere > send colony ship. Doing it that way lists the ship, loads it with folks and sends it on its way. I will then build a SpaceYard.

A few points:
1) I have specialized CS (colony ships). One is a long range Version with a supply pod; one is for breathable atmospheres and has a storage pod (which gets an extra supply of colonists) and Last one without an SP for non-breathables.

I do not wait for cheap engines to start sending out CS's.

My first few colonies are almost all devoted to Research with extra M/O/R storage so as not to lose the extra points being generated before I start building stuff.

I stop ShipCon at Light Cruiser until I build up more advanced stuff going to PB asap. And so on.

HTH.