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**Gufnork** · March 11, 2006, 12:54

First of all do you have to design like everything? I thought when I research a new tech there would better things to build like Alpha Centauri, but nothing ever appears. Designing things aren't hard but I'm lazy and it's just annoying. After a while everything starts to look the same because I don't add the extras in.

There are a few prebuilt ships, but personally I just find it annoying that they have to take space in the build list. Designing your own ships is infinetly better than using the ones that are already in there. But I agree with you, it is really annoying.

Also is there a way to select individual ship options on top of each other? I want to upgrade one of my ships, but I can't figure out how to select it from a stack. I mean I can select the ship, but I can't upgrade it cause the upgrade button won't show up unless I move the ship to an empy space.

I haven't found a way. When two fleets are on the same parsec you seem very limited in what you can do. I usually move the fleet until it is alone and then do it. Sorry.

How much micro of the economy do I need? Right now my tech planets never ever get set up properly because the research centers take too long to build, even though they have like 3 or 4 factories. Never really play a game where I had to micro the economy so much before. I tried to micro the economy in one game but moving the bars became extremely painful after a while. Anyone got good rules of thumb that works for most of the game?

The more micromanagement, the better. It shouldn't be needed to be slightly above average AI though, once you learn how it works. I tend to start by having 100% social and build factories on my starting planet until I can build a colony ship in one turn. Then I switch to 100% military and pump out colony ships until the galaxy is colonized. Then it's time for 100% social until most planets have an infrastructure. Make all planets the same, since you can't give individual orders to planets. More factories on better planets, the goal is to make all planets complete social production at the same time (so as to not waste). Then go to 100% research, switch back to 100% social whenever you need to upgrade planets. Once you're ready to go to war, switch to 100% military.

What does the focus button do exactly? I like using it a lot, but I don't know what exactly it does except obviously it focus on one aspect. Anyone got numbers?

I'm afraid not. I generally use it to fine tune social production completion. A planet that will finish earlier than the rest should focus on another area to slow down it's production to avoid waste. One thing I do know is that if you focus on research, you get more research points if you have more factories. So it's possible to build only factories and focus on research. I believe it's modified by research bonuses though.

For planet invasions, are those options that hurt planet quality permanet? I'm afraid to use them cause I want the planets that I take.

Yes, they're permanent. I recommend Information Warfare on planets with low approval and Mini-Soldiers on planets that don't.

How does influence starbases affect influence? Does it only increase the influence in your planet or does it just increase influence around it? I don't know where to build my influence starbases, near the enemy or near my planets.

Influence is somewhat of a mystery to me, I'm afraid.

**Kc7mxo** · March 11, 2006, 12:59

first off, focus buttons aren't a good idea. they have a loss in exchange rate between expenses.

The way the sliders work, you spend your taxes to finance social, factory, and research money. the factories don't spend if they're not building, but he social does. i tend to build reasonably balanced planets so they can be more useful. plus as i play nuetral i often buy ships rather than build them.

i find production to be very important, but then i'm almost always fighting my way out of a corner of the galaxy surounded by hostile aliens. i prefer to invade my first neighbor as soon as possible just so i don't get too boxed in.

Especially anyone whose influence is too strong.

**EternalSpark** · March 11, 2006, 23:30

First of all do you have to design like everything?

Yeah - sucks, I know.

is there a way to select individual ship options on top of each other?

Nope.

How much micro of the economy do I need?

Per-turn, down to the credit. You have to check it every turn, as major surpluses can randomly turn into major defecits.

Anyone got numbers?

Nope. They designed it on "feel", so actual data is hard to come by.

Here's the number one tip I can give a newbie:

Save the game on the first turn. Save it twice. Then, buy scouts every turn and send them out towards stars. Write down where the 12+ planets are, and then reload from your inital save. If the AI can cheat by not needing to scout for the good worlds, neither should you have to.

**Mark123jansen** · March 12, 2006, 11:21

Originally posted by EternalSpark

Yeah - sucks, I know.

How can you say that! Ship design is the coolest thing about this game! If you dont like tinkering with the ships the just select a hull and slap some guns on it and be done with it, but is just soooo cool to designt your own battleships

**AoA** · March 12, 2006, 16:00

1. I see these complex artistic ships people are building. Maybe it would be nice for those of us without aesthetics to download templates of ships with the "extra" design elements and we could add our own weapons and engines and such...just so our fleets don't all look like boring clones of the basic design.

2. In the shipyard, is there a way to start with a predesigned ship and change it to a newer design or do we have to always start from scratch? For example, if I have a Constructor but want to build a new Constrcutor Mk.2 with super engines, do I have to place all the parts on a bare design?

3. And maybe a huge n00b question....can we change our Civ's color in game? Setting up a custom race, I picked the same color as another Civ and now that we're neighbors, I can't tell at a glance where our borders meet on the minimap?

**EternalSpark** · March 13, 2006, 00:15

How can you say that! Ship design is the coolest thing about this game!

It's a fine thing, but having to design CurrentShip+1 is kinda annoying. Even SMAC designed Plasma Somethingorothers if you had Synthsteel Somethingorothers.

Plus, I'd perfer more control. Many times an idea I've had has fizzled, because I can't place a prop as if the hardpoint was the center, rather than a side, of the prop selected.

**jbavon** · March 13, 2006, 05:45

Originally posted by EternalSpark

Save the game on the first turn. Save it twice. Then, buy scouts every turn and send them out towards stars. Write down where the 12+ planets are, and then reload from your inital save. If the AI can cheat by not needing to scout for the good worlds, neither should you have to.

In my book, that goes as cheating. The Terrans are the only civ that don't have full knowledge of the galaxy, as they are newcomers. If you dont like it: play as another civ. All of the others know where everything is. Its just to make it more challenging.

**Gufnork** · March 13, 2006, 06:40

Originally posted by jbavon

In my book, that goes as cheating. The Terrans are the only civ that don't have full knowledge of the galaxy, as they are newcomers. If you dont like it: play as another civ. All of the others know where everything is. Its just to make it more challenging.

It's cheating in his book too. His reasoning is that if the AI can cheat, so can he. And he's not talking about stellar cartography, that only shows planets. He's talking about knowing where the inhabitable planets are. They're not supposed to know that (and I think it's still under debate if they do or not). Actually, he's talking about knowing where the good planets are, which the AI does not know. Even when they've found them. The AI does not care whether a planet is class 4 or 40, so you might still consider it a cheat. Doing it as Terrans further questions it.

But don't think of it as cheating. It's really not much different from modifying the XMLs, he's changing the game to fit him (though if he's posting the games to the metaverse, then he's cheating). If he likes having the exact same knowledge of the universe as the AIs, then it's his choice. If someone likes to create an über race to play and dominate all opponents, then it's his choice. Just because there is no modding option (or he doesn't know how, haven't bothered investigating) for it, it doesn't mean he's not simply adapting the game to his tastes.

**tetley** · March 13, 2006, 09:33

Correct me if I'm wrong, but by and large, Stellar Cartography shows only the inhabitable planets on the minimap. I say "by and large" because I usually have one inhabitable planet per game not show up on the minimap, and planets already unfogged show up either way.

**Sokar20002001** · March 13, 2006, 13:28

I'm pretty sure that stellar cartography shows ALL planets on the minimap. It doesn't distinguish between inhabitable and habitable planets. I think in GalCiv1 it did something different, but I never played GalCiv1.

**Sirian** · March 13, 2006, 15:55

In GC1 it showed you the Yellow stars. (Habitable planets only appear at Yellow stars -- in GC2 as well, it seems.)

**tetley** · March 13, 2006, 17:14

GC2 definitely has non-yellow stars with habitable planets.

**EternalSpark** · March 13, 2006, 22:33

The Terrans are the only civ that don't have full knowledge of the galaxy, as they are newcomers. If you dont like it: play as another civ. All of the others know where everything is. Its just to make it more challenging.

It's not to find where the planets are - it's where the good planets are. For testing, I modded a sensor to give me Crazy Huge Range, and clearly discovered that Colony Ships and Constructors were being sent to places before any scouts found them.

(No, I'm not submitting to multiverse.)

This goes beyond the Terran/Alien thing. Terran AIs beeline for the good stuff just like the Alien AIs do, and Human-played Aliens are at the same not-knowing-squat disadvantage as a Human-played Terran.

The question is, would I do this if SCartography revealed good planets? I prolly wouldn't.

**jbavon** · March 14, 2006, 05:07

I didnt mean to offend, it just seemed to me, from what I knew (which isnt much), that the problem would be solved by simply chosing another race.

I'm still new to the game, I havent even received my cd yet, I just couldnt figure out why you would need to scout out and reload. I know now, although I dont think ill do it anyway

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