Mitrosoft

[Strategist83]

Any reason to EVER buy anything from Mitrosoft with the outrageous interest rates they charge?

[Hansolo88]

It's been an absolute financial disaster every time I've done so.

I suppose its feasible that construction of a certain ship or planet project could be so important that it would be worth entirely financing if you were bankrupt, but it would have to be a very very rare case since the interest hurts your economy for years. However, if you're buying something from Mitrosoft you've probably done something wrong.

[Topgun]

Re: Mitrosoft

Originally posted by Strategist83
Any reason to EVER buy anything from Mitrosoft ... ?

If your economy is healthy? No.

If an attacker is breathing down your neck and a planet you absolutely have to keep is a turn away from being invaded?

Late game? War just declared on you? 40+ ships you could upgrade in -one- turn that could absolutely flatten the attacker?

Sure. Why not?Especially if it's late game... since by then the odds are good the game will be won or lost _long_ before all those payments have been made.

[tetley]

Only time I ever bought from Mitrosoft was in the last mission of the campaign. Research Planetary Invasion, purchase transports from Mitrosoft, invade the final planet and be done.

[DaviddesJ]

I think Mitrosoft can be very reasonable early in the game. It depends on the map and specifically on how fast your income is going to grow. It's usually around 30 turns before break-even; i.e., it takes 30 turns after a Mitrosoft purchase before the total you've paid exceeds what you would have paid with a single up-front purchase. If your total income isn't going to go up a lot in those 30 turns, then it doesn't make sense. But, if it gets you a jump on the early expansion, then the extra planets you get may more than pay for the ongoing cost.

[Hansolo88]

That would make for an interesting experiment; purchase a series of colony ships from Mitrosoft at the start of the game, and then see if its possible to break even and pull ahead financially with all the growth. Sounds tough to do.

[tetley]

I seriously doubt it. Your initial colony is losing money, so you're taking a double-whammy.

[Strategist83]

I think all the interest-based options need to be rebalanced to make them worthwhile. Also, I want the names of the companies changed for non-human races. Does anybody else agree?

[tetley]

I just used Mitrosoft again yesterday. Toward the end of a colony rush I found a planet with a Precursor Mine, but my treasury was hovering around 200bc. This was an ideal outpost for putting out colony ships out on the front line, before the AI could take the remaining planets. It was also an aggressive location for grabbing the starbase mining resources, and I could put out constructors in 1 turn. I grabbed them all. After 176 turns I'll wind up paying around 2500bc for an 80bc factory, and I don't regret it.