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[vmxa1]

Lazerus next game that you start post your setting and then the tech choices as you make them. Then all of fanboys can toss in what we would take with that race and why.
Most of the time a prewarp start or a normal tech start will use the same basic picks. It can vary with some races and some strats.
You may enjoy trying the same race using tactical combat to see the difference in the game.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Lazerus
How can i take out their spy networks ? guessing that would cut down on the amount of times im framed

Make lots of counterspies and pick tech that help with security.

Oh, you mean spies in other countries? Nothing you can do.

[Whoha]

I meant the technology spying networks, taking it out does not help

[Whoha]

I also wish there was a way to taunt the antarans :P

[Lazerus]

Any hints on what my early,mid and late game ship designs should be like since im going to start a one with the tactical combat turned on. Also whats the best way to fight these battles, big ships with long range or just swarming in 2 dozen small ships with no shields but the best offense weapon around ?

[Gilgamensch]

Lazerus,

the best design's you can find here

I know a lot to read, but worth it

[vmxa1]

Well I must concur that will get you well on your way.

[Lazerus]

Anyways heres how i started out in my current game.

Settings : Average difficulty, 8 players, large galaxy, average age and technology. Tactical combat ON

Custom race : Cybernetic, Unification, +2 industry, -10 ground combat, -0.5bc.

Fighter bay, automated factories, research labs are nearly always my first 3 picks as i like a further bonus in industry for building colony ships, labs or using as housing.
Deutrerium feul cells (usually stuck in a corner), battle pods (slight mistake here i thought robo miners was after this) and fusion drive next.
Biospheres (big colonies need more room) spaceport, robo miners, neural scanner, planetary supercomputer (i prefer going industry->lab->industry etc )

pollution processor(quite abit of it by now) battle scanner,mass driver,neutron blaster,inertial stabiliser,class 3 shield,iridium fuel cells ... raking in some upgrades for the ships.

soil enrichment,tele training,terraforming (upgrading food production and hospitality of planets)

zortium armour, shield capacitators, grav beam, fast missile racks, Titan construction, stealth suit, rangemaster unit, xeno psych, pulsar, class V shields, sub farms.

After this i was at a tech every 3-5 turns so i felt there was no need to just basically post the tech tree

Will have to look at those ship designs as currently its my industry which as won this again, ive expanded into so many colonies and got so many large titans floating around with class VII shields and shield capacitators that not much hurts them, downside is i haven't even researched plasma weapons yet so when i sent a few to fight that guardian there were butchered rather badly
Also is there a way you can set bases to auto-refit ships to best model when they arrive ?

[Whoha]

No way to auto refit but on the plus side, when you build a ship that has been obsoleted by miniaturization tech your ships in the que get the extra space, and hence extra speed/initiative. Though a good plan, is to have every world but your ultra riches do research, and have your ultra rich worlds be your sole ship producers so its easier to keep track of them.

as for a tech path I generally choose labs,reinforced hulls,autofactories in that order.

you really need reinforced hulls to knock down the gaurdian, 3x structure points really helps ships survive long enough to do damage.

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by Lazerus

"Fighter bay, automated factories, research labs are nearly always my first 3 picks as i like a further bonus in industry for building colony ships, labs or using as housing."

CONSTRUCTION 80 rp
Anti Missile Rockets, Reinforced Hull, Fighter Bays

Of these three choices you really must take Reinforced Hull. This is a MUST as you can not take Heavy Armor and you need one or the other.

"Titan construction"

This one is situational. I do not take titan very often as I do not need them and I may need ground batteries as I will not have Battle Stations. Eventually I steal Titan.

"Will have to look at those ship designs as currently its my industry which as won this again, ive expanded into so many colonies and got so many large titans floating around with class VII shields and shield capacitators that not much hurts them, downside is i haven't even researched plasma weapons yet so when i sent a few to fight that guardian there were butchered rather badly"

Hum, I take the guardian down with 5 or 6 battleships using pahsors. I do not use plama cannons in 1.3.1, later I will use disrupters. With the mods on these two beamers, they will rip ships apart. The key is to have the 3500 rp techs researched to boost the capacity of the ship.
Try refitting one of your battleship without the capacitors and rangemasters and using reinforced hulls. Then use autofire phasors and see if they do not do more damage and survive better than what you had.
I find that at the time I finish the 3500 rp and make my BB the guardian does not kill any of them and of course they are much better than the AI ships.

"Also is there a way you can set bases to auto-refit ships to best model when they arrive ?"

Not that I know about.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Lazerus
Any hints on what my early,mid and late game ship designs should be like since im going to start a one with the tactical combat turned on. Also whats the best way to fight these battles, big ships with long range or just swarming in 2 dozen small ships with no shields but the best offense weapon around ?

It depends on who you are, what your overall stretagy is, and who you are fighting against.

If you have ship defensive bonuses, and you are more less playing defensively, you're better off building small ships.

If you are on the offensive, you need bigger ships, preferably with offensive bonuses.

[Lazerus]

I traded and got reinforced hulls for the fighter bay at the start.

Reinforced hulls, disrupters, structural analyzer and pods is great tore the guardian up straight away. Fitting my titans with achilles and damper fields now aswell, shame theres no decent AI fleets to test them out on, will have to try it on hard or impossible.

I prefer to go on the offensive, race doesnt have any inbuilt bonuses but its best to be fighting in their territory none the less so i have been going with the bigger the better scheme at the moment anyways. Also my planets have so high industry quite alot of it is sometimes wasted if i build small ships.

[vmxa1]

I should note that my references are for games on impossible level. As you move up the guardian get more HP and is tougher. The AI will get research at a big advantage and can have many more traits than normall. They may have more than 30 picks.
Anyway I only make ships smaller than battleships as a tele or some sort of specail game setting.
IOW I will make BB almost exclusively.

[Urban Ranger]

Why not Doomstars?

[Lazerus]

how does BB = battleship (im assuming) anyways