Tech trading

[moomin]

My early-game research-path:

Research lab
Reinforced hull
Auto Factories
Hydroponic Farm
Soil Enrichment
Deuterium Fuel Cells
Neural Scanner
Pollution Processor
Battle Pods
Supercomputer
Spaceport
Robomining Plant
Fusion Drive
Telephatic Training

and then, unless something weird happens
or I got some tech free, I'm off fot the Physics
ladder

[Spaced Cowboy]

Moom,

That is very nearly my path as well. Sometimes if there is nothing but barrens to settle on, I bump the farms up under research labs.

I also have a tendence to bump up robomining plant and supercomputer.

Do you guys play with the Antareans on? They keep F'in me over!

R:PM

[vmxa1]

Normally I do not play with them on. I turn them on when I want to up my score. They just get boring after a few battles and the ending battle is anticlimatic. They seem to follow a pattern. First 2-4 appearences they go after others. The rest of the time it is me. This tends to coincide with my moving to the top of the latter. Once in a while I miss them, so I turn them on, but normally not.
BTW, I never use random events. I just hate random events in any game, control freak I guess.Often they happen anyway?

[moomin]

I always have the Anties on. The quick way to end the game when it gets boring.

I have events on too. They're fairly harmless in Moo2, and the add some little spice. I've even seen that rarest of Moo2 events - the comet - twice!

[Garth Vader]

I have Anties and random events on too, they add some spice to the game

[Spaced Cowboy]

Problem is, when they start comin round, I do not have anything that will stop them, so they trash my colonies, starbases etc. Am I doing something wrong here?

R:PM

[Skanky Burns]

Just be placed 2 or lower on the ladder. They always go after the biggest power in the galaxy, and if it isn't you, then their appearance is a good thing

I once captured one of their ships early in the game, then used it against the other races. It was rather nifty

[ravagon]

Playing accelerated start almost always seems to give you battlestations to start with instead of starbases, and around all of your colonies too. Those can deal with one or two Antarans by themselves even with your few starting techs.

[vmxa1]

I never have any trouble with them. It does not matter if I use advance tech or pre-warp. By the time I am their target, they are no sweat. I have few star systems before I get warp interdictors. Once you have them in place you have plenty of time to defend. New planets have a standing fleet so they are protected. Of course with adv tech, you have battle stations, so it is no sweat. When I first started playing they gave me fits as I was not doing things the best/better way. This is how it was with Moo, I used to lose planets and run into huge fleets, but now I don't and wish I did. I whack them before they can get that strong.

[moomin]

Originally posted by RPMisCOOL
Problem is, when they start comin round, I do not have anything that will stop them, so they trash my colonies, starbases etc. Am I doing something wrong here?

You are too successful. Adjust accordingly!

Really, this is a rather good reason to go for tech expansion and planetary improvements more than all out colonizing and conquest in the very early game. At least in 1.31. In earlier versions it didn't matter as the Anties were too feeble anyway.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Am I reading you folks right?

Do not Expand, Expand, Expand.

Instead concentrate on Tech and really developing the planets that I have??...That is, until I'm strong enought to KA on them?

Trouble is I do not even seem to make a dent in them with my ships. What is the tech that takes them out when you are one for one on ships and size?

R:PM

[Garth Vader]

Unless you have high tech my ships are always useless against them. Missile base is good though (if I have it).

[vmxa1]

I usually play with max races and seem to always have Saks in the game. They may not be real close at first, but when I start expanding they are soon in range.
I am not saying do not expand, so much as I tend to colonize my home systems first. I tend to retool my ships and then grap a new system. Now I am in position to come to the attention of Antarians. I will try to demand a system from someone, or attack once my systems are up. The Ants may come for me at this point. If they come to a planet with planetary defenses, I do not sent ships. If the planet is without any defense, it will have ships there, usually all of my ships. I will buy missiles and fighter bays if time permits, once the Ants attack. In small U they send two small shis at this stage of the game, so I can handle them as I have at least 4 battleships and will have at least missiles. When I first played Moo2, I would be hammered by the Ans, now they are nothing to me. I kind of miss the tough battles. It is the same in Moo. Talk about the large fleets of small ship made me want to see it again so I played last night, but no luck. The fleets are only in the hundreds, even though the Psilons were much larger than me. A few good fights and they even bombed a planet, but now it is over, I have High Energy Foucus and Auto Blasters with Pulse Phasors up next. This means, no contest. I am taking planet after planet and can not even find the time to colonize the many empty ones. I could have won th vote, but I hate that. This is the main reason I do not play maps larger than small, too many planets and the game is over before I know it. The research comes flooding in ith all those planets working. I remeber hving so many tough battles and being proud of pulling the game out of the fire. Maybe I will have to find a map where I am in a real bad spot nd see how that goes.

[Spaced Cowboy]

So describe your typical set up

mine is:
hard
huge
5 players
ave tech start
and all three boxes checked

My race attributes are:
subterranean 6
research +1 3
ground combat -10 -2
large homeworld 2
rich homeworld 1

total 10 @ 100%

rm

[vmxa1]

Lately I have used a difference race for each game, but my favorite is:
Hard
Small
5 or more races
Adv Tech Organic rich
Tactical Combat
Creative 8
LHW 2
Ground Combat -10 -2
Low G -5
Add in either research/production

This my play a fast game mode. I have played with no positive picks a few times for the 340% score bonus. That is nice handicap at hard level, especially trying to eliminate all of the races yourself and have Antarians on.