Customized Races

[campfreddie]

I think Ethereans get +4 ManuEff and +3 ResearchEff.

I know I forgot to add it to my race data table in my spreadsheet though

[Jamski]

I'm telling you Etherians rock. and 21 Industry DEA's on a size 12 planet beats 12 Industry DEA's on a size 6 Planet, IMHO.

-Jam

[bakalov]

Ok, but:

1) Ethereans cannot take the pollution reduction picks because they are a bit short on picks. I don't know how much difference this will make at the beginning.

2) In the middle game cynoid will finally get the techs to operate in HG.

3) Cynoid can get larger worlds that with a few levels of teraforming will get to sweet spot. In my current game I have a size 9 yellow 1 world which is already green 2. It was in the next system to my starting. It is very poor as you can suppose :-)

4) The count of size 12 worlds is not so big, and only the very rich are of "extereme" gravity, and only high gravity is not enough for the ethereans. In my game I have explored ~150 planets and only 4 are size 12, and only 2 of them are sweet spot for the ethereans.

5) The sweet spot worlds for the ethereans are usually very rich and you will have to fight the dilemma wheather to build mines or industry there.

6) Eoladi are one of the most naturally uncreative races.

There are more pros that can be thought of ;-)

And finally I am not saying that Eoladi are not a good race, or that Cynoid are better. I am just trying to compare them.

Why don''t you post some statistics about their production as I did - DEA count, buildings in the DEAs, DEA efficiency from population, presense of universities, the AU spent on production and pollution and final count of PP?

[Jamski]

But you do realise that terraforming is not just a matter of having the right techs, but you have to pay for it, a lot, and then pay a continual maintainace to keep it at this level.

I've had no problem finding good planets with the Eoladi, nearly every system seems to have at least one gas giant in it, and I've found a system with 5 ! Taking good mining and covering just one big very rich planet with mines provides practically all my mineral needs.

I'm not bashing Cynoids, but Eoladi have plenty of picks, you can take superior research, creativity, manufacturing, good mining, average bioharvesting, best citizenship and a hive government. That leaves enough for tolerant too, if you knock everything else down, and taking a creativity hit allows natural engineers. Sweet.
Sure the Cynoids can get all these picks too, but they don't get the big planets. They do get more planets though. I imagine they can pump out quite a good "swarm" of small ships.
I tried playing as Cynoids, and I seemed not to find so many good planets as with Eoladi, but maybe that was just luck.

Also, I'm always preferring to have a small number of better planets, I can get more involved with them this way.

-Jam

[bakalov]

When I try to pick the same traits with eoladi that I usually am getting with cynoid, I am finding myself at 60 picks shortage - I assure you, you cannot get the same.

You cannot afford to drop creativity, because you will find yourself with a tech tree containing 58.5% of all techs. If you drop it to average you will fix yourself at 51%. And this IMO is bad if you do not have high cunning.

With cynoid I am getting tolerance which reduces the cost of terraforming, and more terraforming techs reduce it further .....

So, I am waiting for the statistcs :-) Or finally I will try myself :-) BTW why don't you try the cynoid, and I will try the eoladi :-)

[Jamski]

OK, I'll give it a whirl. At the weekend though, I want to finish my current Psilon game first.

-Jam

[Hydro]

Art of War and bakalov – would you mind posting your picks? I’ve played the Trilarians, and they are great fun. They sound like the Eoladi in that they have big planets. The only other race I’ve played with are Silicoids – just dabbling though. Maybe it's time to expand and try a different racial type...

[drsparnum]

I'm in my fifth game. I've played Tachidi, Eolodi, Raas, Silicoid and Psilons (trying to play alot of different ones). In this time I've learned one thing and one thing only. In my hands, the Psilons suck.

[bakalov]

My Cynoid are:

Bioharvest: Poor
Mining: Good
Manufacturing: Superior
Research: Superior
Environmental:Superior

Trade: Average
Diplomacy: Poor
Economics: Barter

All 3 ground combat skills -> poor
Starting planet biodiversity&richness -> poor
Senate : unknown

Government: absolutist (I play with monarchy and
ocasionally with despotism)
Creativity: Original
Cunning: Dangerous (only scientific spies)

Special traits:
Natural Engineers
Tolerant

It is possible to play with superior mining instead of superior research. I still wonder which is better.
Hope I did not miss anything ...

BTW I played with Psilon in my first game and won. It was on easy though. Now I am playing only on impossible :-)

[KrisB]

I'm currently on my 4th Game. This is my second with the Klacons. (My 1st game with them was my initial game, which I won by Senate.) I increased the bioharvesting to superior, I took their loyalty down two notchs. I gave them Tolerant. I also lowered one of the ground attack settings. I don't remmember, which one. This is my first game with a huge galaxy. I think it was 76 I quit at last night. I have 20-25 planets, and have picked up the Darloks. I've been playing around with industrial planets. I currently have a slight mineral shortfall, but I just need more mining techs and that'll change.

[intrigue]

my favorite custom race atm is a custom Imsais...
I love the Gas Giants.. the appeal I guess is the fact that the size of the planet is not something I can terraform, ever.
Once I get techs to terraform those size 12 planets to paradise its amazing... pushing out super dreads out with all the bells and whistles every other turn is GREAT. The advantage is not so great early on, when I don't have the population for it - but once I do, I've been able to roll over anyone.
This tactic is so appealing, another strat I have with other races is to capture some of my own Ethereans for Gas Giant colonization later, or Darlocks work alright too.

[CharlesBHoff]

Originally posted by drsparnum
I'm in my fifth game. I've played Tachidi, Eolodi, Raas, Silicoid and Psilons (trying to play alot of different ones). In this time I've learned one thing and one thing only. In my hands, the Psilons suck.

I play the Psilons alot in MOO3 and they are doing petty good. It all in how you play than race and your mind set.

[drsparnum]

I for one welcome our insect overlords

I think the Psilons can do okay in the senate. I also think they can do very well in the late game if they had time to expand in a relatively empty universe because they will have time to get a decent tech edge. However, I don't like to count on being in the senate and I like to play in crowded universe's which puts an emphasis on early game. I think the bugs excel here. Plus, if you have a good early game you can have a good late game with any race.

[CharlesBHoff]

Re: I for one welcome our insect overlords

Originally posted by drsparnum
I think the Psilons can do okay in the senate. I also think they can do very well in the late game if they had time to expand in a relatively empty universe because they will have time to get a decent tech edge. However, I don't like to count on being in the senate and I like to play in crowded universe's which puts an emphasis on early game. I think the bugs excel here. Plus, if you have a good early game you can have a good late game with any race.

When I play the Psilons I donot going into early conquestion
of other races, I have then defence what their have but I only do the conqust thing when I have than enought tech to do so.