I have been playing v1.51 AP MASO small/rare/tight lately and I have been trying a different tactic with great success.
I start with the research party and then load up diplo 60, influence 20, morale 15. All AI on and set to evil. My goal is to go good.
I usually have 2 - 3 planets starting out in this game. Cntrl-N until I get the start I want. A really good start is to have 1 or 2 majors start out in your home sector. This way you will overwhelm them with your culture and flip them mid way through the game.
I set my spending to 100% and my tax to 50%. I play with the tax a bit and it usually gets down to 39% until after my build sequence is over. Then I start jacking the tax rate up while keeping the morale at 100%.
My start is to set military to 100% and build 1 scout, then set my research slider to get tech researched in one or 2 months tops. My social slider gets the rest. By monitoring these sliders for each tech early in the game you can maximize your research output.
It is important to find all the AI as fast as possible. I only pick up anomalies if they are in my direct search path otherwise I ignore them.
I practically give away all trade techs to increase my diplomatic status with the AI. I also trade for freighters and use only the farthest trade routes possible.
Very early after I have the trade tech I start trying to trade for transports. I do not make it a priority, but if I can get 1 or 2 here and there I can bring them back to my planets and dump the colonists on to them.
The only downside here is I have to build my morale boosters a little early.
The major upside to this is, my 2-3 planets become super charge at production and get most if not all of the trade goods and wonders built before the AI can build them.
My planets are getting a higher production start.
During my Trade Good / wonder building phase my morale takes a hit all the way down to 50%. I have my build set to 70% and my research to 30%. By trading techs and researching I still have a tech advantage after the build order shown below is finished.
During my build sequence I am trading and bribing the AI to war. When the build order below if finished I switch my research to 60% and my ship building to 40%. Start building constructors.
Great care must be taken to ensure that the Minors are not defeated by the Majors. These are your planets and you have to be ready for them. Some of the transports that I traded for are floating around waiting for the right time to take the Minors out.
Also be on the look out for a Major that is about to be defeated and have your transports ready for that as well.
My morale is also now back at 100%. Now I start taking over resources that are open due to all the fighting. Occasionally I will try to trade for a resource if it is out of the way.
Sometime, usually just after I complete my initial build order one of the majors gets the star federation. The Galactic Monument wonder is very important to get for influence. I make sure that I watch the AI and trade for that tech then rush build that wonder.
Once I start taking resources I usually have defeated one major and one or both minors. It is important to get the resources that deal with culture and max them out.
Even with AP v1.51 I am flipping most Majors quite easily. I build 2 or 3 culture starbases in key areas and the game is mine.
Sometimes I may have to convert 2 cultural starbases to terror stars just to move them closer to flip the last Major.
My game is taking me almost 2 hours to play. So that is still significant compared to the time it takes to win Alliance on a huge/MASO.
My build order is
soil enhancement
banking
manufacturing
habitat
fusion plant
diplo TG
gravity accel TG
galactic stock exchange
galactic exhibition
frictionless TG
aphrodisiac TG
Eyes of the universe
ultra spices TG
virtual reality modules TG
Harmony TG'
micro repair TG
Restaurant of eternity
entrainment
antimatter power
news
multimedia
economic exchange
embassy
cultural exchange center
After this build order I still concentrate on morale and diplo techs and anything that has a Trade Good or wonder. They are mine all mine.
Depending on the game I am usually finishing just as I get the teraforming tech. Sometimes it goes slightly longer.
NOTE:
Once you have taken a planet over, go to the details screen and cancel all ship building related projects, all defence related projects and all projects that have a maintenance of 5 BC.
          
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| What is the benefit to being good when everyone else is evil? |
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I am not sure that there is much of a benefit to being good other than the techs. I have read that people feel that if your alignment is oposite of the AI majority you can get a higher score. I doubt that.
| Also, why buy freighters on a tiny map? |
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Money is crucial in my strategy and most strategies. The sooner I get trade routes going the better.
It is cheaper for me to trade a tech and get a frieghter that is orbiting an AI world than it is to adjust my sliders to build one and send it slowy to that AI.
This costs me time away from research or social building and travel time to the AI.
Colony ships can be bought but the cost is stupid compared to buying transports.
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| I have read that people feel that if your alignment is oposite of the AI majority you can get a higher score. I doubt that. |
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I am certain (since I can't reach the 60K cap) that having all AI set to evil when playing neutral give more points that using default alignement with playing neutral.
     
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| I have read that people feel that if your alignment is oposite of the AI majority you can get a higher score. I doubt that. |
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| I am certain (since I can't reach the 60K cap) that having all AI set to evil when playing neutral give more points that using default alignement with playing neutral. |
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I don't know if the player's allignment matters much. I play as evil and get more points with all pure evil than with half chaotic evil/half pure evil
   
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Great write up Newfy!
Close to the strategy I have been using on small maps. The major difference is that when I trade with the Majors for transports, it is to remove them with an alpha strike of their own ships. After removing three or four this way, the others give me no problems diplomatically, so I almost never have to bribe. I usually end with a TS alpha strike instead of flipping, but at that point, either one is viable. The game flow in terms of build order, morale tempo, and tax rates are almost the same. I try to build fusion before manufacturing, but that's pretty minor. And 2 hours is about right for me as well.
It is important to find all the AI as fast as possible. I only pick up anomalies if they are in my direct search path otherwise I ignore them.
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This is a very important point. If you don't find the majors fast enough, you can't trade tech and they will run away with their advantages. Even on small and tiny maps, speed kills. To that end, I trade the morale and influence for +1 speed. I've never regretted it.
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| . Even on small and tiny maps, speed kills. |
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Have you tried Moser expanded anomaly mods? it is very nice since there is an anomaly that increased your speed. But you need to be lucky to stumble on it.
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| Have you tried Moser expanded anomaly mods? |
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Actually the only mod I have ever tried is the research party mod and I tried that only just recently.
I was going to install the saint pack mod so that I can try to go goody two shoes earlier.
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I just installed the Saints and Sinners pack. It is very good and does help me to swing from evil back to pure good almost every game.
I will choose evil options at the start of the game if they give me a good advantage. With out the S&S pack I used to be happy just to get back to neutral, now I can get almost pure good.
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Really, does that work? I thought that Brad had put in code to try to prevent people from swinging from evil to good & vice versa.
   
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| Really, does that work? I thought that Brad had put in code to try to prevent people from swinging from evil to good & vice versa. |
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You can do it on a very long game without the Saints & Sinners mod but the S&S mod makes it a lot easier. But you have to remember that the penalties are a lot worse when choosing to go good. Almost every game I start out evil and slowy move my way to good.
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