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There are several strategies that can help. Here is a basic one. Pick a political party that has some social building. Some other picks include some diplo, more social building, maybe some research.
Make the map medium\rare\tight. Play with all AI turned on and set them to the same intelligence. I find that more AI is actually easier than less.
Set your spend to 100% and play with your tax rate so that your morale does not drop below 100%. You will have a negative income for the first while.
The first thing you need to concentrate on is colonizing. You should have between 2 and 5 planets typically on this type of map.
Use the survey ship to scout out the AI. Do not bother collecting anomolies unless they are in your path. You should also build 2 scouts to help find all the AI.
This is important because you need to trade with the AI to bring in money.
Set your research to 70% and the social to 30%.
At first only build the following.
soil, banking, manufacturing, habitat, fusion, research, entertainment,antimater, news,exchange,embassy,multimedia,stock exchange, culture exchange, teleporters, terraforming, trade center
You have to establish trade routes with the AI. Try to pick the longest trade route possible for good money return.
Do not allow your empire to get to -500. once you are approching this set your spending to make your income positive.
As trade increase your income increases so adjust your spending slider so that your income is always just above zero until your slider reaches 100% again.
Trade techs for techs or money to the ai.
This increase your diplo status with the AI. Which means they are less likely to go to war with you.
          
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Excellent strategy suggestions NewfyScotian. Only difference with how I manage the empire is I never allow it to go negative.
A few key points I never tried though. Thanks. 
If you ever get bored and want to share some of those ideas please stop in at NeoTech Gaming Network  Link and post some of your ideas in our strategy forums. 
    
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| Only difference with how I manage the empire is I never allow it to go negative. |
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When starting out I like to use the 1000BC as a buffer to get my new empire started. My buffer goes to -499.
When I get to this number I adjust my spending slider to be just slightly about ZERO.
By the time I get to this number I have 3 traderoutes making money for me with a 4th traderoute about to start. Keep monitoring the slider and keep adjusting it so that your spending is always just above Zero. This gets your empire going.
Do not worry that it is negative. Pretty soon you will have the spending slider at 100% and your income will be well above Zero.
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Hmmm Never tried that one before.. The method I used with the 100% spending I learned from one of the top players a long time ago.
The additional tips your giving me will help a lot. I play ONLY on gigantic quadrant maps. I like them better, though many good players have told me that playing smaller maps will yield better scores.
Thanks again.. Now I have to look up your empire.. You must be one of the top players yourself with the tips and message I keep reading. 
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| Hmmm Never tried that one before.. The method I used with the 100% spending I learned from one of the top players a long time ago. |
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The important thing to remember is your empire will shutdown once you have cash reserves below -500.
Your empire will operate fine with a negative income until that mark is reached.
You must adjust your spending slider when you get close to -500 so that your income is just slightly positive as I said before.
Before this happens you need to scout out the AI and start freighters off to them. Do not build more than 4 freighters. Send 2 freighters to AI that is at least 3 sectors away from you as fast as possible.
Send the 3rd freighter 1 or 2 sectors further out the next AI and send the fourth freighter even further out. This will allow you to start trading right away.
One tactic that I enjoy using is never building freighters but finding AI by scouting and then trading the AI for a freighter that is orbiting one of their stars.
This means that you save the travel time to that star and if you are lucky enough you can set up trade routes further out right away.
If the AI does not have the tech TRADE then gift it or sell it or trade it to the AI. There is benefits to each of those. Gifting will greatly increase your diplo status, selling it will increase your cash income for a period of time and trading it for techs will allow you to spend time researching other techs.
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One tactic that I enjoy using is never building freighters but finding AI by scouting and then trading the AI for a freighter that is orbiting one of their stars.
This means that you save the travel time to that star and if you are lucky enough you can set up trade routes further out right away. |
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This is a very important tactic in order to have fastly trade route on gigantic maps.
     
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Another great tip.. Something else that never occured to me.
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Don't forget that you can right-click on ship in diplomacy screen to know where the location of the ship is. Very useful for finding which are the freighters that are next to a system owned by an AI.
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| Don't forget that you can right-click on ship in diplomacy screen to know where the location of the ship is. Very useful for finding which are the freighters that are next to a system owned by an AI. |
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That is true, I use this everytime I want to buy a frieghter. I look for one that is orbiting a star first then look for one that is closest to an AI star.
The trick is to minimize travel time at all costs and get that trade route going. Takes several turns for it to start making good money.
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Glad you all are sharing your techniques for doing well. It really is surprising me how far off track I have been playing all this time.  
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| It really is surprising me how far off track I have been playing all this time. |
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DF, this game is easy to play and difficult to master. there is no wrong way to play it if you are winning. My playing style may not be a match for your playing style but the hope is that you and other players will pick up some useful tips that we have learned.
I say this because I just wanted to comment on Brackards' statement
| A 100% spending ration on whatever you are spending on (unless you have <1 turn left on a project), is actually more beneficial than a partial spending plan. |
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For me I usually have my sliders set depending on what I am doing. 100% to military for the first little while to build colony and scouts ships. Then I usually set my sliders to 30 and 70 for social and research. After about 2 - 4 years into the game I switch my sliders to 70 and 30 for social and research to finish building my projects.
Sometime later I will either add in the military for 25% or wait until my social projects are finished and have the sliders set to 40 and 60 for military and research.
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#14
by Citizen Brackard - 9/2/2004 1:42:37 PM
Hey Newfy, out of curiosity, why would you do a partial spending ratio? I am FAR from the best at this game (far, far, far...) but let's take an example.
You have two projects, social/military. Let's say the Social project gives you 25% to manufacturing. By not moving ahead 100% with the manu upgrade, you lose out on the % you would have gained by going 100%. If it took you 20 turns at 70% and 15 turns at 100%, those 5 turns of the extra production are lost. This goes many different ways, techs that are lengthened lose a slight bit of benefit (espeically those that are time based - morale which leads to pop growth). Trade which would allow you to spend more, etc, etc.
Now there are many other things to factor in. The first, would it even really MATTER? (could you even USE the extra potential if you had it) But for the most part, I just don't see why you wouldn't spend 100% in any specific area (unless of course, you have less than 1 turn remaining).
  
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The one thing that I've discovered is that there is no one perfect spending slider configuration. Too much depends on whether you need to go 100% social to get a trade good/wonder, or 70% tech to get a specific tech that will help your short term plans, or 60% military spending to get that one military unit that at that specific time and place will do maximum damage to your opponent. Flexibility is the key to success in the long run. Basicly, if you have doubts as to what to do, set the sliders to 33%, 33%, and 34% for a few turns and watch what happens.
 
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NewfyScotian, thanks and you are right. I know that as this is one major reason I am not growing tired of this game. I stopped playing for a while due to personal things. The game reminded me of a bad choice I made and wasted 3 years of my life devoted to a website that was a complete waste of my time. Now I have my own enough said.
I enjoy reading all the different ways everyone has found to work for them. I try out every single one I can find. Some I like, others I toss out and never use. The propaganda slider is one I never knew about. Why I never clicked on details one time is still bothering me. I am usually observe things others miss. 
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| Hey Newfy, out of curiosity, why would you do a partial spending ratio? |
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There are a few reasons
1. I like micro management but this is an area that I do not feel I need that degree of micro management.
2. I spend my time managing my ships and trading with the AI. I play MASO and on Tiny/small/Medium maps. I need to maximize my trading with the AI and get my wonders and trade goods built at the same time.
I have figured out a way of building/research mixed with trading Techs to/from the AI that allows me to get 100% of the trade goods and wonders when playing MASO.
At the same time my relations are usually friendly/close well before midpoint to the game.
3. I have found that the slight loss that occurs when the sliders are not at 100% is about the same as when the sliders are at 100%. I will try to explain, because I don't micromanage my sliders I kept running into the following problem. If I set social building to 100% I would be wasting money on some planets because a project could have been built in a turn at 70% while on another planet a project would have taken 90% and on another 100%. The same thing happens with research. I feel that if I micromanaged my sliders I would always have this problem with military and social building. Research would be the one area that you could control with micromanaging the slider and that is because you can only research 1 thing at a time.
That is my reasoning.
But, I do manage my sliders at key points in the game. If I am in a planet rush then I am building 100%, if I am rushing to get a trade good built I may put the slider again at 100%.
The settings that work for me after the planet rush is over (planet rush for medium/rare is 2-3 planets)is social at 40% and research at 60%.
After I have about 80% of my build list done I usually set the sliders to 40% social and 60% research
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I do a similar micro-management of the slider as Newf, but I tend to be at 20-25% social, 10-15% military, and the rest research. I'll boost social when I'm building a TG or wonder.
   
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littlewotts I do the same thing myself. Though my end scores are around 10,000-my best at 14,000 or something like that forgot now.
Man I sure wish some of you guys would stop in at NeoTech and post these great tips in our strategy forums. Hopefully one day some of you will. Newf your advice seems to be some org and good tips. Some I never heard of before. Thanks again.
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My .02 bcs...
I start at 100% military for colony ships. This only lasts a few turns.
Then I micromanage research for the first couple of techs, putting any extra into social.
Around the end of the first year, I stabilize somewhere around 70% social / 30% research and stay there until I build some TG/wonders and/or I am ready to research Artifical Sats.
Then I go to about 70% research/ 30% social to get to Terror Stars.
Once I get TS, or at some later point in the game depending on how soon I need them, 100% military to build constructors and any second wave colony ships to trigger morality events.
Then usually 60% social / 40% research with research steadily climbing 5% or 10 % every year or so to the end game.
 
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| Man I sure wish some of you guys would stop in at NeoTech and post these great tips in our strategy forums. |
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Have your crew come over here and chat with us too!
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Everyone is also in these forums like I am most of the time. Great tips Genghis Hank thanks. I recall you registered at NeoTech. We are adding a few things over the weekend. We are affiliated with Stardock offically now. Adding political Machine forums and a debate one for grins and giggles to see what transpires. 
Thanks for stopping in. 
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| Adding political Machine forums |
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I wouldn't mind checking that one out. The offical one gets a little... rough. 
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| The offical one gets a little... rough. |
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I won't even go. Stupid @#$%^*s!!!!!
I joined NeoTech today.
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