Need advice on how to play machine empires, democratic republics and imperial dynasties

[Redassassin]

The title. Of the games I've played, so far I really like playing the government types in the title. But every match I ether have resource problems, influence issues, not making a big enough army or all of them at once. I need a guide on how be the Superior race in the galaxy. Because the only ally I have in my current campaign, he only allied himself with me out of pity. And he's a hive mind with a zentradi fleet at his command and I just have two fleets.
As said before any advice would help. From civics, ethics, etc. There is clearly something I am missing here but I don't know what? Please help.

[Jewbacca]

General tips:
1.: Don't overbuild in early game. Build only buildings that going to be used soon, and clear tiles only when next pop can't appear without it.
2.: Don't think about long term peace unless other nation have at least +20 base opinion. It is best to conquer someone early in my experience.
3.: Colonize all planets even low habitability ones.
4.: Specialize your planets. You can check planet summarized resource once colonized, on the left tab's left side. I usually ignore +1 tiles except research, and food when needed. Also ignore planet base resource, and specialize for energy if you are low on that.
5.: Your first physic (blue) research should be the Power plant, and Energy nexus. These are essential to maintain your army.

IMPORTANT! Do NOT play fanatic pacifist.

I can't help superior peaceful expansion, but know how to warmonger. I can give details about that later

Gona come back.

[Phoenix]

Why not play fanatic pacifist? One of my few huge galaxy wins is with a purely pacifistic race. I never went to war with anyone, but eventually just expanded so much that other races were offering to become protectorates just to stay alive.

For most (peaceful) games, expand as much as possible outwards, prioritise resource/slot heavy worlds. Keep your fleet at or near cap at all times. Eventually outward expansion becomes blocked, at which point you start colonising smaller worlds within your influence and terraform others, also keep an eye on any terraforming candidate worlds that can be terraformed too.

The more worlds you have the bigger your population can grow and the larger your borders can get.


For Machine Empires however this is quite different, as the only way to grow your population is to build them yourself. As you can habitate any planet without penalties this allows you alot more choice when it comes to expansion, and as such you need to generally go for energy heavy worlds early on, with any Betharian worlds being top priority. As your population eats the stuff so much. Be aware building population and building fleet at the same time generally keep you low on resources, so keep an eye on neighbours attitudes towards you. With enough time you should be able to completely surpass them, as you can settle worlds everywhere without penalty.

[Jewbacca]

Originally posted by Fastphoenix:

Why not play fanatic pacifist? One of my few huge galaxy wins is with a purely pacifistic race. I never went to war with anyone, but eventually just expanded so much that other races were offering to become protectorates just to stay alive.

For most (peaceful) games, expand as much as possible outwards, prioritise resource/slot heavy worlds. Keep your fleet at or near cap at all times. Eventually outward expansion becomes blocked, at which point you start colonising smaller worlds within your influence and terraform others, also keep an eye on any terraforming candidate worlds that can be terraformed too.

The more worlds you have the bigger your population can grow and the larger your borders can get.


For Machine Empires however this is quite different, as the only way to grow your population is to build them yourself. As you can habitate any planet without penalties this allows you alot more choice when it comes to expansion, and as such you need to generally go for energy heavy worlds early on, with any Betharian worlds being top priority. As your population eats the stuff so much. Be aware building population and building fleet at the same time generally keep you low on resources, so keep an eye on neighbours attitudes towards you. With enough time you should be able to completely surpass them, as you can settle worlds everywhere without penalty.

Fanatic pacifist goes ONLY with defensive war policy. Unless you are seriously lucky, or use custom only game, then most nations will NEVER go in federation with you, and neither will attack you unless your defeat is assured.

[Professor H. Farnsworth]

If you want to play a Machine Empire.

1) Start with Rogue Servitors. These are -by far- the least problematic of them all. If you absolutely must play an aggressive type - go with Assimilators as their Cyborgs are reproducing themselves and they can still do diplomacy with biologicals albeit being aggressive.
- Get the +2 Leader levels trait and efficiency (I go with Bulky + Scary for negative).
- It ends up being 14% to each leader category more or less permanently. I had a robro leader live for 323 years.. he was a bad ass scientist with Genius, Maniacal and Substance abuser :P.
- Introspection... Introspection introspection (20% engineering research)

1a) First Tradition you get should be Discovery - this will increase your chances of anomalies thus more resources.
1b) Once you have Discovery you can either finish it or get the -33% Robro building speed from Harmony (forget the Machine name). I tend to finish Discovery and getting the Mastery of Nature is early on is just so bloody gimped also because I don't need the building speed until I've settled 3-4 planets because you won't have minerals nor energy to spend on robro's or on buildings.

2) Do not build any sort of stuff early game. No buildings (except for the Unity), no Robro's (especially Robro's).
2a) Keep in mind that your Robro's require between 1-2 extra energy plants on each planet instead of food buildings.

3) Only build Mining Stations. Energy > Minerals (you're an energy *****). Go for 3+ ones first, then 2+.

4) Save as many minerals for Colonization Ships - Colonize any planet that's 20+ and preferably with either a +% to energy/minerals.
- Tomb Worlds are excellent Science planets.
- Any normal type are excellent for either energy/minerals
- Gaia Worlds are decent energy hubs.

5) Your colonization order should be 1 Energy Planet --> 2x Mining Planets and then you should be setup up.
5a) If you have primitives in your game search for them ASAP. If you find one of these it -will- snowball your entire game if you can find one next to you. Set your purge protocol to Energy Conversion and you have in-between 16-64 energy per month for 10 years letting you colonize and build as you please.

6) Rush Exo-Skeletons --> Robo-Modding techs. You need them around your first/second colonization.

7) Make 3 Robro Templates: You might have to dump efficiency and consumer to get +2 levels/minerals (but fret not you get 6 more points later on to use)
- +2 levels/Energy %/Efficiency/Consumer
- +2 levels/Minerals %/Efficiency/Consumer
- +2 levels/Science %/Efficiency

8) Pray to the Gods you get another Machine Empire or 2 you can ally as biologicals will require 110-130+ before they'll trust you enough to NAP (but only if you're Assimilator/Servitor - forget about allies as Exterminator unless they're other Machines).
- In fact.. Just create another Machine empire or 2 and force them to spawn in your game. It gives you a guaranteed option for diplomacy and without diplomacy you really only have half a game.

9) Never enter a war with an Empire that's Equivalent to you because other biological Empire's are likely to join the war - against you, as they deem you a threat (especially if you get big and make it to late mid-game).

10) Play defensively in the beginning. You excel at energy/mineral production once you are set, play on this and don't overextend yourself.

11) Once you have secured a decent start, that is to say capped a lot of border ground with a lot of planets inside and established a decent mineral/energy income it's time you begin colonizing as a mad man while keeping your fleet size at max the more you colonize the larger a fleet you can have. Remember to keep a good energy/mineral/science ratio when colonizing planets at this point something like 1 energy planet per 3 minerals and 1 science planet should do.

[Professor H. Farnsworth]

It should be noted that... If you are a new player, I really... reaally suggest you do not play Machine Empire until you've gotten the hang of the game first, that or I would force spawn Machine Empires in your game so that you may have a Federation and thus still be able to learn the game :).

[Jewbacca]

If you want normal organic as agressive, then the best i found are these:

Good guy path: Egalitarian, Materialist, civic: mechanist. You can go with weak trait, and whatever else you want, industrialist not recommended, because your robots will do the mining mostly. You start with exoskeleton+robots tech so your robots will produce +15% bonus mineral from start, and building robots doesn't decrease organic pop growth. Because of this you can expand on planets nearly twice faster than other empires. As long as you got minerals. Also you exchange some food for energy.

You can either go with peaceful expansion, or conquer like madman. In case of the latter you need to start with harmony tradtition. Once you conquered your first enemy set living standart to utopian. You will grant +30% happines, and with paradise dome another 5%. It will cost a lot minerals, but increase production of EVERYTHING, and pretty much erases unrest on newly ceded planets. At that point you should focus mainly on minerals while keeping energy in positive on fleet limit.

Bad guy path (sadly much stronger): Authoratian civic: mining guilds, slaver guilds, industrialist trait recommended but not necessary.

This one grants a LOT mineral. Right at game start you have +45%, or 50% with fanatic authoratian IMPERIAL SIZE bonus. Any conquered enemy gives you the minerals and food INSTANT. Also you can gain slave procession facility early making your slaves more docile generating less unrest, and allow you to build insanely cheap, and quick slave armies, that only slightly less effective than normal assault armies. If you combine it with harmony tradition, and give social welfare+put slaves to domestic service you gain +30% happines among non-slave pop. This grants more energy, and research while reducing unrest sparing some armies on newly conquered planets. I recommend welfare living standard after first war won. Also harmony tradition is more optional here as your slave armies are cheap, and can maintain order, and you gain much more minerals as well to build them.

DO NOT overconquer by ceding. After your first, or second war do not cede planets. Just vassalize, then integrate later. One point on domination is recommended for cheaper vassalize cost. If you conquer much by ceding, then ALL other empires will come together eventually, but each conquer makes other empires kiss each other's ass, and form non-agression, or defensive pacts.

[Redassassin]

Question, how good is the xenophile ethic? I want my republic empire to be all about the federation victory. The imperial empire on the other hand, I try what ever works.

[Redassassin]

Originally posted by Professor H. Farnsworth:

If you want to play a Machine Empire.

1) Start with Rogue Servitors. These are -by far- the least problematic of them all. If you absolutely must play an aggressive type - go with Assimilators as their Cyborgs are reproducing themselves and they can still do diplomacy with biologicals albeit being aggressive.
- Get the +2 Leader levels trait and efficiency (I go with Bulky + Scary for negative).
- It ends up being 14% to each leader category more or less permanently. I had a robro leader live for 323 years.. he was a bad ass scientist with Genius, Maniacal and Substance abuser :P.
- Introspection... Introspection introspection (20% engineering research)

1a) First Tradition you get should be Discovery - this will increase your chances of anomalies thus more resources.
1b) Once you have Discovery you can either finish it or get the -33% Robro building speed from Harmony (forget the Machine name). I tend to finish Discovery and getting the Mastery of Nature is early on is just so bloody gimped also because I don't need the building speed until I've settled 3-4 planets because you won't have minerals nor energy to spend on robro's or on buildings.

2) Do not build any sort of stuff early game. No buildings (except for the Unity), no Robro's (especially Robro's).
2a) Keep in mind that your Robro's require between 1-2 extra energy plants on each planet instead of food buildings.

3) Only build Mining Stations. Energy > Minerals (you're an energy *****). Go for 3+ ones first, then 2+.

4) Save as many minerals for Colonization Ships - Colonize any planet that's 20+ and preferably with either a +% to energy/minerals.
- Tomb Worlds are excellent Science planets.
- Any normal type are excellent for either energy/minerals
- Gaia Worlds are decent energy hubs.

5) Your colonization order should be 1 Energy Planet --> 2x Mining Planets and then you should be setup up.
5a) If you have primitives in your game search for them ASAP. If you find one of these it -will- snowball your entire game if you can find one next to you. Set your purge protocol to Energy Conversion and you have in-between 16-64 energy per month for 10 years letting you colonize and build as you please.

6) Rush Exo-Skeletons --> Robo-Modding techs. You need them around your first/second colonization.

7) Make 3 Robro Templates: You might have to dump efficiency and consumer to get +2 levels/minerals (but fret not you get 6 more points later on to use)
- +2 levels/Energy %/Efficiency/Consumer
- +2 levels/Minerals %/Efficiency/Consumer
- +2 levels/Science %/Efficiency

8) Pray to the Gods you get another Machine Empire or 2 you can ally as biologicals will require 110-130+ before they'll trust you enough to NAP (but only if you're Assimilator/Servitor - forget about allies as Exterminator unless they're other Machines).
- In fact.. Just create another Machine empire or 2 and force them to spawn in your game. It gives you a guaranteed option for diplomacy and without diplomacy you really only have half a game.

9) Never enter a war with an Empire that's Equivalent to you because other biological Empire's are likely to join the war - against you, as they deem you a threat (especially if you get big and make it to late mid-game).

10) Play defensively in the beginning. You excel at energy/mineral production once you are set, play on this and don't overextend yourself.

11) Once you have secured a decent start, that is to say capped a lot of border ground with a lot of planets inside and established a decent mineral/energy income it's time you begin colonizing as a mad man while keeping your fleet size at max the more you colonize the larger a fleet you can have. Remember to keep a good energy/mineral/science ratio when colonizing planets at this point something like 1 energy planet per 3 minerals and 1 science planet should do.

by the way I started a new game with my assimilater robots and so far it's been working. My guys basically ♥♥♥♥ out energy and minerals every month. It's still early to say but maybe I just might win this one.

[Professor H. Farnsworth]

Assimilator/Servitors really do shine in early game for Machine Empires. 10/10 best ones to start with - that or not play a specific type at all but go for normal Robro's that can actually interact.

I'm in the process of testing out my Diplomacy Mod for AI Machine Empires... Hopefully allowing you to Federate with other types than your own kind of Machine Intelligence (I swear it's dull being the only bad guy in the universe when you could be a federation of bad guys!)
- All it should do is change the weights to allow you to befriend Machines while Organic filth still hates you to bits otherwise you won't be able to federate until a Crisis happens and once the Crisis has been dealt with good bye goes your Federation.

[Jewbacca]

Originally posted by Redassassin:

Question, how good is the xenophile ethic? I want my republic empire to be all about the federation victory. The imperial empire on the other hand, I try what ever works.

Xenophile gives bonus opinion, but federation is still pretty much impossible as opinion doesn't matter for the form federation act. If your attittude is friendly, then you either able to form federation, or never will. Reaching friendly attitude is easier with xenophile, but if your other etho is opposite, or war policy is different, then form or invite federation is not possible. Also certain nations CANNOT go into federation.

An interesting method is the agressive pacifist method. Xenophile+non-fanatic pacifist. Those who has chance to federate will go, and those who don't will be "liberated" by force. Act it well, and you can make the whole galaxy into a single federation in theory.

Tried going federation good guy several times, but never ended well. Usually a warmonger on the other side becomes superior, and destroys us. Currently, if player goes warmonger ceding everything, then all enemies gets united, but no such reaction, if another AI does the same.