Science strategy

[CTHOMP]

So it sounds like paradox, as usual, wants to penalize expansion. How do you grow if by doing so you slow research and thus fall behind technologically? Or do you just built tall for a majority of the game, then hope you can expand fast at the end once your super far ahead in tech?

[TehJumpingJawa]

As you expand, build science on your planets and stations. You won't fall behind on science, and you'll have a vastly superior energy and mineral income, and fleet capacity.

Unity on the other hand will definitely suffer, as it should IMHO.

[Crowkeeper]

Originally posted by clthomps:

So it sounds like paradox, as usual, wants to penalize expansion. How do you grow if by doing so you slow research and thus fall behind technologically? Or do you just built tall for a majority of the game, then hope you can expand fast at the end once your super far ahead in tech?

It seems like a balancing act. Although I am sure there are strategies that people will come up with.

As for me, I have noticed that since you can trade communications agreements fairly easily for a little energy you can discover every empire in the galaxy relatively fast.

What I have been doing is just building up my research as much as possible. Research techs that increase research speed, and get any perks (ascendancy, species traits) that increase it as well. With the communication agreements you can then stay just small enough to have a research edge on your enemies and just big enough to deter attacks.

Also, defensive agreements are your friend in the early game.

Oh, and find The Curators ASAP.

[Overread]

As said there are perks along the way and also buildings that let you boost your research output. If you can find the curators neutral space station then you can trade with them for research boosters as well.

In general the increase in empire size balances out to the increase in research that you generate through expansion of your empire. So whilst some might find the optimal approach; in very general terms expansion shouldn't be an issue. It also means that smaller empires can keep up with bigger ones in research terms; so that you don't end up with a small empire that is not only lmitd in ships but also technologically backward to other races (And thus easily stomped)

[ArcticISAF]

You should read up on some people's observations that it actually penalizes tall builds more now.

Obviously both can't be true now. I wouldn't fret about the +2% numbers per system. One thing to note is that it's been made so that 'useless' systems are extremely rare, so that there's at least some worth in claiming every system. Some of them pretty plain (2-4 energy), some of them great (10/11 eng and mins, or 10 science total, etc). So systems are much more lucrative overall.

That there is the key. It's not just swafts of space that's useless, which could definitely have been the case before.

[CTHOMP]

I've not played the game yet, just doing research until I get it installed and going.

How does one keep up in tech, minerals, power, planetary defense etc when these all take the limited number of planet slots available. 2.0 now requires you to setup defense posts on planets correct since they eliminated armies, cutting into your open space for buildings?

[DrUltraLux]

Curators are fantastic. Even better if you can control their system, then you can get a joint project thing you can build into the starbase.
Discover traditions are more useful than ever too.

[ArcticISAF]

Originally posted by clthomps:

I've not played the game yet, just doing research until I get it installed and going.

How does one keep up in tech, minerals, power, planetary defense etc when these all take the limited number of planet slots available. 2.0 now requires you to setup defense posts on planets correct since they eliminated armies, cutting into your open space for buildings?

Defense posts aren't required persay. I haven't built one yet on any planet. You might want to include them on frontier worlds, ones that are at risk of invasion (since they are more effective at overall repelling attackers, and keeping the world safe). But it's just as needed as it was to build defensive armies pre-2.0. Some worlds yes... most probably not.

[galadon3]

Originally posted by Gaiyamato:

. Even better if you can control their system, then you can get a joint project thing you can build into the starbase.

On that note there is a starbase-building for black hole systems too, grants 10 Physics research. While Black Hole Systems might not be THAT attractive to build up a starbase, it could be used while the starbase is filled with anchorage-modules to boost fleet-cap.

[galadon3]

Originally posted by ArcticISAF:

Defense posts aren't required persay. I haven't built one yet on any planet. You might want to include them on frontier worlds, ones that are at risk of invasion (since they are more effective at overall repelling attackers, and keeping the world safe). But it's just as needed as it was to build defensive armies pre-2.0. Some worlds yes... most probably not.

Well sadly the Sector-AI tends to build them... guess we need a new button to dissallow that. You actually need them to combat unrest. I built one on a settled world during terraforming it to keep the population quiet while we redecorated their planet around them.
So I guess building some on freshly conquered worlds might be usefull too, at least to have them for a while.