Technologies I never use

[Sinophile]

Hai Guyz,
Even though I've played MOO2 for well over a decade, I've never really talked about this game with other people before. I am wondering which technologies are ones that you never use.

For me:
Food replicators
androids
core waste dumps
gyro destabilizer
a bunch more I am too lazy to list out.

[cotss2012]

I never use:


- Anything from the Social tech tree.

- Anything higher than Terraforming in the Bio tree

- Class I shields. What a f***ing joke.

- Bombs/bioweapons

- Torpedoes

- Missiles other than nukes

- Beam weapons other than lasers, fusion beams, mass drivers, and plasma cannons.

- Special weapons other than the Gyro Destabilizer (because it's the best way to beat the Guardian of Orion) and Assault Shuttles (because they're the best way to capture Antaran ships).

- any ship systems other than Battle Pods, Battle Scanner, Damper Field, ECM Jammer, Heavy Armor, Hard Shields, High Energy Focus, Lightning Field, Reinforced Hull, and Structural Analyzer.

- Any technology that costs more than 3500 rp, except Dimensional Portal. I've already won the game by then. Even most techs at 2750 or 3500 will arrive too late to see significant use; I get to 1150 rp in all fields and then make a beeline for plasma cannons.

- Biospheres. I tend to avoid population-cap-raising features in general because I grew up playing Civilization II, where higher city populations provide no benefit but increase the risk of civil disorder. In Moo2, they're less bad, but they still increase the amount of food that needs to be shipped to planets where farming is impossible.

- tons of useless buildings in general (core waste dumps, replicators, armor barracks, warp dissipator, etc)

[Emperator Orionii]

Originally posted by cotss2012:

I never use:


- Anything from the Social tech tree.

- Anything higher than Terraforming in the Bio tree

- Class I shields. What a f***ing joke.

- Bombs/bioweapons

- Torpedoes

- Missiles other than nukes

- Beam weapons other than lasers, fusion beams, mass drivers, and plasma cannons.

- Special weapons other than the Gyro Destabilizer (because it's the best way to beat the Guardian of Orion) and Assault Shuttles (because they're the best way to capture Antaran ships).

- any ship systems other than Battle Pods, Battle Scanner, Damper Field, ECM Jammer, Heavy Armor, Hard Shields, High Energy Focus, Lightning Field, Reinforced Hull, and Structural Analyzer.

- Any technology that costs more than 3500 rp, except Dimensional Portal. I've already won the game by then. Even most techs at 2750 or 3500 will arrive too late to see significant use; I get to 1150 rp in all fields and then make a beeline for plasma cannons.

- Biospheres. I tend to avoid population-cap-raising features in general because I grew up playing Civilization II, where higher city populations provide no benefit but increase the risk of civil disorder. In Moo2, they're less bad, but they still increase the amount of food that needs to be shipped to planets where farming is impossible.

- tons of useless buildings in general (core waste dumps, replicators, armor barracks, warp dissipator, etc)

It's a shame there are so many techs on the expensive RP side. Especially in Power tree where there are fewer levels until hyper advanced so miniaturization is expensive too.

MoO 2 has no ill effects for higher pop colonies. In fact, you do want to have as much pop in one place as possible to pay less building maintenance. Do Hyproponic Farms serve you well?

Merculite missiles are nice upgrade over nuclear, especially if you can steal them and research Pollution Processor for yourself.

[cotss2012]

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

MoO 2 has no ill effects for higher pop colonies. In fact, you do want to have as much pop in one place as possible to pay less building maintenance.

On planets where farming is possible, that's true. Few things suck in this game more than conquering a toxic, barren, or radiated planet from the Sakkra and suddenly needing to rearrange your empire's whole economy to feed the horny bastards.

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

Merculite missiles are nice upgrade over nuclear

The only upgrade over nukes is MIRV nukes :)

[Emperator Orionii]

And EMG nukes :D

[mpnorman10]

When doing a creative build against AI gifts of worthless tech like some of what has been listed here is a great asset for pacifying any non-repulsive AI races. After a couple gifts they will often agree to research pacts and then trade pacts and eventually (more gifts along the way) to non-aggression (but only if your own military exists). Only effective against non-repulsive AI.

[Sinophile]

I never use hydroponic farms. Kinda feel that 1 BC per food is steep. I also rarely colonize non-food producing world's early game. The only exception being if there aren't any more habitable worlds nearby. I do however spam world's late game using artificial planet in order to get those council votes.

[cotss2012]

Originally posted by Sinophile:

I never use hydroponic farms. Kinda feel that 1 BC per food is steep. I also rarely colonize non-food producing world's early game.

That strategy makes sense, I guess. Feeding people on a barren world costs BC whether it's coming from a hydroponic farm or from another colony via freighters, and hydro farms free up population on your food-producing worlds so you can put them on industry or science instead... but if you never colonize barren worlds to begin with, this isn't an issue.

Until you get terraforming. Then hydro farms significantly accelerate your exploit phase (fewer farmers = more terraformers).

[Emperator Orionii]

Originally posted by Sinophile:

I never use hydroponic farms. Kinda feel that 1 BC per food is steep. I also rarely colonize non-food producing world's early game. The only exception being if there aren't any more habitable worlds nearby. I do however spam world's late game using artificial planet in order to get those council votes.

Hydroponic Farms are good for freeing up one farmer on homeworld which can help early on. 1 BC per 2 food is not that bad, it's a bit cheaper than importing. But you have to spend 60 PP to build it which is not a small amount on a fresh colony. I find Biospheres more useful, they help homeworld as much as Hydro Farms and don't lose utility as the game progresses.

[mpnorman10]

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

Hydroponic Farms are good for freeing up one farmer on homeworld which can help early on. 1 BC per 2 food is not that bad, it's a bit cheaper than importing. But you have to spend 60 PP to build it which is not a small amount on a fresh colony. I find Biospheres more useful, they help homeworld as much as Hydro Farms and don't lose utility as the game progresses.

[nodding] Yes, in some games I end up building exactly one hydroponic farm, on the home world, while Biospheres is built on every planet, even sometimes before robo-miners. Soil Enrichment is expensive to build but its no maintenance makes it attractive when feasible. It is kind of a mini-terriforming related to food only. Sometimes on a desert planet achieved by terriforming a barren one I will enrich the soil before proceeding with further (increasingly expensive) terriforming.

[cotss2012]

Originally posted by mpnorman10:

Hydroponic Farms are good for freeing up one farmer on homeworld which can help early on.

By reducing the need to import food from the homeworld, EVERY hydro farm that you build ANYWHERE will free up farmers on your breadbasket worlds :)

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

But you have to spend 60 PP to build it which is not a small amount on a fresh colony.

It's definitely not the first thing to build. Automated factories, Robo miners, and possibly a marine barracks and/or gravity generator would come first depending on the situation.

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

I find Biospheres more useful, they help homeworld as much as Hydro Farms and don't lose utility as the game progresses.

Hydro farms don't lose utility either. Freeing up farmers to put them on industry/research is always useful.

Originally posted by mpnorman10:

Sometimes on a desert planet achieved by terriforming a barren one I will enrich the soil before proceeding with further (increasingly expensive) terriforming.

Oh yeah. This is what I sometimes refer to as a "terraforming sandwich". Starting on a barren world, I go:

Terraforming (to tundra/desert)
Soil Enrichment
Terraforming (to swamp/arid)
Cloning Centers
Terraforming (to terran)

Unfortunately, we're not allowed to put multiple instances of terraforming in the build queue, so this requires micromanagement.

[Emperator Orionii]

Hydroponic Farm is early bloomer, useful early on but surpassed later. Once you start terraforming it's usefulness drops considerably. On a farmable world, Biospheres give you room for either two tax paying farmers or a 2+ food farmer and a worker (industry or science). With Soil Enrichment it becomes harder for Hydro Farms to free up a pop. In any case both techs are good and chances are you could trade/steal the other one.

He he, terraforming sandwiches. Mine use to look like ones from Garfield, 6 building, terraforming, 6 more buildings, terraforming, ...

[cotss2012]

Originally posted by Emperator Orionii:

Hydroponic Farm is early bloomer, useful early on but surpassed later. Once you start terraforming it's usefulness drops considerably.

Once you start terraforming, you've already won the game.

[Halazaphen]

I never use anything related to spying, I don't use androids, generally I build whatever because I usually play creative races and can just set a few planets to making well over 200 BC a turn from trading alone.
I rarely use colony leaders late game, but I usually purchase the megawealth ones so BC isn't a problem.

[moderndaynomad]

Originally posted by Sinophile:

Hai Guyz,
Even though I've played MOO2 for well over a decade, I've never really talked about this game with other people before. I am wondering which technologies are ones that you never use.

For me:
Food replicators
androids
core waste dumps
gyro destabilizer
a bunch more I am too lazy to list out.

Food replicators: agreed. They use too much production and there are farming techs you can use. Excess food generates BC. Also, you conquer Sakkras and Klackons to do your farming.
Androids: agreed. they don't generate income, which is essential to my strategy since I buy a lot of stuff. I also think they don't get morale a morale bonus, which is key to productivity.
Core Waste Dumps: respectfully disagree. Once I get rolling and have a big empire, I can buy these outright, and buy them for planets I conquer.
Gyro Destabilizer: Respectfully disagree. These cut through armor and go straight to structure. They are a great beginning weapon, Even though others think they are cheating.I usually use them until I get phasors.

[Emperator Orionii]

Androids are strange, off the top of my head I explicitly remember android workers benefiting from morale bonus and vaguely remember such not being the case for scientists.