Todays best tip =)

[Deadbridge]

I just realised why I find the game extremly hard while others swarm around in hyperdrive. I play with serval oponents! If you play sandbox you can go easy on the shorter routes but with competition all routes tend to go very low profit -

The idea of extra colonyships with more companies is a halfway sollotion to he problem. Fuelcosts make no long distance route profitable without years of investment (negative numbers). Accept the fact that ships are to bad at start (high fuel and high cargomaintenancet) for long routes there is also one other issue that scales with more companies: Gatecosts rise to maximum almost in the imidiate =)

My last game I really tried to go throu with two ships and four gates. My route went surplus 30k/year but gatecost rised to 20k and together with starting loans (100k) it still went to minus.
Sure I could try easy, less companies (maby 1-2 instead of my last 4) and 300k in cash instead of 100k loans - I will try this in next game coz the companies are pretty damn evil in the competition (and bankloan rent is quite bad - loansharks?) =)

So.. here is my todays best advise:

To make more companies have the possibility to flourish in all the upcoming colonies i suggest FREE FUEL for 20 first shipdeliveries (not rockets and with a max of 10 sponsored per player) nomather distance. With a such sponsor your payoff for investing long route is less longterm - still you will have to invest in ship, gate and hangar (for really long routes) so its not really only to pick free fuel? Also - I think that a gate worth 70k should give something to sell. When Im forced to sell one of my two gates at homeplanet just because I cant hold up 20k in gatecosts - then I feel loosing a major investment that Im forced to buy back later if I ever get back on toes =)

I would love an easier game with more companies -
My next try will be reduced to easy dificulty and only two oposing companies. =)

[mt_worlds]

Thanks for the suggestions Deadbridge! Subsidized fuel cost is a pretty decent idea though it probably won't make too much of a dent in the cost of the early flights. We're actively working on balance and difficulty. We agree that the game is almost as hard as it's ever been right now. We're looking at ways to tone it down a notch in the 3-10 year phase, but to actually make it more challenging in mid and late game.