Hi!
all labs/factories exploit
If you see that as an exploit, then how would you call:
- trading for all research treaties early in the game?
- trading for planets early in the game?
- inciting wars among leading AIs to make them weaker to allow me to grow in peace for significantly more turns?
- inciting war between strong AI and my "weak" neighbour so I can conquer "him" with just troop transports, warships providong the strong AI?
- tech-whoring?
- making trade routes only to get better relations?
- using nearly-indestructible most-defenses ships in early game?
- using singleton all-attack ships in late game?
- going around AI's ships for its planets instead?
- leaving one single planet for the AI to avoid being marked as a conqueror?
- researching only invasion tech branch, obtaining most other techs with planetary invasions?
This are all exploits of the current game mechanic. Quite big exploits if you ask me, and also easy ones (but tech-whoring). Why don't you complain about THEM, but instead of an approach, that requires quite a lot of knowledge and compromises to pull out successfully?
BR, Iztok
- snipe enemy Transports since you can't fight their warships?
- drop agents on a farm to kill billions before you invade?
- use multiple Transports and destructive invasion tactics to soften a planet for conquer?
- sending all your trade routes between the same 2 planets?
- covering those trade routes with Economic Starbases for more income?
- going evil and building a Mind Control Center?
- surprise blitzkrieg attacks on unassuming AIs?
etc.
The all-this, all-that things aren't 'exploits'. As Dystopic said, you have to pay a price for them. You're either stuck with an inflexible empire, or have to throw in tons of cash and time to 'flip' out of your deeply-embedded system(which obviously isn't cheap).
I personally think Stardock should put more priority into developing a timer that automatically saves and quits after an hour rather than fixing these 'exploits'.
