Colonising below 15 worlds

Not a good idea, Luke. I produce an extract from the manual fyi.

Survival
There are reductions in income for planets under PQ15, reflecting the difficulties of generating
taxable revenues in such a hostile environment. Under PQ 15, life support costs 5bc per month, and
under PQ 10, it costs 10x the government level (so a federation colonizing a class 4 planet would be
paying 5 + 10X4 per month = 45 per month).

Tip: Why would I want to colonize planets under PQ15? Several reasons:
(a) To extend your range or sensors for a long or short period
(b) Because you intend to improve the planet until its PQ is 15 or higher
(c) To exert additional influence.

Yeah, the AI won't touch sub-15 planets, so you're safe leaving systems without good planets alone. Trying to colonize a world like that just isn't worth it; this is by design. Sure, you CAN colonize a class 1 planet, but the costs to maintain the colony would be far greater than the colony's productive/tax-producing value. Once in a while you might colonize a borderline 13-14 planet and enhance it to habitable standards, but even this is a questionable practice early-game when you need to be beating the AI to as many good worlds as possible.

-EtherMage


~SDC~

My usual tactic in sending colony ships is to go after all 15+ planets first. Then my second wave will go after 14+. Finally I will go after 12+. Usually I have Soil Enchancement and Habitat Improvement to bolster these planets to a 15 or 16.

I play tiny worlds. So I send scouts to locate all the good planets in my range. Snap them up if I can.

Then, as the needs may, I grab class 14 planets. Only if I REALLY need a planet will I grab a class 13.

Only once so far have I needed a planet and grabed a class 11. They just cost to much to prepare.
Also, the very first things I put on planets is the class improvements.

TFM

~SDC~

Luke:

Another issue: planets with a PQ less than Earth's act as speed-brakes on your economic development. Because their populations tend towards lower morale, quicker, than Earth, they will minimize the tax rate you can set Empire-wide - and thus restrict the % amount you can devote to spending.

You can see this by starting a trial game (any settings/picks will do, although avoiding pop/morale/income bonuses will allow the results to be seen more clearly; save at turn 1) and not colonizing anything. Simply focus on running Earth as efficently as possible, maximizing taxes & spending while maintaining morale at 80+. Take note of your progress every 6-12 turns.

Then reload the game and start again, colonizing a sub-Earth PQ planet of your choice. Try keeping pace with the income/morale/spending/build rates established in your first try. You will immediately see that you can only support the colony by decreasing Earth's settings below optimum values, i.e., by "devaluing" Earth, your strongest starting asset.

You are far better off limiting your initial colonization efforts to planets equivalent or superior to Earth. Once Earth is built up, then you can consider a second colonization wave of those planets PQ15+ which you passed over the first time.

~SDC~

Hence a very good tatic is to colonize sub PQ's then give them to the AI's. I hope that still works in 1.05. :notsure:

I have seen it doing this on very rare occasions, mostly PQ14 planets on gigantic maps.

Although, it might have been after a planet invasion, where the PQ dropped due to chemicals.

Def Zep: I *STRONGLY* disagree with you about colonizing planets of PQ below Earth's. As long as you colonize them with a significantly smaller population that is left on Earth, you can keep morale approximately the same across them, and thus not hobble Earth.

-EtherMage

~SDC~
[Message Edited]

I've found class-14's and 13's to be very productive, if they happen to be in a star system where you have +production starbases
anyway. At that stage in the game you start hitting PQ limits (particularly, economy and free production), and colonizing new
planets helps you raise those PQ limits. You also hit a population growth cap of 200 million/planet, which you can raise by
colonizing new planets. Also I think you can raise the value of your trade route, if you happen to have a 14 in a
Yellow star system you're already trading from. More population, more economy = more trade.

Hmm... this thread is making me wonder.

I tend to colonize 12+.

Why?

The AI doesn't take them, and I can get them to over 15 with time.

I wonder if they are dragging me down in the beginning.... hmm.

Maybe I'll stick with 14s.

I colonize 14+.

I pick the Planet Quality bonus of 7%.
land on a 14 planet and it goes to class 15.
Research Soil Improvement first and the poor class
14 worlds become class 16.

you spend 4 of your 10 points for a 2 percent PQ bonus?

Offhand, I'd have to say you should seriously consider reallocating your points. 4 points can get you a hell of alot more than you are currently using them for.

I think the lower PQ bonus is worth it.... it lets me instantly turn all those AI-avoided 14s into a decent starting planet.

#8 EtherMage:

We are speaking about the early game development stage. Once Earth (and similar or better class planets) has researched & built the basic social improvements (soil enhancement/hab improvement, banks, stock markets, research labs, shipyards), the lesser PQ planets can be safely colonized without depressing Earth's Spending:Tax Rate:Morale ratio.

The objective is to speed Earth along at full throtle (esp. to keep pace with the torrid AI development at Crippling or Maso), settling the lesser-PQ planets in the 2nd wave of colonization (much like the "ring" approach to reduce the effects of corruption in Civ 3).

#9 Tetley:

This situation is an exception. Where production-bonus SB's add to a planets normal (natural) morale and/or IU's, you will not suffer the same "braking" effect. However, this usually occurs mid-game or later, as it takes some time (and breathing room) to have the spare production capacity to produce enough constructors (which themselves aren't needed to bulk up a MIL or CON resource).

Hope this helps.



~SDC~

If we're only talking early game, I'd say this is a no-brainer: do NOT colonize class-14's. Maybe on Rare, but otherwise.... Early game is all about a land grab: get it before someone else does. But no one wants the 14's so who cares.

Some interesting points here.

I take the backfill approach first learned in Birth Of The Federation.....I try and colonise PQ15+ as far away from Earth as I can as early as I can. I know borders & territory in GalCiv aren't the same as in BOTF and Civ3 (for example) but it works for me.

Of course I won't pass up a prize planet close to home but my logic says I can get a colony ship to nearby worlds a hell of a lot quicker than my rivals. This tactic also helps limit the range of rival ships.

When I start backfilling I use my lower pop worlds (usually PQ16 or 17 after soil enhancement) to send colony ships of under 200mil to PQ14's. I will nab PQ13's at this time if they are the only planet in a sector or in a star system I've already colonised. Of course if money is tight then the 13's can wait.

I don't play anything smaller than "large" galaxies mind you so this approach may not work as well in smaller games.

I find PQ13 planets perfectly adequate (if not playing on Maso) if I can't find anything better. The only real disadvantage is that they don't bring in much tax revenue, but this is offset by (a) the ability to enhance it to PQ15 fairly easily, (b) the fact that I usually get all the money I want from tech trading (c) the extra productivity you get from any planet, even a mediocre one, which increases the amount of research you can do and the number of ships you can build (as long as you can afford to maintain a 100% spend rate), (d) various minor bonuses; increased influence, some extra population for use on transport ships, extra range, the chance of random colonization events, a system that could be used as a gift or traded...




~SDC~

This is a bit off topic, but i would like to know the highest quality planet you have gotten WITHOUT cheating.


mine is 32

I dunno how you cheat. The highest I have got (and I think is only possible) is 52.

You can get much higher PQ if you get the PQ boosting random event.

You can cheat/cheese by repeatedly destroying and colonising your colony to get the PQ boosting colonising event. The boosted PQ remains and colonising events are repeatable.

I once flipped several 40+ worlds last game. It was a great feeling LOL

~SDC~

I settled class 9 planets in late game to flip PQ 52 nearby.
I think that colonizing planets is important because it can provide alignment shifts. You may also get lucky with worms or such on a PQ13, or exert extra influence in a given sector.

Hmmm...sounds like a waste of time. I just take what the game gives me...and then take what the Drengin have, and then the Yor, etc. LOL

Yeah, you're right, Barry. The person who shared this with us got in excess of 100 PQ IIRC. He did it to show that it can be done, don't think he was trying to do it regularly though.

Over 100?? That had to take a few colony ships...