A year per colony ship ARRGGGHHHH!

[Jeeves]

Seven years into my current game, I have built only three colony ships at over a year each. But I have 13 constructors built at my home world and second colony (started young galaxy and empire). It takes about a year for a constructor to build a super mining base on a colonizable planet in one of my colonized systems. So the answer is a no brainer. Reserve colony ships you've built for colonizing NEW systems, preferring those systems which have the most resources or which claim systems in their influence range with the most resources. This might not always be a continental or swamp planet even in the early game, since the AI honor territorial boundaries. If colonizing one system claims three others for later, you might want the central system of the cluster rather than two at the borders.

Don't waste colony ships on independent colonies - invade them!

Lonnie Courtney Clay

[Jerkface]

Yep.  My early expansion is driven almost entirely by taking independents by force.  Can't wait for a colony ship.  Also, I don't waste them on second planets in a system until much later. I hadn't though much about considering the resources within the territory ring, that's a great idea as well.

[chaosegg]

1. How do I tell this (my starting) colony ship not to colonize my empty planet in my home system,
so I can use it to expand my influence more?
Or does it matter?

By the way,
2. does it matter how large these planets/moons/clouds/roids are for determining their resource output?
3. Do resources/mines ever run out?
4. "Potential resort locations" shows none, but I have those scenic bonused 'roids; build mining resorts? If so how?
The queue system for constructors seems mysterious to me.

You have my thanks comrades.

[My reference game currently:]
starting setup:
700 stars/8x8 Ikkuro republic, with most things set on normal/starting,
but I took parts of Jeeves' setup from his DW:L quick strategy guide thread.;
irregular galaxy shape, disasters off,
manually setting up each of the other 11 random empires to start with same parameters as my empire,
put only 4 of them in average proximity (random others) to my empire I believe, independents become empires NO,
and racial victory conditions NO
-Other exceptions to the default setup;
research cheap, space creatures low, home system agreeable, corruption low

into the galaxy now: I started in bottom/mid of F1 quadrant.
Within my starting influence I see 5 unexplored star systems in addition to the 3 I've got operations in, not including the gas cloud.
(+another unexplored star just on the edge of the circle and a black hole + supernova not far from my circle up near the map's top edge).
Have; 14 sources of the different strategic resources (no luxuries), research potential 626k,
--home system= capital; 15.37b pop q93% continental, empty; q83% continental being mined,
gas giant (56% hydro, 90% caslon, 45% argon, 24% krypton) being mined,
2 moons orbit the gas giant (66% gold & 47% steel), some asteroids; 3 steel+field miners, unmined 93% gold+43% scenery, and unmined 81%dilithium+55% scenery
--another system with neutron star + a 6 weapons labs research station there,
--a system with a q71% marshy planet being mined for 78% carbon fiber, 2 unmined barren planets 63% steel & 73% lead + their moons 60% lead & 39% gold
--an ammonia gas cloud with hydro mine on it.

[Bingeling]

1: Turn off automated colonization at the start. Tell the colony ship to "stop". Make sure it is not automated... That should stop it (watch its orders).

At the start I give "land" priorities unless leaving stuff for the AI. Is there a 99% sitting in a system just next to an existing colony? It can wait as it is in my zone of influence. Is there a colony that will "zone of influence" lots of new systems? Grab it. Is there a colony target that will make you reach more juicy ones (due to max colonization distance)? Grab it.

2: What matters is the resource percentage. That is about speed of extraction. 99% is very good, 23% not so much. It could be connected to size, but it hardly matters.

3: Resources only appear or disappear through random events. Happy mining.

4: You can always do things manually. I _think_ that if you select the scenic asteroid, you will have a yellow button below to build resort base. You may have to scrap the mine. This require some expansions... You can always order something built by selecting the constructor, right clicking the asteroid, and select build and then the resort base. This way you can build anything anywhere, or just thereabouts. In a pinch it may pay to build a research base in the capital system (unless you like to "cheese" by retrofitting the spaceport into a massive research hub). For instance...

[chaosegg]

Ah okay thanks! I finally took the plunge and played a few years and I have a feel for the construction sort of now.
They seem to default to the latest design I make so it usually works out that I make what I need for a specific site,
then when I queue it up they offer to build that design assuming I have not gone over my size limits or something.

Great to hear about mining... I also figured out that colony ship was being BUILT and I kinda let it slip by me, but live and learn;
I got a lot of other basics down meanwhile.

New questions:
--Why does a resort need cargo bays? hehe. about to build one with some labs at a black hole
--Also can I retrofit a ship I salvaged, even if it is larger than ships I am currently allowed to build?

[Bingeling]

A base needs cargo space to store fuel. Even if it has enough energy collection to ever need fuel. If you pay attention, you will notice a freighter deliver fuel to it. The main reason to add a cargo bay is that it is required by the design

Salvaged ships are gold. Why? They can be more advanced/powerful than what you got. In that case you may want to use it. If not, you want to retire it, because you gain progress in a (random) technology retiring a ship that is not of your design. Did you use that fancy alien ship in your first fleet, and now notice that your own are even more powerful? Retire it. For the research bonus.

[chaosegg]

ORIGINAL: Bingeling
A base needs cargo space to store fuel. Even if it has enough energy collection to ever need fuel. If you pay attention, you will notice a freighter deliver fuel to it. The main reason to add a cargo bay is that it is required by the design

So by this do you mean; to get the fuel in/out of the fuel cells I need cargo bays between the dock and fuel cell?

[Bingeling]

The freighter unloads into cargo bay. How the station is organized on the inside, I do not know. Nor do I pay much attention to freighter traffic at this level.

It seems that the base can be built without cargo bays. Just make sure that energy collection covers the energy expenditures.

[Dd_01]

About Colony ships construction:
Build the Speedyard Wonder for 3x construction speed.
Have a Leader with appropriate abilities.
When you have developed colonies, build Colony ships on them (sloooooooow, but really helps).
And for God's sake remove any extra modules from the design (i.e. vectors, maybe 1-2 thrusters, life support, 1-2 fuel cells etc.).

[Jeeves]

In my current game playing Ackdarians (speed +60%) the Bakuras yards homeworld with construction speed bonuses of leader and governor builds a colony ship per 36 days unless I run out of something. But this is year 8 of the game and the speed has doubled in the past five years... The same stripped down design builds at colonies with just the leader speed bonus in about six months.

Lonnie Courtney Clay