A few ideas from a noob.

from GalCiv2 Forums
((Disclaimer -- I am a noob. While my ideas may not coincide with your own, I'd rather you share yours here than criticize my own. Please post your strategies an tips, I'd love to hear them.))

Trading:

Never trade diplomatic technologies. If you can hold on to these you will retain your advantage in trading.
Never attempt to trade for military technologies. The computer values these much higher than they are worth.

Ship building:
Build small and build early. Your early scout ships can be upgraded into tactical fighters later. The benefit to this is you don't end up wasting your early game production and your scouts / survey vessels will already have a jump on exploring the galaxy.

Colonizing:
Buy your first factory on a planet to jumpstart your economy.
Don't forget that money in your pocket is money wasted. Use it to finish up upgrades or ships whenever possible. The only exceptions would be if you are saving up to quickly finish a Super Project, or anticipating a fleet upgrade once a new technology is researched. Use your money wisely!

Sliders:
If a planet has nothing to build feel free to specialize in research or military production. Put tax dollars to good use! Meanwhile, research an infrastructure upgrade to get that planet back to work.

Approval & Happiness:
Keeping your citizens happy on each planet is a MUST. You can increase your tax revenue limitlessly as long as your citizens are happy.

Research:
Balance when you research infrastructure technologies and when your planets can actually make the upgrades you research. If you research too many in a row your planets will bog down with upgrades.
strategies
7,986 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I am not trying to critsize, but I have two tips for you: one, DO trade your techs for other techs. It's a great way to increase your tech level. Yes, you'll be slightly helping out a Civ by giving your techs, but you'll be improving yourself 10-fold. I like to build up techs for a bit, and then do business with EVERY SINGLE race. After one trip through every civ, you'll find yourself with a ton of extra techs..which you can immediately use to trade for MORE techs in that same turn. Very effective.

Two: you want to keep your taxes LOW. It's hard to keep citizens happy otherwise, and unhappy people = low pop levels. And as you may know, low pop = low income. I like to start off at 30 percent, and try to pull it down to 25 when I can afford to. This way, my civ pop can max out quickly and create more income. Then, after I've had the time to put a few Moral buildings, I can safely increase my tax rates. This way, I have Max pop with Max tax revenue..without ever having to worry about low morale due to over-taxation.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Perhaps I should explain what I meant about taxation and happiness. Build morale boosting infrastructure. The more morale is boosted on your planets, the higher you can set your tax slider. I personally follow a similar strategy that you do Treke. I build a factory, then an entertainment network.. Then I go to my domestic screen and see how high I can raise my taxes while still retaining 100% happiness. If my happiness ever drops below 100% I lower my taxes to compensate. I do this until I have most of my core planets at or near max population. Then I raise my tax slider to drop happiness down to the 60-70% levels and stay here for just about the rest of the game.

I still abide that trading diplomacy techs is bad form, and weapon techs require so little research that it is not in your best interests to trade for them. I will go a step further and conclude that Espionage is a much better expenditure as I have found that with high levels of Espionage I most often steal weapon techs from other civs. Which brings me to my next tip.

Espionage - When you meet another civilization, immediately set Espionage expenditures and forget about it. With even a small investment in Espionage you will soon have full access to all of your opponents secrets.
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Oh yes I agree with that..that's what I've always used for an Esp. tactic.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Actually with reference to the weapons techs: The overvaluation leads to a wonderful exploit when you have enough other races. Trade or buy outright the weapon techs from one race and especially if you can get the leading techs too...then go to Everyone else and sell them progressively higher weapons tech. This can NET you several thousand bc's and the excess technology that everyone else is working on providing you with a substantial tech boost that your civ will spend many weeks digesting just from building upgrades.

It is probably better to note which techs you are spreading and eventually study the counters to them yourself.

I do have to wonder if there is any alignment issues from trading with the opposing races so heavily but being a weapons merchant will get you quite far (at least until the comp starts to specialize and accelerate).
Note: haven't tested this above normal.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It is probably better to note which techs you are spreading and eventually study the counters to them yourself.


What a delightfully evil idea that triggers. How about using trade to ensure that all your opponents are using a certain kind of attack, but only after you have researched some very highlevel counters to that specific attack type? You would offcourse withhold the defense techs from the AI, so your own heavily protected ships can blast them to pieces

Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
You can do the opposite aswell sell very powerful shield techs for example and reasearch Mass driver/missile weapons. Although I've found that the AI underuses defence until late in the game.

Do you think the AI overvalues the defence techs aswell or is it just the offensive techs. I have played some games when the AI will not trade me Mass driver III even if I offer him all my planets all my techs and my money. Never had that for a defensive though.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The mass driver thing is your military. If you're much stronger than them, no tech for you. But giving them free mass driver to boost relationships, while I have the counter for nano rippers, is a lovely tactic.

I NEVER trade diplomacy or influence techs. Those filthy Terrans are annoying enough, without the diplomacy boost.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Actually, I find that on tough, I can trade military techs easily enough with opponents...the only time it difficult is during a war...of course, I generally have a Star Democracy or Federation to supply rather a lot of diplomatic advantage and I make sure to acquire (build or land marines) upon the Diplomatic translators.

It really is just about explaining to the AI that they really gain something by trading a Stinger II for their Laser V.

Of course the most universally valued items by the AI seem to be Xeno Farms II and Habitat Improvement (terraforming II). These they trade almost anything for except significantly higher techs.

Generally, if you are a low tech annoyance, the AI will not take steps to help you, but if you have an advantage somewhere, it is quite accomodating.