Newb, needs some help

from Sins Forums
First off, as being my first post, I am absolutely in love with Sins. I haven't enjoyed space domination since MOO2, and it's great to play something so innovative and fun, something I have been missing for a while.

I have started a couple games already, never finished, and I am currently on a 5v5 huge about 5 hours into it. I have max military tree and 3/4 harmony (playing as Advent).

How can I get my AI allies to attack planets? And how can I keep the AI from retreating as soon as they arrive?

There have been a couple times where one of my AI allies would create a large fleet at my border world and then goes to attack the enemy, I decide to follow him in and as soon as the fight starts he runs away leaving me in a now non-winnable pitched battle. Sometimes he actually chickens out right before phase jumping and decides to go back to his planet. About the only reliable ally that I have for attacking with me are pirates.

I have also been reading some of the forum posts about winning by culture. I have trade ports and the culture building thingy (can't think of the name) on this border world, but the line to the enemy planet isn't changing to green (my color).

Thanks for any replies!
strategy
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Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
The first point I have experienced too. I don't know how to stop the "chickening out", but I get them to jump in first, furthest away from the Phase Line itself, then once the battle starts I jump in on the other side of the Phase Line. He jumps out like the coward he is, and then the enemy fleet turns to engage me. The fleet usually splits up as the Capital ships are slow to turn and engage, whereas the smaller ships come within range pretty quick. That way I can target and take out a few before I make a hasty retreat before it gets messy with their capital ships. Just repeat that.

I haven't tried it, but what happens when you select the friendly fleet while he is in the enemy gravity well, and tell him to attack the enemy fleet, does that have any effect?

To your other question, if the enemy has a culture station in orbit, it will counter your culture. Or, if they have one of more capital ships in orbit, they repel your culture too, the more there are and the more experienced they are, the more they can repel.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Ah! Thank you about the culture info, he doesn't have any culture stations, but he does have several capital ships, so I will try building more culture stations.

I did not know that you could give his fleets orders, I thought it had to be done through diplomacy, or planet options (which I could not find any), or pinging (which doesn't seem to do anything). I will try that when I get home tonight.
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
I didn't know about the ability to direct your allies fleet either. I am wondering however, what might happen if you allowed your allies to attack the enemy fleet to a point where he needs to withdraw and then move yours in? Would he continue fighting a hopeless battle until you did enter the fight and then withdraw or even if this would give you any advantage whatsoever.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
That's the thing, he never commits to battle unless he is defending. He either chickens out before phase jumping into enemy territory, or retreats as soon as he enters, even if I am already there or come in soon after him.

One time I sent in my fleet, and started a battle with the enemy planet, and then he drops in with massive fleet saying he's "here to help", then promptly retreats.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Well, I think they usually pull out, if the fleets are about equal, due to the fact that the enemy will be defending a planet, so they will usually have defences etc. However, if your ally's fleet overpowered the enemy's then I'd imagine he would stay and finish it.

When you select an ally's fleet or ship, you have 3 order, Attack, Defend, or Cancel. You could, if his fleet didn't withdraw, and you wanted to finish off the enemy and take his planet, the you could issue a Defend order to your ally's fleet to fall back to your planet, then jump your own fleet in and mop up the survivors.

Edit: Have you tried issuing the ally's fleet an order while he's in the gravity well?
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
You can issue orders to your allies, well, I suppose they're more like suggestions.

Click on an allied fleet and you'll get some different options in the box at the bottom-right of the screen. One is to defend X planet and the other is to attack X planet. Click on the order you want to give then the planet to act on and they'll... Well they'll take it strongly into concideration (and probably chicken out immediately after again).

Since you don't seem to be familier with Stardock, they have a long history of constantly tweaking AI. The AI in GalCiv2 is un-freaking-amazing (if you like Sins, download the GC2 demo and give it a whirl) so expect frequent patches and tweaks to the game. Most patches are free, once or twice a year they put out large expansions that you pay for and those are more than worth the money (big enough changes that it's almost a new game entirely).
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
With the culture, can you overpower an enemy planet that has an orbiting culture station and knock it to neutral despite having the station in orbit?
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
That would be kind of hard, but doable. You can have a planet with a few broadcast centers one jump behind your front line planet, and its culture output should still be pretty competitive after 2 jumps, especially if that enemy planet only has one broadcast center.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top


Edit: Have you tried issuing the ally's fleet an order while he's in the gravity well?


I didn't know you could do that until now, so I will go home and try it. I thought those orders had to be done via diplomacy, ala MOO2.

Oh and I did play GalCiv2 Dread Lords for a while, it was fun, but it just couldn't hold my interest for too long.
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
Click on an allied fleet and you'll get some different options in the box at the bottom-right of the screen. One is to defend X planet and the other is to attack X planet. Click on the order you want to give then the planet to act on and they'll... Well they'll take it strongly into concideration (and probably chicken out immediately after again).


Not just planets, ships definitely, and with that knowledge I'd expect it to work on stations too.

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
Being allied to AI is more annoying than fighting them. Seriously.

I have had one complain to me ALL GAME about one of his planets getting (repeatedly) sieged by 6-10 units when I had no forces in the solar system and he had a freaking armada 1 jump away. He never used it, either. Lost the planet about 5 times, recolonized, and then what does he do? NOTHING. Not even a single turret. Meanwhile the fleet is just sitting there, chilling.

God, I wanted to backstab him so badly.