silly problem with late-into-the-game Minors

I just finished my last game of GalCiv. In the latter stages of the game I found it advantageous to occupy the planets of some Minor Civs that had only popped up very late in the game.

In every case I found this: they had not at all developed from when they were 'born'. They had no planetary improvements. Why? Because they were stuck on building a Hyperion Manufacturing Centre
with no other improvements, with minimal population, and they didn't even have a single fighting ship, just building the odd freighter. I assimilated 4 Minors that were all stuck in the same hole.

I think thing might bear looking at?!? Either don't give them too high a tech when they are 'born', or give them a sensible building queue, or give them loads of money and let them trade for tech (maybe that wouldn't work, coming to think about it).

-Peter
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Reply #2 Top
I too have noticed the minors skipping over TONS of quick, helpful techs to spend scores of turns working on high end techs; I also have noticed the tendency to build freighters (funny especially when on some maps they crop up in sectors with 2+ potential enemies) which of course means I rather easily scoop them up. As much as I like this advantage it would be nice to see minors with some more strength and wisdom.

I also have noticed (at least when I play lately) that "minor creation" seems to rev up in the late stages of my game; by this I mean in earlier stages I would have a minor appear very infrequently with as much as 150+ turns before another appeared-in a game I just finished 3 minors appeared in the latter stages in a 40 turn span.
Reply #3 Top
I think that "new minor civs" should get ability bonuses to help them survive:

- high racial abilities

- a better planet than the PQ 16 they usually get (but why would such a nice planet remain undiscovered?)

- trade routes already in place when they are created

- an alliance with a major in place when they are created
Reply #4 Top
I wouldn't mind late game minors getting some boosts, but one thing in particular needs the opposite.

One of the game killers for me was when a 2 planet minor filled its orbit with EXCALIBURS. EXCALIBURS. 16 EXCALIBURS IN ORBIT. I DON'T THINK SO. My best most powerful planet in that game would have still been building them by the time the game was over if I tried something similar. That is blatant AI cheating. Minors should not be able to insta-produce the top end ship type. Or anything at all, really. Maybe some average ships when they start out, but Excaliburs?

The only thing you can do is annihilate all of their systems in one turn with Terror Stars, and that's silly.
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Reply #5 Top
One of the game killers for me was when a 2 planet minor filled its orbit with EXCALIBURS. EXCALIBURS
End of quote
Ouch!
:sniff!:
The only thing that happened to me with minors was Overlords, and i had some troubles with them, because i was just developing technology and most of my fleet was Avatars and Death Knights.I can imagine how did you went crazy!.. And here again...my diplomacy skills helped me to bargain that they would be attacked by Yor, to weaken both of civs, ;)
And back to minors popped out later in the game these are very usefull,I find them very valuable, especially if they are in the same sector as any other civ star system, so it could convert to yours. :HOT:
Reply #6 Top
In my case, I chose the aforementioned silly way out.

I really hope the minor's heroic research and industrial capacity is addressed. If you think about it, minors should be lucky enough to build a Battleship. Only the major spacefaring civilizations should have top of the line ships because only they should have the industrial capacity and raw materials to create them.

Yet this minor race managed to create enough of the best ships in the game to ensure victory in any war against any alliance of opponents. *Eye Roll*
Reply #7 Top
Actually i disagree Ozar with you, i think minors should be given a chance to protect themselves from pesky Yor's or anyone like them. Ofcourse them having Excaliburs is a bit too much, but hey i never had in my game where minors did attacked majors, and won the war! Minors are not very militaristic, and they stick to their planets and trade. They peaceful citizens of the Galaxy (except for the Dubans, bloody terrorists, they did something once to my planet that it went from 20PQ to 12PQ i had to kill my colony! ) :sniff!: :sniff!:
Reply #8 Top
Then we're in agreement. I think they should spawn with the ability to defend themselves somewhat (I like the idea of them starting off allied with someone so that they aren't fresh meat.) I just want higher end abilities (Insta-fleet-built) removed. I just can't abide AI cheating. No major race, player included, can compete militarily with an aggressive minor that can build Excaliburs at will.
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Reply #9 Top
Well, put Fusion Power Plant before Hyperion. It's short and quick, and very useful. Then build maybe a Manu, at 100 cost.

I don't have a problem with the minors building whatever ships they want to. If you don't invade them as soon as they pop up, then *what's wrong with you*? That's what the Drengin do! Well, when they are having a good game. ;)

I think it's silly to have minors pop up in the late game. All the AI invade them... as their military is just too weak. Maybe they need to churn out some AMM? Quick, cheap, Military Rating raiser.
Reply #10 Top
Eventually as the decades roll by new minor races start appearing.
In my old game a race called the Arvintians appeared in the Vesta system. Now Vesta I the Arvintian homeworld was only class 16 and is only bringing in 2 bc in money.
The Drengin promtly declared war on them. There is a shred of hope for them I suppose beacause the Altarians recently declared war on them beacause they were at war with their ally (and my ally) the fundermentalists and agreed to help all three races in their war against the Drengin Empire. The Fundermentalists are drengin who didn't like the Drengin Empire and (with the help of my destabilisation money) decided the nice way was nicer and rebelled (so much for the encycylapedia claim that every drengin soldier, civilian or worker are pure eviL).
In order for the new civilisations of the galaxy to able to build their own fleets and thus survive I propose they start with the following (if they have the correct tech.

A planet with a population of 1000 mil and of at least class 18 or greater.
An economic capital.
Enough freighters in orbit to fufil all the trade routes that the race can establish.
A planatery defense
An entertainment Network
A manufacturing center .
Three defenders and one battle axe in orbit.
One offensive ship of the most powerful that the race can build

You would still be able to conquer them before they became powerful with a reasnable fleet and you would get an economic capital as a plus. Give me your thoughts on this.

This text has been copied from one of my other posts with a few modifications.
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