Great explanation. Thanks so much!
Resource tiles more than 6 spaces away from the zone capital city cause the zone Governor to incur Administrative strain which is a penalty to his bonuses. Having more zones can reduce/eliminate this strain malus and give you opportunities to build more infrastructure buildings that are limited to cities.
What kind of turn processing times are people getting these days? With the latest Beta and using the lots of zones/population start Im getting 4 minute processing per turn with a decent computer. Maybe I just need to cut back on the number of zones or not use the those options. Or maybe Ive just gotten impatient in my old age.
I haven’t gotten anywhere near that far in my game but the turn times are definitely a bear. Hopefully this is something he can optimize a little, because dang. I don’t think I could deal with 4 minute AI turns.
I haven’t had turn times that long, but I have had AI turns take maybe two minutse? I tend to take a break between turns anyway, to check the Web or use the loo, so I haven’t paid close attention.
Like PhotoDylan, I had a game going with a tonne of zones and forces, I don’t know if they took 4 mins for the AI to play, but TBH, given how long it takes me to play my own turns, it’s a good opportunity to stand up and move my legs!!
Speaking of latest beta, this was my start:
Those beasties in that forest include 11m Carnivores & 10m herbivores, I’m just about managing to push a few corridors out now, but only by moving up and digging in machinegun units in leapfrogs. Any front on attacks against these horrors in those forests is just a massacre.
Pretty much!
I’ve not really used MG troops much in other games, preferring to be on the attack, but they’re proving their mettle in this one!
I’m not quite clear on how to raise new formation types. For example, I want a formation that includes a medium tank, which I have already researched and designed models for. I believe creating a new formation type that would include a medium tank involves doing something with my Staff Council, but I’m not sure what. Any help would be appreciated.
Yes your staff counsel will research new formations just like technologies. Now that you have a medium tank researched, your staff council should soon discover a formation using it (armor brigade, armored infantry brigade, etc.). Even without OHQ level formation however you should be able to now create independent armor battalions, which you could attach to another brigade HQ if you desire.
I’m familiar with OHQ but how do you get a brigade HQ?
Ah - yes! That works, thanks!
When you create a brigade/corps/army formation you also get an OHQ unit with it. Are you confusing it with the SHQ in your capital?
If you click the OOB button in the top right it will show all your formations including independent ones. If you create a infantry brigade for instance and an independent artillery / armor batallion; you can attach the independent battalion to an existing formation with the unit admin button while the independent battalion is selected. It will then inherit the color of the brigade and get OHQ bonuses.
In fact, full on armor brigades are seriously expensive logistically (especially fuel). It’s usually better early only to create independent battalions and attach as needed.
Oh nevermind, I was mixing up brigades and battalions.
Really useful for passing Artillery units between OHQ’s as and when one of them achieves their objectives. A quick strategic move to the other front and magic Arty support.
I’ve reached a point where I’ve learned the basics and have survived to mid-game, but I’m playing at beginner level and still not able to keep up with the development of my economy and military to stay competitive against the majors. While I can figure out how to solve short-term issues, I think I still am missing things that are crucial to long-term development.
For example, I am still struggling to raise formations because I’m usually lacking this or that, and now (thanks to spies) I can tell that the major that is nearest me has a much larger army. In addition, I can tell that their military R&D is ahead of mine,so they outgun me in both quantity and quality. Both of those things are going quite slowly for me because of constant resource shortages or ammo shortages or manpower shortages… you get the idea. There is so much to balance, and I’m feeling constantly stymied; every time I identify one shortage only to find solving that is impossible because of another shortage.
Sorry to ramble. tldr version: I learned this game but I suck and need help.
Prioritize building bureaucratic offices. BP’s make the world go round.
Archaeological efforts can pay big dividends if you get recycling stations on an artifact source (The gold/silver pyramids). My latest game all of my power comes from recovered artifact buildings, as does most of my industry.
Just like in the real world geography plays a huge part. If you can conquer lots of minors and have good bottlenecks you can hold off a much larger army. Defense is really strong in this game.
Build lots of supply depots on your road network. Also railheads near the front. those majors may have a lot of units but I bet they can’t supply all of them concentrated on a single front.
Artillery! Especially regiment sized independent artillery units. Worth motorizing to get them to where they are needed quickly.
Don’t be afraid to use low resource requirement light infantry brigades especially on defense. Save your expensive metal/machine units for offensives.
If you have the recruits raise a new formation and cycle your worn out units back to SHQ for replacements / upgrades. It’s extremely logistically expensive to refit units in the field.
Use your militia for garrisoning cities. They’re no good in combat against regular units but great for quelling unrest.
To back @gruden up on the BP point.
Don’t just make all your councils at once. If your civ isn’t bit enough yet to produce enough BP per turn, you’re going to just have lots of inefficient Councils.
The only other tip is People. Get more of them, however you can. They’re the true lifeblood of the game. All the other resources you can trade for or dig up or tech your way to new production methods.
Expanding your territory is nice, but the real aim should be to be getting Free Folk settlements and minor cities into your demesne.
Beginner difficulty on a small barren moon with barely any people is much more difficult than Beginner :)