Easy Mistakes

From VoidWiki

Since this game is as large and as undocumented as it is, there are many places it is easy to go wrong. This page gathers up the easiest mistakes (according to the editors of this page so far! Add your piece!) to make, early on in the game (since if you make a mistake early in the game, you aren't likely to have the resources or room to make mistakes later on!)

• Get more than your first probe to map with. Map as much as you can. A single probe cannot cover enough space fast enough. You want to scan in a radius of 9 squares around your homeworld for starters, finding any planets there; these are the planets you can reach with a colony ship without building a new starport, or letting a colony ship drift. Once you have a planet, scan in a 9 square radius around that one as well (most of that should be mapped already), even if it means stranding probes for now. Once you get startports closer to them, you can have them return to those and refuel, or simply sacrifice them. As you expand, start scanning all star systems within radius 18 of any starport. These are the systems you can reach with a colony ship and a refueling station.

One strategy is to send your probes to the nearest stars and just wait their till they get fuel. That way you know what planets are nearby (planets are always within three sectors of a star) and can keep tabs on if they are colonized or not.

• Try to grab as many neutral planets as you can during the opening few days. Even if you might not be able to defend them all, it is better to make your enemies work to take them than just leaving them as easy pickings. Of course, expanding too aggressively might provoke all your neighbors into war with you.

• Specialize your planets. Apart from the home world (which is special in all regards, as it is bigger and better than other planets, and have mk1 of all facilities from start) try to figure out what you will use each planet you colonize for, and only get that facility. Facilities might look cheap when they draw little resources per hour being constructed, but that is because your planets are small and as such don't build very fast.

• Check your resource reserves. Many people make the mistake of not checking that they have sufficient resources for some construction, and never realize that everything is building at snails pace. Some even make the same mistake twice or more (me heh).

Most things in the start cost only metal and crystal, but polomite is vital for research and commercial facilities, and for refueling stations. Budget your resources in advance. Don't rely on the market, but check it if you're already in a resource pinch.

• Don't research useless things. MK2 commercial and research facilities cost a boatload of voids that you won't have.

The usual starting techs is mine mk2, probes mk2, construction ship, refueling station, and fighting ships. Don't try to get all of these things at the same time either. If you've mapped well, you should have some idea of what to expect from those around you, and should tailor your research to what you need.

• Don't assault someone with just missile frigates to defend your assaults.

Look closely at which ships deal how much damage to what other ships, and make sure that you would kill any defenders that could show up before they take out all your assaults.

• Remember to actually give the order to bombard! While combat takes place at any time there's hostiles fleets in the same sector, it is NOT enough to just position your assaults over an empty planet; they will be happy to sit in orbit taking damage from planetary defences without trying to defend themself.