<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rss xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" version="2.0"><channel><title>Stardock Forums » RSS Feed » Strategies Posts</title><link>https://feeds.feedburner.com/Stardock/Stardock_com/forum/347</link><copyright>© 2006 - 2026 Stardock Corporation. All rights reserved.</copyright><description>Recent Posts In Strategies</description><language>en-us</language><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 7:59:44 AM -0400</pubDate><lastBuildDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 7:59:44 AM -0400</lastBuildDate><docs>http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html</docs><generator>Stardock Rss Generator v1.0</generator><managingEditor>info@stardock.com</managingEditor><webMaster>kwilas@stardock.com</webMaster><item><author>maudlin27</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/494389</comments><description><![CDATA[ Summary ('TLDR')  For most planets, to optimise income in respect of building farms, morale buildings, and economy buildings, you should get all economy buildings except for the planet containing your economic HQ, and/or planets where you'll be devoting at least 12 spaces to these types of building, where you should get 1 farm (or use your capital planet which effectively already has 1 farm).   Background/overview   One thing that confused me for a while was how TotA calculates income - a ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/494389</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/494389</link><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 2019 6:11:44 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2019-07-02T06:11:44-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Income formula</title></item><item><author>Monarch1st</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/490508</comments><description><![CDATA[I'm not really a newbie, been playing off and on for a few years.  But it still seems I'm missing something. I've started a game with the starting positions well apart from the others (specially mine). I think the difficulty is beginner, or it could be normal. Anyway.  But no matter what, I cannot defeat the Yor. They always win. Even when I cheat my butt off and the first 30 or even 50 planets are maxed out at 43, I cannot get ahead of them.  Here's how I usually set up my planets. For ex...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/490508</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/490508</link><pubDate>Thu, 16 Aug 2018 5:19:25 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2018-08-16T17:19:25-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Not a newbie but missing something</title></item><item><author>Whytebio</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/456712</comments><description><![CDATA[Hey all,  There&#39;s an incoming rant, so skip down to the TL;DR if you&#39;re not interested in reading it.  So I looked back a few pages and couldn&#39;t really find anything on this.  The long and short of it is: whoever thought it&#39;d be an awesome idea to bring in wtfpwn Dread Lord uber-ass-smasher ships with triple figure attack ratings when I&#39;ve barely gotten out of the early game needs to be drowned.  &nbsp;  I&#39;d just colonised my 8th planet and, with the same pride ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/456712</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/456712</link><pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2014 6:58:26 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-08-14T06:58:26-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>How do you survive the dread lords?</title></item><item><author>Roenie82</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/453640</comments><description><![CDATA[If you have any rules of thumb that apply to this stuff, please share them!  Increasing the population of a planet reduces morale and reduces the effect of morale boosting structures.  Increasing the tax rate reduces morale exponentially, noticeable especially beyond 30-40% tax. It gets worse fast.  So which is better when? High pop and lower tax, low pop with higher tax, or both at "medium", avoiding the extremes of both? Where is the sweet spot? (Obvously high population with high taxati...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/453640</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/453640</link><pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2014 6:36:09 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-04-25T06:36:09-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Higher tax vs higher population (TA)</title></item><item><author>EvilMaxWar</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/452142</comments><description><![CDATA[I can currently win a game with 7 masochistic level AI but I make big use of superior diplomatic skill and tech trading. I am not sure I could do it without this loophole.  I am thinking about making a game with tech trading disabled, to get out of my comfort zone.   What other strategies are you guys using to help win games at high difficulty level? Someone mentioned buying off planets with low pop from the other races.   ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/452142</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/452142</link><pubDate>Sat, 22 Mar 2014 2:35:02 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-03-22T14:35:02-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Strategies to win at Masochistic +</title></item><item><author>spaceopera</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/452516</comments><description><![CDATA[I am in a game in galciv 1 that has lasted 42 years on a gigantic map on one of the lower difficulties. Currently I own half the galaxy, and I have 105 colonies but at 75% of government expenditures, only 5 of them has a higher income compared to its expenses. Is this normal? a planet&#39;s expenses is a function of the percent of government expenditure correct? how do I make the planets earn more or cost less? How do I change my economy so that all the planets are still earning even if I am at ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/452516</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/452516</link><pubDate>Wed, 19 Mar 2014 7:27:21 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-03-19T19:27:21-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Planetary Economy</title></item><item><author>Zarnick</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/452220</comments><description><![CDATA[&nbsp; At the screenshot,&nbsp; I (Altarians, light blue) am allied with Thalan,&nbsp; our enemies are Drath and Krynn.&nbsp; (DA metaverse,&nbsp; started with 9 races.&nbsp; Gigantic galaxy).  &nbsp; The military graphs shows that they are strong but Krynn&#39;s (grey) large empire means  much of it is elsewhere  (from the area&nbsp;shown by&nbsp;the red oval).&nbsp; My economy is very good so I could rush-buy many ships in this area while taking and holding some Krynn planets;&nbsp;&nbsp; he...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/452220</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/452220</link><pubDate>Sun, 02 Mar 2014 3:30:31 PM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-03-02T15:30:31-05:00</pubDateParsed><title>Large AI military but weak.</title></item><item><author>StarmanGhost</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/452067</comments><description><![CDATA[Hey everyone, I started playing Galactic Civilizations II a few weeks ago (Dread Lords, haven&#39;t gotten any of the expansions yet), and I was able to finish a couple games on Normal difficulty without any issue, so I decided to try playing on Challenging. I&#39;ve done 3 or 4 games, and while some have gone better than others, I end up in a hopeless situation every time. I&#39;ve noticed a few problems I keep running into, so I was hoping people here could help me.  &nbsp;  1.I&#39;ve cus...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/452067</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/452067</link><pubDate>Mon, 24 Feb 2014 8:22:53 PM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-02-24T20:22:53-05:00</pubDateParsed><title>Getting thrashed on Challenging</title></item><item><author>devfrost</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/451419</comments><description><![CDATA[ Note : This game have no mod active in it  So I just finished a rather peculiar game. I played as a custom race with Thalan tech tree. Halfway through the game, I researched the neutral alignment. This give me a discount in direct purchasing. Then I researched the neutral unlocked tech Hyperion fabrication that further enhanced that discount. And I was shocked to see that my discount was now 100%, essentially zero. This have several implication:  1. Goodbye industry buildings. I no longer &...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/451419</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/451419</link><pubDate>Fri, 17 Jan 2014 6:45:09 AM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-01-17T06:45:09-05:00</pubDateParsed><title>Game breakers strategy :direct purchase reduced 100%</title></item><item><author>Lollo1572</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/451342</comments><description><![CDATA[Hello,  I need to have a positive net income as soon as possible to continue expand and finish my current mission (5 twilight). What do you generally suggest to do for first turns (eg: what to research, what to build....)?  Thanks  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/451342</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/451342</link><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:43:04 AM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-01-12T12:43:04</pubDateParsed><title>What I have to do to change net income from - to + as quick as possible?</title></item><item><author>admiralWillyWilber</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/448848</comments><description><![CDATA[I want to see a comparison of the Yor vs. your favorite species please post here for debates for or against the Yor  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/448848</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/448848</link><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jan 2014 5:38:11 PM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2014-01-10T17:38:11-05:00</pubDateParsed><title>Yor vs everyone else</title></item><item><author>lycan371</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/450615</comments><description><![CDATA[Hi, I guess this is right place to post if not apologies.  I&#39;m new to this excellent game and after a couple of tries was grinding happily through an influence victory (at Normal) when I got a random event and went from 77% of the board to about 3% in a few turns.  Is this a bug or a feature &nbsp;and if the latter can the event be disabled?  Thanks,  Jon  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  &nbsp;  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/450615</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/450615</link><pubDate>Wed, 04 Dec 2013 6:37:53 AM -0500</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-12-04T06:37:53-05:00</pubDateParsed><title>Influence Implosion</title></item><item><author>godfather_77</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/419648</comments><description><![CDATA[Been playing the game for a week now and in my latest game I have five planets colonized after a colony rush. These planets range from 5 to 8 class. What I am finding a bit overwhelming is what and when to build on the colonies. I take advantage of any bonus squares but after that I seem to build in response to needs. E.g. if my population is low I build the recruitment center if the planet has a lot of income I build an economic building.&nbsp; Also some of my planets don&rsquo;t have nay build...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/419648</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/419648</link><pubDate>Sat, 02 Nov 2013 11:09:12 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-11-02T12:09:12</pubDateParsed><title>developing colonies?</title></item><item><author>kennethpeter</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/428572</comments><description><![CDATA[I&#39;ve been making sensor ships to serve as a kind of advance warning line.&nbsp; I take cargo hulls, add a couple of slow engines so the ship can get into position, and then fill the rest with sensor arrays (as Terrans.)&nbsp; I can put a line of these ships around my empire and have&nbsp;a good idea what is coming.  The problem is that as I reach the endgame, I&#39;m not seeing any extension of my sensor range as I pack more and more sensors on.&nbsp; My first generation had a sensor ratin...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/428572</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/428572</link><pubDate>Fri, 18 Oct 2013 3:54:54 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-18T15:54:54-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Diminishing returns for sensors?</title></item><item><author>Sanitarium68</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/428745</comments><description><![CDATA[playing TA from the Ultimate Pkg just bought, two questions.  #1 &nbsp;should be playing something besides the TA expansion as -&#39;m learning to play the game?  #2 &nbsp;- have met the Yor and the only Tech they have is "barren world colony" which could really use, &nbsp;it&#39;s very early game, April 2227, so -i&#39;m wondering how they got it since it&#39;s preTty deep in the tech tree? &nbsp;any suggestions? &nbsp;i have one spy ready to go out, can - steal it? &nbsp;they seem unwillin...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/428745</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/428745</link><pubDate>Wed, 16 Oct 2013 8:03:07 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-16T08:03:07-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>AI Tech Leads</title></item><item><author>Kanij</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/414136</comments><description><![CDATA[I&#39;ve been playing for a week or two now, I&#39;ve been failing hard. I started as Terrans, and tried Torians.  &nbsp;  I can get, to my knowledge, a decent early game going, I have cash flow, I&#39;m pumping out lower class (small) ships and people start to fear me. But no matter how good my research is going, I can&#39;t seem to maintain any sort of economy or military.  &nbsp;  Maybe I just haven&#39;t played enough yet. I can&#39;t give you guys specifics really. I colonize a few ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/414136</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/414136</link><pubDate>Tue, 15 Oct 2013 3:23:47 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-15T03:23:47-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>I need help. I can't seem to get into a mid-late game.</title></item><item><author>DivineWrath</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/414679</comments><description><![CDATA[ Note: This wall of text is the old version of my TA 101 guide. I&#39;m moving it here so people who want to read it may do so while I work on the new version of my guide.  This guide was written to serve as an introductory guide to TA, as many people at the time this guide was first written were having trouble making the change to this game.  With the first rewrite done, I&#39;m ready to go do other things. I intend to return to keep details up to date with the latest patch, and to do some ...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/414679</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/414679</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Oct 2013 7:02:48 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-11T19:02:48-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>[TA 101] Old version</title></item><item><author>mozzington</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/410351</comments><description><![CDATA[Hello all,  Had this game for many years but could never dedicate the time to learning it.&nbsp; Since then there has been two expansion packs so I decided to buy the game again - the Ultimate Edition and give it another go.  &nbsp;  I think it has the potential for me to get into it but I wondered if somebody would be kind enough to point me in the direction of any good strategy guides for beginners?&nbsp; Much like the civ war academy type.  &nbsp;  Many thanks.  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/410351</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/410351</link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Oct 2013 6:53:43 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-11T18:53:43-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Beginner Guides</title></item><item><author>marigoldran</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/447214</comments><description><![CDATA[Is there any way to "cheat" and give the AI more colony ships in the middle of a game?&nbsp;  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/447214</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/447214</link><pubDate>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 8:27:58 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-10T08:27:58-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Can You Give AI more Colony Ships?</title></item><item><author>admiralWillyWilber</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/448851</comments><description><![CDATA[Well I would like to hear from everyone who plays the Yor to find the best way to play.  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/448851</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/448851</link><pubDate>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 4:40:16 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-10T04:40:16-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Best way to play Yor</title></item><item><author>marigoldran</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/446352</comments><description><![CDATA[For some reason people think that they need to assign fighters/warships to starbases or something. &nbsp;Pfft.&nbsp;  The idea:  1. &nbsp;Build starbases.  2. &nbsp;Build ONLY starbases. &nbsp;Influence starbases, economic starbases, heck even a military starbase here and there, it doesn&#39;t matter. &nbsp;  3. &nbsp;Get starbase fortifications and fortify them.  4. &nbsp;Watch the AI suicide their fighters into them. &nbsp;Laugh. &nbsp;  Why it (kind of) works:  1. &nbsp;Economic...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/446352</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/446352</link><pubDate>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 3:41:50 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-10T03:41:50-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Funny ideas: The Pure Starbase Strategy</title></item><item><author>antibor</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/424182</comments><description><![CDATA[Hi,  Does anyone know whether the number of attacking troops gives any extra advantage? I mean if I attack a planet of 8 billion citizens, does it decrease my losses if I attack with overwhelming 30 billion troops versus say attacking with&nbsp;4? Or if the dice rolls you will loose 1.6 billion to bring down the 8 billion, regardless of the total number of well, liberators?  Thanks,  Tibor  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/424182</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/424182</link><pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2013 5:58:07 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-09T05:58:07-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Planetary Invasion in ToA</title></item><item><author>marigoldran</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/446424</comments><description><![CDATA[Obviously we&#39;re talking about the more normal research paths and not the weird ones like the Thalans.&nbsp;  I consider ion drives and planetary improvements to be super-important. &nbsp;Ion drives means all your engines costs 10 bcs less, which is fabulous for the early colony ships, and planetary improvements provide those huge bonuses to everything. &nbsp;  After that if there&#39;s tech trading you probably want xeno communications and universal translator. &nbsp;  But then what? L...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/446424</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/446424</link><pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2013 5:29:06 AM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-09T05:29:06-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Early Research Paths</title></item><item><author>Ddraig</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/418750</comments><description><![CDATA[I&#39;ve searched the forums and see this question answered both ways, so I wanted to create a topic on it specifically. &nbsp;I know that the length of a trade route affects income, and that the population of the worlds in question also has an effect, but does the economy of the planets in question matter? &nbsp;For example, would it make more sense to set up a trade route from a class 10 world with an econ capital and lots of markets or a class 15 world with high population but no econ buildin...]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/418750</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/418750</link><pubDate>Sat, 05 Oct 2013 8:50:16 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-05T20:50:16-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>Does economy of trade planet matter, or only population?</title></item><item><author>godfather_77</author><comments>https://forums.stardock.com/419732</comments><description><![CDATA[I&nbsp;am unsure of how to proceed in my new game. Do I colonize any planet thats available or do i wait until I find&nbsp; good quality planets (eg.,PC 8+)? If I do choose quality, what is the minimum planet class I should colonize?  ]]></description><guid isPermaLink="True">https://forums.stardock.com/419732</guid><link>https://forums.stardock.com/419732</link><pubDate>Sat, 05 Oct 2013 7:46:27 PM -0400</pubDate><pubDateParsed>2013-10-05T19:46:27-04:00</pubDateParsed><title>colonizing planets: quality or quantity?</title></item></channel></rss>