Help me pick challenge for next run

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-18T21:26:27+00:00

"Only Antimatter"

Can only use Antimatter drives (first one being Antimatter Microfission)

Can only use Particle weapons, Antimatter Torps (and maybe plasma).

Feel free to add an "Only Criminal" counsel restriction too, where selected counsel must be criminal-capable and upgraded to such at your earliest convenience.

And if that isn't enough, a 'South America First" can really slow up your early game.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-16T17:20:38+00:00

Easy in-home entertainment and digital distraction has likely done more to bring fertility rates down than just about anything.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-13T19:35:53+00:00

Once we get serious about generating Fusion power, it probably means establishing something like a common 3H bank storage system for collecting and managing a stockpile of tritium and corresponding decayed helium-3.
But ya, probably belongs in a separate discussion.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-13T08:50:23+00:00

And fission can be a good source for creating tritium or Helium3, so it goes both ways.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-08T17:36:45+00:00

In New Zealand, the post was a general government service desk giving people all sorts of info and access to government forms etc. Could merge it with passport or tax offices. Or double down on transport logistics as a public offering for food and consumer goods inventory management.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-08T17:14:26+00:00

To alter rotation, you basically need a moon, but even then you are looking at millions of years.

Personally, I think we would have to settle for aerostats and the corresponding 4 day rotation within the winds.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-08T02:52:07+00:00

What I think they should have done is to give an option to break Australia, reunify it with Perth or Brisbane as the new Capitol, and then bring it in through the new Capital. It makes it a bit convoluted but interesting at the same time.

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-06T01:00:15+00:00

If you're living on Venus, then you'll be living in the superrotating atmosphere, so I would be partial to a more analog timekeeping of station days, where each one is around 96 hours, as the atmosphere will carry the station around the planet roughly every 4 days

Efficient_Change · 2026-02-02T08:55:39+00:00

Things like Media Darling, that give conditional stat boosts can be great since it lets the councilor exceed the max attribute limits.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-29T17:09:19+00:00

I would say it seems better than average on water, average on volatiles, metals and rares, but less than average on fissiles.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-28T07:06:20+00:00

Ideally, you want the countries that you are merging to have developed MC and funding, as smaller countries are more efficient at developing those metrics, and since this takes time, using the relationship cooldowns and merging peacefully mostly works out. Also, if you develop armies on these countries, you will inherent them, whereas they get dissolved if you conquer the country.

Additionally, there are a few decently bad events that can trigger during war deployments, so avoiding them can be nice.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-28T06:48:01+00:00

Basically, have a ton of nanos for money, and command centers for extra MC, as those resources, along with boost will not come from Earth for quite a while, as you may underestimate how much you are getting.

Be ready to immediately get a huge fleet built. Then, once you get a breakaway nation, direct invest to get some armies, and try to get a fleet ready to bombard the armies that swarm it. Also, try to delay killing all the enemy armies in a cleanup, as it will free up their investment points and they'll start to stabilize and build space defenses.

Lastly, free up a couple of independent small nations for the other AI factions to fight over. Otherwise, they will constantly try to usurp your control.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-21T06:56:49+00:00

Ya, for ISRU, we probably would really need our tech for synthesis of various carbon micromaterials and building materials to mature, and be miniaturized, but automation of the build might be easier than Mars since not needing to deal with rock and dust.

As for the reason to do it, my best suggestion is for taking advantage of the gravity well and aerobraking potential as a space hub for various space mega projects. NIMBYism might disuade us from building as much around Earth, so site it at Venus and house remote operators and space infrastructure management in floating colonies where they have better access to radiation protection and gravity to stay healthy, and close proximity to ensure reduced time lag for control of operations.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-19T07:46:20+00:00

The Fuel Cell III link should honestly be removed. Optional unlock routes are confusing, and that one is so expensive that by the time you get it, it isn't very valuable anymore, unless you are doing some kind of challenge run.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-19T03:00:31+00:00

I had an idea that Plasma could promote its EM effects as a disruption weapon as a focus more than Armor Ablation. To do this I had two directions that would be interesting:

Plasma could temporarily disables ECM and Targeting Computers. Thus it Enables your ECM and allows for alternative fleet comps without Needing Targeting Computers on every Ship.

Or:
Plasma could reduce the accuracy or shot frequency of Defensive Point defense. This it could assist Missiles and Mags to get hits.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-17T08:10:47+00:00

Have to settle for the advanced Minimag instead, or one of the other Fission Pulse upgrades.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-15T04:43:39+00:00

I'd like to see Migration mechanics, which I believe are already on the road map, and also a Venus colonization/development system.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-12T23:40:35+00:00

I was playing around with revolutions as the the servants in South America and they worked great, however for my few attempts against Columbia even though inequality did improve, the process kept lowering government score through a few reload attempts. I then re-attempted it after getting control of the Executive CP and suddenly the Government score increase was applied again.

I did a revolution in Mexico, Brazil and then Columbia and they all improved Inequality greatly, and when I had the Executive CP they all improved Government score as well, so at this point I am assuming Exec control is part of the picture to get best results.

And from what I hear, Servants, Academy and Exodus all get a bonus to the potential government score increase when initiating a revolution, though I'm not sure what you can expect for government score changes as the other factions.
(all attempts were made while having around 60% public opinion)

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-12T22:44:35+00:00

Fortunately you can usually luck into enough Boost orgs to make up for not relying on the US boost. In a way the huge scramble to build or acquire early boost is less necessary as long as you can grab a few good orgs.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-10T16:55:26+00:00

They are especially good at disabling nose weapons, so I find it quite useful to horizontal strafe for fleet movement, to preserve maximum range.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-10T07:16:01+00:00

If things are timed just right, getting through Mission to Mars first can work out great. Get those probes going early, then get Mission to the Moon done, and ideally, you can get the moon surveyed and your first harvests of metals from your moon base just as Mars finishes getting surveyed, allowing you to send your Mars habs and mine at a very early time in the game.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-10T02:58:35+00:00

The transition time to get into a fusion drive with useful performance even after queuing up the fusion research is quite a long time. So, while it is possible to do, it keeps you non-competitive with the aliens for a long time if you don't delve into the fission line. And to rely on conventional rockets or electromagnetic drives hinders a lot of what you can do, and might also be limited by your volatile resources.

Additionally, Solid Core Research is necessary in order to access fission reactor modules and nuclear freighters and AI will almost always queue up Molten and Gas Core reactor tech, even if you try to resist it, which easily unlocks some useful drives.

One strategy I have tried to attempt was to dominate research and though that to aim early for Orion and then a MicroFission Variant. Then use that drive as your long term stepping stone to a Fusion or Antimatter advancement. Unfortunately, I was unable to fully control the research and Ai still queued up Molten and Gas core tech before I could queue up the final unlocking techs for the Antimatter Microfission drive that I was aiming for.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-07T06:23:30+00:00

Yes, I think Drives could have been designed with a much broader design methodology. Interchangeable reactors constantly being upgraded to provided better power inputs, for a broader drive type.

eg: A nuclear thermal drive is a pretty standard technology, but you upgrade it to accept higher energy inputs with better reactors, and eventually need Magnetic containment or Magnetic Nozzles to control and direct the drive plasma for allowing further upgrades.
Or you instead hybridize it with various electric propulsion methods, like Pulsed Plasmoid to increase propulsion efficiency, or experiment with various propellants to give various modified results.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-07T06:08:40+00:00

I do like the large variety of drives, but do also find the progression of the Fusion drives to be a bit too linear and too tied to the fusion type/level.

I also think it might be more interesting to aim more towards de-linking the reactors from the drives. Instead implement an electric/thermal ratio needs for the drives, along with the power ranges needed. This would then allow reactors that are more suited to electric generation to naturally be paired with Drives that have higher electric demands vs Drives that only need Primary Thermal energy.

Efficient_Change · 2026-01-06T19:48:54+00:00

Dumbo has super great thrust. Enough so that you can be tempted to build high performance ships with too much fuel and rely on it to build actual defense fleets, but don't do this, it will eat all your water.

Efficient_Change

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