Smaller planets beneficial for science output?

[Frank327]

I am actually thinking to do a start where I focus my resources on sending out science ships (4-ish), so I can get a good view of where the planets with high potential science per pop are. As well as getting started on as many anomalies as I can possibly grab. Despotic hegemon of course, for the survey speed.

Are you aware that science ships cost 100 minerals a piece (and a full energy credit upkeep) and that a decent percentage of the systems you'll explore early game are blocked by hostile creatures right? You'll probably get a lot of early info that you can't do anything with (systems beyond your reach) while not having the minerals to build infrastructure, early colony ships or a fleet that can deal with nearby creatures. A second science ship is definately a good idea but beyond those the mineral and energy cost of them starts to hurt.

I think expanding your fleet before your first colony ship is more viable than people think. Especially because it seems that you can research crystal entities to give you +100 minerals every time you destroy a few of them to quickly get the investment for your expanded fleet back and put those minerals into your first colony ship.

 

[moglus]

Are you aware that science ships cost 100 minerals a piece (and a full energy credit upkeep) and that a decent percentage of the systems you'll explore early game are blocked by hostile creatures right? You'll probably get a lot of early info that you can't do anything with (systems beyond your reach) while not having the minerals to build infrastructure, early colony ships or a fleet that can deal with nearby creatures. A second science ship is definately a good idea but beyond those the mineral and energy cost of them starts to hurt.

I think expanding your fleet before your first colony ship is more viable than people think. Especially because it seems that you can research crystal entities to give you +100 minerals every time you destroy a few of them to quickly get the investment for your expanded fleet back and put those minerals into your first colony ship.

Well a single colony ship costs as much as 3.5 science ships. But those anomalies and surveys would make it easier to find high mineral systems, or get mineral related anomaly events. 4 might be a bit overkill, but 2-3 early science ships depending on galaxy size? Pretty useful...

Also scientists level up much faster when commanding a science ship, so 3 science ships means you can get 3 level 5 department heads much quicker, which is huge

 

[Denkt]

Why cover planets with population at all? Single non-reproducing robot is sufficient right now.

Because science is not everything. Just having population add fleet limit and population is always more effective then orbital stations at producing minerals and energy.

@stonesmasher pointed out that the break-even point is 50 pops, assuming that science output scales linearly with population. That's two fully-populated max-size planets, or three starting-size planets, or more if you leave tile blockers strategically uncleared.

In other words, you can have a fair-sized little empire without running into problems.

This only applies if all your pops generate the same amount of science, like if everyone would work in a lab and it completely forget about other effects to science such as research stations. A good rule of thumb is that you research rate will increase by getting more pops if it is slow but will decrease if it is fast however research is not everything.

Or 50 planets, 1 organic pop on your homeworld and 49 others with a single robot pop. And a sh*tload of orbital stations doing energy, minerals, strategic resources and research.

Well a stronger opponent would thank you for bringing them advanced tech because you have no chance to win if your enemy can put up 10+ times the amount of ships you can without being that far behind.

 

[Brownbeard]

Well a stronger opponent would thank you for bringing them advanced tech because you have no chance to win if your enemy can put up 10+ times the amount of ships you can without being that far behind.

Maxmimum fleet size is determined by starbases, not population. Again, I did not make this strategy, I have only seen it applied. It mopped the floor with a fallen empire and I do not think all the conventional empires combined in that game could challenge it.

 

[Denkt]

Maxmimum fleet size is determined by starbases, not population. Again, I did not make this strategy, I have only seen it applied. It mopped the floor with a fallen empire and I do not think all the conventional empires combined in that game could challenge it.

It is based on population as well and you can go over it if you have the resources.

Again, I did not make this strategy, I have only seen it applied. It mopped the floor with a fallen empire and I do not think all the conventional empires combined in that game could challenge it.

Im sure the ai can be beaten in many ways. Don't mean it is a good strategy however just that is enough to beat the ai.

 

[Brownbeard]

It is based on population as well and you can go over it if you have the resources.

50 colonies gives border volume for more than enough orbital stations to provide all the resources you might need. If every pop translates to 4-5 orbital stations(and it is probably closer towards 10), than that is significantly above whatever they could make with highest tech planetary improvement.

 

[Denkt]

50 colonies gives border volume for more than enough orbital stations to provide all the resources you might need. If every pop translates to 4-5 orbital stations(and it is probably closer towards 10), than that is significantly above whatever they could make with highest tech planetary improvement.

Expanding tall do not necessarily slow you down wide and orbital stations are always inferior to population as the orbital stations yield is taken from one of the planets natural yields.