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Author Topic: first colony (optimal)  (Read 12473 times)

ihugyourmom

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first colony (optimal)
« on: July 25, 2022, 06:52:08 AM »

Hey

So i been playing this game for a while now, but i always struggle finding that "one" system to colonize.

my search "algorithme" is something like

does it have food +1 or better (more self reliant, stable stability)
does it have multiple "useful" planets
does it have a gate
does it have stable locations min 2 (for comm and nav)

The two first are a must, or i keep searching. Though a gate is the sugar on top for sure.

I have given up looking for "near core worlds", because i have never seen/found one. (excluded 1 game where i found a 3 planet in a high beacon warning system.. which i cleared out.. at the edge of the map etc.. i eventually quit)

And after a ton of restarts after checking in a semi broad circle around the core world (using console to fuel me stuff), i havent find a single one! so i stopped doing restarts and just go with it.. but i usually end up bored/annoyed that when i hit cycle 220 i still am just flapping around :(

So.. my question is, what are you looking for when you search, should i change my criteria (clearly doh!) and what is a good colony, any +2/3 resource system with semi close to core or am i just absurdly unlucky?

NB: i play with mods.

regards

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Igncom1

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2022, 06:57:34 AM »

For defence the more planets in the same system the better. Otherwise just try to find a place to make a ton of money, then you can afford to do whatever you like.

There is unlikely to be a perfect system, but a decent starcluster can be easily protected and exploited.
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Nimiety

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2022, 07:37:43 AM »

Optimal is putting a waystation and military base in the luddic path system as early as possible and selling cheap marines, fuel and supplies to the terrorists for the easiest credits ever.

Searching the entire save file for a perfect system, getting burnt out way before you're done and quitting the save is definitely not optimal :p
Just decide what matters most to you so you can get back to whats fun. I really want a gate nearby but it doesn't have to be same system, and I like not having a credit drain early game so habitable is preferable.

+2 farmland and +1 organics four light years away from a gate? sign me up. no other planets? more slots to make techmines with.

Multiple planets for system defence doesn't matter unless you are spamming AI cores and needing to resist hegemony doomstacks.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2022, 07:41:45 AM by Nimiety »
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Amoebka

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2022, 07:45:51 AM »

Academy missions are very heavily biased towards systems with good planets, ruins, and cryosleepers. If you don't like dropping your first colony within the core worlds, start doing the storyline asap.
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Nimiety

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2022, 08:05:01 AM »

The whats it, penelope system is also custom built for making a tall empire and is right next to the canaan gate/ other core worlds.

Yeah there might be a better one, but a class I 150% barren hazard can make like 120k once its built up with refineries. That system is also free money if you can be bothered investing in it. If you are running nexerelin you can settle other systems out of the core later anyway.
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ihugyourmom

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2022, 08:56:17 AM »

+2 farmland and +1 organics four light years away from a gate? sign me up. no other planets? more slots to make techmines with.

Multiple planets for system defence doesn't matter unless you are spamming AI cores and needing to resist hegemony doomstacks.
Ya i dont mind a close gate, but i do like to stack alphas :D so finding a HOT planet for some beefy patrols aint bad.
Guess i am hoping to find that system with 1 food, 1 industry and 1 army/industry with a side bonus of a gas planet :D

i tend to play the "use what's best" approach.

The main issue is at some point, the cost of running a fleet needs a steady income or you just end up chaining bounties.
aka the need to colonize.

Academy missions are very heavily biased towards systems with good planets, ruins, and cryosleepers. If you don't like dropping your first colony within the core worlds, start doing the storyline asap.

Have a mod that lets me skip that thankfully.. I get the gate drive in the inventory at start.
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Amoebka

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2022, 08:59:45 AM »

Have a mod that lets me skip that thankfully.. I get the gate drive in the inventory at start.

That's not what I meant at all. The generic academy missions you get right from the start tend to point you towards "interesting" systems, not completely random ones. If you want to find a dream system asap the best approach is to simply do the academy missions that send you to fringes, because chances are they will point you right at the cryosleeper + 5 planets.
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intrinsic_parity

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2022, 09:12:18 AM »

Fringe systems have bad accessibility though which means bad income. I usually just look for yellow/orange stars near the core first since those have the highest chance of habitable worlds and the best accessibility.
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ihugyourmom

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2022, 09:14:03 AM »

Have a mod that lets me skip that thankfully.. I get the gate drive in the inventory at start.

That's not what I meant at all. The generic academy missions you get right from the start tend to point you towards "interesting" systems, not completely random ones. If you want to find a dream system asap the best approach is to simply do the academy missions that send you to fringes, because chances are they will point you right at the cryosleeper + 5 planets.

Not what i ment either i suppose.. So let me make it abit more clear :)

I dislike the story line and find it a chore and time sink, so i tend to skip it(mod). I will however check that system out if i can find it without doing the story line.

Fringe systems have bad accessibility though which means bad income. I usually just look for yellow/orange stars near the core first since those have the highest chance of habitable worlds and the best accessibility.

ya tried that route before, took forever to get a 200k+ planet :(
« Last Edit: July 25, 2022, 09:16:12 AM by ihugyourmom »
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Serenitis

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2022, 10:04:54 AM »

does it have food +1 or better (more self reliant, stable stability)
I'm gonna save you a lot of disappointment with your search: You do not need this.
Even the worst farmland possible is enough for your colony to be "self-reliant".
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ihugyourmom

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2022, 02:00:28 AM »

does it have food +1 or better (more self reliant, stable stability)
I'm gonna save you a lot of disappointment with your search: You do not need this.
Even the worst farmland possible is enough for your colony to be "self-reliant".

Hmm so me focusing on getting food up and running as a priority, might not even be that smart of a strategy then. Though by self reliant i meant for all my planets/colonies, think i can have 5 total. 2 with admins, and 3 on my own.

So for max profit, what sort of first planet should i be aiming for then, any +2/3 resource one?
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smithney

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2022, 02:23:59 AM »

Hmm so me focusing on getting food up and running as a priority, might not even be that smart of a strategy then. Though by self reliant i meant for all my planets/colonies, think i can have 5 total. 2 with admins, and 3 on my own.

So for max profit, what sort of first planet should i be aiming for then, any +2/3 resource one?
No no, getting food up and running soon is a great strategy, especially since you'll be setting up a world with low hazard and thus low upkeep. It's just that you don't need a high yield node, population growth and possibly Soil Nanites will up it over time regardless.

If you want big profit ASAP, then aim for worlds with high resources, as low upkeep as possible and close to the Core. However, if you want seriously big profits, pull up your note and pencil and look for a couple of systems where you can set up your own supply chains. I don't want to go into details here, but you shouldn't have a problem looking up a guide.

Also, don't overthink it ^^ One learns by making mistakes and the colonies aren't as punishing if you are willing to make them grow
« Last Edit: July 26, 2022, 02:25:42 AM by smithney »
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Serenitis

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2022, 03:25:09 AM »

No no, getting food up and running soon is a great strategy, especially since you'll be setting up a world with low hazard and thus low upkeep. It's just that you don't need a high yield node
This.
Food is good. It makes decent money because it's a huge market, so even a tiny share is worth a fair bit.
And farming is the easiest industry to get into because it's so forgiving - farmland dosen't really matter beyond "is it present or not".

Just being fixated on the +1/2 etc will mean you're looking for a specific planet condition that in combination with other things you're looking for is quite uncommon (as you've found).
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ihugyourmom

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2022, 04:35:48 AM »

Hmm, when "should" i begin to colonize? i know its a individual matter, but as i am playing on a enlarged map.. i can spend my entire time exploring.
My current playthrough is at cycle 214, 2.2m credits and an abandon station with loot/ships. Kinda feel like i passed the "window" for my first colony already.

So now debating if i should start a new game with the mindset of finding a "any food" system with options, and just "settle" <- ey! pun intended! :D
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BCS

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Re: first colony (optimal)
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2022, 06:44:15 AM »

I always viewed colonization as late game activity because you need a full fleet to deal with expeditions(before you get your faction's ships up to speed so they can handle it themselves), Pathers(painful but you can live with them) and Pirates(you cannot live with them, Raids are absolutely brutal and realistically the only thing that can actually end a colony)

So to me it's natural that you explore the whole map first. Plus that's how you find Hypershunts, Cryoships and special items.

You can try to play with "Old" sector age which will spawn more habitable planets. Since habitable planets are the main bottleneck for colonization that should help a lot with finding a good system.

Penelope's Star can, very rarely, spawn Organics on the Toxic planet which combined with with Farmland on the Desert planet makes it a "perfect" system right next to Core worlds. More exotic options are Askonia and Samarra but you have to... evict the locals first.
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