trying to get into a game

dread lords only

hey guys.
i've had the game (dread lords) since it was released.
and i've not yet been too impressed with it.
(i think i've missed something.)

anyway here are three things that diminish my experience with the game:
1. at the beginning: i have this feeling that the AI factions seem to know about
habitable planets IMMEDIATELY - i.e. without scouting for them.

is this how it is? if yes, is there a way to mod this so that
the ai needs to scout for habitable planets?

2. near the end: every faction i overpower surrenders to one of my enemies -
sometimes even to one of his enemies.
that's EVERY faction i overpower.
it doesn't occur sometimes, it occurs EVERYTIME.

is this how it is? if yes, is there a way to mod this so that
the faction surrenders to me or one of his allies,
and never to any of its enemies?

3. all through the game: player reward that has no effect in-game.
e.g.: in alpha centauri, players get rewarded with "medals" that
adorn a building when they achieve something.
e.g. won the first battle, build the first range rover, etc.

gc2 is sterile.

am i wrong in all these points?
have i not given the game a good chance?

cheers,
-wanting to like gc2.

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1) No. The AI doesn't know where habitable planets are. However, with Stellar Cartography, the minimap displays the planets in orbit around stars. This makes scouting a lot easier, in the beginning I usually scout with my colony ships, sending them to clusters where there is a good chance of a habitable planet.

2) Well, would YOU surrender to someone who is currently pummeling you into destruction, invading planets (killing bilions in the process)? In my opinion it's fairly realistic that they surrender to 'anybody but you'.

3) You can play Metaverse, which tracks your scores online, gives you neat medals in your signature and lets you compare your scores to other players.

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1. yes. i've been using colonisers as scouts. the ai still beat me to the planets. population (or more directly, income tax) is the key to winning.

2. sounds good game-play wise to make the game more difficult. but its "backward" experience-wise: you pour all your efforts in subjugating an enemy and you miss-out on the "reward" (which is my 3rd point). it seems to go against common-sense both in-game and out. for one: the receiving faction gets the "reward" - especially if the surrending faction had a higher technology level.

3. i'm talking more about in-game reaction to your achievements. e.g. you've reclaimed a planet that was lost, so the populace should reward you. either with bonus tax income or a monument. the game needs little "touches" like that. e.g. in pax-imperia: eminent domain, you actually see from "orbit" the planet's infrastructure get reduced to rubble. each type of planet-buster had a different "sprite" animation.

gc2 == "sterile" game.

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1. The first techs you should research are engine improvements. This gives you a speed edge which will allow you to beat the AI to the better planets.

2. I have a lot of games. I have had AI's I was not fighting, but were losing to another AI surrender to me. I have has AI's I was destroying surrender to me AND to other AI's. The tipping point is when your military strength is 10 - 20 times your opponents. And I have even won a game by forcing the last AI to surrender without invading a single world. I simply parked massive fleets over every single one of his worlds and destroyed all of his ships as he built them. After 15 or so turns of this, he surrendered. (I was truly surprised - I had about 20 transports built and on their way.) Keep plugging away. Eventually, someone will surrender to you.

3. JOIN THE METAVERSE. You can't use modds, but you play a more strategic game, trying to max your scores.

ENJOY!!!

Dax

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You can just disable surrendering.

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Hi!

You can just disable surrendering.

AFAIK this can't be done in Dread Lords.

1. at the beginning: i have this feeling that the AI factions seem to know about
habitable planets IMMEDIATELY

All AIs (but Humans) start with Stellar Cartography. They know where planets are, but not if those planets are habitable. So in some directions they send their colonizers blindly. Also, on higher game difficulty levels (check wiki) they buy scouts very early in the game, have better scanner range, and better miniaturization (they can fit more engines and more life supports in their ships as the human player can). No wonder they can beat an unexperienced player to more planets. But now when you know their tricks, you're not unexperienced anymore.

BR, Iztok

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