Star Trek:
Birth of the Federation

Overview

Botf is essentially a strategy game, based around micro-management, diplomacy and battle tactics. The single player game has two modes, Domination and vendetta. Domination requires the player to control over 70% of the galaxy alone or 50% as part of an alliance, the parameters of the game can be set by the player with difficulty levels, technological levels and galaxy size/type all optional. The only game really worth playing IMHO is a large irregular galaxy, with all competing empires at an advanced technological stage and the difficulty set to impossible (Random events ‘on’ is also good) Domination, with ‘minor race’ set to ‘many’ By all means practise at the lower levels but I can tell you that generally the AI is not too bright and once you get a hang of the game victory is always yours.

Players

You can choose to play as one of the five major empires in the galaxy. If running around declaring war on everything alive floats your boat then try the Klingons. If you enjoy diplomacy, self-righteousness and loads of research (which is rewarded, believe me) then play the Federation. If you get a kick out of sending teams of spies and saboteurs to bomb murder and maim rivals then the Romulans or Cardassians are for you and if you get  really excited out of a big wad of cash then I suggest throwing your lot in with the Ferengi. Each empire has a different style design theme and way of playing, some empires are harder to play than others. The easiest to win, on all fronts is the Romulans followed in order by the Federation, Klingons, Cardassians and finally the Ferengi. The last two can be a bit of a challenge and I would suggest starting with one of the easier empires until you learn the ropes.

Objectives

You begin with control of three star systems, one your home system, the other two advanced colonies. Scattered throughout the galaxy are many different worlds some inhabited some ripe for the picking, your objective is to populate and control as many of these systems by whatever means possible until you dominate the galaxy and everyone kisses your ass.

The only way to win the game, without cheating is to have a healthy economy. The more cold hard cash you’ve got the more you can arm yourself, this is completely consistent with history – just ask Napoleon or Hitler – without heavy industry, there’s no cash, with no cash there are no fleets and no armies, no armies? No win! So it all comes down to cash in the end (as always)

How do I make loads of cash?

Simple, each system you control within your empire has a population (measured in millions) who you can assign to five main areas of endeavour These are:

Food Production: If you’re not running enough farms to support the population’s hamburger joints then they starve. Dead people = no cash.

Industry: Not enough people slaving away in the factories? = no cash.

Energy: Not enough people working in energy? = failing planetary defences, unpowered Shipyards, special intelligence, research and food structures = no cash.

Intelligence: Not enough CIA types spooking around the galaxy? A lot of unemployed Odos? = bad internal security = enemy agents bombing all your hard work and stealing all your cash.

Research:  Not enough eggheads blowing things up in the lab = no access to improved ships, industrial, espionage, food structures ………cash.

So, the more systems, the more people. The more people, the more work you can give them, the more work, the more cash, the more cash, the more ships. The more ships the more win. Remember, God is on the side of the big battalions or in the words of the Grand Nagus ‘ More is good, all is better’.

How do I acquire more planetary systems?

Simple, In any system with a shipyard you build a colony ship (you actually start the game with one in your home system), you then send this to a suitable uninhabited system and order it to terraform the planets there until all are class M (That is habitable for organic life) you then order the ship to colonise the system. Voila! New colony = more population = ultimately, more cash.

Which systems should I target for colonisation?

Ultimately all you can. However, especially in the early stages of the game it pays to be a little more strategic and grab the juiciest systems you can first. These are:

The largest systems with the fastest rates of population growth

Large systems with arctic, barren, oceanic and terran planets. (More of this later)

(With random events ‘on’) Any system that is not a red giant.

Any system with dilithium.

And, best of the best: A combination of all of the above.

Which systems should I not waste my colony ships on?

Any small volcanic or jungle system. You can mop these up later in the game when you loll at the pinnacle of a large corrupt empire larging it with your Dominion buddies.

So, at the beginning of the game I should build a fleet of colony ships and rush around the galaxy spreading my people hither and thither to  win yes?

Ha ha ha. Just try it and see how far your little peace fleet gets when the Klingon high council decides you’re getting too big for your boots or the Cardassians smell a weakness in your defences. Which leads us to:

Ships

Ships have many many uses and there are many different types and classes of starship, all of these can be a little confusing so I shall concentrate on the main classes of starship available when your scientists and engineers have built the best they can. For the realistic purposes of the game I shall concentrate on eight different types that have similar uses and capabilities.

1.      Colony Ships. For colonisation and terraforming.

All much of a muchness these, they loaf through space at one sector a turn speed, they terraform and colonise and then they vanish, in any encounter with a hostile warship the pilgrim fathers are apt to become space dust. Their orders should always be set at ‘avoid’ the best chance they have is to keep a low profile. If you really want them to reach their destination then they need an armed escort. The (sort of) exception is the lightly armed Klingon colony transport. If embroiled in battle all colony ships should be given the order to retreat, they might survive the encounter if shields and armour hold.

2.  Scouts. For exploration and reconnaissance.

Lightly armoured and armed, generally crap in combat, these ships are far more important than you might suppose. Firstly, they have a much greater range than other ships allowing them to scout out future territories and minor races to exploit, and more importantly, they act as a mobile scanner allowing you to monitor enemy movements in space of which you would otherwise remain ignorant. Can’t be bothered with that? Wait till your newly colonised gloriously dilithium rich territory light years from home is brutally taken, out of the blue by a humungous Ferengi army that materialises out of nowhere or your nice little task force boldly blunders into an innocuous little sector containing the entire skulking Romulan fleet who break out the romulan ale and fart over the debris of your finest. Well I’ve got news for you Admiral, the chances of being rudely surprised are greatly reduced if you have these little spies buzzing around your borders. They do have one other use in combat which often makes them the first target in any big clash, they give a full scan of opposing ships capabilities and crew experience levels, this could influence your decision about fight or flight. In most combat situations they should be given the ‘retreat’ order and in general should be set to ‘avoid’. The best scout belongs to the Klingons, it can cloak and has a galactic speed of 3, the rest are all slower (2).

3.      Destroyers. For raiding strikes or border patrols.

The destroyer is the basic foot soldier of any given task force but not all destroyers are the same, not by a long way. In only two empires is it worthwhile building destroyers:

Not worth it.

Cardassian destroyer 2 : Pretty crap this, I never bother with it when playing Cardassia. Not too quick, not very agile, not much firepower.

Federation destroyer 2 : A waste of space. Use it initially for minor race first contact then scrap it and build no more.

Ferengi light raider 2 : The crappest of the lot, it’d be hard pressed to see off a klingon scout. For some reason the dopey computer insists on building loads of them, do the same and you’ll sink without a trace, they make a great firework display.

Worth it.

Klingon destroyer 2 : A tough little sod with some good weaponry can be very surprising with an experienced crew.

Romulan destroyer 2: The cream of the destroyers, faster than the rest (The only real option in Romulus as there are no heavy destroyers) with a speed of 3, it has powerful weapons and defences, is extremely agile and like all Romulan ships can cloak. Nine of these can pretty much venture where they want. Build loads as soon as you can.

4.      Secondary Escorts. (Heavy destroyers and equivalents) For attack, defence and escort duty.

These ships are the ones you need for a powerful fleet at least until your research bears fruit and you get to play with the really big guns. Generally fast and fairly agile with weaponry and armour to match. From best to worst:

Federation Heavy destroyer 2:  This should be the first warship on your list when playing the Federation. It is very fast for such a powerful ship (3), the fastest in the class, quite agile and very tough, the heavy won’t be beaten by any hostile minor race fleet and in one to one encounters with similar class and experience ships will usually emerge the victor. The big advantage is the speed, for patrolling and guarding colonies the rapid response could save colonists necks many times over, and, it’s cheap to maintain.  Remember CASH!

Klingon Heavy Cruiser: Reasonable speed from this original bird of prey, superb weaponry and armour, and it cloaks! What more could a hardened warrior ask for?

Ferengi War cruiser 2:  and standard Raider.: Two ships here. The first is classified as command but really competes in this category, it is heavily armed with good armour and a decent turn of speed, not very agile though. The second, the basic raider is damned good in groups. Fast, with a speed of 3 and pretty good weaponry systems. Definitely the ship to build when playing the Ferengi.

Romulan Cruiser 2: Slow and ponderous, it only beats the Cardassian ship because it can cloak.

Cardassian Cruiser 2: Well armoured (Like all Cardassian ships) but crap.

5.      Strike Cruisers. For planetary assault.

I have to admit I’ve always found these ships to be a bit of a waste of time. They are all slow, not very well armed and take loads of tactical segments to turn in combat, easy prey to agile destroyers after the initial assault. Once when playing the Ferengi I was involved in combat with a surprise attack on the Romulans, the ensuing battle was the closest call I’ve ever had in the game. The Romulans rattled off their deadly cloaked first strike taking out several of my raiders and damaging several others, I did my standard Ferengi battle plan (excellent for such agile ships) a charge followed by an evade dispersal. The Warbirds bit the dust as did most of my raiders. The end two turns resulted in two Romulan Strike cruisers with shields at full strength and of my fleet, a single raider, badly damaged. If I were facing them I’d have been mashed potatoes but after an evade manoeuvre, my raider, one phaser blast from oblivion, found itself directly behind and above the strike ships. The raider took them both out as they flailed around trying to turn and limped home to tell the tale.

Moral.

The computer seems to enjoy building fleets of Strike cruisers but I never bother. They’re supposed to be good for planetary assault but I’ve never noticed any difference against planetary defences from other large armoured ships. At best cannon fodder for attacking a heavily protected system when you don’t want to lose experienced crews and at worst a needless drain on your resources. The best ship in the class is probably the Romulan model because it cloaks.

6.      Top Command ships: For command and control.

All the following ships represent the pinnacle of design and technology in their empires and are all really as good as each other, hence they are in no particular order. Don’t think however that to be effective in combat you should build loads of these, not so, sometimes they can be a liability, they are expensive to run, are usually the first target in any encounter, don’t really seem to give better coordination to smaller ships in an assault and are usually sitting ducks in a flyby. They do have some good points though. As escorts for fleets of troops they can draw enough fire to allow the other ships to escape. As guardians of a starbase their extended range weaponry is very effective, ditto as expendable support for fleets of heavies, drawing enough fire to enable the heavies to finish the job, expect to lose them constantly in any big battle.

Federation: Starfleet has three principal big boys that you can acquire at various stages of development, the Command Cruiser 2, the Heavy Cruiser 2 and the Dreadnought 2. In the advanced game you can bypass the first altogether and just concentrate on the other two. Until research allows, the Heavy cruiser is adequate but once you have the capability to build Dreadnought 2s I suggest you use it. Massive shields, armour and weapons which it uses to great effect, but only at a distance.

Romulans:  The legendary Warbird 2. I love this ship, great weaponry virtually doubled in effectiveness by the cloaking device, a bit short on the armour maybe but what are we here eh? Scaredy cat Cardassians? The most agile of all the big command ships, can pivot swiftly in combat. Build lots when you can. Cheapish to maintain.

Cardassian: Battleship 2 . A real brute. Armour armour and more armour. Very nasty after a flyby as (Like all Cardassian ships) it can fire from the rear so doesn’t need to turn quickly. It can give the enemy quite a shock when it wipes out half  their destroyers after the initial pass.

Ferengi: Marauder 2. Another surprise from our big eared friends. I have seen a marauder head to head with a dreadnought 2 and win. Ditto a Federation starbase. Good long range weaponry it seems.

Klingon: Attack cruiser 2. I think that this is the most scary big command ship to face in combat. Very very tough with the most frightening weaponry, devastating in an initial assault.

7.      Principal Heavy destroyers/Escorts.

I have saved this category till last because it is the most important in the game. The reason the computer AI isn’t really up to much is because it very rarely builds many of these ships and one or two of them are awesome. Once your research allows you to build fleets of these the endgame is in sight. This time the order is from worst to best.

Cardassian: Heavy Cruiser 2. All Cardassian ships are slow and this is no exception, with a speed of 2 interception is sluggish, as usual it compensates with heavy armour and rear firing capability but speed and agility is of the essence in this class hence bottom place.

Romulan Battle Cruiser 2 :Nine cloaked Battle Cruisers would frighten a psychopathic Klingon on cocaine. Major firepower allows for gut wrenching first strike capability. The drawbacks are lack of speed, agility and armour, very effective nevertheless. My usual Romulan task force would consist of two of these, six destroyers and a scout, it would travel a long way to meet its match.

Ferengi Raider 2.:  A wicked piece of machinery from the crafty alliance. Joint winner of the speed prize (4) allows it to intercept anything, plunge deep into enemy territory to take out Starbases, troops etc, powerful weapons and viciously agile, the silly computer never builds any but you can. Zap them round the galaxy in groups of nine causing no end of mischief. Use the ‘evade’ function liberally in battle for best results, flies rings around more cumbersome ships.

Klingon Heavy Cruiser 2 : Another ship the computer never builds, if it did I wouldn’t be so ready to tackle the Klingons. Spec is similar to the Romulan Battle Cruiser, It’s got fantastic weapons and can cloak so the battle is usually over before it starts. What places it above the other ship though is, as always, speed. In this case 3.

Federation Heavy Escort: The Crème de la Crème, the zenith of research and development. The most awe inspiring and deadly warship in the game. I said research was worth it and when your first Defiant class Escort is built at Utopia Planatia by Jove you’ll find out why. I almost got to the point when I wondered if this ship was indestructible. At a galactic speed of 4 the Defiant slices through space like a scythe, outpacing everything except the swiftest Ferengi raider. In combat it is virtually unbeatable with armour, shields and weaponry better than most command vessels and agility like a Romulan Scout. A cloaked Romulan Battle Cruiser and Starbase? Child’s play for two Defiants. Seven Defiants against a Ferengi force of 50 command ships and 100 fast attack? 125 floating Ferengi shipwrecks with six escorts scanning the debris for survivors (My personal kill record) Try not to get too cocky though, there are a couple of ships that could piss on your parade if you take too many chances, the Klingon Attack Cruiser 2 among them. The best method of using the Escort’s extraordinary capabilities is by charge, strafe and evade, twisting in space while firing its numerous lethal phaser arrays, powerful shields easily absorbing any lucky hits while it demolishes multiple enemy vessels in a single tactical turn. Designed to fight the Borg,  This beautifully sculpted Viper means destruction for anything that challenges it. I thought Federation ships were dull until I built these.

Nuff said.

Troop Transports, Outposts and Starbases.

Troops are good. You should be building troop transports fairly frequently, their purpose is twofold.

1.      They build outposts and Starbases.

An outpost allows you to extend the range of your ships, doubles as a repair facility for damaged ships, stakes out territory and provides a small measure of defence. As soon as possible you should convert them to Starbases which have a vastly greater defensive capability. Simply give the transport the order to build outpost (Preferably several transports deployed together) when finished instruct to build Starbase. The more ships engaged in this, the faster the construction. Stick a powerful command ship in there as a guardian and Bob’s your uncle! The power of a starbase can be immense, I took out an entire Cardassian fleet with a Federation Starbase once. Get building.

2.      They attack enemy systems (If war has been declared) and either liberate subjugated systems – should you feel generous – or steam down and do a bit of subjugating themselves. As a rule of thumb I would check the system’s ground defence capability and assign at least one transport to the attack per 100 units of ground defence. Even that would be touch and go, the more troops the better the chances.

Troop ships should all really be escorted if they are to survive. The best ones and the fastest are the Ferengi and Klingon ships, both have a speed of  2 and the Klingons are armed (lightly) the others are all slow and defenceless.

Minor race ships.

Several races build their own ships nearly all of these can be acquired when they become members of your empire. In general they are slow and useless and best scrapped (Look in the ships order list and select ‘scrap’ the computer will give you some cash) The exception – if you don’t have access to cloaking technology – is the Yridian scout which is quite fast, agile, surprisingly competent in battle and can cloak.

(If you are interested in ship’s specifications, description and the technological level need to build them go into research, then objects then ships)

Strategic Overview.

Every empire has its strengths and weaknesses and these should be taken into account if you want a satisfying victory. The main characteristics and areas of concern are listed below.

Morale.

Only the most naïve player would consider this unimportant. The morale of  citizens within your empire can make a huge difference to production and, if ignored and neglected, can result in the loss of colonies and member states as they declare independence and/or switch allegiance.

How do I increase general morale within my empire?

4 basic methods:

1.      Acquire colonies or member states

2.      Build ‘morale boosting’ structures

3.      Run emergency morale programmes

4.      Win battles.

Morale levels run from Fanatic, Loyal, pleased, content, apathetic, disgruntled, defiant and rebellious.  At ‘Fanatic’ your population is like the Germans in 1938, hugely confident, industrious and beavering away like clockwork. When they get to ‘rebellious’ then it’s more like the Russians in 1917: wet boots, trenchfoot, angry as hell, ready to shoot the officer class, execute the Governor and withdraw from your control.

Federation.

Can be tricky to keep these righteous democrats happy. Make peace as often as possible. Don’t break treaties, if you want war provoke other empires into declaring it first (via sabotage, making demands etc). Only attack one system in a given time period—the liberal population of the Federation get a little squeamish over any kind of prolonged bombardment— Acquire colonies and member states.

WIN BATTLES!!

Klingons.

Don’t break treaties (lack of honour), declare war often,  refuse peace, bombard systems – they like it apparently - Acquire colonies and member states.

WIN BATTLES!!

Cardassians.

Don’t break treaties, declare war, bomb systems, Acquire colonies and member states.

WIN BATTLES!!

Romulans.

Don’t break treaties, Make peace, declare war, bomb systems, Acquire colonies and member states.

WIN BATTLES!!

Ferengi.

Don’t break treaties, Make peace, declare war, Acquire colonies and member states, entertain your population.

WIN BATTLES!!

So you can see the central theme that runs through all the empires. Nothing will make your populations more unhappy than a string of military failures and broken treaties. Simple really.

So, if a system that I recently conquered has a ‘defiant’ population what should I do? Get more colonies? Members? Win a load more battles?

Yup, if you can. When playing the Federation I try, if possible, to have a few ‘morale boosting’ moves in place following a brutal subjugation. I.e : an easy military victory against a couple of scouts and troop ships, the colonisation of a crap system close to home, the closing of a peace treaty with an adversary. Any will do. Just feed that dumb population with the soothing medicine it craves. If all that is impractical then I have to do a number three.

What’s a number three?

Didn’t you read the above list? Every empire has its emergency morale programmes. For the Cardassians this is the Inquisition, the Romulans, a Tribunal, the Klingons, Police State, Federation, Martial law and the Ferengi the Festival of fun. All are outside the rules of production (I.e take place over a set time period regardless of the colony size/industry.) can’t be purchased and, we hope, stop the angry indigenous dissidents from overthrowing our rightful government and depriving the empire of a source of labour.

All a bit nasty isn’t it?

Yup, welcome to the hassles that comes with complete power.

So, what about ‘morale boosting structures’?

Plenty of these on the menu. Regimes with general morale problems like the Cardassians and Ferengi have them as standard build structures for every system. The Ferengi have their Holo cinema and the Cardassians their Orwellian Re-education center. Federation and Romulan structures such as private farms and trade centres all have a morale value, all need energy for power but could be worth it as a good drug for the individual system. Then, of course, there are empire-wide morale structures, the best of which are available from minor races.

And they are?

The Edo, the Mizarians and the Bajorans. The Edo have the ‘palace of Edo’ the Mizarians the ‘monument of surrender’ and the Bajorans the ‘Jolanda forum’ all specialised structures to make your empire feel better about themselves.

Are these worth acquiring?

I would say so yes. A small caveat however. Don’t conquer Bajor. You won’t keep them for long. Make friends.

Mmmm. Keep an eye on morale eh?

Oh yes. In a serious game try and fight battles you think you have a good chance of winning, every success delivers a few brownie points to morale. Don’t throw away victories. Nothing succeeds like success.

Intelligence.

Intelligence with the sub sections of Internal security, espionage and sabotage can be very important, especially at the start of the game. The Empires with the best spies, saboteurs and facilities are the Cardassians and Romulans. Everyone else has to seek out minor race technology to beef up their offensive capability. So don’t start the game if playing the others by trying to send out spies to other empires unless you want war, and you don’t… yet. If playing the Federation, Klingons or Ferengi I generally start with part of my superfluous population engaged in research until I make first contact with the Romulans or Cardassians, then I hastily shift them  into intelligence.

Why?

Cardassians especially, will immediately send shadow teams from the Obsidian order and hit you where it hurts, usually bombing all your farms so your systems are tied up with the lengthy (and costly) procedure of preventing starvation, thus not building heavy destroyers and being effectively defenceless for several turns. The start of the game is the worst. Make sure internal security is strong strong strong after first contact with these empires or you may find yourself struggling with famine and a single scout ship as nine Battle cruisers and a host of troops pour over the border smugly annexing all your territory and issuing arrogant demands. If playing Ferengi Federation or Klingons your intelligence should always be defensive until you are in a position of power, then you can start sending out the hawks, a strangely satisfying experience. I would also refrain for quite some time if playing Cardassians or Romulans, build intelligence structures and beef up internal security as much as possible, plenty of time for dumping on the opposition later in the game, at the start, you need colonies, member systems and a large powerful fleet NOT a big intelligence headache, all other empires hating your guts, declaring war and retaliating in kind. You have been warned.

Which minor races are useful in intelligence?

There are 5 races who can really make you into a spy master with a nice sideline in deep penetration Rambo sabotage. In every game I make it my business to get them onside if I can. In order of importance (In my opinion) They are the Betazoids, the Ulians, the Ktarians, then the Bolians and Yridians. The Betazoids beef up internal security with their telepathic councelling academy, the Ulians up your intelligence across the board with their Psychohistorical archive, the Ktarians up your sabotage potential by distributing addictive computer games among your enemies from their notorious game studio (Oh my Gawd! I’m a victim! A victim ya hear!!) The Bolians are good at cosmetic alteration (Make a fortune in Hollywood) and the Yridians peddle information. Befriend these races, make them part of your team, if someone else gets them first, make them your primary targets of war later in the game.

Later in the game? Sounds like fun!

It is. Don’t worry we’ll get there.

Training.

So you’ve got the ships but have you got the crews? Kirks Picards and Janeways don’t just pop out of thin air you know, they have to be trained. Crew ratings are graded green, regular, veteran, elite and legendary. The higher the rating the better the damage control and the greater accuracy of strikes, you get a lot more bang for your buck out of a legendary crew than a green one in the same ship. The crew fix the ship quicker allowing it to remain longer in combat, they evade better and are more likely to escape if need be. Trained troops have a greater ground combat effectiveness and trained colonists terraform with greater speed.

Sounds useful. How do I train them?

Three methods.

1.      At a home system training facility.

2.      In combat.

3.      At a minor race training facility.

What’s a training facility?

A school structure where they take Wesleys and turn them into Worfs. Starfleet has the best with their academy it gives 50 points of experience per turn when the ship is ordered to ‘train’ on Sol. The Klingons come next with their Tactical college this gives 45, then the Cardassians with Central Command at 40, then the Romulan Naval Academy 35. These facilities are all based in the home system. Make sure they are powered up then give the ship its orders. Easy peasy.  Oh, and all ships built in the home system when the academy is powered are built with a rating of 700 (Regular)

What about the Ferengi?

Ah ha! The foolish Ferengi are obviously too busy in fantasy land to give much thought to training. There are no training structures on Ferenginar. Their crews come into the world with a big fat rating of 0 (Green). This is another reason why the Ferengi are the hardest side to play.

Mmm. You mentioned combat?

Yup. This is the fastest and riskiest route. You can throw ‘em in at the deep end, make them learn the hard way. They gain points based on their kills. Pootling around blowing up colony ships or transports is given little worth whereas prevailing against a large bristling fleet of Klingon battle Cruisers adds a shed-load of gongs to your tunic. It can turn a green ship into a veteran after one battle.

Yum yum.

It can also get you dead, with the added pain that the Klingon fleet that wiped you out gains big rating points from the experience.

Oh. Well what about the minor race facilities?

There are two of these. The Andorian war college and the Zackdorn Military academy. It pays especially if you are a Ferengi to acquire these minor races.

Tell me more about these two?

The structure on Andor uses a hundred units of energy to run, it gives ships an extra 25 rating per turn, not quite as good as any of the home systems but better than nothing.

And Zackdorn?

Zackdorn is the cat’s pyjamas. The military academy uses a lot of energy to run (200) but the old masters give your crews an extra 100 rating points per turn.

Wow!

Yup. Get out there and make friends with the Zackdorn before the Klingons do.

Finally.

Training is good but don’t spend all your time doing it. A veteran crew should be perfectly capable of holding its own in battle upping its rating with far greater speed than it could at an academy. Training colleges are most useful for training troop transports. Value your legendary crews, don’t throw them away on planetary assaults or futile battles. Attach green and regular ships to legendary task forces, hopefully they will survive encounters and quickly gain experience.

Research.

What’s the point of research in the advanced game you say? I just want to get out there, kill Ferengi and gallivant round the galaxy with my chums in the Talshiar!

Tut tut. Without research you won’t get to use the best and baddest ships. Without research you won’t be able to upgrade to the best food, industry, energy and intelligence structures. Your chums in the Talshiar are going to look pretty silly trying to fend off the new improved Obsidian order from a neglected dusty office. Not to mention your crews stuck at the helms of inferior ships when the Klingons unveil their gleaming new Attack Cruiser 2s or the Ferengi post you a brochure for their improved rapid Raider.

Point taken. Ok then tell me about research.

There are six areas of research. You can find these by clicking on the research segment of the command hexagon, In the advanced game you start with a rating of 8 in each of the fields. To get all the top structures you need to attain 9 in every category, and getting the best ships can vary but usually demands a ten in more than one category. You can find out what you need by clicking on object database, then ships, then select the ship you want, at the bottom of the screen it will tell you what you need to be able to build the ship, if anything is red, that’s what you need. (You can also get the info on all ships and structures available in this section)

How do I speed up my research?

Three methods:

1.      Build research structures (Usually laboratories) and stick some population units to work them.

2.      Build energy powered research structures and power them.

3.      Acquire Minor races with research talents, build and power their special structures.

Number one?

You know what those are, you start the game with several research structures in your three systems, just under intelligence.

And energy powered research structures?

All races have access to stimulators. For the Federation and Romulans these are subatomic stimulators which give an extra 150 research points when powered. The others have to make do with Theoretical stimulators which only yield 100. In addition, depending on which empire you play you may have energy structures that only you can build giving you a clear edge.

And these are?

Too numerous to mention. The Federation has a big lead in research with things like the Daystrom institute and Genesis lab. Go into Sol, then energy and have a look at all the goodies. After the Federation, the Romulans are best, then the Klingons, Cardassians, and finally the poor old Ferengi.

Ok, what about the minor races, who can help me design those Defiants?

Most of the minor races out there are scientific races who have structures which can help you out in one area or another, there are, however, three in particular that I would recommend acquiring, their talents giving an empire-wide boost to all your efforts.

And these Einsteins are?

Top of the class is, yup you guessed it, the Vulcans. They have a Science Academy that gives your empire a 35% increase in all research areas, you’ll need to reserve 170 energy units to run it. In at number two are everyone’s favourite symbiots, the Trill. Their Research Committee gives 30% across the board and needs 150 energy. Number three brainbox slot belongs to the Caldonians with a research think tank at 25% needing 200 energy. Recruit all three of these races and every category of research will be boosted by a mega 90%, and that’s on top of your own structures and efforts.

Nice.

Yes indeedy. Watch out for the many other races who have more localised research talents as well and it won’t be long before you can start kicking some ass with superior machinery.

Diplomacy

Minor Races.

Ok ok, you keep telling  me about all these minor races. How do I get them working for me?

Two methods.

1.      Conquer them

2.      Butter them up with money until they join you.

Tell me about the conquering.

Nope. You can find that in the section under ‘War’. This is Diplomacy.

Ok, tell me about the buttering then.

When you encounter a new race the computer will tell you and give a brief outline of their capabilities and how useful to you they might be. Under their picture you will see a little ‘attitude bar’ this tells you how much they like you. At worst it can read enraged, then icy, uncooperative, neutral, receptive, cordial, enthusiastic then finally worshipful. Some races, depending on who you play will like your more than others on first contact. Some empires are more popular than others. The Federation generally get a cheerful reception with many races such as the Vulcans receptive initially, whereas the Cardassians are disliked by many, the other empires are all somewhere in between.

So… The only way to get them onside it to give them money, end of story.  This is achieved through the ‘propose, gift’ functions. You get a choice of wording so be careful what you say. The more cash you send, the quicker you gain popularity. When they are ‘receptive’ they can usually be persuaded into a friendship treaty, this allows trade. When the counter hits ‘cordial’ or even better ‘enthusiastic’ you’ve got an affiliation treaty in the bag. This gives you the use of their shipyards (If they have them) increasing your range. At this point you should be bunging them cash every turn if you can. When you’ve filled the bar all the way up and it reaches ‘worshipful’ its time to offer membership. You will usually get it and the system now joins your empire, you can get in there and build the Science academy or whatever.

And that’s it?

Not quite. The first, absolute priority on your list when acquiring a minor race is to build a communication grid in that system and power it. If it takes more than one turn to build then buy it, and make sure you check its powered.

What’s that all about then?

The chances are that others empires have either made first contact with your minor race or are going to at some point, they might have even got there before you and believe me, they won’t be twiddling their thumbs, if the system’s worth having and war is impractical they’ll be sending little gifts too. When the system is affiliated with you or a member these ‘gifts’ will become bribes. The communication grid fortifies them against these bribes (500% to be exact) and usually – though not always – works for the duration of the game. You yourself have this option with minor race members of enemy empires, you’ll find it in diplomacy under ‘request’. So, build those grids.

You said it doesn’t always work?

Yeah. You have to keep an eye on how happy they are, go into ‘active’ and check out your treaties. If that attitude bar starts to slip by so much as one counter then bung them more cash, even if they are a member. Certain races do, on occasion, break their treaty with you only to join another empire. If you get a persistent treaty breaker during a game – and it is usually just the one, then conquering them is the only solution. This has happened to me many times. Some races seem to be repeat offenders. The Ktarians are always a pain and the Tamarians and Takarans have given me grief in the past. Also, surprisingly the Mintakans. I liberated them from the oppression of Cardassian rule once, got them worshipful, built a grid and spent a lot of money on the system rebuilding  only to have the ungrateful pointy-eared idiots break off and join their old oppressors. I was so pissed off at this that I declared war on the Cardassians and took the system by force before I was ready. My strategy now with an offender is to keep them sweet with regular payments as I amass troops in the system, sometimes built at their own shipyards. I then strip them of all defences (Orbital batteries, bunkers and shields), wait until they declare independence, then invade. No more trouble.

Be warned, build communication grids and watch your members.

What about diplomacy with other empires?

Each empire has its own characteristics, attitudes and some are more trustworthy than others. The Klingons and Cardassians are most likely to refuse an offer of non-aggression on first contact, the Federation, Ferengi and Romulans most likely to accept. The most likely empires to break a treaty are the Ferengi and the Cardassians but quite frankly I don’t trust anybody.

Demands.

Rival empires will constantly be sending you demands for money and/or territory, you’ll have to weigh these against your strategic objectives. If the Cardassians are on the opposite side of the galaxy and can’t really wage an effective war with you then you can reject every demand they send and not really bother about it. If they’re sat right next door and you need to keep the peace while you prepare your fleets to mash them later you might consider accepting. If you’re at war with someone and they send a demand, tell them to get lost. If you have a lucrative friendship treaty with trade bringing in serious cash then it may be politic to part with a few credits. Most of the time though you simply can’t afford it, especially with the Ferengi who always seem to demand the most outrageous amounts.

Making demands

Sometimes it works but most often you’ll be told to go to hell. When playing the Federation I use this along with espionage as a handy device for provoking a war when declaring it myself would decrease my empire’s morale.

Replying to diplomatic messages.

Be very mindful of which empire you are when deciding how to respond to messages, how you react could affect empire morale.

How?

For example. If I’m playing the Federation and I receive a non-aggression proposal from, say the Ferengi which I don’t want because its not part of my gameplan and I actively reject the proposal then my empire loses morale points because the Federation is supposed to be a force of peace. Not too good. However, if I ignore the proposal, no one’s the wiser. BUT    If, as the Klingons I receive an identical proposal in the same situation I would actively reject it. In doing so my empire gains morale points because Klingons don’t like making peace. Simple really.

War pacts

Depends. If you intend on declaring war anyway then send them out. If you receive them and you’re not ready then refuse them. Again be mindful of who you’re playing and how your actions affect morale.

Affiliations and alliances.

Affiliations can be very useful but also very risky. When you sign an affiliation treaty with another empire it gives you the use of all their starbases outposts and shipyards effectively adding their range to your own and enabling you to find new colonies and make contact with more minor races, unfortunately they get the same benefits allowing them to lounge their fleets in all your precious colonies, meet your members and bribe them. There is also the substantial risk that they could suddenly break the treaty while their ships are swarming all over your space. I never trust them one little bit. If I’ve got 20 Cardassian Battleships and troops hanging aroung a sector somewhere I always have to tie up a task force to keep an eye on them should they start making trouble. Other empire affiliations can be a pain as well. If I’m at war with the Cardassians who’re on the other side of the galaxy with the Romulans seperating us and they sign an affiliation treaty. If the Romulans have a non aggression agreement with me then I can’t enter their territory but the Cardies have carte blanche to mass on my borders and I can’t touch them without breaking my Romulan treaty, very frustrating.

Alliances are pretty much the same except you can win the game as part of an alliance. But you don’t really want that do you? Much more fun on your own.

So. Be mindful of your decisions and how they affect morale, don’t be bullied, be wary of affiliations but use them to your advantage. Don’t trust anyone ever, The most worshipful friend could declare war at any time, (Especially the Cardassians or Ferengi).

War.

War ooh aah, whaat is it good for? Absolutely everything.!!

Nobody likes breaking treaties but everyone except the Federation likes declaring war. To attack enemy systems and minor races you must declare war. Everybody likes attacking system except the Federation. When playing the Federation you have to be a bit more sneaky when it comes to war and try to get your enemies to declare it on you, then the people are happy, unfortunately this isn’t always that easy.

Risks of war.

Paradoxically you are at your greatest likelihood of  having war declared on you when you are at your most vulnerable and most powerful. In the very early stages of the advanced game, the first few contacts could yield disaster if you are under strength. One empire may have chosen to blithely build colony ships along with a couple of destroyers at the go and be absolutely wiped out in a short space of time. I usually adopt this strategy when playing the Klingons. If the geography of the galaxy is favourable I can absorb the entire Ferengi alliance almost before I’ve made contact with all the other empires. Neighbouring empires at the start (Federation excepted) can sense military weakness like a murder of Crows. Don’t think you will be left alone to peacefully colonise if you can’t defend yourself. Once you have deterred invaders and established a growing empire, things settle down and the game becomes a war of attrition. When you have grown hugely powerful the computer usually makes a decision and everyone declares war on you simultaneously regardless of your relationship with them. If in an alliance, you reject the option of an alliance victory your allies will turn on you fairly soon. Be prepared for this if you are not willing to accept the saccharine rewards of a joint triumph.

What about war against minor races?

Again, for everyone other than the Federation this is the route to take during the early stages. There is usually a mad scramble of war declarations early on, most minor races being pretty defenceless, a few troopships easily adding profitable systems to a tyrannical empire. This does, however result in half an empire who doesn’t want to work and spends most of its time trying to rebel, a bit of a pain in the ass, I have to say I like my citizens happy, it cuts the time I have to spend checking on them. Personally I would weigh it all up carefully. If , for example, I’m playing the Ferengi and I encounter the Zackdorn (Military) and the Betazoids (Intelligence) knowing that my Romulan neighbours had made contact with them also I would dispense with the niceties and conquer them as soon as possible. I would really need the Military academy for my ships and the Councelling structure for internal security (Especially against the Romulans). I couldn’t therefore take the risk that either race may join the Romulans so war and conquest is the speedy solution, I then have to contain morale problems as best I can, some races knuckle down meekly under subjugation, others spend most of their time hating their overlords and trying to assassinate the Governor.

Who?

Ha ha! You’ll find out Mister Gowron. Let’s just say, keep a special eye on the Talerians, the Chalnoth and all other warlike races. Be especially aware of the Bajorans. Way back when, I had to wipe them off the face of the galaxy and re-colonise the system with nice loyal Romulans.

Oh dear!

It works both ways though. If you get them as members they will never defect, stubborn bastards.

So, If I’m playing anyone other than the Federation I can just overrun all minor races I encounter?

Not all I’m afraid, some are very very well defended, again mostly the warlike races, watch out for the Bandi on Deneb, enough orbital batteries to blast your ships directly to Sto-vo-kor.

Orbital batteries?

I’m glad you asked that. I shall start with system defense and then move on to attack Ok?

Ok.

Defending systems

During war, you have (As does everyone else) Five avenues of defense for a planetary system.

And they are?

1.      (Obvious this)  A fleet of ships guarding the system.

Yeah yeah yeah. And the rest?

2        Orbital batteries.

3        Shield generators.

4        Bunker networks.

5        Special minor race defense structures.

Hokay. What are orbital batteries?

Orbital batteries are robotic defense machines that orbit a planetary system keeping an eye out for attacking enemy vessels. They are powered by energy units, each battery using 50 units of energy. When a foreign fleet with troops launches an assault against the system, the batteries open fire. If the batteries are hugely outnumbered (and out gunned) by the attacking fleet then they will be destroyed. If they outclass the invasion force then they will destroy a load of enemy shipping. They will always destroy Troop transports on their own. You can never (in my experience) take a system with a battery using just troops.

So, how would I best attack such a defended system?

As a rule of thumb, assign at least 2 powerful starships to every orbital battery for a guaranteed success. This isn’t always the case, sometimes a fairly small task force can get lucky with these defences but I like to make sure of a kill. The more ships assigned to a planetary assault, the fewer lost. A massive strike is the best chance for success, if playing the Federation you should bear this in mind for morale purposes. The quicker you make your conquest, the less opportunity political renegades have to spread doom and gloom within your empire.

How about using orbital batteries for my own empire defence?

Simple. Build as many as you can power everywhere. You can use energy on other structures until the threat of invasion, then switch them on. There is no such thing as too many orbital batteries.

Shield generators?

Shield generators have a twofold benefit. Using the same principles as a starship shield they provide a measure of protection for all structures in the system that you may have built and also hinder raiding (Ships trying to intercept trade and steal money). When a task-force launches an assault, planetary shields minimise the damage. Costing 50 energy, they are worth their weight in latinum.

Bunker networks?

Available in all empires apart from the poor Ferengi. A bunker network only uses a 10 of energy yet gives a system a good boost for their ground defense once the batteries and shields have been overcome. It allows your population to dig down deep and annoy any invading troops with their resistance.  Again, build them everywhere you can.

Special/minor race structures?

Several warlike minor races have nothing to offer to an empire other than their industry and fortified ground defenses (Anticans, Selay with their ‘mustering base’ special structures) Use these if practical.

Lastly.

If you more the cursor over the star in your system on the small map a list will appear giving you the defensive statistics for that system, Powered orbital batteries, shields (if you have them) and the ground defense number. Usually the level of ground defense is in ratio to the systems population size, the exception being Klingon systems which have a much greater ground defense capability than other empires due to a Klingon special structure. In times of peace all defensive structures need not be powered so the energy can be used on other special structures, make sure, however that, if need be, you have enough energy for your defenses. Batteries and shields without a usable energy source are a waste of time.

Attacking systems

Much of the above about defense applies to attack just in reverse. There are a couple of things to add. When attacking a subjugated minor race of an enemy you are given the option to either liberate them or subjugate them yourself. With all  empires bar the Federation the second option has no effect on moral. With the Federation a liberation gives you morale but a subjugation decreases it, you’ll have to see how happy your citizens are in general before you decide which option to take. Subjugating too many systems in quick succession (As you might if playing the Klingons) can turn your empire from ‘fanatic’ to ‘disgruntled ‘ in a short space of time so be careful. Also, you can choose to wipe the system population out completely without bothering to invade. This can have advantages in certain situations. If say the Ferengi have recently colonised a prime system so it has a very low population you’d probably be better off getting rid of them completely and then re-colonising with your own people to avoid a subjugated Ferengi morale headache. Again, no-one except the Federation has too many problems with this, although, on occasion, the Romulans aren’t too keen on prolonged civilian bombardment. The more ships deployed on this the better. A huge fleet of powerful vessels can wipe a large system in a couple of turns.

Combat

In times of war, first contact or in the absense of a non-aggression treaty your ships are going to encounter others, when this happens you get a little siren and a box telling you how many ships you have facing the enemy. There are three options.

1.      Fight

2.      Open hailing frequencies

3.      Auto

The only time I use Auto is when My ships vastly outnumber the enemy and I can’t be bothered watching 10 Command blow up a colony ship, but in virtually all other cases you should press fight. Don’t worry about the hailing frequences, in the combat screen you are given this option again should you not want to fight. (There are many instances for hailing, first contact with Vulcans say, when you want them as allies and won’t get very far if you destroy their ships.)

Say I want to fight,  How do I do it?

On the screen your fleet and the enemies are displayed facing each other. If you click on one your ships the whole class will be selected in red (i.e: all fast attack, all command, all non-combatant, strike etc) and a list of orders will appear. After you have selected your orders you then select the opposing ships group you want to target.

Orders

Orders vary depending on the ship’s class. The only order that is not available to fast attack ships is ‘assault’

1.      Group Assault (Command)

2.      Group Charge

3.      Group Harry (Fast attack) or circle (Command)

4.      Group Strafe (Fast attack) or flyby (Command)

5.      Group Evade

6.      Group Ram

7.      Group Retreat

8.      Group Open hailing frequencies

9.      Select ship.

If you press select ship, you are given the option to give individual ships separate orders. However the best method is to first give the entire group its orders and then select individual ships. If you start by selecting ships then any group order cancels out separate orders.

What do they do?

Assault:  Orders Command or Strike ships to fire using long range weapons.

Charge:  Orders All ships to charge firing all weapons at close range.

Harry/Circle : Orders ships to break into 2 groups and circle the enemy firing long range weapons

Strafe/Flyby :  Orders ships to charge at an angle and attempt an outflanking move.

Evade :  Orders ships to evade enemy weaponry while firing, dogfight style.

Ram :  Orders ships to ram the enemy firing weapons.

Retreat : Orders ships to retreat  (They stay in the sector if you win and retreat from the sector if you lose.)

Open hailing frequencies:  Orders ships to open a channel/leaves them vulnerable.

So what’s the best?

It would take up half my hard disk to describe how each empires individual ships respond to various orders and many might disagree with my opinions.

Pleeeeze.

Ok. I’m going to make this snappy.

·        Set all non-combat ships to retreat (Unless you have Klingon ships and are facing a vastly inferior force).

·        Give all cloaked Romulan ships assault and charge orders first for maximum stealth strike damage.

·        For small agile ships (Rom destroyers, Ferengi Raiders) charge and evade is very good, be wary of  initial strafing as your ships turns so quickly you could end up with your backs to the enemy.

·        Harry and Circle orders are mostly effective, for strike and command ships.

·        Flyby after assault is a good idea for slowly turning Command vessels (Doesn’t much matter for Cardassians as they can fire from the rear).

·        Ships with heavy damage should be either set to evade, or retreat.

·        Target the toughest enemy ships first.

·        Don’t send  small destroyers in to a starbase, it will pick them off one by one well before they can get within range.

·        Set scouts to retreat if forces are evenly matched, evade if you have