A few questions

Well after owning this game for about 5 months, I've finally been able to sit down and actually start playing it. However I've noticed that it a very time consuming game. I've seen A LOT of mods out there, which I enjoy modding games and enhancing the experience, but I don't know which ones will really "Enhance the experince", and which ones will take it away.

When I first started playing I tried to keep things simple. I started on the first small map it gives me for the single player side. Seven planets, one of which is owned by the pirates, but I disabled the pirates because of how annoying it is to spend cash on them to get them not to attack me. This small map, took me over 3 hours to beat. Now I'm all for a long involved strategy game, and I've played games like Homeworld and Hegemonia, where the you have lots of micromanagement to deal with. But OVER 3 hours for a 7 planet system? I didn't think it would take THAT long. =/ I couldn't do it in one sitting either. =/ Had to save the game more than once and come back due to real life and work.

I guess my first question is:

What can I do to shorten things up a bit? Are there any mods anyone recommends that will not change the gameplay totally, but speed things along just a little?

Second question:

I've noticed in a lot of pictures for these mods, a lot of players have a very very shortened UI, giving them a much larger empire tree, and broader view of the galaxy and what's going on with all the ships. How can I set this UI? I've tried looking in the UI settings and I didn't see anything for it. Is it a mod? Is there a file I have to edit?

Third Question:

Is playing in the single player missions even worth the fun? I have to say that I'm a bit astonished with how fast the AI builds up, even when it's just set to normal. I have a very hard time keeping up with it, and not getting my butt kicked. Are there any good Multiplayer communities playing this game? I don't want to join one and end up having my butt kicked by human players as well.. =/ I know that's a part of gaming, but still I want a chance to learn this.

Fourth is about resources:

How can I speed up my resource intake. Even on that 7 planet system I was mentioning before, I owned 3 of the planets, and the AI owned 3. It seemed like it was taking FOREVER to pull in both metal and crystal. And my credits were never able to reach above 4k, without me spending it on ship production, planet production, or research. I've only really played the TEC and played the Advent once, but since I'm still fairly new to the game, if anyone has any pointers on how resources can be pulled in faster, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I believe this is all for now....

Any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated. I really like this game and I want to spend more time on it.

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first off, there are several speed options that make the game faster or slower as you see fit.

secondly, 3 hours for a 7 planet map is very, very long. normally, maps that size would take 30 - 40 minuts, one hour max. maybe you still need to absorb all the info, figure out how things work exactly, dunno. but usally in those small maps, one side fairly quickly gains the upper hand. I think I even played games as short as a quarter of an hour, it really depends.

I'm not sure what you mean by shortended UI? you mean the empire tree? I mean you can expand or collapse with the little arrow symbols for more or less detailed information. can't think of anything else you might mean.

it's quite fun. I'm not a particular mp type, but if you don't pick a particularly bad time, you should have no big troubles finding a game. and I think, ppl in this game tend to be nicer, maybe the scope and length keeps the troublesome off a bit.

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I'm talking about the UI bars on the top and bottom of the screen, or maybe everyone else knows them as info cards or something like that. From a fresh install of the game they stretch all the way across the top and bottom of the screen, then in most of these mods screenshots I'm seeing, they are shortened and centered to the middle.

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Sounds like need to go to (options) then to (vidio) there it will give you some options on pixal settings 1280 by about 1100 I think alot of people are using.

NOTE; It may not be posible to use some of the higher settings if you have an older tube style screen.

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What can I do to shorten things up a bit? Are there any mods anyone recommends that will not change the gameplay totally, but speed things along just a little?

It's OK, the first couple of games are long as it takes a while to get used to it.. once you get more exp, you'll be bashing small maps wi one AI in under 30 min..

I think this is relatred to your video resolution.. Try setting a higher res and the UI will adjust accordingly..

Well, personally, if you can't beat the AI, don't bother trying to beat human players The AI build up is actually quite OK, unless you set the AI to Hard or Unfair. I do agree that in the beginning, it appears as if the AI seems to build up really fast but the truth is that experienced human players build up even faster. One suggestion is 1. set the AI to be the same race as yourself, then 2. look at the replay and see what the AI did in their build up on their home planet. That should up your learning fairly quickly.

Well, I think you're actually on the right track. If you have three planets, make sure that you have upgraded the planets to max. Secondly, add in civilian research to bump up your metals and crystals production. Perhaps you are a little "anxious" is all Don't worry too much about not having more cash above 4k. If you save all your cash in early/mid game, it probably means that you are not spending it on something you probably need. In TEC, the resources/economy generation are actually what the race is famous for, so just keep going. Probably, the only item for discussion or debate is the choices you make in research and ship production. For that, do check the Strategy section of this forum for more tips on the different approaches.

Overall, I think you're doing just fine.. Have a bit of patience and faith in yourself and I'll bet you'll be a pretty good player before you know it

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Thanks for the pointers. I will definately give a look at some of this.

Also, I did up my resolution a bit and that's what I think it was that these other players are doing. Although mine still doesn't look quite the same, it DOES give a broader view of things.

Thanks once again.

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