23-06-2003 03:15									#1
	Splinter Colonies Suffering from ads?

Me and my brother, we've been playing quite a lot since the last patch and today he realized that we haven't found a single Splinter Colony.

Was it removet? I haven't seen a word about it, but is it possible?

	23-06-2003 03:20									#2
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Splinter colonies are still in. A recent game gave me 2 (yes, 2!) in my home star system, plus one more in a neighboring star system. Either astronomically unlikely occurance or a bug, but just proves that splinter colonies still exist.

Too bad I had Ikthul as my 2 closest neighbors...

	23-06-2003 03:42									#3
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

I seem to recall that in the patch, the chance of Splinter Colonies was decreased, and Magnates increased.

	23-06-2003 03:46									#4
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But they´ve gotten more seldom.
Reason is AFAIK that the Calculation has been altered:
Before the patch if the planet would be Green for your race (and discovered first by ships of your empire) and the RNG had determined that there are inhabitants on the planet the Planet would contain a splinter colony (if it wouldn´t be green for your race, this planet would contain the Magnate Civ best suited for the environment).
Now, after the patch planets with inhabitants only then contain Splinter colonies, if they are a Sweet Spot for your race.
The reason is that with the calculations before the patch some Magnate Civilizations would never appear for certain Races, because their Environmental Preferences overlapped too much with the preferences of your race (you´d only see those races in Systems which were first discovered by another Empire).
Now there is a greater chance that you can also discover those Magnates.

	23-06-2003 10:05									#5
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Well, I was shocked when I saw it but I doubt I'll ever see anything like that again. Obviously it was just a fluke of the calculations. The system in question was all greens for the Silicoids.

And no, I no longer have the save game. I have little patience with being next door to 2 Ikthul civilizations. I like to take my time with the Silicoids and the Ikthul weren't behaving themselves. Filthy biologicals shattering my crystaline breathren...

	23-06-2003 18:04									#6
	Increase Your PM Length

Interesting change. I always wondered why I seemed to get the same kind of aliens showing up as magnates.

	25-06-2003 10:34									#7
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by Stormhound I seem to recall that in the patch, the chance of Splinter Colonies was decreased, and Magnates increased.

That seems to be true in my current game (a 16 player huge cluster galaxy). Early on (before turn 50) I found one splinter and three different magnates. Too many magnates IMHO. They are now starting to settle the galaxy for me almost as fast as I am. Getting difficult to support all those planets that early (starvation, etc.).

	25-06-2003 12:24									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Vince278 That seems to be true in my current game (a 16 player huge cluster galaxy). Early on (before turn 50) I found one splinter and three different magnates. Too many magnates IMHO. They are now starting to settle the galaxy for me almost as fast as I am. Getting difficult to support all those planets that early (starvation, etc.).

Yes, but just think of the empire you'll contol if you survive.

	25-06-2003 21:16									#9
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quote: Originally posted by Vince278 That seems to be true in my current game (a 16 player huge cluster galaxy). Early on (before turn 50) I found one splinter and three different magnates. Too many magnates IMHO. They are now starting to settle the galaxy for me almost as fast as I am. Getting difficult to support all those planets that early (starvation, etc.).

Get those food and terraforming techs ASAP, dude. Those and the mine-enhancers are critical to continued growth.

	26-06-2003 09:35									#10
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At the worst, a third of my planets (scattered in half of my systems) starved themselves down to outposts. I've been real busy keeping them afloat with migrations and colony ships until the tech levels rise high enough. No foreign entanglements yet fortunately. Had the mining situation turned around by turn 60 and by turn 100 I'm almost breaking even on food. It been a different experience after the patch. At least I'm (somehow) number one on the power graph. I should be pretty awesome soon.
On turn 100 something strange (a bug?) happened. The entire galaxy opened up to me for no reason. All of a sudden now I can see the names, ownship, starlanes, and contents of every star. Before, I was on the rim with only two neighbors, none of us are council members, but now I have full intel on everyone. Very odd. Thoughts anyone?

	26-06-2003 09:37									#11
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quote: Originally posted by Vince278 Thoughts anyone?

Yeah: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth...

	28-06-2003 15:42									#12
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Have you got a psychic race as a magnate civ in your empire? I can't even remember if there is a magnate that replicates that old MoO2 race pick.

	29-06-2003 10:09									#13
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by Grumbold Have you got a psychic race as a magnate civ in your empire? I can't even remember if there is a magnate that replicates that old MoO2 race pick.

Don't think so. I believe the magnates I have are the Audrieh, Rhea, and Darlock. I don't believe there are any magnates like that anyway. Besides, the three I have I picked up fairly early in the game. No new ones yet.

	01-07-2003 13:40									#14
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Have you chech your Foregion Polit window to see it you where votes into the senta by change.

	02-07-2003 09:35									#15
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Not a senate member yet (started on rim of galaxy). Also just realized something else strange. Everything is revealed except for the stars own by the New Orions. Don't see the Orion system anywhere.

	02-07-2003 14:46									#16
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That´s only natural.
For a Star Name to be visible your Scoutship has to stay one turn within the System.
As the Orions always attack Ships entering their System (which causes them to flee or, if they have less luck, to be destroyed) you won´t have a chance to see the System of the New Orions as long as you don´t have a TA: Intelligence with one of the Senate Members or with an Empire, which has Colonies 2 turns away from the New Orions.

	03-07-2003 08:46									#17
	Suffering from ads?

That still doesn't explain how I could see everyone else so early in the game. You have read the entire thread?

	03-07-2003 13:49									#18
	Inflate your Upload Space

Could it be that you have accepted an TA:Intelligence without knowing it?

If aliens try to communicate to you the thing the alien ambassadors say to you are most of the times misleading and you can only know what they want from you by reading the Headline.
So could it be you were contacted by an Alien Race, thought you accept anything, but instead accepted a TA:Intelligence?

	03-07-2003 14:56									#19
	Got spare money?

That would certainly reveal most things if almost everyone had previously signed up to a TA: Intelligence with the race who gave you yours, but ought to reveal Orion too unless no council member had shared their map.

Another thing to look for would be guardian systems. If you can see Fieras, Draconis, Ursa etc then the guardians must be dead, which is very unlikely before turn 200.

	04-07-2003 23:46									#20
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i hate the fact that splinter colonies are few.

	04-07-2003 23:48									#21
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and that are small colonies

	05-07-2003 09:22									#22
	Tired of ads?

quote: Originally posted by Grumbold That would certainly reveal most things if almost everyone had previously signed up to a TA: Intelligence with the race who gave you yours, but ought to reveal Orion too unless no council member had shared their map. Another thing to look for would be guardian systems. If you can see Fieras, Draconis, Ursa etc then the guardians must be dead, which is very unlikely before turn 200.

Did have TA:Intel with one of my two neighbors about a dozen turns before it happened. They are not a Senate member and their only (known) neighbor on the other side from me is an Ithkul empire. Off the top of my head I remember seeing Fieras and Draconis but still no Orion.

I had a thought. Wasn't there a leader (in Moo2) that brought a map with him when he joined up with someone?

	06-07-2003 04:00									#23
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Yep the leader effectively had the psychic race pick although they called it something different. I haven't stumbled across anything like that in MoO3 but then I don't pay too close attention to what I get when doing Intel deals. Maybe the other races just don't quite see the game world the way we do...?

	08-07-2003 03:46									#24
	Increase the size of your Attachments

they need to more splinter colonies that are big

	08-07-2003 08:52									#25
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What I'd like to see is an active magnate. Someone who has a well developed and defended planet with a small fleet. Kinda like the non-player races in BOTF. It should take some effort to take these instead of having them surrender to the first colony ship to show up.

	08-07-2003 12:16									#26
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I guess the arguement is that if they were capable of building starbases and starships they'd be a standard player like everyone else. Might be interesting if you had to fight and conquer their ground troops though. It does strike me as odd that they like anyone who shows up no matter how different they are to them.

	08-07-2003 15:20									#27
	Full PM-box? Change here!

quote: Originally posted by Grumbold I guess the arguement is that if they were capable of building starbases and starships they'd be a standard player like everyone else. Might be interesting if you had to fight and conquer their ground troops though. It does strike me as odd that they like anyone who shows up no matter how different they are to them.

It might be interesting if they would be semi-Independent like the minor Races in Tar Trek: Birth of the Federation.
There you have (aside from Worlds to cólonize) a large grup of independent minor Races. They inhabit one Star System (never more), have already Facilities for Food-Production, Industrie and the like on their Planets (whose Tech-Level varies with Races and can even be higher than the Tech-Level of the Player or other major Races) and they often also possess a small number of Ships (but aren´t able to build new ones), which explore nearby Star Systems.
Their attitude towards your own Empire varies with Race (Vulcans for example like the Federation, whereas Sheilak don´t like the UFP).
The Attitude can change with diplomatic Interactions and you can either try to get them to voluntarily join your Empire (i.e. make them really like you and then ask them to join) or you can conquer and subjugate them (which often isn´t easy, as their Star Systems most of the times have their own Defences).
Of course the other (AI-)Players could also try to peace- or forcefully integrate them into their Empire.

Such thing, adopted for MOO3 would surely rock

	08-07-2003 20:20									#28
	Got spare money?

The only down side of the BotF method was that getting the right independent to join you early could catapult your economy above everyone else. In MoO the big advantage is their ability to colonise planets that are quite different to your preferred ones and occasionally to bring other advantages like superior combat troops. I don't think they need other advantages unless their dislike of you meant you couldn't get them early enough for these to be unbalancing.

	09-07-2003 11:17									#29
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Also there might be legal problen like trademark's and copyright that stop then from doing this.

	09-07-2003 11:51									#30
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SE IV also had independents. They acted as AI players except that they never left their home system.