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Dev Journal #111 - Tales of the Terran Alliance: A Tale of Two Terrans

[p]In the upcoming DLC, “Tales of the Terran Alliance”, we revisit the most popular (shocking) of the civilizations in the game, Humans.[/p][p][/p][p]First we need to remember our basic timeline:[/p][p][/p]
[p]Year[/p]
[p]Event[/p]
[p]2178[/p]
[p]Humanity (the Terran Alliance) invents Hyperdrive and reveals it (or leaks it) to other major species. The “Great Space Race” begins: the six major species rush to establish interstellar colonies.[/p]
[p]2190[/p]
[p]The “Altarian Prophecy” surfaces (a ~100,000-year-old document among the Altarians) predicting meeting of “cousins” & origins. Also, the “Status Quo Treaty” is signed among the major races to give United Planets arbitration rights in colonization disputes.[/p]
[p]2215[/p]
[p]The Xendar/Terran war begins, ends with annihilation of the Xendar.[/p]
[p]2216[/p]
[p]The Thalan appear (on a planet thought uninhabitable); they claim to come from another dimension ~30 years in the future and warn of human catastrophe.[/p]
[p]2225[/p]
[p]The war with the ancient Dread Lords erupts across the galaxy; the “Coalition” (Terrans, Altarians, Torians, Arceans) suffers heavy losses.[/p]
[p]2226[/p]
[p]The Drengin and the Yor launch a surprise invasion of the Coalition. The First Fleet of the Terran Alliance escapes into a pocket universe. Arcea and Toria are occupied; the Drath homeworld is destroyed.[/p]
[p]2227[/p]
[p]The Korath (shock-troops of the Drengin) destroy much of the Korx species; a civil war between Drengin & Korath begins; the Yor wipe out many Altarian, Arcean, Torian colonies.[/p]
[p]2230[/p]
[p]The Terran Second Fleet is joined by the Odyssey Deep Space Task Force and aided by the last Arnor (a Precursor species) to build a super-weapon (“Terror Star”) based on Precursor tech, capable of destabilising stars. The Terror Star is used to destroy the last Dread Lord stronghold. Then the Thalan destroy the Terror Star and its plans.[/p]
[p]2233[/p]
[p]The Second Fleet fights a rear-guard action to save as many Terran colonies as possible, while the Yor systematically wipe out Terran colonies.[/p]
[p]2235[/p]
[p]The Second Fleet splits into two factions: “Patriots” (who claim to represent the Terran Alliance) and “Mutineers” (alien-haters, especially Thalan-haters) who begin terrorising aliens.[/p]
[p]2242[/p]
[p]The Terran First Fleet returns from the pocket universe, armed with powerful weapons. They surprise the Drengin fleet, but the Thalan intervene, share recordings of a grim human-future, and the humans halt their advance and spare the Drengin on conditions.[/p]
[p]2245[/p]
[p]With a mysterious Precursor weapon, the Terran Alliance and their coalition defeat the Drengin Empire.[/p]
[p]2246[/p]
[p]Planet Kona is occupied; the United Planets forces occupation on the Drengin Empire.[/p]
[p]2247[/p]
[p]The Thalan convince humans to send the Precursor weapon back into the void of the pocket dimension; the Thalan then vanish shortly after.[/p]
[p]2256[/p]
[p]The Drengin Empire finds a crashed Navigator ship and unlocks Subspace Streams.[/p]
[p]2259[/p]
[p]The Drengin discover the Vela sector, conquer the planet Ulara, and use it and other worlds to rebuild in secret.[/p]
[p]2305[/p]
[p]The Drengin fleet arrives at planet Kona (from Vela sector) and ejects United Planets forces.[/p]
[p]2306[/p]
[p]The United Planets disband; awareness of Subspace Streams spreads in the galaxy.[/p]
[p]2307[/p]
[p]Navigators use their knowledge of Subspace Streams to block detection in the Orion sector; the Orion civs (humans, Drengin, Torians, Arceans, Yor) become aware of the mechanism.[/p]
[p]2317[/p]
[p]The cut-off Korath in the Vela sector meet the crystal-based Prismari species, which have tech that causes stars to go supernova[/p]
[p]2329[/p]
[p]NEW: The Xendar Brood reemerges on a new world they have named Xendaron[/p]
[p][/p][p]Galactic Civilizations IV started in the year 2307. We are now moving to the year 2329.[/p][p]And a lot has changed.[/p][p][/p][p]DL is older. The influx of so many civilizations has changed things dramatically. From a gameplay point of view, we are keeping “Universal Translator” as a tech. But in canon, not only is language no longer a barrier but the galaxy has adopted Uniscript.[/p][p][/p][p]A: ⟟ B: ⋏ C: ⌇ D: ⟊ E: ⟍ F: ⟌
G: ⟟̱ H: ⋕ I: ⟡ J: ⟦ K: ⟢ L: ⟤
M: ⌰ N: ⌲ O: ⌸ P: ⟞ Q: ⟟̇ R: ⋔
S: ⌁ T: ⌗ U: ⌂ V: ⟠ W: ⟜ X: ⌖[/p][p][/p][p](that’s not a direct translation, just a simple version). Since the Universal translator is doing so much work now, the AI agents (all of the surviving civilizations already went through their own version of the AI singularity and avoided extinction and instead transformed AI into agents that help). As a result, you won’t see “English” (or German or Chinese) in official Terran Alliance uniforms and documents anymore but they remain pretty normal on Earth.[/p][p]The change in time has also made it so that the Terran Alliance of 2329 has all new planetary improvements and a different tech tree. We are keeping the “classic” Terran Alliance not just for those who don’t buy the Tales of the Terran Alliance DLC of course but also for those that do so that they can compare and contrast. Young DL Bradley vs. Older DL Bradley.[/p][p][/p]
The Setup
[p]I have given the Terran Alliance (young DL Bradley) and the Terran Alliance (older DL Bradley) their own sectors that will each play out in a best of 5 to see how they do.[/p][p]Now the DLC version (older DL Bradley) from the upcoming Tales of the Terran Alliance is quite different from the younger Terrans:[/p]
  1. [p]They have a completely different technology tree (it’s smaller but each tech means more)[/p]
  2. [p]They have a different governmental structure[/p]
  3. [p]They have a different weapon and defense tech series as well as different weapons and defenses[/p]
  4. [p]They have their own executive orders[/p]
  5. [p]They have a new set of planetary improvements[/p]
  6. [p]They have slightly different starship modules[/p]
[p]The map setup will be two tiny sectors. This way, they each get their own unfettered start.[/p][p] [/p]
Terran vs. Terran
[p]So old vs. new. How do they play differently? That is, after all the key question. Let’s take a look.[/p][p][/p][h2]First Turn[/h2][p]On the first turn, we are still greeted with our home solar system. No real differences there.[/p][p][/p][p]But when choosing what to do on the first turn the differences begin.[/p][p]The new Terran Alliance starts with the Global Data Center. It is a very different beast to the Computer Core that the classic Terran Alliance uses.[/p][p]Earth’s research before is 2.2 RUs per turn.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]But the Global Center Center, on it own, does not provide research. Instead, it increases the base technological infrastructure of Earth by 1.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I.e. It’s a Datacenter. It does no research on its own. It builds up the potential research by a full point. Plus another 0.10 point for each level it goes up. This means that your people’s scientific research has a much larger base to begin with. Building it only brings the research from 2.2 to 3.0. But it has a much greater long-term effect.[/p][p]Similarly, the Terrans have the Manufacturing Nexus. Like the Data Center, it provides no direct bonus to manufacturing but rather builds out the manufacturing capability.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]What all this means is that the Terran Alliance of 2329 starts out slightly slower but has much better potential. It also requires quite a bit more skill to play since placement will matter more to get the most out of it.[/p][p]Now, let’s look at our technology choices.[/p][p]One of the first things long-time players will notice is a new technology called Space Exploration. This seems innocent enough. But look what it provides.[/p][p][/p][p]Expert players will notice the new weapon components but they will also notice something called the Discovery Module. Let’s take a look:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This module lets the Terran Alliance build unlimited Flag Ships. These are ships that can investigate anomalies making the Terran Alliance have a major potential advantage. I say potential because look at the cost of it. 400 industrial units. To put that number in perspective, Earth, at the start of the game, can generate 4 IUs which means it would take 100 turns to get it. So not something you can get right away. On the other hand, the Discovery Module does far more than just let it survey anomalies. It also has formidable military capabilities including boosting hit points to 100 (a typical flag ship only has 50) and 4 armor meaning it can be a formidable military vessel.[/p][p]In practical terms, the Terran Alliance of 2329 now sees these deep exploration ships as having a more dual purpose role.[/p][p][/p][p]Now, let’s take a big picture look at the tech tree of the new Terran Alliance.[/p][p][/p][p]Long time players will notice there are only technology branches: Civilian, Military and Innovation. The philosophy behind the new Terran tech tree is to concentrate the benefits. It has fewer technologies over all and they take longer to research but they do a lot more. Because the Terran Alliance now has a boom style economy, the turn estimates on the techs will no doubt look intimidating but as players see their economic might explode, they will find the pacing, I think, pretty refreshing.[/p][p][/p][h2]Events[/h2][p]In addition, human players will quickly discover a lot of new lore related events. For example, Earth in 2329 is engaged in a life or death race to use its Hyperdrive technology to expand into the galaxy. “The Colony Rush” as it is called. And lots of people on Earth are unhappy about all the spending on this. There are many events that deal with this situation now. Some of which provide more short-term benefits such as new orbitals around Earth such as the Orbital Harvest Hub:[/p][p]The backstory on this is that by 2329, a lot of humans are living in the asteroid fields between Mars and Jupiter but the process of getting the metals to Earth is expensive and inefficient. The Orbital Harvest Hub, while expensive, lets Earth get more of the mineral resources from the Asteroid field.[/p][p][/p][p]And through this, we see how Earth’s humble economy, in a short amount of time, nearly double:[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Trade offs[/h2][p]Because Terran Alliance rewards experienced players for playing well, it does come with some drawbacks. Technologies generally don’t provide free ships. For instance, Asteroid Mining for this version of the Terran Alliance doesn’t give the player free Asteroid miners. Starbase technologies don’t give out free Constructors and so forth.[/p][p][/p][h2]Stargates[/h2][p]One piece of lore that long time players know about but isn’t generally known is how Hyperdrive came about in the first place.[/p][p]Back in the 22nd century, observatories noticed a large structure entering our solar system at near relativistic speeds. It slowed down and parked itself around Jupiter. It turned out to be an Arcean Stargate. In the age before Hyperdrive, ships used Stargates to travel great distances at greater than light speed. They required stargates to be on both ends which meant dragging a stargate to the destination at sub light speeds.[/p][p]The Arceans brought one to Earth’s solar system and this is where first contact came in. What were their intentions? We’ll never know because Earth Space Command (as it was called then) took possession of it before it became operational. The Arceans would claim it was to be a gift to allow peaceful relations between the two “proud” people. However, it should be noted that the Drengin Empire subdued and enslaved the Torians by towing a stargate to their home solar system eons before.[/p][p][/p][p]One of the more frequent new events is the realization that these stargates, besides being inferior to Hyperdrive (much slower, and with fixed points) relied on scavenging Precursor technology. During this period, Hyperlanes were not discovered, let alone understood but the devices that made them possible were not invisible. The Drengin and Arceans, when they found these devices, not knowing what they were, disassembled them and used them as the heart of their stargates. This is why there are so few hyperlanes and none around any home star system – they were scavenged by other civilizations long ago without knowing what they were.[/p][p]However, the stargate that was towed to Earth remained largely intact for study and as a result, the hyperlane core can now be used. Of course, it can also be used for a lot of exotic resources, but one option is to use it to create a hyperlane between Earth and an inactive hyperlane generator somewhere out there in the sector.[/p][p][/p][p]Hyperlanes work with Hyperdrive resulting in a 5X speed increase of ships traveling on them.[/p][p]Now, let’s fast forward a bit and see how the Terran Alliance (classic edition) does versus the reimagined Terran Alliance of 2319.[/p][p][/p][h2]The year 2342[/h2][p]Now each civilization was given its own sector. There is a subtle map color difference between the two with the new Terran Alliance being a bit more blue.[/p][p][/p][p]Both are pretty close in power. In fact, if we look at the graphs, we can confirm that the Terran Alliance of 2329 starts out a bit behind before catching up and now has a slight edge.[/p][p][/p][p]Earth in 2342 looks like this:[/p][p][/p][p]What you will notice is that the new Terrans rely much more on districts. The unique improvements are designed to be hubs.[/p][p]So for example, the new Gravity Labratory picks up an 80% research boost by being placed adjacent to the Datacenter and other such hubs.[/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Game 1: Conclusion[/h2][p]So with the AI playing both sides, not surprisingly the classic Terrans won. That is because the new Terran Alliance isn’t universally better, it simply requires more skill than the AI has. This of course creates the incentive to improve the AI further.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As you can see, it was still a near thing.[/p][p]Let’s do 2 out of 3.[/p][p]At this point you are probably seeing the pattern. The classic Terran Alliance, which is still going to be the default civilization, is fairly easy to play. It’s very forgiving. The Terran Alliance of 2319 has more potential but requires a bit finer control. This is also one of the reasons why we kept the number of improvements and technologies to a minimum because each of them matters so much more.[/p][p]Let me give you an example:[/p][p]The new Inspire Population Executive Order. Players get it immediately. But do you use it? Depends. It has a 120 turn cooldown and it costs 70 Control which will wipe out most of your control at the start. I only use it if I don’t have any yellow stars near my home world since using it.[/p][p][/p][p]But if you do use it, it gives you a really big boost both in research and ship production, especially early on.[/p][p]Another small difference is that the Terran Allliance of 2329 has the ability to train scientists from the start:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Another area that rewards the experienced player: Starbase modules:[/p][p][/p][p]The new Terran Alliance has its own set of Starbase modules that are somewhat stronger than what the classic Terrans have. But most players don’t build enough starbases.[/p][p]I will admit, I had an ulterior motive in improving the Terran Alliance potential in this way: It allows us to see where the AI can be improved. Because we know that the new Terrans have greater potential, when they lose against the old Terrans we know it’s because the AI isn’t playing as intelligently as it could. Hence, it gives us areas we can improve.[/p][p]Now, how did it do for Game 2?[/p][p][/p][p]Victory for the new Terran Alliance. So our series is tied at 1 to 1.[/p][p]So now the final game. Going out to turn 180 things look like this:[/p][p][/p][p]Each Terran Alliance is doing pretty well in their own sector. They are neck and neck in the power chart. It could go either way.[/p][p] [/p][p]Earth 1:[/p][p][/p][p]vs.[/p][p][/p][p]Earth 2.[/p][p][/p][p]Earth 1, home of the new Terran Alliance has far fewer improvements available. Each one is critical. But as you can see, Earth 1 is substantially better performing than Earth 2. The new Terran Alliance’s home world may start out slower but it picks up.[/p][p][/p][p]But in the end:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The classic Terrans win the series. And this was the goal. As a human player, I have no problem winning with bigger margins with the new Terran Alliance. For experienced players, the new Terrans have more potential while the classic Terrans remain a good, new player friendly civilization to start with. What do you think? Do you like that the new Terrans have more nuance or would you have preferred them to be just overwhelmingly better than the classic ones? I’ll be reading your comments. Thanks![/p]

Dev Journal #110: Strategic Space in v3.1

Space Geography
[p]In the popular book “Guns, Germs and Steel”, author Jared Diamond argues that geography is destiny. The reason why the “Old World” colonized the “New World” and not vice versa was because the Old World lacked the kinds of resources necessary to build advanced civilizations. Cows, horses, chickens, sheep, wheat, rye, barley, pigs, etc. were not present in the New World. Obviously, the map generator for Earth was pretty badly written.[/p][p]One of my complaints with Galactic Civilizations III and IV has been how resources are distributed. Specifically, Elerium, Anti-Matter and Thulium. These are special resources needed for the development of beam energy weapons, explosive energy weapons and kinetic weapons respectively. If you lack the corresponding resource, it will be tougher to produce the starships that make use of these weapons. My complaint is that the resources are tied to natural phenomenon which themselves are randomly scattered across the galaxy.[/p][p]Anti-matter is linked to the edges of black holes. Elerium forms in nebula and Thulium is the result of super-massive planets that fail to create a fusion reaction forming into a super dense dead world. I have no quibble with the Sci-Fi. It is what it is. But I do quibble a lot with the fact that geography plays less of a role in strategic decision making than it could… until now.[/p][p][/p][h2]Version 3.1[/h2][p]So in the course of putting together the 2026 roadmap for Galactic Civilizations IV, we’ve been reading through the forums, Discord, Reddit, etc. but also we have our own list of things that bug us and this was near the top of my gripes. So, what to do? The answer is that in version 3.1, going into Preview shortly, these resources can be spawned in clusters rather than requiring a blackhole or a nebula to form. Not just that, but when a cluster of Elerium formed, it actively repels the formation of Anti-Matter or Thulium in the same area. [/p][p]As a result, players will tend to have a lot of one resource, but less so than others. Moreover, because they cluster, as opposed to being scattered, it makes certain areas of space interesting. Especially if we update the AI to care about these clusters a lot. Having a group of 3 self-supporting starbases harvesting 5 Elerium in a single area is a lot more interesting than 5 isolated starbases out there randomly. It also means that what weapon and defense system one designs their ships around becomes more interesting because players will generally, we hope, have equal amounts of all 3 resources as they do now.[/p][p][/p][h2]Balancing[/h2][p]Now, we still do allow nebula and black holes to form their corresponding resource. It’s just a lot less frequent. So while we have tried to ensure that the # of resources remains the same as before on a given map size, the clustering changes things.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So take a look at this screenshot of a medium sized galaxy. The red resources are Durantium and they are still randomly distributed. Everyone needs this resource. But take a look at the Yellow, Blue and Cyani resources. See how they cluster?[/p][p]Now, the occasional Nebula or black hole will still result in a random lucky resource showing up but you can see where one tends to cluster, the others do not.[/p][p]How this plays out during the upcoming Preview builds remains to be seen. BTW, the numbers are all moddable so they can adjusted, but we will be tinkering with these a lot in the forthcoming weeks.[/p]

Announcing Expansion Pass 2

[h2]Stardock Entertainment announced today Expansion Pass 2 for the acclaimed space 4X strategy game Galactic Civilizations IV[/h2][p]The first content drop, "Tales of the Terran Alliance," will launch December 4, 2025. This new expansion focuses on humanity's tumultuous 23rd century and the formative conflicts that shaped the Terran Alliance into a galactic power.[/p][p][/p][h2]Humanity's Defining Moment[/h2][p]“Tales of the Terran Alliance” takes players deep into Earth's pivotal era of interstellar expansion, exploring the political intrigue, technological breakthroughs, and military conflicts that forged humanity's place among the stars. Players will experience firsthand the events that transformed Earth from a single-world civilization into a formidable galactic presence, starting with the infamous Xendar War, which is included in the DLC as a fully playable civilization.[/p][p]"This expansion is a love letter to Galactic Civilizations fans who have been asking for deeper human lore," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment. "Tales of the Terran Alliance delivers not just new gameplay mechanics, but a rich narrative experience that explores what it means to be human in a galaxy full of ancient, powerful civilizations."[/p][p][/p][h3]Tales of the Terran Alliance Key Features:[/h3]
  • [p]Play as the Xendar: Experience the civilization that shaped humanity's first interstellar war.[/p]
  • [p]New Human Technology Tree: A unique tech progression designed specifically for the Terran Alliance.[/p]
  • [p]Expanded Human Story Events: Encounter new narrative events that explore the origins, politics, and ambitions of humanity’s interstellar expansion.[/p]
  • [p]New Planetary Improvements, Weapons, and Defenses: Build and equip your worlds and fleets with Human-focused advancements.[/p]
  • [p]Additional Ship Components: Enhance your ships with new modules tailored to Human strategies.[/p]
[p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h2]Expansion Pass 2: Years of Galactic Adventure[/h2][p]“Tales of the Terran Alliance” is just the beginning. Expansion Pass 2 will deliver five substantial content drops from late 2025 to 2027, each expanding the rich universe of Galactic Civilizations IV: [/p]
  • [p]Tales of the Terran Alliance (December 2025): Explore humanity's defining era and the rise of the Terran Alliance.[/p]
  • [p]Federations & Empires (2026): Formation of governments, elections, agents, and more.[/p]
  • [p]Ascension (2026): Uplift minor civilization, genetically modify your own species, build breeding programs.[/p]
  • [p]Hegemon (2027): Client states, United Planets, several new major civilizations uplifted from minor status.[/p]
  • [p]Underworld (2027): Navigate the shadowy realm of criminal syndicates and black markets.[/p]
[p]Each pack will continue to develop Galactic Civilizations IV's deep strategic gameplay while adding new lore, civilizations, mechanics, and content for both veteran players and newcomers alike.[/p][p]“Tales of the Terran Alliance” will be available in December 2025 for $14.99 USD. The DLC will also be included as part of Expansion Pass 2, which will offer access to all five packs at a discounted price; this pass will be available starting December 4.[/p][p][/p][h3]Tales of the Terran Alliance DLC Announcement Screenshots[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

Dev Journal #109: Day & Night

[p]The Phalenoids Advance are a Civilization of light loving moth-like creatures adapted to a world split into many month-long day and night cycles, and today we’re going to take a close look at their game mechanics to see how they play.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As always in GalCiv IV, you can play them pretty much however you like, and you can even alter their Civilization Traits and Abilities here in the “Customize your Civilization” screen to make them play more like evil Drengin, or money-grubbing Iridia if you prefer![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Genocidal moths? Knock yourself out! There are endless options here and you can really go to town customising your own Phalenoids to play however you you want.[/p][p]That reminder aside though, let’s look at how the Phalenoid Advance are set up as a Core Civilization, and how their unique Civilizations Abilities and their traits go toward informing their playstyle.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Played with their Core Civ rules though, the Phalenoids are a Civilization made up of fundamentally good and well-meaning creatures, characterised by their intense delight in meeting new sentient life out in the galaxy. Their Civilization Ability Hopeful represents this, and Citizens in the Phalenoid Advance’s dreams of a peaceful galaxy keep them working hard when the going gets tough around them. The diplomats of other galactic powers pick up on this optimistic outlook too, and can be persuaded into signing deals they might not normally agree to. In game terms, this means you’ll get more out of diplomatic trade with rival Civilizations and this helps support a more peaceful style of play.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]However, the Phalenoids have access to a rather dramatic and unique Civilization Ability in Nocturnal. Every 15 months, the Phalenoid Advance will enter a new cycle. Each of these two Seasons grant the Phalenoid Advance a significant boost to two Planetary Output values on all their planets.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]During the Season of Waking, your Core Worlds improve, with more Citizen Growth and industrial projects springing up. In the Season of Dreaming, you’ll get more Research done and your borders will grow out from your Culture production assets more quickly.[/p][p]This gives the Phalenoid Advance a certain ebb and flow to their game. As if often the case with Galactic Civilizations IV, you’ll notice the effect of this more or less at various times of the game. If you’ve got neighbors with borders pushing aggressively into you, you’ll be grateful for the Season of Dreaming, but you’ll also notice the relative lack of Manufacturing and Citizen Growth, when you might want that extra economy to find other, less peaceful solutions to the problem.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I’ve found that the Phalenoid Advance really want to lean into these cycles as much as possible. The Season of Waking can be leveraged to build a Galactic Wonder before your opponents do. Set your Civ Focus to Manufacturing to get even more of industrial power out of your Civilization. And if you’re not in immediate need of construction projects or Ship building on your Core Worlds in the Season of Dreaming, set the Civ Focus to Research, and set your shipyards to construct Research Missions and beat your enemies to an expensive, advanced Tech that’ll give you an advantage.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The natural inquisitive nature of the Phalenoids is well directed into their preferred Ideology, Progressivism. While the Research bonuses gained from the Season of Dreaming are only reaped through 50% of your playthrough, heading into the Progressivism tree can be very rewarding regardless of the Season you’re in. During their night cycle of course, you’ll gain even more benefits from research but efforts here will work regardless of Season. If you can grab the capstone Ideological Trait for Progressivism, Singularity, you’ll be well on your way to victory.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Of course, pressure from the other Civilizations often makes greedy like this play difficult and so you’re going to need to balance things with adequate military development too. One natural benefit of playing such a strong Research faction is that you’re going to get access to some of the best Ship components in the game well before many of your rivals.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The Phalenoids aren’t particularly oriented towards warfare, but they can quickly arm themselves for it very quickly during the Season of Waking particularly, while the Season of Dreaming’s Research push can help you reach those larger and stronger Ships and Components much earlier.[/p][p] [/p][p]Also, playing the Phalenoids in their trademark friendly manner will bear fruit in Diplomacy too. Positive bonuses quickly stack up as you help your neighbors during the many Events that pop up during the course of play, and the more friends you have in the game, the better you can race for one of the more peaceful victory conditions.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You can keep monsters like the Korath Clan off your back for a while if you have cunning Diplomacy, but you’ll also get better deals from Diplomatic Trades if you keep your other neighbors sweet. You can dominate the game by carefully navigating the various wars and alliances that form around you.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]If you do end up in a situation like this, where the Manti are being squashed into a corner by our powerful Influence output and are constantly warring with us to take back their territory, you’re going to have to move towards a war footing and build ships. That will flatten your economic growth curve significantly, and so carefully chosen Trade Routes with the right neighbors will not only boost your Credit production, but strengthens diplomatic ties even further: while the Phalenoid Advance’s advanced Ships can often fight more than one enemy at once, many of the other Civilizations have Abilities that make them very dangerous in war and so you’ll generally want to keep yourself to just one conflict at a time.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Building your diplomatic bonuses up through Research goes hand in hand with a strong Influence game, as you need good Diplomacy if you’re going to steal enemy territory and not have constant warfare. The Manti here are close to entering Rebellion with several Core Worlds, and since they’re incredibly difficult to kill in their own borders, defeating them culturally is a sound option. Building your Diplomacy bonuses high can delay a declaration of war until it’s too late for your victim to do much about it.[/p][p]Phalenoid Citizens are interesting too. They get even more Approval bonuses from sharing a world with Citizens of other Species. Conquering other worlds and sending your moths off to live there can quickly negate the Approval penalty you get for such aggressive behavior, and if you find some other way of gaining other Citizen Species into your Civilization, they can make up for their relative fragility without penalty.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Research and keeping your Citizens happy will not be a problem as the Phalenoid Advance but they do have one downside as a Species.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Invasions are not easy as the Phalenoids though: while not overtly pacifistic, they are not strong.[/p][p]Your Influence output may put you at war with a neighbor you’d rather not be at war with, and so you must prepare for this. You don’t have to invade to take Colonies and Core Worlds from an enemy, waiting instead to peace out and then let your borders and Culture do the job for you, but sometimes you don’t have time, or a War of Annihilation is declared on you.[/p][p]Then, your Phalenoid Soldiers are going to have to get their hands dirty, and because their Resolve is generally low you’ll be aiming for Techs like Stellar Marines and Killbots to help their rather weedy abilities at planetary assault.[/p][p]The Phalenoid Advance are a fun Civilization to play if you want to lean towards a more peaceful style of play but you like to have a mailed fist hidden inside that velvet glove, and depending on how you have set your game up, you’re going to get a lot of fun out of them as you decide who is on the receiving end of your friendship and who gets the nasty end of some of the most high tech weaponry the galaxy has ever seen![/p][p]If you’ve played these guys and have any hints or tips on how to get the most out of them, leave a comment below![/p][p]Cheers![/p]

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