Slipways – General Tips for Building Good Empires

Tips for Success

• Avoid unhappy planets like the plague. Only colonise if you have a plan to provide for that colony, unless you really have no other choice.
• It’s good to build one lab early on, even if it’s low rank, so you can start accruing science.
• Time is the most precious and limited resource you have. Use it carefully.
• As a corollary, only destroy asteroids for money when you’re low on funds and there are still a good few months left in the year. Don’t waste time doing it when you could be colonising or exploring.
• Only choose techs that will have a benefit to your current empire. It’s better to hold on to your science while you wait for an opportunity rather then spending it at random.
• The preview button (middle mouse) allows you to visualise at a glance possible colony loops. Use it whenever you discover new planets.
• When clicking on a colony, you can see which resources it will demand when it levels up. Try to plan ahead for those needs.
• Most important is probably happiness since it’s a global multiplier for your end score (which equals stars). So make sure you can always make your planets at least one step up from the initial state, else don’t colonize them.
• You need to focus on growing the economy by building with an eye towards more total resources, i.e. if you have an option between 1 of resource A and 2 of resource B, you should favor B unless you need to account for a shortage. Try not to build in places where you aren’t seeing this profit – it can put the run in a death spiral (Easier said than done since you never have perfect map knowledge.).
• Aiming for profit across the whole empire is the starting point for having a research hub: surpluses = an opportunity to accelerate research. A surplus also helps out in the later game as you open up more options to convert resources or further pump up output. Ideally you have enough good connections that most of your planets get to Prosperous just by adding some upgrades. If you have to manufacture a lengthy or roundabout connection using a late-game tech, you’re probably spending three months and a pile of cash to do it, which can really hurt.
• Vattori help a lot with learning the ropes, definitely keep them on your council as a beginner. Runs without them are perfectly viable as well once you know what you’re doing but you’ll need to actually focus on building research rather than getting it almost handed to you.