I am new to supernova

[USMC_POINTMAN]

Hi all,

I am new to supernova. I wish to know a little more about the game. I will be starting my first turn on Sat. 17th. What sould I do any help wood be great. Thanks!!

[hobknob]

Howdy and welcome to the universe.

 

There are several good suggestions in the player aids section so look at those. Many of the suggestions that could be made will depend on how you see yor position being run and your starting circumstances. Unless you are dead set on a particlar game approach you should wait and see what you have in your home system as far as potential colonies go and available resources to be exploited. In any case here are a few things that you can do or plan on doing.

 

1) employ as many of your pop as possible

2) build at least one of each science type installation

3) build out any mines required to mine homeworld resources

4) move and PMAP any planet of your same atmosphere ( others too if you are a natural chemical exchanger)

5) move and GEO each asteroid field

6) send at least 1 pathfinder through each warp point, more if you find yourself with extras

7) I would buy Mk II JSS's as my first buy if you saved some start up points

8) set up production so you are at least making resources ie, iron, crystals etc

9) get a good spreadsheet to manage your production

10)Don't forget top assign any explorers you might have to fleets going through warp points

11) if you are a colonizer or want to be you could start bulding berthing units

12) Contact some veteran players and get some info on tech and where to allocate research

 

That should keep you busy for a while.

 

Feel free to contact me for more detailed answers to anything you may want to know.

[EternusIV]

Welcome to the game!

 

I think a few others joined up at the same time you did which might increase your odds of having a nice neighborhood skirmish. You may be 'new' but you are by no means a non-factor on the grand scale of things. Heck, some of us are still developing the technology to spread out fast enough to find neighbors in the first place

 

I'll try my best to give a rundown of what I told a friend of mine last week when he was thinking of joining anew. Everyone on this board is super friendly and we all contribute the best we can to help each other out - and most importantly - have fun.

 

I am not in an alliance - but it could be a good idea to join one that suits your liking for resources and support. There are a few out there - and I can't say anything bad about any of them.

 

1) The economy is very flexible - but there is a steep learning curve at the beginning to understand the basics. The players download section on the RTG site is a good place to grab some resources on the economy. There will also be a few poeple willing to offer you spreadsheets to help balance your economy. I advise you take all the help you can get. REad all of the "pinned" articles on how the economy works and dont be afraid to ask tons of questions on this forum - believe me - NO question is a stupid one for this game and you will receive lots of help.

 

2) Tech is the speed limit for your empire advancement. The more SRPs (starting research points) you reserve, the longer you will receive one free tech advance per turn. If you had somewhere in the neighborhood fo 600+ points leftover, you should be in great shape. The tech tree is HUGE and you won't be able to do it all....so planning out a tech path that is consistent with your overall vision of your empire strategy is important for long-term success. You can choose to advance your industrial capacities, increase your exploration techs, increase your engine technologies for faster fleets, develop uber ground technologies, develop nasty space weaponry, drones, MDDs.....a combo thereof...you name it. In my view, there is no "wrong" direction - as long as you have one

 

3) Scanning your neighborhood successfully will involve surveying Warp Points -which require strong Jump Survey Sensor technology. I recommend you research Mk II or even Mk III Jump Survey Sensors early on to help you knock down Class A-D warp points. There are advantages to knowing your neighborhood - as many systems will connect to each other and you can provide yourself a means to find your neighbors more easily - or- develop an early-warning system from unfriendly ones. You can also scan new systems in the process which reveal new planets.....

 

4) Planetary exploration is fun because you can uncover minor research advances and advanced items - as well as defenseless neutral empires. Building ships with Science Labs, Survey Landers and about 25,000 cargo is a common plan. The sky is the limit. Some players have zero...some have close to a hundred (or more) The tricky part is the amount of orders it takes to set-up and send newly discovered items back to a location where they can be usueful.

 

5) Colonization can be a great investment if you find a world in which you can land on with high yields (especially in iron) Best scenario is to find such a world within your own system or next door (reduces the amount of time it takes for you to maximize your colony)

 

6) A few basic formulas are worth noting. I dont have them with me atm but thy are all on these boards. The Action Point formula, the Yield formula and the Fuel usage formula should be fast to find when scanning the boards. If you cant find them through the boards or the player aids, just email me. You can also join the Yahoo! SNROTE group for archived info and even more player files....I think send an email to Locklyn and he can set ou up. The group is: SN_ROTE

 

Thats the best I can give you on short notice with the time I have. I think you'll enjoy the game tremendously. TIs an empire builderthat allows you to customize in such a way that you develop a unique feel to your empire....the game is still young and the potential is amazing. I think the next year will bring some great things to this community in terms of fun.

 

Good luck! Don't hesitate to email me for further assistance.

[ShadowKitsune]

Things you should do --

 

1. Do your Orders in groups of 40, because that's the basic Order Sheet size. ($6 per Order Sheet (max. 40 Orders / Sheet)).

 

2. Download, borrow or steal an Empire Management Spreadsheet. There are some on this board as well as the SN_ROTE Yahoo!Group available for download.

 

3. If you did not spend all 2000 points on your race, make sure that the Technology that you would most like to have is assigned to Research Center #1, use the SRP Order to achieve this.

 

4. With apologies to Sun Tzu, know thyself. SN:ROTE has plenty of options, which also means you have multiple ways to hang yourself. You have been warned.

 

5. Fission Power Plants require Processed Radioactives to function. You need Radioactive Elements to make Processed Radioactives. Your empire starts off making Processed Radioactives but not Radioactive Elements. You need to rectify this ASAP.

 

6. Any resource that has a rating on your Homeworld above 25 is worth 'mining'. The most important resources (IMHO) are - Iron, Gaseous Elements, Petrochemicals, Industrial Chemicals and Crystals. Lumber and Radioactive Elements are also important but less so than those five.

 

7. Understand how the Production Queue works.

 

8. Peruse this board and read as much as you can. There is plenty of really useful information on here in between veiled threats, random accusations and the usual bluster & bravado. :lol:

 

9. If you have specific questions, ask away, most folks are pretty generous with the advice around here and most of it's pretty good, too.

 

10. If you think you're question is 'silly' (and it probably isn't), you can e-mail me (or Hobknob or Eternus) direct - just use the <e-mail> button below for me.

 

<Slides back into the all consuming darkness>

 

-SK

[crossroads]

Things you should do --

 

1. Do your Orders in groups of 40, because that's the basic Order Sheet size. ($6 per Order Sheet (max. 40 Orders / Sheet)).

From the website:

 

SuperNova Fee Structure

Email - $ 6.00 per 30 order turnsheet [$6.00 minimum fee per turn cycle)

Postal - $ 8.00 per 30 order turnsheet [$8.00 minimum fee per turn cycle)

So it is 30 per turnsheet, not 40.

[EternusIV]

Crossroads-

 

That info is outdated I've been charged $6 for 40 orders per turn sheet for...what has it been....nine months since the change?

[Sha'thar of the Gosht Kohr]

Sha'thar . o O { And most important of all, you must woship cats, much as the ancient Egyptians did or more. }

 

The cat winks. Handy things to remember is that you should, by rule of thumb, have four times as many industrial complexes as you do stripmines, and more is better. Fuel is important, because that's what pushes ships between systems. Lack of fuel is one of the things than can sneak up and bite you.

 

And... build cargo bays! Especially if you intend to expand and/or count on resources beyond your homeworld!

 

Be patient and... Don't Panic!

 

And always carry a towel!

[RTGRuss]

Things you should do --

 

1. Do your Orders in groups of 40, because that's the basic Order Sheet size. ($6 per Order Sheet (max. 40 Orders / Sheet)).

 

 

 

40 orders/turn is the correct figure (changed in Sept '03) - the website had an old page and it has now been corrected.

 

Russ

[WKE235]

Besides all of the above .. make sure you download the various player aides and guides. They all have information that will help you. The starters guide for technology shows all the items you can research at the beginning of the game (so you don't have to do analyzes). Using that guide plus others will give you a good start on the game, and allow you time to feel out others and perhaps join some group of players (getting lots more information in the bargin).

[USMC_POINTMAN]

Thank you all so much.

 

So far I am kind of last but reading is doing me good.

 

I am sure I will find out alot more about the game when my turn comes in.

 

And for cat's we love cat's they are very good pets.

 

But thank you again for the help. I need it so much.

[Sha'thar of the Gosht Kohr]

Sha'thar blinks! Pet?!

 

"Of all God's creatures, there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."

-Mark Twain

[Ixitixl]

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty... :lol:

[woolfe99]

A couple points of clarification.

 

1. You *need* more than 4 to 1 Industrial Complexes to Stripmines. 4.15 to 1 is minimum. 4.2 is very safe.

 

2. Lumber and radioactive elements are every bit as important as iron, gaseous elments, industrial chemicals, petrochemicals, or crystals. Those 7 are the prime resources. Light metals are also important, but not quite as much. Precious metals and gemstones are used in a few techs. The rest of the resources I would leave alone, regardless of yield, unless you happen to have a tech that requires it especially.

 

3. The formula for how many mines to build of each type is 5 x yield = number of mines. You need to build them on turn 1. Some people use a formula that results in somewhat fewer mines such as 5 x (yeild - 20.) That is fine as well.

 

4. This point has been emphasized but perhaps not enough. You need to gain knowledge about the tech tree because all techs and all tech areas are *not* of equal use in this game. I will tell you some things that are universally good to focus on: Jump Survey Sensors (already mentioned), Nuclear Engines and Nuclear Fusion Engines (but not jump drives), starship weapons, armor and shields, all horizon techs except advanced pharmacology, improved materials (but only for steel, radioactives, electronics, synthetics, transaluminum, fuel, construction materials, and timber).

 

Good luck!

 

- woolfe

[MadMartinB]

1. You *need* more than 4 to 1 Industrial Complexes to Stripmines. 4.15 to 1 is minimum. 4.2 is very safe.

 

2. Lumber and radioactive elements are every bit as important as iron, gaseous elments, industrial chemicals, petrochemicals, or crystals. Those 7 are the prime resources. Light metals are also important, but not quite as much. Precious metals and gemstones are used in a few techs. The rest of the resources I would leave alone, regardless of yield, unless you happen to have a tech that requires it especially.

 

Wolfe is correct.

 

If you are a colonizer the number 1 resource is lumber followed by the elements for engines (gaseous,petro, idustrial chem + crystals). Much depends on your home world. You need 2100 MK II Fusions to turn a 30 berthing ship into an 8AP ship. That's 420000 Improved Synthetic and Improved Refined Crystals. You may be blessed to have much of the gaseous/petro and industrial chem covered by your home world.

 

We doubt you have the 1.2M + crystal but if your home system is crystal heavy you can cover that with your colony.

 

The biggest void of a resource is lumber. Seems trees are scarce in the galaxy. As a colonist you will need lots andlots and lots of lumber to make Improved ICs or Improved Stripmines to free up people.

 

While iron is needed you can spend 10 turns making 30-50 berthing ships and then convert it all to engines to turn them into 8AP ships thereby increasing your effectiveness 4x. I favor this approach since you can dismantle the 8AP berthing ships eventually to have huge stockpiles of engines but if you went the 2AP equivalent you would end up with stores of colony berthings.

[T'Aleen Empire]

Another bit of advise for you is that you should realize it takes a "long" time (in game this means many many turns) to encounter a neighbor. Oh you might through the use of the PMAP or ORB order encounter a NPC. You can take what seem to be two approaches: 1) The Great Turtle, or 2) The Deep Space Explorer. Both are very valid, and all depends on what you want to do and etc, realize there are players that started at the beginning of the game with me and after some 34+ turns still have not encountered another player yet.

 

It would seem that player empires are within 5-9 systems apart from one another, in different directions and the fact that one needs higher level JSS to often puch through to discover their fellow players doesn't help the matter. It would seem that to find others one needs to be like 5-7+ systems out from their HW (home world) to 'trip' over another player, who is most likely the same out from their own HW.

 

Another piece of advise I would have, is to try to make friends with those players that you actually encounter "InGame". A local allie is far greater, than a long distance one can ever be. Once you make contact, and make friends, try to specialize in different tech and work together to further each other's empire. The key is Team-work. As to alliances, well they all have their different points! The real secret to lasting success, is "Contact with ones local allies/members".

 

Good luck and happy gaming....feel free to ask any questions or advise of me!

 

Penn Eckert

Systems Commonwealth Speaker