I assume I get more solar system upgrades by developing my tech tree? Are those in a specific branch of the tech tree? Player for 30 rounds, now I cant build anything anymore.
A few more questions:
1. Is it advisable to conquer every solar system in the long run or should I leave some out? What makes one solar system preferable over another?
2. Same issue for the planets. Are planetes below a certain population size useless? Should I always go for monopolies if possible? Should I colonize every planet in a solar system that I already colonized in?
3. Is there a certain start tech combination that people use most of the time?
4. How to deal with overpopulation? Make new colony ships?
5. I had a 90 DMG defender fighting and losing against a 30DMG scout. I had no clue what to do in that manual fight. Help.
6. Does food do anything else other than population growth? I can put it back as far as I can so as not to get into any trouble with overpopulation, as soon as they have the max population (and I don't want to build any colony ships there?)
7. How is it being determined which planet loses population when I create a colony ship in a solar system?
Solar system upgrades are split between all 4 tech trees.
Top: System Defense and Ship Production (More XP/health on construction)
Left: Food, Dust and Happiness
Right: Science and Production
Bottom: Special (Extra people slots, bonus to all resources)
2. Don't colonize everything in a system right away. Most planet types have penalties to happiness which will limit how quickly you expand within a system. Expand when you can afford the happiness hit and don't have any space left on already colonized planets.
3. I typically play Empire so I start with the first industry tech. That +10 industry is really helpful getting systems started off. After that I either grab arid/tundra based on what I find nearby followed with the first food exploitation tech to help my systems grow faster. Where I go from there varies.
5. That can happen depending on how you and the enemy have configured your ships. Having a higher attack doesn't guarantee victory. The enemy might have better defences, or possibly just the right defences in order to block the damage you are doing. Additionally it may have picked the right cards during the fight to counter your strengths.
7. The game will try to automatically shuffle your population between planets to maintain optimal production levels. It'll take away a population unit from the least productive planet.