I typed that up as my computer was overheating so I rushed and left out a bunch of great stuff.
I hope others will take some time and fill in some more of the blanks.
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Creator of the Star Trek Mod - AST Mod - 78 Ship Sets - Conquest Mod - Atrocities Star Wars Mod - Galaxy Reborn Mod - and Subterfuge Mod.
Stellor Manipulation (Gives Solor sails, Solor Panels, and Hyper Optics)
Stellor Harnasing (Monoliths however they are bloody expensive. They are best for long term economy though)
It should be: Stellar Manipulation (gives Monoliths and a lot of various stuff including Planet Creators, Warp Openers, Warp Closers, Ringworlds and Star Destroyers) and Stellar Harnessing (Gives Solar Sails, Solar Panels).
- The trick of using recon satellites require Stealth Armour and any kind of sensors (Hyper Optics is the cheapest of all), not the Scattering Armour (which counters Long Range Scanners).
In short, the basic strategy in SEIV can be sumed up in a single word: expand! Then you will have the leisure to toy with ship designs and other parts of the game.
Damn, your screwed. Sounds like what is happening to me in my game with Intimidator. He is a great player and has tought me a lot. However the rule of thumb is, expand, research, deploy, repeat.