1) My ship leader who does explorations usually asks for a raise of 12 BC after he has gained 3 or 4 levels. He says he's worth it but I think that's too much, no matter what he thinks or what he's found. However, I can usually approve the raise if the request does not come too early in the game, i.e. at a point where I've got sufficient income. But I've had several games, including the current one, where the request came too early (I got lucky and found several sites to explore) and I cannot afford to agree to the raise. My only options seem to be: a) agree and raise taxes and cripple production, or b) refuse and somehow (how?) deal with his discontent. So, the questions are: Is there another possible solution, and will he eventually get over his snit? And, is this high BC salary request something the devs should look at? IMO it's exorbitant! 2) Speaking of taxes, is there a way to increase income without raising taxes? I know that Colony Leaders can possibly do that upon leveling up, but they level up so infrequently that it's almost useless, especially early on. 3) Freighter Fleets. How many are needed for asteroid exploitation? I think none for Science and Trade. Is that correct? But for production? In the current game I think I built a Freighter Fleet, but when I went to exploit an asteroid belt I was told I needed a Fleet. Maybe I did not build the Fleet, but how can I know? Is there a way to tell if and how many Fleets are in the game?
Hi Joe3 Let me take a shot at these It is exorbitant early on and sometimes even later on. Usually though you reach a point where it is trivial. The thing is how to deal with it early. You have two choices only, yes or no. Check the leader's opinion, if you deny it he will lose 20 opinion. If this brings the leader to negative 3 or four it's no big deal, more than that and nasty stuff happens. A way to deal with it is see if he/she has any desires, such as command a cruiser in battle. If that is the case, find a monster and send him to destroy it, be careful though, the leader can be killed now if the command ship is destroyed. It's a good idea to keep monsters alive specifically to gain opinion from your ship leaders. At least one event can help, but it's left to chance. Apart from this... not much you can do Lot's of ways. Focus on the wealth space culture. The third choice, (the one that is a single choice), really helps and can be gained early. Other things to try, build an econ capital early, look for worlds with specials that give credit bonuses, some strategic resources also may provide extra cash per turn if you set an outpost there. An asteroid dedicated to trade is also a help You only need one freighter fleet per asteroid dedicated to production, and yes, you can see how many you have and how many are in use by looking at the left ribbon, it is the one that shows your tax rate, SSP, etc. The last icon on that ribbon, (right most position) is dedicated to your freighters.
Hello again, Konstantine. Thanks for the response. Regarding my unhappy ship leader, he's really unhappy (-18). I did notice after a few turns that he got a little better: he's now -17. I do have a monster I can send him to, but I'm wondering if it's worth it and how much it will help. I hate to outright fire him, but given what you've said, it sounds like that's what I'm going to do. I missed the wealth space culture option -- well, completely overlooked it, to be honest. Thanks! I'll work on that now and in future games. And I knew about the economic capital idea (it's in your beginners guide of course), but totally forgot about it. Oops! (I used to have some memory, but I forgot where I mislaid it.) Thanks for clearing up the Freighter Fleet question. Now I know. And yes, I overlooked the freighter status icon. Oh, did I mention I forget things? Anyway, thanks a bunch! I love this game but it is taking me a long, long time to get it right. I appreciate your patience and also that of the others guys on the forum.
Aye my friend, it does take some time to get it right. Biut don't be too hard on yourself, I have hundreds of hours with ISG and still find occasional things that I overlooked in all this time. It's a complex game... but so much fun.
