TLF and the children who can't get along.

[raptor3312]

So far I have beaten all the game modes on normal difficulty. However I was only able to beat the invasion game mode by tanking the Acutian homeworld with advanced tech and then planet cracking all the other worlds(I tried forming a federation as quickly as possible while beefing up all the other races. However the option to form it never popped up and my wasted time only ended in every other race's demise).

My question is how do I manipulate the races a bit more efficiently? I can do the basics....such as improve relation and trade routes. However that really does use up time. I've seen screenshots posted with all the races in the federation and I can't help but wonder how they accomplish this. Unless they've been playing on the easy difficulty. If I try improving one relationship, someone usually ends up destroying a race, and I don't know how to intervene without taking a major hit in my influence with the aggressor. I know you can bribe them to a truce, but that isn't always an option with some factions.

[badgerbane]

I just tend to keep everyone at a set strength. Where that set strength is kinda depends on who's got the biggest fleet (spoiler: 90% of the time it's the bloody thoraxians) But I try to make sure everyone is as strong as everyone else. Nobody wants to go to a war they haven't already won. Side effect is that I get nice influence boosts with most races, so when one guy does go to war against another, I go, smash some skulls, and tell the aggressor to chuffing quit it already. Usually doesn't dip my influence with them too much (really it should decimate their opinion of me, after all, I did just murder about 5 of their favourite armadas), and I can quickly get it back with bribes, killing their warlords or otherwise just killing pirates. That's another thing, keep your prisoners. All of them. Hold on to them for dear life. You never know when that influence boost may come in handy. Keeping everyones' environment great is also a must. Even the peltians will go to conquest if they don't like their planet (or, rather, it doesn't like them). Improving relations is nice, but keeping everyone respecting everyone elses strength is more important in my book. I could be wrong of course, but it's what tends to work for me.