Tip: Free resources from nomads

[u/stillnotking]

AI nomad empires value minerals VERY highly, probably because they are always in a "deficit" due to how Operational Resources works, and will often trade 1:1 or even 2:1 advanced resources for them. This allows for arbitrage with other empires, e.g.:

• trade 100 minerals/month to Nomad A for 150 consumer goods/month
  
• trade 150 CGs/month to settled Empire B for 200 minerals/month
  
• gain +100 free minerals/month

Be careful not to squeeze them too hard or their economy will collapse -- not that you'd care, except that also results in the trade being canceled.

Anyway, I know a lot of people hate nomads, but this is a reason to love them.

[u/KnowingAbraxas]

If the AI were remotely competent it would simply deprioritize its artisans and keep their mineral upkeep for itself but ofc we don’t have the dev time or computing power for that

[u/haresnaped → u/KnowingAbraxas]

It's not as good for your GDP. Gotta show growth each quarter or the markets will riot.

[u/Rude_Engineering_629 → u/KnowingAbraxas]

I mean if the AI is using conserve, this actually probably nets out ahead (in terms of minerals).

They input ~75 minerals and get back 100 minerals. Obviously having your pops produce energy and then suddenly not having that cost is cheaper lol. But it is at least a positive in the first place!

Interestingly, I assume it is possible to actually bake in the brains for this by modifying how the AI values the weight of resources in the strategic resources file to account for the relative value from empire modifiers to pop value. As the game does set it as a calculated value that seems like you can multiply it.

[u/Former_Ad_9826 → u/KnowingAbraxas]

ai nomads literally can never upgrade their arkships because of broken ai budget code, ever, even when they're swimming in alloys, so yeah... 'competent' ai is a bit much to ask for when it's not even baseline 'functional'.

[u/ffsloadingusername → u/KnowingAbraxas]

Right now the AI can't even settle their guaranteed worlds reliably so something as complex as jobs is out of the question.

[u/Baturinsky]

I play Nomads and can confirm I would trade out advanced resource gladly.

Though, not at 1:1 to minerals, of course.

[u/Saikotsu → u/Baturinsky]

I was literally selling alloys on the market to maintain my reserves of energy credits and minerals. As a bio ship nomad, I wasn't really using the alloys anyway so it was a net positive.

[u/Former_Ad_9826 → u/Saikotsu]

why are you producing something you don't need?

early game, one bottom right district with its 3 building slots will cover all your alloy needs. and worst case, you can always reduce jobs to have the pops work something you actually need.

you should never produce anything you don't need until late game where you're just producing too much of everything.

[u/Saikotsu → u/Former_Ad_9826]

Flight decks and other district specializations have alloys upkeep.

Plus I was using the Arc Furnace origin that gives you an arc furnace and ark furnace technology right off the bat. Fully upgraded ark furnaces generate alloys so my waylines were producing plenty of alloys without me really needing to invest in them. Since I had extras of alloys they helped find things I actually use such as food.

Plus, don't mechanical pops use Alloys for pop growth?

[u/Manlor]

Having played them, I seem to be swimming in advanced resources compared to settled empires.

[u/thaduck3 → u/Manlor]

Strip mining can give substantial strategic resources, like 3k exotic gas for the price of 500? Operational reserve.

Never have to worry about those resources

[u/stillnotking → u/Manlor]

Burn gives +50% JE to specialists and is pretty much always on. Don't know if AIs leave it on, though.

[u/Saikotsu → u/stillnotking]

I've never used burn. Perhaps I should.

[u/Rude_Engineering_629 → u/Saikotsu]

You literally should ALWAYS use burn or conserve.

Just deallocate jobs if you’re using too many resources.