14 DAY TRIAL // I have already confessed that I am mostly playing as the Humans in Galactic Civilizations III, which is a good thing because it gives me space to try out new ideas and a bad thing because it limits my long-term strategies.
I currently have a clear set of moves for the early game, aiming to research mostly manufacturing and planet development as I try to contact races and to hunt the best possible planets as fast as possible.
I tend to make risky moves, like settling behind enemy lines, and I have often gotten angry responses from the Drengin, who tend to create big fleets and always seem on the verge of declaring war if I do not have defensive forces near my frontline planets.
Playing using the same core settings means that I rarely get surprised, but Galactic Civilizations III recently managed to launch an innovative move when the Altarians used influence rather than weapons to take a solid chunk out of my empire.
I tend to ignore the Consulates for my planets and only create starbases to stabilize my borders late in my campaigns, and while I was busy building up to keep the Drengin at bay, I was surprised to see my borders smaller than before and that some of the planets flipped to my rivals.
Impulsive wars are not a good idea in Galactic Civilizations III
I traded for as many war-focused techs as I could (I should have disabled that option when I started the campaign) and then promptly declared war on the Altarians.
Impulsive decisions are never a good idea in turn-based strategy titles and launching conflicts without being prepared just gives the AI in Galactic Civilizations III an excuse to show off its skills.
The Altarians moved fast to take out my shipyards, which have a lot of strategic value, and then to secure one of my Paradise class worlds.
By that point, I was able to ramp up my own military production and I even took out their most advanced fleet, but both races had a bigger problem: the Drengin.
The most warlike race in the Galactic Civilizations III universe had spread out even more and had a solid edge in terms of military power, and it declared war on both me and the Altarians in the space of five turns.
I learned my lesson and decided to start another campaign.