Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares/Colonies should specialize: Difference between revisions

Every colony with 4-5 citizens (excluding Natives and Androids) should build a  Spaceport as soon as possible if you researched that tech (there are alternatives at the same level). Most colonies of that size or larger should build a Stock Exchange when you research it (it's the only Tech at that level, so even Uncreatives can always research it); the only good reason for not building one is that you seriously want to build something else first - then build the Stock Exchange as soon as there's nothing else to build; if that leaves your production stockpile low when you finish researching something very desirable (or you unexpectedly get the tech by conquest, spying or trade), the money produced by the Stock Exchange will help you to buy it when half-built.

The other most productive source of income is colonies with gold or gem deposits (5 BC or 10 BC per turn respectively, irrespective of the colony's population). Sometimes these deposits are on good planets (often guarded by Space Monsters), but sometimes they're on otherwise undesirable planets (the worst case is Tiny Toxic Ultra-poor Low-G). Don't bother developing the undesirable planets; use those with a population capacity of more than 1 as "baby factories" (Housing only works on planets with spare room), with at most an Automated Factory (if that causes pollution, don't build pollution-control buildings). If all your good planets become full, make the undesirable planets with gold / gem deposits produce Trade Goods; and produce Trade Goods at any gold / gems planets with a population capacity of 1 (even if they're not Toxic, it's still [[ Master of Orion II/Growing your population | not worth terraformimg them]]).