We reviewed this free on-line strategy game
last year. Since then, we've developed eight planets, acquired five moons, gained over 27 million points, and ranked in the top 70 players on one of the many game servers. With this experience, we've compiled a few tips and tricks learned along the way:
1) As new planets are developed, don't bother with solar plants...they are a waste of space on the planet. Fusion plants are much more efficient. If a little extra power is required, put up some solar satellites. Here's an example: if Energy Tech is researched to level 15, the output from a level 16 Fusion plant is 8889 energy. The solar plant on the other hand requires level 28 to generate 8075 energy - not quite as much, yet it uses up valuable planetary space that can be put to better use by increasing mines to higher levels.
2) After making careful observations of all metrics across planets, research, production, construction, ship efficiency, battle reports, etc., we could find no benefits to improving Plasma Technology beyond level 10, other than gaining double score points for spending resources on research. We asked Support about the specific effect when upgrading Plasma Tech beyond level 10. Here is their response:
The plasma tech can be used in the construction of the new fleet, the tech has powerful combatting force. Every upgrading the tech can let you to construct the higher one or the stronger weapon or fleet. if you did have the relative tech, you can not have other fleets or weapon.
Huh? We were hoping for a comprehensible response such as, "there is a 1% gain in metal mining production", or "there is no specific gain beyond level 9", or "good idea - look for an improvement in the next version".
3) Each scan using the EU-X radar array costs 50K in gas. Be sure to have a reserve available on the moon.
4) Try specializing some planets. By sacrificing a few levels in the other mines on a planet, a higher gain can be had in another. For example, a level 39 metal mine with Lv7 four-star metal galactonite equipped on the planet produces 770K/h. That's over 18M per day...not bad!
5) Researching Hyperspace Tech reduces fuel requirements for fleet transit. As a result, there is a corresponding increase in the amount of cargo that can be loaded. It doesn't change the cargo capacity of the ships, but be aware that the fuel used for flying is also loaded into the cargo bay, therefore reducing fuel requirements increases space for transport.
6) To identify where improvements can be made, create a one page spreadsheet to tally building levels and production numbers across planets. For example, to optimize for Destroyer production, aim toward the ratio 48:40:12 - that is 48% of total production should be metal, 40% crystal, and 12% gas. Our next goal is to determine the optimal configuration of mines for a given planet size with respect to Destroyer production. Stay tuned.
7) On the defensive side, every 16 ion cannons is equal to one large shield dome. It takes 2.5 plasma cannons to take out a dreadnought and 3.5 to eliminate a destroyer. Build accordingly.
8) Expenditures of gas to move ships around does not contribute toward score.
Below are some tips for Pocket Trains (iOS version 1.0.6), serving as guidance from level 4 through level 20 with expansion to the North American continent. An enjoyable and engaging interactive experience with some geography lessons for good measure.
