Frequently Asked Questions - Revision history

76561198025456609: /* What drives should I get first? */

2026-05-12T17:06:41Z

What drives should I get first?

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:06, 12 May 2026
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	* For defending a planet, you want 6-10 kps and as much cruise acceleration as you can manage. Target early options are Orion, Pegasus, or Burner. Helicon will serve, but is a bit slow.		* For defending a planet, you want 6-10 kps and as much cruise acceleration as you can manage. Target early options are Orion, Pegasus, or Burner. Helicon will serve, but is a bit slow.
	* For getting a ship to Mercury or the asteroid belt, you want 30+ kps and cruise acceleration of '''at least''' 1-2 milli-g. Decent early options are Helicon, Advanced VASIMR, or Grid.		* For getting a ship to Mercury or the asteroid belt, you want 30+ kps and cruise acceleration of '''at least''' 1-2 milli-g. Decent early options are Helicon, Advanced VASIMR, or Grid.

			Helpful charts showing drive performance (cruise acceleration vs ∆V) can be found here: [[Help:Gameplay Guides/Drive Guide]].

	== Managing Nations ==		== Managing Nations ==

76561198025456609: /* Why can't I Federate/Unify/Declare War? */

2026-05-08T14:34:45Z

Why can't I Federate/Unify/Declare War?

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:34, 8 May 2026
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	* These are actions performed via the Set Policy mission, which always requires active (''not-cracked-down'') control of the executive in the nation where you want to act.		* These are actions performed via the Set Policy mission, which always requires active (''not-cracked-down'') control of the executive in the nation where you want to act.
	* If you have control, view the nation detail window. Go to the Relations tab and mouseover the flag of the target nation. It will show all the possible Policy actions and the complete list of requirements for each; the ones marked FAIL are preventing you from taking action.		* If you have control, view the nation detail window. Go to the Relations tab and mouseover the flag of the target nation. It will show all the possible Policy actions and the complete list of requirements for each; the ones marked FAIL are preventing you from taking action.


	=== How do I take a control point in China from a rival?===		=== How do I take a control point in China from a rival?===

76561198025456609: /* Why can't I Federate/Unify/Declare War? */

2026-05-08T14:33:38Z

Why can't I Federate/Unify/Declare War?

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:33, 8 May 2026
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	[[File:Ti relations.jpg\|frameless\|right\|Mouseover flags on the relations tab]]		[[File:Ti relations.jpg\|frameless\|right\|Mouseover flags on the relations tab]]
	* ~~View~~ the nation where you want to ~~Set~~ the ~~Policy~~. Go to the Relations tab and mouseover the flag of the target nation. It will show all the possible Policy actions and the complete list of requirements for each; the ones marked FAIL are preventing you from taking action.		* These are actions performed via the Set Policy mission, which always requires active (''not-cracked-down'') control of the executive in the nation where you want to act.
			* If you have control, view the nation detail window. Go to the Relations tab and mouseover the flag of the target nation. It will show all the possible Policy actions and the complete list of requirements for each; the ones marked FAIL are preventing you from taking action.

	=== How do I take a control point in China from a rival?===		=== How do I take a control point in China from a rival?===

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:22:29Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:22, 7 May 2026
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	** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.		** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.
	** You can dance around this by releasing the People's Republic from democratic Republic of China, then re-unifying Republic of China into the now-democratic nation with capital at Beijing.		** You can dance around this by releasing the People's Republic from democratic Republic of China, then re-unifying Republic of China into the now-democratic nation with capital at Beijing.
	* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to just re-release Taiwan, but grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.		* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to just re-release Taiwan, and in any case Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed, but grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.
	** ''Option 1:'' Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.		** ''Option 1:'' Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.
	** ''Option 2:'' '''If''' [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]] has already been unlocked and is in your available projects list, research it.		** ''Option 2:'' '''If''' [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]] has already been unlocked and is in your available projects list, research it.

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:21:47Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:21, 7 May 2026
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	** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.		** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.
	** You can dance around this by releasing the People's Republic from democratic Republic of China, then re-unifying Republic of China into the now-democratic nation with capital at Beijing.		** You can dance around this by releasing the People's Republic from democratic Republic of China, then re-unifying Republic of China into the now-democratic nation with capital at Beijing.
	* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, ~~since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai~~ but ~~doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But~~ grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.		* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to just re-release Taiwan, but grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.
	** ''Option 1:'' Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.		** ''Option 1:'' Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.
	** ''Option 2:'' '''If''' [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]] has already been unlocked and is in your available projects list, research it.		** ''Option 2:'' '''If''' [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]] has already been unlocked and is in your available projects list, research it.

76561198025456609: /* How do I democratize an authoritarian nation? */

2026-05-07T16:20:17Z

How do I democratize an authoritarian nation?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:20, 7 May 2026
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	* Stay authoritarian while you work Education up to 12 and GDP per capital up to $50-60k		* Stay authoritarian while you work Education up to 12 and GDP per capital up to $50-60k
	** Work on these at the same time, 3 pips in Knowledge and 1 pip in Economy, to take advantage of the diverstity bonus.		** Work on these at the same time, 3 pips in Knowledge and 1 pip in Economy, to take advantage of the diverstity bonus.
	** Increases in Education feed back into improved effectiveness of the Economy priority.		** Increases in Education feed back into improved effectiveness of the Economy priority. Increases in GDP feed back into more IP to spend on fixing the nation.
	** GDPpc is important to prevent unrest once you take away the stability effects of authoritarianism. It's more important in large nations, which are harder to keep stable.		** GDPpc is important to prevent unrest once you take away the stability effects of authoritarianism. It's more important in large nations, which are harder to keep stable.
	* After Education 12, switch to working on Government.		* After Education 12, switch to working on Government.

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:18:25Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:18, 7 May 2026
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	*** When Republic of China is sufficiently democratic, unify the rest of China into it.		*** When Republic of China is sufficiently democratic, unify the rest of China into it.
	*** LMC will only unlock if the nation of Taiwan exists on Earth. And Taiwan is a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but ''lacks a claim on it'' at game start, so you can't release Taiwan from China until you research LMC to give it that claim.		*** LMC will only unlock if the nation of Taiwan exists on Earth. And Taiwan is a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but ''lacks a claim on it'' at game start, so you can't release Taiwan from China until you research LMC to give it that claim.
	** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.		** ''Option 3:'' With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.
	*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.		*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.
	** Option 3: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.		** ''Option 4:'' With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.
	*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.		*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.
	*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.		*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:17:32Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:17, 7 May 2026
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	* If Taiwan hasn't been reunified yet: Research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]]. Unify the People's Republic '''into''' Taiwan, creating the Republic of China. The meganation keeps Taiwan's government score, instantly democratizing a billion people.		* If Taiwan hasn't been reunified yet: Research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]]. Unify the People's Republic '''into''' Taiwan, creating the Republic of China. The meganation keeps Taiwan's government score, instantly democratizing a billion people.
	** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.		** One thing to be aware of: this creates Republic of China with a capital at Shanghai. The [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]] only applies to the People's Republic with capital at Beijing, so you won't be able to build that mega-nation if you start from democratic Taiwan.
			** You can dance around this by releasing the People's Republic from democratic Republic of China, then re-unifying Republic of China into the now-democratic nation with capital at Beijing.
	* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.		* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.
	** Option 1: Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.		** ''Option 1:'' Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.
			** ''Option 2:'' '''If''' [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]] [[Liberating Mainland China]] has already been unlocked and is in your available projects list, research it.
			*** Now liberate Taiwan/Republic of China to its capital at Shanghai. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.
			*** When Republic of China is sufficiently democratic, unify the rest of China into it.
			*** LMC will only unlock if the nation of Taiwan exists on Earth. And Taiwan is a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but ''lacks a claim on it'' at game start, so you can't release Taiwan from China until you research LMC to give it that claim.
	** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.		** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.
	*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.		*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:06:44Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:06, 7 May 2026
Line 46:		Line 46:
	* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.		* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.
	** Option 1: Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.		** Option 1: Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.
	** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds MC and boost and runs spoils.		** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds GDP, MC and boost and/or runs spoils.
	*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.		*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.
	** Option 3: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.		** Option 3: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.
	*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.		*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.
	*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.		*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.

76561198025456609: /* How do I fix China's Government? */

2026-05-07T16:05:59Z

How do I fix China's Government?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:05, 7 May 2026
Line 46:		Line 46:
	* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.		* If Taiwan '''has''' been reunified: This is much harder. It's too late to re-release Taiwan, since it's a weird nation that thinks its capital is in Shanghai but doesn't have a claim on Shanghai at game start. (And even if you do, Taiwan's democratic government has been destroyed and doesn't just come back if you liberate Taipei.) But grinding the government score for giant China all the way up through Anocracy is a giant waste of resources.
	** Option 1: Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.		** Option 1: Leave China as an autocracy and work with it. This is probably most sensible plan, but if you have an ambition to democratize China, there are other things you can do.
	** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. ~~Grind up the government score of~~ this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds MC and boost and runs spoils.		** Option 2: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], liberate Shanghai as Huanan. [[#How_do_I_democratize_an_authoritarian_nation?\|Democratize]] this 1-region, 4-cp nation while the rest of China builds MC and boost and runs spoils.
	*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.		*** It will take a few years, but when you get there, start liberating more of China and unifying into Huanan -- it ends up being possible to unify about half of China into a huge democratic nation based in Shanghai.
	** Option 3: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.		** Option 3: With [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[End of China]], start liberating as much of China as you possibly can. Use the liberated nations to demand territory from the PRC until Beijing rules as small a rump as possible. This is to reduce the amount of CAP you have to dedicate to the years-long project.
	*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.		*** You can keep or abandon the liberated parts as you feel like, either building MC and boost, or using the time and CAP to control a different big nation while what's left of China democratizes. You probably won't have enough CAP to control all of fragmented China so you'll have to give up at least some of it.
	*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.		*** When you think it's finally democratic enough, re-assemble China into the PRC, research [[File: ICO projects.png\|24px\|alt=Project]][[Pan-Asian Combine]], and collect the rest of east Asia.