could the game please have a fixed rate for colonizing and invasions? put a premium on the good planets, but have the $$$ be the same for all levels. the problem is that the costs get ridiculous and the game gets unbalanced. a low level can take over or colonize easily while a high level is really having a hard time. say a player invades and pays only 8000, i have to pay over 150k or more (currently) to take it back!

the way i think this should work is to put the cost into the advanced structured like i think it is already. the cost to put them on the planet is quite high already... and that high cost can be spread out over time or they can settle to use lower tech. if a really high level player wants to colonize at lv1 tech, it should cost the same (unless there is a planet altering process)

just a thought

Colonization and invasion costs are simply based on the number of colonies you already control. The more colonies you have in the galaxy, the more expensive it will be to control the next one.

If you find you cannot afford to colonize new planets, you probably need to slow down your expansion.

While the cost is certainly 'cheap' for new players, they shouldn't be the ones taking over your planets. That just indicates you have them poorly defended.

im undefeated so far. just thinking ahead . i might have money issues soon because most of my planets are gas giants to get my laser beamz and other cool toys. No cool artifacts or hoards of minerals for me i suppose... for now. this just means i can trash a colony and get a bigger one for reduced cost

I would suggest focusing on minerals if you don't have artifacts as a source of income, because research becomes useless when you can't afford to implement what you researched xD.

I complained about nubs taking over my planets and he advised me to add defenses/cloaks so that new guys can't find the planets.

minerals>artifacts in terms of gaining moners, a 1000 point artifact is around 50K were as 1000 points of minerals is about 4 million if you have the cargo to accept it all

ill try for this route. i am really in trouble because im almost 100% financed though missions, my minerals give me a very marginal $$$ which is enough to pay the essentials and prevent me from buying minerals... so far. i produce alot of dynite, but once i need the others in large quantities im screwed. im currently trying to max out "Analyze strange device" which gives me 20k per completion + decent XP. i already played Russian roulette with omicron devices for 10k every completion for 6x2 energy got myself blown up a few times does an even 80 damage each time. i can manage my upkeep and keep the best upgrades on my ship. i used to be able to afford to fully colonize and fill a planet at least once a day, but cant anymore. so unless i do something fast im in trouble if i plan to go conquer anything. 3 of the 5 planets i have are gas giants which means i will as some suggest have the tech and not be able to fully use it. i made some decent $$$ raiding, but its gambling. soon if i keep destroying ships i will be on the galaxy leaders board for battles won... the low end is 41, and im halfway there... i dont want on that list at such a low level, but testing my new guns is so much fun how can you not test the effectiveness of your guns

wait for a fool to attack

currently im running at about 200 mineral/hour i wait for it to get at about 3K or so, cash in and get about 25Mil from it. Of course this requires around 350 empty cargo space, so you may need to focus on that.

the only time i have been attacked was when i was in my 1st few levels. i logged in and saw damage but didn't suffer a death. after that noone has dared attack. im not the strongest ship, but would you choose a 19/0 undefeated player or one with loads of useless gear on their ship and a negative kill ratio in a random attack. even IF someone wanted to attack, i dont have much cargo space so most my stuff is stacking up on my planets. i also spend all my research points when they come now, so there is nothing to steal. just a good fight. the only thing i suppose im vulnerable to is a retaliation attack, or being alerted to a stronger legion. will happen eventually i suppose.

do you earn XP if you win a battle while afk?

Experience is only awarded if you spend energy to win a battle, or disable a higher ranked ship.