Well, if you're afraid of making a broken race, give it a theme of some sort.

It's normal that the default races aren't maxed out super efficient galaxy blasting aliens, they weren't meant to be this way, they all have a flavour of some sort.

Example: The Klackons. Their theme is intelligent giant space ants so:

Unification: Because of the hive mind
Uncreative: Because they're ants and are not encouraged to think.
More productive, better farmers: That's what ants do.

The Psilons:

Research and Creative: They are super intelligent
Low-G: Their evolution put all the emphasis on brain power, not strength.

UniTol:

Unification: Because it's the best Government
Tolerant: To whoop harder ass
Production: Because production is better than farming or research.
Repulsive: Because it's a good minus pick.


See where I'm getting at?

Right now I'm playing a version of modified Sakkra because I never tried them and I want a different challenge.

50% pop instead of 100%
Dictatorship instead of Feudal
+1 prod instead of +1 food.

Some races are underpowered or very bland (Alkari, darloks), but at least they follow a theme of some sort.

Here's a race I made last week and so far I really like it.

Subterran (Double max pop)
Lithovore (No need to feed said pop and you can skip farming techs)
money penalty (Your extra population makes up for it)
+1 Production
-10 Spying

I generally go with Lithovore, -0.5BC, -20 Ship Attack, -20 Ship Defense, -10 Ground Combat. The remaining 10 points depend on mood, sometimes I go with +2 industry (or science), sometimes with subterranean etc.

If you're going to take lithovore, why not take a penalty to farming? It's not like it'll hurt you.

Because the game won't let you.

These are two I generally like:

The Eich (somewhat based on "Doc" Smith)

- Unification (really ought to be Dictatorship to match the books)
- Telepathic
- Subterranean
- Rich Homeworld
- Repulsive ("We do not talk to lesser beings - also, we needed the points.")
- penalties to Ground Combat and Ship Defense

The Dreenoi (name taken from "Starguard," an old tabletop wargame)

- Unification
- Subterranean
- plus 50% growth
- Rich Homeworld,
- penalties to Ground Combat, Ship Defense and Spying

UniSub is addicting :)

Lol, for a moment I assumed you had to be confused since there definitely is a farming penalty, but apparently you're right. This is what I get for never playing lithovore.

I'm starting to wonder if Lithovore is really worth it. With a few technologies and freighters you only need a single farming planet for your empire. Those 10 points could be spent on something else, like Creative, to ensure that you get farming techs.

Currently playing Subterran/Lithovore. Good combo.

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Ok for my next game I wanna try this race:

On impossible:

Unification (Moar food, Moar Prod)
Subterran (More people, to take advantage of the food and prod bonuses)
Creative (Freedom to take the technologies that I need to optimize Subterran)
-----------
Repulsive (Impossible, they hate you anyway. Creative offsets no tech trading)
-10 Ground Combat (Creative will compensate)
-10 Spying (Again, Creative)

I think Subterran might be my favourite trait.

That's how I've always felt. Soil enrichment and weather controllers make you barely need farmers anyway, so it doesn't seem worth the cost. Your new build sounds good though. Unification will also offset the defensive part of the spying penalty.

With lithovore:
- I don't have to worry about planet types at all. I settle everything, barren, radiated, toxic, you name it. No wasting of turns flying to a planet, only to find out it is uninhabtable.
- I don't need to research biology at all. I can simply skip it and go for Doom Star Construction right away :-)

well, the increased maintaining cost on toxic, radiated, desert planet might still be of some concern.

i typically play research/halfbuid buyers:
democracy
+1BC
+ spying
- ground combat
- ship defence
now comes the fun part:
uncreative :D

i always wanted to play lithovores or even default sakkra but as soon as i see the picks... lithovore is way too expensive. actually i think cybernetic is even worse, in my opinon it gets you nothing(except the ship bonus i don't consider too interesting), it just changes what you need and not much to the better. if i have to produce 0,5 food and 0,5 production or 1 food... well, it halfs the cost for frighters. ;)
it migth be interesting if you choose + production but as the common + production thingy, unification, provides the same bonus to farming...

in the past i typically choose subteranean, creative, low g... i really have to play it again. a pitty the ai is stupid as fuck.

I'm trying a funky kind of race:

The Kleptonoids.

Telepathic
+20 Spying
Charismatic
+1 Production

Uncreative
Feudal

Steal everything!!! I really want to try boarding ships and capturing them.
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Wow...

Do NOT try this race, it is garbage. Unless you have a very advantageous start, you will get your ass kicked out of the galaxy.

I have always been playing fairly conservative:

Creative
Subterranean
Omniscient
Rich Homeworld
-10 Spying
-10 Ground attack
-10 Ship Attack
-10 Ship Defense

All negative picks are countered pretty quickly by the techs you get with Creative. Omniscient gives you the edge in flying straight to the systems that are worth it, as well as to Orion. No sneak attacks on your planets, combine it with the Warp interdictor and your defense is easy. Your starting planet gives you a nice base for both research and production.

Now the real killer for this game - for me personally - was the fact that someone invented the Orion Globe spaceship. And I had to built it. One ship to rule them all....

For which MOO?

I'm playing MOO2 with Unification and Omniscience and Large home world with no other pluses or minuses. I'm finding it to be enjoyable as I can watch the others closely. and more carefully plan what I do later.

Obviously, Aquatic and Creative and Subterranean are extremely powerful customizations, but they make the game too easy for me.

I'm finding that by redoing a saved game from the first turn I learn new tactics.