Your first time playing the game

[UesugiKenshin]

The most enjoyable game would be not to build an empire but assume the mantle of leadership in an established empire where you have very robust infrastructure, most technology, some useful space faring minor alien race ships and troops, a strong treasury in a vast galaxy with many minor alien races and likely only 3 other major alien races.

But for that to work, sabotage would have to be turned off as it becomes problematic after turn #300, yet to get a strong empire takes up to turn #700.

The ideal would be the serious space faring minor races who have superior weapons can defend their systems so resist, yet some have succumb through conquest and diplomacy, and the major alien races are all strong enough to wage war and defend. That can only truly happen after turn #700.

Some people like to exploit and conquer as fast as possible, but this really makes for a boring campaign. A far more realistic campaign is grindy as war is grindy where you can certainly lose trying to take territory against a prepared minor and major foe. Just taking a chance and conquering to expand your borders by taking minor alien territory tends to make you weaker and unable to defend it. Then the wiser major alien race overuns you with little opposition due the distance and logistical effort to mount an attack by other major alien races.

[UesugiKenshin]

The AI is foolish and will end up attacking when it's senseless to do so. And once down that road, it starts employing sabotage so the emnity is forever.

If you turn on minor alien races, as the map is random, then what will happen is whoever you are playing and whoever your major alien races are playing versus their diplomacy, then unbalances the game. See the minor alien races start with defensable fleets of of ships. And major alien races using diplomacy will end up acquiring those ships and using them, when realistically this would not happen.

If that happened in turn #700, it's not a big deal, but is a huge deal in turn #50. This is the source of unrealistic combat far too early as could grow unnaturally fast as some minor alien races have colony ships stuck in orbit, and others have warships and fighters.

As such, the AI sees you as being easier to conquer versus the minor alien races, so major alien races end up engaging in naked war far too early. So to balances this, it's smarter to just have no minor alien races.

If foolish, you turn on 2 major alien races. Then after turn#300, you will have outrageous sabotage by 2 species.

For now, sandbox is better on a huge map FULL of exploration of minor alien races and no major races. It will take 45 days playing 16 hours a day to finish conquering that galaxy.

With no minor races on a huge map with zero minor alien races, you colonize as much as possible, build intelligence agencies amd defend like crazy against one major alien race.

If you turn on minor alien races and have one major alien race competitor, chances are you look like easier prey when realistically the minor alien races would be.

[UesugiKenshin]

It's a lot of fun to play with both major and minor alien races, but I suggest the first few times you either pick one race like the Cartare against the Khaoran or Heyoun, or play sandbox and only play against the minor alien races (at 50%) and play as the Terrans. Either are fairly easy with the latter extremely easy. It's mind boggling how much micromanaging you will be doing.

[UesugiKenshin]

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If you have never played before, try the turn #400 advanced saved game as the Omega vs the Khaoran, Terrans, and Heyoun with no minor races. If you have played and lost to sabotage, there isn't a snowball's chance in Hell you will lose to sabotage.

This is my main gift to the new players as I want you to enjoy playing BotE and not get frustrated.

[UesugiKenshin]

I hope new players understand that just because a neighboring empire has a claim on territory, if no colony ship has actually colonize it, it's just a claim...not ownership, right?

Use your scouts and push back their sphere of influence by then terraforming and colonizing that disputed terrain. Most of the time, if you play well, the AI cannot back it up with ships and troops.

Wait on taking out starbases with fleets and you can attack helpless transports looking for a sector to establish a fothold, but you better be ready to hold fast and send wavee of cruiser class or better ships to take sectors.

Mostly you are trying to peacefully grow and build infrastructure in the first 400 turns.

[UesugiKenshin]

The best way to learn is use one of my established advanced turn save games. Then you are strong enough to do many things simultaneously and learn what works and doesn't work..Then...play a regular game of your own.

Beginners should NOT turn on all minor alien races and all six empires. Pick some instead. BotE has a challenging learning curve. It would be frustrating to turn everything on.

Try a huge galaxy and one other empire. Or do that and turn on 30% minor alien races.

[UesugiKenshin]

BotE penalizes some major race empires diplomatically regardless of how benevolently you play. Thus it's harder to play as good Omega Alliance empires, yet in my opinion, that empire is the best choice for new players as it is best all around. Otherwise you can play as the Terrans if you have a similar playing style.

The Khaoran empire would be the fun to play ordinarily, but the issue is sabotage.The Khaoran get trashed by sabotage. That leaves the Cartare as the second best as they have vastly better sabotage. I'm addressing this in the Balancer mod.

Soon the six empires plus all minor races advanced save game will be ready. That starts in turn #300 and you play as the Omega with significant boosts, so ideal for a new player. That should be ready in 48 hours.

[UesugiKenshin]

I began playing BotE on a 7" Nook HD and was just glad a newer space strategy game ran on an eight year old quasi-tablet as that was designed as an e-reader that could also get email and access the internet.

It's difficult to play any game on a tiny tablet screen, especially BotE as it was designed as a full PC game. But blotunga successfully made it possible to zoom in and so one could select and tap an double tap to make it operational as an interface.

It's far easier on the Vankyo S8 as that is an 8" tablet. But one thing I noticed that solved some pesky issues, may we up helping frustrated players.

A long time ago, I did graphic design and so you had to carefully click when doing so or create errors in projects. I am no artist, but I could do desktop publishing and edit images and use all the Photoshop tools. Anyway, so despite my age and being a big typically intimidating guy, my tactile ability is pretty precise. It had to be that way for swordsmanship as well when doing an exercise with a partner...or be deadly.

Well in BotE, I would tap and double tap, and on occasion, it would not work. On rare occasions it was a memory leak issue as I had playing so long and the screen was less responsive as hundreds of units were being deployed and redeployed. So that was solved by saving the game, and then either warm or cold booting the tablet as I had minimal free memory. Nooks notoriously load bloatware.

But that did not always solve it. BotE sometimes wants more than an incidental tap with a tiny edge of your finger. Say when you double tap to end your turn. It wants a sustained substantial tap...two times.

Double tapping a ship in the military screen or in the building queue can be annoying when tapping and holding the edge of the tablet. But that is not a BotE issue, but a lack of support behind the tablet. Otherwise, light incidental tapping is like a glancing blow...like hitting a key sideways on a keyboard instead of pressing down. When the tablet is supported from behind and the tap is more direct and sustained, it picks up 99% of the time.