Q: Can any planet slot have a max size planet if I colonize it?
A: Yes. Your chance to get 'em in certain slots (depending on server??) are pathetic in some slots.

Q: Is fusion power kinda useless?
A: No, it scales up logarithmically (and the deuterium cost doesn't!) if you level energy technology enough. Once you hit size limits and have to terraform fusion is DEFINITELY better as the only source of power as it saves slots. Fusion-minded planets should be the lowest planet slots or the one above it (between those 2 the difference is minimal, but DOES mean approx 2% more deuterium in the last slot AND pathetic chances of a max size planet in that slot - statistically anyhow your mileage may vary as this depends on the planet being cold). This holds true on speed server, I hear on extreme server people don't always fill all their plots (could not verify with really high level players there)...

Q: fusion power formula

A:

Deut cost = 1.10 factor

enegy production = 1.05 + energy tech level * 0.01 (aka at energy level 15, it totals 1.20)

at fusion plant level 20, energy tech 15, your deut cost would be 180*20*(1.2)^20 = 138015
and deut cost 60*20*(1.1)^20 = 8073 making the deut cost 5.797% of your energy production.

Keep in mind the power plant is nice at lower level since it costs less to level and you can decide to have both for a while.

Q: are solar satellites really the way to power? They take no place...
A: They are truly convenient short-term, then okay, after that they attract people seeking to make them a debris field to recycle. After a time you'll find your shipyard queue cluttered with solar sats 24/7 and the defenses/fleet to protect them and solar sats DON'T FLEET SAVE so they make you a juicy profitable target. Having all that said, if you're the most powerful player on the server maybe THEN they're the best thing to produce energy. Except for one thing --- death stars can shoot them up to 250 times! (it almost never gets to 250 statistically, but you know what I mean...)

Q: How can I know if my espionnage report found no fleet/defense,
A1: Empty defense/fleet section header = it could check and found none.
A2: No header = go in and perhaps become a huge debris field.

Q: is this game all about fleet saving?
A: yes, it's like not keeping savegames in a difficult game if you don't.

Q: what's the best ship?
A: there is some rock-paper-scissorsness to the game. Check your enemy and don't send ship types he's specialized againsts (i.e. if he makes tons of lunar guardians don't send in your death stars).

Q: what's a moonshot?
A: someone making a 100k debris field on purpose (and sometimes NOT on purpose... see my espionnage question) gives you 1% change of a moon. Up to 19% for 1.9m debris (which must all be created at once, so recycle don't let it hang). I couldn't find if larger debris field makes larger moons, perhaps someone else will anwser that one...

Q: what's lanxing?
A: with a moon you can track the movement of enemy fleets if they're not going to/from a moon. This is how you know to strike 10 seconds after his fleet comes back from fleetsafe (optionally send recyclers to mop up 10 seconds later). Most players can't put their fleet back into fleetsave in less than 10 seconds, and people with long fleetsaves are more vulnerable to this as you can take your sweet time to time it.

Timing math is essential, it blows to miss 'em by a minute.

Q: what's the best noob strategy?
A1: get into an alliance they'll give you starter ressources to get you up to the point of colonization.
A2: espionnage on the inactive players (names in black) and if they don't have defenses or fleet (fleet and defense header VISIBLE, otherwise espionnage report is incomplete). Then you loot 'em over and over and over and over. A single fighter with tons of transports (and recyclers + 1 fighter with another wave since they're so slow...) works nicely, keeping your true warfleet ready to do something else at a moment notice.

Q: Is there a wiki somewhere for zorgempire
A: Not a decent one anywhere I could find, some experienced players said the same and are just as frustrated.

Q: Against turtles... missiles or bombers?
A: Do the math! Also missile-destroyed stuff doesn't 70% recover on next attack.

Q: why don't I see so many death stars (also known as RIPs)
A: they're pathetically slow. If you send 'em against a noob with tons of solar sats, the sats may be destroyed and rebuilt and re-destroyed before it gets there. If it's a really hot planet tho send a well timed fleet of recyclers you'll probably get lucky.

Q: should I colonize early?
A: if you can make 2 colony ships a day, colonize early colonize often. Abandon planets that aren't maxplots (at least on most servers). You can buy an extra planet slot with zorg rubies, so feel free to get some in echange for a series of moonshots or something else dreadfully expensive and save up --- but the usual way to get that many rubies is paypal.

Q: What are expeditions for?
A: Don't bother with them, unless actively trying to get rid of some ships you no longer need (especially when you get rid of all your non-elite transports). Otherwise expeditions are kinda not worth it.

Q: why shouldn't I send recyclers along my main fleet?
A: they're slow, and you need 'em around to clean up after extremely costly mistakes. Pure fleeters with no mining to speak of, I'm speaking to you!!! Plus they don't recycle after a battle if not send on a recycling mission...

Q: How can I fleet save enough and still 'have a life'?
A: Pick one or the other, LOL

Q: what's a nasty trick you can pull on someone who fleetsaves with perfect timing like it's a reflex, and has an overall fleet power total the same as yours?
A: If they stop thinking and do it automatically each time, make him use a lot of fleet slot for whatever sounds profitable (several medium sized debris fields near one of his planet, have someone tell him in chat) --- with a timing such that he will use all his fleet slots and will be unable to fleetsave one certain fleet who just arrived!!! Then rip that fleet to pieces with your own --- and have 4 attacks in 2 minutes in the approx timing his recyclers come back for when he reads the battle report (you can also pick up the debris you left for maximum insult...)

Q: scary... how do I defend against that??
A: get that computer tech UP just to prevent 'all fleet slots used' type problems. It's a good tech.

Q: what about picking on powerful older players who play like noobs?
A: they park their fleet on a moon somewhere, and go to sleep/work at predictable times. Also the gaps in fleetsaving due to not being able to send a fleet up that long without thinking. It's scary how some apparently all powerful players leave the key to their treasury under the welcome rug for anyone to find if they bother to check...

Q: why does sometimes shields go UP during battle?
A: seems there is a +5% / -5% amplification or penalty being applied randomly to shields and weapons and so on.

Q: why am I not getting the rapidfire I expect? How can rapidfire be diluted?

A: 2 scenarios

Deathstar VS tons of light fighters --- they're all wiped out by the death star shooting 19 times in round 1. Deathstar wins.

Deathstar VS tons of light fighters, but also a heavy fighter, a cruiser, a battleship, a small transport, a large transport, a battlecruiser, thousands of solar satellites, a destroyers, and an espionnage ship. Deathstar 2 times and wipes all solar sattellites in round 1 and then from that 2nd shot leftover damage half the target types are eleminated but there are tons of light fighters left because THE DEATHSTAR NEVER GOT TO DO RAPIDFIRE SHOT 3 TO 19 because it ran out of that target type! Next round it fires once and destroys the destroyer and wipes out all target types except the light fighters who take some splash damage. 3rd round the light fighters win and have a pityful amound left but THEY TOOK OUT A RIP that normally wiped 'em in one round!

rapidfire dilution is awesome and both attackers and defenders can do it. OF COURSE the defenders can do with with defenses of each type...

No matter how you dilute, it comes down to at least one shot wiping at least one target type entirely (otherwise no dilution) followed by the leftover damage from that 1 shot hitting the other target types. Make sure they aren't fully wiped next round leaving only your main unit types as you need as much dilution as you can get on round 2 too (especially against death stars... geez I've seen one fire 43 times once)!

Of course this doesn't matter if you have overwhelming numbers --- then your shields soak up the damage before even one of your units is destroyed and you lose nothing!

P.S.: the game would be more balanced if another target type was choosen randomly and the rapidfire be allowed to continue if the new rapidfire numbers permit (aka, shot 1 was shot and a % of the extra shot was used already) then the game would make more sense. Don't hold your breath, tho. I hear massacre server runs this differently but i couldn't find any data.

Q: how can I transfer a ruby for trading?
A: I've been looking for that info for over 20 hours, and have never found it. This was a great part in making me quit the game today --- any sane game of this size has a wiki where info like this, once found by anyone not too selfish, becomes public and easily accessible. I am sad I couldn't give my rubies 1 per non-noob alliance member and 1 extra to a complete stranger.

Massacre handles rapid fire the way you describe in your ps.

Massacre Engine uses SHIP TO SHIP Firing for RF instead of STACK TO STACK.

The best source for info is the forums (use search button). The only real efford to provide accurate answers is through the players guide.

To transfer rubies, type in the player name in the top navigation bar. A list of results will be reutnred and next to them a Z icon appears. Click there to send rubies (in massacre, find the link also in player profile)

moved to players guides