I play the game at pretty high difficulties and I try to get all the achievements on the third highest difficulty setting to make it worth the achievement. I was trying to do the sowers expansion victory with the endless hero.





I finally get him but after colonizing 4 planets and getting a great start, I notice the pilgrims near me. I go," no prob. They usually are slow starters and peaceful.





Then I notice their closest system has this.



Large Terran, Huge arid, Huge desert, Huge Jungle Large Arid, Huge Jungle...



Anomalies metallic waters, low gravity, strange fossils, EM radiation.



Resources, 3 dustwater, 1 hyperium, 1 voidstone





GG. I tried everything to beat them but it was impossible. Their armies blocked out the sun. Their money, endless. All form one boatloaded system. Systems like that never exist. EVER.





I once had a system with the tree of the worlds and 4 lavas. I was in heaven. Even then, I think this system was better. And on the pilgrims?





They were fully colonizing systems every 10 turns because of fleet errands from the system of the gods.



I think the pilgrims could have taken out the endless in a 1on1 in their glory days with this one system alone.

The most challenging games I've had are when I don't have the best systems. This is not to say I don't whine when this happens! However, I've also had an occasional game where the planets I've had are incredible. It's all a matter of luck.



One thing I always do is to set the game to "Perfect" balancing. That at least gives each side an equal number of systems. Of course, the quality of those systems varies wildly. It makes the game interesting because you never know what you're up against, but the tradeoff is when the systems are obscenely one-sided, it can be really frustrating.



If you don't like the randomness, I suppose you could choose a galaxy seed number and write down which ones are good.

I always set the balance to perfect, then this sort of thing won't happen. (or at least shouldn't) Althought I'm sure there are ways around this. I play as the Harmony so just swamp the solar system with mass colonisation, that usually works lol.

I guess I like the randomness of it all, up to a point. The possibility of losing makes the win so much sweeter.



I'll admit to rage-quitting a few games though. It's rare, but it happens.