Hey gang:



Thanks for all the articles so far, especially the challenge threads. Super helpful.



I'm trying to wrap my head around the best way to manage income for my empire and I'm falling short. As low a tax rate as is possible is generally great, but I invariably find my empire's income dwindling between turns 30-45 or so, so my tax rate goes up, producation stagnates, and it's basically game over.



What am I missing? I focus somewhat on trade and dust-per-pop improvements but this doesn't seem to help. I'm usually the first to invest in trade and so I have few trading partners, and a low tax rate seems to counteract any of the good that comes from dust-per-pop improvements like Xenotourism, etc.



I generally play a rather peaceful early game (Horatio or Sophons)



Any help would be appreciated!

Focus on industry and science instead and use the ind > dust conversion to produce dust, that's what I do. Also the dust improvements don't work till you have a tax rate of 30% or above.

Expansion is usually the best way for me. More colonies you have, the more pop you have, and the more taxpayers you have. Just keep an eye on your empire's attitude, as it will go down the further you expand.



Be careful which improvements you build. Not every one is beneficial to a particular system, yet all will cost you Dust to maintain. For example, Xenotourism only affects particular planets; it is useless unless the system has any of those planets. Read each improvement carefully.



Try not to build too many ships early on. Fleets can be costly early on. A few scouts, then some colony ships. And if you have any ships that are not being used, I recommend you Disband their fleets; this order will return the ship to the Hanger (make sure you are orbiting a colony/outpost first). Ships in Hanger cost less to maintain than ships in fleets.



EDIT: If you are still having trouble, there is a thread in the Strategy Guide sub-forum regarding Dust production.

/#/endless-space/forum/33-strategy-guides/thread/14057-understanding-dust-production-and-income-in-a-system