It's been a super long time since I've played any strategy games and have been dying to get into some deep ones again and this one seems to fit that description. However, I am feeling as though I am missing something or lacking knowledge on the games systems so I have a few questions.



1) For my first few turns (it felt like 10 or so there was very little of anything going on other than some research and scouting. Is this normal? I mean, it makes sense but I was wondering if there was something I was missing.



2) When looking at planet view there is a section for exploitation. Is this something you can only have one of at a time? I have colonial exchange going for one but when I tried to add alien grafting it seems to replace that. So is it one exploitation per planet?



3) In the research screen, I can select a skill to start learning but I can't figure out a way to queue up others despite there being a queued research window there. How do I queue them up?



4) In the diplomacy screen, I can't figure out how to offer peace, or open borders, or a resource trade. When I click on the terms options only treaty options has an option and it's declare war.



Other than that, I guess I am mostly waiting for time to pass to up my research and colonies to grow...



On another note: the game is beautiful looking



cc: /r/EndlessSpace

1) Nothing to worry about, this is perfectly normal.



2) Correct, you can only have one per planet at a time.



Early on, you'll probably want food everywhere, for growth. An exception to this would be industry on Tier 1 planets (Terran, Ocean or Jungle), or a planet that has a strong food bonus from an anomaly. Even in these latter cases, though, you might want to stick to farm exploit to help it grow. If you have a Tier 1 planet with an anomaly that gives you a food bonus, though, I'd say definitely go for industry.



3) Shift-click.



Have fun! If you have more questions, ask. Also maybe check out this thread, which has some good info for a new player.

Thank you for that shift click tip - That is a huge help for me too. I was getting frustrated having to select research every 2-3 turns!

Glad to help. I remember how happy I was when I first learned I could queue tech!