Why don't I have access to the Elite structure?

[coodav]

I play Vanguard in the Galactic Campaign (collecting planets) and behave always in a peaceful manner.

Well, that is one way to do it. Just so you know, more cities is generally better, and stacking up those cities through conquest saves you a LOT of cosmite. Making the 6th and 7th cities is stupid expensive. Prohibitively so. Try it next time. I bet you find that 10 cities is twice as fast through conquest.

You can use Xenoplague with autocombat in late game when your stack includes a hero and five plague lords.

I see the issue. You appear to like getting to lategame. In my games, most of this is decided by turn 25. I am usually snowballing toward victory way before that technology is online.

Well... not exactly... not if you are playing Empire Mode. You can start with Plague Lords. I can see a bigger role in that mode, but I still believe you will manual combat 10X more, you have to. The playstyle requires you to maximize those points. It is a more involved process, period.

And I gotta say, you seem to think like I used to. Camping and teching gets you the coolest looking units, but you wait too long. The game should have been over already. You must know that this approach is excessive.

 

[Tropical Sunset]

Being peaceful doesn´t mean that there won´t be war. AI players always include a few warmongers who go to war as soon as they can. So I am not missing out on that front. I also mostly played on a extra-large maps but won´t do so in the future as turns of AI later take about twenty minutes. Next time I will only use a large map.

And I don´t mind playing a scenario over 100 turns. Though often I finish a game earlier with a doomsday device because it is just a hassle finding those AI commanders on a gigantic map.

 

[coodav]

Exactly my MO. Then I hung with a few of the PVP creatures running around here. Now, no matter the map, I couldn't conceive of going 100 rounds. Or even 80. Probably 60-70 no matter how big the map is.

You will see that it just doesn't need to go that far. The computer is a terrible. I sweep over them like a summer breeze.