Rising Tide changed several elements of the game, and in particular created a lot more viable terrain and increased the importance of affinity and random exploration rewards. Many folks recommend playing on Small planets with extra sponsors to fill up the world, but remember that coastal / aquatic cities are very vulnerable to early hybrid rush attacks. Winning against the AI on Apollo is largely a matter of isolating yourself. Send out 2-4 Explorers / Patrol Boats to seek out artifacts and settle your immediate area without contesting neighboring rivals - keeping health above -10. Diplomacy can be quite unreliable, as the opposing AI mostly values military strength. If you have a defensible core of 4-6 cities then you can quickly tech up affinities and get your win at about Turn 200-250, well before the AI gets around to doing it after Turn 275+. This can be done fairly easily, but it’s often not very fulfilling to race to victory before any of the endgame content is even unlocked, so limiting the settings to Domination victory can be more satisfying.

Workers should largely focus on upgrading resources and building farms, which can be upgraded significantly over time. Most wonders are not particularly useful, but Master Control and The Promethean can be worthwhile. Artifacts, on the other hand, can offer potent benefits and should be sought after. Old Earth’s Warp Spire and Drone Command, Progenitor’s Machine-Assisted Free Will and Quantum Politics, and the Alien’s Zygotic Engineering and Sky Chitin are considered particularly strong. Plan ahead with regards to your free tech from the Institute before you build it.

Colonists: Engineers (+2 Production)
Spacecraft: Continental Surveyor (world map)
Cargo: Machinery (Worker)

Domestic: Cooperative (internal trade)
Military: Integrated (orbital strength)
Political: Ambitious (city development)

There are many competing virtues that offer good early benefits, with the extra colonist being the most compelling. Prosperity is a key source of health, while Knowledge is less impactful. Industry and Might offer excellent benefits, and you may want to prioritize one tree over the other depending on how threatened you are. The extra affinity level offered by Martial Meditations is powerful and improves throughout the game, so it can be good to keep it around for when a major war breaks out. The same idea applies to the various ways of getting a free technology, such as the fifteenth Tier 1 Virtue reward. Keep an eye on the various synergy tiers to maximize your benefits as you continue improving your society.

Frugality > Homesteading > Colony Initiative > Labor Logistics > Commoditization > Standardized Architecture > Adaptive Tactics > Survivalism > Scavenging > Adaptive Sciences > Military-Industrial Complex > Helping Hands > Pioneer Spirit > Settler Clans > Mind Over Matter > Hands Never Idle > Eudaimonia > Nature’s Bounty ...

Pioneering > Engineering > Chemistry > Ecology > Genetics > Computing > Physics > Robotics > Genetic Design > Transgenics > Bionics > Artificial Evolution* …

* Use the Free Technology from the Institute quest “The More You Know”

Base Game:

• How We Remember / Old Earth Relic: +1 Culture
  
• The Vital Frontier / Vivarium: +1 Science
  
• Blood Bank / Clinic: +1 Health
  
• Times Of Plenty / Trade Depot: +1 Production
  
• Better Living Through Chemistry / Pharmalab: +1 Science
  
• Safe Behind Walls / Ultrasonic Fence: Trade Convoys will not be attacked by Alien units
  
• What Goes Around / Recycler: +1 Food
  
• Spymaster And Commander / Command Center: +1 Covert Agent (Global)
  
• When The Levees Broke / Water Refinery: +1 Food
  
• The Scientific Method / Laboratory: +1 Science
  
• The Creative Spark / Thorium Reactor: +1 Production
  
• Organic Growth / Cytonursery: +1 Production
  
• Engineering The Future / Repair Facility: +5% Production for Military Units
  
• The Observable Universe / Observatory: +2 Orbital Coverage
  
• Zoology / Alien Preserve: All Units +5 healing (Global)
  
• Obstacles Of The Past / Cloning Plant: 10% Food carried over after city growth
  
• Fueling The Fire / Petrochemical Plant: +2 Production from Petroleum
  
• Escape Velocity / Launch Complex: +1 Orbital Coverage
  
• Always On / Defense Perimeter: Free Maintenance
  
• Too Much Gun / Rocket Battery: +5 City Strength
  
• A Tangled Web / Network: +1 Culture
  
• Hearts And Minds / Feedsite Hub: +1 Covert Agent (Global)
  
• Garden Of Eden / Gene Garden: +3 Energy, Free Maintenance
  
• Fueling The Future / Xenofuel Plant: +3 Energy from Xenomass, +2 Production from Xenomass
  
• Homegrown / Xenonursery: +5 Xenomass (Global)
  
• Automatic Gratification / Autoplant: +1 Production
  
• Reconstituted Regulation / Biofactory: +1 Culture
  
• Tastes Like Cardboard / Mass Digester: +1 Production
  
• The Think Tank / Neurolab: +1 Health
  
• A World Of Pure Imagination / Holosuite: Free Virtue (one time)
  
• By Our Powers Combined / CEL Cradle: 10% Food carried over after city growth
  
• Big Brother / Surveillance Web: +10 City Hit Points
  
• Quality Or Quantity / Alloy Foundry: +2 Production from Titanium
  
• We Can Rebuild Them / Bionics Lab: +1 Science
  
• The More You Know / Institute: Free Technology (one time)
  
• A Biological Imperative / Biofuel Plant: +1 Production
  
• Nature's Potential / Gaian Well: +1 Production
  
• Miasma For The Soul / Growlab: 1 Free Population in each of your cities (one time)
  
• Unnatural Selection / Gene Smelter: +2 Science
  
• No Reservations / Xeno Sanctuary: +2 Culture
  
• Productive Progress / LEV Plant: +2 Production
  
• Second Sight / Optical Surgery: +1 Visibility range for Military Units (Global)
  
• All The Small Things / Microbial Mine: +1 Science per Harmony Affinity level (Global)
  
• The Heart Of A Nation / Organ Printer: All Units +10 healing (Global)
  
• Food For Thought / Civil Crèche: +5% Food
  
• Secret Ingredients / Soma Distillery: +5% Culture
  
• The Time Capsule / Terra Vault: +5% Science
  
• The Meaning Of Life / Progenitor Garden: +5% Science
  
• The Ghost In The Machine / Node Bank: +10% City Strength
  
• The Power Within / Borehole: +5% Production
  
• All That We Can Be / Augmentery: +5% Food, Energy, Production, Culture, Science
  
• Strength In Numbers / Molecular Forge: +10% Science
  
• Forged In Fire / Bioglass Furnace: +2 Production from Firaxite
  
• The Stars Our Destination / Neoplanetarium: +2 Orbital Coverage
  
• Of Mites And Men / Nanopasture: +10% Food
  
• Filling The Void / Field Reactor: +5% Energy
  
• The Highest Heights / Skycrane: +2 Production from Floatstone
  
• We Have The Power / Mantle: +1 Science per Purity Affinity level (Global)
  
• We Have The Technology / Hypercore: +1 Science per Supremacy Affinity level (Global)

Rising Tide:

• In Our Wake / Thermohaline Rudder: +1 Science
  
• Over or Under / Drydock: +1 Production
  
• Keeping the Lights on / Tidal Turbine: +1 Health
  
• Something Fishy / Torpedo Battery: +5 City Strength
  
• What Lies Beneath / Sonar Net: +1 Science
  
• To Hull and Back / Mosaic Hull: +5% Culture