Difficulty Levels ?

[Shadowcaster]

Hi guys,

I got into SMAC recently, what a great game ! Blows Civ III away IMO (no flaming please !). Anyway, I thought maybe someone can help me - is there any detailed breakdown on difficulty levels - what is changed by them ??

Greetz

Shadow

[Chaos Theory]

Here's a partial list:

For reference, when difficulty is referenced as a number,
citizen = 0
specialist = 1
talent = 2
librarian = 3
thinker = 4
transcend = 5

Cost to change a single SE setting = 8 * difficulty
Citizens in a city before the first drone = 6 - difficulty
Bureaucracy limit (read other posts on this) = k * (8 - difficulty), where k depends on the map size and your efficiency

Computer opponents are more aggressive on higher difficulties
Computer opponents on Transcend get something like +4 Growth and +3 Industry
Computer opponents on Thinker get smaller bonuses like above
On citizen, your units attack and defend at double strength
On citizen (and maybe specialist), prototypes are free
Ecodamage is more severe on thinker and transcend
The number of drones in a conquered city depends on the difficulty level, as described in the Advanced Concepts
Below librarian level, a computer opponent will never start a Secret Project that you can't build yet.
Difficulty level may affect initial base placement. On transcend level, it's exceedingly rare to be alone near a good landmark.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Dose anyone know the adsact Growth and Industry bonus the AI resices for each level? Also is their any level which is conpletly unbiased between players and AI, aka no bonus of any kind for anyone.

I find that the Industry Bonuses on Transendi level and calculated in such a way that greatly magnifies the Hives industry bonus and magnifies the Spartans penalty. The Hive will be building at 4 minerals a row and the spartans are using 6, obviously this is makes the Spartans totaly unviable on Transendi and the Hive invincible. They are more balaced on low difficulty levels.

[TimeTraveler]

The minerals cost for production and nutrients cost to grow a city are as follows:
Citizen: 130%
Specialist: 120%
Talent: 110%
Librarian: 100%
Thinker: 80%
Transcend: 70%

This means that at the Industry and Growth rates of the computers will be 3 ranks higher than normal at Transcend and about 3 ranks lower at Citizen.

[Chaos Theory]

Librarian is the "fair" level, on which you and the comps are equal in everything except intelligence.

I'm pretty sure I've seen inconsistencies with growth and industry values that indicate it's not a straight +/- to industry/growth. In particular, I've seen Lal have a growth box 3 nutrients wide, which is impossible with any Growth SE setting. I need to get some more examples for this...

[Vev]

or Industry box that is 4 wide.

[Impaler[WrG]]

I have also wondered about that, my thinking is that the Level bonus is "off the scale" and subtracted after the normal SE setings are calculated.

Thanks for the info

[HeymlicH]

Originally posted by Chaos Theory
Librarian is the "fair" level, on which you and the comps are equal in everything except intelligence.

You really think this is "fair"?

[Ecthy]

It is fairer than any other level after all