ACDG4 Game One: The Sword of the Righteous

[Flubber]

Darsnan

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[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Flubber
Darsnan

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Fixed.

[Flubber]

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Its pretty general as to what is happening. I will send you a more specific message when I get back in the game

[vyeh]

Some thoughts on initial military strategy:

(1) Move the observers and counter-battery units from Great Clustering to Worker's Nest, and the observers from Plex Anthill to Worker's Nest using troop transports and intel units. There are five enemy units in Sheng-Ji Yang Base. The observers have +25% bonus attacking a base. The counter-battery units can soften up the enemy units. Taking Sheng-Ji Yang Base will block off the peninsula northeast of there (preventing reinforcements if there are enemy bases or units there).

(2) In a subsequent turn, moving the observers and counter-battery units to Plex Anthill using troop transports and intel units to attack Working Man Hold.

(3) Then we take the bunker southeast of Working Man Hold. The ultimate objective is to take the chokepoint at (46, 58).

(4) The units at #1 and #2 maintain an active defense. They stay at their posts, but take any opportunity against the SotR coalition (SotR, Spartans, Morgan, University). The counter-battery units fire to blunt any attacks. Using the transport or intel unit, the observer moves one unit, attacks and moves back. The intel unit can subvert single units one square away and move back.

Until we gain the tech level to produce units equivalent to the military units we have (e.g. Doctrine: Mobility allows Troop Transport Mk 1, which has a lower attack value than our UN Troop Transport, Non-Linear Mathematics allows impact infantry), we should be careful in how we risk our units. So we should:

(a) monolith promote observers for the extra +12.5% attack factor.

(b) use counter-battery units to soften up enemy units.

(c) use observers rather than troop transports against bases for the extra 25%.

(d) use troop transports and intel units to move an observer or counter-battery unit away after attacking to avoid exposure to counter-attack.

(e) take advantage of bunkers and bases to avoid collateral damage.

[vyeh]

I propose the following movement:

(1) Great Clustering units:
(1a) Board Transport both observers and both counter-battery units.
(1b) Move both loaded intel units and both loaded troop transports to Worker's Nest, expending 1 1/3 movement points.
(1c) Unload both observers and both counter-battery units.
(1d) Upgrade both observers and both counter-battery units on monolith to the east of Worker's Nest.
(1e) Move both intel units and both troop transports to monolith (do not upgrade), expending 1/3 movement point.
(1f) Board Transport both observers and both counter-battery units.
(1g) Move both loaded intel units and both loaded troop transports to Worker's Nest, expending final 1/3 movement point.
(1h) Take the observer homed to Great Clustering and re-home it to Worker's Nest.

(2) Plex Anthill Units:
(2a) Board Transport the observer homed to Plex Anthill.
(2b) Move loaded intel unit to U.N. Headquarters, expending 2/3 movement point.
(2c) Unload observer.
(2d) Re-home observer to U.N. Headquarters.
(2e) Board Transport the observer.
(2f) Move loaded intel unit to Plex Anthill, expending another 2/3 movement point.
(2g) Unload observer.
(2h) Move unloaded intel unit to U.N. Headquarters, expending final 2/3 movement point.
(2i) Board Transport both observers.
(2j) Move both loaded troop transports to Worker's Nest, expending 1 1/3 movement points.
(2k) Unload both observers.
(2l) Move both observers onto the monolith and upgrade.
(2m) Move both troop transports to monolith (do not upgrade), expending 1/3 movement point.
(2n) Board Transport both observers.
(2o) Move both loaded troops transports to Worker's Nest, expending final 1/3 movement point.
(2p) Move one counter-battery unit one square south of Plex Anthill.
(2q) Fire that counter-battery unit at Working Man Hold.
(2r) Move remaining intel unit one square south of Plex Anthill, expending 1/3 movement point.
(2s) Board Transport fired counter-battery unit.
(2t) Move loaded intel unit to Plex Anthill, expending 1/3 movement point.
(2u) Unload fired counter-battery unit.
(2v) Move other counter-battery unit onto monolith and upgrade.
(2w) Move intel unit to monolith (do not upgrade), expending 1/3 movement point.
(2x) Board Transport counter-battery unit.
(2y) Move loaded intel unit to Plex Anthill, expending 1/3 movement point.
(2z) Unload counter-battery unit.

(3) Worker's Nest Units
Note: intel and counter-battery units have already moved.
(3a) Move observer to the monolith and upgrade.
(3b) Move troop transport to monolith (do not upgrade), expending 1/3 movement point.
(3c) Board Transport the observer.
(3d) Move loaded troop transport to Worker's Nest, expending 1/3 movement point.
(3e) Unload the observer.
(3f) Move unloaded troop transport to Great Clustering, expending final 1 1/3 movement points.

Result:
(1) Both SotR bases have been hit by counter-battery fire.
(2) All five observers and remaining three counter-battery units have been upgraded.
(3) Great Clustering is garrisoned by a troop transport (to defend against mindworm attack),
(4) U.N. Headquarters is garrisoned by an intel unit to defend against an SotR attack from Working Man Hold. Iif an enemy unit there followed the magnetic tube, it could reach U.N. Headquarters expending two movement points. The intel unit defends against both probe team and conventional attack.)
(5) Plex Anthill is garrisoned by an intel unit (to protect against probe team action) and two counter-battery units.
(6) Worker's Nest is garrisoned by the rest of the southern units.
(7) All southern units are in bases.

I'll implement and post a mid-turn save if I don't hear from anyone in 24 hours.

[Mead]

OK so your thinking of a consolidation/upgrade for the turn?

That's OK.

Looking at the technology available from the Belivers, I appears that we should be able to get impac, rovers, and probes from them?

Once we get that we'll be better able to deal with them.

Great job at getting infiltration and rid of one of their probes this turn.


I don't think we should put a premium on teraforming or building right now (or in the near future) we're trying to stay alive and the land looks somewhat well developed already.


Mead

PS

Darsan, where did you get those names? Lady Halibut?

[vyeh]

Originally posted by Mead
OK so your thinking of a consolidation/upgrade for the turn?

Yes. The idea is to attack Sheng-Ji Yang Base next turn, while minimizing our casualties. Since the observers have +25% against bases (which the troop transports don't have), we want to use them for our attack. Upgrading the observers gives them an additional +12.5%. We will precede the attack with counter-battery fire from the three counter-battery units. By upgrading the two counter-battery units that haven't fired, we get an additional 12.5% chance of damage.

After the attack, we'd move the observers and counter-battery units to Plex Anthill and attack Working Man Hold.

As you pointed out in an earlier post, we can gain some breathing room by taking out these two bases.

Originally posted by Mead
Looking at the technology available from the Belivers, I appears that we should be able to get impac, rovers, and probes from them?

Once we get that we'll be better able to deal with them.

Not all of them and perhaps not any of them, if we're unlucky. The second time we attempt to take technology from a base, the odds go down. Until we get Doctrine: Mobility, we can not produce Troop Transport Mk 1.

Those intel units are also transports. With them and the troop transports, we can move the observers and counter-battery units two movement points per turn and they still have a movement point to attack. Without them, the observer or counter-battery unit can only travel at one movement point per turn and they wouldn't be able to attack the turn they moved.

So, I think we should only attempt to steal one technology per base. The intel unit we used to attack the enemy probe unit and infiltrate is now a veteran (it got promoted twice). If we use it to steal technology from Sheng-Ji Yang Base next turn, it has a better chance of surviving than the other intel units.

If it survives there, we can use it to steal technology from Working Man Hold in a subsequent turn.

Originally posted by Mead
Great job at getting infiltration and rid of one of their probes this turn.

Successful infiltration allows us better planning.

Originally posted by Mead
I don't think we should put a premium on teraforming or building right now (or in the near future) we're trying to stay alive and the land looks somewhat well developed already.

I agree we don't need to worry about terraforming, so we can put off researching Centauri Ecology. Since the land is well developed, I think we chould b-line to supply crawlers and take advantage of the extensive terraforming.

An alternate strategy would be to research military technologies, so we can build units to reinforce our initial military units at #1, #2 and in the south.

What do you think?

[vyeh]

Originally posted by Mead
OK so your thinking of a consolidation/upgrade for the turn?

That's OK.

Here is the second 2299 mid-turn save.

At this point, only three units have movement points left: the intel units at #1, #2 and Plex Anthill.

We should focus on our three bases. By rehoming, none of the bases are using minerals on support.

Mead, you said you might focus on bases. Could you look at the worker allocations and optimize?

I think all four bases should be producing scouts for garrison. I'd like to free up our initial southern military units. I think we should be advancing toward the choke point at (46, 58) after we've taken Working Man Hold and the bunker at (45, 45) (southeast of Working Man Hold).

[vyeh]

Notes to Darsnan:
(1) The counter-battery unit seems to have deep radar ability. When I upgraded one of them on the monolith to the east of Worker's Nest, the tile two squares away directly north went from unexplored to explored. Interestingly, when I next moved a UN Troop Transport to the same square, the tile two squares away north by northeast went from unexplored to explored. Why do the two units see different squares?

(2) The 2-movement point land transport is fun to play with, but it might be overpowered against an AI. I used the land transports to move units from Great Clustering and Plex Anthill to Worker's Nest, upgraded the units on a monolith next to a SotR base and then used the land transports to move the units to the safety of a base. I also was able to move a counter-battery unit out of Plex Anthill to bombard Working Man Hold and then use a land transport to move it out of harm's way. Of course, I could have done that with a one movement point land transport, since there were roads in this case, but the idea is the same: a two movement point land transport plus a one movement point infantry unit is essentially a three movement point infantry. It can move one non-rocky non-forest tile, attack and retreat. I don't really see the AI doing this and essentially that means I can attack with an infantry unit without exposing it to counterattack from an enemy infantry unit.

[Chaos Theory]

Originally posted by vyeh
(1) The counter-battery unit seems to have deep radar ability. When I upgraded one of them on the monolith to the east of Worker's Nest, the tile two squares away directly north went from unexplored to explored. Interestingly, when I next moved a UN Troop Transport to the same square, the tile two squares away north by northeast went from unexplored to explored. Why do the two units see different squares?

I've observed that under some circumstances, a non-deep radar unit can see tiles two moves away. I think this happens more often when you explore already-explored territory, but I haven't worked out the specific circumstances. Incidentally, I think deep radar enables units to see native life in adjacent fungus tiles, but not fungus two moves away.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by vyeh
Notes to Darsnan:
(1) The counter-battery unit has deep radar ability.

You are correct, sir!

Originally posted by vyeh
Interestingly, when I next moved a UN Troop Transport to the same square, the tile two squares away north by northeast went from unexplored to explored. Why do the two units see different squares?

Ah the vagaries of exploring a new world! I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later!

Originally posted by vyeh
(2) The 2-movement point land transport is fun to play with, but it might be overpowered against an AI. I used the land transports to move units from Great Clustering and Plex Anthill to Worker's Nest, upgraded the units on a monolith next to a SotR base and then used the land transports to move the units to the safety of a base. I also was able to move a counter-battery unit out of Plex Anthill to bombard Working Man Hold and then use a land transport to move it out of harm's way. Of course, I could have done that with a one movement point land transport, since there were roads in this case, but the idea is the same: a two movement point land transport plus a one movement point infantry unit is essentially a three movement point infantry. It can move one non-rocky non-forest tile, attack and retreat. I don't really see the AI doing this and essentially that means I can attack with an infantry unit without exposing it to counterattack from an enemy infantry unit.

Good observations. Hopefully the AI will benefit significantly enough from these units to proivde a good challenge in this game.


D

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Chaos Theory


I've observed that under some circumstances, a non-deep radar unit can see tiles two moves away. I think this happens more often when you explore already-explored territory, but I haven't worked out the specific circumstances. Incidentally, I think deep radar enables units to see native life in adjacent fungus tiles, but not fungus two moves away.

IIRC Any unit can "see" two tiles away if ZOC restrictions prevent it from moving. You are shown the units that prevent its move.

[Chaos Theory]

That's usually the case, but I have found the odd situation when overlapping ZoC prevents a unit of mine from moving, but I'm not shown one of the reponsible units.

[Mead]

Originally posted by vyeh

***

I agree we don't need to worry about terraforming, so we can put off researching Centauri Ecology. Since the land is well developed, I think we chould b-line to supply crawlers and take advantage of the extensive terraforming.

An alternate strategy would be to research military technologies, so we can build units to reinforce our initial military units at #1, #2 and in the south.

What do you think?

Let's go for the crawlers.

We'll pick up probe capabilites on the way.

Then we'll use the probes to supplement our research to ensure we catch up and don't fall behind in military techs.

Mead

[Mead]

Originally posted by vyeh


***

Mead, you said you might focus on bases. Could you look at the worker allocations and optimize?

***

The allocations are optimal right now.

We could move a couple around to get more energy instead of minerals, but I prefer the minerals right now.

Maybe next turn after we get an additional tech, we may prefer a little more energy.


Mead