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ACDG4 Game One: The Sword of the Righteous

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  • ACDG4 Game One: The Sword of the Righteous

    Backdrop1

    In MY 2189 several factions discovered the wreckage of a Progenitor interstellar spaceship on the farside of Nessus. After much investigation it was determined that the ships star charts were intact, and that the hyperdrive engine could be cloned.
    By MY 2201 the first fleet of scoutships were built and sent out with a mandate to investigate all of the habitable planets catalogued in the ancient Progenitor ships start charts. The results of the expeditions were mixed: some scoutships returned with exciting news of “Eden-class” planets, while other scouts returned telling tales of planets who had degraded over the eons. Still other scouts failed to return at all….
    By MY2223 the “Great Diaspora of Man” had begun in earnest, with spaceships being built poste-haste by all the Factions, and sent out with the soul purpose of colonizing far-flung worlds. It was a race to “get there first”, and to report back that the targeted world had been claimed for their Parent Faction.

    One unintended side effect that the “Diaspora of Man” had was that this continual manpower drainage weakened the Parent Factions that existed on Alpha Centauri’s Planet, with the end result being that the Peace Keepers were able to unite all of the Factions under their banner in MY2249. But with their dream of uniting Planet fulfilled, the Peace Keepers then almost immediately turned their ambitions to the stars, and of uniting all the far-flung colonies of Man under the Peace Keeper banner as well. Much thought and energy was put into this: emissaries were sent far and wide across the realms of Man cataloguing the various civilizations that were developing, and documenting what adversaries might come to pass, and how it might be best to deal with each accordingly.
    The Peace Keepers, heeding the advice of their emissaries amongst the stars, formulated a plan that was still in essence the core of their creed, while laying the framework to advance their new ambitions of interstellar conquest: to offer themselves on the behalf of the downtrodden, and when necessary to “protect” these peoples from aggressor states. Their emissaries and diplomats preached this mantra wherever they traveled across the galaxy, allowing those who heard it to interpret it as they might, and planting the seed of thought that the Peace Keepers would come to their assistance if they were threatened.
    The Peace Keepers waited, and watched, and prepared themselves for the day when someone would ask for help….


    Backdrop 2

    Planet MY2254-443 had somehow slipped through the cracks. Although it was geographically “right around the corner” from the Alpha Centauri solar system, it had not been one of the planets documented in the recovered Progenitor starlogs, and so had been passed over for colonization during the first phases of human expansion. An experimental Gaian Terraforming starship had accidentally stumbled onto the planet during its maiden voyage in MY2252. The crew scanned the planet and determined that it had once been a Progenitor colony, as there were still many Progenitor artifacts and ruined cities scattered across the surface. After documenting the status of the planet, the Gaian expedition continued with their original mission and began the terraforming process by seeding the planet with kelp and trees, and established a small colony to monitor and oversee the process.
    The Gaians, always concerned about the destruction that Man always seemed to wrought on the ecologies He encountered, tried to keep this planet a secret from the rest of humanity, and so did not publicly acknowledge that they had discovered a new habitable world. However the Morganites, possibly through the use of spy software inserted into the entertainment packages they had sold to the Gaian explorers, learned of the planets location. The Morganites, always shrewd businessmen, realized that a) since the planet wasn’t officially registered, that they could claim finders fees (even though they had never stepped foot on the planet!), and b) once the planet was registered, they could pocket even more money by selling sections of the planet to several different Splinter Factions, as opposed to trying to sell the whole planet to one Splinter group. Thus it came to pass that Splinter Factions of the Believers, University, Spartans, and Hive came to settle various regions of the planet. In one final brutal act of legal manipulation the Morganites, after filing claim to the planet, had the authorities declare the original Gaian terraformers as “illegal settlers” on the planet they had founded, and seized the Gaian’s terraforming stations. They then expelled the Gaians from the planet. There are rumors that a few Gaians are still on the planet, but if its true, they are few in numbers, and keep mostly to themselves….

    Premise

    After settling the planet that came to be called “Sanctuary” in MY2261, the various Splinter Factions almost immediately fell into conflict. The University, using their superior technology and weaponry, initiated a brutal war of conquest against their neighbors the Believers. Begun in MY2271, the University continually used their technological edge to push the Believers back. However in MY2285, almost in desperation, the Believers nominated a peasant girl named Joan to lead their remaining forces. Joan had claimed to have had a vision of defeating the University on the field of battle and leading her people to glory and victory in Gods name. To the surprise of many this prophecy was born out, as Joan went against every military convention and led her force directly between two University Armies, and, before the University commanders could recover from this unexpected military maneuver, Joan struck and destroyed first one Uni army, and then wheeled to face the now much smaller remaining Uni force. The Uni’s fell back in confusion. Joan pursued, and now aided by captured Uni equipment which put them on an equal footing tech-wise, were able to defeat the remaining Uni field armies at Agincourt. The University leadership, realizing their cause was lost, surrendered the following year.
    Meanwhile the Spartan Splinter Faction had fallen into conflict with their neighbors, the Hive. A war of attrition that ended up resembling the trench warfare of World War 1 ensued, with neither Faction making any headway in the early years. However as time progressed the Hive, understanding its strength was also the Spartans weakness, began to mass produce units with the idea of simply wearing down the Spartans. The Spartans for their part also recognized this, and in an astonishing turn of events appealed to the Believers to intervene on their behalf. The now defacto leader of the Believers, Joan d’Arc, agreed to assist the Spartans against the atheistic Hive, and almost immediately began augmenting the Spartan units with her own already battle seasoned units.
    With this turn of events the Morganites, who had thus far followed the mantra that war is bad for business and had stayed out of the conflicts on this planet, saw the prevailing winds turn in favor of the Believers and Spartans at this time, and closed their borders to the Hive. In what many believe to be a contrived event, the Morganites then claimed a border violation by the Hive, and requested Believer assistance, which then allowed the Believers to base aggressor units in Morganite territory along the previously neutral Hive flank. In little more than five years the Hive Splinter Faction went from winning its war against the Spartans, to fighting for its very survival against the rest of the planet. In these most desperate times the Hive remembered the promise the Peace Keepers had made some years ago that they would come to the aid of those threatened by “aggressor states”. It is now MY2299.

    The Game

    The Hive Splinter Faction on Sanctuary has contacted you asking for assistance. They have asked that you place Peace Keeper units into “Observation Posts” along its borders, in order to establish a buffer between themselves and the other warring Splinter Factions. In return the Hive have offered you the services of several cities in which to base your operations from, which they state should also be considered as part of the buffer zone between themselves and the “aggressor states”, meaning it is your responsibility to keep the warring factions apart.
    Because of Sanctuary’s proximity to Alpha Centauri the Peace Keeper leadership realize that this is an ideal situation in which to inject the Peace Keepers into, with the end goal being of adding this world to the Peace Keeper fold. And so while your “official mandate” is to keep the peace by separating the warring factions, your unofficial goal is to bring the various Splinter Factions under sway. To that end you have been given units that are technologically superior to those already existing on Sanctuary, but not overly so. You have been given standard Peace Keeper Police Units in order to carry out your mandate. But so what if your troop transports are overly armed and armored and resemble tanks more than cargo carriers, and that your “counter-battery” units are far superior to any ordinance in existence on this planet? Its not like these few units would ever be expected to conquer a whole planet, right?

    As your units disembark from their planetary drop pods and assume their posts on Sanctuary you chance to catch a local broadcast: the local Believer Splinter Faction is incensed by the arrival of your Peace Keeping units, and is accusing the Hive of “striking a deal with the devil” by allowing Peace Keeper forces to intercede on their behalf. The Hive response is tepid at best, and you begin to realize that this Hiverian leader does not possess the same fortitude that Yang always had in the face of adversity, and that this Hive leader may already be rethinking whether it was a wise decision to involve the Peace Keepers in this “local squabble”….



    This is a SMAC game. Standard everything. AIs enhanced considerably via factional editing, base placement, and units available via the default available units.


    Directions: download the attached file and unzip into your scenarios folder. Start SMAC, select "Scenario/ Play Scenario", and choose the attached game (SotR). The game will then automatically start as the Peace Keepers.

    Good luck to the ACDGers!


    Note: for those who wish to download and play this game as an SP Challenge: please feel free to do so. However please refrain from posting any results/ observations in this thread.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Darsnan, thenk you for setting up the game.

    We may all download it and review. I can post screenies when we draw tactical solutions. I'll post report after closer look into the situation.
    Mart
    Map creation contest
    WPC SMAC(X) Democracy Game - Morganities aspire to dominate Planet

    Comment


    • #3
      Initial Situation Report

      UN Observation Post#1 (32,4): 1 Police Unit (PU: UN Counter-Battery Unit), UN Troop Transport, UN Observer, UN Intelligence Team) dug in a rocky bunker with sensors and a progenitor monolith. Within counter-battery range (28,4) is the enemy consisting of a standard assault force (SAF: 1 mindworm, 2 Progenitor Rovers, 2 Troop Transports Mk 1, 2 impact rovers, 2 impact infantry, 2 probe teams and 2 Synth Police). The enemy is entrenched in a flat bunker.


      UN Observation Post#2 (52,2): 1 PU dug in a rocky bunker with sensors and a progenitor monolith. Within counter-battery range (56, 2) is an enemy SAF.



      Great Clustering base (40, 32): 2 PU's. The base has a children's creche, recycling tanks, perimeter defense and sensor.

      Plex Anthill base (41, 39): 2 PU's and a Colony Pod. The base has recycling tanks, perimeter defense, tree farm, command center and sensor. South of the base, just out of counter-battery range is an enemy base with perimeter defense and sensor, Working Man Hold.


      Worker's Nest base (41, 35): 1 PU. The base has recycling tanks, perimeter defense and sensor. East of the base, within counter-battery range is an enemy base with perimeter defense and a sensor, Sheng-Ji Yang Base.


      We have 110 energy credits in reserve.

      Our ally, the Hiverian splinter faction has 5 bases: Yang Mine (38,8), The Hive (41,5), Deep Passages (42,16), Factory Maze (45, 7), and Discipline Tubes (50,4). All bases have sensors and perimeter defenses.

      Their forces consist of 8 Progenitor Rovers, 8 Troop Transports Mk 1, 5 Synth Police, 2 scout patrols, 4 probe teams and 5 Speeder Formers.

      They are pacted with us and the Gaian splinter faction; however, our pact with them must be considered doubtful in light of the intelligence we picked up during planetary disembarkation.
      Last edited by vyeh; November 23, 2006, 17:26.
      Unofficial SMAC/X Patches Version 1.0 @ Civilization Gaming Network

      Comment


      • #4
        I have never played from the Scenario editor before. I always started at the beginning.

        Without moving anything this is what I see.

        A lot of Beliver units 1 MW, infantry, Impac and laser rovers, plus 2 Hardened probes are west of UNPost #1. I'm not sure how our four units on top of the monlith can do anything substantial to that. Do we withdraw east towards Yang Mine (the only Hive base w/o a probe - should be infiltrate?)

        The position bunker/sensor/rocky does make for a nice defensive position - is it worth holding?

        No matter what - I would like to infiltrate the Hive as soon as possible.


        From UNPost # 2 I see at lot of belivr units to the east. We still have four units on the bunker/sensor/monolith square.


        Note, I don't see any Beliver artillary. Our units should be of use.


        Down south I can't see anything adjacent to our bases.

        I suppose after move some stuff around we'll see what's out there.


        A few questons I have are:

        Why does just about everything we have , have drop?

        It will enhance mobility, but is there a special reason?

        Why do we have a CP? Doesn't this go agains our mandate to provide peace? Are we supposed to start our own empire?

        Although we have some nice units, we can't make anymore of them. It looks like we can only make 1-1-1 units at our 3 bases. Why? Can we revers engineer them somehow?

        How close are the rest of the Beliver Bases?

        Are they very far, far away?

        Are they close?

        If they are far away then taking the local bases might buy us some breating room?

        For now, I'm thinking and active defense?

        What's everyone else thinking?



        Mead

        Comment


        • #5
          I forgot to mention this:

          Because we have no HQ, we have no income.

          Do we want to change this?

          Mead

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Mead
            I have never played from the Scenario editor before.
            Note that the way I described opening the game should not put you into the Scenario Editor - this is simply a game set up as a scenario. You have never started a game this way before?

            Originally posted by Mead
            I always started at the beginning.
            This game is set in the future.

            Originally posted by Mead
            Why do we have a CP? Doesn't this go agains our mandate to provide peace? Are we supposed to start our own empire?

            Remember that your "official" mandate is for a peace keeping mission to seperate the warring factions. Your "unofficial" mandate is to unite this planet under the Peace Keeper banner.


            Oh yeah, and while playtesting I ran into a new bug that Googlie, Chaos Theory and I hadn't seen before. CT came up with the most plausible explaination for it: if you discover it you'll know it, and its OK to take advantage of it if it occurs.

            D

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Mead
              A lot of Beliver units 1 MW, infantry, Impac and laser rovers, plus 2 Hardened probes are west of UNPost #1. I'm not sure how our four units on top of the monlith can do anything substantial to that. Do we withdraw east towards Yang Mine (the only Hive base w/o a probe - should be infiltrate?)
              Since the SotR units are in a bunker, attacking them with anything other than the counter-battery unit is out of the question. It would only leave the attackers exposed to counterattack.

              Our "official" mandate is to maintain a buffer zone. That is why the Hive invited us. Withdrawal might lead to a worsening of relations.

              Since we're on a monolith, two strategies would be to:
              (1) fire the counter-battery unit at the SotR units and weaken them in case they decide to attack us and move the other military units onto the road and back so we get the monolith upgrade
              (2) move all military units onto the road and back.

              We definitely should not infiltrate! We're in a pact with the Hive, so moving the probe into Yang mine would not result in a menu for probe actions.

              Originally posted by Mead
              The position bunker/sensor/rocky does make for a nice defensive position - is it worth holding?
              It's worth holding. They're most powerful units are impact. We have synth defenses on all units. bunker/sensor/rocky gives us 125% bonus. If we do the upgrade, we get another 12.5% bonus. This means they would attack us at less than 1 to 1 odds. We might get better odds if we fire the counter-battery unit instead of upgrading it.

              We're denying a monolith to the SotR forces. I don't think we should withdraw.

              Originally posted by Mead
              No matter what - I would like to infiltrate the Hive as soon as possible.
              We're currently pacted with the Hive. We can't infiltrate until the pact ends. Because of the pact, we can get all the information about the Hive we could have through infiltration.

              Originally posted by Mead
              Down south I can't see anything adjacent to our bases.

              I suppose after move some stuff around we'll see what's out there.
              I recommend that we move the UN Intelligence Team in Worker's Nest next to Sheng-Ji Yang Base, the SotR base just east of Worker's Nest Then we can see what is in the base and we have the option to inflitrate (if there are probe units there, we fire the counter-battery units at Worker's Nest first).

              Originally posted by Mead
              Why does just about everything we have , have drop?

              It will enhance mobility, but is there a special reason?
              These are the units that came from Alpha Centauri and that we disembarked from orbit.

              Originally posted by Mead
              Why do we have a CP? Doesn't this go agains our mandate to provide peace? Are we supposed to start our own empire?
              What CP? That is a support division! They will establish a Peacekeeper recreation base with all the comforts of home for the blue helmets while they're keeping the peace.

              Originally posted by Mead
              Although we have some nice units, we can't make anymore of them. It looks like we can only make 1-1-1 units at our 3 bases. Why? Can we revers engineer them somehow?
              Unfortunately, we had limited space in the ship from Alpha Centauri. We elected to bring as many units as we could and sacrifice the tools to build advanced units. We will have to develop the technological infrastructure on Sanctuary. We can't reverse engineer them, anymore than a Unity Rover.

              Originally posted by Mead
              How close are the rest of the Beliver Bases?

              Are they very far, far away?

              Are they close?
              I see a road going west from the SotR units that are facing UN Observation Post #1. There is also a road going away from Sheng-Ji Yang Base, the SotR base east of Worker's Nest. Plus there are roads leading away from Great Clustering. (we need to explore that peninsula to make sure there isn't a SotR base there).

              Originally posted by Mead
              If they are far away then taking the local bases might buy us some breating room?
              Your question show the necessity for engaging in an active probe action strategy. We should use our probes with the objective of infiltration and then stealing tech. If we can steal all the tech, then we can get the SotR's worldmap.

              Originally posted by Mead
              For now, I'm thinking and active defense?

              What's everyone else thinking?
              My preliminary thoughts:

              (1) Establish "UN Comfort Station" right in the center of the three bases. This spot is defended by the existing bases and is an ideal place for Peacekeeper troops enjoying a break from the front lines. (They can get back to any of the three bases in one turn!) We can build our headquarters there.

              (2) Send a UN Intelligence Team to Sheng-Ji Yang Base. See what's in the SotR base. Then decide about probe actions.

              (3) Use monoliths to upgrade all military units. All the units I've seen are disciplined.

              (4) We should consider whether we want to build scouts. (We have faster units at Great Clustering to explore the penisula.) We should consider initiating probe team actions to (1) infiltrate SotR and (2) procure research data from Sheng-Ji Yang Base and Working Man Hold. (We can get one tech from each base before the odds drop on stealing tech.) With the stolen tech, we may have a better use for our production capabilities.

              (5) We should consider whether building a colony pod is a good idea.
              Unofficial SMAC/X Patches Version 1.0 @ Civilization Gaming Network

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by vyeh


                Since the SotR units are in a bunker, attacking them with anything other than the counter-battery unit is out of the question. It would only leave the attackers exposed to counterattack.

                Our "official" mandate is to maintain a buffer zone. That is why the Hive invited us. Withdrawal might lead to a worsening of relations.

                Since we're on a monolith, two strategies would be to:
                (1) fire the counter-battery unit at the SotR units and weaken them in case they decide to attack us and move the other military units onto the road and back so we get the monolith upgrade
                (2) move all military units onto the road and back.

                We definitely should not infiltrate! We're in a pact with the Hive, so moving the probe into Yang mine would not result in a menu for probe actions.
                I thought we could infiltrate, but not steal tech from a Pact mate and still keep the Pact. I'll check that in a SP. Because the they Pact is tenative (even if it wasn't) I want to make sure I get infiltration while it is easy.

                It's worth holding. They're most powerful units are impact. We have synth defenses on all units. bunker/sensor/rocky gives us 125% bonus. If we do the upgrade, we get another 12.5% bonus. This means they would attack us at less than 1 to 1 odds. We might get better odds if we fire the counter-battery unit instead of upgrading it.

                We're denying a monolith to the SotR forces. I don't think we should withdraw.
                I'm OK with holding it, it is a good defensive position, upgrading on the monolith will, help.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Mead
                  I thought we could infiltrate, but not steal tech from a Pact mate and still keep the Pact. I'll check that in a SP. Because the they Pact is tenative (even if it wasn't) I want to make sure I get infiltration while it is easy.
                  Please check. Maybe you have to use the action menu to infiltrate. I think units just move into the base or onto units of pactmates.

                  One risk with attempting infiltration, if that is possible, is that if we get next to a Hive unit, the Hive may attempt to open communication with us. If the Hive is ready to renounce the pact, then our units will be removed from the Hive's territory and placed in our nearest base.

                  UN Observation Post#1 and UN Observation Post#2 are in Hive territory.

                  Of course, we could refuse communication, but the Hive might still renounce.

                  We need to think about the benefits versus the risk of opening communication with the Hive. On the plus side, we could trade techs. On the negative side, we might find our units in Great Clustering. And perhaps the negative side isn't a negative. If our units ended up in Great Clustering, we'd have all our forces concentrated.

                  We need to move units from Great Clustering to Plex Anthill and/or Sheng-Ji Yang Base if we plan to attack one or both of those bases in a subsequent turn. It probably makes more sense to attack them sequentially rather than simultaneously.

                  We should make this decision after we have infiltrated and know what is waiting for us. (In the absence of infiltration, we can find out what is in a base by moving a unit next to that base or bombarding the base with a counterbattery unit.)

                  Originally posted by Mead
                  I'm OK with holding it, it is a good defensive position, upgrading on the monolith will, help.
                  I would suggest that we bombard the SotR units with the counterbattery unit and upgrade the observer and the transport. If the SotR units attack, some of them will have been weakened by the counterbattery fire and they will be attacking the upgraded units. If there is an attack, there may be some SotR units which may end up vulnerable to subversion by the intelligence unit. We do have 110 energy credits.
                  Unofficial SMAC/X Patches Version 1.0 @ Civilization Gaming Network

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Screenie:
                    Attached Files
                    Mart
                    Map creation contest
                    WPC SMAC(X) Democracy Game - Morganities aspire to dominate Planet

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by vyeh

                      ***
                      I would suggest that we bombard the SotR units with the counterbattery unit and upgrade the observer and the transport. If the SotR units attack, some of them will have been weakened by the counterbattery fire and they will be attacking the upgraded units. If there is an attack, there may be some SotR units which may end up vulnerable to subversion by the intelligence unit. We do have 110 energy credits.
                      I agree with using the artillery against them.
                      It should be especially useful against their probes and MW. If their probes were greatly weakened then our intel unit could probably take them out easily; there's a chance that they'll move near us enough so that we can take them out without leaving the monolith.


                      One thought - can we subvert their units? I thought they were immune.

                      Mead

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Mead
                        I agree with using the artillery against them.
                        It should be especially useful against their probes and MW. If their probes were greatly weakened then our intel unit could probably take them out easily; there's a chance that they'll move near us enough so that we can take them out without leaving the monolith.
                        While weakening any attacker is great, the fact that the probe units are unarmored means that the artillery fire would weaken them to half strength, which is a great advantage to our intelliegence units on both attack and defense.

                        Originally posted by Mead
                        One thought - can we subvert their units? I thought they were immune.
                        Not until they are running fundamentalist.

                        I'd like to be the first turnplayer and play for two turns.

                        I would follow the strategy outlined above. To summarize:

                        (1) build a base in the middle of the existing three bases (nestled among the mines)

                        (2) move a intel unit next to Sheng-Ji Yang Base. If there is a probe unit there, do artillery fire, then probe to probe battle, and, if we win, infiltrate the SotR.

                        (3) fire the counterbattery units at UN Observation Posts #1 and #2.

                        (4) upgrade the troop transports and observers at Posts #1 and #2 on the monoliths.

                        Then I'd create a save and post. We could then discuss our strategy from there. Is that OK, Mead and mart7x5?
                        Unofficial SMAC/X Patches Version 1.0 @ Civilization Gaming Network

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          upgrading pre-defines units may render their abilities unusable.
                          Mart
                          Map creation contest
                          WPC SMAC(X) Democracy Game - Morganities aspire to dominate Planet

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by mart7x5
                            upgrading pre-defines units may render their abilities unusable.
                            I copied a description for a land transport 2-2-2 (Darsnan gave a spec in the General Forum) into a copy of alpha.txt.

                            I created the unit in the scenario editor and created a monolith.

                            I was able to upgrade the land transport. It did not lose the ability to transport.

                            Is the proposed course of action OK?
                            Unofficial SMAC/X Patches Version 1.0 @ Civilization Gaming Network

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              yes, I thought about upgrading to a new type, not the monolith upgrade, sorry for confusion.

                              I support monolith upgrades as soon as possible for defensive units.
                              Mart
                              Map creation contest
                              WPC SMAC(X) Democracy Game - Morganities aspire to dominate Planet

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