Next ACDG: Lower chopper movement points?

[Maniac]

Currently fission reactor SAM choppers have 8 movement points and fission non-SAM choppers 10 movement points. This poll is about my proposal to reduce chopper movement points by 2, resulting in 6 for SAM fission reactor choppers and 8 for non-SAM fission reactor choppers. Would you like that for the next ACDG, or rather not? Please vote! I put the time limit to seven days.

[Chaunk]

Voted no. A large part of these demo games is seeing how other people play, what strategy they think you should use etc. Removing choppers, or limiting them in this way, removes one perfectly valid strat.

Yes, most MP games are a run to MMI, but so be it! If you get to MMI first, then you get to rule the roost for a while, but you'd better be descisive about it, cos everyone else won't be pleased. It also means an early attack is more important for some factions, as they may have the threat of choppers over their heads.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Choppers are a broken element in the game and we all know it, the "thats just the way it is" argument dosent hold any weight because WE are so easily able to change the game with the Alpha, if we want a more balanced and nuanced game then we can and should do so. MMI and IA together put a very strong straitjacket on the players tec strategy (unless you dont care about winning) so removing it by a modest decresse in the power of Choppers (admit it, they would still be the best unit in the game) would open things up quite a bit.

[Illuminatus]

Yes, ofcourse. They are way too powerful.

[GeoModder]

Voted yes, but I also would go as far as switching choppers and noodles with their respective tech.

[Nubclear]

I voted no.

[Googlie]

I voted yes

In too many PBEM's the game is over after (within, often) the first 100 years when a faction gets MMI

I would even go further and move the Cloudbase Academy from its level 6 tech (MMI) to a level 8 such as Advanced Spaceflight or N-Space Compression. I just think that letting MMI give choppers, the CF and the CA makes it an overbalancing tech

[GeoModder]

can't agree more. It also gives factions the 'tuff' choice of whether going for the CF or CBA. Advanced Spaceflight sounds best IMO, if no new techs are allowed to be included in this DG.

[Drogue]

Voted no. I want to keep the game pretty much as usual, to see different styles. It was built that way, it was intended to be played that way, and so be it

[Darsnan]

I voted yes. I have a second loading of SMAC(X) where I have decreased the movement points for all air units (including drop pods) by 2 tiles per turn. Makes the game much more interesting, IMO!


D

[Skanky Burns]

Yes. Overpowered. Kill.

[Archaic]

Voted yes. Reducing military power makes the game likely to go longer, increasing opportunities to watch how people play builder strategies into the late game, and giving an increased opportunity for diplomacy.

[Illuminatus]

Also Yes to Googlie`s suggestion.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Propose we also Poll some of the other options discussed here by Darsen and Googlie.

I would like to add my own too, move the Empath Guild to Centauri Meditation or preferably Centauri Genetics. Otherwise we will likly disable this cool project.

I am asuming that per normal PBEM protocal its unacceptable to most people for the EG to be at Centauri Empathy because its hugely unbalancing infiltration. But I think that if its deyaled its effects will be quite muted. It would be much harder to build before the first Govenorship and now would likly force you to divert your efforts away from MMI for a time. And if you have waited this long to infiltrate people your likly behind.

[Snowflake]

I voted no. The main reason I would not advocate major changes like this is that there are different levels of people who are involved in the demo game and some of them want to learn from watching other people play. If something is changed drastically the play strategies and styles would definitely be changed and the purpose of learning and teaching may not be served very well.

I would support Impaler's idea of delaying Empath Guild, however, since it is better compare to the other alternative, which is to disable it.