Drone Negotiations

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by Kody
The tech trade would hence be.
Hive -> Planetary networks -> Drones
Drones -> Industrial Economics -> Hive
Hive -> Industrial Automation -> Drones
Drones -> Flexibility -> Hive

Kody

Sounds to me that they would like to get Information Networks very much. We could use that to exchange IE in my opinion. Let them research their own PN. It'll be later than us and give us enough time to build our probe team in defense of their future potential probing activity.

[Kody]

Here's a possible email I'm planning on sending to them.

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Email sent and now shown below
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I might send this later. HongHu wanted me to put the emails up before I sent them, but I doubt I'll get replies from most hive members considering the lack of response to some of the other things I have posted.

It's mainly fluff, to sumarise this email.
* I'm kindof annoyed of the lack of decision
* We want the inital negotiations to finish before the start of their next turn. (If pernament pact we can implement the partial tech tree manevour and perhaps out-tech the other factions with significantly reduced cost techs)
* Shouting and point to the south away from our continent. Look LAND!!!!!!

Kody


Email

Due to the continued delays I will no longer be actively watching
for your response. However, I usually check my email on average three times a day and the longest delay you can ever expect from me will be 36 hours.

I hope that your members will be able to return and complete the "inital" negotiations before your next turn. Depending on what you decide on there may be much to discuss. When your next turn comes consider delaying it so inital negotiations can finish first and we can begin to implement deals that will be to our mutal advantage. The hive more proposals that depend on what kind of alliance if any you choose.

The astronomical observations, once I realised what you meant, have been reviewed. They do not show any land near to our east. However there appears to be some elevation to your south and bumps that could be islands to your south-west. Of course since you brought this issue up you already know this. You have our blessing to follow the river south and meet up with your transport ship.

Kody

[Snowflake]

Kody thank you for your great effort. I really really appreciate you posting it here. I think it's too much to ask you post every emails before you send it out however. Except for the one that contains specific tech change order and such, I think you are much better prepared for direct contact with them than perhaps any of us. So please don't wait if you want to send it out. BTW I think it is a great point you raised to them that they should delay their turn until the initial neogiation is finished.

[Kody]

Email

Kody,

I apologize. I did not realize you were waiting on a response from me in
any certain time period.

I have been letting the discussion in our forum ramble to a great
degree...role-playing, smart-aleck posts, etc.. I'm sure you know what I
mean. The poll that was posted has so many options as to have been made
meaningless. Drones aren't much good at polls, you understand. We have
yet to hear from Buster (on holiday, but he's supposed to be checking in
from time to time) or from Mark. (who would be considered of high rank if we
egalitarian Drone-types bothered with rank)

I don't think time is really pressing us, whether in game terms or in the
pace of the game itself. (UoP still hasn't passed it...going on 27 hours
now)

I expect we'll want to keep the trades on a one for one basis until we
decide to Pact.

I personally think we ought to manage tech transfers between us to keep our
ongoing lab costs minimized, as much as we can manage. Drones will be
another 15 - 20 turns getting a respectable research effort going, I think.
To the trade at hand...as you probably surmised, we are researching
Information Networks currently. We will redirect that research, of course,
when we receive InfoNets from you. Our F2 now shows discovery due in 2125,
but I think that will slip by a year when we complete a colony pod next year
and lose the worker on a monolith for a couple of turns. The point of this
that if you aren't going to complete PlanetNets before your 2127 turn, it
would be faster if we redirect to PlanetNets and pass it to you just before
your discovery, allowing you to redirect immediately to Automation. If you
will discover PlanetNets before your 2127, we should probably send just
Industrial Economics now. That will provide the prerequisite for you to
select Industrial Automation as your next goal while keeping an additional
tech (Industrial Base) from driving up the research cost of Automation. As
soon as you have set Auto as your goal, we can trade Base and Planetnets.
If we can redirect to PlanetNets after InfoNets, we'll be able to redirect
again after receiving PlanetNets from you. Follow me? Maybe not...

***A feature of redirecting from a current research goal that is obtained by
trade is that not only is the redirection free of loss of accumulated labs
(as in your last letter) but that the cost of the new goal is NOT re-set.***

As for our scout, I had it in mind to move back north, toward our only boat,
rather than south. It would take that slow Unity foil of ours forever to
work its way around your continent to embark the scout on the south coast as
you suggest. - 'You have our blessing to follow the river south and meet up
with your transport ship.'

Regards,

Mongoose

[Kody]

Email

To speed up future negoitations I will reveal more of our intentions.

The hive doesn't actually want to trade techs just yet. Analysis has
revealed we speed up industrial automation if we start researching our
next tech before we get your industrial economics. Then we switch to IA
taking a small research penalty but getting a much faster tech research rate.

I haven't calculated when we will finish researching plantary networks. I
think, from what you said, our two techs will be completed in roughly the
same amount of time.

There's a river that runs parallel to the channel seperating our
continents. You should be able to reach the shore near the base that the
hive can see in 5 turns. I think the foil will have arrived there in 5
turns too. If you really want to go east and attempt to subtlely explore
our bases we can't stop you. I will see about providing partial maps of
the area, so you can plan your move back to the foil.

Kody

[Snowflake]

Mongoose's email makes great sense to me. And looks to me his suggestion is kind of in line with what we have been talking about. I think we should aim to a treaty and tech exchange for now. I would like to know how strong is everybody else feeling about a pact.

[Kody]

It doesn't make sense when you consider the drones can't choose planetary networks next turn. Do the simulation.

For such a tatic to be worthwhile. We have to give them applied physics and information networks first. They will then be able to research planetary networks. They can then give us planetary networks and industrial economics. We can then change research to IA and finish almost immediately.

For them to agree to it I think we have to give them IA after. So we need one more tech to trade as well.

Kody

[Vev]

As for the land negotiation, if it will result in a free for all grab, we may have an advantage, because our current colony pod can be redirected and use the river system to head west within 5 turns and build a city near the monolith to claim all of the western land. So if they wish to build on our island, they will have to start a war.

[Snowflake]

I have one question about the drone scout. They have agreed that they'll go back where they come from. Why don't we just let them do that? Why do we want them to do another route that may mean more exloration on their part? Unless it's a perm pact I don't think we should give them any more maps then they have.

[Snowflake]

For now we should assume treaty not pact.

[Kody]

We actually have 2 more turns before we have to make that decision.

However, in my dealings I'm working on the premise that I look out for their interests as well when it doesn't affect us. Of course this will change if it looks like there may be war.

Kody

[Snowflake]

GooglieGod, one thing I need ask you. In single player game we often see AI said that they have pretend friendship with a certain faction and want to joint hand with me for a surprise attack. Is this a valid technic used in PBEM also or is that considered something bad? I really don't want this happen to us without us fully prepare for it.

[Snowflake]

Originally posted by Kody
We actually have 2 more turns before we have to make that decision.

However, in my dealings I'm working on the premise that I look out for their interests as well when it doesn't affect us. Of course this will change if it looks like there may be war.

Kody

But wouldn't they want IN as soon as possible? If this is the case we have to get IE the same time. It is risky if we wait and give them what they need first if no pact is reached. Even if a pact is agreed there's still possibility of backstabbing.

If we try pursuade them to wait they may just go ahead and seach for other factions and maybe they'll never need us any more.

Kody what's your reaction about my comment on the scout? If you agree we might need to clarify that to them.

[Snowflake]

Also I think we need to have a fuller discussion about the tech thing before we give them our final proposal. It is counter productive if we email them something and later we change our mind.

[Kody]

The measures that have been taken when I did the last turn ensures that the scout can be easily destoried if that is required.

I will bow to the majority opinion though if the hive does not trust the drones enough to pact. I'll start working on strategies under that premise then.

Kody