Update from the Drones

[jtsisyoda]

Instead of making a new thread for each turn that I need to inform you of something, I figured we could use this thread each time...

Please probe Digger's Descent. The probe we used to get Cyberethics returned to Staples, so it's now defended. Vevtopia may receive a visit from Drones interested in Bio-Engineering, etc.

PEG is no more.

[Snowflake]

Hey my decision of dropping two drop probes close to Digger's Descent actually was right! I was hesitating to ask you to do so and you've done your turn so quick. I thought I may have missed the chance.

[Snowflake]

The probe that went to Digger's Descent had returned to Vevtopia so you can't probe it next turn. However I've moved the probe at Static University out so you are welcome to visit the library there. Perhaps our probe can even visit Anvil of Man next turn.

[jtsisyoda]

Turn is posted.

You have an IOD near The Ruins, so watch out.

The timing on your attack on CyCon's western front is good. You'll achieve glorious victories, too, I'm sure. CyCon HQ will likely be taken/destroyed next turn. We are about to make our push over the next few turns with drop CP's, ships, and a drop marine. We'll turn over three drop CP's next turn and provide coordinates where we'd like you to drop them.

[jtsisyoda]

Forgot a couple things about 2174...

CyCon is building probe ships and calling them Probe Defence. I guess this means they intend to retake captured sea and coastal bases. I suggest transporting some probe defenders to newly captured sea bases. By the time Drones get to some of those bases, HSA will be done and we won't have to worry about it.

[jtsisyoda]

2175 is posted...

Turned over three drop CP's. Please drop one at (79,69) and one at (69,57). There are already some units there to defend, but if you wish to supplement the garrison, feel free. If you see a good place to use the third CP for your offensives, go ahead, but we can always hold it for later. Those two bases will allow drops into quite a few CyCon bases.

Reinforced Logic Loop with probe and AAA garrisons. It should be safe for now. Are you going to rename it?

Took Aurora, which may have been a mistake. I believe they had a drop speeder probe there last turn, whose whereabouts are unaccounted for. It may be hiding near the Neural Amp. (Remember their little wish of good luck in the turn tracking thread?) HSA completes next turn, so they have a one turn window at Aurora. If you can destroy roads near the NA or Aurora, that might help.

If there's a way for you to take Hyper Cube before they complete their X Chopper there, that might be a good idea.

[Kody]

Took Aurora, which may have been a mistake. I believe they had a drop speeder probe there last turn, whose whereabouts are unaccounted for. It may be hiding near the Neural Amp. (Remember their little wish of good luck in the turn tracking thread?) HSA completes next turn, so they have a one turn window at Aurora. If you can destroy roads near the NA or Aurora, that might help.

They were hiding in fungus near logic loop hoping to probe the Hive. The sensor near logic loop picked up the probe team though, so your base is fairly safe.

By the way the cycon seem to be making liberal useage of nervestaple. That means it should be fairly easy to start probing their bases away from them.

[Snowflake]

What will happen if you bought off a nervestapled base?

[Kody]

Cycon currently only 0 probes with 1 crusier probe created in Megabyteville(57,63). So that means you can drop and capture boolean bay(68,78) this turn with a drop AAA unit from Logic Loop without worrying about probe defence.

I've noticed cycon have a habit of rushing exactly up to the minerals + production to completion.
*has a great idea*
You can stop productions from being completed whenever they do that by simply flying a chopper over one of the mineral heavy squares they are harvesting. Stopping then, open that particular base up via infiltration. The worker will be switched to a different square and then the cycon won't be able to finish the production that turn. You then move your chopper away.

This can be done this turn by moving a chopper to (55,61), opening up Megabyte forcing the worker to switch squares, then moving the chopper away to fungus or somewhere. This will prevent the cycon from finishing that probe crusier this turn.

If the plan is a conquest victory plan for drop pod at (12,62) with the drop pod created by one of the data angel bases. Because the cycon are going to retreat deeper into believer terrority might as well plan for the bases now.

[Kody]

Sorry my mistake when you nervestaple it says "vulnerability to mind control halved", so it actually makes it harder to probe. *blinks innocently*

Hrmm well that does help if you want to prevent a base from being probed by the cycon. Sunspot activity means there's currently no bad penalties for nervestapling. Sort of makes me wonder why the free drones aren't nervestapling the new bases they capture.

I checked eco damage effects earlier because I was considering nervestapling in the HoF game. There appears to be no ecodamage effects (unlike gas).

I wonder if I missed any bad effects aside from diplomatic and trade.

[Kody]

Oh yeah freedrones get orbtial spaceflight next turn. That means hydroponic labs soon, and cloning vats from our own research path. Pity we couldn't avoid all those techs due to sunspot activity, we'd have cloning vats already then. Basically if the Hive could expand like a weed before, it'll be on super grow with a few nut satellites and cloning vats.

It makes me dizzy thinking of the fact that the only thing restricting us will be how fast we can build formers, colony pods, and police units. With +3 industry, the future looks pretty happy. I mean the freedrones have to bother with drone control facilities/children's creche etc.

Also I think this is the last turn of sunspot activity this turn. Turn 2176 will be sunspot free. Due to the mod 3 rule Hive will need to pick up an extra tech from the drones, probably orbital so that we can choose biomachinary.

[Snowflake]

First wouldn't your great idea considered a cheat? I suppose we could make our plane stop there by exaughsting all movement points though, to achieve the same purpose.

Second, nervestapling!!! I'm against it, on principle.

Third, need to look how many years do we have until the next tech. We'll ask drones for the necessary techs I suppose next turn then. (Still sunspot activity this turn right?)

Fourth, you are suggesting we expand as quickly as we can?

[Snowflake]

That means we may need to start hab complexes in some bases soon too I guess. Let's see what else do we need to do to prepare for pop booming? Food. More farm/condensors or satallites ... Each satalite add 1 food to a base right? Or is it something else that I totally forgot?

[Kody]

First wouldn't your great idea considered a cheat? I suppose we could make our plane stop there by exaughsting all movement points though, to achieve the same purpose.

Not really, I consider it as taking pog shots at the workers. You fly over them and scare them away. Stopping works too though.

Second, nervestapling!!! I'm against it, on principle.

You're not in the Gaians yet. Still in the Hive. Anyway there's heaps of documentation in this forum that has you supporting nervestapling.

Third, need to look how many years do we have until the next tech. We'll ask drones for the necessary techs I suppose next turn then. (Still sunspot activity this turn right?)

Sunspot activity this turn and our tech in 2 turns. That means in turn 2176 the drones can set orbital to preaccept. Then we can accept it at the start of our turn then switch to biomachinary immediately.

That means we may need to start hab complexes in some bases soon too I guess. Let's see what else do we need to do to prepare for pop booming? Food. More farm/condensors or satallites ... Each satalite add 1 food to a base right? Or is it something else that I totally forgot?

*groan*
No more condensors. Don't think that I didn't notice the fact you condensored one of the borehole spots. Also as bad as Rubin terraforming up the monsoon jungle when he could do the terraforming from the hive land mass much more efficiently as well as not losing monsoon jungle squares. Also he's terraforming up fungus squares which increase the cost of landraising 3 fold or something.

Should be terraforming up from broken heart hill, start the super wide landraising from 2000m to 3000m. You only need 1 terraformer to start the borehole and it will finish eventually even if it does finish with the borehole at 3000m. So you don't need to complete all the boreholes yet.

*Sigh* I'm nit picking again ain't I? Still I reckon the captial and rokossovkygrad should have gotten the treefarms built as they could do with the extra econ, and instead of rushing treefarms, maybe upgrading some of the legacy scouts or scout-police to clean-police would have been good. And the fact we're could do with some more clean formers, rather than building dirty ones. *takes a deep breath*

Okay I'm done.... 5am in the morning for some reason I stayed awake waiting for my HoF turn.

Umm I better answer your question.

Have central bases work on the build up of formers and satellites. Conquored bases should build the military (nearer the front anyway). Small bases are the best to build colony pods in (the smaller the better). Don't build colony pods in size 7 bases like I've observed unless there's a instant regrow due to the nutrient box resize.

Maybe the captial could do with a hab complex, but really get 7 nut satellites up first. Then build hab complexes each of the size 7 bases. Get 14 satellites up. Condensors aren't really needed (unless they're on nuts) because satellites will be providing additional food. It'll be 8-10 turns before cloning vats get built, so you're really wasting former time building condensors right now. I estimate you won't be building many hab complexes at least for another 5-8 years.

Not sure whether building crawlers or upgrading crawlers is better atm. I have a feeling upgrading is better now for building the cloning vats.

I don't think you will need many more crawlers on minerals for the newer bases. If you need more minerals make an extra clean police unit, and use workers. With satellites growth should be fairly fast to size 5 even without the cloning vats.

One you get the satellites up. Formers are actually the main limiting factor in our growth. We basically have no drone problems at size 3, clean police unit gets it up to size 5, another clean police unit gets it up to size 7. For a new city 2 rows for a clean police is far better than a network node. Don't really need crawlers for new bases, as it's faster to increase the production by growing more workers that will be put on forests. We don't even need facilities straight off, all the bonuses from the SPs are enough to get by on.

I really want to see 4-8 formers per city (mostly clean I hope). That way you'll be able to keep up with the grow spurts when cloning vats come around.

Disclaimer: ofcourse Rubin's military requests must take precedence, I've been so far impressed by his military decisions. and after all we are in the middle of a war.

[Kody]

Each satalite add 1 food to a base right?

Yep. Since we got cloudbase each satellite means 1 food per base. So we'll have pretty good growth with 7 satellites. Low cost too.