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I enjoyed the game, and there are some "takeaways" worth mentioning (from my perspective) - strategy, tactics and general execution.
First of all, I must say that I was priveleged to be in the same team as Maniac. Altho I consider myself a SMAC veteran (albeit maybe not so hot a player as some), I learned a lot from watching/listening to Maniac in action.
I have always been labeled (in PBEMs) as a "big picture" player who neglects the minutiae of base management, and it was instructive to see a master at work. I don't think we'd have been half the faction we were without Manaic's attention to detail.
One tactic he introduced to us to we even gave a name to - the Maniac Manoever. Most of us were theoretically aware of it, but hadn't used it as a game tactic. It goes like this:
You want to build something at a base, say a Hab Complex (80 minerals). Build a crawler in that base (or move one to it). Then get a weapon, armour or chassis that hasn't been prototyped yet, and construct a unit and put it into build in that base. Upgrade the crawler enough to supply the missing minerals (say 70, if the base is producing 10 minerals - so that would be something like a trance syntharmoured crawler). Then retire the prototype design. The engineers are then left with a pile of minerals and nothing to build, so the base goes into "stockpile energy" mode with the full value of the jettisoned minerals. Change the build order to the Hab Complex. Voila, instant Hab Complex.
Another of Maniac's strengths (and also one of mine) lies in the use of the Scenario Editor. Very early on, Maniac started, and then we continued together, in building a simulator that exactly matched the map as it was being revealed thru exploration, pacts or infiltration. Then when we were planning an event, (eg, the initial Morgan raid that destroyed the PTS), we knew it would succeed 'cos we'd simulated it countless times using the version that Manaic and I had developed. Of course, we didn't know where formers or crawlers were situated, except from the base maps, so that was an area of uncertainty.
We also used the SE extensively to predict events. eg - is it better to pop a seapod with a trannie or a gunship? The answer (based on hundreds of simulated runs) is "It depends on what you are trying to pop" Obviously a gunship will never pop an alien artifact, nor another unit (other than a cloned gunship or a trannie) - and likewise a trannie will rarely pop credits. If we want an instabuild, then its better to use a gunship than a trannie ('cos some of the trannie options are removed - such as AA's and units - making the odds of a facilities completion higher)
And another thing we found: before popping a pod, if we changed the build orders in the nearest base - especially to a prototype - the odds of popping a completion are higher than if a unit or facility is in the partially completed stage. (in-game we got some neat units, the best being a flying fusion powered 3res armoured trance crawler noodle - worth around 225 minerals and gave us an instabuilt SP after we cautiously moved it to the base we were going to construct in)
One of our better experiences was our "live action" turns. When we conducted the PTS raid (and the University subjugation) we ran those turns "live". Opened up a chat room, then made the moves slowly, with about six or so players in the room. "OK, we've encountered a crawler - now what" "Hang on, let me open up the simulator and add a crawler, and see what we can attack it with. Great - we can take it out with the first move of the elite rover, and still have an MP left to take out the scout in the base" "OK - crawler destroyed, way now clear, but our rover sustained 50% damaged and is out of mp's" etc etc
However, as players lost interest and dropped out, it became more of a slog. Zeiter (our strategist) came to the rescue those last few turns, although with only 2 or 3 active everyday team members, getting a concensus was proving a little more difficult (eg, no one listened to me when I advocated obliterating a Gaian base with X-noodles). But my chance came that last turn. Zeiter couldn't play it, so I spent the 1200 credits to upgrade our 18 noodles to 10X, then took out 2 Gaian bases and the Angels' captured Hive base. A sort of Hiroshima/Nagasaki solution - the "resistance is futile" card, so to speak
Anyway, as I said while rambling on, I learned a ton from this game - and I apologize to those Spartan players that I didn't single out for credit. We all made valuable contributions, and it was a pleasure being part of the team
First of all, I must say that I was priveleged to be in the same team as Maniac. Altho I consider myself a SMAC veteran (albeit maybe not so hot a player as some), I learned a lot from watching/listening to Maniac in action.
I have always been labeled (in PBEMs) as a "big picture" player who neglects the minutiae of base management, and it was instructive to see a master at work. I don't think we'd have been half the faction we were without Manaic's attention to detail.
One tactic he introduced to us to we even gave a name to - the Maniac Manoever. Most of us were theoretically aware of it, but hadn't used it as a game tactic. It goes like this:
You want to build something at a base, say a Hab Complex (80 minerals). Build a crawler in that base (or move one to it). Then get a weapon, armour or chassis that hasn't been prototyped yet, and construct a unit and put it into build in that base. Upgrade the crawler enough to supply the missing minerals (say 70, if the base is producing 10 minerals - so that would be something like a trance syntharmoured crawler). Then retire the prototype design. The engineers are then left with a pile of minerals and nothing to build, so the base goes into "stockpile energy" mode with the full value of the jettisoned minerals. Change the build order to the Hab Complex. Voila, instant Hab Complex.
Another of Maniac's strengths (and also one of mine) lies in the use of the Scenario Editor. Very early on, Maniac started, and then we continued together, in building a simulator that exactly matched the map as it was being revealed thru exploration, pacts or infiltration. Then when we were planning an event, (eg, the initial Morgan raid that destroyed the PTS), we knew it would succeed 'cos we'd simulated it countless times using the version that Manaic and I had developed. Of course, we didn't know where formers or crawlers were situated, except from the base maps, so that was an area of uncertainty.
We also used the SE extensively to predict events. eg - is it better to pop a seapod with a trannie or a gunship? The answer (based on hundreds of simulated runs) is "It depends on what you are trying to pop" Obviously a gunship will never pop an alien artifact, nor another unit (other than a cloned gunship or a trannie) - and likewise a trannie will rarely pop credits. If we want an instabuild, then its better to use a gunship than a trannie ('cos some of the trannie options are removed - such as AA's and units - making the odds of a facilities completion higher)
And another thing we found: before popping a pod, if we changed the build orders in the nearest base - especially to a prototype - the odds of popping a completion are higher than if a unit or facility is in the partially completed stage. (in-game we got some neat units, the best being a flying fusion powered 3res armoured trance crawler noodle - worth around 225 minerals and gave us an instabuilt SP after we cautiously moved it to the base we were going to construct in)
One of our better experiences was our "live action" turns. When we conducted the PTS raid (and the University subjugation) we ran those turns "live". Opened up a chat room, then made the moves slowly, with about six or so players in the room. "OK, we've encountered a crawler - now what" "Hang on, let me open up the simulator and add a crawler, and see what we can attack it with. Great - we can take it out with the first move of the elite rover, and still have an MP left to take out the scout in the base" "OK - crawler destroyed, way now clear, but our rover sustained 50% damaged and is out of mp's" etc etc
However, as players lost interest and dropped out, it became more of a slog. Zeiter (our strategist) came to the rescue those last few turns, although with only 2 or 3 active everyday team members, getting a concensus was proving a little more difficult (eg, no one listened to me when I advocated obliterating a Gaian base with X-noodles). But my chance came that last turn. Zeiter couldn't play it, so I spent the 1200 credits to upgrade our 18 noodles to 10X, then took out 2 Gaian bases and the Angels' captured Hive base. A sort of Hiroshima/Nagasaki solution - the "resistance is futile" card, so to speak
Anyway, as I said while rambling on, I learned a ton from this game - and I apologize to those Spartan players that I didn't single out for credit. We all made valuable contributions, and it was a pleasure being part of the team
Also how do you cash in a crawler? Using a secret project?
Thanks for the tip. This probably requires an addition to the Treatise on Hurrying.
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