Lordship of Development

[Net Warrior]

Obstructor, here's what I was referring to when I said popping the pod could slow down our research if we get a tech: (see the 2nd paragraph)

"Tech cost is only recalculated once you complete a tech by your own research, and start on a new tech. Half researching one tech, getting it some other way, and switching to another does not change the tech cost. Also, "surplus research" carries forward to the next tech.

The one exception to the cost increase rule occurs while researching your 1st tech. The cost of your 1st tech is, for some reason, calculated each turn. Thus you should never trade or pod pop, etc. until you have completed the research process at least once."

[Chaos Theory]

Consider, though, that we already have the Most Important tech (Ecology), so even if we get tech from a pod, it won't be a disaster. Information Networks or Industrial Base would be a boon, and the other possible techs wouldn't be that bad.

[Snowflake]

Edited out by snowflake.

[Kody]

Yep every tech you can skip is like +1 research. Every tech you pick up seems to give you -1 research. The effects are a bit different, but the results are similar in my opinion.

Hrmm Honghu, we seem to be talking an awful lot of strategy in this forum. Oh well if Drogue comes along, you're getting the blame for starting it.

[Snowflake]

You are going to publish this in your SMAC university anyway aren't you? So it should be common knowledge. This is not to say it isn't already common knowledge for most players in all of the teams.

Plus this is the Gaians.

[Edit] Ok I'm joking with the last sentence.

[Edit] Again response to other people.

[smacksim]

Ah the sublety. As to the pod, yep, no good for research department, especially before first tech. But we will be stealing most of our tech, right? And HongHu, why don't you rejoin Gaia? We could use you on our side. You can CMN in the global newspaper, perhaps as chief editor. There's plently to do that wouldn't require your absence from the team.

-S

[Net Warrior]

Planning on stealing techs as our main source of research seems like burning our bridges behind us. I wish our chief science/research officer would weigh in on the question.

...and yes Honghu, please rejoin the Giains. We are your one true love afterall.

[smacksim]

And I was joking with my last bit about stealing techs. I'd guess we are a good 30 tiles from any other faction of note.

-S

[Net Warrior]

Hmmmm, I pride myself on my own subtle sense of humor and yet I still failed to spot yours. Tou·ché

[Snowflake]

They'd beat me to death if I were to rejoin Gaian now. I've entered all the private forums and so on.

[Edit] Response to other people's post.

[smacksim]

Excellent, a revolution!

No, not many would believe anyone capable of honorably stepping away from such power. I'd believe ya if you said you were now going to join another faction and wouldn't rattle our plans. But here I go again, cluttering up the turn thread. Have we posted?

-S

[Snowflake]

Angels have the turn now.

Originally posted by smacksim
I'd believe ya if you said you were now going to join another faction and wouldn't rattle our plans.
-S

Like I know what your plans are.

[Edit] Response to other people. But I can perfectly understand if this is considered spam, and I'll edit it out if it is indeed so.

[Illuminatus]

We have plans ?

[smacksim]

I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it!

-S

[Chaos Theory]

Well, I have plans. Short-term, I plan to head north (this is not the consensus, just what I'd prefer to do). Long-term, I plan to play the Gaians more-or-less like I did in Googlie's challenge, though with more caution towards human players. If you want to see what I did in that challenge, you should be able to dig up the thread. I can also post some saves from the game.

Succinctly, I like:
High industry
Lots of cities
Lots of terraformers. A rocky + min bonus may be 7 minerals to someone else, but to me it's 7 terraformers.
Lots of crawlers early, but many get removed to allow boreholes to be worked, and to allow filling in gaps with new bases as satellites make this feasible.
IA -> Env Econ -> MMI -> Fusion