2143: Pre-planning discussion and build/movement orders

[Zeiter]

I've been thinking...perhaps I'm underestimating the value of infiltration. I'm not all that pbem experienced, so I've not had to deal too much with being in the dark as far as what opponents are doing. I suppose trying for infiltration is worth a little risk and potential loss. Anyway, I'm good with whatever the majority decides. I guess that crawler cash-in deal isn't so bad after all, considering it can harvest resources on the way. I totally forgot about that.

[Primus Pilus]

semi off topic... i've started a pbem w/my 10-yr old son and was wondering how sharing maps, tech, etc is done? we 'contacted' each other via commlink, but the pop-up screen only has limited options for diplomacy and tech trade. any help would be appreciated

[Googlie]

Not sure what you mean by "limited options" Is it the same choices that we have here? (and after selecting "Offer all techs" the screen fills with those techs that you have that he doesnt )

Offer All Techs


The world map doesn't come up on this list as a tech to offer. To give the map you have to select the "Share tech" choice and that gives the techs one by one (with an asterisk deonoting common techs). The map is on this list to toggle:

Share Techs

[Maniac]

What will we set to produce in our new base next year? A synthmetal prototype after all (thus losing our prototype hurry methods for now )? Or something else, eg a former, hoplite, probe, ship...

[Googlie]

it'll have a probe team in place when founded, but I thought we were considering a foil that could sit in the bay to ward off Morgan probefoils?

(Or maybe use those ten free minerals to fasttrack a seaformer?)

[Zeiter]

Or what about a regular former? Now that we have IA, we need to get more forests and mines as soon as possible. (And in 8 or so turns we'll also be able to start on some boreholes. If we have 4 or 5 formers to gang-form it, we'd get it done in just 5 or 6 turns.)

[Googlie]

If we go on a Yang binge, he has 5 bases accessable to us by sea (plus a couple more on the south side of the jungle that I don't know if we're linked to by ocean)

His navy is (currently) negligible - 1 sloop

I say we go for a Navy Seals unit

EDIT: If we build as Navy Seals squad at Gythium Harbour, then I'm OK with another former at Rio Grande, using the ten minerals as a rush foundation

[Primus Pilus]

Googlie, thanks for the share tech info

[Googlie]

Ok - back to the 2143 turn, which is almost on us.

Agreed or proposed moves:

• Colony Pod founds Rio Grande where it currently is standing (54:12)
• Rio Grande starts - and rushes - a Former (I know, last post I made I wanted a Navy Seals unit, but we do need more formers to prep the terrain for crawling. And that's a juicy tile that'll be between RG and FB - 5 mins with a mine on it
• Fort Buster's Probe team will relocate to Rio Grande
• Sparta Command's Crypteia go to Gythium Harbour as probe defender there
• Probe en-route from OA (currently outside Santiago Citadel) will divert to probe-defend at Minas Tirith
• Elite Impact Infantryman returns to Sector Cratersouth, for temporary garrison duty, freeing up Shinsengumi
• Shinsengumi moves to Fort Buster to add garrison there in expectation of a B-drone when pop reaches 2
• Hermes moves 1 tile east, and disembarks one longstrider
• Probe moves to whatever base is lurking on 79:11, and infiltrates Zak, whereupon we take stock
• If deemed worthwhile after the infiltration, second longstrider will disembark and steal tech, or will remain in Hermes on standby
• If second probe action undertaken, transport will use remaining movement points to head back to VV, otherwise remain on standby
• Hunter will E x 1 and see what Morgan base is at 29:19, then loop south and east as planned if terrain permits
• Invincible will move SW x 4 to make landfall on the northwest shore of what looks like Mt Planet (or a Mount Planet clone)
• R-112 will see if it can move anywhere
• Pegasus will move E x 3 towards its Hunter rendezvous point

Agreed or proposed build orders

• Rio Grande, as suggested above, starts and rushes a former
• Sector Craterwest puts another Hoplite unit into training (Warwag needs to be freed up for action)
• Fort Buster puts a Hoplite unit into training (Shinsengumi, which will have moved to there, needs to be freed up for action)
• Minas Tirith starts training a Hoplite unit (Chiron Knights needs to be freed for action)
• Gythium Harbour changes production from a Crypteia to a Navy Seals unit
• Sparta Command starts on a crawler

Some alternatives

• If we want to prototype Syntharmor, change Santiago Citadel's Hoplite Infantry to a Hoplite Guardsman (infantry completes in 2 turns, guardsman in 4)
• If we do decide to befriend Zak and take on Yang, we don't need another trannie from VV - change there to a Crypteia, which would then give us all our coastal bases probe defenders (in base or en-route). We can infill our inland bases at our leisure then
• If we decide to be cosy with Zak (after an infiltration has perhaps revealed that he has no jucier techs than Yang), maybe Hermes with the remaining longstrider should immediately head south to infiltrate Lal

Diplomatic Moves

• As soon as Yang meets Lal he'll call elections, then everyone has everyone else's commlinks. I suggest this turn a frenetic diplomatic offensive to get everything we can thru trades - brokering third party as well, to ensure that after elections are called there's nothing that a faction can get from another that hasn't already gone though us
• Another diplo offensive should be to sound out Morgan on a deep pact
• and a third should focus on the Gaians, telling them our thoughts on opening up a second front on Yang (but as we 've found that their mindworm was ferried there by a 2 mp trannie, and that it has returned to ferry a probe team there (I'm guessing), their vendetta involves killing a colony pod or two as of now)
• finally, get what we can from the Angels, without getting overly friendly

Anything missed?

[Googlie]

As an afterthought:

Why don't we backtrack Pegasus and pick up the longstrider probe team that's now earmarked for Minas Tirith. He can drop off at Great Collective and steal a Yang tech (and will be repatriated to Minas Tirith if successful anyway?)

Podpopping would just be delayed 2 turns, and would give the Hunter a bit more time to get around the islands and necks of land that must be joining Hades to Morganland

And if we decide eventually not to go the Hive infiltration route, we have next turn and the one after to just drop off the probe at Minas Tirith anyway

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
Ok - back to the 2143 turn, which is almost on us.

Sounds all great to me.

Rio Grande starts - and rushes - a Former

IIRC RG will produce 4 mins if it works the mineral bonus, so that would mean (25 / 10) * 6 = 15c hurry cost.

If we want to prototype Syntharmor, change Santiago Citadel's Hoplite Infantry to a Hoplite Guardsman (infantry completes in 2 turns, guardsman in 4)

That would mean losing the ability to prototype/crawler-hurry though.

Diplomatic Moves[list][*]As soon as Yang meets Lal he'll call elections, then everyone has everyone else's commlinks. I suggest this turn a frenetic diplomatic offensive to get everything we can thru trades - brokering third party as well, to ensure that after elections are called there's nothing that a faction can get from another that hasn't already gone though us

Just for the record, I think it might take a while after all before Yang meets everyone. The turn we infiltrated Yang his two laser foils were heading straight east, making me think they were on a mission to meet Lal. However already the turn after or so they changed direction - perhaps in response to the Hive-Gaian war? And this year I had a look again at those ships, and I noticed one was destroyed, while the other 80% damaged. It's of course possible they both ran into some IoDs while en route to Lal, but an alternative I thought of is that they're having artillery duels with some Gaian spore launchers or so - in any case not in the immediate neighbourhood of Lal.

[KrysiasKrusader]

Originally posted by Primus Pilus
semi off topic... i've started a pbem w/my 10-yr old son and was wondering how sharing maps, tech, etc is done? we 'contacted' each other via commlink, but the pop-up screen only has limited options for diplomacy and tech trade. any help would be appreciated

This gives me an idea...


Considering the experience (from questions I've been fielding), of some of our Junta officer corps...

How about we (the officers of the Junta) play a MP PBEm game with just ourselves?

It would give some of us an idea of how things work against human opponents, and how quickly certain events/situations can effect strategy. It could be considered just the same as when NATO has their yearly war games / maneouvers.

Edit: It would have to be with SMAC, of course. As I'm aware that Zeiter, and Snoddasmannen do not have SMAX.

[Kassiopeia]

I like the idea. We should probably arrange it to have the same factions we have in the actual game. Googlie could even come up with a mockup of the actual game terrain based on wild inference of what we know now.

[KrysiasKrusader]

Originally posted by Zeiter

Also, is this unit design workshop trick legal? I don't remember it being mentioned in the official rules thread. Should we ask the mods to make sure?

It is legal. That's why I questioned it in the KK thread. The mods had looked over it and didn't say anything.

[KrysiasKrusader]

Originally posted by Googlie
it'll have a probe team in place when founded, but I thought we were considering a foil that could sit in the bay to ward off Morgan probefoils?

(Or maybe use those ten free minerals to fasttrack a seaformer?)

I'm trying not to shoot my mouth off too much in your turn processing thread, but...

I'm pretty opposed to seaformers (especially before fusion reactors). I've already explained why somewhere else (in one of the multitudes of threads here).

I'm not too found (<- understatement) of having a static naval unit for defence either. If you want to kill probe foils quickly near a base. Build an artillery unit (any kind of arty what-so-ever will do).