2155: Pre-planning discussion and build/movement orders

[Snoddasmannen]

Originally posted by Googlie
Morgan won't - they're too paranoid (as we are, somewhat) about risking Vendetta before they are ready (but weren't so paranoid re us!!)

Good point!
I was thinking we didn't want to grow Hive too much tech since it would slip over to Morgan. But you're right, they won't have the guts to steal, and besides, they'll have HEC in a few turns anyway.

In light of this, I am beginning to lean in favour of complying with the blackmail.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
If we do decide to continue the war with Morgan, should we forget about the plan to build CPs in Fort Buster and Olympus Academy, and build something military instead?

I'd say yes - these 2 bases are awesome minerals generators now (esp OA with that crawler now working) - so I'd focus on military from these 2.

The question is, offensive or defensive?

[Maniac]

Oh damnit.

Personally I would be against giving into the Hive demands. As Googlie says himself, most likely we'll be only safe for a few turns, before Yang comes to us with another set of extortions. So personally I don't see what's the big benefit in giving him our two best military technologies, making it harder to conquer him, and allowing the other factions to steal those techs from the Hive.

As I wasn't able anymore to get on the internet yesterday, meaning there would be little time left to play anymore when I could next get on the internet, I decided yesterday to gamble and play the turn assum-inge that a majority would be against giving in to Yang's demands. Because if we waited to the last minute with playing the rest of the turn, who knows there might arise other problems we didn't have the time anymore to discuss.
So below is the turn I played in the scenario of continuing the vendetta. In the turn report I've put the results of the probe action and the Pegasus journey between spoiler tags (the only actions that I think would be different under a no-war scenario), so don't look at them if we'll decide to give in to Yang's demands.

Unfortunately I won't be able to get on the internet anymore today, so if we need to replay, not going to war with Yang, someone else will have to do it. Sorry for the mess.

This mess does show that I won't be able to function as turnplayer if we have to make many last-minute decisions before being able to continue playing the rest of the turn. I simply can't get on the internet often enough to see the latest reactions.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the MY 2155 battle report of the turn I played, with only a few things left doing (see especially Hermes and the suggested SC2 rec commons hurry or SC1 doctor appointment).


Midturn Battle Report MY 2155


Diplomacy

Yang declared war on us, after refusing to give Doctrine: Initiative.

Adaptive Economics sold for 25 credits. Then I asked for Monitoring Station, and got it for 244 credits. Renamed to Fort Superiority.
Zakharov's mood is now obstinate in the Spartan Intelligence Files (right side commlink menu). I'm wondering, could he be bullied next year into giving us back our money?
We now have 49 credits left in reserve, meaning we can no longer hurry everything suggested. So we need to make choices: anything we just have to hurry this turn?
Zakharov will now research IntInt MY 2177, and we MY 2174. That issue solved itself too I guess.


Base foundations

Messena and Twonuts Strand founded. We now have 17 bases and 42 population. By comparison, Morgan has 18 bases and 45 population.

The addition of three new bases to our empire did create lots of b-drones though. All are relatively harmless, except for one: Gythium Harbour, population size 40000. There we now have a drone that isn't quelled anymore by the doctor. And we can't create a second doctor if we want to prevent starvation. At the moment I see two possibilities to solve the problem.
One: make the SC1 2-1-0 worker a doctor, and move its Ogre to GH. This would cause food shortage, but SC1 has 5 nuts in reserve and thus could hold out for five years.
Two: hurry the SC2 rec commons under production one year earlier than planned, for 40 credits (would mean no other hurrying possible this year). Again this allows us to move the Ogre to GH. If we don't hurry the rec commons this year, we'll have to hurry it next year, as then SC2 is about to grow to size 4 as well, and we need the Ogre currently stationed in SC2 to move to SC4, which will also grow to size 3 in two years.

For a more permanent solution though, we'd need a rec commons in Gythium Harbour. Unfortunately we no longer have the credits to hurry one. We could of course crawler-hurry one next year with the crawler coming from Fort Buster, but that would of course mean we can't use that crawler anymore for hurrying a cruiser transport. Of course we could let Fort Buster another crawler and build the cruiser transport after all, only two years later. But that would entail we can't build a colony pod anymore to make use of the PTS. Priorities, priorities!


Worker relocations:

RG: moved 1-2-0 crater worker to the 1-2-2 river forest.
SC4: moved 2-2-1 worker to the 2-2-0 crater tile.
SC2: moved the 3-1-0 worker to the now free 2-2-1 tile. SC2 needs only one nut surplus to fill its nutrient tanks.
GH: moved the two 2-1-0 workers to the 3-1-0 farm and the completed 1-2-2 river forest.

Unit actions

Spoiler:

SNC Pegasus dropped off a probe team near Fellowship City. The probe succesfully stole Polymporhpic Software, and returned to Minas Tirth, being succesfully upgraded from hardened to commando.
Polymorphic Software gives all probes +1 morale. Meaning we've got a few elite Crypteia now, with two MPs.
Pegasus sails further south. Massive Hive force discovered.

Hermes moves back north next to the unity pod. Now the trannie has only 2 MP left though. So if an IoD pops up, Hermes is toast. Therefore this suggestion: would it be ok to wait until next year to pop the pod?

Artifact moving to RÃo Grande.

Rolling Thunder II moving to the Minas Tirith area.

CRV R-112 defeated the Hive scout patrol. Zeiter's troops didn't take a scratch.

SCC Invincible travelling back north to the unity pod.

New OA crawler now mining 4 minerals.
New FB crawler now harvesting one mineral en route to Gythium Harbour.

SC3 crawler moved east to terraforming there.

SNC Mercury docks at AU, picks up the Crypteia and sails off again, escorted by the SCC GeneralTacticus.
Two hoplites stay in AU. Rest moves to Fort Superiority and Castor Horsemen further east.

Probe team in Fort Liberty moves to Climactic Research to probe defend.

OA garrison is moving to Vladivostok. OA is training replacement garrison to prevent drone riots.



Unit and support shuffling

Hoplite moved into Twonuts Strand and rehomed.
Hoplite rehomed to Messena.

20% damaged impact rover rehomed from AU to Fort Liberty.
Tegean scout and impact rover on the monolith move to Fort Superiority to rehome there. The rover turns back to Fort Liberty.
End result: no Arcadian base has to spend minerals on support.

SC2 hoplite moves to GH and rehomes.
GH hoplite moves to SC2 as replacement.
Reason: With the aforementioned worker relocations executed, GH production was 3 mins. However every mineral above 2 we produce next year will be lost after we'd crawler-hurry the GH production next year. Therefore this temporary rehoming.

The SC3 hoplite in SC3 moves to SC4 and rehomes.
A SC4 hoplite goes into the other direction as garrison replacement.
Reason: Twonuts Strand being founded, a support mineral has been freed up in SC4. Time to fill up again in other words, and increase SC3's production.

Rehome the Rio Grande hoplite in Fort Buster to Fort Buster.
Reason: the destroyed former near MT has freed up a support slot in FB.

PS: Would it be ok to clean up the unit workshop a bit, so the list of items to build isn't so long?

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
we give him back the tech lead, thus lowering our research costs

? At the beginning of the turn the Hive has 19 techs and we 23. Even if we give him two techs this turn, we'd still have the tech lead AFAIK. A lot would have to happen before we ever lose it I think.

If we vendetta. then we can tech steal from yang with impunity - but are we interested in what he's got?

Well PolySoft gives all probes +1 morale. Getting that would make our Crypteia elite and 2 MPs. Meaning we could use those cheaper models for offensive probe actions or as mobile probe defences in a Morganite invasion.

[Googlie]

Quickie before I head ouit - I'm happy to be in vendetta with Yang - the plusses and minuses about cancel each other out.

I'd go ahead and rush that rec commons, then next turn bully Zak for some ec's (or first, sell the tech we steal from Yang)

A bonus in stealing a tech (and don't bother trying to frame Morgan - in the sim I didn't get a successful frame-up often enough to offset the loss probability) is that the probe gets returned to GH or SC4, and can leap on to the trannie/coastguard combo for general Morgan mayhem (such as subverting the hunter if we come across it)

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
PS: Would it be ok to clean up the unit workshop a bit, so the list of items to build isn't so long?

Sure - some were ones that I put in in expectation that we'd eventually build them - others were trying to get unique units.

G. (Good turn, btw )

[Googlie]

AI Diplomacy - if you call Zak back again this turn, and ask for credits (otherwise cancel pact) he'll give 46 ec's.

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Maniac
Adaptive Economics sold for 25 credits. Then I asked for Monitoring Station, and got it for 244 credits. Renamed to Fort Superiority.

Could someone show us a picture from the inside of that base? I soooo want to see how this baby looks under Spartan rule.


I say rush the Rec Commons. We must have it anyway, so let's get this over with.

[Snoddasmannen]

I'm sorry I haven't been around enough to stay in touch with the discussions this turn, I've been rather busy. Despite (because? ) of this you played this turn really well Maniac

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Modo44
Could someone show us a picture from the inside of that base? I soooo want to see how this baby looks under Spartan rule.

Here it is:

[Googlie]

further diplo comment - you can also, when callign Zak and extorting 46 ec's, sell him Polysoft for 25 ec's - and you can sell it to Lal as well (thus boosting reserves by 96 ec's)

[Snoddasmannen]

Yes I agree with the diplo actions
But haven't we missed the deadline for posting the turn?

[Modo44]

WOW. That's a load of minerals. : I think we should make a separate thread "Build queue Fort Superiority".

[Maniac]

I guess that's a green light to continue with the turn already attached. I'll go finish it up and then post it in the general forum.

[Googlie]

I gave it a thumbs-up yesterday morning

(yes, we're over 12 hours late - making the assumption that Maniac had internet-access troubles, I was going to finish it and post it yesterday afternoon after golf, but had opened the turn a few times for the diplos and screenshots and had just "quit and exited" rather than saved, so numerous replays would have shown, and after the bug last turn I was reluctant to approach Method for a permission)