2155: Pre-planning discussion and build/movement orders

[Googlie]

Hmm - summat queer going on

I opened the turn to follow along what maniac was posting, and here's what Yang wanted from me!!!:

[Googlie]

So I said "wtf" and looked at our techs {I copied just teh final five or so - but note that we are now researching SFF!! - and can build the CDF)

(I obviously have somehow gotten a corrupted file - I wonder if that was what caused the 2 reload messages)

[Maniac]

Are you perhaps currently playing with an edited alphax.txt for a scenario or so?

If not, beats me.

Edit: or did you just before opening this ACDG save play another PBEM where you have the techs mentioned? IIRC I once read something that the techs from your previous game opened somehow transferred to your next game.

[Googlie]

And here are the SP's we can now build!!

(maybe we should play the official turn with my version ...........................)

[Googlie]

I haven't done any alphax.txt tweaks for over a year

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
Follow-up post.

I was wondering, we have the Pegasus with a probe very conveniently near a Hive base (in the dark under the cursor). How about stealing a tech with it?

Also notice a Hive scout patrol is near our CRV impact rover. Eliminate it, or flee away?

Why not steal a tech and frame Morgan - we're in vendetta with both Yang and Morgan, so it doesn't matter if we are caught - and if we are successful .............................

Then move the Peg south/southwest towards R-112

And I'd go ahead and kill that scout with R-112

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
Why not steal a tech and frame Morgan - we're in vendetta with both Yang and Morgan, so it doesn't matter if we are caught - and if we are successful .............................

Brilliant!

[Googlie]

mm - definitely a corrupt file on m y desktop, as both this ACDG game and another game with problems are OK on my laptop

I've e-mailed myself the txt file, so all should be OK from now on

[Googlie]

Hmm - I don't like the odds of techstealing and framing Morgan (50% chance of succeeding with the techsteal but only 33% chance of the probe surviving)

I've done it a bunch of times in the sim (attached below) and been successful around 3 times out of 20 (ie, got the tech and framed Morgan)

I say we just steal a tech (100% probability of success with an 87% probability of the probe surviving)

G.

[Googlie]

I see that we can pop a pod with the Mercury as it wends its way back to Argos to pick up AU's colony pod.

Do we want, therefore, to put a speeder crawler in production at TwoNuts Strand, or a Syntharmored Impact rover? (So that we get an instabuild if we get a completion podpop)

I vote for the latter - there will be a few more podpos we can do before we get Int Int and will have other chances of a speeder crawler. This (2NutsStrand) is too close to Yang to pass up the opportunity of an Impact Rover

[Modo44]

If giving in to Yang's demands isn't an option, then we need defenses on the border ASAP - let's go with the Rover. And, of course, steal whatever you can from him.

[Snoddasmannen]

Originally posted by Maniac
As Googlie asked to take over turnplaying duty, I opened the turn. Yang immediately wanted to contact me. I had to give him Doc:Ini. I told him to pry it from my cold dead fingers if he could. Vendetta of course. If we want to, we could of course legitimately replay under the AI diplomacy rules, and give him Doc:Ini after all.

Nah, I don't think we should give him Doc:Ini. Let's just try to get our rover out of there, and then let's get on with stealing techs from him

Perhaps we could also use it as an opportunity to improve relations with Gaia? Inform them (and the Angels?) that the Morganites have set up Yang against us, and that we would like if possible coordinate our military efforts against Yang and Morgan?

Yes good idea At least we should suggest to coordinate efforts against Yang, we could leave Morgan out of it for now. Let's keep up appearances that we are settling for a peace treaty.

Rather a Morganite invasion btw, below is a screenshot of Morgan Mussels. They have strengthened their defences there with a synthmetal skirmisher. They have also placed their supercrawler between Mussels and M Industries (convenient for us to kill ). I think the raid is still executable now, but if they add any more units in the area, it might become more troublesome.

But fortunately the Morganites do not seem to have decided to start a military build-up. They are researching High Energy Chemistry though, and will have it MY 2161. (That is, provided something nasty doesn't happen in between. )

So we could be in for some trouble I guess. Even if we delay the invasion and storm in with 8 rovers in 10 years, they will have plasma defenses up. So unless those puppies are missile, we could loose some grunts.

Oh yeah, the University switched their economy to a free market. They'll now get Intellectual Integrity MY 2166 , which does mean of course they'll get it before the Angels.

What a mess ... We could offer to trade Int Int to the Angels in exchange for whatever they switch to, of course.

So perhaps, if we want to have a turnchat, how about holding one on an IRC channel? I'm tomorrow not available though in the morning or late evening (GMT time). Sorry. So preferably I'd prefer one in the afternoon or early evening.

I can certainly get to an IRC channel, no problem.
I could be in tonight, though I'm not sure. But just jump in to an IRC channel, post to the forum and see who drops in

Anyway, in the meanwhile, how do you think we should handle the Vendetta with Yang? On the positive side, we can now steal their techs without restraint. On the negative side, we share a huge border with him, have little defences in the area, and have no idea how many troops he has near us, and where?

It's true we don't want to be bogged down to defend our homeland, but if we get the CDF we can feel quite safe I think. Until then, if we mobilize for an invasion, those troops can protect our southern bases until they ship off, plus we have our rover due from Yangri La any day now.

[Modo44]

I say we buy Monitoring Station from Zak. That will give us an extremely powerful base, and not even conquest-damaged. The production it has can save us a lot of trouble.

How bad would it be to give in to Yang's demands? Because with him all over us, we might have to slow down our anti-Morgan efforts. And I dont' like the soud of that.

[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?

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Modo44
How bad would it be to give in to Yang's demands? Because with him all over us, we might have to slow down our anti-Morgan efforts. And I dont' like the soud of that.

I ran the "test the AI Diplomacy" gambit, to see if giving in to yang's demands sweetened him any

he asks for Doc Init, and we give him that - no biggie, as he isn't talking to ayone else either, and in any event he has perims so the CDF isn't an issue for him

He then asks for HEC. We refuse, and it's vendetta. We comply and then get the lecture about our pathetic religious beliefs in the 22nd century, yadda yadda, but he stays Treatied with us (for how long until the next extortion demand, though)

And he won't trade/sell anything to us in return.

Pros and cons

• We keep Yang off our backs for another turn or two, letting us focus on Morgan and build our southern defenses
• We strengthen him (with HEC) perhaps making the Gaians more willing to look favorably at us as a partner against a suddenly stronger Yang
• we give him back the tech lead, thus lowering our research costs
• Gaians will steal HEC from Yang (assuming their probes can get past the Hive hordes
• 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!!)
• If we vendetta. then we can tech steal from yang with impunity - but are we interested in what he's got?
• If we fold, and stay Treatied, then we can't tech steal from him without risking vendetta

All in all, I don't see any downside to giving in to his demands for techs, he has Polysoft and Superconductor that we lack, and we'll soon have SFF from lal so Gatling weapons aren't really all that valuable

I say we give Yang what he asks for this time round