MY 2157 Planning Thread

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Googlie
We can use this technique as well at Fort Buster to instabuild an Impact marine (using the recently completed crawler - it still has 2/rds an MP left where it could return to FB and participate in a marine instabuild) - that'd reach GH next turn to board the new trannie cruiser

Do we want to produce the impact marine unit at Fort Buster (that we would have done at Harbour if I hadn't screwed with the crawler direction?)

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
Tomcat-OA1: how about letting it build a road? As it would save the former one year for moving off its tile, the real cost of the road would be a single former turn.

Or how about a solar panel. it's at the 1800 meter level, so the 3-1-0 tile being worked there would become 3-1-2 (altho we are already losing 1 energy to inefficiency - would we benefit from the 2 additional, or lose another to inefficiency?)

[Googlie]

Hmm - I sortied with the Coastguard Cutter from MT, then bombarded a fungus tile and found a Hive impact infantryman there (bombardment failed)

Site indicated below in yellow.

I had "pause after battle" activated, so just got the message, and couldn't see if there was more than 1 unit.

This begs the question - should we spend a few shekels and upgrade both units there to syntharmor? And definitely build another Hoplite there

[Googlie]

Moved Invioncible just 1 tile north towards the PK base, and encountered a Unity seedpod.
(see below - 4 mps left)

Should we pop it now, with nothing really to accelerate production (2Nuts is the nearest base and that already has an accelleration) and hope for credits (and run like hell if it's an IoD)?

Alternatively, we could let it heal at the PK base as planned, and then pop that pod and the one 3 tilesw to its west after healing (en route to circumnavigating Angels Land)

[Googlie]

Roud destroyed south of Tegea Harbour and Skanky's Sileni doing yoeman duty as drone control garrison:

[Googlie]

And an up-to-the-minute save with just the former to move and the Invincible (and the impact marine at FB, if approved by the War Council)

[Googlie]

A question - and some suggestions:

Q: what are we planning to do with Fort Soup's colony pod next turn?

Unit rushes:

SC's Crypteia (for 8 ec's)
Messena's cruiser (for 9)

re-allocated workers for completion:

AU - move the worker from the 2-1-1 tile to a forest tile - completes the Hoplite next turn

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Googlie
This begs the question - should we spend a few shekels and upgrade both units there to syntharmor? And definitely build another Hoplite there

Yes, upgrade. They are close enough to call it urgent.

[Snoddasmannen]

Hey, still a good turn

As for pod-popping with the Invincible, I would chill for one turn, just waiting with the ship, and then pop it immediately the next turn, hoping for a completion. But I'm fine with waiting a while too so we could blast an IoD should one pop up, the only thing I'm concerned with is rival factions stealing it.

Originally posted by Googlie
(also, how about tag-teaming both those trannies, with the colony pod transferring mid-ocean to effectively give us a 9-tile transport (5 +4). We could anchor the slow Unity foil 4 tiles outside the site so that the Hermes can hand off at the end of the turn and the pod will be carried to land - but unfortunately cvuldn't disembark that same turn as it would have used its mp in transferring between ships)

Sounds like a good idea
I don't know if it works out with distances and stuff in this particular case, but it is possible to transfer a unit from one ship to another without using an MP. Just move the first ship to the same square as the second, then activate the unit and then move the mouse pointer over the icon of the ship where you want it to go. Voila.

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
This begs the question - should we spend a few shekels and upgrade both units there to syntharmor? And definitely build another Hoplite there

Yes, upgrade. They are close enough to call it urgent.

How about upgrading them to 4-1-1 impact infantrists instead? IMHO synthtroops armed with only guns can do little against Hive impact troops. Offense is the best defense!

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
I counted out the tiles and figured we still could get there if we sailed the GT into the Mussels bay fungus first, which would allow the Mercury to follow without losing that final mp.

I don't fully understand what you mean. Do you think that if the SCC GT moves first in the fungus, the transport would only use 1 MP to follow?

Good idea - target practice (if we hit anything)

Let's hope though that we don't accidentally hit Zakharov who's making a cruise nearby. We don't want another incident.

Originally posted by Googlie
Do we want to produce the impact marine unit at Fort Buster (that we would have done at Harbour if I hadn't screwed with the crawler direction?)

FB has 3 mins already in reserve. Adding a crawler would add 30. Then adding the 15 minerals FB producrion or so would result in 48. Meaning 8 minerals would be lost (only 10 mins carryover).

Though I assume if we upgrade both units in Minas Tirith to impact, getting other military units there isn't that urgent anymore. So I assume hurrying an impact marine woudn't be necessary then, certainly if we get SFF next turn.

For the same reason (reinforcements being less urgent if we upgrade the MT garrisons), how about changing SC2 production to a crawler (or 1-2t-2)? Because if we get SFF next turn and want to switch production to a missile infantry, we'd lose a mineral.

Originally posted by Googlie
Or how about a solar panel. it's at the 1800 meter level, so the 3-1-0 tile being worked there would become 3-1-2 (altho we are already losing 1 energy to inefficiency - would we benefit from the 2 additional, or lose another to inefficiency?)

Sounds good to me.

When I change the SC2 3-1-0 worker to a 1-2-2 forest (to simulate SC2 getting 2 extra energy), SC2 gets 3 extra energy: two from river forest and one from trade with the University. Of those 3 energy one is lost due to inefficiency. So end result is a solar collector would give us two extra useful energy indeed.



Re the SCC Invincible, if we won't pop it this turn as Snoddasmannen suggests, how about moving the ship next to the other unity pod on the fungus near the Gaian coast? That way Invincible can pop the pod at the start of next year, and we don't need to move there anymore before docking at UN Great Refuge, or before moving to Angel lands.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac

How about upgrading them to 4-1-1 impact infantrists instead? IMHO synthtroops armed with only guns can do little against Hive impact troops. Offense is the best defense!

Done (cost 50 ec's each)

I don't fully understand what you mean. Do you think that if the SCC GT moves first in the fungus, the transport would only use 1 MP to follow?

Exactly. the GT uses its MPs to enter the fungus, but once there, has cleared a route for all units to follow (that's why it pays to move a foremr into fungus before trying to move any other unit there - entry is automatic once the former - or any other unit - is already there)

For the same reason (reinforcements being less urgent if we upgrade the MT garrisons), how about changing SC2 production to a crawler

Done

how about moving the ship next to the other unity pod on the fungus near the Gaian coast?

Done

I also spent 9 ec's in rushing the Messena CoastGuard cutter

2157 endturn attached

[Snoddasmannen]

Originally posted by Googlie
Exactly. the GT uses its MPs to enter the fungus, but once there, has cleared a route for all units to follow (that's why it pays to move a foremr into fungus before trying to move any other unit there - entry is automatic once the former - or any other unit - is already there)

Well if I understand you correctly, I'm not so sure it works that way.

On land, if a unit tries to enter a fungus square, it costs 3 mp. An elite rover with all its moves left will always get on a fungus square, for instance. I believe that in general a unit with x mp left (where x is less than 3) will have a x/3 chance of getting there, and if it does, it will have used all its mps. Formers always seem to get on fungus squares with 1 mp, for some reason

Now, if there is a unit in the fungus, say a former, then any unit with 1 or more mp left will always get to the fungus. But it will still use up 3 mps. (Having a former doesn't seem to make things any easier for units with less than 1 mp left, mind you)

On sea, it is much the same as on land but with a virtual former on every ocean square. If you have 1 mp or more you will succeed in getting on to the sea fungus, but it will always cost you 3 mp, regardless of whether you have a unit there or not. I don't know if ships can have fractions of MP:s (if moving out of bases on rivers?), but that probably works in a similar way as to land.

At least this is what doing a few tests in SMAC tells me. SMAX could be different for all I know.

[vishniac]

Ok, I figured how to open those endturn files (more gung-ho than brain! ) with help of a friend.
I can now fully understand the arcanes of Chiron policy and strategy.

A strange thing though (not problematic but...strange!): the computer messes with colors and factions.
I see us as red and our cities look like Domai's cities; The Hive has morganite cities, Morgan looks like Cult.... Only the Angels look the same.
Bah, as long as I know who's who, it's not that bad!

[Maniac]

For the answers to all your questions, the solution to all your problems, read Planet: A Survivalist's Guide! Now also available in pocket format![/flashy commercial]

Here's the relevant extract:

How to fix wrong faction colours?

An often asked question by officer students at Olympus Academy is: "How do I get every faction's colours right in my strategy simulator?" As this issue has caused many students a headache, the Junta has decided to include a solution to this problem in our official Survivalist's Guide, to ensure everyone survives our Academy safely and without permanent trauma.

The answer is as follows.
Go to the "Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri" directory in your PNN (personal network node) and find the file "Alpha Centauri.Ini". Open it. Scroll down to the bottom. You should see a list of seven faction names. These determine the graphics of the factions in the simulation you're running. Problem is when you open a scenario or multiperson simulation, this list doesn't update. Instead IIRC it keeps the faction graphics of the last normal single person sim you ran.

To circumvent this problem, there are two methods:

Before opening eg a multiperson simulation, first start up a new single person sim with the same factions in the same order as in the multiperson sim. Immediately quit the SP sim. Now the correct graphics are saved in the ini-file and you can savely open the MP sim.

The second method is manually changing the list in the Alpha Centauri.Ini file. For the official tactical real-world simulations, you have to copy this list over the incorrect one in your ini file:

Faction 1=GAIANS
Faction 2=HIVE
Faction 3=UNIV
Faction 4=ANGELS
Faction 5=MORGAN
Faction 6=SPARTANS
Faction 7=PEACE

Now everything should be fine and you won't any longer mistakenly shoot Gaians while thinking they're Hiveans.

We at the Academy Board hope this little tutorial has been of use to you. For any further questions please contact our Secretariat of Officer Training.