MY-2197 - Planning & Execution Thread

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Zeiter
Wait, the laconian task force cruisers only get 8 mp's, not 9. Even if they are elite (they'd normally get 7 mp's). Soooo...

Don't the cruiser chassis get 6, plus 2 for the MCC and 1 for elite?

Wait - you're right. Trannies lose 1 MP over cruisers (the GeneralTacticus has 1 more MP than the trannie it's shadowing, and both are veteran) - I'd forgotten that

Rats - then let's wait a turn until 2199. We'll be better deployed by then as well (ie we can bring that northern trannie back into Climatctic researchm, and load up 2 more drop units, then hide it in the fungus Northeast of gagarin, ready to sail into Gagarin from where the by now 5 drop troops can do their thing

[Googlie]

Some minor moves:

• did the rumble in the fungus in northern and mid-Arcadia, but nothing stirring there
• used Sparta Command's crawler to MM a rec commons there- base can grow some more now
• set Ironholm's former fleet to clearing the fungus in its river tile
• MM'd a Biology lab at Arcadia University (basic +2 labs become +6.75 with the facilities improvements, plus we get immunity there to Planet Blight
• set AU's seaformer to a tidal barrage in its last remaining seatile
• added stockpile energy to all the F-8 build queues

[Zeiter]

Economic Statistics for MY 2197:

Minerals per turn:

Spartans: 329
Zakharov: 29
Morgan: 228
Data Angels: 95
Yang: 239


Industry rating (minerals per row):

Spartans: 10
Zakharov: 6
Morgan: 10
Data Angels: 9
Yang: 5


Mineral rows per turn:

Spartans: 32.9
Zakharov: 4.83
Morgan: 22.8
Data Angels: 10.56
Yang: 47.8


Energy Credits per turn:

Spartans: 235
Zakharov: 38
Morgan: -32
Data Angels: 16
Yang: 1


Labs per turn:

Spartans: 446.4
Zakharov: 56
Morgan: 448.8
Data Angels: 20.4
Yang: 122

[Googlie]

As I see it, we need another couple of B-8's for the vander Eudaimonics front - we can pop defenders with amphi units, but it'd be better if we just used one to land and seize the empty base.

Flipside, though, is we may induce a gamecrash if Morgan scrambles interceptors to take out our B-8's (and thus we should have any attacking B-8's covered by an F-8 as well, if within range)

It'd be an enormous coup if in this attack we could leave them with just 1 base to dissolve on their turn!!

[Zeiter]

Ah, a small thing to do: reassign one of the crawlers at Arcadia Regional Command to crawl nuts (four minerals will be wasted this turn otherwise).

[Googlie]

Some more tinkerings:

• took the worker off the mineral tile at ARC and assigned him to a 2-nut tile
• switched Tegea Harbour and Fort Liberty's crawlers and got growth next turn at GH as a result
• sent 2Nuts new crawler to get nuts - 2NS will grow next turn
• had a look at the worker/specialist allocations to see where we might nudge a pop growth next turn - some minor reallocations (or turning engineers into doctors to foster growth)
• Messena was going to lose a bunch of minerals, so temporarily shut down the mine at the borehole (sent a crawler currently working another mine to just crawling energy from the borehole)

All units have now moved. Needs a final look at the builds and former/crawler orders

[Snoddasmannen]

Ok cool, we can wait one turn
I am suspicious about the Morgan change in internal politics though. Looks like they have sped up research to get fusion quickly, sacrificing credit income. Are they on to us or do they have another purpose for this move?

[Zeiter]

Originally posted by Snoddasmannen
Ok cool, we can wait one turn
I am suspicious about the Morgan change in internal politics though. Looks like they have sped up research to get fusion quickly, sacrificing credit income. Are they on to us or do they have another purpose for this move?

Let's remember, though, that the Morganites need fusion for fusion labs. So I don't see their move to speed up their acquisition of fusion power as inherently aggressive. Of course, I'm sure they'd like having fusion for security reasons (I'm sure they'll upgrade some of their defenders and aircraft to fusion next turn, if they have the money to do so), and it makes it cheaper to build the few units that they have been to fight their small war against Yang. But I don't think it necessarily foreshadows a quick military build-up. It might, but they won't have but two turns of fusion power before we hit them with the invasion.

A few last-minute tweaks on the turn:
*Squeezed a few more nutrients out of Arcadia Regional Command, leaving the base with precisely 22 minerals of production this turn (enough to finish the 12 mins for the F-8, plus 10 to carry over).
*Squeezed a few more minerals out of Messena, leaving it with a temporary 1 nut deficit but 16 mins/turn (enough for the 6 mins needed for production, plus another 10 to carry over).
*Changed production at Fort Liberty from F-8 to Drop Chaos Rover. I figured that we had enough F-8's in production, and looking at Fort Liberty, I saw that it had a bioenhancement center, but not an aerospace complex. Thus, we'd be able to build elite land units, but only veteran air units. I thought another drop chaos rover (to be built by 2199, with minimal rushing) would provide some nice reinforcement. Actually, if we can capture City of ZZT and with our airforce empty Micha Archives, the elite drop chaos rover will be able to airdrop to (17,17), move two squares into City of ZZT, and then take to the road and capture Micha Archives, healing the rover's damage from the drop--all in the same turn!

[Googlie]

The only disadvantage I see in waiting to invade is that we'll lose the ability to land many "out-of-movement-points" F-8's in the captured bases

If we invaded next turn, those F-8's would land in the five or so captured bases, and be available to stave off any Morgan counter attack

if we don't, then next turn they have to be brougght home, while the yask forces get into their "pounce" positions. Turn after, we invade, but most of the F-8's will be out of range for a 1-turn takeoff/landing at their new bases. (we will have a few, being produced next turn, that can take flight in 2198 for a 2199 landing, but not as many as planned)

Of course, Morgan can't attack the bases with choppers, and he'll have a penalty if attacking with interceptors, and we hope to upgrade defenders to AAA, so maybe it won't be an issue.

More of a nagging concern, maybe

[Snoddasmannen]

I share your concern Googlie ... A lot of our air force will be missing in a 2199 attack, and won't be able to attack themselves until 2201 (though they can defend in 2200).

Can we use the IoD to shuttle some troops over to attack next turn? We can move over troops while at sea (right?) and use the IoD's more advanced position and fungus-movement bonus to get into striking range of a base. How many units can it carry (if we move the probes to the transport)? Probably this is not enough to sway anybody from attacking 2199, but let us consider all the tactics involved

[Googlie]

I guess we'll have enough, with new F-8's coming on line next turn at FB, RG and Messena, plus the one that landed at Minas Trirth can just make Weapons Arm (assuming that nothing gets in its way en-route)

Changed one build: at Fort Liberty, used one of its old crawlers to MM a Drop Chaos Rover this turn - next turn it can board the northern trannie and then hide in the fungus north of Gagarin with the rest of the drop infantry troops, and can be used to drop into ZZT and mayvbe take Micha Archives that same turn - more flexibility anyway, with it being completed next turn rather than in 2199

Reallocated one crawler/worker (at Olympus Academy) to foster growth next turn

Overall growth next turn:

• Sparta Command
• Tegea Harbour
• 2Nuts Strand
• Vijayanagar
• Bunker-112
• Hero's Waypoint
• Olympus Academy

There being no further moves to be made, turn saved, re-opened, ended and sent on to the Gaians (endturn.sav below)

[Googlie]

Rats: at turnsave some mindworms came roiling out of the fungus at ARC and destroyed 2 crawlers there

Ah well - some more energy credits next turn for us

[Zeiter]

Originally posted by Snoddasmannen
I share your concern Googlie ... A lot of our air force will be missing in a 2199 attack, and won't be able to attack themselves until 2201 (though they can defend in 2200).

Can we use the IoD to shuttle some troops over to attack next turn? We can move over troops while at sea (right?) and use the IoD's more advanced position and fungus-movement bonus to get into striking range of a base. How many units can it carry (if we move the probes to the transport)? Probably this is not enough to sway anybody from attacking 2199, but let us consider all the tactics involved

How so? The only air units that won't be able to participate in the MY 2199 invasion will be those two out at sea with the Southern Arcadian Task force right now. The planes out at sea on the Laconian front can still land in Sector Craterwest and participate in the defense of Vander Eudaimonics when MY 2199 rolls around, freeing up other F-8's to go further afield. I think a MY 2199 invasion is still in good shape. We will still have something like 23 air units at our disposal, which should be quite overwhelming for the Morganites. If you figure that they can, at most, take out about 10 units/turn with their airforce (if they could manage to even win any battles), that means they can take out only roughly 1/4 of our forces during the first turn counterattack. And the chances that they will win that many battles against our superior forces are very small. In fact, I'd be surprised if they won more than a few battles. The biggest threat will be the Morganites attacking a city and scrambling all of the F-8's, leaving the base vulnerable to further attack. Even if they can't kill the F-8's, they can draw them out of the base. Therefore, we may have to count on losing one base or so to the first-turn counterattack. But that's not too bad, really.

And, let's not forget that, if the attack on the airforce at Choke on This goes well, none of this will really be of much concern for us.

[Snoddasmannen]

Alright, you have me convinced Zeiter

I don't think we should underestimate them though. If they detect us, I think we can expect a very well equipped army waiting to greet us. They make a lot of money, I'm guessing they can throw up a lot of upgraded fusion units that can cause us some grief.

My prediction is, if we go undetected, we will squash them. If they detect us, all bets are off

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Snoddasmannen
My prediction is, if we go undetected, we will squash them. If they detect us, all bets are off

QFT

Like it was with the PTS raid. If we had gone undetected there, Polymers would have fallen as well, which would have been a knockout blow to them (losing the HGP as well as the PTS)