1 city challenge: help needed

[TheRedmenace]

So I've been working on this challenge lately. I seem to do OK in the early game. My general approach is this:

I go with Lal because his +2 population limit is a huge boon when you can only have one base. Also, his efficiency drawbacks don't matter quite so much when you have no other bases I could also see myself going for Zak for the research, but anyone else, I'd be pretty much shooting myself in the foot I think.

So I beeline for IA, and then try to lift resource restrictions. My next target is the supercollider so I can keep apace in the research game. I can afford to discard a ton of SPs that basically amount to "Free XXX in each base" since it's cheaper to jsut build the 1 facility in my 1 base, and I absolutely MUST have the Merchant Exchange, as it amount to Free Market without all the BAD things (and once I uncap energy, I can stack it with FM).

So all this would go pretty well, IF I didn't have to deal with the AI, of course. No matter how much I lick boot, I come to the point where someone wants to Vendetta me, and then it's just a matter of time, especially since I'm usualy behind in the tech tree. I tend not to get much from the AI because they will never trade with my pathetic fac.

Anyone have any tips for ways to keep the AI off my back?

[Scytale]

there is NO way you will keep all seven factions away all the game, especially since you're the weakest.

[TheRedmenace]

Right so how do I survive them when they inevitably V'detta me?

[Jamski]

Build a couple of copters and destroy the attacking forces. Or regularly give gifts to everyone, or lower land to make yourself on a tiny island... or... or...

Clean shard copters will keep any attackers away.

-Jam

[Maniac]

Shard choppers won't help against a trigger-happy Yang with planet busters.

On what map size do people normally play OOC btw?

[Kody]

Does a ring of crawlers around the exterior of your city stop planet busters?

I've heard the AI cheats when it comes to PBing.

[Mead]

Originally posted by Kody
Does a ring of crawlers around the exterior of your city stop planet busters?

I've heard the AI cheats when it comes to PBing.

So far, a PB has not hit my SSCs whenever I built a complete ring of crawlers around it (with absolutely no, even diagonal, holes).

Often, before I started doing that, the AI would hit my SSC with a PB if one of the nasty AI factions got PBs before I got ODPs up.

The AI seems to 'cheat' with missile ranges, but if it cannot get through it no matter what, I think it won't.


Mead

[TheRedmenace]

OK so I just finished the game with just one base. I was wondering if anyone sitll knows the criteria for 'Basic', 'Advanced', and 'Ultimate' versions of this challenge? I imagine there could be greater ways to challenge myself than just 1 base, so I'd like to see what these rules were like. Thanks!

[HeymlicH]

If you're looking for a challenge, play without crawlers. It is much more interesting. Don't look for "good" starting positions. Take the first start and try to win every game, no matter if it runs good or not. Deactivate condensators, boreholes and terraforming actions in the alpha.txt

these things make the game much mor interesting and harder for you, since the AI doesn't use these options anyway.


If you're already doing all this ... hmm ... no idea. Ask someone who is better than me, then.

[Flubber]

Other things that can be challenging

1. Play with no formers or no crawlers or no probes

2. Try playing with no formers and no crawlers-- THis is much tougher since I generally compensate for no formers by using LOTs of crawlers

3. a) permit yourself to build no OFFENSIVE MILITARY
This is actually a rule for the advanced OCC

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I don'y recall all the higher level OCC standards but I believe some of them included

1. never BUILDING a unit with a weapon above 1
2. Building at least 16 Special Projects
3. Disbanding one of your colony pods ( if starting with 2)-- no instant size 2 base !!

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IF playing a basic OCC where I can build military I try to capture any hostile base thats within 10 tiles of my base and gift it to a "friendly AI". The friendly AI is usually one that can accept my most common SE choices. They might be ANYWHERE on the powergraph-- Their only purpose is to serve as a shield for me. You can then base a couple of planes or choppers in your pactmates base to help kill any AI that comes too close. I find if you can put a friendly base in each direction and base a probeship among your trawler area to bribe ships, the OCC goes pretty smoothly

I don't try to be friendly with all the AI. Instead I just pick one or two and DO EVERYTHING necessary to keep them loving me and serving to protect my territory.

[Lazerus]

1 question : do native life units count as offensive ?

Just completed an OOC as the cult (surpisingly they're alot easier to play then others due to large worm hordes hunting and acting as a support free army).
Near the end every1 ganged up on the PK's who were number 1, i raped them in my little area with plenty of demons and a +4 planet rating, i split the conquered bases between my other 2 pact sisters, aki and dee.

Once the PK's were beaten to a small pulp the game descended into around 100 years of just constant backstabbing dee+aki vs drones, drones+aki vs angels, angels+aki vs dee etc.

I just sat back and built up quite alot of PB's ... i thought sunspot prevented other factions learning of atrocities ? since the game was nearing 2400 and there was alot of bases i decided to make a push at reducing the enemy since they were equal on the tech as me nearing transcend.
Anyways when i launched the first it was at Lal, every1 apart from aki declared war, even though a small cyborg base was destroyed in the blast

I proceeded to get singularity PB's and the manifold nexus, just blasting away and letting the fungus replace my forests naturally. A funny thing happened near the end though, the Angels managed to free Zak from me, around 3 turns passed and they broke the pact declared war and killed him again

Fun game (especially that nerve wrecking end when the final ODP of my 13 shot down the last of 4 PB's launched at me )

[Pandir]

I did a OCC with Yang the other day. Won by transcendance around 2470. The bases I captured I gave to a friendly faction or when I couldnt do that I starved them out and rushed colony pods every turn.
I saw at war with about 90% of planet for most of the game and even the one faction that liked me(Zak because I was running knowledge)wouldnt answer my transmissions half the time.

[Googlie]

Consensus seems to be that OCC is best played as Dee, Cult or Pirates.

[Lazerus]

I'd agree with that even when im a pure Yang player. Though i fricking hate it when the Yang AI is in my OOC games !!! hes by far the worst opponent since hes the only AI that seems to know how to beeline to air power (constantly has it by around 2170-80 in my games) and just destroys every damn former/crawler and unit u've got in the open.

Was funny hitting Dee's native life units with my empath choppers in that game i just had aswell.
3 psi rating + 72% elite (?) + 60% planet + 50% empath + 50% dream twister

2 psi rating + 0%