Three Strange Smaxings... including base revolt!

[Helium Pond]

So, I've been playing a single-player randomly-factioned SMAX game for a while now, with these opponents:

Usurpers
Caretakers
Lal
Yang
Miriam
Domai...

...and I got given the Cybernetic Consciousness. The game has been pretty fun, (although it's realllllly slow on my computer, even with 128 MB Ram) but recently three strange things happened:

1) About five turns back, two squares fully "evaporated", for lack of a better term. I had been making a big defensive line on my border, with a supply crawler, a defenseive unit, and an infantry in each square. On two separate points on the line, not only did all the units suddenly disappear, but so did all the terrain enhancements I'd put up, which were many! I'd had a road, a forest, a bunker, and a sensor array in each square! And the squares weren't overgrown with fungus, either. They were just blank. I mean, not entirely blank--they had their normal terrain--but empty. P***ed me off. I assume this is in the huge bug list, but it never happened to me before, and I'm too lazy to go check it. (Not to mention it'll just anger me again about the non-existent patch... grr...)

2) About two turns back, "holes" appeared in the monsoon jungle. Little patches of normal terrain popped up, as if the jungle was drying up. I didn't have anything to do with this. I had bases in the jungle, but that was it. Could this have something to do with global warming? The sea levels did rise a couple turns later...

3) One of my bases finally revolted! And I don't think I left it in revolt more than two turns. It was an accident, I meant to take care of the drone riots, I just forgot... but the really odd thing is, I was playing a game with Domai, and the base chose to revolt and join MIRIAM! I mean, wow. I'm burned about losing the base, but wow, I'm just tickled enough to see this fabled event that I don't really mind!


That's all, just thought I'd share...

[Antlericus III]

Just because a base revolts in a game against the Drones doesn't mean they'll join the Drones. There's just a 75% chance of that happening. The probability remains that they could join a different faction.

Now, if that faction already had drone problems, that base could, in theory, go back to you. Of course, the chance would be slim- very slim.

I don't really think the other two could be adequately explained, however...

[JAMiAM]

HP,

Problems 1 & 2 are definitely attributable to global eco-damage. You will start noticing all kinds of weird terrain changes with the rising sea-levels. Usually, the effect is akin to massive erosion, and the destruction of terraformed improvements.

In a game between Mongoose, Pagan and myself, Pagan lost the Borehole Cluster to erosion, a second Mt Planet has erupted and over the course of 20 years has been worn down to a nobbin of a hill with no mouth, and only two tiles still rocky and giving the volcanic mineral bonus. What remains above water of the Monsoon Jungle has long ago been washed away to regular terrain.

In short, to pardon the pun, we've hosed ourselves. Lucky for me, I'm the Gaians!

[Helium Pond]

I just remember reading a thread a while back where people were *trying* to get bases to revolt, and it sounded like it never happened, and some people said they'd left bases in revolt practically the whole game! So it seems like a really rare occurrence (almost like Mt. Planet erupting), which I guess I'm honored to have seen. Haven't seen the eruption, yet, maybe that'll happen soon...

[Didymus]

quote: Originally posted by Helium Pond on 08-07-2000 03:08 AM ... So it seems like a really rare occurrence (almost like Mt. Planet erupting), which I guess I'm honored to have seen. Haven't seen the eruption, yet, maybe that'll happen soon...

That's interesting. I've seen three Mt Planet eruptions. Maybe that's because I go for transcendance, so I tend to have long games.

[Helium Pond]

There was another thread about this, too, a while back, where some people were almost in tears over having never seen an eruption. And I'll have you know, mister, I almost always play to transcendence myself! It's a random thing, just doesn't happen for some people, I guess.

[14thCorps]

Im currently in a game as Hive and I decided to try a new tactic of repealing the UN charter on atrocities and I unleashed all 15 of my stockpiled Plante Busters on UoP. The Sea levels are rising like I have never seen before and the planet and locusts of Chiron are beating me into the wall. Is there any way to stop the planets relentless attacks on me???

[FrantzX]

"You ****ed with Planet, and now Planet will **** you."
Prophet Cha Dawn
"Planet Rising"

"Earthdeirdre, it is time to prune."
Lady Deirdre Skye
"Conversations with Planet"

Get the picture??
[This message has been edited by FrantzX (edited August 07, 2000).]

[Misotu]

Going back to the original question for a moment, I can confirm that I have had units and terraforming "washed away" by rising sea levels. It usually happens a few turns before the real flooding begins, but it's certainly confusing because you don't actually see it happen (or at least you don't with the settings I have). They just disappear ...

The monsoon jungle also starts to disappear in patches.

[RedFred]

With the following exceptions, I have never had units just disappear: the rising sea level "wash" described by Misotu, the design workshop queue clog phenomena, and the terraform up or earthquake which will wipe out nearby sea units which suddenly find themselves on land and not lucky enough to be inside a city.

Long, long ago I think that I have seen the eruption of Mt. Planet in SMAC; it has never happened to me in SMACX.

I am envious of HP seeing the city in revolt going to another faction. I'll probably never see it. My Civ training means that I never like to see a city in unrest for more than one turn. In Civ, running dem would cause you to lose the city for sure on the second turn.

The only thing that I've seen recently that caused me great surprise is when a submissive pactmate built a base just over the border - on MY side. When I called him up he (Zak) was still a submissive pactmate. I made him give the city to me.
[This message has been edited by RedFred (edited August 08, 2000).]

[MariOne]

14th, I did that too, without Repealing Charter but during sunspots, and using only 10 PBs in one turn (..against someone who posted here too ).
A second Mt.Planet raised from the waves on the turn after.
I was swarmed by natives in all forms.
Neeldess to say, I forgot thrice to swithc to Green.
You can't stop the sealevels unless you launch a solar shade.
but you cna strongly reduce the native attacke reducing your ecodamage, superenhanced by the atrocities anyway.
And to reduce EcoDamage, Planet rating plays an important role, apart tring to reduce your mineral production and building ecological facilities.
Tha attack lasted 3-4 turn where I earned 200ec per Turn from pearl hunting...

---

In my experience the searising brings huge climatic changes on coastal areas mainly (but not only). One of the effects can be that you lose your terraforming, but you get big lush lots of rainy tiles where they were just moist or even arid.
This can include jungle tiles which lose their Junlgeness for that (just as when you or an earthquake raise them).

I confirm that most volcanic tiles too turn to normal ones (was that the same game...?).

Cute effects are the sea-monoliths you obtain in SMACv4, that way you can upgrade your ships!

[Googlie]

HP:

Might you have been a victim of a fungi-missile?

Were you in vendetta at the time?

G.

[Misotu]

Yes HP, that's what I was saying. I've only ever had it happen on squares that are fairly low-lying a few years before the sea level rises. But the units have not necessarily been parked right on the coast, which was why it had me confused the first few times it happened.

In every other respect though, it corresponds to exactly what you're describing - the units and all the terraforming vanish, leaving the square in it's "natural" state.

If that's not it, then I've never experienced what you're describing. I've occasionally seen units change into a completely different type of unit - and I once had a mind worm disappear off a transport, mid-ocean, with no damage to the transport or the other unit it contained ...

Sorry - don't know what else to suggest.

[Helium Pond]

Well, what happened to me was nothing like having troops "washed away". My troops were well inland, and just disappeared, along with the forests and roads on their squares. Is that what you were saying, Misotu?

I have never left a city in revolt for more than a turn before, either. As I said, my game runs frustratingly slow, so I'd decided to try playing with all sounds turned off. Thus, I didn't get the "Drone Riots" message, which I'm used to hearing. Darn this slow-a** game!

[Famyn]

This boggles my mind. In games that I have played, not only have I had mutliple new mount planets erupt, but I have also got the meteor impact a few times too! A new mount planet isn't so bad, it usually happens out in the middle of nowhere. The Meteor impact has never wiped any of my cities, but I always send a pod or two down there and start a new city.

Actually, I bet this comes from the way I play. I don't shoot for quick transcendence. I cover the map with cities, filling every possible spot with cities and terrain improvements. When I trancend, I normally have about 50-70% of the map covered in cities. My games take a LONG time to win.

Its funny. When you own the entire map, almost all of the random events happen to you. And they happen all the time! At least once every two turns.