Base limit

[King_Kristian]

Is there any way to remove the base limit to avoid getting large drone problems?
In my current game I have 120+ bases (because I conquered all factions but 2) and I have an outrageous amount of drones, I do have the no drone riot wonder so I avoid the riots but still.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Eventually you grow out of the drones when with enough food (satilites) you have enough transcend specilist to soothe them.

[RedFred]

KK, I am not sure I understand. Were you hoping for a change in the "bureaucracy drones' formula or are you hoping for a different hab population limit?

[Adalbertus]

KK, In a quick scan through alpha.txt I've not found a place to change the number of bases until you get bureaucracy drones (which I think is your problem), but maybe you'll find something there or in another file in the game directory.
But I think it is more interesting to cope with that problem with in-game techniques:
- Build enough formers for each base to work on high-nutrient squares (farms, condensors, and -- if the game is sufficiently advanced, as the 120+ bases suggest -- soil enrichers) and satellites to feed the population and turn all to specialists
- If it fits to your game, change to Police State and build enough units with the police special ability
- Head for The Telepathic Matrix (which doesn't remove drones, but the drones don't revolt)
- Try to get the more pacifistic of the two remaining factions as a submissive pactmate and give away one third of your bases (which not rarely results in a higher productivity on your part, as you have commerce like hell)
- Think of your own way, I know I have omitted at least one possibility

[Mansooj]

Howdy,

I'm new to SMAC (no SMAC-X yet, but I did patch up to 4.0) and I would like to ride on this thread to ask if anyone can point me to some reference so I can learn to predict when and where, and in what numbers, 'bureaucratic drones' will appear.

I am playing my third game currently at Librarian level on a huge map over which I have captured/built 82 bases. A couple turns ago I had a big wave of drone riots due to a sudden burst of these b-drones which I hadn't expected.

Am I right in assuming that b-drones are effectively created by the game increasing the requirements of psych points needed to turn a drone into a worker/talent? I assume this because so far as I can tell, all facilities and SP effects upon drones appear consistent (i.e. a Rec. Commons always shifts two drones to workers throughout the game, whereas psych requirements to do the same seem different in each base, and appear to be less effective per point over time).

And while I'm babbling, I'd like to ask what your thoughts are on using punishment spheres? In the aforementioned game, I have decided to just build PS's in all those far flung bases I capture since the labs they produce, what with my low +1 efficiency (playing University in this one) wasting a good 60%-80%+ of the energy - even with a Creche - is paltry anyway. Seems like a good idea to me on the surface as it will save E-Credits due to no need for anti-drone facils and still allow for half the tiny labs output anyway. Plus it should keep those vulnerable bases near enemy territory working to churn out war materiel while still building the base's population, albeit slowly.

- breathe -

Does that sound about right?

-Mansooj

[Sikander]

B-drones appear at a random base in your empire IIRC. They are caused by building or capturing more bases than the formula (based on map size and efficiency) allow. Probably the most efficient way to deal with them in the late game is to build some crawlers and place them on high nutrient producing squares (the best being farm / condensor / soil enricher with sizable bonuses for nutrient specials and jungle squares). Once you have some free nutrients coming in, pick your worker drones up off the squares they are working and make them into specialists. If you are still reliant upon worker generated nutrients, then turn your new specialists into psych improving types like doctors, empaths, thinkers etc. If you have transcends, then just use them. This should improve the psych produced by the base, and hopefully turn a red guy or two back to yellow. Eventually you will be able to stabilize the base, but don't stop there.

Since many of these bases are producing crappy energy anyway, why not keep going and specialize more of your population, or perhaps all of it. Specialists produce energy equivalents (ie psych, labs, econ) directly, and lose nothing to inefficiency. So those bases far from your HQ can be turned into super production centers. A little study will show that in most phases of the game, a specialist will yield more energy than he will working a square, but whatever your game style you will kill three birds with one stone by specializing those rioting, high inefficiency bases.

Btw, the PS system works fine, but it does turn bases which could be productive in every way into factories which only churn out minerals and econ.

[King_Kristian]

I am asking about the limit regarding how many bases I can have before I start getting drones and how I can alter this.
The game gave me a warning when I built base number twenty - thirty something, that my faction was growing large and my swollen buerocracy would cause drones to appear if i built more bases, naturaly I kept building (big continent) and I conquered a lot of bases as well.
I already have the Telepathic Matrix so it will not be a problem with riots and almost all of my bases have Hab Complex+Dome and I have a large number of food and energy satelites as well as many Nessus mining stations.
And no, I can and will not give any bases to the remaining factions, they are Miriam and Lal and they both hate my guts, Miriam even tried to use a planet buster once, but my Orbital Defence Pods stopped it.
I can't give them production centers to build up forces and try to take the rest, they would not be able anyway because of my large army of Elite Hovertanks (30!-12-3, Clean,Blink) the best of the best and my Commando/Elite army of Gravships with the same armaments as the tanks.
However I do find myself building many bases and always experiencing this drone overcrowding problem.
Is there any way to stop them from appearing because of many bases?

[wheathin]

No. They are an immutable aspect of the game. You have to find a way to deal with them as described above.

The b-drone formula depends on EFFICIENCY rating, game difficulty, and map size. You could play Gaian on huge maps on the lowest levels, running Demo/Green/Cyber, but you'd still get them.

[Yxklyx]

Read Ned's long post about drones in this thread:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21690&highlight=drones

[Adalbertus]

Mansooj,

Usually there are more efficient things you can do with far-away bases than building punishment spheres (i. e. make them specialist with the help of food crawlers. Of course not for those who refuse to use crawlers on Transcend level because the game is too easy ). The only efficient use of punishment spheres I've heard of is to avoid pacifism drones(negative Police rating). This means to build a punishment sphere in one city, and rehome all your (clean! Otherwise you have to provide lots of minerals via crawlers!) military to that city. Miriam will certainly be happy to have lots of drones to convert after you've conquered her!