Do you do it? Atrocities

[Yxklyx]

How about probe teams and bioweapons? Can you frame another faction if you do it? Does it cause "pollution"?

[James Adams]

I only ...

do atrocities if it is military helpful (if the un had been repealed), and If I have to at home (drones and can if police).

[Jac de Molay]

Since I usually play Sp, I rarely use. However, I do use them while role-playing as Yang or Miriam.


Dave

[Xian]

I almost always play as yang and never use them, but i DO use the tactic of starving out o populations that have drones by turning them into empaths.

Atrocities are almost always unnesceccary, even if your losing a better strategy is to increase industrial production and get heavy infantry,. if you cant do that, capture mindworms. I use very little probe teams in genearal because i choose "knowledge" as a se for almost any faction i play

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by SITS
I don't like using PB's but in a MP game where I was well behind it seemed the only option open to me. I was able to get half-dozen hits in first and at the same destroying a number of SP's (including CBA!) We now have flood warnings for 5k but since my team-mate is a Pirate it's not something I'm going to complain about!

IIRC Pirate bases can't be flooded out at all. Probably come with a Pressure Dome by default, can't remember...

[Cybergod]

I only have SMAC so no bugs to exterminate...

Nerve Staple Gun:
Nerve Gas:
Genetic Warfare: (too bad you can't frame anyone for it!)
Planet Busting: : (just too many penalties )

However against a human, the rule "what goes comes back" will be always stuck in my mind...

Also Sunspot Activity ROCKS!!!

[arborman]

Only sparingly, and if it is absolutely necessary to win. I have less scruples against AI than against fellow humans, though we'll see in the future. The point is to win, and if you have the tools, why not build the cabinet? However, I try to win by conventional means, and my favourite wins are transcendence and energy market anyway.
I usually try to make my actions fit the faction too. No way Gaia or Cult would planetbust. Hive, spartans, aliens, no problem.

[knowhow2]

nervgas..... could win games for you in a few turns.

nervestaple... effective before meeting anyone ... somebody said 'huge map'.

PB.... not worth the effort. If you have they have it. If you have they don't, you can win other way.

all the others are just same things different names.

[History Guy]

Personally, I almost never use atrocities. Unless I'm playing an alien of course. Or the Hive. But that's it!

Though I must admit, I've launched several PBs just for the fun of watching them hit the cities, but I never continue the games when I do that, for some reason. The only times I will nerve staple are before anybody comes around to bother me. The only times I use nerve gas are during sunspot activities or against aliens. But, to be honest, it's very rare that I do that sort of thing.

[Shai-Hulud]

nervestaple... effective before meeting anyone ... somebody said 'huge map'.

I just recall that other factions know about the nerve stapling even if you meet them after you've done it. Can anyone confirm this? And if your citizens are still under the influence of stapling after you meet other factions...will they know you did it?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Shai,


Ohh yes. Once you nerve staple you get a message saying sanctions are in place for x turns (I forget how many years) even if you have met no other factions. Point being in the early game nerve stapling is an effective means to keep base populaces under control. The downside of no trade is essentially nil b/c you haven't:

a) met and treatied/pacted with anyone yet
b) if you have you haven't leaned enuff trade enhancing techs yet to allow a meaningful trade energy


So... if you staple before you meet anyone you do have sanctions in place that more than likely run out before or shortly after you meet them. (or at least thats the plan)

Og

Course my with my playstyle if you need to staple you aren't pumping colony pods out fast enuff or you are leaving your bases completely ungarrisoned thus allowing drones at pop level 2 (transcend).

OTOH I suppose one could argue that stapling is circumstantially OK in order to deal with beuracracy drones in the event you are expanding beyond first warning limits until such time as you are able to plop down rec commons.

[Shai-Hulud]

But the problem is that most of the factions just don't like nerve stapling even if you're only doing it to "your own" citizens. It makes it harder to get into treaties. And I recall that they do know you have nerve stapled your citizen even if you do it prior to commlink. So, you may not suffer trade sanctions but you have hard time trying to get other factions to trade with you.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Shai,

Very True,

Your reputation does play a role in ability to gain treaty and/or pacts.

OTOH if you simply want to conquer and force submissives it normallyisn't a big factor.

It's kinna a moot point for me at least as I almost never perform any atrocities of any sort. I even try to refrain from nerve Gassing Aliens.

Og

[Earwicker]

No atrocities. I do it clean.

Maybe it would be another story if the other factions managed to railroad the "repeal charter" on me. But the vote has never been that lopsided yet.

Being a huge fan of "swear a pact to serve me", I am loath to do anything that will jeopardize the likelihood that a beaten faction will surrender to me. So I play nice. Rather than obliterate or starve a vulnerable or uselessly-placed base , I prefer to give them to another submissive. Let him or her worry about its drones and defense.

[gwillybj]

I did it once, but never again.

In one SP game a few months ago, Miriam and I were battling for possession of a base on our disputed border. I couldn't get defenders out there quick enough to keep her from taking it, and she didn't defend it adequately, either. I got tired of it and certainly wasn't going to let her keep it, so I obliterated it . After reading that 30,000 citizens were put to death , I shut down the game until the next day. I deleted the saved files from that game and started a new game.
Out of sight, out of mind... or just out of mind .