Drone joining the Drones

[Grail Quest]

How does the Free Drones bonus of drone-riot cities joining them work?

I've never seen it in action, so I fabricated a scenario with 4 rival cities rioting. Absolutely zip happened for about 30 turns.

[Mongoose]

I'm not altogether sure that feature works. I've never heard of somebody gaining a base with the Drones that way. Then again, base flips from drone riots are rare. I can count the number I've seen on three fingers. That's in more thousands of hours of SMAC/Xing than I care to think about.

[Googlie]

Not seen it in multiplay, but seen it often enough in single play games.

Drones have a 75% chance that a revolting base will join them (versus a 25% chance of joining the nearest faction)

I haven't seen anything in the txt files or faction editor to determine at what point a revolting base is "beyond the pale" and moves to join another faction. In SP games I've had it happen after 1 turn of rioting, and in other instances after as many as ten turns rioting (all at transcend level - again, I don't know if the "event" comes faster with increased difficulty)

G.

[waab]

So that special abillity is working? I am new smax player and I have played some games with the drones and never seen it, and I have the 2.0 patch

[Patashu]

Yep, it works. The problem is that it almost never gets to function. Bases must be in riot for at least 1 turn, but the computer usually fixes riots turn 1, and same for the human.
So the reason it doesn't appear to work is because it doesn't get to work.

[waab]

So if I use probes teams and every turn starts new drone riots, I have a chance to get the base?

One more question: If I get the city in constant drone riots, have I then 75% chance to get the city every turn?

[knowhow2]

Originally posted by waab
So if I use probes teams and every turn starts new drone riots, I have a chance to get the base?

If you use a probe team every turn, I think it's counted as a brand new riot each time (instead of one continuing riot).

[Capt Dizle]

I have never seen a base flip in SMAC. I have never seen the metor strike either.

[waab]

Then how shall you do it? I mean what to do?

Å förresten ÖiS slog IFK hehehe...

[knowhow2]

I say, forget about this "advantage", Drones are good enough a faction already.

IFK vinner allsvenskan i år. Tro mig.

[Fitz]

A base continues to be in drone riots for multiple turns if growth via pop-boom causes riots on multiple turns. In my latest games, lack of attention following the Cloning Vats meant that I lost a few facilities in sea bases that had no psych improvments. Turn 1, grow one, riots, add doctor. Turn 2, grow one more, riots again, facility destroyed, add another doctor. In these cases, I must have gotten lucky that the base didn't defect. Never had it happen more than two turns in a row (yet).

I did have 2 bases flip in a game once. I was morgan, new to free market, and had all sorts of military units out and about. I couldn't control the rampant drones, and lost two of my four bases to the university. Did manage to win that game eventually though, and took my revenge on both the citizens of those bases and the University at a later date.

"50,000 University Citizens have been but to death at Morgan Metalgenics."

[Impaler[WrG]]

Meteor Strike!?? Humm it must be excedingly rare cause I have also never seen or even heard of it, I have seen new volcanos form, it looks just like mount Planet I wonder if it provides the same Energy and mineral bonus at the peak? Tell me what this meteor strike looks like (like a big planet buster strike?)

[Mongoose]

The new volcano is just like Mt. Planet in regard to energy and mineral bonuses. I've never seen a meteor strike, either, but I've read that it creates a new Garland Crater. Unfortunately, any bases there are destroyed.

[Method]

so i've heard, (i turn random events off to avoid it ) it strikes your largest base(s) and obliterates them leaving a garland crater

[BustaMike]

As far as I know the 75% chance for the Drones is broken. I have seen many bases flip and I have NEVER seen one flip to the Drones. I was even playing one game where there were only 2 factions left, the Drones and Morgan (me). I purposely let one of my bases riot for several turns and it revolted to the Data Angels who were already dead. Go figure. When a city revolts there is supposed to be a 75% chance that it will go to the Drones; however, as far as I can tell it usually just defects to the closest faction.

As for that meteor strike, hopefully someday I'll get to see it. I've seen pretty much every other random event. My buddy once had a new volcano erupt in the geothermal shallows. That looked crazy because all the bubbly stuff was now on a volcano.