Hate Roads - What are They Good For?

[Lazerus]

Prob got scared somebody called his bluff

[Mead]

Originally posted by Flubber


Mead, the lack of smax is irrelevant as I do play vanilla smac and skill level is what is tested by the contest. A lack of free time is fatal ( although early turns only take a couple of minutes)

I will try to make time to participate if a new ACDG starts, which runs after the current game finishes (or in parallel to the current game). Hopefully, it will use only SMAC or I'll find somewhere to buy SMACX before it starts. Any suggestions, from anyone, of stores or retail chains where I can buy a licensed copy of it would be greatly appreciated.

As I understand the current proposal in the Which Game Shall We Play thread, the new game will have everyone against the 'Googlie tweaked' AI plus perhaps a couple of factions handled an expert player. This would be a good place for me 'to get my feet wet' and become familiar with PBEM and playing against an entity other than the AI.

Because of my inexperience at playing against humans, I will start off as one of the worst PBEM players out there.

When and if a new ACDG starts off, and I am able to partake in it, and I figure out how PBEM works, and I am at least halfway decent at it, then I accept your challenge.

I would like to try out my low road usage strategy against a human after I have some competency at PBEM.

Mead


P.S.
If we do the challenge after I know how to play PBEM please don't refuse me the right to make a little road or two here and there (in addition to the mine roads, or hopefully for me, the invasion route I plan on building into yours or the AI's empire when I'm ready.)

[Jamski]

Oh well, if he doesn't want to play, and he's banned from 'poly, let's just forget about him. Perhaps he really was the BEST, but we shall probably never know.

BTW, what's wrong with "look first" ?

-Jam

[Pandir]

To bad. I really wanted to this no roads,no crawlers strategy. I could use a good laugh.

[CEO Aaron]

What a suprise!

So Blockhead suddenly vaporised when placed in a position where he'd have to back up his trash-talk? Color me completely unsuprised. Well, in a way I'm sorry to see the back of him he did make life interesting here for a while. However while one retarded troll is fun, two can ruin a perfectly good forum, so it's just as well we've got folks enforcing the rules.

[Lazerus]

Normally i wouldn't boast but I suck and I've just beaten the "best" player

Jam : I'm up for some more IP challenges

http://apolyton.net/upload/files/Lazerus/LazBlockRothe.zip

In that zip is turns 2127,2146,2163,2180.
Incase you want to see how he plays Morgan (nice amount of energy in those bases). I was playing as the Drones for the 1st or 2nd time in an MP game, trying them as ICS similar to the Hive but getting into nothing detailed with too many formers so i didnt slow it to pbem pace.

Also after you've taken his insults, given a few back and generally laughed in his face im sure he starts to give a little respect lol

hey Block if you're reading this yes i know i suck but my amphibs kicked your arse lol

[Mead]

Originally posted by Pandir
To bad. I really wanted to this no roads,no crawlers strategy. I could use a good laugh.

How about crawlers and trawlers, but no roads except on mines?

After replying to Flubber that I would take him up on his challenge after I learned how to play PBEM well, so long as he allowed me to build a little road or two here and there (i.e. he didn't hold me strict to my no roads except on mines or invasion force route initial post), I decided to try SP on Transcend without building a single road except on mines to test out my theory.

My SMAC results so far at 2321 playing Zak on a Huge Standard map with look first, directed research, no random events, standard rules otherwise.

According to the Graphs I'm 2nd, behind the Hive.

Morgan, Deirdre, and Miriam have been eliminated (not by me).

I had a treaty, but did not Pact (she wanted me to join her Vendetta against Hive and I wasn't ready for that) with Deirdre, and hadn't infiltrated her before she went down so I didn't know just how bad off she was. I didn't even now where on the map she was; I never saw a green base. If I had known how bad off she was I would have gifted her a safe base to keep her in the game as my ally. At least I was able to get a bunch of Techs from her (for cash) just before she went under.

I had a treaty with Morgan and infiltrated him but would not join his vendetta against Sparta so he wouldn't Pact. Then when he was down to three bases he decided to declare vendetta on me and would not talk to me, so I was not able to help him. I think he was bought off or just did not like me being green (I like it for the efficiency).

Miriam; well the Peacekeepers took care of her rather early on. Not before she built the VW. It hurts that I, as Zak, did not get it, but I'm managing with Rec Commons, clean police, and hospitals in the big bases, AV and LV helps too.

Geographically

Lal has the Long L shaped continent on the western part of the map (all the way from the Ruins to Mount Planet, Hive has the Monsoon Jungle and the entire Huge Land Mass on the eastern side of the map, Santiago has the large Island in the Northern Sea plus a bunch of sea bases in the north and between the large landmass in the center. I have the large landmass in the center of the map.

I missed out on almost all of the early SPs (including VW, WP, and ME), (maybe there is something to building roads early on?) but managed to get all the ones I care about since then (Neural Amp, Supercollider, Hunter Seeker, and Cyborg Factory). Plus I picked up Xenopathy Dome, Ascetic Virtues, LV, Living Refinery, and the PTS (it really does increase all your bases, including the ones you already have, that are smaller than size three, to size three).

Although officially I am number two on the graph, the game is well in hand. I have infiltrated everyone. I have a huge tech lead, Shard choppers, plus three orbital power stations up already (and more under construction). The best anyone else has is Chaos.

The current concerns are
Protecting my energy park (hence I have started to take some of Sparta's sea bases because the Hive used one to pick off a few crawlers with needlejets because I neglected to clean out one of the bases once).

Sparta and Hive have allied against me, but Lal seems content (I am running Green and Democracy, for the efficiency, and Lal has not declared vendetta on me yet). This may change after I pass Hive as number one. Lal already hit me up for 100ec, which I paid because I do not want to fight him right now.

Biggest concern - Lal, Sparta, and Hive are now all building a PB each. Even with my tech lead I don't think I will have ODPs up before the PBs are built. Lal and I have voted against atrocities so far (Hive is the governor - I'll change that in about 30 years) but the PBs will probably be used anyway. I can only hope that Lal's base with the PB, will be the target, not my SSC.

Greatest discovery -
Even without building a single road, except for the roads built on mines, a patchy road network still emerges.


If anyone wants the save let me know how to post it and I'll do so.


Mead

[Pandir]

Originally posted by Mead


How about crawlers and trawlers, but no roads except on mines?

If thats the way you play its your business but frankly I think its crazy not to take advantage of roads/mag tubes.

[Flubber]

mead -- I don't doubt you can beat the AI without roads-- IIRC there are people that have done it without building formers, or without probes. heck you can win without building a base ( as deidre or the cult) in the nomad challenge.

It souncs as if you are doing well in your game but IMHO it still does not change the fact that no roads is a fundamentally bad strategy.

Again IMHO, if two players were equally skilled and "A "uses roads to speed colony pods to their destination and "B" does not, "A" should win every time. In the early game I find I am waiting to have bases grow to size 2 so that a CP can be rushed. With roads ready, the base gets planted on the same turn or the next turn while a no roads strategy means 2-3 more turns before the base is founded. Multiply the added support and lost labs by the number of bases founded and consider that the secons set of colony pods are ready those 2-3 turns quicker . . . its a considerable disadvantage.

This is not to even talk about the advantages of gang-terraforming, which really comes into its own if there is a road on the square

Mead, I accept your challenge. Take any time you need to hone your skills. I expect that after some more play you will seriously rethink your limited-roads strategy. . . If you still believe in it, there are any number of ways we can test it out, including a PBEM or even a comparison game.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Mead

Greatest discovery -
Even without building a single road, except for the roads built on mines, a patchy road network still emerges.

Mead

Naturally . . . and on the frontier this can be a boon as your rovers can dash out to smash any approaching forces while your crawlers deny the road to your enemies.

The problem with this type of network is that it still takes a CP an additional turn to found a base compared to having a road going to the base site

Big caveat-- IF it happens that there are a couple of rivers in a players starting position, the need for roads is reduced since the rivers act as roads for the purposes of early development

[Mead]

Originally posted by Flubber

***

(1) It souncs as if you are doing well in your game but IMHO it still does not change the fact that no roads is a fundamentally bad strategy.

(2) This is not to even talk about the advantages of gang-terraforming, which really comes into its own if there is a road on the square

(3) Mead, I accept your challenge. Take any time you need to hone your skills. I expect that after some more play you will seriously rethink your limited-roads strategy. . . If you still believe in it, there are any number of ways we can try it out, including a PBEM or even a comparison game.

Flubber

It is year 2402 and the game is winding up. I will either Transcend or diplomatic victory in about 20 years.

I resisted the temptation to build a single road except on mines to fully test the theory. I did not even build one to move my invasion force to the coast for loading on the transports/IoDs. Ouch it hurts.

In response to your comments above.

1. It is unwise to strictly adhere to any strategy regardless of the circumstances. I was stuck on the middle big landmass - All By Myself. I had no need to worry about an invasion. If one were to come it would be by sea, not land. In the game I played, roads would have greatly enhanced my interior lines of communication without any real risk of invasion. If I were sharing a continent the rule to limit roads would have made more sense.

2. Yes, gang-terraforming would have been much easier with roads. I was also greatly tempted to forego the test to build a road from my SSC to its energy park and from other bases to the SSC. It was frustrating watching how long it took for those crawlers to get to their solar cells, particularly after I had to replace a few that Yang shot up. Even now there are some solar cells that are not being worked. With the game ending soon I am not sure it is worth the hassle. Plus, it will take a long while for the crawlers to get from the new SSC to the park, and their spot in the park. Now, if I had a road or mag tube from the SSC to the park? Hmmm?

3. After my skills improve, I will do the challenge. I will still be very conservative with the placement of roads, but do recognize they have their place; just a different style of play.


As for how the game went:
Yang did take out my SSC with a PB, which hurt a lot because a lot of SPs were there; and not just the research ones. He also lobbed a few PBs at Lal and Santiago. Now I have 7 ODPs up and just got the Space Elevator (Yang only has 3 farms up). I have taken just about all of Lal's homeland (got the VW from him), Yang's HQ, and the mindworm wave is working its way across Yang's land, but because of the loss of the HSA to the PB I have to be careful not to leave anything at risk without probe support.


Strictly limiting the roads had a substantial effect on development. Had I been flexible with the roads the game likely would have been over by now. Lack of them slowed the expansion, development of the terraforming, and equipping of the energy park. Lack of roads only slightly affected military operations. Almost all battles happened on my enemies land. Having few roads helped in that the few times anyone landed on my shores, they never made it to a base before their destruction at the hands of my airpower.

I'll finish the game, but transcend or diplomatic victory as soon as possible, whichever I can do first. It has been a painful game.


Mead

[Fazdaar]

Ok, you have beaten the ai without roads. But, you mentioned several times that having roads would have aided in your growth, particularly concerning your SSC and formers/crawlers. Granted, you have shown that you have the skill to win without roads.

However, you said yourself that if you used roads to speed your game up, you would have won by now. So, if you are in a PBEM with good players and you need to grow fast to compete, wouldn't using roads make more sense than not using them? I just don't see how fear of their use as invasion routes outweighs the extreme benefit of speeding up your developement. If you are that worried about being invaded, it shouldn't be too hard to destroy them if you do happen to be invaded. The extra movement they offer helps you get reinforcements more quickly, giving you a much greater benefit than your opponent, since the garrisons in nearby bases that could be brought up in a turn or 2 should be more than the invasion force can handle. If you have roads way outside your bases and are afraid of a sneak attack using them, simply lay down some sensors out there. If you spot them with your sensors 1 turn before they can attack, bring up extra defenders and the attacker is toast. Trust me, it is worth the tremendous boost to your growth.

[Chaos Theory]

Regarding blockhead's complaint about look first:
I always play against him with look first on, so he has nothing at all to complain about there.

[Lazerus]

Dont see the need to have look first on in an IP game, the map is generated so that the position you land normally has a river and lots of rainy squares, i cant remember a single occasion ive moved more then 1 square away from my landing position to plant my first base in a game

[Jamski]

It can help if your scouts find a mineral or nut bonus just outside of the base radius... or even both. You may "waste" a tun moving the pod, but the turn is "saved" by the speeded production of the vital early pods.

It is year 2402 and the game is winding up.

Owch, but that's a long game. I can't help but blame the lack of roads...

-Jam