Lal

[Aredhran]

F*CK !!!

Last night I finally got around to start this game, and I got a terranx.exe around 2230. To my dismay I noticed that the autosave was off, and my last save dated back around 2180).

Damn Firaxis.

[This message has been edited by Aredhran (edited November 24, 2000).]

[Ersatzflo]

update. I'm trying to catch up with BigC after that horrible first 50 years !!
logged the game starting at about 2200

Svensgard went from magnamanimous to belligerent in record time.
2182 energy grid. nice

2185, core established, first node online
43 pop in 14 bases,
4 SP
demo/FM/wealth for 102 rp/t +137-16
21 techs, int. int. in 5. A belligerent Svensgard will have DAP at about 2205 , gulp

by 2188 all pacts are gone. 56 pop now, still only 102 research.

big one at 2200.


big one at 2200 .

76 pop in 17 bases+3CP
5 SP, cdf in construction
demo/FM/wealth for 174 rp/t (cost 1323rp) +184-54
22 techs, ecol eng in 1.

need crawlers !

10 ChildC, 15 RecT, 13 RecCom, 5 NetN, 7 Hologram, 1 ReseaerchH, 1 HabC,

14 formers, 5 seaformer, 4 scouts, 1 Unity, 1 Recon, 1 Impact. Rover, 2 Missl Rover 1 U. Foil, 4+1 (trance) Synthmetal Garisson

its getting slow. time for a log. The reason for lagging 10-20 years behind BigC and especially VoodooChild is the very very late discovery of ind. econ, ind. auto, and environmental eco eta 2209, pfffhh (look at the development of research output since FM was discovered !).
2203 planned, pop grows
2204 Hive destroyed, 227 research
2205 V'detta pirates. Rush some sea units ! he'll have DAP in 2213 or so.
2206 planned 91 pop
2207 finish PTS pop 111
2208 env econ, research planetary econ (258 rp - 6 turns)
2210 Hi NRG Chem stolen from pirates, 322 rp
2213 planetary econ, pop boomed to 135
2214 planned, lose size 2 base to Pirates, 141 pop
2215 pirates discover, i steal DAP, 144 pop 348 rp, 401-120 income
2217 researching neural grafting. Last AI tech is optical computers wit Zak. need it asap. its a long way to transcendence without the supercollider
2218 152 pop, 382 rp, 465-147
2220 losing lots of units to pirates and caretaker navy. time for drone producing bombers 153 pop
2221 ascetic virtues alleviate drone troubles by airforce 168 pop 417 rp +362 NRG
2223 rp 441 +406 NRG
2224 research MMI, go planned, 188 pop
2225 numbers:

202 pop, 22 bases, (18,14,14,13,13,13,12,12,11,10,9,9,9,7,6,6,6,5,5,5 ,4,2)
Demo/FM/Wealth for 496 rp, 650NRG-216 upkeep
29 techs, next in 4 (MMI)

21 ChildC, 21 RecT, 22 RecCom, 13 NetN, 18 Hologram, 19 TreeFarm, 2 HybridF, 5 ReseaerchH, 12 HabC, 1Aero, 1 Thermocline

2226 first pirate base conquered (after destroying two)

2226 first pirate base conquered (after destroying two)
2227 Marr declerases v'detta. ughh. another pirate base
2229 discover MMI, research bioeng.
2230 switch to planned pop 230
2231 complete cloudbase, cyborg, pop 244; pirates lost another 2 bases - he is in a really bad shape now, but will be allowed to discover Centauri Empathy.
2234 steal: optical computer from Uni
2235 Cyberethics, 1000+research finally with 274 pop in Demo/FM/Knowledge 50/0/50
The energy park is nowhere close to being productive yet, the sea crawlers, however, help.

[big_canuk]

2201: Make UN Haven for the Hive, and UN Planetary Trust in the jungle into specialist cities in which to base offensive units, to avoid pacifist drones.

2203: switch to FM, pop boom done for now

2204: D:Init take adaptive economics
breakthrough in 5, next in 4. Cost=1386, accum=156, per turn=329
take Fecundity Tower from Hive.

2206: Caretakers land in jungle with 2 4-2-2's

2207: Soc Tunnels captured from Hive
Parrot Landing captured from Sven

2208: Adapt Econ, take SOTHB

2209: Build PEG
Since no random events cash in En Banks
Last of Caretaker rovers destroyed in jungle
take Fellowship City from Hive

2210: Take Deep Community from Hive

2211: Sea Collective from Hive. Hive surrenders
Metagame:
Plan for Planned economics in 2215 or so.
Save Cash for:
Hab Complexes
Hybrid forests
Make Crawlers for:
MCC
AV
CDF

2212: Sealurk kills former off Garland Crater Island
Probed Caretakers (finally). They have D:AP in 12 turns. Need to zap them.

2213: Caretakers land south of Jungle

2215: Planetary Economics take Neural Grafting
Cash crawlers to SPs so that 1 turn after switch to planned
Switch to Planned
Make sure growth at all cities, and no drone riots on growth, by making doctors, and switching crawlers to food if nescessary.
Still 50/0/50 may need to go to 40/20/40 at end of growth phase.
Last of Caretaker invasion dispatched

2216: Complete CDF, MCC, and AV

2218: Take Capetown @ 37,41 (in bay just below jungle) from Sven. Caretakers are still too far away!

2219: Neural Grafting, take MMI for thinkers, copters, and drop troops (I need them all)

2220: take Meergard from Sven

2222: ready to build CA in 1 turn with crawlers at UN court of Justice, and CF in 1 or 2 turns at UN enforcement base

2223: build CA

2224: Build CF, NA
Believers declared Vendetta, cause I wouldn't give them D:AP

2225 to FM stay at 50/0/50
Pause pop boom to build up cash and to get Hab complexes, tree farms, Net nodes, etc. in place in newly conquered bases

2225 stats
31 bases
309 pop
12 commerce
30 techs
250 SPs (WP, CDF, PTS, MCC, AV, CA, VW, NA, CF, PEG)
Usurpers have CN, ME
UoP has HGP, PD
601 AC score

Units

CP: 1 active, 1 in prod
Formers: 36 active, 4 in prod
Sea Formers: 17 active, 1 prod, 4 lost
Crawlers: 79 active, 4 in prod, 4 lost
Trawlers: 32 active, 6 in production
Missle penetrator: 4 active
X-Missle penetrator: 3 active
X-Missle chopper: 2 active
Miscellaneous other units(mostly scouts and trained scouts)

Total
Land: 37 active, 1 prod, 12 lost
Naval: 3 active, 2 lost
Non Combat: 178 active, 19 in prod, 10 lost

explore 45%
Disc: 20%
Build: 40%
Conq: 33%

30 techs, SE: Demo/FM/Wealth @50/0/50
tech cost=1932, accum=1847, tech per turn=1148
breaktroughs every 2 turns, next in 1 (Cent Empathy)

Com rate: 5
Com Income: 10
Gross EC: 508
Maint: 204
Net EC: 304

Lal: 100%
Caretakers 20%
Usurpers: 18%
UoP: 15%
Sven: 10%
Hive: 3 %
Believers: 2%

Integrity: Noble
Might: Unsurpassed

Metagame:

As noted in another post, I need to commit enough troops to destroy the Caretakers, without losing them piecemeal, but not so many as to hamper my infrastructure and growth. 2 or 3 drop troops, and a couple more choppers may do it.

[big_canuk]

2225 status continued

oops, forgot a few things:

Facilities:
1 HQ
20 CCs
9 tanks
27 RCs
24 NNs
17 TFs
4 HF
10 Res Hosp
13 Hab Complex
7 Press Dome (from Sven)
1 Command Center (from Hive)
1 Nav Yard (gotta recyle this one)
7 Aqua Farm
1 Thermo Transducer

About 2220: Founded base at 24,50 on north coast above Manifold Nexus. This was in UoP territory, but got me close to taking the Manifold Nexus from Believers. My Idea was to build another base to take the Nexus from the Believers peacefully. Now that they have declared Vendetta, I can gain the Nexus, and have a base on the SE coast from which to attack the Caretakers! Thank you Believers.

[Aredhran]

Played about 50 turns this week-end.

Quick question: Is conquest an acceptable way of victory, or is it only Transcendance ? I couldn't find a clear answer in any of the threads.

As usual, I'm letting myself dragged into a total war by this ****wit AI which keeps shooting my crawlers and formers, so I have to take preemptive action

Anyway, if conquest is OK I'll just carry on and smash the hell out of what's left of Zak, Hminee and Marr (Miriam, Yang and Sven are all submitted now), otherwise I'll have to rething my strategy because I'm definitely not going in the right direction for a fast transcend, esp. with tech stag.

Bad news for my log however: the crash I reported last week has also caused the loss of the spreadsheet I was using to record information... the .XLS is hopelessly corrupt

Aredhran

[Capt Dizle]

Read it again Red.

jt

[Misotu]

Well ... in the absence of instructions to the contrary, I've been assuming all victory conditions are on.

[Aredhran]

quote: Originally posted by jimmytrick on 11-28-2000 10:27 PM Read it again Red. jt

Ever helpful, eh ? Thanks a lot

[Ersatzflo]

that jt is really trying to tell us: cooperative and conquest victories are enabled (he snatched one of those), so are corner market and transcendance.

Mis, please tell us a little about your game. Why only planned economics ? And how did you you overcome the efficiency and economy problems ? (transcending before 2300, after all, is not easy with tech stag)

[Misotu]

Sure Flo. Actually, I felt very unhappy with the game, but mostly because (ahem) I didn't realise that tech stag was on and I was getting very frustrated by what seemed to be a pretty crap performance. Um. What can I say? I don't know how I missed all this vital info in the original thread. Just not paying attention I guess.

I have some save files, possibly enough to construct a bit of a game log. I didn't bother to write anything down at the time because I seemed to be doing so badly for reasons I couldn't quite fathom. Sometimes, playing mostly on intuition is a very bad idea

[WhiteElephants]

Misotu -- Sounds like you did alright to me. I have kinda given up. I'm not patient enough to wrangle with all those crawlers and what not. Maybe I'll finish what I started tonight???

[big_canuk]

2227: Bioengeneering take Adv Sub Theory (Beeline Supercollider,and ToE)
take Overtone Song (43,49)from Caretakers. It was undefended, so I just drove in with my rover off my unity foil.

2228: take Judgement Seat (25,59) and Manifold Nexus from Belivers.

2229: Adv Sub Theory, take Optical Computers

2230: Build LV at UN Seetlement (SCC)
Start Empath Guild, with eye to switching to Supercollider in 4 turns.
lost 1st former to Caretaker noodle. Need to crush them!

2231: Switch to planned.
Take Safe Haven from Sven

2232: Complete EG
Probe/steal Adapt Doct from UoP

2233: Take Point Blood (40,24) from Sven

2234: Superconductor, take Applied Relativity

2235: Gas and destroy a Caretaker base about to build an areospace complex
Take crows Nest (last base on east coast) from Sven. This air force will now switch to the Usurpers. they have D:AP now as well as the University.
Probe/steal superstring theory from UoP
Take Sea Wind (34,64) from the Caretakers. Good deep sea base to base operations at. Still just defending with a trained scout!

2236: Caretakers destoy 2 of my formers with Noodles. I need to take them out!

2237: Destroyed Caretaker base with bunch of Noodles. I sacrificed a flying noodle to do this. The caretaker noodles did not crash. They just took off the next turn as if they were still in a base!

2238: Destroyed another Caretaker base, this time with Noodles destroyed.
Back to FM. Better time to UFT tech per turn = 1883
growth at core complete (to 18 pop/city)
bit tough to control drones at conqered cities. Will need to go in with trawlers to avoid pop loss (and prod loss).

2239: Destroy Usurper base.
Destroy Caretaker base with 2 Noodles
Lots of ECs and nothing to build, therefore
Switch to Knowledge tech/turn = 2276.4, cost=3135

2240: Monopole, take UFT.
Take Destroyer base (77,35) from Usurpers (Good base from which to conduct operations)
Destroy 2 Caretaker bases with Noodles.
Upgraded all sea formers to clean at end of turn.

2241: Get UFT, take Cent Mediation
Believer base destroyed

2242: Believers surrender
Build ToE

2243: Cent Mediation, take AMA (only choice!)

2244: Build XD
AMA, take PreSentAlg

2245: Caretakers attack forward base with Noodles and Skimship. Destroy 2 of my noodles. Upgrade forward trained scouts to 1-3AAA-1's. Upgrade some 6xpenetrators to 12x penetrators for bases with areospace complexes.
PSA, take Fusion Power
Destroy Caretaker base with 2 Noodles in it

2246: Take Dry Dock (15,51) from Sven
Destroy UoP base
Destroy Decison:Manifold
Destroy another Caretaker base with 2 Noodles
Take Hornbill Point (12,38) from Usurpers
Build HSA. ok to take land bases now, without probe support.

2247: Fusion Power, take Orb Spaceflight
Take 3 Usurper Bases, Scortch Island (9,57),
Godhoods Grasp (8,40) on their island, and Resonance of Swords (4,42) also on their island with ME and CN.
Switch as many specialists as posssible to engeneers

2248: orb spacflight, take retro eng

2249: retro eng, take biomachiery(vats)
Caretaker base and noodle destroyed.
launch food satalite

2250: Capture Caretaker base Mdar:Holding (45,75)
Capture UoP base Planetary Archives (13,63)
Biomach, take Homo Superior.

2250 stats

54 bases
477 pop (1398 votes)
49 tech
450 sec projects
CN, ME (from Usurpers); CDF, PTS, NA, AV, WP, EG, VW, XD, MCC, SCollider, LV, HSA, ToE, PEG, CF, CA
994 score

land units 60 active, 5 in prod, 15 lost
naval units 2 active, 3 lost
air units 26 active, 1 in prod, 4 lost
non combat 311 active, 13 in prod, 19 lost

explore: 54%
Disc: 55%
Build 59%
Conq 61%

49 techs, SE: Demo/FM/Knowl 50/0/50
cost=4441, accum=822, tech/turn=4209.6

lal 100%
all others less than 10%

Facilities:

1 HQ
32 CC
31 Tanks
2 Per Def
42 RC
1 En Bank
39 NN
3 Biolabs
21 TFarms
17 Hyb Forests
22 Fusion Labs
9 Genejack
20 Hab complex
20 Press Dome
5 Cent Pres
14 Aqua Farms
1 Thermo Trans

Metagame.

Just about wrapped up. I've been playing a hybrid style, toward trancendance which at 1.1 tech/turn (if I can maintain it ) will happen by 2285. Conquest will be sooner.
[This message has been edited by big_canuk (edited November 30, 2000).]

[Aredhran]

Conquest victory achieved 2269

Due to a couple keyboard fumbles (and not wanting to reload because of game rules), I set myself back quite a few years and missed JT's record of 2266.

1. When rushing a facility, I paid 1689 credits instead of 168, leaving me somewhat strapped for cash

2. After capturing a caretaker base in the middle of their territory, I put a big chunk of my invading forces in for repairs, but pressed the wrong key when trying to move the defensive probe in. Consequence, H'minee subverted the base, together with about 50% of my invading force (choppers, rovers, garrisons). Took me about 3-4 years to recover from that one

Log will be posted when I've had time to add a few comments. Savegame available on request.

Aredhran
-don't think I can be bothered to reach transcendance-

[Velociryx]

Hmm....once more, purely for "research purposes" I might have to give this one a go....

-=Vel=-

[big_canuk]

2251: build CV. Darn, thought I had looked after drones on growth in all bases after build base, but I didn't.
HomoSuperior, take Organic Superlube ("great stuff, but you have to make sure it doesn't crawl away on you" )
destroy Caretaker base with Noodle.
sieze Zvedy Gorodok (11,69), from UoP. Capture HGP
Solves problem of specialist cities with +2 nuts and pacifist drones rioting on growth every turn. With some psych, from 1 specialist, the first citizen is a worker!

2252: Organic Superlube (great stuff ...), take Nanominiaturization.
destroy 2 Caretaker bases
Sieze Rippletown (52,72)
Caretakers eliminated
Seize Korlov center (15, 71)
seize University Base, capture PD
seize last UoP base!

Conquest Victory Achieved!

506 pop
18 commerce
51 tech
525 SPs

1154 score

Analysis:

This was one of my best games. I seemed to ride the line of not giving away to much tech (which gets to AI factions to D:AP to fast), and not giving away enough, (which gets you in war, before you are ready). I may have been able to cut a few turns off the conquest victory by concentrating on military after D:AP, but you can't minimize the effect of the builder bonuses I continued to receive: loads of energy, HSA sooner, 12 attack, satalite launch (reveal map). Trying to cover the whole map with 6x-noodles, and cruisers, may not have been faster. In any event, I will not replay for faster conquest. I will however go on to transcend. That will be enough micromanagement for me this year!
[This message has been edited by big_canuk (edited November 30, 2000).]