Lal

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

It late I'm tired but a brief update.

JT it looks like you have me by a slight margin but we'll see in the stretch run how we fare.

MY2245, been at 3 turn/tech for abit now.

No one to steal tech from. Techs discovered to date 33

Number of bases 22
population 187

Pacted with Zak been gifting Zak bases and techs for reciprocal tech gains.

X - needlejet campaign against both prgenitors has elimanated/rolled back any local base threats and placement of my own forward sea bases will eventually cause Alien extermination it's just a matter of when.

Sp's
PEG, Ascetic Virtues,Maritime, PTS, Neural Amp, Merchant, WP, Command Nexxus, HGP

Lost only VW, and Datalinks both to UoP

Beelining to fusion with perhaps a detour to Cloning Vats instead.

[mark13]

Part 6 of the log, M.Y. 2235:

2235: Svensgaard comes a-calling, and demands 50 credits. No big deal, I give in.
2236: Another great victory for our armed forces - PD disabled at the Hive, and the base is down to its last defender.
2237: Whoop-de-doo, MCC built at U.N. HQ.
The Hive taken, along with the Command Nexus - only one land base left to conquer, and then the great naval conquest shall commence....
2238: Great Collective seized from the Hive - the land conquest is finally complete.
We will need a few turns to build up the navy, but after that, Yang will be heading for the torture chamber...
2240: Sea Collective is now garrison-less, conquest should go without any hitches next turn.
2241: Sea Collective seized, the fleet now moves on to Sea Hive.
2242: Sea Hive garrison-less.
2243: Tech! Planetary Economics - now if I can just get Environmental Economics...
Sea Hive seized - now on to Deep Community....
2244: Need to get a foil probe in - Deep Community has a Naval Yrad - if only I had D:AP.....
2246: Destroyer embarks on expedition to nearest Caretaker island - two 6-3-2s, one 6-1-2 and a probe team on board...
2248: Transport arrives at island - Resonant Node garrison-less....
2249: The transport doesn't look like it's going to be enough - oh well, never mind - take our woundd troops back abnd re-group....
2250: OK, all my units and bases have disappeared, and I now have three colony pods and a load of 6-3-2s. Oh dear - I haven't saved at all in the past 15 years, so I'm going to quit and have done with it. I really can't be bothered playing the last 15 years all over again.....

Still, my game was not anywhere near the quickest...even though EnvEco was coming next turn - drat! - I should have cleaned up, but jimmy is a loooong way ahead of me in any case.

[WhiteElephants]

2250 update:

14 bases 173 pop
tech per turn 561 new tech every 4 turns
98 energy credits per turn
Running 50/0/50
Explore 50%
Discover 30%
Build 36%
Conquer 42%

Special Projects:
Weather Paradigm, Human Genome, Neural Amp, Maritime CC, Command Nexus (formerly Yang's), Cloudbase Academy

I should have the Planetary Datalinks, Planetary Energy Grid, and the Cyborg Factory shortly.

I wiped out Yang not to long after I acquired Doctrine Air Power. Mirium was also wiped out by Zak and the Usurpers. I'm still pacted with Zak and Sven and at war with both aliens. I'm beelining to Fussion Power and am at Advanced Military Alogrythms. I figure Fussion Power should be mine in about 10-12 turns. Unfortunatley, I have yet to run Free Market which could be quite costly in terms of energy and tech, we will see. I'm in the process of terraforming the bases I acquired from Yang and have nearly hit my population peak. Once I peak I intend to switch to Green and start adjusting my allocation to max out my tech and possibly run Knowledge. So far I think the aliens have helped me maintain my pacts with Zak and Sven because both aliens are above them on the power chart. I recently traded and gifted Doctrine Air Power to Sven and Zak because I realized the Usurpers had it as well. I don't forsee any problems holding my continent as I have tech superiority over everyone else. I estimate Transcendence in 75 to 100 years. I don't think that is too ambitious, but again, we will see.

[Ersatzflo]

Interesting, how small changes (no pods, but abundant resources; known starting positions) affect ones' gameplay !
Me, i somehow screwed up my first fifty. Don't even know how (no useful log. You know, once one gets started...) Contended myself with fewer rabbits than usual to develop those sweet city spots. Results: very few bases, a satisfactory terraforming and security force. Lals inefficiency + planned cost me a lot of research, and i couldn't trade a single tech with pactmate svensgard.
The foil just found people

2150
13 pop+1CP in 7 bases
finished the WP, building 2 more projects, 2 CP, a former, a probe, and recycling tanks
running planned 50/50, for a whopping 6 research, +4-0 energy.
7 techs, ind econ in 2155.
8 formers, 4 scouts, 2 U. Rover, 1 U. Foil, 2 Synthmetal Garisson

v'detta vs Yang, pacted with pirates, believers

went free market in 2156, (interrupted by short periods of planned to spend all that energy and to grow alittle Things are definitely looking up. AI Yang is even more stupid than usual. a few cheesy Rovers (and Svens helpful bombardments) will be all i need to exterminate him. He keeps sending his troops in single file ?! idiut

2175,
31 pop in 11 bases
WP, ME, HGP, energy grid in 13
Zak will finish the VW in 2176.

running Demo/FM 50/50 for 59 rp/t +52-10 NRG
17 techs ind. auto in 4 years .

9 formers, 1 seaformer 4 scouts, 1 Unity, 1 Recon, 1 Impact. Rover, 1 U. Foil, 4+1 (trance) Synthmetal Garisson

v'detta Yang, Marr
pact: believers pirates, treaty with Zak. Governor Lal

[Capt Dizle]

M.Y. 2256
Alpha Centauri Score

Pop 278
Commerce 47
Tech 40
Secret Projects 225
Total ???

Marr and Mir are in cells on either side of Swen.

Forces are converging on Zak and Hm'minee. Reminds me of the Russians and Yanks sprinting for Berlin.

Unless Yang breaks the submission pact, I have a shot to finish the conquest by 2268, which, IIRC, was the year of my transcendance in the Zak challenge.

I will build that supercollision thingie next turn also.

jt

ps..the unity rover that took the Hive in the begining of the game was in the thick of the fight vs Marr. Gotta promote that driver before long.

[Aredhran]

Downloaded the game last night... Now if only I could find the time to play

Aredhran

[VoodooChild]

Same here Aredhran, but I did manage to get some turns in. Updates will begin tonight.

Mark 13 and other early gamers:
Since reading your progress, I have learned much about the world before I even hit planetfall. This inofrmation has given me an huge edge. Don't feel bad about having average games. The real compairison will come when you replay the challenge.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Transcended in MY 2309

I'm pressed for time right now and will fill in details later.

Game available to those interested as a save.

[Sikander]

Ogie,

I would be interested in seeing your save file. If you post it somewhere let me know, otherwise you could send it to me at robert17@earthlink.net.

Thanks

Sikander

[Capt Dizle]

Thats a really good time. I was thingking about switching from conquest to transcendance, but I dont think I can top that.

jt

ps..on the other hand..

[big_canuk]

2186: turned down 100 ec and Non-lin math from Miriam for vendetta with Sven

2187: Caretaker 4-3r-1 disappeared from the doorstep of UN Plan Trust in the jungle. It didn't sneak attack! My odds for survival in the jungle just jumped from 10% to 40%.

2188: Contacted Miriam. Traded for Non-linear math, world map, and Zak commlink
Contacted Zak: Vendetta
Elected Planetary Governor

2189: Hive contacted me. Demanded Env Econ. take a hike: Vendetta
Change to 4-1-1 at UN Haven (at the neck)

2190: vendetta with Sven (ouch) (
build UN Planning @36,44

Take stock: metagame
6 attack in 1 turn
save up on ec's
plan on going planned in 2 or 3 turns to hurry tree farms, no pacifists, and to pop boom

2191: Synth foss fuels take Doct:AP !!
Hive lands with 2 4-2-1's, and I only have 1 defender in base! Leave crawlers by him (maybe he'll attack them instead of the base). Sure enough, next turn he destroys the forest he is on, and takes out a crawler.
add second scout to defense, and upgrade 1st to 1-3-1 (kinda useless upgrade, but i might get lucky). Hive blows up another crawler, and base 1-3-1 next turn, and then I dust him with 2 4-1-2's. Just shows how stupid the AI is.

2192: During Hive battle, Sven shows up of the east coast with a transport and a probe, and a 1-1-1. OHOH! only 1 foil probe to defend. Put foil probe in 1, and line coast with units. Next turn blast transport with new (2)-3-4 foil. If he came in from 3 squares out, he could have landed the probe, before I knew it was comming.

2195: caretaker vendetta. Subvert his 4-3r-1 in the jungle.

2196: D:AP! take D:init
switch to planned

2000: Take 1st Hive base

2000 stats:

19 bases
95 pop (votes 190)
4 commerce
22 techs
75 sec projects WP,VW,PTS

Formers 20 active
Scouts 15 active, 5 lost
Transports 2 active 1 lost
crawlers 45 active 3 prod, 4 lost
probe team 3 active 1 lost
un rover 1 act, 1 lost
un foil 1 act
4-3r-1 1 active (from caretakers)
1-3-1 1 active
4-1-2 4 active
(2)-3-4 1 active
(6)-1-4 2 active
6-1-2 2 active
6-1-1 1 active
trawlers 3 active, 3 prod
6-1-10 1 act, 1 prod
4-1-10 1 act
trained scout 1 active
4-1-1 1 active
sea former 6 active
1-2-1 1 active
2-1-2 4 active, 1 lost
infantry probe team 5 active

explore: 40
disc 15
build: 27
conq: 19

22 techs
demo/planned/wealth
tech cost 1026, accum 448, per turn 128
every 10 years, next in 5 (Doct:INIT)

1 - HQ
8 - Creche
9 - tanks
15 - rec comm
9 - en bank
14 - net node
10 - tree farms
1 - res hosp

en reserves: 24
income: 110
costs: 79
net: 31

Integrety:noble
Might Unsurpassed

1st Lal 100%
2nd Caretakers 45%, vendetta
3rd usurpers 43%, vendetta
4th UoP 25%, vendetta
5th Sven 22%, vendetta
6th Hive 20%, vendetta
7th Believers 5%, treaty

Metagame:

My security is secure. D:AP is many turns away from other factions. (Not sure about aliens, not probed yet) Hive will be gone in a few turns. Sven is next. To be done with minimum of forces, so that can build up infrastructure, and trawlers/tidal harnesses.


[This message has been edited by big_canuk (edited November 20, 2000).]

[WhiteElephants]

2290 update:

1006 energy per turn
tech every 2 turns/2737.2 per turn
261 population
63% explore
60% discover
59% build
61% conquer

19 turns to beat Ogie and I don't think it is going to happen I'm at war with the aliens and Sven. Pacted with Zak. I think if I were to replay it (and I don't think I will) I would expand a bit more and perhaps continue expansion through conquest. I would probably have to be a bit more patient as well because it drives me insane to micro manage too many bases. I probably would have utilized more sea crawlers and just crawlers in general as well. I also would have managed to get into Free Market mode earlier than I did. I expect to transcend in about 40 turns, but we will see.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Sik,

A # of different saves are off to you. MY 2200 ish, MY2266 ish, and finally MY2309 just in order to get a feel of how the game was shaping up.

A couple of comments, the key to me was to shy away from the traditional run planned early route (i.e research techs net nodes and planetary networks then go planned until first beuracracy, bah your wasting Lal talent bonus that way). Lal suffers from efficiency probs. If your going to be a builder, beeline to Industrial Economics as soon as you can and go FM ASAP. IIRC, the next tech available after formers was net nodes but unfortunately no build techs such as Industrial Base and/or Industrial Economics so again IIRC I had to essentially go through 4 techs before I could go FM.

If I were to start the game at MY2101 considering the sweet initial start spot(a 2 nutrient spot for both initial bases) I may have gone for these two techs over formers, to me it just that important to get to FM the sooner the better.

I know I could have optimized a little better near the end but I was really getting lazy and just hitting the next turn without moving anything or rush buying anything.

Good luck and good hunting all.

Og

[Capt Dizle]

Conquest victory achieved in M.Y. 2266. For informational purposes conquest and cooperative are enabled. Zak and Yang were submissive pactmates and I got the standard conquest ending.

I think life forms must have been set on rare. I left many bases undefended without loss and have not seen any ecological damage at all. (I am running green though)

Since the end was clear many turns ago I began to retool and will reload 2265 and try to chase that 2308 date. I have little hope I can get there, eta 2329.

I badly overbuilt my military and its too late to recover I think.

jt

[Misotu]

Finally got the game to stop crashing and completed my first pass. Had trouble deciding what to do with this. I had intended to play a conquer game - it should be the fastest way to win this one - but as usual got bogged down in the builder stuff so it turned into a transcend game half way through.

Didn't keep a log - I will on the next pass. Strategy was confused, didn't run FM at all, generally pretty woolly stuff. Transcended in 2293, but could definitely do better.