Probe Activities

[Barinthus]

What's the difference between Mind Control and Total Thought Control?

Last night, as Data Angels, I decided to go ahead and see if I can use my probe team to take over the entire terrority of the Drones to my southwest. I've not played SMAC in a long time (3 years) and this is my first time playing SMAX other than demos. I vaguelly recall that I was able to use a probe team to take over entire faction at once.

So my probe team waltzed into one of Drones' base and I had the following options - Mind Control (or something like that) and Total Thought Control. I assumed that the first option would just take over that particular base and the second is all about taking over the entire faction.

Via saving and loading, I tried both and I succeed on both options. Yet I only took that base with both options so I'm wondering what's the difference?

[Verrucosus]

Total Thought Control is only available if you are at peace with your target. It's more difficult than Mind Control, but if successful, your reputation does not suffer from the probe action.

However, I have no idea about how we are supposed to imagine what is happening in our SMAC word. Maybe with Total Thought Control, you make it look to the other faction as though the base had always been yours?

[Barinthus]

So with Mind Control, my reputation would suffer while with Total Thought Control it wouldn't?

There's no way to take over the entire faction via a probe activity?

I hate not having a manual and only datalinks as my resource

[Lazerus]

If you're at peace with a faction and use mind control it counts as an attack.
If you're at peace with a faction and use total thought control then the action remains subvert and the other player/AI has no right to attack you, so the peace remains.

atleast thats the way its always seemed to work for me.

[SynthetGod8]

Obviously your recollection of past games is inaccurate. if you have enough cash and probe teams within reach, you can buy all the bases, but not all at once (correct me if I'm wrong).
As for the practical definitions of Mind Control and Total Thought Control is that Mind Control would be like taking control of the base's governor and having him or her declare the base as part of your faction.
TTC would be influencing every citizen through propaganda and/or mind-altering gas in the air so that every citizen wants to be in your faction and will not put up a fight or rouse suspicion that any probes were responsible.

[Main_Brain]

Corner the Energy Market is actually buying all Bases I think.

[Hercules]

No, Lazerus has it right as far as I know

[Hercules]

But what determines the cost of buying the base, units and facilities.

[Archaic]

IIRC, under Total Thought Control, you don't normally suffer the Conquest Drones (ie. Extra Drones for 50 turns, though I don't remember the specific formula for how many are created) in the base, as you would if you simply Mind Controlled.