Is it wrong...

[Snowflake]

What systems?

[Ouro_827]

Flechette Defense System. Only way to stop missles. SMAX improvment... It isn't online that I can see.... from memory, stops all incoming missles, and 25 or 50% chance of stopping PB if defense pods fail..
Applies within two spaces of the city in which it is built... I can check later...

[Santiago_Claus]

I hate having 8 zillion build queues to manage, and I push crawlers onto forest like crazy to overcome Morgan's supply problem, so I use a "3-overlap-max" rule.

20 - 3 - 3 = 14, but that's just coincidence.

To adhere to the "3-overlap-max" rule you cannot build bases closer than 4 squares apart, except for bases 3 diagonal squares apart.

I use this pattern not for efficiency but for my own sanity. Picking out the same builds base after base drives me nuts.

My early terraforming strategy is classic "forest and forget": build a few formers, plant forest and build crawlers, and once the crawlers start running out of room and competing with the base workers switch back to formers. Since forest grows itself this "lean" strategy mitigates the early support problems.

Incidentally, support problems end long before clean reactors -- they end with the Supply Crawler.

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by Jamski
ICS is the counter to PBs. Who cares if a few of my 250-300 crappy size 7 bases are destroyed?

-Jam

Well if they happen to contain vital SPs....

But OTOH if you have 250 bases, you probably have energy coming out of your backside.

I'm curious, IIRC farther a base is from the headquarter, less effective it becomes. So distance is a factor. What about number of bases? Or it doesn't matter, only distance?

[CEO Aaron]

I don't pay too much attention to spacing anymore, I just try to plunk down bases as quick as possible. My only rule is that every new base must be at least 3 squares away from any other base. That gives me plenty of room for every stage of the game. By the time your tech allows you to work all 20 squares in a base radius, you can make more money just by using satelllites and specialists.

[Ouro_827]

After you pass the critical mass point, you get extra drones.... don't think it affects efficiency though...

Flechette Systems do +50% chance of Conventional Missle failure within two squares, and, should Defense Pods fail or be non-existent, +50% to stopping unconvential ie. fungal, tectonic and PB missles within two squares. Don't think it requires an Aerospace, but I'm not sure.... Available with N-Space Compression, for which Orbital Spaceflight and Biomachinery are prereqs...

[bondetamp]

Originally posted by Jamski
Well, just because I'm too lazy to install Photoshop...
[snipped base placement description]

OMFG!!!

Someone are actually using that strategy!

Please, please, tell me you got it from here and I'll be your friend forever.

[Barinthus]

Ok my head is spinning so much it hurts

What's the difference between bondetamp's spacing stragety and Silkandar's? Or at least a link to a thread explaining Siklander's?

[Frankychan]

Originally posted by Jamski
ICS is the counter to PBs. Who cares if a few of my 250-300 crappy size 7 bases are destroyed?

-Jam

I care! Every base is important to me!

But since my constant PB encounters, I've opted to go for A "coastal" setup. I like to think of it as having two separate industrial bases.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Barinthus
Ok my head is spinning so much it hurts

What's the difference between bondetamp's spacing stragety and Silkandar's? Or at least a link to a thread explaining Siklander's?

Bondetamp's spacing is maximal IIRC, ie every fourth tile is a base. Mine is half maximal, with every eighth tile a base. So his bases have one borehole and two condensor / farms / soil enrichers and the base square itself. Mine have two boreholes and five condensor / farms / soil enrichers.

The advantage of my system is that it provides a better return in the early / mid game, as each base has almost twice the minerals to build facilities and produces almost twice as much for the same investment in colony pods and facility maintainance.

The advantage of his system is that it provides a better support to tiles terraformed ratio (each base need only improve 3 tiles while Sikander spacing requires 7 improved tiles) and grows to maximal size twice as fast once nutrient satellites are available. Each base would be 15 population after nutrient satellites are available, and you wouldn't need to have hab domes to max out your population. You would also only need half as many sattelites to maximize your bases. In my method you can grow to size 15 1/2 without satellites if you have soil enrichers.

[Skanky Burns]

Another advantage of ICS is that with only 1 worker, drones are not a problem at all.

[Barinthus]

many thanks, Sikander.

Is there a screenshot somewhere to help illustrate this?

[Sikander]

Originally posted by Barinthus
many thanks, Sikander.

Is there a screenshot somewhere to help illustrate this?

Here's a discussion of base spacing where I lay it out:

http://www.apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?postid=547355#post547355

Somewhere there are a series of saved games illustrating the build game and perfection spacing, but I'm having trouble finding it using the search function.