Democratic, Green, Wealth + GA

[Ned]

Sikander, Ah Ha! Belining to IA clearly means you are using directed research. This, IMHO, makes the game too easy. I use the standard rules which allows the AI its fair share of SP solely due to the fact that they get to some techs first. Also, it really teaches you the value of some techs. If you do not get tree farms until 2350, it really cripples your game! Finally, if one is really brave, and I admit I am not, just leave the Reseach goal to the one the game originally sets for the faction. This really changes the game!

I recommend junking directed research for a more challenging game.

Ned

[Fitz]

Right on Ned. I always play SP blind original faction direction. It's incredibly hard to get tree farms before 2300 unless a faction priority is build, and even then its hard if not pure build. I find the Morganites to be one of the easiest factions to play this way, simply because you can get tree farms as early as 2200-2250.

IMHO, this is the only true way to play the game in SP. Unless you tailor planet against you. I don't mind choosing my research priority in terms of Build/Discover/Explore/Conquer when playing morgan on small/arid/abundant life/agressive factions, or when playing cha dawn on low native life with arid/high seas.

[It'sLikeThat]

Not really about the subject matter, but what does "double" blind mean?

[Fitz]

It means either blind research with all of the priorities turned on, or none of them. It would be completely random if the techs weren't valued differently. Personally, I find it the same as sticking with any one priority, or combination, throughout the entire game.

Try flipping a coin for each priority. Heads, its turned on, tails its turned off. Then stick with it for the whole game.

If you want a really hard game, try miriam, large world, must use her research priorities, and must switch to Fundamentalist ASAP and use it the whole game.

Or Spartans and must use Power the whole game. Several of the factions have oh so fun preferences that can make the game interesting if you try to use them the whole game.

[Sem]

What is "GA?" Thanks.

[Closey]

Golden Age

[Method]

the only problem with using your factions preference is that you get 2 enemies instead of 2 enemies and one friend. my SE is usually police state because if with demo the support penalty is a pain in the ass. add green to counteract the -2 efficiency from PS and the +2 planet and the -2 growth is usually done away with later when i get the cloning vats which i always do(no negative effects from TC and power). then knowlege for +1 efficiency and +2 research and the HSA gets rid of the -2 probe. then after network backbone i get cybernetic until transcendent thought when i switch to TC and power (no negative effects) or stay with knowlege combined with command nexus and cyborg factory you start with elite i think and blow the crap out of everyone! oh yeah + ascentic virtues and living refinery(thats the one where u get +2 support right?) i have + a lot police and +4 support so u don't need clean reactors (remember the cloning vats?)then take about 30% from labs and put it into psych. everyone is happy with the police and psych you can have a huge army with the support, cloning vats and morale and i'm really rich from something or other. so if somehow the conquest thing fails you can always buy planet(corner the market) or win supreme leader. i usually don't do transcend because all you have to do is build a project and you get 2000 points

[Fitz]

Um, if you have the Living refinery and Cloning Vats, why are you still running police? +6 support wastes some of the benefit, and the police aren't needed by that point anyway (you did get the Telepathic matrix, didn't you?), so you might as well run Frontier Politics to get the efficienty back and still have a +4 Support. Besides, with Aethetic Virtue & Thought Control, you have +3 Police already, so you really don't need Police State. Now, I'm perfectly happy to settle for +1 Police and Cybernetic without penalty (Network Backbone), since the Telepathic Matrix stops drone riots anyway, and Cybernetic gives +2 Eff/Planet/Research. So I end up in Frontier/Green/Power/Cybernetic.

But that's all so ridiculously far into the game that it's sort of irrelevant. Since you already won by Conquest or Diplomatic before you even got to Thought Control, or possibly even the Cloning Vats, I don't really see the point of your ramble.

[Method]

well i guess so, but i never like winning so early in the game. i actually won a conquest a few times in the demo before i got the game. it was on tiny planet though
[This message has been edited by TKG (edited March 23, 2001).]

[jones]

Ned:

I have found Morgan to be very effective at warring with a green/police state/knowledge configuration. With 10-20 psych (following an inital 40-50 allocation to spark GA) your bases will maintain GA which keeps econ at a profitable +2.

This is described in some detail in a thread here http://apolyton.net/forums/Archives/...31-000109.html

Now if i could only find the trained/wealth/morale info i was looking for when the search found that thread...

David

[jones]

Sik:

Many excellent points noted, especially higher morale units = better weapon/armor more or less for free.

Have any observations about running Morgan with the SE in my previous post? I think he's a contender for "best faction in war SE settings" as he can still tech/cash pretty darn good while hitting you with a big air force.


David

[Ned]

One more observation, and I really wish I had understood this a long time ago. I am currently playing AKI. With her +2 efficiency (and +2 Knowledge), I am able to run Demo, Planned, Wealth and have all 25 cities in GA with only 20% Psych. Why is this important? Because this is the only way AKI, with her -1 Growth, can POP BOOM. As a result of this SE configuration, all AKI's cities are in a permanent state of POP BOOM, have + 20% industry, + 2 economy, +2 efficiency and +2 research! The combination is simply unbeatable. And I thought Morgan or the Drones were good!

Welcome to the power of the Dark Side!

[knowhow2]

Ned,


I could be wrong here, but I thought Wealth only gave you a +1 in economy so how did you get +2 in economy with that SE setting with AKI?

[Ned]

KnowHow2, It's the GA component of the equation. GA adds +1 economy, +2 growth and +1 commerce. Add this to Wealth's +1 economy to get +2. Add the +2 growth to Demo's +2, Planned's +2, Children Chreche's +2 and Aki's -1 for a total of 7. 6 are needed for a pop boom. Ned

[knowhow2]

ahha,

well there you go, I was wrong and I stand corrected.

..