Terraforming enhancements (mines, boreholes) don't give proper bonuses??

[Krallus]

I just bought SMAC recently and upgraded to version 4. I've also tried fresh installs and the 3.something patch. Everything I do doesn't seem to get rid of this glitch:

Mines built on rocky squares, with or without a road, only give +1 to minerals (giving 2 total) .. they're supposed to give +2 (and +3 with roads).

Worse yet, a thermal borehole only gives +1 to minerals and +1 to energy..they're supposed to give +6 to both!!

What's wrong?.. how do I fix this.. ug. I like the game so far, but this glitch is making the game pretty difficult and frustrating.

Thanks.

[Lefty Scaevola]

There are also technology limitations to the maximum a tile can produce. Except for the +2 from the map bonus resources. a tile may not produce more than 2 of one type until you have tech:

Gene spicing for nutrients;
ecological engineering for minerals;
environmental economic for energy.

Pages 36 to 38 of the manual for expansion on this info.

[Avenoct]

Lefty has it right. It's one of the great things about the tech race...do you go for airpower or what is called "Restrictions Lifting"? Each of the three restriction lifting techs has additional benefits as well, some of which are also critical in developing your faction. Its almost always best to get these techs before you concern yourself with nearly anything else. By the way, there are a few ways to get your production up earlier. The number one way is with the much adored Supply Crawler! Industrial Automation gives you the ability to build these and can be gotten much more quickly. Research Industrial Base (which also gives you Synthmetal Armor), then Free Market, then Industrial Automation. I usually have 4 or 5 crawlers per base in the early game harvesting 2 minerals each from forested squares. Quite often you won't be given the choice to bee-line these directly, but it's probably the most important bee-line if you can manage it. Finally, the cheapest and quickest way to beat the '2-maximum' to your FOP's (factors of production-nutrients, minerals, energy). is to use bonus squares. A forested minerals square yeilds 1 nutrient, 4 minerals and 1 energy. A forested nutrient square is the very best friend to a young and primitive faction- 3 nutrients, 2 minerals, 1 energy. This is such a useful thing that I always build one of my first two bases in range of one of the two of these bonus squares if at all possible. Good luck Krallus, and let us know how it goes.

-Smack

[Krallus]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies! I guess that reference to the "limited until the discovery of..." didn't really sink in. I was playing Gaians and built the Weather Paradigm secret project which gives you almost all terraforming capabilities. A lot of good it was doing me with those limitations in place, though, eh? I guess I never really thought the limitation would be a mere "2". Well, it's a bit of a relief that those thermal boreholes I built won't completely go to waste! Ecological Engineering here I come! :-) I haven't really sat down to analyse good/bad strategies. I'm still feeling my way through the game -- and enjoying it! I may be a SMAC late-comer, but I'm sure glad this forum is still here and active!

Thanks, again!

Krallus

[Avenoct]

Krallus, enjoy your discoveries of strategy. It's the most fun period in playing a game like SMAC. I'd almost advise you not to read anymore posts for about a month b/c there are some very useful tips/cheats/strategies in this forum that shorten your trip toward the 'right' strategy. Particularly valuable is Velociryx's guide, which you'll find along the cookie trail in the forum threads. It's probably best to come up with stumbling blocks and post them here and get an answer or 30 rather than read the guide or the other wonderful tips in the forum. Just an idea. The whole forum should be titled 'Spoiler!'. Let us hear about your game as you get the restriction lifting techs.

-Smack

[big_canuk]

Krallus:

If you have the WP, then there is one exception to the restriction of limits: A condenser farm can produce more than 2 nuts. On a moist or rainy square, it will produce 4 nuts, even pre-gene splicing. More on jungle and/or nut bonus squares. There is usually a very small window where this is a factor, but can be extremely important for the Hive and/or with blind research.

[Earwicker]

Although the Weather Paradigm allows you to build boreholes in advance of techs that allow their construction, those are the same techs that allow you to fully expoit them.

However, as Smack pointed out, the bonus squares are the wild-card in the equation. Pre-restriction-lifting, a borehole on a mineral bonus gives 8+ minerals. Energy's still only 2 so it can be a good place for a crawler on it. Similarly, an energy bonus is a great place for an early borehole (esp with a river), since it will give you the full 8+ energy.

Not to say that WP isn't great. The doubled speed of formers, raising/lowering terrain, and drilling to aquifer are all huge plusses.

[Method]

ah yes the ENERGY restrictions. oh i do know them well. i had the WP and boreholes in every rocky square like i normally do. of course once i got enviro econ my labs breakthroughs went from 29 turns to 6. oh the wonders of boreholes. this was playing as the hive too i might add.

[Ken Hinds]

One more Exception that I try to take maximum advantage of in the early game. Those solar flares and other random events that add significant temporary bonuses to your base(s). Just remember to keep track of when they are going to expire or you could go into an unexpected shortfall situation and lose population or units at a very bad time.

Ken