failed strategies?

[Spacecow]

I've heard that Velocyrix's guides are generally the collection of best strategies for SMAC/X, but is there any collection of failed strategies without looking through a couple of years worth of forum discussions? I was looking at the SMAC tech tree and came up with a possible tech to beeline to (beelining Doctrine: Air Power gives Missile Needlejets, lifts nutrient restrictions, and allows Democracy with relatively few techs leading up to it), but I'm not sure if this idea has already been debunked a year ago. Is there any resource for me to find out (besides posting and asking the forum)?

-Spacecow

[Avenoct]

That's a great question, but I believe there is no single thread debunking strategies. However, you can look at challenge-type games and infer weak strategies from them. For instance, we're getting ready to play a 'no-crawler' succession game. So, not using crawlers is a weak strategy.

Generally, people don't do much debunking around here, and generally, great strategy is one-sided for SMAC. Many of the advanced strategies have no inverse or alternative strategy. For example, Vel mentions that surrounding your continent with sea-bases is a good method of defense, and it is. Not surrounding your continent isn't really a strategy, it's just a lack of employing the surround strategy. In a sense, the best overall game strategy is employing as many of the advanced strategies as possible, in context. So the worst strategy would be not having any plan at all. I've never seen a thread debating the possibility of benefitting from a strategy...more often we debate how much benefit can be derived, and in how many contexts.

-Smack

[Ned]

The one strategy hotly debated here is whether to attack or wait to be attacked when you are playing an equally adept foe. I will let you figure this one out before giving my views.

Ned

[knowhow2]

What about SPs? How many should you build, which one should you build and which one should you not build?

IIRC, the fastest beeline to AtT is ME, SC, TTOE and theVoice.

Not so much a standard strategy but different from time to time and faction to faction.

[fluffy]

Originally posted by knowhow2
IIRC, the fastest beeline to AtT is ME, SC, TTOE and theVoice.

Sounds like the fastest beeline to being planetbustered!

Even AI factions can't resist such juicy targets, so a prudent stategy is to never put more than 1 SP per base.

[Earwicker]

Originally posted by fluffy


Sounds like the fastest beeline to being planetbustered!

Even AI factions can't resist such juicy targets, so a prudent stategy is to never put more than 1 SP per base.

Prudent, yes, but one which denies the incredible benefits of stacking these SP's. Asteroid strikes are more my fear. So most bases won't haev more than one. The ME/ SC/ ToE base is the exception. Accordingly, when playing the AI, there are corrolary strategies to counteract the threat of PB's:

1. Keep the AI (especially aggressives like Yang and Lal) from discovering OSF. Sometimes difficult, true, but well worth it. Assassinate prominent researchers if you must. Avoid researching OSF until you have the HSA (or have loads of probes around to keep the AI's dirty mitts off of it). Because of theft and silly trades, I usually won't even give it top submissives until I have defense.

2. Continually sabotage PB production in the bases of said aggressives. Fusion foil or cruiser probes are ideal for this purpose.

3. Destroy those PB's that are manufactured before they can be used. Make conventional pre-emptive strikes against bases containing PB's. [Warning: extrapolation ahead. Proceed at your own risk.] In combatting the age-old AI tactic of piling 25 conventional missiles in one base, I have found that an effective countermeasure is to damage them with artillery or naval bombardment. Despite plentiful targets (including the attacking ship), the AI would not launch the slightly damaged conventional missiles. They will keep them in the base to heal before use. This might also apply to PB's, but I'd hate to let them get close enough to try it. An 80% damaged PB can still ruin my day.

These approaches can help you buy some time until ODP's are in the sky. Good luck and happy hunting.

[Mr. President]

The best strategy, in Alpha Centauri as in the real world, is to expect the best but prepare for the worst. No matter who your neighbours are, don't neglect to build an army! Most factions turn hostile at some point or another. Once I had all the same social engineering choices as Lal, ie. Democracy, Free Market, etc., and he still turned on me. He wasn't weak either.

The best defense is still a good offense (particularly against the Believers and the Usurpers, who get bonuses when attacking) and deterrence. Really now, would you mess with someone who has an army of Demon Boil Locusts of Chiron?