Group mentoring?

[civcop]

I decided yesterday to wait a while to buy Civ 3 and instead bought SMAC for the now reduced price of $10. The game manual is in Acrobat format and, I'll be honest here, I really don't want to spend the time sitting at my PC and reading it through. If it came as a seperate book I would read it (probably at work ) but I can't sit there reading it at my PC when with one click I can bring up the game and play. Call me undisciplined.

What I'm wondering is if the group collective wishes to mentor me toward SMAC greatness. So far I've tinkered around with a couple of games (not taken very far) just to get a feel for it. I am totally lost as to the tech tree and what I should be researching and in what order. In my limited games I built 2 defense units for each base, then usually another pod (or a former) and then something geared toward the base itself (energy storage or something similar). I've also been automating the formers as I've no idea how best to use them. And would someone please tell me how to plant forests with the formers? The only instruction I've found is the 4 cheats that are listed in the disk sleeve (farm, road, mine and something else). Maybe I can become the project of this group, sort of a scientific experiment. Can you take me from SMAC-**** to greatness?

[Purple]

The game manual is in Acrobat format format and, I'll be honest here, I really don't want to spend the time sitting at my PC and reading it through. If it came as a seperate book I would read it

Print it.

I am totally lost as to the tech tree

Download the Teeny Tech Tree (do a forum Search to find the link). And buy Vel's SMAC/X guide.

If you have any specific questions, post 'em here. It's easier to give advice on specific points.

[Fitz]

I'll sumarize some answers to your specific questions/statements:

1) Print out a copy of the Tech tree if one is included in PDF format. The best beelines depend if you want to play fast conquerer or build up resources. Personally, I'm a builder (with little military until later) to the core, so I research like this: Centauri Ecology, Industrial Automation, Envioronmental Economics, Doctrine: Air Power, Fusion Power. Note I left out a lot of techs there, you'll have to figure out the required intervening techs.

2) I usually build as follows: Former, Colony pod, defender, Colony pod (lots). Once I have 6 bases in place (and Industrial Automation tech) I put three bases on secret projects and put the other three to making crawlers (unit name=supply I think). Move crawlers to the cities making Secret Projects, and you get a pop-up asking if you want to disband the Crawler and add the full minerals from it to the secret project. This speeds things up. Then I go back to more colony pods, one from each base (and each new base builds one, etc, to keep expanding in waves of 6). One defender is enough for me. After that I built a recycling tanks, then maybe a network node, energy bank, whatever I feel is needed. Any time I run out facilities to build (and I don't build ALL of them, just the ones I think I need) I build a military unit.

Make lots of crawlers and put them on forests that the base isn't working for extra minerals, until each base has 12-15 minerals. Crawlers are CRITICAL in this game.

3) Don't automate formers. Everyone has a different terraforming stratagy. For some tips, look at threads from the last 30 days and look for the thread called "Help, I'm a terraforming ******" or something like that. My rule of thumb is simple. If it's rocky, mine&road or Borehole (Shift-B key) if possible. Rainy/Moist & rolling, Farm & solar collector. Arid OR Flat, forest (shift-F key). Once I get the ability to build the Tree Farm facility (tech=Environmental Economics) I turn the Moist & rolling into Forests too. Remember to build at least one sensor (o key) near every base. Simple terraforming.

Maybe someone who has the rulebook next to them can type up the whole terraforming hotkey list for you. You can also right click on the former and selsct "terraform" to see the whole list of terraforming options available to you, based on your current tech and the formers location.

4) two important hot keys are "e" for the social engineering screen and "u" for the design workshop. Play with these at length and become familiar with them.

5) Send me a PM with your email address if you want me to send you a zipped word document containing a stratagy guide by Velociryx, a forum resident and extremely good player. Believe me, it's worth printing out and reading (at work ).

[Avenoct]

Learning and refining strategy is at least half the fun in Smac, and I must say when the steep part of the curve was over, so were the best experiences. Additionally, once I read Vel's Strategy Guide, I had a very hard time coming up with NEW strategies to try. If your goal is to become the best player in the shortest amount of time (I can't understand that though), I suggest reading at least the parts of Vel's guide on FOP's, essential techs, and crawlers.

To further spoil the fun, since you asked, here's a smattering of things that a human player might not discover on their own for a long time:

1. Crawlers...crawlers...crawlers. You get them with the tech Indutrial Automation. You use them to increase the productivity and growth of your bases. The AI can't do very well with them, but a human can multiply their benefit incredibly.

2. The restriction-lifiting techs are incredibly important. Genetic Engineering, Ecological Engineering, and Environmental Economics. You can only get more than 2 FOP's (Factors of Production: Nutrients, Minerals, Energy) from a square when its a bonus-square otherwise.

3. Terraforming wins games far more often than Slugfests. Terraform Road (r) and Forest (F) at first unless you don't have a 2-nutrient square in the base radius, then you should (f) farm.

4. You can 'enslave' factions by having them surrender to you. These 'Vassal' states are handy in a number of ways.

5. The early secret projects are the most useful, especially the Human Genome Project, The Weather Paradigm, and the Virtual World.

Good luck,

-Smack

[knowhow2]

One word four letters, repeat it over and over and over.

PLAY! PLAY!PLAY! PLAY!PLAY! PLAY!PLAY! PLAY!

the classical way to play - trial and error.

[civcop]

Ummm...

I forgot to mention that I do not have a printer on my home PC so I cannot print out the manual.
Also, since posting my original message I found and printed Vel's guide (at work, where I do have a printer). Eighty pages!! I'm so bad. My boss asked what it was and I jokingly said it was a guide on how to aggravate your boss. It worked.

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I think I'll start a game after work tonight and try some of what I'm learning out. I'm inclined toward a hybrid style of play and I think I'll try my hand as the Hives. As I come up with specific questions I will post them. Thank you all for your help.

[Blake]

Re: Ummm...

Originally posted by civcop
My boss asked what it was and I jokingly said it was a guide on how to aggravate your boss. It worked.

[Sarxis]

well, if you end up having any unsolvable questions, just email me and I will help you out.

koba@home.com

[Chowlett]

We should probably point out that Vel now has a published updated version of that guide for sale, and to give him his due, it should probably be bought. The link is in the thread "At long last..."

[Fitz]

Actually, it's probably worth the cash to get it in a nice bound format. Since I haven't read it in a year ....

*Fitz clicks the link*