Auto Terraforming?

[Alinestra Covelia]

I never liked automation. Then again, I play as the Hive so that in itself should be ample explanation...

[Blake]

Prehaps people who automate formers also tend to build too many of them to compensate for the slow terraforming they do. I almost always build 1 per base, that handles all the foresting and roading I'll ever do. So on a standard map I have 6-8 formers (coastal bases build a sea former instead of a land former, unless I'm taking the raise terrain route).

Upon getting Clean I usually build lots of clean formers, because by that time I'm wanting to drill lots of boreholes, lay magtube, raise land etc and my original former force would barely handle one of those tasks, so my former fleet often swells to 20-30 super-clean formers. Altough the true Forest and Forget wouldn't require anymore formers, seeing they'll only be laying magtubes.

Only thing to note is I dont (ab)use crawlers much, if your going to bootstrap your industry with forest-crawlers then you'll probably want 2 formers for most bases.

[Main_Brain]

Thats certainly true Blake, but I also think that your Colonisation Strategy plays into it..
And as I never stop expanding.. my lil' Formers Work is never done :=)
6-8 Bases aint my Style *g*
Domai can do it and he does it best!
1 Former for Autoimprove Base and 1/2 (or unlimited cleans) for Empirewide Business (Allroads/Landbridges/Strat.Boreholes etc.)

[Blake]

Even when I expand I still stick to one former per base, so if I have 20 bases I'll usually have 20 formers, or so. And your right, the little formers work is never done. Mine get sent off to war

[Main_Brain]

Short Question you HardCoreTerrafos
If (Under the Automation Options) I only check build Forests will those Formers still build Farms n Mines?

[Adalbertus]

Prehaps people who automate formers also tend to build too many of them to compensate for the slow terraforming they do.

And I thought there was no such thing as too many formers. I usually try to get about two per base (and lots of bases).