The Merchant Exchange?

[livid imp]

Originally posted by Ogie Oglethorpe
Livid,

I beleive the +10 from base squares is questionable. The only base square to benefit from ME would be the base that has the ME.

I did not mean to insinuate that number was per base. I was refering to the 10 worked squares a base would typically have by mid game. (Morgan=11 max pop - 1 psyche specialist.)

[Jamski]

You mean worked tiles.

As for being worse than the WP, HGP etc... I don't cry if I miss them either.

I realised recently that the early game SPs are VERY nice, but... in an MP game you can't count on them, and in fact you can gain the advantage by assuming you WON'T get them, and building 10ish more bases instead. Its better than trying to tie up production pre IA, or "burning" crawlers post IA.

-Jam

[GeoModder]

Would you spent AA's prior to having IA on SP's, Jam?
And why can't you count on them in a MP? Granted that those mostly don't take 200 turns, but still usefull to have then I guess?

[Kody]

Jamski, so you'll be cancelling that project then.......

*giggle*

Hey I'm far from asleep.

[Chaos Theory]

In multiplayer, I don't count on any particular SP unless I'm confident I can get it, and that's rare. Instead, I count on getting some useful SP, and when I'm ready to get one in a single turn (from some combination of stored production in a random SP, crawlers, artifacts, the crawler upgrade exploit, disbanded units, and purchased minerals), I pick the best available and take it (assuming an even better one isn't just a few turns away from being available). This is usually the WP or the HGP, but can be the PTS or VW.

[Mongoose]

A clarification...The Merchant's +1 energy bonus applies to tiles crawled/trawled to the base with the SP, as wel as those actually worked by the base's pop.

Also, as I recall, the benefit does NOT apply to worked Fungus tiles.

[Whoha2]

Yea it works with crawlers, which is really nice.

[Jamski]

Jamski, so you'll be cancelling that project then.......

*giggle*

Hey I'm far from asleep.

Hey - I replied to this before... where's my post gone?

You know what I'm up to John

-Jam

[johndmuller]

Since there is that competitiveness in going after SPs in PBEMs, and quite a lot of uncertainty about what your opponents can or can't do before there is infiltration, I don't much like starting early SPs (that I can't finish right away) unless there is a fallback SP available or imminently available on which to spend the big stockpile without wasting most of it. Sometimes I end up with the Command Nexus that way, but hey, having the CN makes you a lot more flexible about where you want to build those military units (and the rapid healing effect at all your bases isn't so bad either).

[Kody]

Hey - I replied to this before... where's my post gone?

You know what I'm up to John

-Jam

Well actually I suspect that's not the real reason. I actually give you far more credit than that.

Mongoose wrote a comment on morgan (or maybe I got that information in email) a while ago about saving up minerals for the first few turns until biogenetics was obtained and hence recycling tanks can be built. This is because making several scout patrols early on isn't quite as beneficial for Morgan with the reduced support rating. Also making colony pods isn't as useful with the -1 growth rating forcing you to lose minerals.

In reality I figured you're just saving up minerals until biogenetics comes along. That's something I was considering doing in that Humcad, but Googlie gave us several special bonuses so colony pods were fine as a first build. I assume that in the recent game that's not the case, as from what I saw the starting terrian seems more like random map terran and not the accelerated starting bonus terran that I seen before.

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by Kody


... Also making colony pods isn't as useful with the -1 growth rating forcing you to lose minerals.

I don't understand this. A GROWTH penalty doesn't force one to lose minerals, a SUPPORT penalty does. Morgan doesn't have a GROWTH penalty, he has a SUPPORT penalty and a habitation penalty.

[Net Warrior]

Kody, I saw that post about Morgan starting The Merchant Exchange SP in his 1st 2 bases while researching Biogenetics ASAP. I thought the idea of switcing to recycling tanks in those 2 bases (even at the cost of a few minerals when you switch) was elegant.

[Kody]

I don't understand this. A GROWTH penalty doesn't force one to lose minerals, a SUPPORT penalty does. Morgan doesn't have a GROWTH penalty, he has a SUPPORT penalty and a habitation penalty.

Umm I've got my facts confused, thinking the size restrictions of the bases equalled a growth penalty. I get my facts wrong now and again. But what I originally meant by that comment was that the growth of the base often doesn't warrant building a colony pod first up.

Kody, I saw that post about Morgan starting The Merchant Exchange SP in his 1st 2 bases while researching Biogenetics ASAP. I thought the idea of switcing to recycling tanks in those 2 bases (even at the cost of a few minerals when you switch) was elegant.

Yeah when I thought about it was elegant, not my idea though.... Looks two posts up and grins.

[Santiago_Claus]

I guess I can weigh in on this. The ME looks deceptively poor, but after actually building it one begins to see its advantages.

The Merchant Exchange, pre-restriction, allows you to get 2 energy from forest WITHOUT running Market, which means you can troll fungus and pop boom and use police all while your best city still gets "Market-lite".

Golden Age / Wealth does the same for most factions.

Factions benefitting most from ME in my experience are UoP, because it's tough to get Golden Ages, and economy- and efficiency-challenged factions for whom ME will represent a significant share of income.

Morgan is, in my opinion, the least able to take advantage of ME: his advantages spread the wealth to all his bases, so he leverages those advantages by expanding early rather than building the ME. Meanwhile Morgan's penalty, lower max base size, limits the effectiveness of putting all the eggs (err, oranges) in one basket.

[CEO Aaron]

Best faction to get ME: Yang.

Let's face it, your energy intake with Yang is horrible, and will be, at best, mediocre. ME gives you one solid tech capital to lead your research charge.

Second Best: Deedee

Again, mediocre energy intake with no easy way to get to +2 Economy.