One City Challenge

[fender]

How do start a OCC game.

[Vev]

OCC games is generally single player, although one could try multiplayer but it is not recommended.

The idea of OCC (One City Challenge) is to play using only one city. This gameplay is a good break at times from the intensive micromanagement of 100+ bases. However, you would be trying to scrounge everything you can to boost your slow intial research rate.

The basic rule is that you maintain only one base. Any base you captured has to be either dismantled or given away within a few turns. So you are not to keep captured bases.

From my experience, larger maps thens to be easier as you are given more time to be left alone. Smaller maps means earlier contacts and forced into the fun job of diplomancy to get them off your back.

[Skanky Burns]

Get crawlers.

[Barinthus]

Fender, if you were to take some time to do a search, I'm sure you'll find several threads giving you detials and suggestions on how to play many different kinds of OCC

[Flubber]

Start a regular single player game and only build one city. Search one city challenge and you will see the rules for higher level challenges. personally I recommend just trying it simple to start-- allow yourself to play however you want ( just eliminate any captured bases inside a set time period)

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by Vev
...although one could try multiplayer but it is not recommended.

What a load of hubris! Not recommended by whom?

I once had the opportunity to join a PBEM OCC game as a substitute. It was one of the most enjoyable PBEMs I ever played! I recommend a PBEM OCC game, most heartily!

I would also recommend disabling the Empath Guild if you do this...it unbalanced our game....five players, the PK built the EG. After he eliminated the Cyborgs, he had a lock on the governorship 48:44 (one of us had the AV, I think).

[fender]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought it was every faction had one base, and was wondering how you did that. This is something else again.

I gave it a shot and it sure is a different and very challenging game. To skip right to the end, there was just The Spartans left and myself. She had wiped out everyone else. I had a treaty with her from the start of the game. I had given her some cash, and tech throughout the game as well, but I knew she’d be coming for me some time. Only a few years after she killed off the others she said she was sick of my money grabbing ways, you know the drill. Funny thing is I only had 95 credits at the time. I was able to hold her off for nearing 75 years of siege, but in 2477 I was toast.

I don’t know how you won this type of game. It’s very hard, but interesting. As Lal would say, “My hat is off to you”.

[Vev]

As in not recommended to start off with, due to the huge number of turns this game needs to go through. You really need someone arranged on the other end to pass forth and back the saves quickly.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by fender

I don’t know how you won this type of game. It’s very hard, but interesting. As Lal would say, “My hat is off to you”.

Actually . . . once you learn how, it can be a very easy game to win. My normal method is to help out one or two factions that are less agressive and which have compatible SE choices. I have NEVER had an OCC come down to just me and another faction since I keep giving tech to my chosen friends, enough that they will not get conquered.

Also, I don't think I ever went as long as 2477. If you create a super-science city with all the lab enhancements and Specials Projects, you should be able to finish up before then

[Vev]

Unless you decide to create a faction with -1's to economy, industy, growth, research, efficiency, planet, support, probe and throw in tech stag and blind tech to boot. Makes for quite a long game, especially starting near to the Hive.

[Lazerus]

the 3 OCC's i've lost have all been to the Hive, ESPECIALLY with steal tech when conquer base on, normally has fusion needlejets ripping me to shreds then in comes a transport and a rover and

AAARRGGHHH

*Doors Slam*

[Frankychan]

Played an OCC game recently, but I was getting my a** handed to me by the Believers and the Spartans. I don't know how, but they both started on the same continent as me, and spammed me with laser infantry and impact rovers.

That was a short game.

[Googlie]

WOW - spurred by this thread I started an OCC game a couple of days ago, and just finished it

I chose SMAX, Transcend level, large map average everything, random factions,random player and drew Yang. AI was Usurpers and Caretakers, Morgan and University, Drones and Sparta.

I transcended in 2483, having built both the Voice and the Ascent

I was at war during the game with everyone at some time, but for the beginning was pacted with Morgan and Zak, always at war with Marr (who got rid of H'minee pretty early on), never comfortable with Domai (who got busted by Zak around 2250) and ended up pacted with Santiago from around 2300 till the end (we transcended hand in hand). My pact with Santiago lasted as long as a vendetta with Morgan and Zak

A key was getting the PDL - that must have delivered around 30 techs during the course of the game,

Other SP's I got were:

Weather Paradigm
Neural Amplifier
Network backbone
Dream Twister
Universal Translator
Space Elevator

Another key was having a watertight defense - the Perimeter Defence from the beginning helped, but I built the Tachyon Shield and the Flechette Defense as soon as available. I also got a couple of ODP's launched as soon as I got Self Aware Machines - Marr had PB'd a couple of Zak's bases just prior, so i wanted to be absolutely safe. I then took the initiative in StarWars and shot down any other ODP's that got launched. I didn't want to get a turn where mine had been destroyed and PB's were on their way.

Eventually ran Police/planned/wealth/eudaimonic for a wonderful +5 industry, so was able to churn out best weapon/best armor/AAA/whatever units. My base was never once attacked by any of the other factions (but several aircraft or ships came calling and then turned away without attacking)

A final, huge, key was the capture of an attacking mindworm swarm with an empath land unit - I got 4 locusts and 5 mindworms with that one sortie out of my base. They proved invaluable in the late game when posses of mindworms came calling every turn - I was getting about 800 in planetpearls each turn for a while, before I changed to green to stop my forests getting decimated by them before I killed them - after going green and knowledge Santiago liked me a lot better (she was always complaining about my running wealth)

I probed a few techs too, from Zak, and had my 4 locusts out exploring and they were great for pouncing on undefended bases - I must have captured around a dozen of these, with maybe 4 or 5 techs coming too. That same turn (capture) I always gifted the captured bases to Santiago - kept her sweet when I was running wealth

All in all a great game - I have a few midgame saves, plus the penultimate one (end of turn before transcendence) if anyone is interested. I also kept a year-by year log of the happenings in case I'm driven to pen a short story around it.

What a great game smac/x is, isn't it?

Googlie

[Skanky Burns]

Sounds like it is a lot of fun. I will have to try my hand at it when I have time. Of course, I need to get better at the game itself to do so.

[Jamski]

Try OCC on Citizen level first. You really CAN'T lose that.

-Jam