I forgot how addictive this game is...

[Col. Emil Furst]

So I reinstalled- managed to even get Crossfire working.

There went my day. Talent was much too easy, even though I was rusty, so I think I'll give a new game a go soon.

Never tried Cult of Planet before, or even going the I-Love-Planet route, so I figured I might try that.

Any strategies? If I use a mostly mindworm military, can I be effective?

[Commy]

With certain strategy, mindworms can prove to be the best military ever. But, if you go that path, choose the appropriate faction (gaians or cult), and get the appropriate SPs and techs. Neural amplifier and Dream Twister can make amazing psi units, and the Weather Paradigm, Xenoempathy dome, and Pholus Mutagen, will be good for planet as well. Take use also of the Manifold Nexus, because late in the game, using only fungus for resources, you can have better infastructure than Morgan.

Of course, choosing appropriate techs is helpful too. Remember that, to a certain extent, psi can bipass technology. A 1-1-1 unit will do just as bad against a demon boil as a 1-100-1 unit will. So don't go for techs like applied physics or non-linear mathematics, go for centauri empathy, fieldmodulation, biodaptive resonance, and all the centauri techs. And don't waste time on command centers and naval yards, go for the biology labs and have them instead of network nodes. And of course, build mindworms...

[Velociryx]

You can be *brutally* effective! The Cult is one of the most unusual playstyles, and quite fun!

One thing you will HATE though, is the whole, lack of industry AND lack of economy....really makes for a whole different game than all the rest, so embrace the Planet, cos it's the only real card you've got to play!

If you play with pod scattering on, you can be a real nightmare, cos you can catch worms better than dee, and quickly become the undisputed king of pod popping.

Once you get to doct mob (which I would make a big priority), expand your worm catching ways into the water, and go grab some IoD's! Most versatile tranny in the whole game, and if you troll fungus early and often, you can have a sufficient worm force to decimate a near neighbor before they can even get to Sothb. Do that to make up for your own relative slow build speeds and you're rolling.

Focus on the market lovers cos they're pushovers for your native life and they tend to have lots of tech... Once you've eaten your near neighbors and duly turned them into worm food, and terrorized all the market loving factions into submission, it's a piece of cake!

-=Vel=-

[Qwerty88]

Cult can be very useful with mindworms also because of the double police efficency. Also for Cult if you can get the Manifold Nexus and use Green economics and Cybernetic future society you can get a +70% Psi attack as well as +50% for dream twister and with the right secret projects and facilities +50% for demon boil right when there made. Late in the game Cult has unbeatable Psi units if properly played.

[Flubber]

Re: I forgot how addictive this game is...

Originally posted by Col. Emil Furst
If I use a mostly mindworm military, can I be effective?

I like the cult as a fun game to play but mindworms have a limited time in which they are most usefull. The fact that they are equally effective against a 1-1-1 as a 13-8-3*4 is a double-edged fact. While they can kill the super unit, they also die to the basic scout.

the earlyish worm rush can be devastatingly effective but by the mid-part of the game, a predominantly worm force is dead meat because

1. Artillery knocks the stuffing out of them
2. They are slow-- if an opponent has eliminated fungus paths, that opponent will be hitting at you on the way in
3. Opponents will easily counter with cheap trance and empath units
4. Artillery knocks the stuffing out of them
5. Sensors spot them in the fungus
6. Did I mention-- Artillery knocks the stuffing out of them
7. Worms are expensive compared to units that can counter them


Don't get me wrong-- I like the gaians and cult and enjoy a good worm rush. If you can annex lands or subjugate someone or simply spend time building other things since a worm force takes care of itself, you can have a fun game .. . and it can be a a bit of an equalizer if at a tech disadvantage.

So my advice is a bit contrary to commy-- if you are trying to go military you MUST get some good military tech to go with your worm forces. If you don't , your opponent can build their cheapest possible units with no fear. Even if you win 2/3 of battles, you would still lose a war of attrition given the respective costs of what you are losing. Also if you can stack your worms and IODs with high weapon arty/ships, you at least aren't just throwing them away. . . since with all respect to worms/IODs, if they come into arty range without the arty protection they are dead . . and its not even difficult

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Qwerty88
Late in the game Cult has unbeatable Psi units if properly played.

There isn't a unit out there that is unbeatable when outside a base. Your best worm with all the Special project still gets killed one against one by an elite empath unit.-- Your Planet rating is irrelevant when defending, but the attackers is not

Also arty arty arty

Oh and stack arty and worms and then see stuff die to a self destruct, and an arty barrage.


I'll say it again, nothing is indestructible outside a base- Name a unit combo and there is something of similar overall mineral cost that will kill it.

[Commy]

Also, unless you have very high support ratings, supporting alot of worms can be a problem, mostly because clean reactors can't go on mindworms.

[Chaos Theory]

Native life in fungus does not require support, for what it's worth.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Chaos Theory
Native life in fungus does not require support, for what it's worth.

True and thats why worms are so good early when you can keep them in the fungus and even use fungus paths right up to an opponents bases. But to be an effective force attacking someone that is somewhat developed, you have to come out of the fungus.

Personally I have never been that fussed about support anyway so I don't see the inability to be clean as a HUGE drawback unless you plan to field very massive armies

[GeoModder]

Huh? Do you mean that a Gaian mindworm doesn't take a mineral support from his homebase as long it is hidden in the fungus, but does take up a mineral when out of the fungus, or are you strictly speaking about the native life (8th faction, red flags)?

[Jamski]

That's it exactly Geo.

End the turn on fungus, pay no support.

-Jam

[Illuminatus]

[GeoModder]

/me sees the gates of a whole new tactical and strategical world open up for him...

[Col. Emil Furst]

Well, I ate the world. Locusts of Chiron proved very effective.

Now, I'm thinking another Pirates game, only with a single, solitary goal in mind: Flood the world.

Any advice? I'd need to generate as much ecodamage as possible, and bribe for the polar ice caps to be melted, but it might be doable.

[Jamski]

Its very doable. The trouble is you'll also get wildly wormraped as the sea levels get higher. Like 100 worms a turn...

-Jam