Alien Artifacts and their uses

[MrWhereItsAt]

I was reading the 'You think You Know Everything' PBEM thread in the MP forum, where players post their movements and their reasonings behind them, and I realised that for a long time I have noticed that AAs acquired early in the game are NOT in general used for tech advancement, but more often saved to be used to rush an SP.

Why is this? You can rush SPs with Crawlers or ECs, yet only an AA can give you an instant tech. Is there a reason why people don;t like to use them for this? I can understand reserving them for later in the game when techs are more expensive, but why waste the limited numbers of AAs you get on rushing an SP a little bit?

[Illuminatus]

AAs can come before crawlers, and in the early game each mineral for rushing SP is improtant.

[Illuminatus]

Also, unless you are University, you need to build Nodes to make use of them, so they will just sit for turns and turns - better to use them to hurry a SP.

[Chaos Theory]

Often you get more tech than you can capitalize on, so using AAs for minerals helps rebalance that. Also, SPs are now-or-never. Techs are now-or-later. I'd love to make the trade of 1 tech for 1/4 SP more often than I can. Furthermore, AAs give random tech, which is quite a bit less helpful than what you'd choose (assuming directed research). I'd definitely rather have my 50 minerals than Progenitor Psych.

[Chaunk]

OTOH, I'd rather have Bioengineering than 50min towards the Cyborg factory. It very much depends on the time frame of the game.

[Snowflake]

The first reason for me not to cash AAs in early game for tech is because you don't know what tech it gives you, and if it gives you a tech off your beeline your tech research would actually be delayed instead of advanced. While if you use them for SPs you save crawlers and they can be quite useful in early game too. In the ACDGII Kody delayed the time when Hive build some SPs so that we can use those crawlers as much as we can without giving the SPs to others.

In late stage games however, when your research ability is real high (like 2 or 3 turns per tech) and you don't care that much about tech cost then I'd say it's better to use AAs for tech.

[Commy]

True, ECs can indeed hurry projects, but remember that the first 10 minerals are very expensive to hurry. So if you have an AA complete the first 50 minerals, in some cases, you can hurry the project that turn, for almost half the cost.

Also, by using less ECs for projects, more ECs can be used to hurry units and facilities. Since technology comes every five turns or so, the "free tech" isn't all that important compared to the other uses. Free techs are great. The Universal Translator isn't a crappy project just because it simply gives you free techs, but since there are better uses of AAs, free techs are considered useless. They're not bad, it's just that, when given other options, they're not always that good.

If you want free techs, probe rape someone like Deidre who is on the other side of the tech tree...

[Flubber]

For me, chaos theory hit the key point in his mention that the tech you get from an AA is random. In the early game in particular

1. beelining to your targets is key and picking up an extra tech can add 5 or 10 turns to your time to acquire your key targets. I have actually considered not popping ANY pods for the fear that they will grant me an unwanted free tech. To be blunt, there is about half the available techs that I don't want before I have IA and a few more I wouldn't take in a trade if you were to offer me the tech and 20 ec and I give nothing.

2. Whether against the AI or other humans, the powergraphs ( even thogh they measure bullcrap)matter and you don't want to be too high until you are ready. Extra techs make you look more powerful than you are since a tech lead is easily lost. Even humans, who know that the powergraph is misleading, can't help but be influenced if they see you shoot ahead. They will trade with each other to "catch up" and once they have, what did the AA gain you really?? Having the most techs is irrelevant, even weakening if you do not have RIGHT techs.

3. A key special project may be the linchpin to a strategy such that whether you get it will determine if the strat is feasible or you have to go another way. Sometimes it is appropriate to sacrifice a lot, including AAs to get that key project


So my personal use of AAs has been as follows:

1. I will cash them toward a key project but only if I can't get it through crawlers ad I would be in danger of losing it otherwise. My key projects vary depending on the faction I am playing and the circumstances although I am a bit of a heretic on this board in that I don't see any project as a total gamebreaker all the time.

2. I will hoard the AAs and wait. I do not want to be the tech leader and so I muddle along in the middle of the pack. The goal is to position yourself in tech parity by trades and stealing. Then when you are ready ( bases well protected and good infrastructure .. . perhaps even accumulating a bit of cash) you cash several AAs on a single turn, all the AAs you have. If timed with a pop boom you might rocket up the power charts. This is particularly effective against the AI since they will suddenly REALIZE how powerful you are and hate you but it will be entirely too late. Humans would have noted your unused AAs and the smart ones would realize the potential but its tough to find good counter measures. You can't steal an opponents technology potential, after all.


Summary

There are lots of times that getting a tech early is BAD. There are so many early techs that you can almost count on getting though trade, theft, gift from submissives or from the datalinks. Do you really want to cash an AA for poly soft ?? Or it might give you applied physics when you have already traded and gotten nonlin maths .. . There is a cost to acquiring techs and if you don't believe me , consder you tech cost when you have 5 techs versus when you have 8 . .. its a scary game-changing difference

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Chaunk
OTOH, I'd rather have Bioengineering than 50min towards the Cyborg factory. It very much depends on the time frame of the game.

Perfectly said-- For me once I have sufficient crawlers, I know the AA will be used for tech . . . its just a matter of timing when I want to "tech-boom"

[Hydro]

Hoarding AAs makes sense if you’re using directed research. For those of us that detest directed research there is no reason not to link them immediately to get needed techs. Even when using semi-directed research (as I do) it is often useful to get rid of a tech to ensure your semi-directed objective is more likely to be obtained.

Another problem with hoarding AAs is spoor launchers, and artillery in general. One bombardment will destroy ALL AAs you may have at that base. In the early and mid game this is nothing short of catastrophic. With this in mind NEVER store Aas at a base within 2 hexes of the ocean, or at a base near a fungus field. Keep them safe in a central location. One foil or spoor launcher in an isle (wild or otherwise) can ruin your whole day.

Also, if you have an AA at a base and an enemy destroys your last defender they capture the AA. Note that if they use artillery the AA is destroyed.

For all those Gaians and Cultists, or people who like Green, mindworms will go after AA and love to destroy them, even when paired with a mindworm (who are otherwise ignored). It is really sad when a feral MW attacks your MW, destroying it and your AA in one fell swoop.

To summarize uses for AAs:

* Linking to network node for tech – utility depends on if you’re using directed, semi-directed, or random research
* Cashing for a SP – this is often a good deal since one AA can often be ¼ of the price of the early SPs. This is particularly enticing before industrial automation and supply crawlers are available since Projects take a LONG time at small and medium sized bases with 10 or fewer mineral per turn
* Cashing for prototyping a unit – NEVER do this. It is a huge waste of a AA

Can’t think of any other AA uses.

Hydro

[Commy]

You can move AAs around, don't forget that...

[Flubber]

Hydro

I learned something new as I never even suspected that an AA in a base would be killed by a single arty barrage. But then again, I would only rarely allow an arty barrage of one of my key bases as in my core, I can generally kill natives as they appear

[Hydro]

Flubber - it only has to happen once and cause an impression. As I recall the artifact in question was destroyed by an isle with a spoor launcher that pulled up to a 'safe' coastal base: end of artifact.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Hydro
Flubber - it only has to happen once and cause an impression.

Ouch-- So true

Originally posted by Hydro
As I recall the artifact in question was destroyed by an isle with a spoor launcher that pulled up to a 'safe' coastal base: end of artifact.

So I guess the message is to keep them in interior bases away from the fungus -- or in the midst of your crawler field

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Hydro
Hoarding AAs makes sense if you’re using directed research. For those of us that detest directed research there is no reason not to link them immediately to get needed techs. Even when using semi-directed research (as I do) it is often useful to get rid of a tech to ensure your semi-directed objective is more likely to be obtained.

I agree that cashing AA for tech makes more sense using blind research but I still think I might delay a bit. Cashing early might garner a good tech but maybe not and either way, you have increased the tech cost of subsequent techs