What's your ICS priority?

[livid imp]

So I finally really got a handle on the whole ICS thing. Yea, I know I am slow, but ICS really goes against my min/max nature. Anyway, I have been using the city/borehole checkerboard spacing....ruthlessly efficient.

My question is when maintaining your spacing and you run into a base tile that has a rocky/fungus in it, do you clear the rocky/fungus? Do you just ignore it for now and come back later? If so when do you come back? Do you find it crucial to pre-form the area before you plant a base, or just spread as fast as possible?

I know there are several threads on this already. But I want to get people's most updated opinions and techniques

[smacksim]

A difficult question. I think everyone handles it differently. Placing a base 'off-grid' can screw up a borehole checkerboard, but doesn't have to for any other base but the one 'off-grid'. Typically ICS is about the growth process, rather than about after-the-growth process, when one gets to clean up the mess. Thus, I almost never wait to clean up a square, espcially if: I don't have clean formers, It's rocky and fungified, not essential to pushing my borders or gifting to the AI.

Instead, I just plant the base off-grid and live with it, at least until I've moved the CP wave far beyond it. Then, especially if I have the PTS, I might build CPs at the 'bad base' and disband it while formers prepare the proper square. But that's kinda nitpicky.

-S

[Hydro]

I ICS to a bit past the bureaucracy limit, unless I’m Yang with PS or have lots of drone control.

My base grid is rather loose, and is violated if a base needs to be established (eg – a CP waiting around is a massive waste of resources). I try to have 2 sectors between bases so they can defend one another, but that gets violated, too, if there are juicy specials or a good reason to establish a base elsewhere.

I think this gives my beautiful empires a more organic look, as opposed to a ridged grid. I know I dislike cookie cutter suburbs, and a pure grid is like that for me. A little variation makes life more interesting.

Hydro

[Blake]

I think the most common technique is to just skip the tiles that can't be built on, early on it's difficult to get enough tiles to work anyway, due to rocky and fungus that takes time to clear. So you just found bases in the pattern, and once you have some spare former time clear the rocky & fungus and fill in the gaps.

IMO the most dense ICS is actually counter-productive, unless it's in the Jungle, giving bases a bit more land increases their minerals, which once put through a genejack allows construction of better shell units (ie 30 mineral ones)

For example, with 8 tiles to work (half as dense spacing) a base can grow to size 18 on pure forest (hybrid+orbitals), produce 24 minerals - which is 36 with Genejacks, that allows construction of 30 mineral shells, and 6 minerals left over for support. The terraforming requirements are also not anywhere near so high, and because you only have half the bases, you only need half the infrastructure (well, likey you'll invest in Treefarm and Hybrid Forest, but these do give another +100% energy).

Also, another thing it is not uncommon to only space half as densely at the start, then once you get sky hydroponic labs fill in the other half of bases. After all, a base crawling two condensors can only grow to 5 before orbitals and enrichers, it makes sense to crawl another 2 condensors to grow to size 9, the bases can also work 2 boreholes to build infrastructure faster, as pre-engineers there isn't that much cash for rushbuying.

[Skanky Burns]

I build cities on the grid, come back to the more difficult squares later when they are terraformed. Fugus + rock? Just throw more formers at it!

[Blake]

Insane, most those bases are too small to support specialists.

But I find the naming hilarious. And total costs, -3

[Method]

Oh, how I want to throw a singularity planet buster at D6...

[Archaic]

Oo;;

That's....a lot more dense than I was expecting. Is the style Skanky uses there the same dense style everyone else is using now? I was expecting something more along the lines of having Boreholes at the cardinal points with a base in the middle.

[smacksim]

I've done that, but usually after satellites . My densest for normal play is a bit lighter on the bases. Same borehole-condenser pattern. How boring. I only do that when I'm going for score, not even in MP. It's just boring to work with for me.

-S

[binTravkin]

Insane, most those bases are too small to support specialists.

Skanky is going to have Orb SpaceFlight in 10-15 turns I think and THEN ... KABOOM (pop booms HUGELY)!

with all the following things (as for example research at 1tech turn & more)

[binTravkin]

And

Is the style Skanky uses there the same dense style everyone else is using now?

Not really, but it's the best to get powerful very quick!
(Im using it 100% times, even in SP)

I only wonder why the hell Skanky is researching L5 tech at 2212 - it's too late for that

If I use Morgan for ICS (best fac for ICS!), I can get Orbital by around 2190 - 2200 and then the game is over..

[binTravkin]

Oh, how I want to throw a singularity planet buster at D6...

If you don't use the same system in game vs Skanky, where he's Uni & you're Morgan (the best for it), you will be able to drop Fuison PB there around the time he will be able to answer you with a Singularity one..

If only you proberape him to death..
But it's 10% possible, because he will get all the SPs past L4, if you're not ICSing (HSA as well)

[Archaic]

What's the production like *before* Orbital however? The game should be decided long before that, not because of it.

Maybe someone could create a scenario we could use two compare the two styles under optimal circumstances?

[Skanky Burns]

I still need to work on my tech beelining somewhat.

[Chaunk]

Chop and drop would deal serious damage to that at probably 2170. The only hope would be to get the CBA I think.

ICS looks ugly anyway... My least favourate strat...