Isle of the Deep attacks

[Wagnaard]

I am playing as the Pirates, its getting towards late mid game and I am getting hit hard by these things. An isle will pop up right next to one of my major bases and it seems to spit out new isle after new isle until my defenses are wiped out and then it raids the seabase until it goes from a super modern pop 16 to 1 or 2 with all the facilities destroyed.

If I launch an air attack against the Isle they are all destroyed, it then pops up near another area and it starts over. I counted close to 20 Ises of the Deep attacking one sea colony before my last unit died and I cant react at all for most of this time.

What is this?

[Chaos Theory]

You're probably causing lots of ecodamage. When this happens, you can have dozens of native life forms appear ("pop") in new (or old) fungus patches within about 3 tiles of offending bases. To cope with this, you need several units capable of attacking native life in each base, preferably artillery. You need to examine seemingly empty fungus to see if native life is hiding in it, especially at sea where you can't build sensors. It's much easier to pre-emptively attack native life than it is to defend against large pops.

Alternatively, stop producing so many minerals!

[Whoha]

You need empath sea units to wipe out that stack before it attacks.

And Chaos, I get eco damage from having all squares worked and producing 1 mineral each eventually. I think orbitals do infact cause eco damage because I've had bases that had no eco damage, then in about 2 turns from all the miners put up had massive eco damage. and the bulk matter transmitter should be renamed the native life transmitter...

[Wagnaard]

Thanks guys. That must be it. I am turning the seas black with sludge and the airs dirty brown with the ash of my genejack factories.

[Chaos Theory]

The Bulk Matter Transmitter actually increases mineral production by 50%, rather than adding 2. This can cause massive amounts of ecodamage and ruinous fungal pops, if you aren't expecting it.

The best unit to take out an IoD stack is a (perhaps clean) empath foil with a nice big weapon, and whatever reactor is cheapest. If you have to deal with locusts, too (which is often the case), make SAM empath foils. Feel free to use long-range fire, particularly vs locusts, as artillery can kill wild native life.

[Qwerty88]

Sat mins don't cause eco damage, but if you use bulk matter, gene jack, nanoreplicator, robotic assembly plants, or quantum converters none of the new minerals are cleen (exept with centauri preserves and such)

Edit: The Space Elevator doesn't increase eco damage at all.

[Whoha]

I suspected that was the case, thanks Chaos and Qwerty.

[Dis]

I also like to clear out all fungus adjacent to all my bases. It gives me time to react and attack them before they attack me. more planet pearls that way as well.

[Mead]

Originally posted by Qwerty88

Edit: The Space Elevator doesn't increase eco damage at all.

It seems to have an effect when my bases producing satallites start making 88 mins versus 44 mins because of its effects.

I found that once I got the Space Elevator I had to pay attention to mineral production at the bases that were making satellites. I would have to either make more tree farms, centuri preserves, and such globally, reduce the mineral production at the satellite producing bases, or get ready to expect some fungal Pops.


Mead

[Qwerty88]

The Spave Elevator doubles mineral production at any base produceing a satalite. After using the senario editor to test whether it increases eco damage as a result though I found all aditional minerals to be clean, so I don't see why it would be different for yours.

[Whoha]

yea ive never noticed eco damage from the space elevator, right now I've got bases churning out 300 minerals to build orbitals but no problems, mean while building 1 nessus mining station would probably send every city in my empire into eco damage

[Natalinasmpf]

Bulk Matter Transmitter raise mineral production by 50%? I guess it IS worth the 600 minerals after all.

Imagine.

Genejack factory + Robotic Assembly + Singularity Inductor (free quantum convertor) + 50% from BMT + Nanoreplicator = 750% OUTPUT

Hmmm, whats the maximum mineral output you people have received? For me its 384...thats about it. I am sure though, that some people have reached 800+.

Although I think its a pity you cannot control your mineral output..."I want to use that area only for the energy!" (ie. When you need energy, or nutrients, but not minerals which have been attracting mind worms of late)

[Blake]

Well you can have a fair degree of control over your mineral output by selling the mineral booster facilities...

The maximum boost is actually only +250%, because bonuses are additive.

[Qwerty88]

Its 757, you have 100%, add +50% to get 150%, 50% of that is 75 so you get 225%, when all facs and SPs are added you get 757% of the origional:
100 +50 +50
150 +50 +75
225 +50 +112
337 +50 +168
505 +50 +252
757

[Blake]

No... It's additive, not multiplicative.