Random Events Redux

[Frankychan]

Stopped playing SMAC for the day and I'm pretty ticked off. Lemme tell you about the game so you know pretty much everything and can help me out.


I'm playing the Map of Planet and I'm in the upper right corner. VERY early in the game I got a battle ogre and my neighbor, CyCon declared Vendetta on me as soon as we met. I used the battleogre to get her submissive...essentially bottling her up.

I ICS'ed and had basically 30 or so bases by the time all the factions met. On the powergraph, it's no contest. Santiago, Zak, and Morgan have all declared Vendetta on me. CyCon is still submissive, Domai is eliminated, and surprisingly Lal is a pactmate. Population-wise, I have more people than the rest of the factions put together. My drones are a slight problem but I've finally got them under control.

I haven't committed any atrocity, no one has spaceflight, missiles, or any type of nerve gas. I haven't nerve stapled or obliterated any bases.

Landmark wise I started right next to the Sunny Mesa and after almost eliminating the CyCon, I have expanded into the Monsoon Jungle. I've basically stopped right at "Planetneck" so that Aki can have the rest of the continent.

Ok, that's enough data for everyone.

What's happening in game right now is that (other than the Vendetta's) I'm getting hit by hail storms at various bases. I count 5 so far. I've also been hit by planetblight about 4 times. I didn't have time to make BioLabs to prevent it. Prometheus Virus I've been hit 2 times. Luckily I had Hospitals...I've also had 2 industrial collapses, 1 Severe Haze, and a few fungal blooms (no worms).

Basically, WTH is going on? I've never had this happen to me in excess. I remember someone a while ago saying that they actually got hit by a meteor and it wiped out a bunch of his bases. Anyway, yeah, I don't want that to happen. But what's going on? I think it's too early in the game for Planet to get all freakhouse on me.

Can someone explain this to me and help a brother out?

[Maniac]

The leading faction gets hit by bad random events more often.

Try building the HGP or Longevity Vaccine btw. Those make all your bases immune to the Prometheus Virus.

If you don't like random events, you could play with "Bell Curve".

[Commy]

This is all theory, but this is what I am guessing...every turn, some random square, somewhere outhere is selected to give planet blight...it might be two random spots, it might be five random spots per turn, I don't know, but anyway....

Okay, so normally, these random squares choosen to get hit by planetblight don't have any bases in them, so you don't even know about them...except that when you ICS, one-fourth of your territory is bases, and chances are you have a lot of territory...so the chance of a randomly choosen square being one of your bases is a lot higher than normal....

All theory, but it could be the answer...

Being the most powerful doesn't help either...

[Googlie]

here's Prima's explaation of Random Events:

Extraxted from Prima's Official strategy Guide - Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Each turn, the game randomly picks a base. If there are less than 100 bases on the planet, it picks a number from 0 to 99 and if no base corresponds to that number (for example, if it picked "base 80" when there are only 20 bases) then there is no random event.

If the picked base is less than Size 4, or if it is the only base of its faction, or if it is already under the effect of an on-going random event (for example, famine), then no event takes place.

After all the above conditions are fulfilled, one of the events is randomly picked. At the basic level all events are "equally likely" except as marked in the events list (ie there might be an unsatisfied turn requirement for some events, or some events - asteroid strikes - only happen to first place factions)

In practice, if you roll a really good event when you are already ahead or a really bad event when you're already behind, it will tend to ignore the event and do nothing instead

Thus being in first place, and having the majority of bases, will make you more likely to be hit with bad events

[Lazerus]

The answer is get those improvements done and then do some major ecodamage in relatilation and drown everybody but yourself

[Maniac]

If the picked base is less than Size 4, then no event takes place.

Ah, that explains why we still haven't seen any random event.

[Frankychan]

ah, ok thanks everyone. I'm just concerned that it was still early in the game and it felt like I was getting SWAMPED with random events. Never had this happen to me before this bad.

Usually when I'm at the top, i'll get a few random events every few turns, but having 3 or 4 events PER TURN was just too much for me.

Just wondered if all these signs was that meteor impact thing that would happen...wish I could remember which poster said that this happened to him. Kind of wanted to see it.



Oh, as an addendum, I finished that game by just conquering everyone. I got tired of the random events and basically had everyone kneel to Chairman Yang.

[Zoetrope]

I've had the asteroid hit. Like a well-aimed planet-buster, it targeted several good SP bases clustered together.

If you want really bad events, get happy with nerve gas (while sanctions are on). Nerve gas every enemy unit; native worms love the smell.

[livid imp]

Originally posted by Zoetrope
I've had the asteroid hit. Like a well-aimed planet-buster, it targeted several good SP bases clustered together.

That is the single reason I refuse to play with random events. I love random events, but losing several of my most important bases as punishment for playing smart would make me lose all interest in the game.

[Mr. President]

For the first three years or so of playing Alpha Centauri I never saw that asteroid thing. Then I got it three times in a week. Then I didn't see it again for a couple of months. I built about fifteen secret projects in one base because I thought that was what triggered it and I wanted to see it again, but it just wouldn't appear.

[Frankychan]

Mr Prez sighting. ---->


Dang, I still never had the asteroid hit yet. I mean, I'm kind of curious to see how it is, but at the same time i don't want to get hit.

How big is the blast? Singularity-size Planet Buster? Or something entirely different?