NooB queries

[Drakan]

Hi

I've picked up again my SMAX and have a few questions:

(I'm playing on Librarian):

1. Why is it that when I try to conquer a base (which I think is the main base of another faction) I keep getting this message that I'm overflanked or something ? This is not true. I come along with 14 impact rovers and there are no other units in the vicinity (even formers). So I cannot take that base where the leader hides, very frustrating.

2. When do other factions surrender to you ? I've had factions with only two cities and would not surrender...

3. Should I design units with additional PSI combat to fight other units (aswell as aliens and native life forms) ?

4. I finished the game (turn 2500) and I was leading on every aspect but the game didn't say I'd won. I had all victory conditions enabled. You cannot win by points ? Do you have to specifically win with one of the victory conditions ?

That's all for now, I'll post more questions as I play more and get to know better this wonderful game. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

[Senethro]

1. I'm not at all sure what you're describing here. ZoC rules don't prevent you conquering bases.

2.When you've beaten them. They need to have no/little military relative to yours (and newish human players tend to have small super-high tech militaries) and you need to be "noble" and to have dealt with them fairly despite your warmongering.

3. Ummm. I've not often played the game long enough to get psi combat. There might be some use for psi armour on your navy or stuff but its not something I've investigated.

4. As you improve at the game this really isn't something that will trouble you at all
Soon enough you'll be winning all games before 2300.

[Senethro]

I made this as a tutorial for PBEM multiplay but it may be of interest to you.

forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=3829617

Open it as a "load multiplayer game" and "hotseat".

The password for each faction is the colour of each faction, except for the peacekeepers which you can set yourself.

The Gaians are showing pop-booming. You need to know this. Each base has a +6 growth rating because of Democracy/Planned/Childrens Creche. The effect is cloning vats style population explosion.

The Hive is showing ICS, infinite city sprawl. A method of resource gathering where cities are fed by intensive farming using supply crawlers and workers are changed to specialists. (press F2 and look at its lab output)

The Morganites possess another use of supply crawlers, the energy park. Note the land and arrangement of echelon mirrors. Also note Morgan base facilities and theeffect they have on econ/lab output.

The Spartans/Believers are having a small war. Not interesting to you unless you want to see how combat is done on multiplay.

The peacekeepers have the most votes and can call the council. Again, this is just to show how council works in MP.
Hope this helps.

[Drakan]

Many thanks Senethro . I'll read the tutorial.

[Kinjiru]

Regarding your first point, do you have a pact/treaty with anyone? If so, they might have a unit of theirs inside the base of the faction you are trying to take. (If they have a pact with that faction, of course).

[Drakan]

I do, with the Pirates which happen to be right besides the Data Angels' base I want to take over.

Could that be it ? Or is it a data angels sensor which I haven't destroyed ?

[Kataphraktoi]

likely a unit hidden in the fungus. move units into all 9 squares around your units then reload and kill it.happans all the time in my experiance.

[Senethro]

Aren't units in fungus made visible when they interfere in ZoC?

[Flubber]

You cannot capture a base with another factions unit inside IIRC. You need to either

1. kill that unit , necessarily going to war with the unit you killed OR

2. Convince the occupying faction to break pact with your enemy-- bribes may work or a probe frame job-- Either way the base will be vacated and you can move in OR

3. Wait-- its possible , even likely that the unit is on the way to somewhere else and next turn or the next will be out of the way

Sensors are no problem and you should not need to move into 9 tiles to see a unit that is ZOCing you. I find whenever I can't move due to ZOC issues, the unit impacting me becomes visible even if in fungus.


More generally, a treatymates unit will ZOC you but a pactmates will not. If you already have a unit adjacent to the basethough, this should not be a problem. I have never had ZOC issues prevent actually entering a base.

Oh and probe teams ignore ZOC as do aircraft so an easy way to get past the issue is to move a probe 1 tile and then move your units onto your probe. ZOC never applies to movement to a tile where you have a unit. Unless thre is a wall of units, using probes or aircraft will always let you slip through gaps

[RedFred]

Regarding question 4, you need to achieve one of the victory conditions. So conquer all the belligerents, vote your self victory in the council, build the Voice and Trancendence Projects, or corner the energy market (best left until you've played a few games)

There are a couple of exceptions to this if you are the Aliens. One can't Transcend and there is the 'build the beacons' option.

[Kataphraktoi]

or win by creating 6 subspace generators(as aliens)

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Cataphract887
or win by creating 6 subspace generators(as aliens)

and that differs from redfred saying "build the beacons" how exactly?

[Senethro]

Many organisms contain redundancy in their organs, so therefore by the power of bad analogies, it must be good for forums to do so as well.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Senethro
Many organisms contain redundancy in their organs, so therefore by the power of bad analogies, it must be good for forums to do so as well.

True-- I really shouldn't nitpick-- I wouldn't want people going through the forums picking out where I missed stuff

[Kataphraktoi]

it differs because he posted his after reading the above replies while i simply said it without reading first.