What facilities don't you build??

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kirov
Skunkworks and Punishment spheres - always need one or two. PSes are often quite handy in situations you guys mentioned - significant airforce under FM. But even then you rarely need three or more.

I must build bigger airforces or something because I can have 5 or even 10 PS's.

NOte though that this will be in games where I have developed some specific military bases with the morale enhancers and no lab or energy facilities. The 50% research hit is almost irrelevant and the ability to pump out military more quickly and without having to rehome any units is great

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Leon Trotsky


Not THAT random - they tend to reward infrastructure building.

I know-- of facilities that might otherwise be useless in some instances

its also not random as they have a greater probability of hurting the leading player

They turn them off in PBEMs simply because they can be unfair-- Imagine a meteor strike in your best base in a hard-contested PBEM that makes it to year 120

OUCH

[WotanAnubis]

Punishment Spheres. It's probably a psychological thing or something.

I also rarely build Command Centres or Naval... something-or-the-others. I'm not militant enough for that kind of thing (since I always play on Way Too Easy anyway, it's not that big of a deal).

[Kirov]

Originally posted by Flubber


I must build bigger airforces or something because I can have 5 or even 10 PS's.

NOte though that this will be in games where I have developed some specific military bases with the morale enhancers and no lab or energy facilities. The 50% research hit is almost irrelevant and the ability to pump out military more quickly and without having to rehome any units is great

I see. I rather build PSes in like 3 bases and then rehome to them until industry comes to a halt. I'm talking SP now, where you don't have to be so prepared. Sometimes it's enough to rushbuild 3 PSes and pancake AI's in the following 10 turns.

Today I noticed that I completely suck at SMAC. I'm losing my grip, can't focus on the game and barely win with AIs. What's wrong with me?

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kirov


I see. I rather build PSes in like 3 bases and then rehome to them until industry comes to a halt. I'm talking SP now, where you don't have to be so prepared. Sometimes it's enough to rushbuild 3 PSes and pancake AI's in the following 10 turns.

Ya if I build bases with just the moarle enhancers I will usually have 1-2 with bienhance and command centre, 1 maybe 2 with bionehance and naval and 4 or 5 or 10 with bioenhance and ac.

But then again I tend to purpose-build bases more than most people. If I see a spot with 4-5 rocky riles , I'm thinking "size 1 military base"-- No energy production but it can easily produce an upgradeable shell each and every turn ( usually commando or elite)

[Straybow]

I've been searching but you know that vB search can't find its own arse with both hands. I can't find the undocumented skunkworks effect on PBs...

[Blake]

I build all facilities atleast sometimes. Facilities I ALWAYS build with extremely high priority:

Rectanks, genejack, treefarm, creche. Along with rec commons or a fun sphere. These are what I tend to rush in to get a base cranking late game.

A few facilities I almost NEVER build:
Temple of Planet (hawhawhaw), Brood Pits, Skunkworks (maybe one), Paradise Gardens, Naval Yards, Covert Ops (maybe 1 or 2 if University and/or running knowledge). Altough Temple of Planet is the only truly useless facility.

A bunch I tend to build just if I have nothing better to build:
Biology Lab, Research Hospital, perimeter defense...

Btw don't diss the biolab. The 2 labs produced are "specialist labs", they are immune to ineffic and multiplied by facilities. In effect the biolab is 2/3rd of a librarian that doesn't need to eat or take up a citizen slot. It's almost as good as rec tanks, especially for tech-starved factions that can't just crank labs up to 80%.

For drone control:
When Marketeering and/or GA'ing bases either get rectank+holotheatre+pysch boosters, or a punishment sphere. Captured bases usually get the fun sphere, unless several drone control/pysch booster facilities survived. As my frontline rolls forward military is rehomed to the newly captured fun bases and the old fun bases get the fun sphere scrapped as their infrastructure allows for pysch-based drone control.

When ruling with an iron fist I prefer police, rec commons and Longlivity Vaccine. I'm not sure why the last one helps so much, I guess they just enjoy my cruel regimes that much.

Genejacks are the ****. And any drone who disses my genejack/fun sphere policies is just a quick reeducation away from being a useful citizen .

[Mart]

Originally posted by Blake
Btw don't diss the biolab. The 2 labs produced are "specialist labs", they are immune to ineffic and multiplied by facilities. In effect the biolab is 2/3rd of a librarian that doesn't need to eat or take up a citizen slot. It's almost as good as rec tanks, especially for tech-starved factions that can't just crank labs up to 80%.

That is very useful info. I never took a good look into Biology Lab. So let us say with:

no other fac. --- 2
Network Node - 3
Research hosp - 4.5
nanohospital - 6.25
fusion lab - 10.125
quantum lab - 15.18

Am I right here?

[Chaos Theory]

Bio Labs do indeed produce tech, but there's almost always a better build.

[Blake]

Biolabs are most useful in blind research games, especially when research wanders off down explore paths and stubbornly resists advancing on Ind.Auto.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kirov


I see. I rather build PSes in like 3 bases and then rehome to them until industry comes to a halt. I'm talking SP now, where you don't have to be so prepared. Sometimes it's enough to rushbuild 3 PSes and pancake AI's in the following 10 turns.

Against the AI you can try all sorts of things and win . . I hit return for 40 turns before founding a base once and still won.

Against humans, you MAY (depending on map and diplomacy) need a bigger standing force. I tend to patrol aggressively and it is not very useful to patrol if you don't have some standing ability to kill whatever is coming at you.

Originally posted by Kirov



Today I noticed that I completely suck at SMAC. I'm losing my grip, can't focus on the game and barely win with AIs. What's wrong with me?

We all have bad games so don't worry . Refocus . . . read some old threads on here and then come back and kick some AI butt

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Flubber
We all have bad games so don't worry . Refocus . . . read some old threads on here and then come back and kick some AI butt

Nah, I can easily follow Kirov. You grow overconfident, lazy and relies on routine; don't patrol; forgetting to secure critical colonies; forgets to check energy allocation; fck's up the expansion etc and suddently you are in a mess.

I have three or four games with different concepts I switch between to get a distance from SMAX.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by BlackCat


. You grow overconfident, lazy and relies on routine; don't patrol; forgetting to secure critical colonies; forgets to check energy allocation; fck's up the expansion etc and suddently you are in a mess.

QFT

Even the best players get lazy and sloppy sometimes in single player since you "know" you can beat the AI.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Flubber


Against the AI you can try all sorts of things and win . . I hit return for 40 turns before founding a base once and still won.

Well, if you don't mind hitting return 10 more times, you should try what I posted here in #45 :

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131768&perpage=30&pagenumber=2

You can't actually do anything else the first 50 turns

[Flubber]

Originally posted by BlackCat


Well, if you don't mind hitting return 10 more times, you should try what I posted here in #45 :

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131768&perpage=30&pagenumber=2

You can't actually do anything else the first 50 turns

Interesting Idea-- so you need the WP or wait a long time to raise land OR send land colonies out by transports to find new unoccupied lands