Couldn't find mention of this strategy in other threads...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kirov
ICS - Infinite City Sprawl - building you bases in a tight grid (usu 1x1), constructing mostly Colony Pods and formers and spreading until you either cover the whole map or grow tired and switch to some more fine tactics.

No Flubber, I don't think the term is so obvious to everyone...

True not everyone may know the terms. I used "ICS" here to generally describe the strategy of very very many bases with fewer facilities since that what nhs seems to be describing when he talks about not caring that much if a base or two are lost. I doubt that nhs would use tight spacing since he seemed to be advocating getting bases throughout the map as quickly as possible

[Flubber]

Originally posted by nhs_boy
Heh, some very reasonable objections to the strategy - that's what I guess for only playing against a small group of opponents, I guess (house LAN, etc).

True I learn something against every different player I meet. I've probably played 80 different players over the years and I bet if I played you I would learn something new again. THis is true even if I crushed you and certainly true if you crushed me.

Originally posted by nhs_boy
I'd still be in favour of the 'spread far, spread fast' with +efficiency strategy, though. Without boreholes you're unlikely to have much of a tech-lead for your opponent to probe away, and the point of many-small-cities is that you can afford to lose a few improvements / bases.

I can agree that you need to spread fast. Thats why I usually like to try to use the early mobility of the PIrates to find some good land based locations to set up some bases and spread fast.

On spread far, I just disagree. I set up my empires with the idea that at some point I will try to get and maintain a tech lead. So even if I ICS early with the acceptance that I could easily lose a base or bases, there usually will come a point where I will try to create a hard shell of defensible positions. This point is usually around the time that I want to grab a tech lead to get key SPs or just key advantages for a period of time.

Originally posted by nhs_boy
There's no easy way for a non-pirate opponent to hold on to one of your captured bases for long, anyway...

Sure there is with concentration of forces. One typical tactic is to capture a bunch of bases on the turn , sell an improvement in all but one and then gift all but one of the bases to some friendly but inferior AI. So the result when the turn is passed is that you see 4-5 empty bases in the hands of an AI and one very well defended base in my hands. You might recapture all of the AI held bases on the ensuing turn but I don't care since that means I will likely have the opportunity to capture them again and give them away again next turn.

To think you can retake it quickly would have to assume that you have a great superiorty in production and military forces (points which I would not concede). I am assuming we are relatively equal in forces but that you have more dispersed bases such that it was MY choice as to which of those very many bases to target. I am also assuming that we have relatively equal tech. The problem for the dispersed guy is that every tech you get, gets stolen. So a wary human would usually have a tech advantage over the dispersed guy. Even if its only a one turn tech adavantage, that can mean your opponent gets things like the HSA or the cloning vats first.

[Commy]

A small side note...Secrets of the Human Brain, while not generally beelined by most players, can prove to be very, very useful...the Hypnotic Trance ability given by this technology can effectively stop all but the most determined and organized attacks that use native lifeforms...a scout patrol with the hypnotic trance ability costs the same as a normal scout patrol...it would be foolish to not use your first 10 minerals in building a 1-1t-1 instead of just a 1-1-1 unit, especially if you are on the sea where units can be outside your base radius, then suddenly attack your base....

The only exception would be on land bases where a former or other production to help Secret Projects (facility, expensive units) was needed...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Commy
A small side note...Secrets of the Human Brain, while not generally beelined by most players, can prove to be very, very useful...the Hypnotic Trance ability given by this technology can effectively stop all but the most determined and organized attacks that use native lifeforms...a scout patrol with the hypnotic trance ability costs the same as a normal scout patrol...it would be foolish to not use your first 10 minerals in building a 1-1t-1 instead of just a 1-1-1 unit, especially if you are on the sea where units can be outside your base radius, then suddenly attack your base....

trance can be useful but quite frankly I rather attack the natives with my land unit. After all I have basic 3:2 odds unless I am running FM or the morales are divergent. Obviously I'll put it on units for free but I confess I rarely make the upgrade for previously built units

IN an idea world, my units rarely defend against native attack-- I want the pearls from killing THEM

[Commy]

I would agree...offensive action is much more economical...but, if you have a lot of native life, random mindworms that pop up and attack your base on the same turn, well, you can't really do anything about that...

The other thing is early free market...simply put, the odds won't always be in your hands when you attack worms...

Also, this strategy is mostly for a sea based faction, where IoD and sealurks can easily be outside your territory one turn, then 1 or 2 turns later, attack your base without you even seeing them...unless you plan on building boats as your garrisons, it would be kind of hard to attack most IoD or sealurks that wander into your territory anyway, as most garrisons are land units...

In this case, hypnotic trance, atleast in the early game, and prove to be very handy...

[Kataphraktoi]

The thing to note about trance,is on its use with sea units. a transport with synth armour and trance can take out a popped NL easily,and continues on pod popping. this coastal strategy is very powerful,what with the benefits of pods. im using this to great effect in cgn24,where i have maybe 1\3 of all pods popped(on the map) as hive,and outteching morgan\gaia

I rarely have IoD though. i wouldnt know how to get them,with -3 planet and all.... they are quite an ideal unit for this though.

[Sikander]

The Pirates suffer from low base efficiency. By spreading around a lot you reduce the number of SE settings which can produce good energy outputs. A better strategy imo is to build your initial bases fairly close together in order to retain as much of that early energy as possible. If you want to spread out later, going to ground on an empty continent and building bases with a lot of specialists works well, and you can pod boom pretty efficiently to get around the fact that you are going to have a hell of a time GA pop booming those outlying bases.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Commy


The other thing is early free market...simply put, the odds won't always be in your hands when you attack worms...

BUt as a seafaring faction, you should have enough shipping around to give most IODs a barrage or two that should make them pretty easy to kill. Artillery is always a big consideration when thinking how to kill worms