question

[d=me]

Right now I have the tech for the Rlaser skimship with silksteel armour where everyone else is still using the impact skimships. but I don't have enough of them built and the Gaians are across the map. I'm playing defensive again and sending 4 probe ships into her base. I downloaded all her techs and disabled the drone control facilities in her size 8 bases. But the military units are still going to waste.

[BlackCat]

Just out of curiosity - why do you put rlaser on your ships ? They are horribly expensive and only helps in psi attack. Missiles are just as good and much much cheaper - the same goes for armour.

[d=me]

I thought r laser is the best. They are a psi weapon right? It's either that or the impact gun. It's only 200 years since planet fall.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by d=me
I thought r laser is the best. They are a psi weapon right? It's either that or the impact gun. It's only 200 years since planet fall.

NO they are not a psi weapon but they do have an added attack value when attacking a native. Against conventional units they have an attack value of 6. Missile weapons also 6 are cheaper.

If you have been on PLanet for 200 years you should go back and revisit the basics of research--

[d=me]

Originally posted by Flubber





NO they are not a psi weapon but they do have an added attack value when attacking a native. Against conventional units they have an attack value of 6. Missile weapons also 6 are cheaper.

If you have been on PLanet for 200 years you should go back and revisit the basics of research--

I'm on level 5 techs like the presentient alogs. Everyone else is behind me.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by d=me


I'm on level 5 techs like the presentient alogs. Everyone else is behind me.

Ehrr, missiles is a level four tech, so they should be available.

Besides, if you are so far ahead, you shouldn't have any problems fending off whatever the AI throws at you.

Saves ?

[CEO Aaron]

Your relative position compared to the AI isn't the issue, it's that you went off your beeline to pick up Resonance Tech for no real fathomable reason.

It seems like you're not approaching your research with concrete goals in mind. The tech tree is littered with lynchpin techs in various fields, getting to these key techs first can often be the foundation of a strategy, particularly University strategy. Your research advantage isn't doing you much good if you squander it on mediocre techs.

Any SMAX game can be broken down into 3 distinct phases. Those phases are, in general, defined by when certain techs are discovered and implemented. The early game is generally defined by exploration and base foundation, and ends when you've discovered the techs to uncap per-square harvesting limits (Environmental Economics). This also gives tree farms, and kicks your faction into the midgame. During the midgame, the focus switches from spreading to new bases to building up your established core bases, pop booming and building facilities to increase your production. Finally, the endgame is typically heralded by the end of serious military threats, and the arrival of spaceflight, and satellites, hab domes and finally transcendence.

Any faction's strategy is going to be defined in part by it's tech choices, but those choices are all the more important when playing the University, whose principal advantage is the ability to grab pivotal techs early. If you're going for a builder strategy, you want to beeline for Environmental Economics and get to a pop boom as quickly as possible. If you're going for a momentum game, beeline for Synthetic Fossil Fuels and Air Power. You can try a hybrid strategy, aiming at being the first to grab fusion power, and the significant military, economic and technological benefits offered by that advance.

A quick examination of the tech tree reveals that Field Modulation and it's subsequent techs only offer accesss to more resonance weapons and armor, which, as Flubber points out, are just overpriced alternatives to conventional weaponry that get a slight bonus against native life (and other psi units).

My point here, and I assume Flubber's too, is that when you're picking techs, you need to gauge not only what that tech gives you, but also what techs it's going to give you access to in the future.

[Kataphraktoi]

Actually he had blind research turned on, at least for the savs he uploaded before.

[d=me]

Originally posted by BlackCat


Ehrr, missiles is a level four tech, so they should be available.

Besides, if you are so far ahead, you shouldn't have any problems fending off whatever the AI throws at you.

Saves ?

I have some level 5 techs but I don't have EVERY tech that is below level 5. I can't build enough Rlaser boats to ship over the map to fight. If I send what I have they are going to be outnumbered.

[d=me]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi
Actually he had blind research turned on, at least for the savs he uploaded before.

Even if you don't didn't the manual say that it's a bunch of random techs and not every thing that is available?

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi
Actually he had blind research turned on, at least for the savs he uploaded before.

Blind or not. 200 years should be enough to be much further up the tech tree-- Aren't these games at a level less than transcend?? Granted that blind may slow your development a bit but it seems the OP should learn more of the research and economic fundamentals before worrying about military tactics

[Flubber]

I actually don't recommend "blind" research for a beginner. Its my belief that by initially playing "directed" research you get a batter sense of what the various techs do and begin to understand better which ones are desirable. Then onceyou have mastered the SP game at that level, you can try the slightly greater challenge of a "blind" game

[Kataphraktoi]

IMHO the game plays a bit better with blind research for funs sake,and my first game, thinker+blind, was somewhat of a draw in the 2300's...it was a fun change from civ2,anyway.(of course i played univ homed in on research bonuses )

Blind or not. 200 years should be enough to be much further up the tech tree-- Aren't these games at a level less than transcend?? Granted that blind may slow your development a bit but it seems the OP should learn more of the research and economic fundamentals before worrying about military tactics

Which is what i referred to earlier ''you just need more bases, crawlers, and formers for a better industrial base to get a leg up on the AI''

Even if you don't didn't the manual say that it's a bunch of random techs and not every thing that is available?

Its not random, each tech allows another tech,and ussualy techs have 2 pre-techs. so your tech choices will be based off your current techs

[CEO Aaron]

Yeah, 'Blind' research is far from random, you still need to satisfy the tech tree prerequisites in order to progress, blind just lets your research priorities inform an automatic decisionmaking algorithm as to what research picks you'll take. Like Flubber, I absolutely recommend turning blind research off until you can beat the game at Transcend, if you're serious about becoming skilled at SMAX. Once you've mastered a few tech beelines and know what techs lead where, blind research can be a fun way to increase the challenge level of the game.

[d=me]

No, I mean non blind research is random. what is beeline?