What's up with the Expansion Factions?

[Kataphraktoi]

In Civ2, I didn't popboom: I didn't know how. So I could beat Emperor, but at best came second to the AI in Deity.

You can popboom in civ2?? goes to show how weak the AI is,if i beat diety with handicaps and never bothered. do you mean with WLTPD? i dont remember paying attention by that stage.popbooming without noticing

In general, factions that are handicapped by being too specialised, should have significant research and production bonuses in those specialties, so that they can effectively exploit them, even though remaining handicapped in other areas of research and production.

I would make a case that specalization is very important-say,just specalizing in research instead of nativelife is better, is all.

IMO, only the aliens are overpowered. The other factions are pretty well balanced out of the box. I've done pretty well with some of the factions, though I've always had trouble with industry challenged Pirates and Planet Cult. If anything, I'd say the new factions are more unbalanced between themselves than in comparison to the old factions, but even then such issues will easily be rectified by a good run of pod pops or cagey play.

Best factions imho-drone,univ,hive. 2 of those are from original...
i think...any of those 3 beat caretakers. the biggest thing they got going is free rec tanks...

[Zoetrope]

Due to too much MOO2 and SMAX it has been such a long time since I had the pleasure of playing Civ2. So it took some effort to remember "We Love The [President] Day" (in SMAC terms, a "Golden Age"). Yes, that's what I meant.

In Civ2 the extra psych (sorry, luxuries) necessary for almost always seemed unaffordable.

Indeed, even in Alpha Centauri I generally set psych as low as possible (generally zero). It's easier just to choose a faction that can get +6 growth with Children's Creches, Democratic and Planned. Unless I choose the Cybernetic Consciousness or Morgan or (and this is ancient history already) the Hive.

Aki and Morgan have enough efficiency and/or economy to pop-boom via golden-age much of the time, so I ought to try that more often.

However, high population growth has one drawback up to my mid-game: I rarely have enough nutrients! Yes, it's true, I neglect condensors. Buit it's mostly that my colonisation effort runs ahead of my formers.

Another neglect of mine is boreholes. It's ages since I drilled one. It doesn't help that I get discouraged because I cannot remember the rule for where boreholes can be built.

In multiplayer, these weaknesses may be grievous. If SMAC/X is still popular after I (Gw) complete my thesis, I hope to find out just how grievous!

[Kataphraktoi]

Long as you have a good pod-outcome editor, you should be fine

just kidding, really

Another neglect of mine is boreholes. It's ages since I drilled one. It doesn't help that I get discouraged because I cannot remember the rule for where boreholes can be built.

Same pattern as cities. just spam them down with 1 tile apart spacing. build or get the WP and lower terrain if you need to.with 8-10+ formers its pretty easy(i just spam formers on the job)

In Civ2 the extra psych (sorry, luxuries) necessary for almost always seemed unaffordable.

Thats why i though of WLTpresidentD as if you arnt in demo with civ2, what gov are you running? (used 2-3x city spacing vs AI that gives mondo strong cities with a demo-beeline, probably not really viable but who cares)

[John D Ward]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi if you arnt in demo with civ2, what gov are you running?

Fundamentalism

[binTravkin]

Univ penalties are by no means severe. I can't imagine less handicapped faction, both for newbies and vets.

I would skip this whole very seriuos discussion, but for this one hilarious quote..

[Maniac]

What's so funny about it?

[Kataphraktoi]

Im with maniac here... i wasnt even aware the univ had penalties. oh wait, you mean 1 drone\4 people...?

[Lazerus]

and shock horror -2 probe

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi
Im with maniac here... i wasnt even aware the univ had penalties. oh wait, you mean 1 drone\4 people...?

Yup that is just SO significant once you get to the point that the first citizen is a drone anyway

[binTravkin]

Erm, me bad..

That was a stick in a turkeys cage.

[Kataphraktoi]

:mrfun:

[binTravkin]

(+1)

[Marid Audran]

Original Poster here:

Part of my tweaking the SMAX factions has to do with a personal ethos, you might say, that the secondary, "child" factions should not, de jour, be equal to their parents. They should have a "tougher" time of it, due to the fact that they had to abandon the structure and resources of their origins in order to create a fringe colony; a colony of a colony, if you will, a meta-colony. So, I don't believe that a coterie of researchers that decide to augment their bodies with cybernetic implants and start a new society should have the same staying power of the University, or any of the other six SMAC factions. Same with Roze's "Hacker Nation," in fact she's a more blatant example, or the Free Drones, who would most likely run into serious walls without all those diplomats and doctors, researchers and scientists, bureaucrats and barristers they were "liberating" themselves from, like many utopian experiment cradles in history.

Of course, at the same time, one can't punish these progeny factions too much otherwise there's zero appeal in playing them, and I have to tailor them to the demands of my alphax.txt, ipso facto. However, I continue to modify them, in fact, this thread and some older-running rumination of mine has made me revise the factions yet again (well, at least two of them).

It doesn't feel "right" tinkering with the original seven SMAC factions, again down to my personal ethos, which is why even though I feel the Hive and Uni are easily overpowered vis-a-vis other factions, I don't touch them (but rarely play them in a normal game).

Thus also applies to single-playing scenarios, self-limitations, and modifications; multiplayer doesn't concern me. Especially since many MP strategies appear to be homogenized to the point of being rote (barring a rover-rush, b-line to Ind:Auto, crawl to death, pop-boom, B-line to Fusion or MM:I, win).