weird....

[john26]

In a game I was playing recently on Transcendi as Morgan I saw some strange society choices by Lal:

democracy
free market
power
thought control

What's the point of a thought control democracy? Strange stuff.

[Straybow]

How else do you make sure they vote for you?

[JustinSane]

I'd say they are trying to have the most expensive, useless army on planet. -3 support -2 industry and +4 morale while still retaining -3 police, which if memory serves causes problems if they leave your territory.

[Leon Trotsky]

I'd say the industry hit is the worst. By that time support isn't that relevant (a single Nessus Mining Station counters a minus in support except for the free minerals per base and in the rare case of +3 support). Police at -3 is a joke; you could support your whole army from a single base and it would still cause a single drone. Then again, an increase of 20% in mineral production is... painful, to say the least.

As for the realism of pairing democracy and thought control, yes, it's quite weird, especially taking into account that SMAC's democracy is a perfect one, truly representing the will of the people via Ethical Calculus and all that... but that happens with all future societies (pre SMAX). I mean, Cybernetic Believers? Eudaimonic Spartans? Thought Control U.N. Peacekeepers? What's next, Laissez-faire Collectivism?

[Chaos Theory]

At -3 Police, each military unit after the first that's out of your territory, per base, causes a pacifism drone. Thus, you can still field a respectable army by spreading out your support, but not by concentrating it (without punishment spheres).

[Leon Trotsky]

Originally posted by Chaos Theory
At -3 Police, each military unit after the first that's out of your territory, per base, causes a pacifism drone.

So, basically you can mantain a bomber per base without additional drones (and no more). Everyday I learn something new here...

[john26]

i always knew he was a closet despot. always demanding stuff off me...

[NanoDingo]

I take it he didn't have the Cloning Vats?

[john26]

fraid not...deirdre got that