no holo theaters for hackers?

[Stormwatcher]

Hi everybody,
after a long time I visit this forum again and hope it is still alive.
After long years of searching, I finally got my copy of Alien crossfire and once again I tremendously enjoy SMAC (now SMAX )

Although I have read the manual, there are some things unclear to me and I hope you can help me with these questions.

I enjoy playing the data angels but I have severe problems with controlling their drones. Is it normal that they can't build holotheaters or is this a bug? I find it quite hard to manage a base which consists almost totally of docs and empaths with noone working!

I also noticed that there are additional pics for the workers, talents and drones. What do they mean? After changing Psych or work distribution some drones change their head size and talents look like they lost hair and took some serious drugs (wide blue eyes etc. ) sometimes these pics are even highlighted.
Perhaps you can help me with these issues.

I had some more questions concerning the X in SMAC/X, but I found these two most irritating.

I hope there are still some gamers out there who enjoy this game!

[Hydro]

Welcome SW!

Holo theatres – it doesn’t show up if you don’t have the tech for it or if you’ve already built the Virtual World. In you have VW then your network nodes act as free holo theatres (which is a VERY good thing!).

Drones – look as your SE and check your efficiency and economics. If you’re running Free Market economics you get no police, which will increase your drones. Another problem is that if you have non civilian units (infantry, rovers, airplanes) out of your territory you’ll get extra drones for each at the base the offending unit is based in. You can check this in the base window, where there are three choices: resources, psych, and unit location – select psych and you’ll see what is causing drones and what is mitigating them. Also, if you have a low efficiency and have lots of bases then you’ll have bureaucracy drones. Also, as I recall the number of drones increases with increased difficulty.

Specialists and Super Drones – there are different types of specialists for your drones: doctors, engineers, empaths, etc. They have different effects on the base’s output. Early in the game all you have are doctors. Double click on the odd looking characters and you’ll see what they do and, as I recall, what their benefits/limitations are. There are also Super Drones (very red unhappy people) that are double strength drones.

Hope this helps!
Hydro

[FullMetalJack]

Hi, I don't yet play SMAX as I'm still new to SMAC, but I noticed that playing University in my 2nd game, hologram theatres weren't available to be built even though I already had the required tech.

It turned out that you needed to build a recreation commons first in each city, then a hologram theatre was available to build at those cities.

Don't know whether this applies in your situation?

[Stormwatcher]

Hi,
thanks for your answers! Seems like anybody's still here after all.
I am quite familiar with building schemes and SPs. The thing is, I ha a couple of huge cities (thanks to Orbital farms, noone is really working on the surface ) with everything built up to tachyon fields but still holo theaters were unavailable. I am really sure I had all requirements, tech, rcommons etc. but they were simply not avalilable.

I have also played SMAC long enough to be familiar with the different citizens and what they do. (Otherwise I wouldn't be using docs to suppress my masses of drones). What I didn't know was that there is something like a super drone, though I was wondering what the extra red background means. Thanks, I didn't know that.

Perhaps I was unclear about about the specialists.
I found that there are also two pictures for some classes of citizens, meaning that there are talents with normal eyes and eyes wide open, workers looking friendly or with tight lips and drones looking slightly female (the normal ones) and drones with a "blockhead" looking more masculine.



Am I the only one who is seeing things?
They often change their status when I start to build something, a unit or a facility.

Hmm, I was sure everyone else had noticed them too.

[Petek]

Stormwatcher,

Can you post a save file that illustrates the hologram theater problem? I set up a game with the Data Angels (using the scenario editor) and was able to build one.

Petek

[Whoha]

also in order to build hologram theatres you have to have rec commons built I think.

[bluetemplar]

Both genders existo for workers and drones... not sure about the Progenitors.

[Googlie]

When you get a worker with the wide-open eyes, it means that you are almost getting a talent (they are sort of half-talents)

You get them often when you put a psych-enhancing facility in the build Q

eg - try early on putting a rec commons or a holotheater in the Q and you will see their eyes open wide

And I don't know why you can't get holotheaters (and I have never seen a requirement that a rec commons be built first)

It sounds like you might be using a slightly amended set of rules???

[Petek]

Originally posted by Googlie

And I don't know why you can't get holotheaters (and I have never seen a requirement that a rec commons be built first)

It sounds like you might be using a slightly amended set of rules???

I'm pretty sure that Rec Commons are a prerequisite for Hologram Theaters, just like Tree Farms are needed before you can build Hybrid Forests.

[vyeh]

Rec Commons as a prerequisite for Hologram Theatres are not in the manual, but you can test that it is a prerequisite. Use the scenario editor.

And yes, there are undocumented features in SMAC ...