Pirates of the Monsoon Jungle?

[Ironwood]

Is it just me, or do the Nautilus Pirates always start near the Monsoon Jungle?

[Maniac]

Indeed often they do.

[Hydro]

Or they move there. The AI does seem to know here key features like the Jungle are. The Pirates can much more easily travel to establish bases there.

Hydro

[CEO Aaron]

Yeah, the AI beelines for the Monsoon Jungle if it's anywhere near it, and the Pirates just have the most mobility early. Actually, you're lucky if it's the pirates sitting on the Jungle. Miriam or Yang on the jungle is the only way the AI becomes frightening, imo.

[Gremnon]

Odd, I've never had any problems with beating Miriam off the face of Planet.
Maybe it's because I often use the Nerve pods on them despite the atrocity caused.

Yang, on the other hand...

[CEO Aaron]

Miriam takes longer to establish roots, as her research is quite crippled, but the last thing you want to see is Miriam with enough population to get a tech advantage, as she's probe immune by default. At least you can beat Yang to the Hunter Seeker Algorithm and probe rape him down to size.

My last big Spartan game actually ended badly because I didn't grow quickly enough (water start, and I hate using Sea Bases), so Jungle Yang was able to steal the Command Nexus and knock out 2 AIs, then DID build the HSA. What's the definition of screwed? Facing a AI opponent with an effective industry rating of +8 without Air Power.

[Hydro]

For true pain and agony have Googlie set up one of his ‘special’ scenarios with specialized AIs (free power sats at the start to goose tech and energy to every base, among other things). If you thought Yang was a challenge due to slower tech (-1 eco), imagine him with 2+ free energy for every base he establishes. Or ditto for Miriam. The AIs rocket out of the gate as far as tech goes, especially the expansionist AIs like Yang and the Believers. Simply put, life sucks and all the tried and true strategies go out the window.

Hydro

[CEO Aaron]

So how do you win at all? I mean, the AI is a bit of a dip when it comes to attacking, but probe raping them when you don't have air power and they do is an unlikely proposition.

[Hydro]

How do you win? Pray you have some room (since there will be no easy crunching of the AI), ruthlessly pop boom and expand your research base, and try all strategies you can think of. This includes shamelessly bribing some of the AIs to be your friend and attack your enemies, probing like mad (although Goog's AI builds special probes like Maniac's mod - ick), and hold on tight.

My Gaians had to resort to gas attacks in suicide charges to wreck populations for about a hundred years before I finally broke their perimeter defense (the enemy on my continent were the Caretakers - which really is a bummer for the Gaians). Air attacks didn't work (free AI sat defense thingy that defends a base like a sensor and aerospace complex. as I recall), so it was ground attack all the way. Psi was marginally ineffective, and the Gaians aren't all that good at ground combat.

But you can win, but it is a real challenge.

Hydro

[CEO Aaron]

Lots of artillery, I guess. Best way to make unbeatable opposition beatable, imo.

[Hydro]

Indeed - very true. As I recall I placed spoor launchers in nearby fungus to block advances, get a few free shots, and since the launchers in fungus are support free. I have lots of conventional artillery too.

Artillery were key to blunt the surges of invaders that would ineverably make their way to my perimeter bases. The Evil Googlie arranged a funnel at my boarder with the aliens, so almost all Caretaker forces converged on one area. This was both good and bad, but mostly bad.

Hydro