ACDG6: Organization

[vyeh]

This is the game organization thread for Alpha Centauri Democracy Game 6 ("ACDG6"). This thread is for all matters relating to the organization of the game.

Bodissey, Nahkrinoth and I recently completed ACDG5.

The three of us are interested in organizing a SMAniaC demogame.

We've had some preliminary discussion in the ACDG5 organization thread in these posts: #324, #328, #330, #331, #332, #333, #334, #335, #336, #337, #338 and #339.

[vyeh]

Nahkrinoth,

Maniac has suggested that you look at The Genesis Project custom faction since you are interested in vertical expansion instead of horizontal growth:

Originally posted by Maniac in the ACDG5 organization thread
The faction's theme is genetics. Its gameplay centers around popbooming. If you want to attract newbies who want to learn something for this ACDG, that faction might be a good way to practice and improve popbooming skills.

This faction gets free Children's Creche (it's called Hatchery in SMAniaC) with the discovery of "Exowomb" which can be researched immediately.

This faction also can have size 9 bases without hab complexes.

Its economy is -1 (which means its HQ base square initially produces one energy instead of 2) and its support is -1 (which means that initially it can only support one unit free per base).

Knowing your interest and wanting ACDG6 to be different from ACDG5, I support Maniac's suggestion.

Would you be willing to play SMAniaC with The Genesis Project custom faction?

[Bodissey]

Hey ho! Hey ho! To pop booming we'll go!
With children's hatches and habitats,
Hey ho, hey ho, hey ho, hey ho! (ad libitum).

[Hydro]

Hi all,

SMAniaC is a LOT of fun and plays like a new game. I’ve had the chance to play many of the factions, and I’ve played a few factions in PBEM.

Some initial observations:
• SE and the factions are much different, so selecting a faction requires more than just looking at its bonuses – you have to look at what types of SE or suites of SE you are likely to use. This is important since the SEs in SMAniaC have vastly different mechanics. For instance, in a PBEM game as SMAniaC Morgan I neglected to realize that the energy-related SE vastly reduces support and industrial potential, which crippled my early game. I put on blinders and was punished for it.
• The SMAniaC tech tree is designed to make other strategies workable. In SMAC you just can’t beat B-line to Industrial Automation. I had great fun as SMAniaC Gaians and Bree – Green is very powerful (in my opinion) and you can stay green and become a powerhouse.
• Psi combat works much differently – old assumptions may get you killed. My observation is that single defenders in bases are more likely to die. Some Green factions can efficiently have an all Green army of worms. In fact, the Bree may be overpowered – so much so that I call them a Red Faction.
• Planet ratings work much differently in SManiC. Frontier SE gives you -1 Planet, so even the Gaians can’t capture worms. Trance gives you less benefit (punishing factions that turtle), and if you have a large negative Planet rating life just sucks if there is a worm outbreak nearby.

Some factions play much the same as SMAC. For instance, I played SMAniaC Uni and was able to have a game that seemed at least somewhat similar. Other factions (such as the Bree) are more than a little odd (aquatic, but can’t build sea colonies to start!) and require more planning or you’re done.


Also, be careful that some SMAniaC factions perform differently. In most of my SP games the Templars seem to do very well. In my last PBEM game (as Morgan) my opponent was the Templars and crushed me like a bug. A few other faction observations:
• The Republic generally seems to expand slowly and not do very well. They are a good first victim, kind of like Morgan but with no energy
• Ghosts (aquatic faction) spam colonies all over the place, and they are not nice neighbors. Their tech is generally poor (look at their default SE and you’ll see why)
• Templar (somewhat like Believers, but with better default SE) – expand well and are dangerous neighbors.
• Atlantians (aquatic) – not as expansive as Ghosts
• Bree (quasi aquatic) – the AI generally does poorly with this race, but I think they are fun to play. +2 Planet and Green in SMAniaC is VERY powerful since they are one of two factions that can capture worms and IoDs to start (the other is Cult). Note that they have to keep their IoD from being killed or they will never expand since early colonies must be to land.
• The Genesis faction is like the PKs – good all around faction. The support and energy penalty will limit your early research and units, so be careful. Be warned - the SE will interact with you in ways you will not expect.
• Empaths – have only played this faction a few times and don’t recall anything special about them, but the AI doesn’t seem to do much with it.

I did a pretty thorough workup of SMAniaC factions, SE, tech, etc. I encourage you to look it over (even if it isn’t quite complete – but there is a LOT there). Even better, play a few games so you can get the flavor before you do the Demo game.

Lastly, I love exploring the new options and strategies that the new factions, changed SE, and tech progression give you. As I mentioned, it plays like a different game – so have fun!

Hydro

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Hydro
•The Genesis faction is like the PKs

There is a difference. Because of their +1 Talent, the Peacekeepers are good in ICS. Because of their -1 Support, Genesis isn't.

[Nahkrinoth]

This looks awesome. Let me do some reading.

[vyeh]

Nahkrinoth,

Does this mean you're willing to play Genesis?

[Hydro]

Maniac - you're right. Genesis not having the extra talents is a problem for a fast pop boom. The only SMAniaC faction with talents is the Empaths, who get +1/5 citizens (the Empaths also get free trance with SoHB, +15% psi, -1 police and -2 Planet). Note that in SMAniaC default SE at the beginning of the game that the -2 Planet becomes -3 Planet.

On the plus side for Genesis is their free Hatchery, which in early game to mid game is expensive. The Hatchery sort of makes up for the -1 eco, and they also have -1 support. Both of these are problems from a pop boom/builder point of view.

Also note the SE restrictions of the factions. The Gaians can't pop boom (-1 growth, aversion to Anthro SE) and have Morgan hab restrictions (base size 4). Of course, getting a FREE tree farm when you get Env Eco sure is nice!

So I guess the choice of faction depends on how the players like to play their game. Are you aggressive? A hybrid player? Or a builder? The faction abilities and SMAniaC SE mean you'll have to have a new strategy before you start.

My personal favorite is the Bree (+2 Planet, -1 growth, Priv/Prot SE aversion, IoD to start game). They are very quirky (aquatic faction that can't build sea bases) and the AI generally doesn’t do a good job with them, but it is so much fun to get hordes of worms when the other factions struggle with -1 Planet. Once I go Green I go from +1 Planet to +4 Planet - wheeeeee! I get +2 nutrients in Fungus to start (!!!!), and get more mins and energy as I get more Green tech. Who needs terraformers? Hmmmm? Or when I do get formers I PLANT fungus, which gives free roads to my MWs and lots of resources! And the fungus really bollixes up enemies since it slows them down – and they do NOT want to be in fungus when I defend my bases with my MW defenders. Buwahahahahah! Oh, and did I mention that the Bree can build MWs at the start of the game and that in SMAniaC they only 2 rows of minerals (in SMAC it costs 3 rows)? And these MW hordes cost NO support when they are in fungus!! Can you say Worm Rush? There are no real tech decisions with Bree – stay Green all the way. I get all tingly just thinking about them (and the image of their faction leader is hot, too).

**ahem** OK. I'm all better now.

Hydro

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Hydro
and the image of their faction leader is hot, too)

Was a major reason for adding that faction.

[vyeh]

Hydro,

Which factions (besides Ghosts and Templar) does the AI play well?

Which factions (besides The Republic, Bree and Empaths) does the AI play poorly?

Have you tried the Super AI's?

[Nahkrinoth]

Yes. Let's try that.

[vyeh]

We're playing the custom faction The Genesis Project.

Now let's decide which are the AI factions. I've asked Hydro to identify which factions the AI plays well and which ones the AI plays poorly. I hope Maniac will contribute his perceptions (he has identified the Cult of the Planet Super AI as lethal on the Monsoon Jungle).

Please state your preference for AI factions (either to include as an opponent or to exclude as an opponent).

[Hydro]

I didn’t use the Super AIs in my last PBEM, but in the one before that we did. The normal AIs didn’t do much and were a light lunch for the Templar human player (even the Hive easily fell to the Templar). The Super AIs did much better and were a threat until late mid game. So go with the Super AIs.

Here’s my laundry list of how the AIs perform (in general, with observations a mix of normal and Super AI).

SMAniaC Factions:
• Ghosts – as a sea faction the spam sea and later land colonies all over the place. They are very aggressive, but weak in tech. They do use foil probes, so watch out!
• Templar – strong faction. No real tech penalty, with HUGE psi potential (even with -3 Planet). They eat Greenies for lunch. They also eat non-Greenies for lunch due to their 25% attack bonus.
• Republic – weak faction. Only builds a small number of bases and then gets eaten alive by their neighbors.
• Empaths – moderate faction. Expand well, and don’t seem to be aggressive. Seem to get military techs late.
• Bree – generally poorly played by AI. Their IoD can play havoc with other sea factions in the early game
• Atlantians – pretty generic faction; expands all over the place like all sea factions do (easy movement). In my games they seem to be pretty aggressive.

SMAX Factions:
• Aliens – never played, but likely very strong
• Cyborgs – a tech powerhouse. Can get VERY big due to high efficiency. Not terribly aggressive. CAN pop boom (not that the AI can use it, of course)! Fun SMAniaC faction to play.
• Cult – plays much like the Bree, but on land. Gets a slower start due to since they can’t build MWs like the Bree and have a -1 eco penalty (slower tech). But they expand aggressively in many games.
• Pirates – spam sea bases, weak tech (like Ghosts)
• Angels – good hybrid faction. Haven’t played much in SMAniaC (don’t like the faction in regular SMAC)
• Drones – play much like in SMAC. Haven’t used much

SMAC Factions:
• Gaians – do OK. The AI will spam colony pods, but the faction just doesn’t understand getting to Env Eco to get tree farms. If it does then they really do well.
• Uni – does pretty well early but stalls later in the game. Good tech player (better than Aki). Note that the Aversion in the documentation is wrong, which says it is Empath. Actually the aversion is Green.
• Believers, Spartans – haven’t played at all in SMAniaC
• Hive - nasty, aggressive.
• PKs – good growth, late to military tech
• Morgan – weak when run the by AI, just like in SMAC/X

I’d suggest you think of a ‘theme’ and use that to pick factions. Or you could try to balance with 2 aggressive, 2 hybrid, or 2 builder. Or try all aggressive so you can ensure that life will be no fun at all.

Even better, get Googlie to put together a map for you! He has LOTS of tricks that will make you work very hard.

Hydro

[vyeh]

Edit: incorporated Maniac's comments in post #15 below.

If I understand Hydro, here is a summary (along with some information I pulled from the faction files and Maniac's comments in post #15 below):

AI plays well:

Ghosts - aggressive, aquatic, probe
Templar - aggressive, psi
Atlanteans - peaceful, aquatic
Cyborgs - aggressive
Cult - aggressive, psi
Pirates - erratic, aquatic
Angels - erratic, probe
Gaians - peaceful, psi
Uni - peaceful
Believers - aggressive
Spartans - erratic
Hive - aggressive
Peacekeepers - aggressive

AI plays poorly:

Republic - erratic
Empaths - erratic, psi
Bree - peaceful, aquatic, psi
Morgan - peaceful

Haven't played (surmise likely strong):

Caretakers - aggressive, alien, psi
Usurpers - aggressive, alien

At this point, let's decide if we want the alien factions or not (one of the reasons for Alien Crossfire was the inclusion of two super powerful aliens).

Bodissey, Nahkrinoth: Do you want the alien factions as AI opponents?

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Hydro
• Believers, Spartans – haven’t played at all in SMAniaC

The Spartans are a solid faction. They can perform well with about every SE choice, so it isn't possible for the AI to screw them up. Furthermore they are (IIRC) the only faction with Discover & Conquer as their research priority. In SMAniaC this leads them to research Fusion Power earlier than other factions (except perhaps the University). So that definitely makes them an interesting opponent.

The AI is less likely to screw up the Believers too. They still have their -2 Research, but there is no Fundamentalism civic. Instead they favour 'Terraformed'ecology. So they're much less likely to stay primitive for the entire game due to a -4 Research SE, as in vanilla SMAC. The Terraformed SE choice makes them likely to popboom (almost a guarantee with the super AI), so they have a decent production and research base due to their population size.