ACDG6: Operations

[vyeh]

We spotted a sea pod. Following Maniac's procedures, we will pop the pod at the beginning of the next year when we have full movement.

Note that our borders have shifted, so another faction (neither Ghost nor Templar) has established a base nearby.

[vyeh]

Currently, Mutatio is expected to produce a colony pod in 2125 and Purini is expected to produce a scout in 2124.

If we spend 7 credits next year in 2123 to hurry the Mutatio colony pod, it will produce one in 2124.

If it produces one in 2124, we can send it and the current Mutatio garrison north to a jungle river base site.

Mutatio will be covered by moving a scout from Purini (or from Genesis and a scout from Purini is moved into Genesis). It will gain one turn of production from the new base and it will be helpful having a base that can reinforce the base that the Genesis colony pod will establish 3 squares upriver.

[vyeh]

The Ghost probe team popped a survey pod and located a bonus nutrient. The river next to the bonus nutrient forest is a good base site.

However, we should focus on establishing another base 4 squares north of Mutatio. It looks like the Ghost colony pod is heading toward the jungle. By the way, we could easily kill the colony pod with the scout that is currently in Purini.

[Hydro]

As long as we get the Jungle closed off by establishing one or two of our bases then the Ghosts are wasting their time. If I'm right, the CP will be stuck going north, then heading northeast to unclaimed territory. Ghost bases are thin on minerals, so sucking up their supply with a wandering CP and scout is good for us. The main threat is that the Ghost scout and/or probe team will pop more pods, particularly by the Jungle.

I agree that getting a base near the Jungle is a priority. We can backfill at the nifty nutrient bonus after we claim our part of the Jungle (and holding off or beating the snot out of the Templar!).

I still think we should hold off warring on the Ghosts. Planet is an unfriendly place, and hostilities too early can be crippling.

Hydro

[vyeh]

For our next two bases, I am looking at the jungle river 1 square south of the Mutatio (north) explorer and the jungle river 4 squares north of Mutatio. The two base sites are three squares away by river, so the second base will be able to support the first base, which is 5 squares away from a Templar base.

Since we now have social psych, we can consider expanding beyond the bureaucracy limit. Once we're able to build missile (A2; laser) units, we can use the scouts to look for more base sites.

[vyeh]

The Ghost colony pod did not move. The Ghost scout moved toward the bonus nutrient.

[vyeh]

The 70% damaged Mutatio (north) explorer joined the Genesis colony pod and Genesis explorer for protection.

[Hydro]

Good - the damaged scout will be good backup, just in case.

I just hope we the nasty Templar don't establish another base, pushing their territory line further south. But then, we're at war so we can establish a base anyway!! Hehe.

It also looks like the Ghost probe, CP, and scout are still dithering. Good. I just hope their probe doesn't steal from us/bribe our base or snag the Unity pods.

Hydro

[vyeh]

I was thinking the damaged scout would take over garrison duties freeing up the current escort for exploratory duties.

As long as we're not in a pact, we can establish a base in another faction's territory, although there is a risk that faction will declare vendetta. Since we're already in a vendetta, our only concern is the survival of the base.

I'm not sure about the probe team dithering. It is using those antigrav struts to move along the western coast of our continent.

Good point about the probe stealing from us. If we hit a resupply pod, we should be careful to spend the funds immediately (unless we're trying to accumulate the funds for a social engineering change) rather than accumulating it.

Nothing we can do about losing tech unless we're prepared to build standard speeder probe teams (30 minerals) or infantry probe teams (20 minerals). Since we have information networks, we can build probe teams.

This is the current power graph:


Note that the Consciousness now claims the most territory and the Atlanteans have the tech and wealth lead; however, the Ghosts are ahead in military and population. As soon as we've researched high intensity lasers, we should consider building laser boats (A4; impact in SMAX) and taking on the Ghosts.

Probe foils are expensive (50 minerals). Otherwise, we could probe the Ghosts.

I did a little experiment. Using my simulator game and the scenario editor, I created a lot of colony pods and started establishing bases.

For the first five bases, every citizen was a talent.

At the sixth base, I got a bureaucracy warning, and the citizen of the fifth base became a worker.

Here is the table (the columns are the # of bases; the rows is the order of the base establishment; T=talent; W=worker):

B: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
1: T, T, T, T, W, T
2: T, T, T, W, W, W
3: T, T, W, W, W, W
4: T, W, W, W, W, W
5: W, W, W, W, W, W
6: T, T, T, T, W, W
7: -, T, T, W, W, W
8: -, -, W, W, W, W
9: -, -, -, W, W, W
10:-, -, -, -, W, W
11:-, -, -, -, -, W

This means that when we establish our sixth base (assuming our efficiency remains +1), the first citizen of the fifth base will become a worker.

Now that we can build recreation commons, I think we need to establish bases at good base sites. Even with the support penalty (the economic penalty only applies to the HQ base), each base contributes to our research.

Besides military tech, we could use industrial base (both for the armor and the ability to build mines) and industrial automation (for crawlers).

[vyeh]

The Ghost scout moved to the bonus nutrient east of Purini. The Ghost probe team moved along the coast. For some reason, the Ghost colonist are still touring Purini.

I think this year's moves are self-evident. The Genesis colony pod will establish a base at its current location. Besides the advantage of the jungle river, there is also a bonus mineral nearby on a rocky jungle square. It currently produces 1-3-0. Once we discover industrial base, we can mine it to produce 1-7-0, which makes this base an industrial powerhouse.

The Mutatio colony pod will continue moving north toward the jungle river and another base site.

Once the Genesis colony pod has established a base, the Mutatio (70% damaged) explorer will investigate the Unity pod to the south. With a nearby base, we don't have to worry about mindworm infestation.

[Hydro]

RCs are fairly expensive so we need to be strategic and only have them in high growth (nutrient special, jungle) bases. We may need our standard (original) bases to keep cranking out units, maybe re-homing them to keep production up.

We may want to start stockpiling minerals at a base so we can get a military unit prototyped and out the door ASAP. We get Missiles (A2) with Military Know-How, and that doesn't cost too much in production and is worth having (e.g. – better than nothing). We'll have to get to High Intensity Laser to get A4 (Fission Reactor (speeder) is the other prerequisite for HIL).

Let’s stick with 5 bases until we’re pretty sure that we can live with the stability problems we’ll get with the 6th base. Bases #4 and #5 in the Jungle are a done deal. Maybe a 6th on the nutrient node the Ghosts popped for us?

BTW, love all the forest!! That was likely the best thing that happened for us. They make building roads a lot more time consuming, but oh well!! Looks like we’ve got the beginning of a decent road network since our former didn’t have to do much planting forests or farms.

Hydro
).

[vyeh]

We should also consider building recycling tanks, once we have enough formers (the new jungle bases will need forests). We may also want to build infantry probe teams to protect our bases.

I believe a 2-1-1 or a 2-2-1 unit costs 2 mineral rows. So a prototype would cost 3 mineral rows. We can accumulate minerals by setting our bases to build recreation commons, then switching one of them to prototyping when we've researched military know-how.

Actually, we'll need to build a forest for Base #5 and we'll want to build a road from Base #5 to Mutatio.

[Hydro]

Agreed. It would be nice to prototype an armor too, but unless we get a trade that doesn't seem likely.

Lots to do, and minimal reasources. Decisons in the early game make all the difference.

Hydro

[vyeh]

We might also get industrial base through a Unity data pod.

The damaged scout discovered a battle ogre!

While we're waiting to research military know-how, we can send the battle ogre with two scouts (Genesis and one being built at Cytosino) to pay a visit to the Templar base at (0, 28). The scouts have several purposes: (1) to occupy a base after the ogre has knocked out the last defender; (2) as designated defender, to preserve the ogre's non-reparable hit points; (3) to prevent a probe team from subverting the ogre.

We should be able to keep the pressure off Cytosino until we can research and build missile units. Since the Templars were actually weaker than us when we first met (that was before we killed the contacting scout), the ogre and two scouts actually have a good chance of capturing or destroying the base at (0, 28).

We'll also want to start building a road from Cytosino toward (0, 28) so we can exploit the victories of the ogre task force.

I agree that early decisions are important. I think once we accumulate 40 credits to switch to anthropocentric or planned, that will increase our resources. Once we can switch to both, we'll be in a pop boom. To take advantage of the pop boom for Cytosino, we'll need formers to plant forests (this will increase our energy production, our research and our income).

[Hydro]

Battle ogre? TOTALLY COOL! I'd bet our power rating spikes! This will give us options, including sending it against the Templar now. I'd rather get a better lay of the land and gets some real units to support the BO before committing it, however. In the meantime it will easily take out any Templar units. NOTE - we need to prevent it and/or the base it is in being subverted by the Templar or the Ghosts. If the AI gets the BO then we're dead.

Looks like Cytosino expanded our borders to include most of the Jungle. Our 5th base on the Jungle-river tile should cement those gains (and more Unity pods!).

Getting energy for the SE changes will be very slow. What's our yearly surplus? I agree we should go Antro, but we need to be careful with Planned due to the -2 efficiency. We're likely to get B-drones when we go from +1 eff to -1 eff. Can we live with the disorder?

Hydro