Progenitor factions - newbie questions

[Hot Rats]

Great to see that people still play this. I played SMAC a little when it came out, then forgot about it; then bought SMAX a few weeks ago after noticing your forum.

For my first game at Transcend level, I thought I'd ease myself in by playing as the Caretakers. I'm doing well, but I'm unclear on how to win. Obviously I must defeat Marr, and I vaguely know that I could build the six communicator thingies, but can I win other ways like conquest or diplomacy?

Whatever the answer, I can't see how a conquest victory is possible when defeated factions can respawn. The University were wiped out, but Zak has now reappeared. I now know I could have set an option to disallow respawning, but given that I didn't, how is conquest victory possible?

A curiosity: Marr took some bases from other factions, and the graphic of the bases on the map remained unchanged. When I took these bases from Marr, the graphic changed - to that of a Usurper base! Is there some significance here, or is it just a bug?

Grateful for any help with these.

[gwillybj]

Someone else will need to answer your Progenitor-specific questions; I don't include them in my games.

As for respawned factions: This will be avoided if you turn on "Do or Die" in the Customize Rules screen during game set-up. "What's dead remains dead."

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I'm certain that progs can win by conquest. Dunno about diplomatic victory; Supreme Leader is right out, of course, but I bet allied victory still works.

The respawning stops happening as soon as all of the land on the map is claimed - your borders go a long way out past your settlements when it's all empty territory, so fairly soon on a reasonable-size map, there's nothing left but a few tiny islands that are hard to make a go of it on.

I don't know if you'd call that base display thing a bug; a conquest always displays as a base of the faction you took it from, IIRC, until enough time has passed for the population to assimilate.

[Hot Rats]

Thanks, Buster.

I don't know if this is anything to do with Progenitors, but I've noticed that the Human Genome Project doesn't always do what it promises, that is give me a Talent. It seems to be when I have a captured base with about three superdrones. The secret project row in the Psych screen does nothing to the citizens. I've read a few threads on the subject of drones but have not seen anything about this problem. Ideas, anyone?

[rod87]

Oh by the way, sorry to deviate the thread a little, but is it possible to make a prog faction surrender to you?

[Kirov]

Oh by the way, sorry to deviate the thread a little, but is it possible to make a prog faction surrender to you?

I don't remember the mechanics, but I'm very fond of collecting pets rather than eradicating them (to which goal I avoid atrocities) and I can't recall any instance of progs surrendering. So I'm pretty sure it's not possible.

[551262]

I don't play SMAC-X much but IIRC Progentior factions don't participate in treaties, so no commerce bonuses there.

Then again, I don't know how much a good Morganite who has the Industrial Automation, Industrial Economics, Industrial Nanorobotics, Planetary Economics, Sentient Econometrics, Environmental Econometrics, is Planetary Governer and has convinced others to double the research rate can get via commerce. Let's see: +2 for Pact, +6 for tech, +1 for Governer (?), +3 commerce for +5 Economy (possible to also have good efficiency at the same time?) nets 12, double that to 24...Dunno.

In fact, I'm not sure why some bases get commerce, or more than others, or simply none at all.

[Kirov]

In fact, I'm not sure why some bases get commerce, or more than others, or simply none at all.

The formula is in the Datalinks. Basically, it's the energy output that matters. Also, the Gov'nor doesn't give 1 Commerce, the job gives you one additional energy from treaties after everything else is calculated.