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Author Topic:   Blind Research and Supply Crawlers

Frank Moore posted 02-11-99 10:34 AM ET
First of all I just got my copy of SMAC so I'm still trying to digest a lot of info right now.
Does anyone use blind research (the default) or do most of you pick which tech to research next?
Also what do supply crawlers do? Can you use them to gather food or minerals from a remote location and deliver them to a city? If so, in what instances is this good to take advantage of?
Zorak Zoran posted 02-11-99 11:06 AM ET

Blind research is the default option, but it's a pain in the butt. Sometimes you don't get some vital technology, like Formers, when you really need it. Trance Plasma Sentinels are nice, but useless if your cities have stagnant growth and no energy.
Pick your tech, I bet the computer does.
Supply crawlers are like Caravans in Civ II. They will contribute 40? minerals to the construction of a Secret Project. They can create a minor trade route between cities by transferring one min/nut/ener from one to the other.
One other useful aspect is that they can transport resources from a distant square back to the owning city. This is very important for Sea Colonies which need minerals badly. Have the city produce a couple Crawlers, transport them to land, and park them on an unused mine.
I guess you could even produce the crawlers at a high mineral town, make the sea colony the home city for the crawler, and then transport it back to land... might be a bit faster in the long run. I'll have to try that and see.
AJ posted 02-11-99 03:32 PM ET
When using supply crawlers to help build Projects, they contribute their cost to the project - so build expensive crawlers to speed things up.
Jonji posted 02-20-99 04:40 PM ET
When you say that Crawlers contribute their cost to a Secret Project I assume that you lose the Crawler when you do this?
Is the advantage to this is that you are converting minerals to money?
NotLikeTea posted 02-20-99 05:29 PM ET
The advantage is that with several colonies all contributing to the project with crawlers, you can finish in 1/2 to 1/3 the time (or better)
It's as if the colonies are all working on the project together.
cousLee posted 02-20-99 05:40 PM ET
crawlers are great, and yes, build them with the psi defense and clean reactor and the best armour available. devote 1 city to this cause once you have the required tech. let the supply crawlers build up(of course work them). it is not a matter of converting minerale to cash, but the minerals required to build the crawler are applied to the project. this would be equal to 4x the energy required to buy the same amount minerals (each mineral cost 4 energy on seceret projects). you can build projects in 1 turn this way. save the crawlers up, only use them on important projects, like if your UoP, the hunter-seeker algorithim (?) is very important. when you use the supply crawlers prior to clean reactors, at least put the crawler on a 1mineral square, so it pays for it's own support.
Dredd posted 02-20-99 07:13 PM ET
I always use blind research. It gives the game a more "authentic" feel. Directing research in the real world often results in other applications of technology besides the intended (case in piont: the Reagan era "Star Wars" progam).
My only use of supply crawlers thus far has been to drill bore holes, send out a supply crawler to the site, and augment a base's minerals to support the units that the Hive keeps gifting me.
theCageMan posted 02-21-99 05:31 PM ET
A neat li'l trick: Build the space elevator then make "drop" supply crawlers and airdrop them anywhere on the map! Like next to the city building the "Voice of planet" or whatever secret project you want to finish quickly...
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Author	Topic: Blind Research and Supply Crawlers
Frank Moore	posted 02-11-99 10:34 AM ET First of all I just got my copy of SMAC so I'm still trying to digest a lot of info right now. Does anyone use blind research (the default) or do most of you pick which tech to research next? Also what do supply crawlers do? Can you use them to gather food or minerals from a remote location and deliver them to a city? If so, in what instances is this good to take advantage of?
Zorak Zoran	posted 02-11-99 11:06 AM ET Blind research is the default option, but it's a pain in the butt. Sometimes you don't get some vital technology, like Formers, when you really need it. Trance Plasma Sentinels are nice, but useless if your cities have stagnant growth and no energy. Pick your tech, I bet the computer does. Supply crawlers are like Caravans in Civ II. They will contribute 40? minerals to the construction of a Secret Project. They can create a minor trade route between cities by transferring one min/nut/ener from one to the other. One other useful aspect is that they can transport resources from a distant square back to the owning city. This is very important for Sea Colonies which need minerals badly. Have the city produce a couple Crawlers, transport them to land, and park them on an unused mine. I guess you could even produce the crawlers at a high mineral town, make the sea colony the home city for the crawler, and then transport it back to land... might be a bit faster in the long run. I'll have to try that and see.
AJ	posted 02-11-99 03:32 PM ET When using supply crawlers to help build Projects, they contribute their cost to the project - so build expensive crawlers to speed things up.
Jonji	posted 02-20-99 04:40 PM ET When you say that Crawlers contribute their cost to a Secret Project I assume that you lose the Crawler when you do this? Is the advantage to this is that you are converting minerals to money?
NotLikeTea	posted 02-20-99 05:29 PM ET The advantage is that with several colonies all contributing to the project with crawlers, you can finish in 1/2 to 1/3 the time (or better) It's as if the colonies are all working on the project together.
cousLee	posted 02-20-99 05:40 PM ET crawlers are great, and yes, build them with the psi defense and clean reactor and the best armour available. devote 1 city to this cause once you have the required tech. let the supply crawlers build up(of course work them). it is not a matter of converting minerale to cash, but the minerals required to build the crawler are applied to the project. this would be equal to 4x the energy required to buy the same amount minerals (each mineral cost 4 energy on seceret projects). you can build projects in 1 turn this way. save the crawlers up, only use them on important projects, like if your UoP, the hunter-seeker algorithim (?) is very important. when you use the supply crawlers prior to clean reactors, at least put the crawler on a 1mineral square, so it pays for it's own support.
Dredd	posted 02-20-99 07:13 PM ET I always use blind research. It gives the game a more "authentic" feel. Directing research in the real world often results in other applications of technology besides the intended (case in piont: the Reagan era "Star Wars" progam). My only use of supply crawlers thus far has been to drill bore holes, send out a supply crawler to the site, and augment a base's minerals to support the units that the Hive keeps gifting me.
theCageMan	posted 02-21-99 05:31 PM ET A neat li'l trick: Build the space elevator then make "drop" supply crawlers and airdrop them anywhere on the map! Like next to the city building the "Voice of planet" or whatever secret project you want to finish quickly...