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Author Topic:   Automating Formers bad idea?

DaveDan posted 02-16-99 06:40 PM ET
I had been playing a game for awhile and got tired of controlling the formers myself so I decided to try an automate them. After that they just seemed to wander around aimlessly. One of them built a 4 square mag lev tube and spent the rest of the game going around in circles. The other ones would make a rare improvement, but were more likely just to move back and forth between 2 squares.
Anyone else have this same problem?
Dave
DaveDan posted 02-16-99 06:43 PM ET
Not sure why this posted twice as I didn't intend to.
Dave
MadKraut posted 02-16-99 06:47 PM ET
Yep, automated formers are useless, and doing it all yourself is very tiring ... where are hte forming-cues ?!!
Kraut
SolitaryMan posted 02-16-99 06:54 PM ET
I find that automating formers was only a viable option in the beginning when you were groping in the dark, and even then they did not do a very good job. My advise: do your own terraforming, because as you mentioned the formers has a witty ability to terraform usefull things into useless drivel. I usually do alot of different terraforming in the beginning of the game to get my cities paced up, but after I get those techs that allow me to build treefarm I do not build anything else than forests and mines.
PrinceBimz posted 02-16-99 07:02 PM ET
Try auto improving home base, 1-2 formers per base. When they are finished, set them to fully automated. Auto improving saves time during the later game when you have a large number of bases. There is times when it becomes neccesary to manually do your terraforming. I get plenty of use out of both ways auto and manual.
Stormhound posted 02-17-99 09:08 AM ET
Well, think of the fully automated formers as a highway crew left to their own devices...<G>
(Hey, cool! We can build a mag tube and zip around it for days on end, and they'll never catch us!)
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Author	Topic: Automating Formers bad idea?
DaveDan	posted 02-16-99 06:40 PM ET I had been playing a game for awhile and got tired of controlling the formers myself so I decided to try an automate them. After that they just seemed to wander around aimlessly. One of them built a 4 square mag lev tube and spent the rest of the game going around in circles. The other ones would make a rare improvement, but were more likely just to move back and forth between 2 squares. Anyone else have this same problem? Dave
DaveDan	posted 02-16-99 06:43 PM ET Not sure why this posted twice as I didn't intend to. Dave
MadKraut	posted 02-16-99 06:47 PM ET Yep, automated formers are useless, and doing it all yourself is very tiring ... where are hte forming-cues ?!! Kraut
SolitaryMan	posted 02-16-99 06:54 PM ET I find that automating formers was only a viable option in the beginning when you were groping in the dark, and even then they did not do a very good job. My advise: do your own terraforming, because as you mentioned the formers has a witty ability to terraform usefull things into useless drivel. I usually do alot of different terraforming in the beginning of the game to get my cities paced up, but after I get those techs that allow me to build treefarm I do not build anything else than forests and mines.
PrinceBimz	posted 02-16-99 07:02 PM ET Try auto improving home base, 1-2 formers per base. When they are finished, set them to fully automated. Auto improving saves time during the later game when you have a large number of bases. There is times when it becomes neccesary to manually do your terraforming. I get plenty of use out of both ways auto and manual.
Stormhound	posted 02-17-99 09:08 AM ET Well, think of the fully automated formers as a highway crew left to their own devices...<G> (Hey, cool! We can build a mag tube and zip around it for days on end, and they'll never catch us!)