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Author Topic:   Most Powerful Secret Project?

tOFfGI posted 02-22-99 04:14 AM ET
Which secret project is the most essential to have? (Noooo, the Ascent to Trancendance doesn't count!)
I'd say either the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm or the Network Backbone.
Lone War posted 02-22-99 05:35 AM ET
Naw, the most powerful is by far the Universal Translator, as long as you don't play with no Unity Scattering on. In one game the Universal Translator was responsible for more than 15 techs from alien thingies above and beyond what I had already sent through my 22 network nodes. Think of it, 37 techs for free, I never even researched the top half of the tech chart, I had it handed to me. Now, the worst secret project is the Space Elevator simply because once you have it, most of your bases can no longer build satellites without massive amounts of eco-damage. I wish that it would just cut the cost of satellites in half as opposed to doubling your mineral production for them.
jig posted 02-22-99 05:38 AM ET
Depends on your faction I suppose. But for UoP it's definitely the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.
cousLee posted 02-22-99 07:53 AM ET
Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. Weather Paradigim has a profound impact also, not because of the pre-tech abilities, but because of the increased speed.
Scrubby posted 02-22-99 12:11 PM ET
Good poll, I was gonna start one today but here it is...
Best Projects:
Early Game:
1. Planetary Defense Force (unless you are Hive -- even then having it denies it to other factions)
2. Weather Paradigm which allows your terraform speed to be increased. In the long run amazing!
3. Virtual World, makes your network nodes that much better, as if they needed to be. Down drones!
4. Empath Guild, becoming Planetary Governor pays big time.
Middle Games:
1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (again, its best to deny this to others plus it really rocks when combined with Social Engineering choices that penalize Probe)
2. Maritime Control Centre -- I find this to be totally invaluable on anything but a waterless world. The extra movement for naval units is incredible!
End Game:
1. Telepathic Matrix (keep dem drones DOWN!)
2. Cyborg Factory, a bioenhancement centre at every base!

For me, the any Secret Project that creates a facility in every one of your bases is useful. For example, Command Nexus at a cost of 200 creates Command Centers in every base which each cost 40. So long as you have 5 bases or more you come out on top! (keep in mind that those other bases are free to produce other facilities while the Command Nexus only ties up one base).
Secondly, some Secret Projects are useful to build for their bonuses but even more useful is DENYING them to the other factions. For example, as Hive I once made the mistake of allowing the Morganites to build Planetary Defence Force and they were really annoying bunkered up in their bases... grrr. Sometimes I build Secret Projects solely because another faction has started it hehe.
Thirdly, the 25 points to score is just gravy.
I find that the Secret Projects I've listed I build in every game as any faction. Other projects depend on Social Engineering or strategy choices you've made. Be glad to hear comments on my post...
kjchen posted 02-22-99 12:30 PM ET
Not that I've played that many full games yet, but on a per-faction basis, I've found the following to be useful:
Gaians: Assuming that you play the Gaians as rabidly expansionist, both The Weather Paradigm and The Command Nexus are essential. The former allows for good setup of infrastructure, the second allows your military to have a chance against anything else, even if you're playing a purely defensive game.
UoP: The Virtual World. Not only does it play to the UoP's strength, but it also addresses one of its weaknesses. In the mid-game, The Hunter-Killer Algorithm is also essential (but IMO it is for just about every faction, with the possible exception of The Believers).
Human Hive: Using similar logic to the Gaians, above, I've found The Weather Paradigm and The Command Nexus to be useful. If your production permits, don't ignore The Citizen's Defense Force simply because it duplicates an ability you already possess; denying easy defense to your enemies is just as important. In the mid-game, The Planetary Transit System proves useful, as The Hive can quickly set up well-defended, productive bases.
Not tied to any particular faction, but the old Civilization trick of Colossus/Copernicus/Isaac Newton translates well into Merchant Exchange/Supercollider/Theory of Everything, if you can dump them all into the same colony.
If I had to pick the all-around most powerful project, my vote would be for The Hunter-Killer Algorithm. It's available relatively early in the game, and provides 100% effective defense against an entire category of attacks (of course, your enemies can still militarily conquer the colony that built it, but hopefully you're using all the resources you're not spending on Probe Teams to deal with that). It's especially necessary if Morgan is sitting off your borders, as he tends to have entirely too many free energy credits sitting around to buy off a colony or two...
tOFfGI posted 02-22-99 01:01 PM ET
For the Believers: the Planetary Datalinks should be a necessity, while the HSA is pointless.
will posted 02-22-99 01:23 PM ET
One of the really fun things about this game is that the desirability of the SPs changes by faction. For example, Virtual World and HSA are vital to UoP, but not as important or useful to the other factions.
To me, the real musts are HSA (just to deny it to everyone else) and Cyborg Factory (except for Santiago and Miriam, and I never play them). The Space Elevator is also fun -- I love dropping in on faraway factions. It works especially well against Miriam and Santiago, who usually have lightly defended bases.
I don't think the Command Nexus is vital -- you can duplicate the effect by putting command centers in two or three good cities.
DHE_X2 posted 02-22-99 05:20 PM ET
I use the command nexus defensively. If you Have the command nexus, the cyborg factory, and use high moral on your garrisons, you could practically start them at elite status.
Methos posted 02-22-99 05:37 PM ET
I don't know about being the best, but Clone Vats (or labs) is horribly unbalancing, especially on large maps.
Arnelos posted 02-22-99 11:40 PM ET
For the factions I've played...valuable Secret Projects when I was playing them:
PEACEKEEPERS:
Early:
1. Human Genome Project (Golden Age in almost every base!)
2. Empath Guild (planetary governor asap)
3. Planetary Transit System (expand even faster. with higher pop maxes w/o Hab Complex, this makes PK expansion rate REALLY HIGH)
4. Weather Paradigm (expansion and development advantages)
Later On:
1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (it is for EVERY faction)
2. Xenoempathy Dome (it's good for anyone)
3. Telepathic Matrix (only if you don't have Hunter-Seeker Algorithm)
4. Clinical Immortality (even more talents!)
HIVE:
Early:
1. Merchant Exchange (it addresses, to a limited extent, the Hive's primary and extremely detrimental weakness, economy)
2. Weather Paradigm (really helps anyone)
3. Ascetic Virtues (even higher police abilities)
Later On:
1. Space Elevator (An absolute god-send! The Hive NEED more money CONSTANTLY. They never have enough money, this advance was BY FAR the most valuable when I was playing the Hive)
2. Self-Aware Colony (makes your police even more effective and maintenance is halved!)
3. Longevity Vaccine (helps the Hive in any type of economy)
4. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (it's useful for anyone)
5. Cloning Vats (makes up for not having growth-related social models, or more importantly doesn't force you to take them when you don't want to)
UNIVERSITY OF PLANET:
Early:
1. Virtual World (ok, this is OBVIOUS)
2. Human Genome Project (talents to make up for drones and talents always help)
3. Weather Paradigm (helps anyone)
Later On:
1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (need it more than ANYONE else)
2. Telepathic Matrix (+2 Probe great if you didn't get Hunter-Seeker, AND NO DRONE RIOTS. This project is great for the university)
3. Longevity Vaccine (as long as you have Green or Planned, this helps with the drone problem)
4. Clinical Immortality (more talents to make up for drones and talents never hurt)
THE LORD'S BELIEVERS:
Early:
1. Planetary Datalinks (this is OBVIOUS!)
2. Weather Paradigm (helps anyone)
3. Command Nexus (makes your military advantage INCREDIBLE when on attack)
4. Maritime Control Center (makes you dominate the seas totally, pretty much anyway)
Later On:
1. Universal Translator (two free techs, but you can use whatever you can get)
2. Space Elevator (helps with building those orbiters that help so much AND you can now attack pretty much anywhere, GREAT for Believers)
3. Network Backbone (great for the simple reason that the +1 Lab at the nodes can really help)
I haven't played the Spartans, Gaians, or Morganites yet all the way through the game, although I do have some idea what is good for them.
Arnelos
Peacekeeper
Keeper of Wisdom
ViVicdi posted 02-23-99 01:12 AM ET
Hmm, it seems to me scalability is important.
The Merchant Exchange doesn't scale well (unless you build lots of supply crawlers, I guess.) On a tiny map, it's a massive advantage. On a huge map?
The Weather Paradigm and The Human Genome Project represent the ultimate in scalability for different reasons.
The Command Nexus and The Cyborg Factory are intermediate -- in most of my games military units seem to come from just a few core cities; however, Elite Crawlers & Formers have a move of 2, which is kind of neat.
Now, the HOLY GRAILS of Secret Projects in the first 200 turns (all factions, all circumstances):
The Weather Paradigm
Obviously.
If you want to expand, the faster you can drop forests and roads, the faster you expand.
If you want to build up, the faster you can build boreholes and mines, the sooner Morgan Casino can build The Ascetic Virtues.
If you want energy, "time is money" as they say, so wouldn't you like that Echelon Mirror sooner rather than later?
Either way, ask yourself the question: "When do I NOT want to terraform?"
The Xenoempathy Dome
The Weather Paradigm's older brother -- plus an incredible movement advantage.
Utilize native fungus around poorly-terraformed enemy cities to roll over them.
Meanwhile, fungus is a DEFENSE for your own cities. Watch those enemy probes truck through the muck, sitting ducks, while yours float effortlessly into ANY BASE YOU WANT. And remember that planting fungus is facilitated by XenoDome.
"Shiny Cup" honorable mentions go to the scalable, psych-improving stuff (Genome, Longevity, Ascetic Virtues (indirectly), etc. Probably Self-Aware Colony, too, though I haven't gotten that far yet ...)
Lastly, The Space Elevator sounds like a real killer -- drop troops ANYWHERE, ANYTIME? Wow! Sounds like a Holy Grail to me! Can't wait to have one of my own (heh heh).
Mortis posted 02-23-99 04:32 AM ET
Ascent to Trancendance!!! Oh wait I wasn't supposed to say that. Hunter-Seeker and Virtual world are the only MUSTS for me, I play UoP.
Afterburner posted 02-23-99 07:27 AM ET
As I discovered to my chagrin, the Cloning Vats don't mix well with the University of Planet faction since they get extra drones. Even more amusing, I'd built the Planetary Transit System as well, so I'd build a base and it would almost immediately go into drone riots.
Yours,
Afterburner
NotLikeTea posted 02-23-99 09:36 AM ET
I'll disagree with that last statememnt!
Cloning Vats and UoP don't mix. But, as I learned in my last University game, Cloning Vats and Telepathix Matrix are joy.
No riots, and unlimited growth. With good forming, you can have size 20+ colonies while the competition is still fiddling around with size 7.
Wheee!
Both are my fav projects...
VictorK posted 02-23-99 11:19 AM ET
Actually, the Merchant Exchange/Supercollider/Theory of Everything combo works MUCH better than Colossus/CO/INC in Civ2. In SMAC, if you build both Supercollider and ToE in the same base, your base LAB output is quadrupled, plus the LAB effect of any other facility is also quadrupled too (in Civ2, because of a program bug INC only doubled the effect of improvements but not the base value, while CO doubled both). If you have all of Network Node, Research Hospital, Nanohospital, Fusion Lab and Quantum Lab in the same base, your LAB output will be (1+5*0.5)*4=14 times your base value, and 10 times if you have 3 out of the 5 facilities. (In Civ2 you could get 8 times with library/university/research lab, but just 6 times without research lab, which was not available until late in the game.) Moreoever, you can use supply crawlers to work on energy squares outside the city radius. As early as the time you complete the Theory of Everything, it is easy to get 1000+ LAB output each turn just from one city alone.
mysteria posted 02-23-99 01:07 PM ET
I feel the planetary transit system is the best world wonder
This makes it incredibly fast to expand since each city could make three colony pods right from the start.
And if you start expanding early, then your cities under 3 bcome 3, this is great when you have about 20 1 pop cities.
You also don't really have worry about mid worm attacks early on because they only kill 1 pop.
Joe Average posted 02-23-99 01:58 PM ET
What's this about Spartans not needing cyborg factory? When I last built it, I had the command nexus...every single ground unit I built was elite. To me, getting that IS pretty essential
As for what's best...the human genome project is just so damn practical to have early on, it's my favorite!
Dan Scheltema posted 02-23-99 03:20 PM ET
Yes, the ultra-lab city in SMAC is obscene. In my last game I had 30 pop in the uranium flats with all those lab boosters, and two 9x9 crawler farms at 3500m with a mirror in the center feeding in their energy output. When a solar flare hit, I was pumping 7000+ labs. It made up for the lost satts. My energy income was also pretty high.
The last 10 turns I was pumping out 1 tech per turn while I struggled to build all the last SPs so I could do the ascent. I averaged about 1 SP per turn too, with two cities building them and a bunch of others feeding in crawlers. It would have been boring, except the Spartans had at least one planet-buster that made me decide to really rush things. Fortunately, that one I found and killed. Not sure if they had more or not. (shudder) Meanwhile the ocean levels were rising, flooding some of my mag tubes so I had to keep rebuilding them. I must say it stayed interesting, which I cannot say for the ending of many Civ II long games.
436% on Thinker level. AoT in 2354. Only missed one SP. Darn Gaians and their research priorities got them the Xenoempathy Dome.
To be semi on topic, I really like that Weather Paradigm. Getting started on the more advanced terraforming a bit early is nice, but the game-long speed increase means a lot to me since I tend to pull up huge plateaus for my crawler energy farms. In this game I did (9+9)*3 terrain elevation boosts for the energy park alone.
Next game I want to try something different. I think I'll be a maritime faction purely.
PawtheUnstuk posted 02-24-99 02:08 AM ET
Don't think Virtual World or Weather Pardigm. Those are great, but to be the best a Project has to be truly, truly, overpowered, completely unbalancing the game. My votes are:
The Telepathic Matirix (late game, but WAY over the top if you build it.).
Cloning Vats: More population=more everything, this does away with the entire mechanic of growth.
Theory of Everything and Super Collider in the same base: I've ogtten 600+ lab production in one base before with this.
Singularity Inductor: I'm guessing the reason this isn't mentioned more is because it is so late.
Close, but no cigar: HS Alograthim: Nice, but probe teams are big enough to justify inclusion on the broken projects.
Space Elevator: With alot of sattelites and this you can break the game completely, but building enough sattlites plus the not exactly cheap project is 1000's of minerals.
Cyborg Factory: This comes close to unbalancing the game by giving you a huge moral bonus, but isn't [i]completely[/i] unbalancing.
Enough of that.
A very tired PawtheUnstuk
Piglet posted 02-24-99 04:33 AM ET
Early game I'd go for the Human Genome and/or the Weather Paradigm (both would be nice!).
Later on I think the Cloning Vats are hard to beat. As UOP with reasonable physch-boosting improvements (reasearch hospitals etc.) and physch at about 20% by reasearch just went exponential as the extra unit of pop in evrey base every turn more or less kept itself happy and just produced net contribution to labs and econ. As Morgan this would be truely wild!
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Author	Topic: Most Powerful Secret Project?
tOFfGI	posted 02-22-99 04:14 AM ET Which secret project is the most essential to have? (Noooo, the Ascent to Trancendance doesn't count!) I'd say either the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm or the Network Backbone.
Lone War	posted 02-22-99 05:35 AM ET Naw, the most powerful is by far the Universal Translator, as long as you don't play with no Unity Scattering on. In one game the Universal Translator was responsible for more than 15 techs from alien thingies above and beyond what I had already sent through my 22 network nodes. Think of it, 37 techs for free, I never even researched the top half of the tech chart, I had it handed to me. Now, the worst secret project is the Space Elevator simply because once you have it, most of your bases can no longer build satellites without massive amounts of eco-damage. I wish that it would just cut the cost of satellites in half as opposed to doubling your mineral production for them.
jig	posted 02-22-99 05:38 AM ET Depends on your faction I suppose. But for UoP it's definitely the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.
cousLee	posted 02-22-99 07:53 AM ET Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. Weather Paradigim has a profound impact also, not because of the pre-tech abilities, but because of the increased speed.
Scrubby	posted 02-22-99 12:11 PM ET Good poll, I was gonna start one today but here it is... Best Projects: Early Game: 1. Planetary Defense Force (unless you are Hive -- even then having it denies it to other factions) 2. Weather Paradigm which allows your terraform speed to be increased. In the long run amazing! 3. Virtual World, makes your network nodes that much better, as if they needed to be. Down drones! 4. Empath Guild, becoming Planetary Governor pays big time. Middle Games: 1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (again, its best to deny this to others plus it really rocks when combined with Social Engineering choices that penalize Probe) 2. Maritime Control Centre -- I find this to be totally invaluable on anything but a waterless world. The extra movement for naval units is incredible! End Game: 1. Telepathic Matrix (keep dem drones DOWN!) 2. Cyborg Factory, a bioenhancement centre at every base! For me, the any Secret Project that creates a facility in every one of your bases is useful. For example, Command Nexus at a cost of 200 creates Command Centers in every base which each cost 40. So long as you have 5 bases or more you come out on top! (keep in mind that those other bases are free to produce other facilities while the Command Nexus only ties up one base). Secondly, some Secret Projects are useful to build for their bonuses but even more useful is DENYING them to the other factions. For example, as Hive I once made the mistake of allowing the Morganites to build Planetary Defence Force and they were really annoying bunkered up in their bases... grrr. Sometimes I build Secret Projects solely because another faction has started it hehe. Thirdly, the 25 points to score is just gravy. I find that the Secret Projects I've listed I build in every game as any faction. Other projects depend on Social Engineering or strategy choices you've made. Be glad to hear comments on my post...
kjchen	posted 02-22-99 12:30 PM ET Not that I've played that many full games yet, but on a per-faction basis, I've found the following to be useful: Gaians: Assuming that you play the Gaians as rabidly expansionist, both The Weather Paradigm and The Command Nexus are essential. The former allows for good setup of infrastructure, the second allows your military to have a chance against anything else, even if you're playing a purely defensive game. UoP: The Virtual World. Not only does it play to the UoP's strength, but it also addresses one of its weaknesses. In the mid-game, The Hunter-Killer Algorithm is also essential (but IMO it is for just about every faction, with the possible exception of The Believers). Human Hive: Using similar logic to the Gaians, above, I've found The Weather Paradigm and The Command Nexus to be useful. If your production permits, don't ignore The Citizen's Defense Force simply because it duplicates an ability you already possess; denying easy defense to your enemies is just as important. In the mid-game, The Planetary Transit System proves useful, as The Hive can quickly set up well-defended, productive bases. Not tied to any particular faction, but the old Civilization trick of Colossus/Copernicus/Isaac Newton translates well into Merchant Exchange/Supercollider/Theory of Everything, if you can dump them all into the same colony. If I had to pick the all-around most powerful project, my vote would be for The Hunter-Killer Algorithm. It's available relatively early in the game, and provides 100% effective defense against an entire category of attacks (of course, your enemies can still militarily conquer the colony that built it, but hopefully you're using all the resources you're not spending on Probe Teams to deal with that). It's especially necessary if Morgan is sitting off your borders, as he tends to have entirely too many free energy credits sitting around to buy off a colony or two...
tOFfGI	posted 02-22-99 01:01 PM ET For the Believers: the Planetary Datalinks should be a necessity, while the HSA is pointless.
will	posted 02-22-99 01:23 PM ET One of the really fun things about this game is that the desirability of the SPs changes by faction. For example, Virtual World and HSA are vital to UoP, but not as important or useful to the other factions. To me, the real musts are HSA (just to deny it to everyone else) and Cyborg Factory (except for Santiago and Miriam, and I never play them). The Space Elevator is also fun -- I love dropping in on faraway factions. It works especially well against Miriam and Santiago, who usually have lightly defended bases. I don't think the Command Nexus is vital -- you can duplicate the effect by putting command centers in two or three good cities.
DHE_X2	posted 02-22-99 05:20 PM ET I use the command nexus defensively. If you Have the command nexus, the cyborg factory, and use high moral on your garrisons, you could practically start them at elite status.
Methos	posted 02-22-99 05:37 PM ET I don't know about being the best, but Clone Vats (or labs) is horribly unbalancing, especially on large maps.
Arnelos	posted 02-22-99 11:40 PM ET For the factions I've played...valuable Secret Projects when I was playing them: PEACEKEEPERS: Early: 1. Human Genome Project (Golden Age in almost every base!) 2. Empath Guild (planetary governor asap) 3. Planetary Transit System (expand even faster. with higher pop maxes w/o Hab Complex, this makes PK expansion rate REALLY HIGH) 4. Weather Paradigm (expansion and development advantages) Later On: 1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (it is for EVERY faction) 2. Xenoempathy Dome (it's good for anyone) 3. Telepathic Matrix (only if you don't have Hunter-Seeker Algorithm) 4. Clinical Immortality (even more talents!) HIVE: Early: 1. Merchant Exchange (it addresses, to a limited extent, the Hive's primary and extremely detrimental weakness, economy) 2. Weather Paradigm (really helps anyone) 3. Ascetic Virtues (even higher police abilities) Later On: 1. Space Elevator (An absolute god-send! The Hive NEED more money CONSTANTLY. They never have enough money, this advance was BY FAR the most valuable when I was playing the Hive) 2. Self-Aware Colony (makes your police even more effective and maintenance is halved!) 3. Longevity Vaccine (helps the Hive in any type of economy) 4. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (it's useful for anyone) 5. Cloning Vats (makes up for not having growth-related social models, or more importantly doesn't force you to take them when you don't want to) UNIVERSITY OF PLANET: Early: 1. Virtual World (ok, this is OBVIOUS) 2. Human Genome Project (talents to make up for drones and talents always help) 3. Weather Paradigm (helps anyone) Later On: 1. Hunter-Seeker Algorithm (need it more than ANYONE else) 2. Telepathic Matrix (+2 Probe great if you didn't get Hunter-Seeker, AND NO DRONE RIOTS. This project is great for the university) 3. Longevity Vaccine (as long as you have Green or Planned, this helps with the drone problem) 4. Clinical Immortality (more talents to make up for drones and talents never hurt) THE LORD'S BELIEVERS: Early: 1. Planetary Datalinks (this is OBVIOUS!) 2. Weather Paradigm (helps anyone) 3. Command Nexus (makes your military advantage INCREDIBLE when on attack) 4. Maritime Control Center (makes you dominate the seas totally, pretty much anyway) Later On: 1. Universal Translator (two free techs, but you can use whatever you can get) 2. Space Elevator (helps with building those orbiters that help so much AND you can now attack pretty much anywhere, GREAT for Believers) 3. Network Backbone (great for the simple reason that the +1 Lab at the nodes can really help) I haven't played the Spartans, Gaians, or Morganites yet all the way through the game, although I do have some idea what is good for them. Arnelos Peacekeeper Keeper of Wisdom
ViVicdi	posted 02-23-99 01:12 AM ET Hmm, it seems to me scalability is important. The Merchant Exchange doesn't scale well (unless you build lots of supply crawlers, I guess.) On a tiny map, it's a massive advantage. On a huge map? The Weather Paradigm and The Human Genome Project represent the ultimate in scalability for different reasons. The Command Nexus and The Cyborg Factory are intermediate -- in most of my games military units seem to come from just a few core cities; however, Elite Crawlers & Formers have a move of 2, which is kind of neat. Now, the HOLY GRAILS of Secret Projects in the first 200 turns (all factions, all circumstances): The Weather Paradigm Obviously. If you want to expand, the faster you can drop forests and roads, the faster you expand. If you want to build up, the faster you can build boreholes and mines, the sooner Morgan Casino can build The Ascetic Virtues. If you want energy, "time is money" as they say, so wouldn't you like that Echelon Mirror sooner rather than later? Either way, ask yourself the question: "When do I NOT want to terraform?" The Xenoempathy Dome The Weather Paradigm's older brother -- plus an incredible movement advantage. Utilize native fungus around poorly-terraformed enemy cities to roll over them. Meanwhile, fungus is a DEFENSE for your own cities. Watch those enemy probes truck through the muck, sitting ducks, while yours float effortlessly into ANY BASE YOU WANT. And remember that planting fungus is facilitated by XenoDome. "Shiny Cup" honorable mentions go to the scalable, psych-improving stuff (Genome, Longevity, Ascetic Virtues (indirectly), etc. Probably Self-Aware Colony, too, though I haven't gotten that far yet ...) Lastly, The Space Elevator sounds like a real killer -- drop troops ANYWHERE, ANYTIME? Wow! Sounds like a Holy Grail to me! Can't wait to have one of my own (heh heh).
Mortis	posted 02-23-99 04:32 AM ET Ascent to Trancendance!!! Oh wait I wasn't supposed to say that. Hunter-Seeker and Virtual world are the only MUSTS for me, I play UoP.
Afterburner	posted 02-23-99 07:27 AM ET As I discovered to my chagrin, the Cloning Vats don't mix well with the University of Planet faction since they get extra drones. Even more amusing, I'd built the Planetary Transit System as well, so I'd build a base and it would almost immediately go into drone riots. Yours, Afterburner
NotLikeTea	posted 02-23-99 09:36 AM ET I'll disagree with that last statememnt! Cloning Vats and UoP don't mix. But, as I learned in my last University game, Cloning Vats and Telepathix Matrix are joy. No riots, and unlimited growth. With good forming, you can have size 20+ colonies while the competition is still fiddling around with size 7. Wheee! Both are my fav projects...
VictorK	posted 02-23-99 11:19 AM ET Actually, the Merchant Exchange/Supercollider/Theory of Everything combo works MUCH better than Colossus/CO/INC in Civ2. In SMAC, if you build both Supercollider and ToE in the same base, your base LAB output is quadrupled, plus the LAB effect of any other facility is also quadrupled too (in Civ2, because of a program bug INC only doubled the effect of improvements but not the base value, while CO doubled both). If you have all of Network Node, Research Hospital, Nanohospital, Fusion Lab and Quantum Lab in the same base, your LAB output will be (1+50.5)4=14 times your base value, and 10 times if you have 3 out of the 5 facilities. (In Civ2 you could get 8 times with library/university/research lab, but just 6 times without research lab, which was not available until late in the game.) Moreoever, you can use supply crawlers to work on energy squares outside the city radius. As early as the time you complete the Theory of Everything, it is easy to get 1000+ LAB output each turn just from one city alone.
mysteria	posted 02-23-99 01:07 PM ET I feel the planetary transit system is the best world wonder This makes it incredibly fast to expand since each city could make three colony pods right from the start. And if you start expanding early, then your cities under 3 bcome 3, this is great when you have about 20 1 pop cities. You also don't really have worry about mid worm attacks early on because they only kill 1 pop.
Joe Average	posted 02-23-99 01:58 PM ET What's this about Spartans not needing cyborg factory? When I last built it, I had the command nexus...every single ground unit I built was elite. To me, getting that IS pretty essential As for what's best...the human genome project is just so damn practical to have early on, it's my favorite!
Dan Scheltema	posted 02-23-99 03:20 PM ET Yes, the ultra-lab city in SMAC is obscene. In my last game I had 30 pop in the uranium flats with all those lab boosters, and two 9x9 crawler farms at 3500m with a mirror in the center feeding in their energy output. When a solar flare hit, I was pumping 7000+ labs. It made up for the lost satts. My energy income was also pretty high. The last 10 turns I was pumping out 1 tech per turn while I struggled to build all the last SPs so I could do the ascent. I averaged about 1 SP per turn too, with two cities building them and a bunch of others feeding in crawlers. It would have been boring, except the Spartans had at least one planet-buster that made me decide to really rush things. Fortunately, that one I found and killed. Not sure if they had more or not. (shudder) Meanwhile the ocean levels were rising, flooding some of my mag tubes so I had to keep rebuilding them. I must say it stayed interesting, which I cannot say for the ending of many Civ II long games. 436% on Thinker level. AoT in 2354. Only missed one SP. Darn Gaians and their research priorities got them the Xenoempathy Dome. To be semi on topic, I really like that Weather Paradigm. Getting started on the more advanced terraforming a bit early is nice, but the game-long speed increase means a lot to me since I tend to pull up huge plateaus for my crawler energy farms. In this game I did (9+9)*3 terrain elevation boosts for the energy park alone. Next game I want to try something different. I think I'll be a maritime faction purely.
PawtheUnstuk	posted 02-24-99 02:08 AM ET Don't think Virtual World or Weather Pardigm. Those are great, but to be the best a Project has to be truly, truly, overpowered, completely unbalancing the game. My votes are: The Telepathic Matirix (late game, but WAY over the top if you build it.). Cloning Vats: More population=more everything, this does away with the entire mechanic of growth. Theory of Everything and Super Collider in the same base: I've ogtten 600+ lab production in one base before with this. Singularity Inductor: I'm guessing the reason this isn't mentioned more is because it is so late. Close, but no cigar: HS Alograthim: Nice, but probe teams are big enough to justify inclusion on the broken projects. Space Elevator: With alot of sattelites and this you can break the game completely, but building enough sattlites plus the not exactly cheap project is 1000's of minerals. Cyborg Factory: This comes close to unbalancing the game by giving you a huge moral bonus, but isn't [i]completely[/i] unbalancing. Enough of that. A very tired PawtheUnstuk
Piglet	posted 02-24-99 04:33 AM ET Early game I'd go for the Human Genome and/or the Weather Paradigm (both would be nice!). Later on I think the Cloning Vats are hard to beat. As UOP with reasonable physch-boosting improvements (reasearch hospitals etc.) and physch at about 20% by reasearch just went exponential as the extra unit of pop in evrey base every turn more or less kept itself happy and just produced net contribution to labs and econ. As Morgan this would be truely wild!