posted 03-06-99 11:22 PM ET        

Just wondering... what is considered a good score? I rang up a 269% as UofP on Librarian on my last game, which had a few quirks I wanted to talk about, and see if anyone else has noticed the same things...

Here's the situation. Miriam had capitulated to me about 70 years after Planetfall; Yang not long after. Yang had been confined to a small island, with Santiago to the north and Deirdre to the south. Santiago soon went to war with me over my choice of "knowledge," and we swore a truce after I had relieved her of all her land bases. She would not (yet) surrender.

So, I was finally at peace for the first time since Miriam had surrendered. Technically, Morgan had a vendetta with me, but he was so out-of-the-way and pathetic I didn't waste my time. My relations with my new neighbor Deirdre had never been anything less than "solicitous," and she was the #2 faction behind me. Suddenly, she demands a tech; I tell her to shove it, and she declares war. I tell Miriam (who was now #3, with about 15 sea bases) and Yang to attack; the next turn, sunspots hit. So, I'm stuck with this war.

I marshall my forces from Santiago's old territory (thankfully, she was completely faithful to our truce) and invade Gaian land. Take a few bases in the north, and then an invading force of marines and amphibious rovers from my home island hits her eastern flank, taking one city. Her biggest base, Fallow Time, was just a few squares from my new foothold, and my plan was to take Fallow Time in the next turn.

Boy, was I in for a surprise. Deirdre, of all people, planet busted my new foothold to the bottom of the ocean, taking all my invaders with it. The Charter was still in effect, and everyone declared war on the Gaians (my usual persona; this is what I get for playing as someone else). This was a minor setback at best; with Miriam's substantial airforce providing help, I marginalized Deirdre to a few southern fronteir bases by the time communications were restored, and she immediately surrendered. Morgan surrendered too, even though I had never fired a shot at him; he was just that weak.

Before long, Santiago renewed hostilities, and was quickly beaten into submission; only Lal was left. He had the good sense not to declare vendetta. By this time, I was in that final tech/SP push; when I got Clinical Immortality, Telepathic Matrix, and Cloning Vats, I knew I could win a Diplomatic Victory. Only Lal voted "nay," even though Deirdre's "yea" didn't count at all, I won. But, more weirdness: Deirdre then OPPOSED the council; she voted "yea" to begin with! Has anyone encountered this before? Can this strangeness be blamed on her earlier atrocity?

Also... before Deirdre was wiped out, I built the Ascent to Transcendance. My score still said "Diplomatic Victory." This seems like some sort of glitch.

Also, doesn't it seem strange that a Transcend victory has to be shared with pact brothers/sisters, especially those who surrendered? I mean, the Ascent is something you build individually... I can understand a conquer victory being shared...

Also... why can AI factions spend money they don't have? I could always sell my techs to my vassals for 25 each (except to technophobe Miriam; I just gave 'em to her), even when they had no credits... after Santiago surrenders, I took her down to over -900 selling all my techs to her... It's a handy cheat, but a cheat all the same... I always felt dirty when I was doing it.

Okay, if you read this whole thing, you KNOW you're a SMAC junkie... love that SMAC dictionary, Khan. Thanks for any answers, insight, and/or emotional support you can provide...

Guynemer