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Author Topic:   And the scales fell from my eyes...

WyldKarde posted 04-12-99 12:13 AM ET
We've all had those moments. Suddenly, it all becomes clear, and a new approach to the game occurs to you, one you hadn't used before. That moment of sheer inspiration when you realise that you could try drop-pods on a probe team to sneak deep into enemy territory.
For me it had to be the day I realised a colony pod could be so much more than just a crawler/foil with a pod on. I could mount one on a Needlejet, or add drop-pods, or add a cloak and armour and sneak a forward base into enemy territory. My games haven't been quite the same since.
So what's your big moment? Any of you folks out there have similar things happen? Let's hear about 'em, even if the tactic has been posted here before, it'd be interesting to hear about the moment you thought of it.
"That'll teach you to make lumpy custard!"
-- Kardian victory cry, datalinks.
Druid posted 04-12-99 12:30 AM ET
2 that made gobbling cities much easier and safer...
1. hovertanks w/ drop pods & amphib.
you can walk onto those 'just-offshore' ocean cities... [after the copters have killed the defenders, 'course]
2. once the city is taken. build 1-1-1 units, buying 'em is cheap. Then upgrade to whatever you want. Costs $ but it's actually cheaper than buying the fully loaded defense unit.
Plato90s posted 04-12-99 12:51 AM ET
I find it useful to make a cloaked Drop hovertank with no weapon and no armor. Why, you ask? To act as a guide.
You can't drop into a 3 square radius of a city protected with an Aerospace Complex, so inserting troops into an enemy's continent can be a bit complex. Instead, you drop the Cloaked DropTank into the wilderness, away from any cities. Then you sneak the tank in until it's close to a target city.
Once in place, you can make orbital insertions directly on to the same square your Cloaked DropTank is occupying. The Aerospace Complex restriction against Drops is not enforced if your unit already occupies the spot you are dropping into. Now, your Drop troops can land right where you want it.
If the DropTank is discovered, so what? It's cheap to make.
sandworm posted 04-12-99 10:12 AM ET
Nerve gas, I discovered the joys of crimes against humanity this weekend, or in this case inhumanity and Yang's Hive. When confronted by an overwhelmingly superior enemy force, use nerve gas, 150 years of sanctions be damned.
Not only did the guy have more than half the map covered with little blue spots, he built or took about 80 percent of the special projects, including HS algorithm. I had "no choice" left. I would never have permitted it, but Lal kicked my butt early and I escaped to a very small island to begin again.
Surprisingly true to life, nerve gas became the poor man's (woman's->Deidre) alternative to PB's, which take entirely too long to build. Nerve gas choppers and jets can do a much cleaner job of removing an enemy city for a fraction of the cost of PB's and doesn't seem to piss Planet off, although everyone else (the few who were left after Yang's rampage) hates my guts. It's going quite well although I'm still outnumbered and outgunned. Helps to know I'm a little bit smarter than the AI routines.
Bralli posted 04-12-99 01:03 PM ET
Actually for me it was when I learned how to destroy or "raze" conquered cities. I was sick of bring in my army to conquer a bunch of cities only to have the computer steal some of them back next turn (because I usually don't put armor on my attacking units). Also, I play with Spoils of War turned on so sometimes they will steal a key tech. Now I just take over a city and then hit "B" (I think) and put the whole population to death.
Zanatar posted 04-12-99 01:23 PM ET
You guys are going to laugh, but we all have to start somewhere right?
I never really played Civ, or Civ2 before, so unlike most of you, I started playing Alpha Centauri, completly inexperienced. I still am, as I`m learning so much on how to play.
But my big breakthrough will sound quite lame to all of you
Basically, until a friend of mine came over and saw what I was doing wrong, I was only building 4 or 5 bases and not expanding beyond that. Instead I concentrated on gaining tech and wiping out the other factions. I just kept 4 or 5 bases and built up on those bases only.
As I mentioned, it wasn`t until my friend came over and set me straight, that I now build 20 + bases, to grow as large as I possibly can. I couldn`t believe the difference.
Ah well as I said, we have to start somewhere.
Verminlord posted 04-12-99 01:57 PM ET
Zantar - don't feel bad. I was getting nowhere in CIV until my nephew came over and showed me the light. He is only 15-16 years younger than I and was about 15 at the time!!
As you say, we all have to start somewhere.
Ron
Sparrowhawk posted 04-12-99 09:10 PM ET
Well, first, I never used choppers in Civ2. Thought they were kinda lame - too weak firepower-wise.
Then I discovered what a Fusion-powered Tachyon 'Copter can do. Can you say "Ride of the Valkyries"? >
I'm now experimenting with a weird strat that doesn't work, but should (FIRAXIS - are you listening????) - trying to put Drop Pods on a ground-based transport unit and use it as a "Drop APC". (I come up with weird strats sometimes.) Just so you know - no, it doesn't work. Even if it says that the unit has cargo, when you do the drop, the cargo gets left behind.
Other ideas - has anyone tried putting a Carrier Deck on a transport hovertank for air support in extended overland battles? Does it work? (Does SMAC allow you to??)
K posted 04-13-99 06:04 AM ET
This is what I like to to call the "death of a thousand cuts." As a natuarally war mongering type who plays Santiago in Transcend games without exception, I find that I am often beset on all sides by Factions who are always willing to stab me in the back. i solved this probelm by always being at war with one Faction, and Getting Pacts with the rest.
So here's the trick. I'm in the middle of a war. Little four and five pop. bases on the front are being traded back and forth to a depressing degree, and they're stripped of facilities. I never have time to build up even a meager defence for any base because I'm in a lightning campaign into enemy territory trying to do as much damage as I can before reinforcemenrs are built and i have to hole up and wait for MY reinforcements.
So what do I do with that lousy little base I took a turn ago that still has no defenders and is about to be swallowed up...?
I cede it t my ever so temporary Pact Brother/sister for a nice little backwater base that's well developed. the base he gets is sucked up by the tide of war, he looses it, and i just came out ahead. If it's a big battle and you've just taken 5 or 6 bases, I can seriously weaken my Pactmate to9 a point where he/she will never try any funny stuff. Hell, this is my preferred tactic with the Morganites, since they focus so much on infastructure, i get some sweet bases on the cheap.
Of course, you're might had better be potent or better, or they'll never go for the trade.
Wanna get a powerful Pactmate in the war, use the same tactic.
K posted 04-13-99 06:06 AM ET
Excuse the misspellings and poor grammer. I have a degree in modern literature, but I am damned tired tonight.
Masakari posted 04-13-99 01:28 PM ET
I had something pretty close to what you describe when I found out what Ctrl+Shift+u actually does.
It's so much fun releasing a dozen mindworms on an enemy city you've captured but is poorly placed in terms of the rest of you cities or releasing them on someone you're not at war with but they just keep pissing you off.
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Author	Topic: And the scales fell from my eyes...
WyldKarde	posted 04-12-99 12:13 AM ET We've all had those moments. Suddenly, it all becomes clear, and a new approach to the game occurs to you, one you hadn't used before. That moment of sheer inspiration when you realise that you could try drop-pods on a probe team to sneak deep into enemy territory. For me it had to be the day I realised a colony pod could be so much more than just a crawler/foil with a pod on. I could mount one on a Needlejet, or add drop-pods, or add a cloak and armour and sneak a forward base into enemy territory. My games haven't been quite the same since. So what's your big moment? Any of you folks out there have similar things happen? Let's hear about 'em, even if the tactic has been posted here before, it'd be interesting to hear about the moment you thought of it. "That'll teach you to make lumpy custard!" -- Kardian victory cry, datalinks.
Druid	posted 04-12-99 12:30 AM ET 2 that made gobbling cities much easier and safer... 1. hovertanks w/ drop pods & amphib. you can walk onto those 'just-offshore' ocean cities... [after the copters have killed the defenders, 'course] 2. once the city is taken. build 1-1-1 units, buying 'em is cheap. Then upgrade to whatever you want. Costs $ but it's actually cheaper than buying the fully loaded defense unit.
Plato90s	posted 04-12-99 12:51 AM ET I find it useful to make a cloaked Drop hovertank with no weapon and no armor. Why, you ask? To act as a guide. You can't drop into a 3 square radius of a city protected with an Aerospace Complex, so inserting troops into an enemy's continent can be a bit complex. Instead, you drop the Cloaked DropTank into the wilderness, away from any cities. Then you sneak the tank in until it's close to a target city. Once in place, you can make orbital insertions directly on to the same square your Cloaked DropTank is occupying. The Aerospace Complex restriction against Drops is not enforced if your unit already occupies the spot you are dropping into. Now, your Drop troops can land right where you want it. If the DropTank is discovered, so what? It's cheap to make.
sandworm	posted 04-12-99 10:12 AM ET Nerve gas, I discovered the joys of crimes against humanity this weekend, or in this case inhumanity and Yang's Hive. When confronted by an overwhelmingly superior enemy force, use nerve gas, 150 years of sanctions be damned. Not only did the guy have more than half the map covered with little blue spots, he built or took about 80 percent of the special projects, including HS algorithm. I had "no choice" left. I would never have permitted it, but Lal kicked my butt early and I escaped to a very small island to begin again. Surprisingly true to life, nerve gas became the poor man's (woman's->Deidre) alternative to PB's, which take entirely too long to build. Nerve gas choppers and jets can do a much cleaner job of removing an enemy city for a fraction of the cost of PB's and doesn't seem to piss Planet off, although everyone else (the few who were left after Yang's rampage) hates my guts. It's going quite well although I'm still outnumbered and outgunned. Helps to know I'm a little bit smarter than the AI routines.
Bralli	posted 04-12-99 01:03 PM ET Actually for me it was when I learned how to destroy or "raze" conquered cities. I was sick of bring in my army to conquer a bunch of cities only to have the computer steal some of them back next turn (because I usually don't put armor on my attacking units). Also, I play with Spoils of War turned on so sometimes they will steal a key tech. Now I just take over a city and then hit "B" (I think) and put the whole population to death.
Zanatar	posted 04-12-99 01:23 PM ET You guys are going to laugh, but we all have to start somewhere right? I never really played Civ, or Civ2 before, so unlike most of you, I started playing Alpha Centauri, completly inexperienced. I still am, as I`m learning so much on how to play. But my big breakthrough will sound quite lame to all of you Basically, until a friend of mine came over and saw what I was doing wrong, I was only building 4 or 5 bases and not expanding beyond that. Instead I concentrated on gaining tech and wiping out the other factions. I just kept 4 or 5 bases and built up on those bases only. As I mentioned, it wasn`t until my friend came over and set me straight, that I now build 20 + bases, to grow as large as I possibly can. I couldn`t believe the difference. Ah well as I said, we have to start somewhere.
Verminlord	posted 04-12-99 01:57 PM ET Zantar - don't feel bad. I was getting nowhere in CIV until my nephew came over and showed me the light. He is only 15-16 years younger than I and was about 15 at the time!! As you say, we all have to start somewhere. Ron
Sparrowhawk	posted 04-12-99 09:10 PM ET Well, first, I never used choppers in Civ2. Thought they were kinda lame - too weak firepower-wise. Then I discovered what a Fusion-powered Tachyon 'Copter can do. Can you say "Ride of the Valkyries"? > I'm now experimenting with a weird strat that doesn't work, but should (FIRAXIS - are you listening????) - trying to put Drop Pods on a ground-based transport unit and use it as a "Drop APC". (I come up with weird strats sometimes.) Just so you know - no, it doesn't work. Even if it says that the unit has cargo, when you do the drop, the cargo gets left behind. Other ideas - has anyone tried putting a Carrier Deck on a transport hovertank for air support in extended overland battles? Does it work? (Does SMAC allow you to??)
K	posted 04-13-99 06:04 AM ET This is what I like to to call the "death of a thousand cuts." As a natuarally war mongering type who plays Santiago in Transcend games without exception, I find that I am often beset on all sides by Factions who are always willing to stab me in the back. i solved this probelm by always being at war with one Faction, and Getting Pacts with the rest. So here's the trick. I'm in the middle of a war. Little four and five pop. bases on the front are being traded back and forth to a depressing degree, and they're stripped of facilities. I never have time to build up even a meager defence for any base because I'm in a lightning campaign into enemy territory trying to do as much damage as I can before reinforcemenrs are built and i have to hole up and wait for MY reinforcements. So what do I do with that lousy little base I took a turn ago that still has no defenders and is about to be swallowed up...? I cede it t my ever so temporary Pact Brother/sister for a nice little backwater base that's well developed. the base he gets is sucked up by the tide of war, he looses it, and i just came out ahead. If it's a big battle and you've just taken 5 or 6 bases, I can seriously weaken my Pactmate to9 a point where he/she will never try any funny stuff. Hell, this is my preferred tactic with the Morganites, since they focus so much on infastructure, i get some sweet bases on the cheap. Of course, you're might had better be potent or better, or they'll never go for the trade. Wanna get a powerful Pactmate in the war, use the same tactic.
K	posted 04-13-99 06:06 AM ET Excuse the misspellings and poor grammer. I have a degree in modern literature, but I am damned tired tonight.
Masakari	posted 04-13-99 01:28 PM ET I had something pretty close to what you describe when I found out what Ctrl+Shift+u actually does. It's so much fun releasing a dozen mindworms on an enemy city you've captured but is poorly placed in terms of the rest of you cities or releasing them on someone you're not at war with but they just keep pissing you off.