Question concerning mind control - Alpha Centauri Forums

  Alpha Centauri Forums
  Strategies and Tactics
  Question concerning mind control

profile | register | prefs | faq | search

Author Topic:   Question concerning mind control

Couatl posted 04-30-99 07:30 PM ET
The Hive just recaptured a base I took by sending in a probe team and using mind control. Fine. This is the first time I've lost a base this way, after several games, but I was aware it could happen.
What puzzles and aggravates me is that (1) the Hive had only 55 energy credits at the time, and (2) it seized control not only of my base, but my units adjacent to the base as well. It even grabbed my air units out of the sky!
I'm playing Transcend-level difficulty. The base had a population of one. My own energy reserves were at 691 credits. My probe rating was 0 (+2 for Fundamentalist, -2 for Knowledge at the time). The base was not suffering from drone riots.
How could any faction pull such a coup at such a low cost? The few times I've experimented with mind control (this was using elite probe foils), I've been quoted requirements of 2000+ credits. If it's that easy for a faction to grab a base from you, along with all your surrounding forces (none of which were even supported by the base), where is the game balance? Do you have to rely on the AI's stupidity in not doing it more often? Do you lead your invasions with stacks of probe teams, to populate captured bases and fend off enemies that can snatch whole armies and territories from you for chump change? What gives?
Al Gore Rythm posted 04-30-99 09:22 PM ET
You are playing on Transcend, if you haven't noticed yet on Transcend and Thinker difficulties the computer cheats excessively.
Your best (and most obvious) defense is the Hunter Seeker Algortihm, or to get that cruicial +3 (or +4, whatever) Probe, but a more practical way is to place Probe Teams in all your perimeter bases (and important bases.)
This is a pretty basic strategy, just got to adapt to it from the old "Kill the Spy" tactic in Civ II.
StargazerBC posted 05-01-99 02:56 PM ET
The units Hive took over were probably being supported by the city it took? If not, well. .AI cheats ::grins:: Since it's a pop of 1, it'll cost less to take over than a city whose pop is, say, 10 (a lot less). Also, the AI gets certain bonuses at Transcend level which might have aided it in the mind control.
Bingmann posted 05-03-99 04:08 PM ET
Using mind control on a base gives you the base, all units in the base, and all units adjacent to the base.
The questions I don't have answers for are: What happens to pact units inside a mind controlled base? Do they get mind controlled too? What if the pact units were from a non-enemy (no vendetta) faction? Would that cause an incident?
Zozo posted 05-03-99 05:55 PM ET
SMAC is much more improved than Civ2 in terms of countering the spies. Firstly, the probes only have 2, not 3 MPs. Secondly, they have to destroyed all the probes you have in your city before they can do their dirty work.
In Civ2 I can have a city full of veteran spies and it is simply bought a crummy diplo at a deity-subsidized price.
I always have at least one, preferably two probes in every city I just captured. And I always watch if any of the nearby cities have a probe (or are building one). I also use the planes to block off all road accesses to my occpupied cities. This is fairly easy to do with the Hive since they tend to have single-road access between cities. Much harder to do if there are roads on every square.
jimmytrick posted 05-03-99 06:14 PM ET
I keep hearing about the computer AI cheats/bonuses at high difficulty levels. As I play on transcend, I would love to have someone point me to a "list" of these (jus so I might have a clue what I am up against).
Urban Ranger posted 05-05-99 11:38 AM ET
Elite probe teams have 3 MPs. That makes it crucial to have enough bonuses to build them before you get the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.
There are several ways to block probe teams. Just pile two units (no probe team) on a road. Worms work great -- you only need one of them -- as they cannot be subverted by probe teams.
If you play the Believers, then your units can't be bribed at any rate.
However, the best defense is a good offense. Build your own probe teams and send them at enemy bases to eliminate their probe teams!
Cadrys posted 05-06-99 11:29 AM ET
Bingmann -- when this happens, the not-pacted-with-you unit is 'kicked out' of the city to a square next to it during that player's move.
"Thorny Garden captured"
"Believer needlejet ejected from city"
"Believers attack Thorny Garden!"
Seen it happen...
antinon posted 05-06-99 01:52 PM ET
Newbie question:
I'm starting to make my way up the difficulty levels. I'm playing UoP at Librarian level. My Probe rating is -4
(of course).
Anyway, my question. At what difficulty level does the AI start getting heavy with Probe Team activity. I'm dominating everything right now, and my Probe is awful, so I'd think I would be the perfect target.
The Hive sends the occasional Probe team at me, but so far it's been more of a nuissance than anything else. They get hunted down really easily by my needlejets.
Does probe team action get more intense on higher levels?

I don't want to start playing levels where the computer *cheats*, but I would like to play where the computer uses them a bit more intelligently.

ant.
jimmytrick posted 05-06-99 02:15 PM ET
Playing on Trascend you'll see rushes of 8 or more Probe Teams from time to time. Keeps you on your toes. The AI is prone to stack them together however, so if you detect them in time you can kill them en masse. I use the patrol feature with neetlejets to keep an eye on my borders and it has actually paid off a couple of times. Its also a great way to spot a naval assault offshore.
WorldBuster posted 05-06-99 07:36 PM ET
Build the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. This project is one of the top projects. The AI will use an excessive amount of probe teams - which is actually to your benefit, as it is not then making attack units.
I usually do not even make the probe teams, unless I am behind in tech, which you should not be during the mid-part of the game if you have a large number of cities. I sometimes use them for the enjoyment of seeing there population crippled by genetic viruses.
To close this thread, click here (moderator or admin only).


Hop to:

Contact Us | Alpha Centauri Home

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Version 5.18
© Madrona Park, Inc., 1998.

Author	Topic: Question concerning mind control
Couatl	posted 04-30-99 07:30 PM ET The Hive just recaptured a base I took by sending in a probe team and using mind control. Fine. This is the first time I've lost a base this way, after several games, but I was aware it could happen. What puzzles and aggravates me is that (1) the Hive had only 55 energy credits at the time, and (2) it seized control not only of my base, but my units adjacent to the base as well. It even grabbed my air units out of the sky! I'm playing Transcend-level difficulty. The base had a population of one. My own energy reserves were at 691 credits. My probe rating was 0 (+2 for Fundamentalist, -2 for Knowledge at the time). The base was not suffering from drone riots. How could any faction pull such a coup at such a low cost? The few times I've experimented with mind control (this was using elite probe foils), I've been quoted requirements of 2000+ credits. If it's that easy for a faction to grab a base from you, along with all your surrounding forces (none of which were even supported by the base), where is the game balance? Do you have to rely on the AI's stupidity in not doing it more often? Do you lead your invasions with stacks of probe teams, to populate captured bases and fend off enemies that can snatch whole armies and territories from you for chump change? What gives?
Al Gore Rythm	posted 04-30-99 09:22 PM ET You are playing on Transcend, if you haven't noticed yet on Transcend and Thinker difficulties the computer cheats excessively. Your best (and most obvious) defense is the Hunter Seeker Algortihm, or to get that cruicial +3 (or +4, whatever) Probe, but a more practical way is to place Probe Teams in all your perimeter bases (and important bases.) This is a pretty basic strategy, just got to adapt to it from the old "Kill the Spy" tactic in Civ II.
StargazerBC	posted 05-01-99 02:56 PM ET The units Hive took over were probably being supported by the city it took? If not, well. .AI cheats ::grins:: Since it's a pop of 1, it'll cost less to take over than a city whose pop is, say, 10 (a lot less). Also, the AI gets certain bonuses at Transcend level which might have aided it in the mind control.
Bingmann	posted 05-03-99 04:08 PM ET Using mind control on a base gives you the base, all units in the base, and all units adjacent to the base. The questions I don't have answers for are: What happens to pact units inside a mind controlled base? Do they get mind controlled too? What if the pact units were from a non-enemy (no vendetta) faction? Would that cause an incident?
Zozo	posted 05-03-99 05:55 PM ET SMAC is much more improved than Civ2 in terms of countering the spies. Firstly, the probes only have 2, not 3 MPs. Secondly, they have to destroyed all the probes you have in your city before they can do their dirty work. In Civ2 I can have a city full of veteran spies and it is simply bought a crummy diplo at a deity-subsidized price. I always have at least one, preferably two probes in every city I just captured. And I always watch if any of the nearby cities have a probe (or are building one). I also use the planes to block off all road accesses to my occpupied cities. This is fairly easy to do with the Hive since they tend to have single-road access between cities. Much harder to do if there are roads on every square.
jimmytrick	posted 05-03-99 06:14 PM ET I keep hearing about the computer AI cheats/bonuses at high difficulty levels. As I play on transcend, I would love to have someone point me to a "list" of these (jus so I might have a clue what I am up against).
Urban Ranger	posted 05-05-99 11:38 AM ET Elite probe teams have 3 MPs. That makes it crucial to have enough bonuses to build them before you get the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. There are several ways to block probe teams. Just pile two units (no probe team) on a road. Worms work great -- you only need one of them -- as they cannot be subverted by probe teams. If you play the Believers, then your units can't be bribed at any rate. However, the best defense is a good offense. Build your own probe teams and send them at enemy bases to eliminate their probe teams!
Cadrys	posted 05-06-99 11:29 AM ET Bingmann -- when this happens, the not-pacted-with-you unit is 'kicked out' of the city to a square next to it during that player's move. "Thorny Garden captured" "Believer needlejet ejected from city" "Believers attack Thorny Garden!" Seen it happen...
antinon	posted 05-06-99 01:52 PM ET Newbie question: I'm starting to make my way up the difficulty levels. I'm playing UoP at Librarian level. My Probe rating is -4 (of course). Anyway, my question. At what difficulty level does the AI start getting heavy with Probe Team activity. I'm dominating everything right now, and my Probe is awful, so I'd think I would be the perfect target. The Hive sends the occasional Probe team at me, but so far it's been more of a nuissance than anything else. They get hunted down really easily by my needlejets. Does probe team action get more intense on higher levels? I don't want to start playing levels where the computer cheats, but I would like to play where the computer uses them a bit more intelligently. ant.
jimmytrick	posted 05-06-99 02:15 PM ET Playing on Trascend you'll see rushes of 8 or more Probe Teams from time to time. Keeps you on your toes. The AI is prone to stack them together however, so if you detect them in time you can kill them en masse. I use the patrol feature with neetlejets to keep an eye on my borders and it has actually paid off a couple of times. Its also a great way to spot a naval assault offshore.
WorldBuster	posted 05-06-99 07:36 PM ET Build the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm. This project is one of the top projects. The AI will use an excessive amount of probe teams - which is actually to your benefit, as it is not then making attack units. I usually do not even make the probe teams, unless I am behind in tech, which you should not be during the mid-part of the game if you have a large number of cities. I sometimes use them for the enjoyment of seeing there population crippled by genetic viruses.