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Author Topic:   Mind Worm Capture

Smeagol posted 05-10-99 01:24 AM ET
I was just experimenting with the Gaians for the first time, and I noticed that the many mindworms I captured early on didn't require any support, even when I ended their turn outside of fungus squares. Am I missing something?
Also, can you get those early mindworms past Boil status? It's pretty easy to get them up there, but I couldn't get the lifecycle past this with additional attacks.
Smeagol posted 05-10-99 02:53 AM ET
Also, I'm wondering if mindworms can be used to capture other mindworms. All advice on this topic more than welcome as using the Gaians is completely new to me!
wtiger posted 05-10-99 03:25 AM ET
Yes, mindworms can be used to capture other mindworms. *I believe* the patch reduced the chances somewhat...
"...using the Gaians is completely new to me!" - what on Earth are you talking about?
--wtiger
"No, I am not Tiger Woods!!!!!!!!!!"
sandworm posted 05-10-99 09:13 AM ET
It gets progressively harder to raise mindworm lifecycle/troop morale. The manual recommends getting a mindworm through a few of the early lifecycles through combat, then using a monolith to squeeze them up one more.
Send your mindworms roaming through fungus patches long enough, and you'll eventually end up with demon boils.
I've found the Gaians the easiest faction for me to play, but it can be awfully fun to play Morgan, he requires a much different style.
Smeagol posted 05-10-99 12:07 PM ET
wtiger-- I never really bothered to try the Gaians, because I was more into playing other factions. I was shocked to see how easy it is to capture mindworms, raise their lifecycle thru some early combat, and wipe out a faction or two. Also, it seemed no matter where I captured mindworms, not a single one of the 10 I caught required support (all were independent).
Sandworm-- I've beat the game with Morgan a few times, the Hive, the PKs, the University. Most of the time I use Free Market (for the peaceful factions)-- I'm just tired of fighting mindworms and I'd like to see it from the other side.
It seems that the Gaians rock, getting so many mindworms so early and with that +30% attack bonus once you go green. Get the Dream Twister later on and even psi defenses won't stop you, or at least that's my thinking. Also, pick up the Neural Amplifier just so nobody else can get it. I'm sure there are still some defenses to this but by then the computer at least will be wiped out.
High Priest posted 05-10-99 07:37 PM ET
Smeagol: Yah, I've found the same lack of support early in the game. Once a Unity Rover was found right next to one of my bases, and it didn't demand support!
One thing I've found, though, is that the lack of support rarely happens all the time (maybe for Gaians?), one might be free, the next not, etc.
Probably one of the few "good" bugs that won't be enjoyed for long.
Plato90s posted 05-10-99 07:43 PM ET
Actually, Unity rovers and foils are always independent.
High Priest posted 05-10-99 09:19 PM ET
Actually, they are not independant when taken near a base. That base supports them, in most cases, just like mind worms.
Urban Ranger posted 05-11-99 08:09 AM ET
I think what happens is, very early in the game, any units you found/captured are all indepedent to help you. Perhaps this grace period is adjusted by the difficulty level.
When I capture worms later on, they definitely need support, unless you do it very, very, far away from your cities.
What's really nice with the Gaians is you can build a gun foil and let it loose. Don't explore any pods at the end of your movement just in case of Isles. Sooner or later, you will capture an Isle, and often the Isle carries around extra worms. When that happens, you can send the gun foil back to scrap and explore the seas with the Isle.
Smeagol posted 05-11-99 12:23 PM ET
Urban-- It may very well be difficulty level, because this was just an experiment on Librarian (my first time trying the Gaians). I'll check it out on transcend soon to see what happens.
G e o r g e r i f i c posted 05-12-99 06:36 PM ET
An added bonus to exploring with Isles is that since they are transports, they can pick up Aritfacts from sea pods. You also seem to have better odds of getting them on land pods. By the time I finished exploring the ocean on a Huge map, I had about 17 Isles and probably dozens of artifacts
Urban Ranger posted 05-13-99 12:55 PM ET
Mind worms can be really nasty. Just like every other military units, all you need to do is to mass enough of them. The difference is, you can have a bunch of boils running around capturing more of them when your cities are building infrastructure.
Play the Gaians on a map with abundant native lifeforms. It's very hard not to win.
Porkmonger posted 05-15-99 01:28 AM ET
I agree with Urban Ranger. Gaians on Abundant Life is insane. It gets even scarier once you start getting eco-damage. With green on you get 75% mindworm capture (though I think it's more like 50 or less), and right after a fungal explosion there are like 16 mindworms per square, and if you kill one all die. But if you capture them, you can just crush... too bad they're slow (if you have xenoempathy).
I like how they can attack at full power even if they have 1/3 move left.
The Dream Twister makes them incredibly powerful (and nullifys those annoying Trance upgrades), but I thin the Neural Amp is far more useful since Psi combat is weak on defense. One thing that's just crazy is once you get Eudaimonia, you can build the psi defense on your probe teams for free. Not only does this cancel out that pesky non-combat score but it also gives you the planet rating and neural amp bonus. Try it!
sandworm posted 05-15-99 12:35 PM ET
Mindworm capture success drops each time you capture a new one, something like 10% each down to a minimum of 10% capture. It keeps the Gaians from winning every time.
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Author	Topic: Mind Worm Capture
Smeagol	posted 05-10-99 01:24 AM ET I was just experimenting with the Gaians for the first time, and I noticed that the many mindworms I captured early on didn't require any support, even when I ended their turn outside of fungus squares. Am I missing something? Also, can you get those early mindworms past Boil status? It's pretty easy to get them up there, but I couldn't get the lifecycle past this with additional attacks.
Smeagol	posted 05-10-99 02:53 AM ET Also, I'm wondering if mindworms can be used to capture other mindworms. All advice on this topic more than welcome as using the Gaians is completely new to me!
wtiger	posted 05-10-99 03:25 AM ET Yes, mindworms can be used to capture other mindworms. I believe the patch reduced the chances somewhat... "...using the Gaians is completely new to me!" - what on Earth are you talking about? --wtiger "No, I am not Tiger Woods!!!!!!!!!!"
sandworm	posted 05-10-99 09:13 AM ET It gets progressively harder to raise mindworm lifecycle/troop morale. The manual recommends getting a mindworm through a few of the early lifecycles through combat, then using a monolith to squeeze them up one more. Send your mindworms roaming through fungus patches long enough, and you'll eventually end up with demon boils. I've found the Gaians the easiest faction for me to play, but it can be awfully fun to play Morgan, he requires a much different style.
Smeagol	posted 05-10-99 12:07 PM ET wtiger-- I never really bothered to try the Gaians, because I was more into playing other factions. I was shocked to see how easy it is to capture mindworms, raise their lifecycle thru some early combat, and wipe out a faction or two. Also, it seemed no matter where I captured mindworms, not a single one of the 10 I caught required support (all were independent). Sandworm-- I've beat the game with Morgan a few times, the Hive, the PKs, the University. Most of the time I use Free Market (for the peaceful factions)-- I'm just tired of fighting mindworms and I'd like to see it from the other side. It seems that the Gaians rock, getting so many mindworms so early and with that +30% attack bonus once you go green. Get the Dream Twister later on and even psi defenses won't stop you, or at least that's my thinking. Also, pick up the Neural Amplifier just so nobody else can get it. I'm sure there are still some defenses to this but by then the computer at least will be wiped out.
High Priest	posted 05-10-99 07:37 PM ET Smeagol: Yah, I've found the same lack of support early in the game. Once a Unity Rover was found right next to one of my bases, and it didn't demand support! One thing I've found, though, is that the lack of support rarely happens all the time (maybe for Gaians?), one might be free, the next not, etc. Probably one of the few "good" bugs that won't be enjoyed for long.
Plato90s	posted 05-10-99 07:43 PM ET Actually, Unity rovers and foils are always independent.
High Priest	posted 05-10-99 09:19 PM ET Actually, they are not independant when taken near a base. That base supports them, in most cases, just like mind worms.
Urban Ranger	posted 05-11-99 08:09 AM ET I think what happens is, very early in the game, any units you found/captured are all indepedent to help you. Perhaps this grace period is adjusted by the difficulty level. When I capture worms later on, they definitely need support, unless you do it very, very, far away from your cities. What's really nice with the Gaians is you can build a gun foil and let it loose. Don't explore any pods at the end of your movement just in case of Isles. Sooner or later, you will capture an Isle, and often the Isle carries around extra worms. When that happens, you can send the gun foil back to scrap and explore the seas with the Isle.
Smeagol	posted 05-11-99 12:23 PM ET Urban-- It may very well be difficulty level, because this was just an experiment on Librarian (my first time trying the Gaians). I'll check it out on transcend soon to see what happens.
G e o r g e r i f i c	posted 05-12-99 06:36 PM ET An added bonus to exploring with Isles is that since they are transports, they can pick up Aritfacts from sea pods. You also seem to have better odds of getting them on land pods. By the time I finished exploring the ocean on a Huge map, I had about 17 Isles and probably dozens of artifacts
Urban Ranger	posted 05-13-99 12:55 PM ET Mind worms can be really nasty. Just like every other military units, all you need to do is to mass enough of them. The difference is, you can have a bunch of boils running around capturing more of them when your cities are building infrastructure. Play the Gaians on a map with abundant native lifeforms. It's very hard not to win.
Porkmonger	posted 05-15-99 01:28 AM ET I agree with Urban Ranger. Gaians on Abundant Life is insane. It gets even scarier once you start getting eco-damage. With green on you get 75% mindworm capture (though I think it's more like 50 or less), and right after a fungal explosion there are like 16 mindworms per square, and if you kill one all die. But if you capture them, you can just crush... too bad they're slow (if you have xenoempathy). I like how they can attack at full power even if they have 1/3 move left. The Dream Twister makes them incredibly powerful (and nullifys those annoying Trance upgrades), but I thin the Neural Amp is far more useful since Psi combat is weak on defense. One thing that's just crazy is once you get Eudaimonia, you can build the psi defense on your probe teams for free. Not only does this cancel out that pesky non-combat score but it also gives you the planet rating and neural amp bonus. Try it!
sandworm	posted 05-15-99 12:35 PM ET Mindworm capture success drops each time you capture a new one, something like 10% each down to a minimum of 10% capture. It keeps the Gaians from winning every time.