posted 05-14-99 03:42 PM ET         

Couple of early suggestions:

Open up the timeline of this forum from its default (mine is 5 days - I don't know if that is standard) to 100 days, and look for all the tips for newbies (and for vets too) such as best faction, best special projects, combat (esp the native planet life combat), etc. But you want to be playing, not reading, so...

for the first game, when you load, the start-up sequence is neat, then you are given your menu choice.

I suggest (and others may chip in with different suggestions):

Start Game (does't actually kick you into the game, but moves to the next choice)
Huge Map of Planet (the regular map gets you into conflicts too soon)
Citizen (the easiest - and you'll only be playing once at this level in all probability)
Customize Rules - if you are more into war than strategy, leave as is. If the reverse, you might want to click to turn off the winning through conquest option. If you like knowing where you are going (with these hi-tech research names), and don't mind using the research tree poster as you play, click on Blind research to turn it off. (My first game I didn't, and it was "holy heck, what on earth does this do?" very frustrating. As you progress into your umpteenth game though you will probably be playing more and more with blind research activated.
Next choice is the faction to play. if you've scanned these threads, and flipped through the manual, you'll know that each faction has distinct playing advantages and disadvantages. You'll end up playing a game as each faction, but IMHO the Gaians, Believers and PeaceKeepers are easier than the others, 'tho I've a colleague who swears by The Hive.
Depending on how you want to win, the choice of faction helps (but at Citizen you'll find that all are relatively easy to win any method):

For Conquest you get an early start with The Hive and Spartans
For Supreme Leader, PeaceKeepers give you a great population bonus
Cornering the Energy market is easier for Morgan
Transcendence is about the same for all factions - maybe a tad easier for the Gaians, with their affinity for Planet, or perhaps Morgan because he is best able to accumulate energy credits (like cash) to buy the victory outright.
I've never experienced a co-operative victory, nor read of one through these posts (maybe it is for multiplayer only) so I don't know what might be best for it.

Then go for it. You have a couple of options during game play, whether to let your cities govern themselves based on your broad strategic direction, or whether to micromanage your cities themselves (i.e. what they should build, how resources are allocated within the city radius, etc). Most of us despise the AI in this regard as it seems to make stupid decisions, but if you are managing 40 - 50 cities the Governor feature can be a time-saver.
The other choice (actually there are myriad other choices, but hte one that will have a significant bearing on your victory) is the typew of government you select as the game unfolds, but you ar prompted along the way in Citizen mode, so it's a great learning experience.

I've covered enough to get you into the game - I'll let others suggest strategies, tactics, wiles and, yes, even sanctioned cheats.

Oh, and also visit the www.apolyton.net site - there are some great hints and strategies outlined too - with many of the same posters as here.

Good luck and happy SMACing.

Go Scotland Go (World Cup Cricket started today)

posted 05-14-99 04:58 PM ET         

Here is my $.02:

The book is a monster. I wish they included a "quick start" section in the begining, but oh well. I hoped right in with a Citizen level game and did fine. It gives you quite a bit of unsolicited help, and soon you will annoyed at the same advice over and over again. One good thing is that you can turn off some messages (the ones you know by heart) and keep the rest.

Basic advice:
1. Keep a unit or two in each base for defence.
2. Explore! Find your enemies.
3. Make friends and trade techs first, then pick a faction to fight.
4. A monkey with a mouse could beat the game on citizen level, don't take wrong moves too seriously. Some times, using the keypad, it is difficult to tell which direction is witch (you'll see what I mean soon enough).
5. HAVE FUN WITH IT! Try out a planet buster on an enemy and check out the new creator where his/her city was. Try the same thing on a pack brother/sister and see how they react Don't like boats? Use formers to build land bridges everywhere (when you have the tech). Just enjoy to start; learn by experimentation.

Thats enough for me. I'm sure other will contribute....

posted 05-14-99 09:07 PM ET            

There are a couple of tutorial scenarios that give you a good kick-start, and a couple of pages of hints and tips in the manual (Appendix 1). Like the manual says - don't try and read it from cover to cover, but dip in when you're having trouble. The lack of an index is frustrating, but I got used to the layout fairly quickly, and you only start to need the really technical stuff when you move up the experience levels.

The only other bit of advice is to:

a) set your divorce proceedings in motion, or

b) find someone wealthy to pay you for a green card scam marriage, so that you can put your notice in on Monday morning, because work is going to become a low priority task after SMACing, snacking and doing your ablutions. (N.B. Sleep is right out of the question.)