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Author Topic:   Supply shortages

CstmmagEK posted 06-23-99 07:13 PM ET
I'm VERY new to SMAC and am having a hard time getting a steady supply of resources...I'm currently playing the Spartans on the Specialist level...if anyone can help...thanks!!
EK
Krushala posted 06-23-99 08:31 PM ET
Resources? do you mean energy, minerals, or nutrient. I'll assume energy. Everyone wants it. Energy is the key to the game. Minerals are important, but not as important as in civ2. But you should always have excess nutrients. There should be a terraforming thread around here which can explain the best way to get resources from the land. But some basics are to make sure you build farms and solar collectors on high ground. Plant forests on low ground. When your energy restrictions are lifted use boreholes for extra energy. If the land is arid than forests are the way to go.
Zoetrope posted 06-24-99 05:02 AM ET
Supply units (crawlers by default) are valuable. Send them out to a resource, press "o", and the supplies roll in. Since they cost nothing to support, and are among the cheaper units, there's no excuse for not building them.
Also, you can disband them in a base that's building a Secret Project to hurry it (30 minerals per supply crawler). I often have several bases sending streams of supply crawlers to an SP. (If you don't do this, then the AI will beat you to some crucial Projects.)
You can build boreholes and other eco-damagers outside base radii, which means that the worms don't know to blame you. To harvest a resource, send a supply unit. If a resource is far away, and you want to get there fast, then you could design and build a supply rover, but transport planes will be quicker and more flexible if you have enough of them to match your production of supply crawlers.
The main downsides to supply units are:
(1) They only allow one type of resource (nutrient, minerals, or energy) to be harvested per square (whereas population allocated to a square will gather all the resources). You have to choose which resource you want most, because if you try to use a second supply unit, the game won't let you. (However, you can change what the supply unit is extracting.)
(2) They're vulnerable to enemy attack. The AI loves to snipe at unarmed units, such as transformers, supply units, and probe teams, because it's an effective policy to cripple an enemy's resource production. So the AI also loves to use artillery (land artillery or ships) to destroy terraforming enhancements, such as mines, farms and roads.
To protect supply units, you could send a former to build a bunker, and base a good defensive unit there. Defence on rocky ground is much stronger than on flat or rolling, so it should be feasible to defend mines with ground troops.
Air cover? Unfortunately covering a square with an air unit is ineffective against the standard ground-to-ground artillery fire, which just ignores the aircraft. (Picture the artillery shells as having trajectories below the flight path of the aircraft.)
If you cannot protect an enhanced square or a supply unit, then clear the enemy out of the neighborhood, and rebuild.
To keep an area safe for your resource gathering, make sure that you have about a three square no-entry zone between there and any enemy bases. Build and "man" bunkers not only on the resource squares, but also at nearby sensors. Build either bases or airfields with fighters (air superiority aka "SAM" aircraft) on full readiness using the lowercase "l" (ell) key.
Remember that you can build SAM ground units to take out pesky enemy air units. SAM artillery can strike at range, and SAM rovers can rush in to shoot down a jet while it's pending its return journey.
Choppers are more problematic, since they usually return to base on their turn (or suffer damage, but I haven't seen the AI overextend choppers). So keep those enemy bases far enough away that their choppers cannot reach your resource squares. Conquer the enemy's forward bases if necessary. Remember too that the best time to hit any aircraft is when it's on the ground.
Use spies to take out base defences. At least when I'm playing as Miriam, my spies usually take out the perimeter defence first, which is very handy, but if you're airstriking enemy bases, you'll probably want to demolish the Aerospace centre, which will also allow you to paradrop directly to take the base when all its defenders have been defeated.
If you must attack by air while the Aerospace centre is still there, then try to get Fusion power before your opponent, because that's twice as durable as Fission, and your aircraft will wear their AAA down.
If you have to attack on ground, against Perimeter Defences, then mindworms are a good unit, because they attack on morale only, and your Spartans have good morale.
As the Spartans, you should know that the best defence is a good offence.
You should also recognise that without Wealth, you will have a hard time gettting rich, and your industrial (mineral efficiency) and energy production will always be less than other factions in the same situation.
So your best strategy is to aim to conquer early, as your morale bonus is most valuable when everyone else has Green or (in the Gaians' case) Very Green units.
If your rivals are on the same landmass as you, use rovers to reach them quickly, when they'll be unprepared.
If they are overseas, then go straight for naval tech, and send an expeditionary force to establish a beachhead, from which you will attack ASAP.
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Author	Topic: Supply shortages
CstmmagEK	posted 06-23-99 07:13 PM ET I'm VERY new to SMAC and am having a hard time getting a steady supply of resources...I'm currently playing the Spartans on the Specialist level...if anyone can help...thanks!! EK
Krushala	posted 06-23-99 08:31 PM ET Resources? do you mean energy, minerals, or nutrient. I'll assume energy. Everyone wants it. Energy is the key to the game. Minerals are important, but not as important as in civ2. But you should always have excess nutrients. There should be a terraforming thread around here which can explain the best way to get resources from the land. But some basics are to make sure you build farms and solar collectors on high ground. Plant forests on low ground. When your energy restrictions are lifted use boreholes for extra energy. If the land is arid than forests are the way to go.
Zoetrope	posted 06-24-99 05:02 AM ET Supply units (crawlers by default) are valuable. Send them out to a resource, press "o", and the supplies roll in. Since they cost nothing to support, and are among the cheaper units, there's no excuse for not building them. Also, you can disband them in a base that's building a Secret Project to hurry it (30 minerals per supply crawler). I often have several bases sending streams of supply crawlers to an SP. (If you don't do this, then the AI will beat you to some crucial Projects.) You can build boreholes and other eco-damagers outside base radii, which means that the worms don't know to blame you. To harvest a resource, send a supply unit. If a resource is far away, and you want to get there fast, then you could design and build a supply rover, but transport planes will be quicker and more flexible if you have enough of them to match your production of supply crawlers. The main downsides to supply units are: (1) They only allow one type of resource (nutrient, minerals, or energy) to be harvested per square (whereas population allocated to a square will gather all the resources). You have to choose which resource you want most, because if you try to use a second supply unit, the game won't let you. (However, you can change what the supply unit is extracting.) (2) They're vulnerable to enemy attack. The AI loves to snipe at unarmed units, such as transformers, supply units, and probe teams, because it's an effective policy to cripple an enemy's resource production. So the AI also loves to use artillery (land artillery or ships) to destroy terraforming enhancements, such as mines, farms and roads. To protect supply units, you could send a former to build a bunker, and base a good defensive unit there. Defence on rocky ground is much stronger than on flat or rolling, so it should be feasible to defend mines with ground troops. Air cover? Unfortunately covering a square with an air unit is ineffective against the standard ground-to-ground artillery fire, which just ignores the aircraft. (Picture the artillery shells as having trajectories below the flight path of the aircraft.) If you cannot protect an enhanced square or a supply unit, then clear the enemy out of the neighborhood, and rebuild. To keep an area safe for your resource gathering, make sure that you have about a three square no-entry zone between there and any enemy bases. Build and "man" bunkers not only on the resource squares, but also at nearby sensors. Build either bases or airfields with fighters (air superiority aka "SAM" aircraft) on full readiness using the lowercase "l" (ell) key. Remember that you can build SAM ground units to take out pesky enemy air units. SAM artillery can strike at range, and SAM rovers can rush in to shoot down a jet while it's pending its return journey. Choppers are more problematic, since they usually return to base on their turn (or suffer damage, but I haven't seen the AI overextend choppers). So keep those enemy bases far enough away that their choppers cannot reach your resource squares. Conquer the enemy's forward bases if necessary. Remember too that the best time to hit any aircraft is when it's on the ground. Use spies to take out base defences. At least when I'm playing as Miriam, my spies usually take out the perimeter defence first, which is very handy, but if you're airstriking enemy bases, you'll probably want to demolish the Aerospace centre, which will also allow you to paradrop directly to take the base when all its defenders have been defeated. If you must attack by air while the Aerospace centre is still there, then try to get Fusion power before your opponent, because that's twice as durable as Fission, and your aircraft will wear their AAA down. If you have to attack on ground, against Perimeter Defences, then mindworms are a good unit, because they attack on morale only, and your Spartans have good morale. As the Spartans, you should know that the best defence is a good offence. You should also recognise that without Wealth, you will have a hard time gettting rich, and your industrial (mineral efficiency) and energy production will always be less than other factions in the same situation. So your best strategy is to aim to conquer early, as your morale bonus is most valuable when everyone else has Green or (in the Gaians' case) Very Green units. If your rivals are on the same landmass as you, use rovers to reach them quickly, when they'll be unprepared. If they are overseas, then go straight for naval tech, and send an expeditionary force to establish a beachhead, from which you will attack ASAP.