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Author Topic:   Too many Bases????

Goose1 posted 07-15-99 08:30 PM ET
What do you do when you have so many bases that micromanaging them all gets more tedious than fun. I don't believe I can trust the computer... Any thoughts
By the way, I created a custom map, twice the size of a Huge map, and let me tell you, it is very cool to play, especially if you like to build. (I know, SMAC says that it's not a good idea to play with that big of a map, but I've had no problems at all so far - yr2300 - I'm playing on a PII 350....)
Zoetrope posted 07-15-99 11:55 PM ET
If a zillion bases are getting you down, you can always:
A. Run the marathon only occasionally, and intersperse those sessions with games on smaller maps to keep the mind sharp.
B. Go for Diplomatic Victory.
C. Do nothing but build a massive military and take everyone else out. (The Believers are especially fun!)
As for Vast maps, I have one game going on a map that's about 250 by 200. Every faction is on a large landmass, but these continents look like tiny islands on the world map, first contact was greatly delayed, and any kind of military venture (even when flight is invented) will involve very long treks. On a P-100 this map is a little slow, so it's now on the remote backburner.
I'm currently playing (version 4.0 at Thinker) on a 125 by 100 map. This is much quicker, except that I'm the Hive and playing with Abundant lifeforms (the Hive doesn't enjoy worms at all), and it's taken a long time to get Trance (due to lack of trade between factions), so the first 100 turns after I discovered the nearby Monsoon Jungle the worms prevented me from colonising it. Most annoying.
On the other hand, I have managed to safely recover five or six Artefacts, despite being set upon by the native wildlife. Some people use these to speed projects, but at this stage of the game, when I have about thirty bases, I find it much swifter to use Supply Crawlers, and apply the Artefacts to get techs.
Now it's about 2300, I've cleared enough fungus to feel much safer, settled all of the MJ, and am eyeing the territory of my nearest neighbor Lal (who has the Manifold Nexus). Fortunately he's the only one sharing my continent, which is one of the two largest, stretching almost from pole to pole, and my needlejet colony pods have proved very useful in confining him to the north-east, while vast undeveloped areas to my south beckon.
On a similarly large continent, the Believers have extended south to the borders of Morgan and the Spartans, and Miriam has many bases but hasn't made the inroads I'd expected.
The University is on a continent to my west, where I am also building bases.
Meanwhile I've built two hedgerow mirror parks (the larger one is about 5 by 20 and will soon merge with the smaller one), and am beginning to surge ahead in technology, building multiple Projects before my rivals, and refusing to share key technology - just as they have frequently done to me.
The substantial distances mean that my only threat remains Planet's worm hordes, but since going Green I've captured two, and possessing Trance at last makes a huge difference to my units' survivability.
Unfortunately, I have lost two needlejet bombers that were supposed to have had very favorable odds against the vermin. Seems there's still an anomaly in SMAC's battle probability calculations. (Either that, or they've broadened the distribution of outcomes to better reflect the uncertainties of war! Remember that the Serbs managed to down a Stealth Bomber.)
Koshko posted 07-16-99 12:12 AM ET
Do the managing in spurts. This is what I like to do. I go thru and methodically set every single city to build multiple things on the Quece. What these things are depend on the size, age, and location of the city. It may take about a half-hour to do it all, but at the same time, you won't have to worry about any city for many, many turns.
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Author	Topic: Too many Bases????
Goose1	posted 07-15-99 08:30 PM ET What do you do when you have so many bases that micromanaging them all gets more tedious than fun. I don't believe I can trust the computer... Any thoughts By the way, I created a custom map, twice the size of a Huge map, and let me tell you, it is very cool to play, especially if you like to build. (I know, SMAC says that it's not a good idea to play with that big of a map, but I've had no problems at all so far - yr2300 - I'm playing on a PII 350....)
Zoetrope	posted 07-15-99 11:55 PM ET If a zillion bases are getting you down, you can always: A. Run the marathon only occasionally, and intersperse those sessions with games on smaller maps to keep the mind sharp. B. Go for Diplomatic Victory. C. Do nothing but build a massive military and take everyone else out. (The Believers are especially fun!) As for Vast maps, I have one game going on a map that's about 250 by 200. Every faction is on a large landmass, but these continents look like tiny islands on the world map, first contact was greatly delayed, and any kind of military venture (even when flight is invented) will involve very long treks. On a P-100 this map is a little slow, so it's now on the remote backburner. I'm currently playing (version 4.0 at Thinker) on a 125 by 100 map. This is much quicker, except that I'm the Hive and playing with Abundant lifeforms (the Hive doesn't enjoy worms at all), and it's taken a long time to get Trance (due to lack of trade between factions), so the first 100 turns after I discovered the nearby Monsoon Jungle the worms prevented me from colonising it. Most annoying. On the other hand, I have managed to safely recover five or six Artefacts, despite being set upon by the native wildlife. Some people use these to speed projects, but at this stage of the game, when I have about thirty bases, I find it much swifter to use Supply Crawlers, and apply the Artefacts to get techs. Now it's about 2300, I've cleared enough fungus to feel much safer, settled all of the MJ, and am eyeing the territory of my nearest neighbor Lal (who has the Manifold Nexus). Fortunately he's the only one sharing my continent, which is one of the two largest, stretching almost from pole to pole, and my needlejet colony pods have proved very useful in confining him to the north-east, while vast undeveloped areas to my south beckon. On a similarly large continent, the Believers have extended south to the borders of Morgan and the Spartans, and Miriam has many bases but hasn't made the inroads I'd expected. The University is on a continent to my west, where I am also building bases. Meanwhile I've built two hedgerow mirror parks (the larger one is about 5 by 20 and will soon merge with the smaller one), and am beginning to surge ahead in technology, building multiple Projects before my rivals, and refusing to share key technology - just as they have frequently done to me. The substantial distances mean that my only threat remains Planet's worm hordes, but since going Green I've captured two, and possessing Trance at last makes a huge difference to my units' survivability. Unfortunately, I have lost two needlejet bombers that were supposed to have had very favorable odds against the vermin. Seems there's still an anomaly in SMAC's battle probability calculations. (Either that, or they've broadened the distribution of outcomes to better reflect the uncertainties of war! Remember that the Serbs managed to down a Stealth Bomber.)
Koshko	posted 07-16-99 12:12 AM ET Do the managing in spurts. This is what I like to do. I go thru and methodically set every single city to build multiple things on the Quece. What these things are depend on the size, age, and location of the city. It may take about a half-hour to do it all, but at the same time, you won't have to worry about any city for many, many turns.