Greeks bearing Guns, or "Why I play Spartans"

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Author Topic:   Greeks bearing Guns, or "Why I play Spartans"

Schoop posted 04-20-99 12:06 AM ET
This is #3 in a series of posts detailing my analysis of the original factions in Alpha Centauri. Feel free to comment, but please stay within the topic of the faction.
The Spartan Federation is a strong faction , and best suited to waging war. They start with a Scout Rover, allowing them to explore the surrounding territory relatively quickly.
They've got a great Morale boost, meaning even the newest units are better than average. I don't think I really need to expound on this.
They've also got a bonus to Police, allowing the Spartan player with an eye toward defense to keep the people happy.
Finally, on the topic of benefits, they pay no extra for prototypes. Keep the new war materials coming, just keep up the research.
The Industry penalty hurts, but you can get around it by using Planned Economics.
Obviously, the Spartans are geared for war. Play aggressively, and don't be afraid to bully people into giveing you bases and technology.
Spartan strategy is very straightforward, and I would recommend this faction to those who are playing for the first time.

Koshko posted 04-20-99 12:34 AM ET
I have other preferences overall, but I'd vote them #1 on Tiny Maps.
Schoop posted 04-20-99 04:09 PM ET
DEFINITELY BUILD
THE COMMAND NEXUS and THE CYBORG FACTORY
With as much fighting as you're going to be doing, who wouldn't want to compound the Morale bonus that the Spartans have?
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 11:17 AM ET
Back to the Top
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 12:06 PM ET
I am currently playing the Spartans with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became:
Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc.
What are your favorite SPARTAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)?
Lo
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 12:08 PM ET
I am currently playing the Spartans with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became:
Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc.
What are your favorite SPARTAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)?
Lo
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 12:11 PM ET
Sorry about the double post...my system was hanging so I disconnected and reconnected without checking to see if the first try succeeded.
Lo
wulfhaven posted 07-29-99 10:28 PM ET
Gotta love the Spartans...never lost with them. Like you said they're geared to fight and while the auto is military apps and knowledge, I find it better to drop the military option from the start. Speeds up on the discoveries, and since our gear's better to begin with, you don't really need the military applications.
I usually name mine after elements. Dumb, but it has a practical purpose. It allows me to remember the order they were built in (no real need, but forgive my quirks) and it helps me remember for all my science subjects. Very handy.
Stellar Lightning posted 07-31-99 04:55 PM ET
One reason why I like the Spartans: Elite Terraformers. Everyone else has to build rover formers, but the Spartans can get normal formers with 2 movement points quite easily.
Inix posted 08-02-99 03:02 PM ET
Adaptability and versatility. All of the other factions have starting point requirements or map types that must be used. The spartans can win on any map and can start next to any player. Huge island maps r not "ideal" but u can still win on them even in these less-than-perfect conditions. To me, its cheezy to pick map selections specifically to suit your specific faction in a game, and i consider every game were i have to restart because of starting spots a loss. I greatly prefer to take any situation and "work with it" rather than putting my tail between my legs and hitting the restart button. As a final note, the vaunted -1 industry doesnt matter that much if u compensate with increased mineral priority in your terraforming choices i.e. an increased forests/mines on rocky to farms and solar ratio. I have a bunch of other reasons too, but already said them in the factions2 post.
White_Cat posted 08-09-99 08:59 PM ET
Here's what I posted in the "Favourite Factions 2" thread in the strategies forum:
Probably the main reason I like them is that they fit perfectly with my preferred strategy. I like to expand aggressively at the start, pushing out all my neighbors (I usually try to have sole control of one or more continents). Then I switch to build mode (Demo/FM/Know) and use my huge population base to run the others into the ground.
Why does this work best with Spartans?
Doctrine Mobility / starting rover: Find your victims before they have adequate defenses. Also good for pod popping.
High police: If you run a police state, you can fight aggressive wars with free market, with no pacifist drones.
Free prototypes: UoP may discover the new weapons first, but you can build them first.
High morale: Counters the extra mindworms that free market (unrealistically) creates.
The -1 Industry disadvantage is vastly exaggerated. 10% more minerals. So a 10-turn facility will now take 11 turns. Whoopeee.
RM posted 08-10-99 04:43 AM ET
For the AI, the industry is one of the biggest problems. Since it will always choose power as soon as it has discovered it, the Spartans will have a -3 industry, ie 30% more minerals cost. This can be worth it for military units, since they get a great morale, but building facilities with 30% extra cost is very wasteful.
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Author	Topic: Greeks bearing Guns, or "Why I play Spartans"
Schoop	posted 04-20-99 12:06 AM ET This is #3 in a series of posts detailing my analysis of the original factions in Alpha Centauri. Feel free to comment, but please stay within the topic of the faction. The Spartan Federation is a strong faction , and best suited to waging war. They start with a Scout Rover, allowing them to explore the surrounding territory relatively quickly. They've got a great Morale boost, meaning even the newest units are better than average. I don't think I really need to expound on this. They've also got a bonus to Police, allowing the Spartan player with an eye toward defense to keep the people happy. Finally, on the topic of benefits, they pay no extra for prototypes. Keep the new war materials coming, just keep up the research. The Industry penalty hurts, but you can get around it by using Planned Economics. Obviously, the Spartans are geared for war. Play aggressively, and don't be afraid to bully people into giveing you bases and technology. Spartan strategy is very straightforward, and I would recommend this faction to those who are playing for the first time.
Koshko	posted 04-20-99 12:34 AM ET I have other preferences overall, but I'd vote them #1 on Tiny Maps.
Schoop	posted 04-20-99 04:09 PM ET DEFINITELY BUILD THE COMMAND NEXUS and THE CYBORG FACTORY With as much fighting as you're going to be doing, who wouldn't want to compound the Morale bonus that the Spartans have?
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 11:17 AM ET Back to the Top
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 12:06 PM ET I am currently playing the Spartans with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became: Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc. What are your favorite SPARTAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)? Lo
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 12:08 PM ET I am currently playing the Spartans with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became: Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc. What are your favorite SPARTAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)? Lo
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 12:11 PM ET Sorry about the double post...my system was hanging so I disconnected and reconnected without checking to see if the first try succeeded. Lo
wulfhaven	posted 07-29-99 10:28 PM ET Gotta love the Spartans...never lost with them. Like you said they're geared to fight and while the auto is military apps and knowledge, I find it better to drop the military option from the start. Speeds up on the discoveries, and since our gear's better to begin with, you don't really need the military applications. I usually name mine after elements. Dumb, but it has a practical purpose. It allows me to remember the order they were built in (no real need, but forgive my quirks) and it helps me remember for all my science subjects. Very handy.
Stellar Lightning	posted 07-31-99 04:55 PM ET One reason why I like the Spartans: Elite Terraformers. Everyone else has to build rover formers, but the Spartans can get normal formers with 2 movement points quite easily.
Inix	posted 08-02-99 03:02 PM ET Adaptability and versatility. All of the other factions have starting point requirements or map types that must be used. The spartans can win on any map and can start next to any player. Huge island maps r not "ideal" but u can still win on them even in these less-than-perfect conditions. To me, its cheezy to pick map selections specifically to suit your specific faction in a game, and i consider every game were i have to restart because of starting spots a loss. I greatly prefer to take any situation and "work with it" rather than putting my tail between my legs and hitting the restart button. As a final note, the vaunted -1 industry doesnt matter that much if u compensate with increased mineral priority in your terraforming choices i.e. an increased forests/mines on rocky to farms and solar ratio. I have a bunch of other reasons too, but already said them in the factions2 post.
White_Cat	posted 08-09-99 08:59 PM ET Here's what I posted in the "Favourite Factions 2" thread in the strategies forum: Probably the main reason I like them is that they fit perfectly with my preferred strategy. I like to expand aggressively at the start, pushing out all my neighbors (I usually try to have sole control of one or more continents). Then I switch to build mode (Demo/FM/Know) and use my huge population base to run the others into the ground. Why does this work best with Spartans? Doctrine Mobility / starting rover: Find your victims before they have adequate defenses. Also good for pod popping. High police: If you run a police state, you can fight aggressive wars with free market, with no pacifist drones. Free prototypes: UoP may discover the new weapons first, but you can build them first. High morale: Counters the extra mindworms that free market (unrealistically) creates. The -1 Industry disadvantage is vastly exaggerated. 10% more minerals. So a 10-turn facility will now take 11 turns. Whoopeee.
RM	posted 08-10-99 04:43 AM ET For the AI, the industry is one of the biggest problems. Since it will always choose power as soon as it has discovered it, the Spartans will have a -3 industry, ie 30% more minerals cost. This can be worth it for military units, since they get a great morale, but building facilities with 30% extra cost is very wasteful.