posted 02-18-99 12:00 PM ET     

For example: I can not get the group function to work. I would think that I could make a group then move that group in unison but I can make a group but they want me to move one at a time.

Another example is loading a transport. How do I tell a unit which transport to go to?

Why can't I chose multiple bases and change their governor commands all at once. Say I want to quit making all ground units. It would be great to not have to go to each base.

Is there a good guide on how to play AC for those of us that did not play Civ or CivII?

Thanks for listening to me.

posted 02-18-99 12:57 PM ET         

The good news is that it is possible to select multiple Governers and set their parameters. The bad news is that I know this only because I recall seeing it in a Brian Reynolds post, *somewhere*. I do recall that it involved using the F4 key to display the list of Bases, then use Cntl+mouse click to select each base you want to change. Click on the base name, NOT the boxes on the left of the column (these toggle the Governer Off/On settings).

I've never tried the group functions.

Regarding transports, you should use the Board Transport key (L) on each unit you want to leave with the first transport, then move that transport. Then select the next units for the next transport, etc. It's no big deal.

Regarding strategy guides... I bought the Prima guide, which is written by the person that did the SMAC manual. The first seventy pages are pretty good, having all sorts of formulas and then some specific strategy discussion. The special projects and base facilities descriptions are also pretty good. The tech advances, however, are poorly described, basically a rehash of what you already see in the game. I wish the authors had done more tying together of the big strategy picture. There is also a decent chapter on editing the text files. Finally there is an index that covers both the manual and guide combined, and this is actually pretty useful.

posted 02-18-99 01:24 PM ET         

From: Tim Train <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
Subject: Re: An interesting game of SMAC
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 19:04:58 -0600
Organization: Verio Mid-Atlantic

Hi guys,
FWIW, you can tell your governors what kinds of orders, if any, they should concentrate on, in finer detail than just Explore, Discover, Build, or Conquer.

Method 1: In an individual base with the governor active, click on one of the arrows on either side of the 'governor' button. This brings up a long list of customizable orders for your governors. Select what you do and don't want them to build, and you're off. Note that even if you only have one option selected (say, Secret Projects), the governor will occasionally build other things; not all
options are included on the list. But if you have deselected an option, he should never build that particular order.

Method 2: To assign the same build orders to several governors at once, go to the Base Operations Screen (F3). Once there, you can select several bases at a time using your standard Windows shift or ctrl-left mouse click. Note that to select a base, you must click on the base box (the box showing roduction orders, etc.), not the governor box. Once you've selected the bases you want, click "Advanced Options" from the Governor readout in the lower left corner. uble-clicking on any base takes you to that base. The F3 screen is great for managing a large empire late in the game.