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Author Topic:   Mindworm Capture

taterbill posted 02-25-99 12:20 PM ET
I'm playing as Diedre, and I've got my Green economy going. I'm having great success with the worm-hunting strategy, but I still have a question.
Theoretically, I should be capturing 75% of all mindworms I attack. The first few turns after I switched to Green, I was capturing them left and right. But now, I hardly ever capture them. I've currently got 9 Isles of the Deep and 11 Mindworms active in my army. Is there some point of diminishing returns where you are less likely to capture mindworms?
I have noticed that if I attempt to attack with less than a full movement point, I NEVER capture worms. Is that the way it should be?
Also, It seems to me that once I try to capture a worm or isle and fail, I can never capture it, even with a different unit. Is this always true?
One thing that is nice, however, is that mindworms hardly ever attack me. I can find a infested pod and be surrounded by five or six worms, and they often don't attack me next turn. That certainly never happened when I played as other factions. Is that a side effect of being Deidre, or being Green, or both?
In case it matters, I am playing at Thinker level.
Scrubby posted 02-25-99 12:25 PM ET
From what I understand (based on play and the strat guide) there is a game balancing rule that makes capturing mind worms more and more difficult as you capture more and more worms. This is because captured worms generally have no need of support (they have the Independant stat) and for that alone they are unbalancing. Imagine lucking out and capturing 5-6 mind worms early and taking them to go smack your neighbours who are still struggling to support their single scout patrol. It's also harder for mind worms to capture other mind worms! These balance keep Gaians from kicking everyone's asses three ways to Wednesday.
taterbill posted 02-25-99 12:45 PM ET
Thanks, I figured that had to be so. That bit about it being harder for worms to capture other worms might especially explain it, as my army is practically all police infantry (for garrison) and worms (for manuever). My navy is nothing but isles and Unity foils, as I lost my only laser foil after capturing a couple isles. I'm sure this will change as the game progresses, but man, a Green Deidre really rocks in the early/mid game.
By the way, Isles (especially mature ones) are awesome units. Transports with some punch!
RobKid posted 02-25-99 02:58 PM ET
IIRC, specifically, your chance goes down by 10% for each mindworm you control, to a minimum of 10%. So after green gaia has captured 3 mindworms, the chance of capture is down to 45%. After 7 captures, the chance is then 10%.
taterbill posted 02-25-99 03:54 PM ET
Thanks RobKid. By the way, I'm kinda new to game forms - what does IIRC stand for.
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Author	Topic: Mindworm Capture
taterbill	posted 02-25-99 12:20 PM ET I'm playing as Diedre, and I've got my Green economy going. I'm having great success with the worm-hunting strategy, but I still have a question. Theoretically, I should be capturing 75% of all mindworms I attack. The first few turns after I switched to Green, I was capturing them left and right. But now, I hardly ever capture them. I've currently got 9 Isles of the Deep and 11 Mindworms active in my army. Is there some point of diminishing returns where you are less likely to capture mindworms? I have noticed that if I attempt to attack with less than a full movement point, I NEVER capture worms. Is that the way it should be? Also, It seems to me that once I try to capture a worm or isle and fail, I can never capture it, even with a different unit. Is this always true? One thing that is nice, however, is that mindworms hardly ever attack me. I can find a infested pod and be surrounded by five or six worms, and they often don't attack me next turn. That certainly never happened when I played as other factions. Is that a side effect of being Deidre, or being Green, or both? In case it matters, I am playing at Thinker level.
Scrubby	posted 02-25-99 12:25 PM ET From what I understand (based on play and the strat guide) there is a game balancing rule that makes capturing mind worms more and more difficult as you capture more and more worms. This is because captured worms generally have no need of support (they have the Independant stat) and for that alone they are unbalancing. Imagine lucking out and capturing 5-6 mind worms early and taking them to go smack your neighbours who are still struggling to support their single scout patrol. It's also harder for mind worms to capture other mind worms! These balance keep Gaians from kicking everyone's asses three ways to Wednesday.
taterbill	posted 02-25-99 12:45 PM ET Thanks, I figured that had to be so. That bit about it being harder for worms to capture other worms might especially explain it, as my army is practically all police infantry (for garrison) and worms (for manuever). My navy is nothing but isles and Unity foils, as I lost my only laser foil after capturing a couple isles. I'm sure this will change as the game progresses, but man, a Green Deidre really rocks in the early/mid game. By the way, Isles (especially mature ones) are awesome units. Transports with some punch!
RobKid	posted 02-25-99 02:58 PM ET IIRC, specifically, your chance goes down by 10% for each mindworm you control, to a minimum of 10%. So after green gaia has captured 3 mindworms, the chance of capture is down to 45%. After 7 captures, the chance is then 10%.
taterbill	posted 02-25-99 03:54 PM ET Thanks RobKid. By the way, I'm kinda new to game forms - what does IIRC stand for.