Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
Bridges and Canals
|
|
Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
Bridges and Canals
|
| Author | Topic: Bridges and Canals |
| Nell_Smith |
posted 04-05-99 03:18 PM ET  
Firstly, sorry if this has been discussed before... UK phone costs mean I can't read every message in every thread. Anyone think it would be cool if formers could build bridges and/or canals, to link land masses together (or link sea bases to land) and to provide quick routes for sea units to get across large continents? I think this would be a realistic ability for formers to have, and would be immensely useful. Bridging/canaling could be set to take a long time, so that it wouldn't be something that would make naval transports obsolete - more of a nice way to link your OWN empire together than to launch attacks on an enemy. Apart from anything, a former standing on the edge of a bridge as it builds onwards would be an easy target to pick off, so it wouldn't be a doddle to bridge across to your enemy's land and overrun him. I've read the post on using sea transports as improvised bridges between two land masses, which is a great idea that certainly works. Even so, the ability to construct bridges would be very useful and surely within the abilities of a 22nd century civilization. I've also read the post on creating aquatic magtubes, which I don't think is such a good idea... as others have said, this would negate the defensive value of water and make naval warfare kind of obsolete. Bridges, though, would be OK - just make it so that they CAN'T be transformed into magtubes, and so military units would have to move across them at normal rates, and therefore still remaining targetable by the enemy who sees them approaching across the bay!! Any opinions? 
|
| HolyWarrior |
posted 04-05-99 04:26 PM ET
Your formers can build land bridges. Just station them on the coast and have them raise terrain. I picked up on that in my first game. Canals are a little trickier, but involve the same idea with sea formers. Also, you can be nasty and flood out enemy cities--bwah ha ha ha.... |
| Nell_Smith |
posted 04-05-99 04:37 PM ET
Ah yes... I do use the "Raise/Lower Terrain" feature quite a lot, mostly to improve the land I've got. Two whinges though: firstly it takes 12 turns, which is a LONG time if you've got a long expanse of water to cross, and secondly it alters the rainfall patterns in nearby squares, which can be a pain. What I had in mind was a bridge that just looked like an extension of the road, and maybe took 4 or 6 turns per square rather than 12. That said, I agree that drowning enemy bases with the "Lower Terrain" command is LOADS of fun.... |
| akathisia |
posted 04-05-99 07:04 PM ET
The problem with raise/lower land is that its not too precise. When I connect two land masses, I'd still like to be able to send boats thru the straits between them. The Chunnel connects England and France but boats can still travel from the North Sea to the Atlantic. Does someone know a way to raise (or lower) just ONE tile at a time so precise bridges and canals can be made? |
| JAMiAM |
posted 04-05-99 08:10 PM ET
Nell, A few months back, before the game was released, there was a great deal of debate about the absence of bridge building in the game. One of the chief proponents was Worldwalker, a beta-tester, who argued quite forcefully for them. Apparently, it was decided against including them in the game. I'm not sure on the specific reasons, whether game-play or programming concerns. In short, don't expect to see them in SMAC. As far as connecting your sea bases to land there are two options. First, terraform a land bridge to them. As you note, this will run the risk of altering rainfall patterns. However, in spite of the inevitable message warning you that you have altered rainfall patterns, I have found the effects to be negligible for this. Secondly, if your sea base is in a tile directly adjacent to land, you can park a transport in the sea base. This allows land units to move freely in/out of the base at a cost of one MP per square regardless of the terrain. Hence if you build your road/mag-tube right to the water's edge you can move pretty easily in/ out of the base. I agree that it may not be as aesthetically pleasing as a causeway or road thru the drink, but functional.
You can raise "one tile at a time" but it is difficult to do. Nigh well impossible in close proximity to the enemy. What it requires is three terraformers, two sea formers and one land former. You can create a diagonal of land squares by having each of the two sea formers flanking the land former by a "knights-move" on both sides. If they all start at the same time and are working at the same speed (don't mix supers and regulars) you'll raise one tile diagonally straight ahead. A lot of trouble, I admit, but it can be done.
|
| ViVicdi |
posted 04-05-99 10:33 PM ET
I have experimented a bit with terraforming bridges & canals. If you get your land to connect just on the corners, ships can travel through the water junction and land units can travel over the land junction. Getting your land to connect only on the corners is, of course, a pain, because when you raise one square any square one level below it will be raised as well, and as far as I know you can't directly raise a "shelf" water square so that it becomes a coastal land square -- you have to raise a coast to 1000m to indirectly raise the shelf, and THAT is downright sloppy. (Maybe a grav former can directly raise shelf to coast; I'm not sure.) One formation I enjoy for its return on terraforming investment is what I call a "quad": Four peaks ranged 3 squares apart terraformed to 3000 meters yields 36 energy-rich squares: If "Mount Planet" is one of your peaks then you need only raise 3 more. 22 Mirrors and 22 solar collectors provide 196 units of energy from 34 usable squares @ ~5.8 energy/sq. ("Usable" means 4 or more.) Drilling aquifers improves these stats! I use the "Name Landmark" to stake out the "poles" of the quad. Although bases take up a lot of space with condensers and forests and junk, and base terraforming in general doesn't lend itself as easily to specific formations, bases can be built in the corners of a quad. (There's a more aggressive formation, too, that leaves 1000m gaps between the mountains for the Echelon Mirrors. That formation costs 21 Mirrors and 38 solar collectors and provides 214 units of energy from 38 usable squares @ ~5.6 energy/sq. -- not including aquifers!) |
| ViVicdi |
posted 04-05-99 10:39 PM ET
Wow, my diagram got totally scrammed. Again: Elevation . Terraform . Usable Yield |
| Nell_Smith |
posted 04-06-99 01:28 AM ET
Oh well... I guess I'll have to live without the Golden Gate Bridge and the Suez Canal in my little SMAC world!! Thanx for the replies though |
| MoSe |
posted 04-06-99 08:31 AM ET
EuroTunnel |
| Aredhran |
posted 04-06-99 08:57 AM ET
MoSe, is that yet another one of your shameless "cPost++" ? (That's one of mine... hehehe -Aredhran |
To close this thread, click here (moderator or admin only).  |
Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Version 5.18
© Madrona Park, Inc., 1998.
)