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Author Topic:   More newbie questions

Mind posted 05-06-99 04:33 PM ET

1) My net income says -70/turn, but after each turn my total energy actually increases. What can cause this?
2) What are so great about demon boils? I am playing a hot seat game and I can't get anywhere near my friend's base without him roasting it with a few needlejets. Actually, one did it.
3) Can someone please explain how the supply crawlers work? Do they deliver their goods once per turn? Or do they have to gather a bunch first? Under the support screen it shows one cralwer with 4 nutrient symbols. Does that mean I get 4 nutrients per turn from that crawler?
Thanks for bearing with the probably redundant questions.
Mind
JAMiAM posted 05-06-99 05:05 PM ET
Mind,
1) Your net income of -70 represents the sum of your (base incomes - base expenditures) plus loan income (loss). If you are experiencing an increase from turn to turn, it indicates that you are getting energy credits from alternate sources. For example, when you kill a mindworm boil you get 10 energy/life cycle level. When you are out pod popping you may be getting "manufacturing supplies worth xxx energy credits." I've seen these range from 25 to 250 per pod. You may be conducting diplomacy with other factions and selling tech/commlinks/etc.
2)When you engage in psionic combat, the base strength ratio is 3:2 in favor of the attacker. Therefore, even a disciplined needlejet has a better than even chance at killing a DemonBoil, if the needlejet attacks first. Your friend is utilizing his jets effectively in a search and destroy fashion. What you want to do is gain air superiority in the vicinity of his base, then send in those Demon boils!
3)The supply crawlers transport that amount each and every turn. If they're transporting from base to base, however, it is a wash, since one base is losing the supplies it is sending to the other base. I am assuming from your question that you are not doing this and are instead sending them out to transport resources back to a base.
JAMiAM
jimmytrick posted 05-06-99 05:34 PM ET
I have earned up to 500 credits for killing a stack of worms, as the game gets longer the worms get bigger and thus yield more energy.
When they are stacked up you kill one and all if you attack with a ground unit (collateral damage). If you attack with air unit you only kill one at a time.
JAMiAM posted 05-06-99 05:48 PM ET
As jimmytrick points out, they can be an excellent source of income on the late game. As an illustration (not bragging) I'll knock off stacks of 15 Demon Boils to the tune of 15*70=1050 energy each stack when things really start happening in the end game. Make sure you get to them first else the'll munch through a stack of defenders in no time flat, then destroy half of your base.
JAMiAM
Mind posted 05-06-99 08:45 PM ET
Thanks for the replies. The confusion for me in supply crawlers is that you don't actually see the crawler coming back to "deliver" the goods.
iak posted 05-07-99 06:12 AM ET
The income calculation must ignore something. I've often noticed that even though I'm supposed to lose money and I don't kill worms or do anything else I'll still make money. Could it be commerce? Or some base facility is not figured in? Stockpiling?
GaryD posted 05-07-99 08:58 AM ET
JAMiAM: I'm not an expert with crawlers (used my first two in my present game) but my boreholes are outside the areas covered by the cities (the areas don't fit next to each other too well). Consequently I am under the impression that no city is losing the resources my crawler is extracting.
"destroy half of your base" ? Hey before someone told me to hit it with ground troops rather than missiles I lost about 5 *major* cities, not half a base (I wish !). Every turn another unfeasibly large bunch appeared, I was in reverse gear trying to get rid of them ! Didn't make that mistake again.
Mind posted 05-07-99 04:33 PM ET
Iak:
I also noticed that my energy would increase even though I did nothing obvious to gain energy during the previous turn. I do have a trade pact, but I assumed that the results of that were figured into the net figure. Maybe I'm wrong.
JAMiAM posted 05-07-99 05:13 PM ET
GaryD,
Right, you are not losing anything from any of your bases as they are set up now. If they're convoying resources out of a tile that is within a base's radius, then that base won't be able to use the tile at all. This isn't necessarily a problem until your bases start filling out their radii. However, what I was referring to was the convoying of resources directly from base to base. Each supply crawler will transfer only one of any type of resource from base A to Base B. This is "robbing Peter to pay Paul," and except in dire situations (starvation) is certainly the worst way to use crawlers.
Other than the occasional early game base loss to mindworms the worst I've suffered from them was when a stack of 20 locusts popped up in the sea just outside of my size 24 bases. Of course, I had already committed most of my reserves in fighting off the other 5 or 6 outbreaks. By the time they munched their way thru the defenders and feasted on the hapless citizenry I had a base of 6. Ouch. Especially, since each one that got thru destroyed a base facility as well as the inhabitants. It seems to happen in slow motion and is agonizing to watch.
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Author	Topic: More newbie questions
Mind	posted 05-06-99 04:33 PM ET 1) My net income says -70/turn, but after each turn my total energy actually increases. What can cause this? 2) What are so great about demon boils? I am playing a hot seat game and I can't get anywhere near my friend's base without him roasting it with a few needlejets. Actually, one did it. 3) Can someone please explain how the supply crawlers work? Do they deliver their goods once per turn? Or do they have to gather a bunch first? Under the support screen it shows one cralwer with 4 nutrient symbols. Does that mean I get 4 nutrients per turn from that crawler? Thanks for bearing with the probably redundant questions. Mind
JAMiAM	posted 05-06-99 05:05 PM ET Mind, 1) Your net income of -70 represents the sum of your (base incomes - base expenditures) plus loan income (loss). If you are experiencing an increase from turn to turn, it indicates that you are getting energy credits from alternate sources. For example, when you kill a mindworm boil you get 10 energy/life cycle level. When you are out pod popping you may be getting "manufacturing supplies worth xxx energy credits." I've seen these range from 25 to 250 per pod. You may be conducting diplomacy with other factions and selling tech/commlinks/etc. 2)When you engage in psionic combat, the base strength ratio is 3:2 in favor of the attacker. Therefore, even a disciplined needlejet has a better than even chance at killing a DemonBoil, if the needlejet attacks first. Your friend is utilizing his jets effectively in a search and destroy fashion. What you want to do is gain air superiority in the vicinity of his base, then send in those Demon boils! 3)The supply crawlers transport that amount each and every turn. If they're transporting from base to base, however, it is a wash, since one base is losing the supplies it is sending to the other base. I am assuming from your question that you are not doing this and are instead sending them out to transport resources back to a base. JAMiAM
jimmytrick	posted 05-06-99 05:34 PM ET I have earned up to 500 credits for killing a stack of worms, as the game gets longer the worms get bigger and thus yield more energy. When they are stacked up you kill one and all if you attack with a ground unit (collateral damage). If you attack with air unit you only kill one at a time.
JAMiAM	posted 05-06-99 05:48 PM ET As jimmytrick points out, they can be an excellent source of income on the late game. As an illustration (not bragging) I'll knock off stacks of 15 Demon Boils to the tune of 15*70=1050 energy each stack when things really start happening in the end game. Make sure you get to them first else the'll munch through a stack of defenders in no time flat, then destroy half of your base. JAMiAM
Mind	posted 05-06-99 08:45 PM ET Thanks for the replies. The confusion for me in supply crawlers is that you don't actually see the crawler coming back to "deliver" the goods.
iak	posted 05-07-99 06:12 AM ET The income calculation must ignore something. I've often noticed that even though I'm supposed to lose money and I don't kill worms or do anything else I'll still make money. Could it be commerce? Or some base facility is not figured in? Stockpiling?
GaryD	posted 05-07-99 08:58 AM ET JAMiAM: I'm not an expert with crawlers (used my first two in my present game) but my boreholes are outside the areas covered by the cities (the areas don't fit next to each other too well). Consequently I am under the impression that no city is losing the resources my crawler is extracting. "destroy half of your base" ? Hey before someone told me to hit it with ground troops rather than missiles I lost about 5 major cities, not half a base (I wish !). Every turn another unfeasibly large bunch appeared, I was in reverse gear trying to get rid of them ! Didn't make that mistake again.
Mind	posted 05-07-99 04:33 PM ET Iak: I also noticed that my energy would increase even though I did nothing obvious to gain energy during the previous turn. I do have a trade pact, but I assumed that the results of that were figured into the net figure. Maybe I'm wrong.
JAMiAM	posted 05-07-99 05:13 PM ET GaryD, Right, you are not losing anything from any of your bases as they are set up now. If they're convoying resources out of a tile that is within a base's radius, then that base won't be able to use the tile at all. This isn't necessarily a problem until your bases start filling out their radii. However, what I was referring to was the convoying of resources directly from base to base. Each supply crawler will transfer only one of any type of resource from base A to Base B. This is "robbing Peter to pay Paul," and except in dire situations (starvation) is certainly the worst way to use crawlers. Other than the occasional early game base loss to mindworms the worst I've suffered from them was when a stack of 20 locusts popped up in the sea just outside of my size 24 bases. Of course, I had already committed most of my reserves in fighting off the other 5 or 6 outbreaks. By the time they munched their way thru the defenders and feasted on the hapless citizenry I had a base of 6. Ouch. Especially, since each one that got thru destroyed a base facility as well as the inhabitants. It seems to happen in slow motion and is agonizing to watch.