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Author Topic:   Golden Ages etc?

Kangawallafox posted 08-04-99 10:02 PM ET
How do you get a Golden Age and what does it do? I've been mostly ignoring them up til now.
Also is there a list available of other "random" activity and what a player can do about them (say, "avoid an 'energy market crash' by having X energy banks per Y cities" or whatever).
Zoetrope posted 08-05-99 01:42 AM ET
A base in Golden Age (which is due to excellent psych) produces much more energy, about three times as much I think.
I've read that a Golden Age also assists in achieving a population boom. The other things that help a base to boom are a Children's Creche and a society that's Democratic and Planned.
I don't know any way to avoid an Energy Market Crash. Energy Banks seem only to prevent Energy Overloads (which they turn into Energy Bonuses).
Biology Labs and Research Hospitals prevent the spread of certain kinds of diseases or plagues. Research Hospitals turn a certain epidemic into a (medical research?) benefit.
Those are all the random event controls I can think of.
There is of course the "build all your SPs in one base, so inviting a visit from a Planet Buster or an Asteroid" event.
Zoetrope posted 08-05-99 01:49 AM ET
There is also the "triple energy at all bases for one turn" that benefits all factions. When this occurs, I push Economy up to 100% and go to Democracy/Free Market/Wealth (or a similarly effective energy-earning SE) before I press End Of Turn.
Ambro2000 posted 08-05-99 05:24 AM ET
Golden age gives you +1 energy in every city square and it gives you +1 or maybe +2 in growth. So it's not allways a bad thing to set your psych at 20%...

Ambro2000
Plato90s posted 08-05-99 02:07 PM ET
Uh, no. Golden Age does not give +1 energy per square.
Golden Age gives you +1 efficiency and +1 growth rating in that city. Pretty much the same effect as Children's Creche.
The way to use Golden Age is if you have Democratic and Planned, you already have +4 growth. Add Children's Creche, you are at +5. If you go to Golden Age, then you are at +6.
+6 Growth means population boom. Your cities grow by one citizen each turn until you run out of food [same effect as Cloning Vats]. That is a very valuable advantage in the early years.
Purple posted 08-05-99 03:05 PM ET
The only way I know to prevent an Energy Crash is to spend, spend, spend!
As an experiment I once repeatedly reloaded and spent my treasury down until the crash did not occur. But I forget exactly when it was triggered, probably around 1K credits. Since then, I've done a lot more "hurrying" to keep below that target.
My question is: how do you achieve an economic victory if you can't savely accumulate energy credits? Has anyone actually won this way?
SBP posted 08-05-99 04:16 PM ET
Purple.
It is possible to achieve an Economic victory but I only seem to manage it very late in a game when producing over 1000+ energy per turn, as whenever I try for one it seems I get close and then, Wham, energy market crash occurs. You just have to keep building up your stash and hope you can corner the market before the next crash. The downside to this is that I can normally achieve a diplomatic victory by this time, so there is not a great incentive to keep going for the economic victory.The only way I know of to complete avoid any market crashes is to turn random events off, but that just seems like cheating to me.
ViVicdi posted 08-05-99 07:27 PM ET
Golden Age: Effects +1 Economy and +1 Growth on the Social Engineering chart for that base. Obviously if your "normal" SE has +1 Economy a Golden Age is extremely desirable because it will send that base into a +2 Econ, giving you +1 Energy per square.
W_U_J posted 08-10-99 02:32 AM ET
ViVicdi - you almost got it right. According to p. 63 of the manual it's +2 Growth, +1 Economy. Gameplay reveals this to be correct.
Kang - to answer your first question, A Golden age comes about when you have more talents (the bug eyed chicks) than workers (the sexy blondes) and no Drones (Red Baldies) appear. If you have a large empire, there will be "hidden" beaurocracy (sp?) drones that will not show up and riot, but *will* impede a Golden age. This is a disadvantage to what's called ICS - Infinite City Sleaze (Lotsa bases).
Why are they important?
With a growth of +6 total, a city enters a pop boom, gaining a citizen every round as long as you have 2 extra Nutrients. With a children's creche (+2 Growth, + 1 effieciency, *+1 morale defending the city* - Never forget that) and Either democracy, OR Planned SE choices you hit the magic number.
More importantly, however, is the effect on Economy. With a SE Value of Wealth, you hit the magic number of +2 Economy in that city without the disadvantages of a Free Market. This gives +1 Energy *every* square that's worked. If you don't have a large number of cities, it pays to put 10 or 20% in psych, and pays big.
~~Wierd Uncle Jesse~~
Kangawallafox posted 08-10-99 06:17 PM ET
Thanks, all, for your help. Golden ages here we come....
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Author	Topic: Golden Ages etc?
Kangawallafox	posted 08-04-99 10:02 PM ET How do you get a Golden Age and what does it do? I've been mostly ignoring them up til now. Also is there a list available of other "random" activity and what a player can do about them (say, "avoid an 'energy market crash' by having X energy banks per Y cities" or whatever).
Zoetrope	posted 08-05-99 01:42 AM ET A base in Golden Age (which is due to excellent psych) produces much more energy, about three times as much I think. I've read that a Golden Age also assists in achieving a population boom. The other things that help a base to boom are a Children's Creche and a society that's Democratic and Planned. I don't know any way to avoid an Energy Market Crash. Energy Banks seem only to prevent Energy Overloads (which they turn into Energy Bonuses). Biology Labs and Research Hospitals prevent the spread of certain kinds of diseases or plagues. Research Hospitals turn a certain epidemic into a (medical research?) benefit. Those are all the random event controls I can think of. There is of course the "build all your SPs in one base, so inviting a visit from a Planet Buster or an Asteroid" event.
Zoetrope	posted 08-05-99 01:49 AM ET There is also the "triple energy at all bases for one turn" that benefits all factions. When this occurs, I push Economy up to 100% and go to Democracy/Free Market/Wealth (or a similarly effective energy-earning SE) before I press End Of Turn.
Ambro2000	posted 08-05-99 05:24 AM ET Golden age gives you +1 energy in every city square and it gives you +1 or maybe +2 in growth. So it's not allways a bad thing to set your psych at 20%... Ambro2000
Plato90s	posted 08-05-99 02:07 PM ET Uh, no. Golden Age does not give +1 energy per square. Golden Age gives you +1 efficiency and +1 growth rating in that city. Pretty much the same effect as Children's Creche. The way to use Golden Age is if you have Democratic and Planned, you already have +4 growth. Add Children's Creche, you are at +5. If you go to Golden Age, then you are at +6. +6 Growth means population boom. Your cities grow by one citizen each turn until you run out of food [same effect as Cloning Vats]. That is a very valuable advantage in the early years.
Purple	posted 08-05-99 03:05 PM ET The only way I know to prevent an Energy Crash is to spend, spend, spend! As an experiment I once repeatedly reloaded and spent my treasury down until the crash did not occur. But I forget exactly when it was triggered, probably around 1K credits. Since then, I've done a lot more "hurrying" to keep below that target. My question is: how do you achieve an economic victory if you can't savely accumulate energy credits? Has anyone actually won this way?
SBP	posted 08-05-99 04:16 PM ET Purple. It is possible to achieve an Economic victory but I only seem to manage it very late in a game when producing over 1000+ energy per turn, as whenever I try for one it seems I get close and then, Wham, energy market crash occurs. You just have to keep building up your stash and hope you can corner the market before the next crash. The downside to this is that I can normally achieve a diplomatic victory by this time, so there is not a great incentive to keep going for the economic victory.The only way I know of to complete avoid any market crashes is to turn random events off, but that just seems like cheating to me.
ViVicdi	posted 08-05-99 07:27 PM ET Golden Age: Effects +1 Economy and +1 Growth on the Social Engineering chart for that base. Obviously if your "normal" SE has +1 Economy a Golden Age is extremely desirable because it will send that base into a +2 Econ, giving you +1 Energy per square.
W_U_J	posted 08-10-99 02:32 AM ET ViVicdi - you almost got it right. According to p. 63 of the manual it's +2 Growth, +1 Economy. Gameplay reveals this to be correct. Kang - to answer your first question, A Golden age comes about when you have more talents (the bug eyed chicks) than workers (the sexy blondes) and no Drones (Red Baldies) appear. If you have a large empire, there will be "hidden" beaurocracy (sp?) drones that will not show up and riot, but will impede a Golden age. This is a disadvantage to what's called ICS - Infinite City Sleaze (Lotsa bases). Why are they important? With a growth of +6 total, a city enters a pop boom, gaining a citizen every round as long as you have 2 extra Nutrients. With a children's creche (+2 Growth, + 1 effieciency, +1 morale defending the city - Never forget that) and Either democracy, OR Planned SE choices you hit the magic number. More importantly, however, is the effect on Economy. With a SE Value of Wealth, you hit the magic number of +2 Economy in that city without the disadvantages of a Free Market. This gives +1 Energy every square that's worked. If you don't have a large number of cities, it pays to put 10 or 20% in psych, and pays big. ~~Wierd Uncle Jesse~~
Kangawallafox	posted 08-10-99 06:17 PM ET Thanks, all, for your help. Golden ages here we come....