Capitalist Bastards R Us, or "Why I Play Morgan."

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Author Topic:   Capitalist Bastards R Us, or "Why I Play Morgan."

Schoop posted 04-19-99 06:31 PM ET
This is the first in a series of posts I intend to do detailing my analyses of each faction. Please comment, but keep it within the topic of the faction.
I see a lot of people on these forums claiming that Morgan Industries is one of the worse factions. I will agree that the AI seems to do poorly with them, and I think that scares a lot of people away from using Morgan. Personally, I think that Morgan is one of the strongest factions that there is.
First, Economy is an incredible thing to have, especially at +2 and higher. It is also difficult to get Economy up that high. I'll admit, that while Free Market far from sucks, it is difficult to use well, especially if one is at war. Morgan is the only one who can reach the vaunted +2 Econ without having to use Free Market for most of the game. Result: easy +1 energy/square. Even better when you aren't at war at can use Free Market with impunity.
Lots of energy --> fast research.
When I'm at peace using Morgan, which if I'm playing correctly, should be ALWAYS, the incredible huge amounts of energy I'm reaping can translate to lightning fast research. I've had Morgan research coming in at advances every 4 turns by midgame, outstripping even the University by far.
Expand vigorously, especially in early game.
Morgan's biggest problem isn't the -1 support, its the population cap. While you should be able to get Hab Complexes fairly early, to get around this problem, make bases build LOTS of Colony Pods. More cities = more energy.
Peace at all costs, or "buckle like a belt."
Give the other factions the tech they want. It keeps them happy, and off your back. Trust me, it will be difficult to take Hive bases, so you'd rather just get the trade for being at peace with them.
More later... must play now...
Travathian posted 04-19-99 07:13 PM ET
To add to this, go for treaties and pacts and governor at any cost. The increase in commerce makes a big difference in middle/late games, especially after getting certain techs. It means being really humble and caving in to certain factions, but it is worth it. The only thing you shouldn't give away is other factions comm frequency.
But that pop limit is murder! Especially if you play on maps with a lot of water, then its even tougher to expand, due to smaller land masses and they are spread out.
I like Morgan, I don't think he sucks, but he only ranks about average IMHO.
Koshko posted 04-20-99 12:36 AM ET
He's good for larger maps, but I wouldn't mess with him on small maps.
Schoop posted 04-20-99 04:05 PM ET
DEFINITELY BUILD
The Merchant Exchange
You want the most money. Why let someone else have this?
THE NETWORK BACKBONE
in your biggest base. It should yield tremendous research benefits because of all the Trade you're getting, and Cybernetic future makes a perfect replacement for Free Market if the Police penalty on Cyber gets removed.
Schoop posted 04-20-99 11:47 PM ET
Jeez, how could I have forgotten?
The ASCETIC VIRTUES!
Get around those Population limits a bit. limit 6 instead of 4... and lessen the pain of Free Market.
Morganstern posted 04-21-99 04:05 PM ET
I agree with Schoop, Morgan is a good faction for a human player. The energy credits are useful, especially early, and allows you to build up better bases. You can get around the unhappiness/drone disadvantage by not staying "in the field" too long; a bit more micromanagement than one might be prefer, but so be it.
However, I do prefer to be at war with at least one faction (and JUST one faction), because that opens up expansion opportunities, and pre-empts the day when they'll get so strong and practically demand themselves into a war anyway. I don't believe I'm missing that much by doing this. I'm still able to build most mid to late game secret projects, while keeping up the base and army unit numbers. I'm interested in any contrary thoughts on this.
The best games are when Brother Lal comes around as an ally; he's the most willing to share units and assist, at least to my experience. I do wonder, though, whether he's sharing my techs with Santiago, who I'm currently at war with.
After all, the game was built to be balanced, and seems quite well designed. I'd be surprised if any faction was significantly weaker or stronger than the others. Admittedly, I haven't played the other factions that much yet - I was pretty unhappy with UoP in one game - so further experience may dictate otherwise.

Atombomb posted 04-21-99 04:19 PM ET
Morgan....could be good. However, there is one thing about his strengths. It is very easy to get a +2 econ with morgan, this is great. However, even though the +2 econ is very easy to get, with the feature of raising terrain to its highest altitude negates the effectiveness of aiming for a +2 economy. At max altitude, squares gain huge amounts of energy already, the extra +1 a square is useful, but not the best thing in the world. The fact is that larger cities, which can harness more of these power squares, would end up producing more energy than the smaller cities (morgan pop limits) with the extra +1. Also, with morgans negative support, he really can not expand as fast as other factions can. Additionally, he has a hard time pumping much of anything with size 4 cities. Sure you can vault up to the hab complexes right away, but is this really sets you back in the long run since you will have to forfeit aiming toward more research/military oriented technologies. What does this do? Well it sets you back in tech research and it sets you way back in attacking abilities. It is true, you can run a faction with only defensive motives, but its not the brightest of ideas. If you do this, the agressor can simply destroy all your improvements and starve you to death.
Bottom line: Morgan just isn't what he was cracked up to be when the creators made this faction.
Ghost posted 04-21-99 06:41 PM ET
I disagree. I think morgan is exactly what he was cracked up to be when his faction was created; something approaching balanced.
For a long time everyone said "Morgan is the worst!" Then there was a counter wave that ran "Morgan is the best!" Now things are swinging back. Heres my take on the truth.
Morgans easy energy bonus really helps. +2 econ, at maxed out city, is an additional +20 energy per base... not absolutely showstopping at that point, but certainly not bad, and it can be muscled into quite a bit more by things like Energy Banks and Fusion reactors. He can also get +4 econ easier than anyone else (doesn't need a golden age), and with that + his imherent commerce bonus + Plantary Govenor (which he can often buy) his trade income is second to none.
Furthermore, raising land IS an effective strat, but it takes a while and a bit of investment to get it going. If you fail to get the Weather Paradigm, then raising land is a ways away... not really far, by any means, but farther than Hab.
Morgan doesn't have to be the best faction to be balanced; only one person can be the best at a time, and usually "the best" only applies to a specific area of excellence or arena (game difficultly, map size, so on). But he's fine, certainly, and if used well he's got a whole lot of potential. You can emphasize his bonuses (more energy = more research, and more money means you can buy tech as well) or his penalties (4 max, which is easily overridden by the fairly modest Hab advance, -1 support, yucky colored troops... yellow is just not a very diesel color. They should have made it gold). He is what he is. He is one of the best, any difficulty, with large or huge island maps. He isn't so hot on large landmasses with multiple agressors. Thats the way it goes for him.
--Ghost
Atombomb posted 04-21-99 11:56 PM ET
You were right about one thing, raising land is a definite hastle if you do not get the paradigm. However, if a faction does raise land, and morgan does not, then they are at a significant advantage. This means that morgan also needs to take the same measures to raise all his land. Its going to happen. About the 20 extra energy, maybe you missed out on my drift. Sure hab complex stage can be compared....4s to 7s, but I am looking more into the hab dome stage, something that takes a LONG time to get. If wonders are not taken into consideration, and all squares are considered equal, then a faction with size 14 city will have +18 energy over morgan from population size. At hab dome stage, morgan receives an extra 12 energy from his +2 econ rating. This is the comparison I was trying to bring forth. This is completely neglecting lal, who would have +30 econ from gathering. Additionally, there is nothing to say that a faction couldnt kick into a free market if they really really wanted, which would set them far ahead during peace time. However, the negative police might cause drone problems, so i won't really persue this path of argument.
Another thing is that morgan, with his inferior population caps, will not have the same amount of infastructure as other nations, all things equal. This means less income, perhaps (depends on alot of factors), but almost certainly less tech rate. Morgan really is one of the lower factions on the totum pole....not unwinable...but not the best by any stretch of imagination.
ViVicdi posted 04-22-99 12:45 AM ET
Morgan's growth curve is the most extreme.
Virtually all of his penalties are erased by mid-game technologies, particularly Clean Reactors and Hab Complexes. But before then you struggle mightily just to get by.
Playing Yang I can tell you his growth curve is looking more linear with every turn -- only by flattening my opponents am I staying well ahead. (Wow, talk about a sweatshop -- Yang cranks it out!)
When I played Morgan, the growth curve was exponential right up to Transcendence -- no kidding. But that "exponential" growth curve is sadly asymptotic -- horizontally --for the first 80 - 120 turns of the game. Morgan is absolutely the most extreme example of a "late bloomer". In the early game you're just lucky to be alive, while if you managed to survive to the mid- to late-game you're untouchable without firing a shot.
People who play Morgan as strictly pacifist, though, should understand the benefits of subservient factions. When Morgan finally rockets up to #1 no one will trade with you. Attacking a faction until they surrender is an excellent way to get an almost-unbreakable "submissive" pact -- which brings in DOUBLE the revenue of a mere friendship treaty. Just don't nerve gas anybody. Your reputation will determine how many bases you have to conquer to get an opponent to surrender, and collateral damage is bad for business.
Also not mentioned was the obvious affinity Morgan has for probes. No support cost, takes money to use, and Wealth doesn't hurt probe morale. Perfect.
And for those of you who cry about Free Market not being good in wartime -- check out "Army Laundering" in the SMAC Dictionary. No, it's not a panacea, but it's darn close ... and if you're a laissez-faire Chopperholic like me, absolutely necessary, since Copters inexplicably generate unrest. (I guess when the traffic reports are bad it's "blame the messenger" ... and on the topic of nightly news, I'd pay money to hear the pollen count ... "Pollen is undetectable, mold in the 'low' band, but once again for the 1,498th day in a row the fungus count is off the scale. Those of you with allergies should take appropriate precautions ... back to you, Kitty.")
Schoop posted 04-22-99 03:09 PM ET
ViVicdi's got a good point about no one wanting to trade with you when you're too powerful. My usual wartime strategy is to go to Police State/Free Market/Power and send out no more than two combat units per base (3 if I have Ascetic Virtues, which is a must for Morgan). Can usually handle the one extra drone. In Extreme Cases I'll go to Police/SIMPLE/Wealth. I never want to drop that +2 Econ. But having the submissive Pact Brother keeps your trade going strong.
googlie posted 06-23-99 08:22 PM ET
reactivating
Ronin_54 posted 06-25-99 02:20 PM ET
The strongest Faction in SMAC:
The Stepdoughters of Gaia
I don't know why... But they are the strongest to play with. They can capture mindworms, and the +PLanet is really great. It usually takes only a short time to outgrow all other factions.
I always have the best tech, and military, and population, etc. How, I am not sure. Following the statistics, they aren't to strong. But I always win in battle, even with inferior units (but I have read the "Spartan Battle Manual". Guess it was usefull).
Who knows why the Gaians are so strong? And why I always and up with only one pact-brother: Morgan!!! (believe it or not...)
Ronin_54 posted 06-25-99 02:23 PM ET
Question 2 -->

What do you think is the best alliance in Alpha Centauri (multiplayer, not AI...).
I believe it is the combo Spartans/Gaians. In multiplayer, this is great. The Gaians can devote all of their attention to terraforming and eviroment (also in Spartan area), while the Spartans guard both Spartan and Gaian territory. This works great, since the Gaians also terraform the Spartan territory. It is the best trade I ever had (I was Gaians)!
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 11:28 AM ET
Back to the top...
Lo_11 posted 07-29-99 12:21 PM ET
I am currently playing the Morganites with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became:
Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc.
What are your favorite MORGAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)?
Lo
Lord Beselwick posted 08-01-99 05:15 PM ET
Morgan Trding
Morgan Plutocracy
MatFis posted 08-01-99 06:38 PM ET
alliance in multiplayer..
I�m Morgan (very good fraction) and my friend play the hive.
The tree others are out of any chance...
(military / growing --> the hive
new tech / money --> morgan)
Schoop posted 08-04-99 09:33 PM ET
base names
Morgan Petrochemical
Morgan Hydroelectric
Morgan Biogenics
Morgan Construction
Morgan Shipping
Morgan Computronics
caron posted 08-07-99 05:04 PM ET
Hello ,
I'm Caron from Mauritius and i'm a rookie in ALPHA CENTAURI but I IT MARVELLOUS .Could you give me some hints about thje MORGANITES cause i'm a fan of managing ressources games .
Thanks a lot .
CARON.
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Author	Topic: Capitalist Bastards R Us, or "Why I Play Morgan."
Schoop	posted 04-19-99 06:31 PM ET This is the first in a series of posts I intend to do detailing my analyses of each faction. Please comment, but keep it within the topic of the faction. I see a lot of people on these forums claiming that Morgan Industries is one of the worse factions. I will agree that the AI seems to do poorly with them, and I think that scares a lot of people away from using Morgan. Personally, I think that Morgan is one of the strongest factions that there is. First, Economy is an incredible thing to have, especially at +2 and higher. It is also difficult to get Economy up that high. I'll admit, that while Free Market far from sucks, it is difficult to use well, especially if one is at war. Morgan is the only one who can reach the vaunted +2 Econ without having to use Free Market for most of the game. Result: easy +1 energy/square. Even better when you aren't at war at can use Free Market with impunity. Lots of energy --> fast research. When I'm at peace using Morgan, which if I'm playing correctly, should be ALWAYS, the incredible huge amounts of energy I'm reaping can translate to lightning fast research. I've had Morgan research coming in at advances every 4 turns by midgame, outstripping even the University by far. Expand vigorously, especially in early game. Morgan's biggest problem isn't the -1 support, its the population cap. While you should be able to get Hab Complexes fairly early, to get around this problem, make bases build LOTS of Colony Pods. More cities = more energy. Peace at all costs, or "buckle like a belt." Give the other factions the tech they want. It keeps them happy, and off your back. Trust me, it will be difficult to take Hive bases, so you'd rather just get the trade for being at peace with them. More later... must play now...
Travathian	posted 04-19-99 07:13 PM ET To add to this, go for treaties and pacts and governor at any cost. The increase in commerce makes a big difference in middle/late games, especially after getting certain techs. It means being really humble and caving in to certain factions, but it is worth it. The only thing you shouldn't give away is other factions comm frequency. But that pop limit is murder! Especially if you play on maps with a lot of water, then its even tougher to expand, due to smaller land masses and they are spread out. I like Morgan, I don't think he sucks, but he only ranks about average IMHO.
Koshko	posted 04-20-99 12:36 AM ET He's good for larger maps, but I wouldn't mess with him on small maps.
Schoop	posted 04-20-99 04:05 PM ET DEFINITELY BUILD The Merchant Exchange You want the most money. Why let someone else have this? THE NETWORK BACKBONE in your biggest base. It should yield tremendous research benefits because of all the Trade you're getting, and Cybernetic future makes a perfect replacement for Free Market if the Police penalty on Cyber gets removed.
Schoop	posted 04-20-99 11:47 PM ET Jeez, how could I have forgotten? The ASCETIC VIRTUES! Get around those Population limits a bit. limit 6 instead of 4... and lessen the pain of Free Market.
Morganstern	posted 04-21-99 04:05 PM ET I agree with Schoop, Morgan is a good faction for a human player. The energy credits are useful, especially early, and allows you to build up better bases. You can get around the unhappiness/drone disadvantage by not staying "in the field" too long; a bit more micromanagement than one might be prefer, but so be it. However, I do prefer to be at war with at least one faction (and JUST one faction), because that opens up expansion opportunities, and pre-empts the day when they'll get so strong and practically demand themselves into a war anyway. I don't believe I'm missing that much by doing this. I'm still able to build most mid to late game secret projects, while keeping up the base and army unit numbers. I'm interested in any contrary thoughts on this. The best games are when Brother Lal comes around as an ally; he's the most willing to share units and assist, at least to my experience. I do wonder, though, whether he's sharing my techs with Santiago, who I'm currently at war with. After all, the game was built to be balanced, and seems quite well designed. I'd be surprised if any faction was significantly weaker or stronger than the others. Admittedly, I haven't played the other factions that much yet - I was pretty unhappy with UoP in one game - so further experience may dictate otherwise.
Atombomb	posted 04-21-99 04:19 PM ET Morgan....could be good. However, there is one thing about his strengths. It is very easy to get a +2 econ with morgan, this is great. However, even though the +2 econ is very easy to get, with the feature of raising terrain to its highest altitude negates the effectiveness of aiming for a +2 economy. At max altitude, squares gain huge amounts of energy already, the extra +1 a square is useful, but not the best thing in the world. The fact is that larger cities, which can harness more of these power squares, would end up producing more energy than the smaller cities (morgan pop limits) with the extra +1. Also, with morgans negative support, he really can not expand as fast as other factions can. Additionally, he has a hard time pumping much of anything with size 4 cities. Sure you can vault up to the hab complexes right away, but is this really sets you back in the long run since you will have to forfeit aiming toward more research/military oriented technologies. What does this do? Well it sets you back in tech research and it sets you way back in attacking abilities. It is true, you can run a faction with only defensive motives, but its not the brightest of ideas. If you do this, the agressor can simply destroy all your improvements and starve you to death. Bottom line: Morgan just isn't what he was cracked up to be when the creators made this faction.
Ghost	posted 04-21-99 06:41 PM ET I disagree. I think morgan is exactly what he was cracked up to be when his faction was created; something approaching balanced. For a long time everyone said "Morgan is the worst!" Then there was a counter wave that ran "Morgan is the best!" Now things are swinging back. Heres my take on the truth. Morgans easy energy bonus really helps. +2 econ, at maxed out city, is an additional +20 energy per base... not absolutely showstopping at that point, but certainly not bad, and it can be muscled into quite a bit more by things like Energy Banks and Fusion reactors. He can also get +4 econ easier than anyone else (doesn't need a golden age), and with that + his imherent commerce bonus + Plantary Govenor (which he can often buy) his trade income is second to none. Furthermore, raising land IS an effective strat, but it takes a while and a bit of investment to get it going. If you fail to get the Weather Paradigm, then raising land is a ways away... not really far, by any means, but farther than Hab. Morgan doesn't have to be the best faction to be balanced; only one person can be the best at a time, and usually "the best" only applies to a specific area of excellence or arena (game difficultly, map size, so on). But he's fine, certainly, and if used well he's got a whole lot of potential. You can emphasize his bonuses (more energy = more research, and more money means you can buy tech as well) or his penalties (4 max, which is easily overridden by the fairly modest Hab advance, -1 support, yucky colored troops... yellow is just not a very diesel color. They should have made it gold). He is what he is. He is one of the best, any difficulty, with large or huge island maps. He isn't so hot on large landmasses with multiple agressors. Thats the way it goes for him. --Ghost
Atombomb	posted 04-21-99 11:56 PM ET You were right about one thing, raising land is a definite hastle if you do not get the paradigm. However, if a faction does raise land, and morgan does not, then they are at a significant advantage. This means that morgan also needs to take the same measures to raise all his land. Its going to happen. About the 20 extra energy, maybe you missed out on my drift. Sure hab complex stage can be compared....4s to 7s, but I am looking more into the hab dome stage, something that takes a LONG time to get. If wonders are not taken into consideration, and all squares are considered equal, then a faction with size 14 city will have +18 energy over morgan from population size. At hab dome stage, morgan receives an extra 12 energy from his +2 econ rating. This is the comparison I was trying to bring forth. This is completely neglecting lal, who would have +30 econ from gathering. Additionally, there is nothing to say that a faction couldnt kick into a free market if they really really wanted, which would set them far ahead during peace time. However, the negative police might cause drone problems, so i won't really persue this path of argument. Another thing is that morgan, with his inferior population caps, will not have the same amount of infastructure as other nations, all things equal. This means less income, perhaps (depends on alot of factors), but almost certainly less tech rate. Morgan really is one of the lower factions on the totum pole....not unwinable...but not the best by any stretch of imagination.
ViVicdi	posted 04-22-99 12:45 AM ET Morgan's growth curve is the most extreme. Virtually all of his penalties are erased by mid-game technologies, particularly Clean Reactors and Hab Complexes. But before then you struggle mightily just to get by. Playing Yang I can tell you his growth curve is looking more linear with every turn -- only by flattening my opponents am I staying well ahead. (Wow, talk about a sweatshop -- Yang cranks it out!) When I played Morgan, the growth curve was exponential right up to Transcendence -- no kidding. But that "exponential" growth curve is sadly asymptotic -- horizontally --for the first 80 - 120 turns of the game. Morgan is absolutely the most extreme example of a "late bloomer". In the early game you're just lucky to be alive, while if you managed to survive to the mid- to late-game you're untouchable without firing a shot. People who play Morgan as strictly pacifist, though, should understand the benefits of subservient factions. When Morgan finally rockets up to #1 no one will trade with you. Attacking a faction until they surrender is an excellent way to get an almost-unbreakable "submissive" pact -- which brings in DOUBLE the revenue of a mere friendship treaty. Just don't nerve gas anybody. Your reputation will determine how many bases you have to conquer to get an opponent to surrender, and collateral damage is bad for business. Also not mentioned was the obvious affinity Morgan has for probes. No support cost, takes money to use, and Wealth doesn't hurt probe morale. Perfect. And for those of you who cry about Free Market not being good in wartime -- check out "Army Laundering" in the SMAC Dictionary. No, it's not a panacea, but it's darn close ... and if you're a laissez-faire Chopperholic like me, absolutely necessary, since Copters inexplicably generate unrest. (I guess when the traffic reports are bad it's "blame the messenger" ... and on the topic of nightly news, I'd pay money to hear the pollen count ... "Pollen is undetectable, mold in the 'low' band, but once again for the 1,498th day in a row the fungus count is off the scale. Those of you with allergies should take appropriate precautions ... back to you, Kitty.")
Schoop	posted 04-22-99 03:09 PM ET ViVicdi's got a good point about no one wanting to trade with you when you're too powerful. My usual wartime strategy is to go to Police State/Free Market/Power and send out no more than two combat units per base (3 if I have Ascetic Virtues, which is a must for Morgan). Can usually handle the one extra drone. In Extreme Cases I'll go to Police/SIMPLE/Wealth. I never want to drop that +2 Econ. But having the submissive Pact Brother keeps your trade going strong.
googlie	posted 06-23-99 08:22 PM ET reactivating
Ronin_54	posted 06-25-99 02:20 PM ET The strongest Faction in SMAC: The Stepdoughters of Gaia I don't know why... But they are the strongest to play with. They can capture mindworms, and the +PLanet is really great. It usually takes only a short time to outgrow all other factions. I always have the best tech, and military, and population, etc. How, I am not sure. Following the statistics, they aren't to strong. But I always win in battle, even with inferior units (but I have read the "Spartan Battle Manual". Guess it was usefull). Who knows why the Gaians are so strong? And why I always and up with only one pact-brother: Morgan!!! (believe it or not...)
Ronin_54	posted 06-25-99 02:23 PM ET Question 2 --> What do you think is the best alliance in Alpha Centauri (multiplayer, not AI...). I believe it is the combo Spartans/Gaians. In multiplayer, this is great. The Gaians can devote all of their attention to terraforming and eviroment (also in Spartan area), while the Spartans guard both Spartan and Gaian territory. This works great, since the Gaians also terraform the Spartan territory. It is the best trade I ever had (I was Gaians)!
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 11:28 AM ET Back to the top...
Lo_11	posted 07-29-99 12:21 PM ET I am currently playing the Morganites with alot of bases. After about 35 land bases, the names of the bases became: Alpha Sector, Beta Sector, Gamma Sector, etc. What are your favorite MORGAN STYLE basenames (especially ones you thought of yourself)? Lo
Lord Beselwick	posted 08-01-99 05:15 PM ET Morgan Trding Morgan Plutocracy
MatFis	posted 08-01-99 06:38 PM ET alliance in multiplayer.. I�m Morgan (very good fraction) and my friend play the hive. The tree others are out of any chance... (military / growing --> the hive new tech / money --> morgan)
Schoop	posted 08-04-99 09:33 PM ET base names Morgan Petrochemical Morgan Hydroelectric Morgan Biogenics Morgan Construction Morgan Shipping Morgan Computronics
caron	posted 08-07-99 05:04 PM ET Hello , I'm Caron from Mauritius and i'm a rookie in ALPHA CENTAURI but I IT MARVELLOUS .Could you give me some hints about thje MORGANITES cause i'm a fan of managing ressources games . Thanks a lot . CARON.