Does Miriam suck?

[bvanevery]

Morgan finally contacts me.  First he offeres a Pact to make war with the Caretakers.  As I have a Treaty with them, I decline.  Then he threatens me and demands 75 credits.  "So sue me."  He declares war.  Now I don't even need to be subtle with my probe teams.  I have 2 approaching on the Transport.  Others are waiting back home, as another Transport is bringing home an Artifact.

I've made a few Impact Rovers for home defense.  I'm sending old Scout Rovers to the western lands to pop those pods sitting on rocks.  I cashed in the Synthmetal Garrison units some time ago to make an Energy Bank in my capitol.  All of my current garrison units have Trance capability.  I don't believe anything is coming as Morgan isn't working on ships.

[bvanevery]

I'm going to frame Santiago because I think it would be helpful to my cause if they were at war with each other.  Hmm, got Ecological Engineering, but Morgan is in a Pact with Santiago and didn't seem to believe that she'd done it.  Actually I got no message about it, which was weird.  Hm, happened a 2nd time when I got Environmental Economics.

[bvanevery]

I've got an independent cloned Transport nearing my home waters with 2 Artifacts on board.  I've got a Trance Transport very far away coming home with another Artifact.  I've got a 4th in my capitol already.  To the west, I'm popping pods on rocky terrain with a big pack of scout rovers.  Hopefully they survive better that way, although I suppose one big mindworm burst could still wipe them all out.

[bvanevery]

I research Industrial Automation on my own.  That's a bit annoying as I would have stolen it imminently.

I have a lot of land raising projects in progress.

[bvanevery]

Here we have a serious kerfuffle with mindworms, but I think I will prevail.

I stole Adaptive Economics from Morgan.  On an earlier run I got the same strange behavior trying to frame Santiago, so I've stopped trying.

Why am I doing ok at this game?  It seems that the Morgan AI has vapor locked with too many military units in many cities.  It looks like an overreaction to the Caretakers, which have only held 1 city north of Morgan as long as I've been looking.  That 1 city is a Cultist remnant and doesn't have any road infrastructure attached to it.  I've not found any other Caretaker settlements, wandering around.  Morgan has amassed 72 Trance Plasma Garrisons, 10 armored Impact Squads, and a handful of other units besides, just to take on a city with 1 unit in it!  Morgan doesn't even have a Free Market economy, he's Simple.

In short, the AI is crassly stupid.  This is a Yitzi patched game, so that's proof that it doesn't help with this particular AI pathology.

I guess I'm playing a bit of a "garden game" at this point, rather than something with a challenge.  I don't think I've actually answered any questions about Miriam's capabilities as a faction.  Rather, I've demonstrated that getting a bad start sucks.  And that the AI sucks.  Well I guess I'll garden this for now, but if I get bored, I won't feel bad about starting a new game.

[bvanevery]

Morgan's northern border city is showing a bit of stress from the Caretakers.  Still, Morgan is way overreacting.  I helped out by stealing a tech with my Foil Probe Team that's been up that way forever.

[bvanevery]

I have stolen every tech from the Morganites and have revealed their world map.  From the Caretakers I need to steal Centauri Empathy and their world map.  Then I will have tech parity with all factions I'm in contact with.  Given that Lal is not rated as powerful, I will presume that he doesn't have new techs.  The point will likely be moot anyways as he may be too far away to do anything with.  I suppose I could talk to Domai and see if he knows anything, but I will wait for the Caretaker's data.

I have 5 Artifacts in my home territory.  I have 1 more to be picked up from the western lands.

[bvanevery]

Another major mindworm skirmish.  I sent the Veteran in to pop the pod.  I have 3 Elites and 1 Commando to react with.  I kill all but 1 visible mindworm.

That turns out to be 1 actual remaining mindworm, but it's deep in the fungus and I can't hit it.  I don't actually lose anyone on the 1st round because my rover in the fungus is able to disengage.  I didn't know they could do that from fungus, especially onto rocky terrain.  I've moved my 1 unwounded Elite rover up to take the hit, hoping he will also disengage.  Wouldn't it be ironic if he can't, despite being in clear terrain?  That would make the disengagement rules kind of perverse.

Odd, the mindworm did not attack the next turn.  Maybe it is healing up.  Well I need to do that as well.  It's going to be a long roundabout walk to get back to the healing Monolith.  I need to stay clear of the fungal patch that mindworm is in.

I gain yet another Artifact just off my east coast.  I'm rolling in 'em!

I'm surprised that even my non-Trance Transports are surviving Isle of the Deep attacks.  With barely any life and limping back to port, but it's interesting.  I guess Fundamentalism is helpful for something.

Domai has begun The Planetary Energy Grid.  So I guess the long free ride of not worrying about other factions is over.  I'm 1/3 done and need 12 turns to complete it.  I've finished my Tree Farms in 2 cities and have started on Supply Crawlers there.  I shouldn't have too much trouble with this race, but I do need to make sure I win it.  I don't want to use any Artifacts to do it.

[bvanevery]

I begin a probe of Caretaker territory.  I start on unclaimed land, which the Caretakers are spending a lot of effort scouting.  Hopefully I get to target without being sent home.  Next turn, I'm in Caretaker territory south of Adapt to Live.  No enemy units in sight.

Fishing the sea, I pick up yet another Artifact nearby.  At this rate I may have to build cities just to cash Artifacts.

[bvanevery]

I cash all my Energy Banks and use the extra money to complete The Planetary Energy Grid.  I had 2 Supply Crawlers in production but figured I can just park them on some mines.

Morgan has lost his northern city to the Caretakers.  Even without roads, I guess they just marched enough units for long enough that it finally happened.  Well, Morgan certainly has enough reserve forces to last awhile!  What an understatement.

Morgan has researched Advanced Subatomic Theory.  I will bring a team up to steal.

I'm about to steal Centauri Empathy from the base the Caretakers took from the Cultists.  I wonder if it's interlocked?  In any event, next turn I will reach the Caretaker base my land teams have been stalking.  Oops, didn't see the probe team in the erstwhile Cultist base.  I did kill it though, so next turn I make my run.  From a synchronicity standpoint that's actually better, as I'll hit 2 bases on the same turn.

[bvanevery]

My 1st heist went fine.  I stole Intellectual Integrity, which I was not expecting.  The Caretakers must have just researched it.  I framed Morgan.

My 2nd heist, they had blocked the way with a Recon Rover.  I had to capture it, which I was able to do untraceably.  But when I hit the base, my probe team was compromised.  The Caretakers have declared war.  Oh well!  I guess subterfuge isn't a permanent state of affairs.

Next turn hopefully my backup team will work.

The Caretakers are not actually working on The Citizens's Defense Force.  I will start it shortly.  Er, or not.  I forgot that Lal built that ages ago.

I will also start making Police 3-Pulse garrison units.  I was going to make Trance 3-Pulse, but I already have Trance units in every base.

[bvanevery]

I found Domai.  He's sort of a neighbor.  Certainly within infiltration and theft range.

[bvanevery]

The Morganites have declared war on the Spartans!  A fascinating development.  Maybe it will loosen the clot which is Morgan's industrial outlook.

[bvanevery]

Domai sold me a map of Caretaker territory for 50 credits.  They're extensive.  The most interesting bit is how they're beating the crap out of Lal.  Morgan's response may be subpar to the threat, but maybe I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the AI as completely stupid.  With an empire that large, there might yet be more to this game than a gardening exercise.

[bvanevery]

The Caretakers sunk my Foil Probe Team that went to steal from Morgan.  I should have known that that ship never left, and that Morgan never sent anything to deal with it.  I'm sending my 1 Trance Impact Skimship to blow it up.

I sent a Transport with 2 land teams in a different direction to steal from Morgan.  Santiago met it in open water with an Impact Skimship.  We signed a Truce.  Truth is I don't need anything from Santiago anymore, and we're both fighting Morgan.  Santiago will probably get mad when I finally go Democratic Planned Wealth, but I'm not there yet.