Smothering The Enemy - SMACX AI Growth mod

[bvanevery]

Details yawn

yawn

It's been really boring trying to remember to do anything with this city.  I've had multiple turns in a row where I simply forgot to fight, it's been so peripheral.  They kept shelling me from offshore and that was effective at getting me to remove my ship from the city.  I needed to go kill something and they've snuck in while I left it unguarded.  If they wanted to sign a Truce now, I would, but they don't want to.  So I have to go through the formalities of taking it back, or at least annoying them.

[bvanevery]

Details Pirates get greedy

Pirates get greedy

Mission Year 2265.  The Pirates decide they want to be assaulted somehow.  Ok I'll oblige.

[bvanevery]

Details frolicking

frolicking

Mission Year 2270.  I stole Eudaimonea, popped an Artifact, and completed the Universal Translator.  It's time to pop boom.  In this mod it's not so easy to do, and this combination of choices will do it.  Alternately I could choose a Simple economy.  Pity it drops my PLANET to 0 but I need to do this for a bit.

It's also 12:30 AM and I'm beat.  Calling it a night.  From a Secret Projects standpoint I'm doing fine.  I've got 8, the Consciousness has 6, and the Pirates have 3.

[bvanevery]

Details some like it hot

some like it hot

Mission Year 2280.  My population boom has nearly put all my cities to size 16, but I am not quite done yet.  Eco-damage is rather bad due to all the Genejack Factories I'm building.  In addition to the volcanic eruption, I had a major fungal pop this year.  So it's time to reinstate my Planet friendliness.  I've changed to Knowledge, resulting in +2 PLANET total.  I hope I'm not too late to avert the damage, I really don't want to deal with global warming right now.  This unfortunately drops my POLICE to -2, so I can't use police anymore.  That's a pity as I just built the Self-Aware Colony.  I've had to temporarily adjust my budget to 20-50-30 to deal with the lack of police.

[bvanevery]

Details glub glub glub

glub glub glub

Mission Year 2289.  I have only 1 city left that still needs to pop boom, and I'm 3 turns away from being done with it.  Unfortunately, the damage has been done.  Seas are going to rise.  I have been building a fair number of Hybrid Forests, not to control eco-damage, but just to make people happier.  My budget is 30-40-30 and I'd like to be paying less for happiness.  Now I'll have to add a Pressure Dome inventory to my things to do.

Details stay out of my brain

stay out of my brain

I haven't spoken to my ally Roze in forever.  I keep forgetting that she's not Democratic anymore, that she wants everyone under her own Thought Control.  So my Eudaimonia has been driving her nuts for awhile now.  I ran into a wounded artillery piece of hers in my territory, and she told me our love affair is over.

Details surround and conquer

surround and conquer

I have completed a land bridge to a large continent, full of unpopped pods, that the Pirates have been settling off the coast of.  Capetown contains the Merchant Exchange.  My Marines will soon deprive them of that.  I may amuse myself by raising land around all the other cities, and exerting a land claim over them, so that most but not all of their citizens starve.  Cutting off their water supply will be my first bona fide act of smothering.

[bvanevery]

Details ho ho ho green giant

ho ho ho green giant

Mission Year 2294.  I have completed my pop boom.  All bases are now size 16.  I have gone back to Green and switched my budget to 30-30-40.  I'm not sure if becoming even more Planet friendly undoes eco-damage that's already been done, but it should keep any new damage from occurring.  I have started The Living Refinery so that will take care of the annoyance of SUPPORT.  I will switch to Cybernetic as I don't need either money or growth, and I am nominally at war.  My siege of Capetown is slow as I haven't made all that many Marines, too busy making people happy.  It will fall shortly though.

[bvanevery]

Details the pirated stock exchange

the pirated stock exchange

Mission Year 2295.  Capetown falls.  I won't be putting a Punishment Sphere in, because I want to profit somewhat from The Merchant Exchange.  I have a ridiculous +7 Efficiency, which might keep me from losing too much to corruption and waste at this distance from my capitol.  Looks like I'm losing 1/3rd to graft, and that's with a Children's Creche.  I immediately raised the city out of the water in order to exert a land claim on the region.  That doesn't actually hurt the Pirates much because they have fully developed sea squares.  I could raise those squares if we go to war again, but for now we have a Truce.  I will build along the coast, so that my Marines can conquer another city at will if they get uppity again.

I will extend another tentacle to Cultist territory.  That 1 base I took from them eons ago has been pretty stagnant, and I'd like to have a land claim over there.

I complete The Living Refinery next turn.

[bvanevery]

Details should have built with floating isles of the deep

should have built with floating isles of the deep

I'm not averse to a little drowning, long as I don't have to do it.

[bvanevery]

Details so nuke me

so nuke me

Mission Year .  I didn't know anyone had Orbital Spaceflight.  I don't.  Must not be an Explore tech.  Maybe I should change that, because you can use extremely long range missiles to scout with.  In this mod you can't launch planet revealing satellites yet, those come later.

Details nah nee naa nee boo boo

nah nee naa nee boo boo

I'm vastly ahead of everyone in all other respects.  I think she's just trying to get stuff out of me before she declares war.  I'm not falling for it.  Actually she didn't, probablye because she's Feeble.  But feeble with a nuke ain't that feeble.  As it happens, no sooner did I get done talking with her, than I researched Orbital Spaceflight myself.  I'm making it into a partly Explore tech.  Same with Advanced Spaceflight.  It allows Orbital Defense Pods, which reveal all of Planet.

[bvanevery]

Details those pesky cyborgs

those pesky cyborgs

Mission Year 2308.  I obtain Nanometallurgy, which allows Habitation Domes.  The Cybernetic Consciousness is competing with me for a few Secret Projects.  I am about to win the race to the Cloudbase Academy, but they have researched Homo Superior.  In this mod it is a pure conquer tech, allows Thought Control, and allows The Empath Guild.  Secret Projects that double one's votes are considered conquer techs in this mod, because Diplomatic Victory is abbreviated conquest.  The Consciousness doesn't have the votes to get elected, even with doubled votes, but they could try to throw an election to the Pirates.  Perhaps it is not a substantial threat because nobody else will have Habitation Domes for awhile yet, and the AI doesn't make good use of them even when they do obtain them.  Still, I'm building a Destroyer Probe Team to try to go steal the tech.  It may take too long to get there, or get sunk.

The flooding is really getting on my nerves.  It keeps wrecking terrain that I've improved by hand.  It ties up my Formers so I can't make a tentacle to get to the Cult of Planet.  At this rate I might have orbital insertion before I have a rail over there.

[bvanevery]

Details the Trumpain diplomat

the Trumpain diplomat

Mission Year 2310.  So much for theft.  They built that in a few turns and I didn't even have a chance.  I guess that's what happens when you stick to an Explore research focus.  I suppose the relative purity of my tech categories actually works.  Hey I did get Habitation Domes first, which is the ultimate growth technology.

The Consciousness just tossed a Conventional Missile at my capitol, proving that planetwide missiles do work.  That's a major feature of this mod: nowhere on Planet is safe from missile attack.  Many things can be hit in 1 turn and anything can be hit in 2.  I haven't had time to build any Flechette Defense Systems yet.  They only stop some of the missiles anyways.  The main deterrent to missile spam in this mod, is I made them more expensive.  That's justified because they're so much longer range.  Such attacks don't really matter all that much because I've got extremely cheap units in almost all of my cities, like Police Scouts and Synthmetal Sentinels at most.  But they are annoying and do require me to re-garrison.

Details go hammer yourself

go hammer yourself

My buddy Domai ain't my pal, friend.  He's still at war with the Consciousness.  Seeing as how I don't have to keep him happy anymore, and I'm Cybernetic, maybe the Consciousness will consider a Truce?  Nope, they're ignoring my hails.  That Destroyer Probe Team may be useful for forcing a conversation.

I just researched Homo Superior this turn!  It is only a 300 mineral project.  I do have 834 cash lying around, so if I can disband enough marginally useful units, I can probably do this.  Disbanding all of my old Probe Teams was sufficient.  I don't need them as I've got the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.

[bvanevery]

I got The Empath Guild!

Details unkoolian unpirate

unkoolian unpirate

This is most uncool.  I just loaded a Destroyer Transport with an Artifact and mindworms in Pirate backwaters.  Perhaps if I conquer a Pirate city immediately, I can end this affront before it even begins.  Problem is, I'm using the Transport that was supposed to carry the Marines.  Hmm, I did build a rail to 2 Pirate cities though.  After all this flooding, are they still intact?

Details die and drown

die and drown

I was able to seize Land Lock immediately, but Svensgaard isn't ready for a Truce yet.  That Transport with the Artifact may be toast.  It's tempting to save scum something like that.  A nominal excuse would be that I did get 5 dialogs I couldn't respond to, before Svensgaard declared war.  Shouldn't I have my chance to put my $0.02 in?  But to be honest I would have told him to shove it anyways.  I probably shouldn't be worrying unduly about bringing an Artifact home at this point.  I get a new tech every 3 years.

Next turn I took Pirate's Siege, and it still wasn't enough to bring him to heel.  Oddly my Transport did not get attacked though.  I unloaded the mindworms and will try to make a run for it with the Artifact.

Eventually my Destroyer Probe Team ran into the Consciousness.  She talked but still wanted war.

I did actually get that Artifact home and cashed it for a tech.

[bvanevery]

Details orbital facilities

orbital facilities

Mission Year 2321.  I can build the Space Elevator now, giving me many new options to terrorize my opponents.  Drop Marine Probe Teams are particularly effective against Pirate backwaters.  Drop Scouts will also help me clean out this northern continent full of supply pods.  I can build all the orbital facilities now.  In my mod they come much later in the tech tree, on the premise that they're large, elaborate logistical facilities compared to just shooting down nukes.  I have the means for infinite wealth at my command, if only I can build them.  I'm actually in the middle of 4 Secret Projects, so everything feels like delays, delays, delays right now.

[bvanevery]

Details mah projs

mah projs

Mission Year 2324.  I've completed my big glut of Secret Projects, and I've started the Nethack Terminus.  The Manifold Nexus now makes my fungus squares rather productive.  I'm having to build Centauri Preserves and a few Temples of Planet to ward off eco-damage.  I've got Robotic Assembly Plants in all non-conquest cities.

Details pop like popcorn

pop like popcorn

Using the power of the Space Elevator, I launched 7 Orbital Defense Pods last turn.  I now have plenty to destroy the Consciousness' 1 pod and gain orbital supremacy.  For my next space salvo I'm building 10 Orbital Power Transmitters, which will be completed in 1 turn.  I don't think I will bother with Sky Hydroponics Labs for now, as I have a lot of terrestrial food which hasn't been consumed yet.  And I certainly don't need space minerals.  Once I have space under control, I will finally begin my true mission of smothering my enemies.  I'm not exactly sure how I'll go about it, but I have a lot of tools at my disposal.  For instance I just completed a Tectonic Missile prototype.

Details drop it like its on

drop it like its on

My 1st Drop Recon Tank goes into service.  It will start on this long peninsular arm and work eastwards, eventually cleaning this continent of pods.  The Consciousness has 2 bases far to the east but hasn't done any exploration.

Details I suppose its good

I suppose its good

Wouldn't you know it, my 1st drop and I've already got an Artifact.  Fought a mindworm going onto the fungus.  I prevailed due to Empath Song but got badly torn up.  My unit was untrained and it's time to rectify that, by building Command Centers everywhere.  Or taking over the Command Nexus maybe, need to look at that possibility.  I did just complete the Cyborg Factory, so in the future my units won't completely suck, but I'd like to have the Command Nexus. 

One thing that surprsied me about this drop, is I was able to move immediately.  Is it a hovertank thing?  It isn't a Morale thing, my unit was Green. 

Details this could be pink

this could be pink

I would also like to seize the Manifold Nexus, for aesthetic purposes.  I just think as the Gaians I should have it.  You know what would really be funny?  A Drop Hovertank Colony Pod!  I wouldn't even have to conquer anything, I could just garrison it.  I bet noncombat units have to stop their movement though, that I can't settle instantly.

[bvanevery]

Details noahs ark

noahs ark

Mission Year 2330.  Building the Bulk Matter Transmitter seems to have triggered too much minerals production, eco-damage, and global warming.  This was already a chore.  I can never get my inland rivers under control, they keep changing course and wiping out improvements I've made manually.  I'm starting to wonder if the idea of gardening this planet is a good idea, or inevitably and unnecessarily tedious.  I believe I could have won long ago with an Economic Victory, although I'm not certain because I never found out how many credits per turn I could make if I went full throttle on that.

Details noahs idiot child puts a hole in the boat

noahs idiot child puts a hole in the boat

That says it'll drop the seas as much as they were going to rise, so hopefully it's a wash (pun intended).

Details slowest boringest conquest ever

slowest boringest conquest ever

I had some cash lying around after buying all my stuff, so I finally took over the nearest Cultist land base, using the hovertank probe team I built eons ago.  My sea base finally has resources it was forever deprived of.  Fungus productivity from the Manifold Harmonics is very helpful here.  I scrapped my Punishment Sphere as I have the Telepathic Matrix nowadays.