How to beat SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.42

[bvanevery]

Details what every drone boy and girl wishes for

what every drone boy and girl wishes for

MY 2303.  I've reached the compulsion of the Free Drones!  What shall I do with it?

Details decisions decisions

decisions decisions

I now have more flexibility about how to make money.  I could go Extremist Capitalist Power Eudaimonic, a warmonger's approach.  However I've got plenty of minerals and really don't need extra SUPPORT.  I could go Democratic Green Knowledge Eudaimonic and have tougher mindworms, but I actually just sent them all back to their home cities.  I need a rail into Yang's territory to really make good use of them.  Otherwise, I just don't have any nearby enemies.  Next year I'll see how much of a money tradeoff any of these options has.

Details T minus 10 seconds and counting

T minus 10 seconds and counting

Well I've got a Conventional Missile, but what am I going to blow up?  It's an awfully expensive weapon compared to most of the enemies I'm facing.  I also seem to remember them doing exceptionally poorly against Spore Launchers.  I noticed Yang has some non-AAA Probability garrisons, maybe those would be good to take out.  Or I could just save these up for later.  I don't really want to stimulate the AI to build more AAA units, when I'm not even invading yet.  Maybe I need to get a rail done first.

Details for the love of Planet

for the love of Planet

MY 2304.  Going Green makes very little difference to my monetary output, so I do so.

Details stalwarts

stalwarts

Roze rushed a Fusion defender in her last land city.  I threw a mindworm at it, but the bonus for Green hasn't kicked in yet, so the defender only got half wounded.  I threw several poorly trained Cloaked Impact Squads at it, since they're not useful for much and just cost me SUPPORT.  She still wants money!  On what Planet does this twit think she's really ever going to get paid?  She has like what, 6 sea bases?  4 of which are in easy reach and will soon be assaulted by waves of Cruiser probe teams.  After that I'm going to make some tough Clean ships and just starve her out.  The Believers could have taken some of these sea bases but they're stupid.

[bvanevery]

Details die!

die!

MY 2305.  Is a Conventional Missile good at taking out AAA Probability Cruisers?  Let's find out.  Yep, it's gone!  That's how I'll keep the oceans clear for my marauding probe teams.

[bvanevery]

MY 2306.  The Cyborgs have learned Digital Sentience and have started work on the Network Backbone.  I haven't been able to steal from them yet, because it seems I stole from their various sea facing frontline cities quite awhile ago.  However they've settled some sea bases since then, so probably next turn I'll have it.  As I feel economically impervious, this turn I rush the Empath Guild.  I also start a copy of the Empath Guild in my capitol, so that when I steal the tech next turn, I can change it to the Network Backbone.

Details anti Colonialism

anti Colonialism

Can a CM destroy a poorly trained AAA Probability garrison, in a city with no Perimeter Defense but with a Sensor Array, and thereby wipe out a size 1 city?

Details flesh wound

flesh wound

Well, 1 CM won't do it.  2 would kill the unit.  Will the city vaporize?

Details insufficient destruction

insufficient destruction

Nope.  Not a good way to spend the ordinance.

[bvanevery]

Details crawler and borehole abuse

crawler and borehole abuse

MY 2307.  Supply Crawlers and Thermal Boreholes come late in my mod.  The point is to stop them from being a fast path to victory, and make the player or the AI try other options.  Clearly I had some.  If I'd really wanted to win the game fast at all costs, I could have been much farther along my way to doing so.  Instead I toyed with the Data Angels, preferring not to take over any of their home cities, nor commit atrocities against them.  I'm still toying with them, beating them down with many Cruiser Probe Teams.  Once I've destroyed everything in the cities, I'll use the probe teams to blockade their oceans, adding insult to injury as they starve to death.

I now have the means to complete Secret Projects quickly, in as little as 1 turn.  I just need more Secret Projects to finish!  I've stolen from the Cyborgs, and that's probably all the tech anyone else is going to research.  I've accumulated 6 Artifacts and soon it will be time to cash them in for tech, in the hopes of getting more Secret Projects.

Details denominations

denominations

I like to make several different kinds of Supply Crawler, costing different amounts.  That way, I don't have to waste the extra production of a city, on a unit that is too cheap.

[bvanevery]

MY 2308.  I rush the Network Backbone.

Details nuke 'em

nuke 'em

MY 2309.  Now I know how to make Planet Busters!  I doubt I'll end the game that way though.  The only way to do it without it becoming a complete Global Warming PITA, is to stockpile huge quantities of them, and then kill every city on Planet in 1 turn.  That way, you don't have to face the vengeance of Planet.  I've done writeups of games like that before, and I don't care to do it now.  Still, for sake of form, I'm Planet Buster capable.  I don't think anyone else is actually.  I do have 4 Orbital Defense Pods, and almost all of my cities are sheltered by Flechette Missile Defense Systems.

Details construct this

construct this

Now that I've finished improving my oceans, I realize that surplus Sea Formers can be used to starve an enemy.  Meanwhile in the south, I've lost a fair number of Cruiser Probe Teams to enemy aircraft.  I'm starting to make cheap AAA Probability boats instead.  I will try to smother the Cyborg sea bases.

Details exploring death

exploring death

I rush the Nano Factory.  I have 7 interior cities producing various kinds of Supply Crawlers, and I've all but ceased CM production.  With 612 credits/turn, I have serious resources for banging out SPs.  I cash 1 Artifact and get my next SP.  It's not easy to research high end Explore techs when one insists on a Build, Conquer focus, so this is quite helpful.

[bvanevery]

Details death from above

death from above

MY 2310.  This is pretty much what a Build faction is supposed to get.  Maybe the CMs will be more useful if I hammer the Cyborgs from orbit, and then drop infantry on the empty cities.  Aerospace Complexes could get in the way of that.  I can't use orbital drop tactics on sea bases, so my naval campaign will remain unchanged.  And maybe I should do the orbital drops on the Hive, as I could then crush them overland from 2 different directions.  I start making Robotic Assembly Plants in anticipation of these tactics.  I'm often skittish about doing eco-damage, but I've completed many Hybrid Forests and can still do Centauri Preserves if need be.

I rush the Xenoempathy Dome.  My capitol will build the Space Elevator, but first I will complete a Robotic Assembly Plant.  It's a pretty expensive SP in my mod, and I just took all my Supply Crawler production offline.

[bvanevery]

MY 2313.  I learn D7 Unified Field Theory and rush The Theory of Everything in my capitol.  I'll resume the Space Elevator next year.

MY 2315.  I rush the Space Elevator.

Details make mo' money

make mo' money

I propose a Global Trade Pact.  I thought about doing this earlier, but I got interrupted by Real Life, such as being called to dinner.  I think I benefit more than they do, and I certainly have the largest economy and the best cities for trade.  However I only have 2 allies and everyone else is at war with me.  Then again, my ally is the 2nd strongest player.  So whatever.  I'm a bit surprised that almost everyone agreed to it.

Details MO' money!

MO' money!

My JUSTICE is so high that I can allocate my budget any way I want without penalty.  I shift into money, as I've got Artifacts I can still pop to get new techs.

Details space rocks

space rocks

I pop an Artifact and get my next Secret Project.  It's not super useful but eh.  I've got a prereq for Global Energy Theory, which is what's needed in my mod to make Economic Victory available.  That might be an interesting way to finish because I don't usually try to do it.  It's rather slow, you have to wait 20 turns even after you've saved up enough money to buy everything.  By that point in the game, typically you could have crushed everyone by some other means.

[bvanevery]

Details I've got them all

I've got them all

MY 2317.  I pop more Artifacts to start more Secret Projects.  I prefer to put them in cities that don't already have a SP, so that if anyone nukes me, I don't lose more than 1.  Although in this game, I don't think anyone will be doing that.  Many of my cities are building Corporate Labs, so I don't expect this game can go on much longer.  My rail to the Hive is getting closer.  If I conquer them, then I think Diplomatic Victory is inevitable.

[bvanevery]

Details starvation conclusion

starvation conclusion

MY 2318.  I never bothered to make any real weapons to attack Roze's starving city.  She had 1 unit that resisted all the peons I threw at it, until the bitter end.  I have 1 Fission Impact Marine left!  I've been way too busy making all kinds of great stuff in my empire.  Miriam keeps giving me cheap units to use up, so why not?

I rush the Cloudbase Academy, as that will allow me to sell all my Aerospace Complexes.  I also rush the Self-Aware Colony, as that will save me money.  I don't have quite enough money to rush the Neural Amplifier, so I leave it for next year.

Details how to fry an enemy

how to fry an enemy

I've learned Gravship tech, and Phasers, and I have bases that are done building Corporate Labs.  So I'm starting to make these, and they should pretty much trash stuff.  Maybe some AAA units will hold them off a little, but I don't think my enemies have enough of those to matter.  This is the beginning of the end.

[bvanevery]

Details how much money are we talking about

how much money are we talking about

MY 2319.  I cash an Artifact.  Now Economic Victory is possible, for the low low price of 30,869 credits!  That doesn't seem so bad, particularly if I make a lot of Orbital Power Transmitters.  But would I rather do that, then sit around and wait for 20 years, or just trash everyone with Gravships?  Hard to say.  My current income is 2593 credits/turn.  So that's roughly 12 turns to save up the money, then waiting another 20 turns.  Quite a long time to keep at this.

Details lovely native life

lovely native life

I cash my last Artifact.  I wasn't doing any eco-damage before, and now I surely won't.

Details may the odds be ever in your favor

may the odds be ever in your favor

Miriam gave me a nice shiny new Fusion Missile Needlejet, which I might be about to throw away.  Yeah, pretty much!

Details far flung friendly

far flung friendly

Assuming Miriam gave this to me, how did she end up with a plane in a Cyborg city?  This is at the bottom of the map, way out of range of any of my bases.  It smells buggy.  I elect to stay in this city, since flying away is a death sentence.

Details learning stuff

learning stuff

Now that I've used up all my Artifacts, I need to do more research to get the next SP.  I don't need massive amounts of money because I'm not convinced I'm going to wait 30+ years to win the game.

Details mindworm pile

mindworm pile

I find myself committing more and more of my reserve of mindworms to beat down Yang's forces.  He's quite spammy.

[bvanevery]

Details somewhat late

somewhat late

MY 2320.  I was thinking how much I could have used this, 20 years ago.  Instead I built a rail.

I rush the Pholus Mutagen.

Details turning over a new leaf

turning over a new leaf

You know I really don't need more Conquer techs.  My mindworms alone could trash the planet.  I can make Locusts of Chiron and I haven't even bothered.  What I really need to end this is Habitation Domes.  If I double my population, I think I win, and it'll be a lot sooner than Economic Victory.  So I switch my research focus to maximize the chances of that.  First time I've switched this game.

[Geo]

I can't use orbital drop tactics on sea bases, so my naval campaign will remain unchanged.

Can't you change the flag for it in alphax.txt? I thought naval vessels could be made drop capable.

..., such as being called to dinner.  I think I benefit more than they do,...

Poor family members.

[bvanevery]

Can't you change the flag for it in alphax.txt? I thought naval vessels could be made drop capable.

You can have drop planes and drop ships just fine in my mod.  That doesn't mean you can drop them in a sea base.  For whatever reason, the game wasn't designed to allow it.  That's actually a good item for the "infinite modding" thread.

A drop ship can be dropped in a coastal land base.  Then you can sail into the water.  I've done this to reach otherwise inaccessible bodies of water.

It hasn't been important this game because I kicked the snot out of the Data Angels.  Their home waters are highly inaccessible to anything else.  The one narrow strait that allowed passage between the oceans, was sealed early on by an earthquake.  Here's where it happened:

Details nutrient marks the earthquake

nutrient marks the earthquake

I think you can also drop a ship in an inland land base.  I think I did that a few games back, to gradually reach an ocean on the other side of my continent.  It was like passing a series of highland locks!

[bvanevery]

Details cakelike

cakelike

MY 2321.  I upgraded all my garrisons.  I'm using my Gravships to beat on Roze.

Details what's left of the Ruins

what's left of the Ruins

Mindworms and old units, I'm beating on Yang with.  I don't really have enough Formers, because I keep wanting to improve my terrain.  I haven't bothered to push the rail line farther along.  Maybe I won't need it?  I just have 1 Clean Rover Former making some connecting roads.  Once I've seized a base, a few Drop Transport ships might be enough to move any garrisons I need.

Details oversight

oversight

I should have claimed the Manifold Nexus when I first completed the Space Elevator.  It's sitting all by itself on unsettled land.  I tend to forget about orbital insertion of colonists, because I've usually got all the cities I need by then.  And if I wanted more far-flung cities that don't contribute to my economy, I can conquer enemy cities for that.

Details is it quicker

is it quicker

Non-combat units have to stop their turn after they drop.  I think combat units can move and attack, although I'm not sure if they have to land in a city.  If I put armor on a Colonist, does it become a combat unit?  Can it settle immediately upon landing?

Details orbital defender

orbital defender

I will need a defensive unit if it doesn't work.  Unfortunately it's relatively expensive for the job to be performed.  None of my cities can produce this in 1 turn, although all of them could do it in 2.  I want it in 1 turn because I intend to have my Drop Colonists done next year.

Details made of aluminum siding

made of aluminum siding

This is the cheapest 2 passenger land drop unit I can make.  With a quantum reactor I could make it better armored, but it would cost more.  Note that Heavy Transport is enabled in my mod, and this is probably the only time it's actually useful.  I have a number of cities that can chuck these out in 1 turn.  These can bring the conventional garrison units I need to stay safe while landing.

[bvanevery]

Details movement ended

movement ended

MY 2322.  My Colonist didn't magically become able to move after a drop.  Armor doesn't help.  I drop in 2 garrison units for defense.  Interestingly, the drop tank takes damage from landing, but the passengers do not.

I toy with the idea of dropping the 2nd Colonist into the Cyborgs' home territory, and using it to invade them from an unexpected direction.  However I think the AI may be bright enough to throw mindworms at my garrisons, and they'd probably die.  They're built to withstand Conventional Missile strikes, not mindworms.  Also I'm not sure I'd be in good shape to reinforce, as I currently prefer to build the Nanohospitals I just learned how to make.  They are more likely to get me Habitation Domes than pushing units around. 

Details to be mine forever

to be mine forever

Instead I will settle a 2nd city near the Manifold Nexus, to prevent any future settlers from taking control of it.  A triangle of 3 settlers is usually the perfect way to do it, but this will probably be enough in the real world.  I couldn't come up with any other strategically valuable location on the map.  I don't exactly need to sail ships around anymore.

Details leaping to Assembly Hall

leaping to Assembly Hall

I built a drop ship on the wrong side of my continent.  I insert it and that ends its move.  I will probably want to load it up with peons for the Manifold Nexus next year.  I upgrade 2 older Cruiser Transports in case I wish to drop them as well.  One is out at sea picking up supply pods.