The Scoutmaster - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.46

[bvanevery]

In my last After Action Report, I tried to "vacuolize" my enemies like I was a giant amoeba or fungus.  I'd only fight someone if they broke their Truce.  Well, a lot of enemy units wandered all over my land.  It was extremely tedious to deal with.  I didn't have any control over my own borders, let alone their territory.  "Vacuolization" was exceedingly misguided and just a pile of work.  I quit the game just before reaching a Diplomatic Victory, which was never the way I intended to win in the 1st place.  It was an artifact of pursuing my usual empire building habits.

Details with enough Scouts you can rule the world

with enough Scouts you can rule the world

Well I think I have the answer now!  I need to build lots of Scouts.  Or as time goes on, any unit that only takes 1 turn to build and doesn't exceed my SUPPORT.  I'll probably need a few other units here and there, but the cheapest way to control territory, is scouts scouts scouts.  Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, LOVELY SCOUUUUTS!!!  Scouts, Scouts, Scouts, Scouts...

Details the true workhorse of conquest

the true workhorse of conquest

In my mod, Clean Reactors are available from the beginning of the game.  This is going to be about chucking out units that cost 20 minerals over and over again.  I bet if I have a recalcitrant faction that will only sign a Truce, and I have enough Scouts, I can literally kill anything.  None of this leaving them alive stuff, like last time.  We're taking smothering.  Mass starvation of big cities.  I will do my usual "expand in something resembling a perfect circle from my capitol" routine.  If I hit enemies who only give Truces, they're getting Scouts.

Details my Scouts are ugly

my Scouts are ugly

Huge map, average world settings, Transcend difficulty, random factions.  I draw the Usurpers.  This is a Pangaea planet.  Fortunately the Pirates are not in the game, so I don't have to worry about anyone doing unrestricted ocean development while I'm trying to smother the land.

Details my rivals

my rivals

Aliens have the ability to do Directed Research, unlike the human factions.  I can try to beeline for any tech I think will be helpful to my strategy.  Since I can't go Democratic, a Police State is a good place to start.  That will make it harder for enemies to subvert my Scouts.  Although, I think doubled up Scouts is the real defense against enemy probe teams.  The Hive and the Cybernetic Consciousness are both "strong" PROBE factions, so this will be a concern.  Fortunately I have a good political chance of getting along with both of them.  The Caretakers and the Peacekeepers will both try to kill me.  The Gaians and the Cult of Planet, who knows.  That means plenty of mindworms will be afoot.  Police State and Green is a pretty good combo.  Perhaps I use some free mindworms, stirred up by the legions of milling Scouts, to do my occasional bloodlettings.  But let's remember, this is about the Scouts.

[bvanevery]

Details first point of decision

first point of decision

Mission Year 2113.  I am close combat, breathing-down-their-neck, even slaughter them with Scouts range of the Gaians.  And I have a Battle Ogre Mk I that I might be able to destroy them with right now.  That said, they're nerfed in my mod.  R-Lasers only have strength 3 and are only good for a few shots, even against mere Scouts.  Gaians aren't pacifists in my mod either, they fight as well as any ordinary faction.  Of course I've got +1 MORALE so I can totally cream them if I want to.  Do I want to?

Well, let's say I'm not in a rush about it.  I just got started, and they are not a threat.  There's lots of land, and they are unlikely to expand better than myself.  Especially with my predisposition to control my perimeter with Scouts.  In fact, leaving them alive might be a very good tactical test.

I don't have to speak to them.  For a long time, if I don't want to.  In my mod, Progenitor Psych is a Tier 3 tech.  That means humans are never going to learn it on their own.  Now they could run into the Caretakers and learn it that way.  But I don't have to say didly squat if I don't want to.  This has some interesting effects on early colonization.  I don't think they get to exert territorial claims until I've got some kind of relation with them.  I'm a little unclear on how or if that works.  I do know that if I can see their border drawn on the map, I can't just plop Colonists in their territory.  But if no border is showing, I think they're fair game, and no kind of warning about territorial claims will be made.

So let's just see what happens for awhile.  I already beelined Recycling Tanks because that's the most valuable early on for just about everything.  "Completion exploits" are a good way to get those done in a hurry as well.

[bvanevery]

Details I'll take it

I'll take it

MY 2114.  The Battle Ogre Mk I has been recast as a scouting unit in my mod.  It has Deep Radar.  That's useful for early land traversal, and it's a unique early game land unit capability.  Now the Unity Lifting is much better at scouting, it'll get the job done almost instantly.  But if you're going to walk all over the ground, a Battle Ogre Mk I is pretty good.  I will mill these in the immediate area, then eventually settle them as police units.

Details rapid spread

rapid spread

The game has been kind to me with the scouting units.  It's as though it knows I want to rely on Scouts!

[bvanevery]

Details give and take

give and take

MY 2119.  I lost one of my Rovers to that mindworm larva.  That was surprising, as I was only barely wounded when making my attack.  Definitely bad luck and not typical.  As the larva is all but dead, I move up my Ogre to be attacked by it.  This will probably do no damage and will get my Ogre more experience, as well as deny the larva a chance to heal and make further trouble.  Meanwhile elsewhere, I'll probably lose that Scout.  Well that's what Scouts are for.

[bvanevery]

Details future objective

future objective

MY 2121.  I discover the Borehole Complex.  That could be useful later on, but right now it's just a liability.  If it falls within your own territory in the early game, mindworms and spore launchers tend to come and try to destroy it.  It's better to have it out in the hinterlands until you actually have the resources to protect it.

I wasn't expecting all these larvae everywhere, like north of Marr's Dissolution.  I bet it was stirred up by Deirdre.  Putting a base next to a patch of fungus is generally not a good plan, but neither is wandering around a lot when you're on a big land mass.  You're going to have neighbors, and they stand an excellent chance of being hostile.  As far as neighborliness goes, I had no idea how right I was.  Now a larva this early shouldn't be a cause for alarm, as I am in a base and my unit is Disciplined rather than Green.  But if it did kill by base, I'd be pissed.  To be honest I'd save scum that.

Details hardly a scratch

hardly a scratch

MY 2122.  The Usurpers are reasonably tough.  If I wanted them tougher, I do have Hypnotic Trance capability already.  My mod gives that and Cloaking Fields to the Aliens to start with.  But they're not free, it takes longer to produce units with those.  So to be honest, I never use either of them.  Cloaks are only useful for bypassing zones of control, as the AI cheats and just looks at where your units are anyways.

[bvanevery]

Details uncomfortably close

uncomfortably close

MY 2123.  Like I said, on a supercontinent you're likely to have neighbors.  This one's a pickle because Yang is potentially an ally.  I'm going to resist the temptation to walk into his base.  But if I could stir up a mindworm, that wouldn't trouble me at all!

Details a completion

a completion

No mindworm, but I got better.  This is why I'm out popping pods: to get my Recycling Tanks and other "needful things" done faster.  Next, how about a Command Center?

[bvanevery]

Details ran it down

ran it down

MY 2126.  Well that's one larva that won't be troubling us anymore.  Note that meanwhile, the Spore Launcher seems to be heading for the Borehole Complex.  I'll try to intervene, but I may be too wounded when this is over.  Actually the wounds were only 20%.  I'm relatively tough.  I'll try to kill it before it blows up any Boreholes.

Details I was too late

I was too late

MY 2128.  I found the little SOB, but it had already blown up what I can see of the Borehole Complex.  I don't know if any of it is left.  There's been a very long line of fungus in the way of my Battle Ogre.  I don't cross fungus with those.  It's just asking to have the things get chewed up, and they're not healable.

[bvanevery]

Details found my rivals

found my rivals

MY 2131.  The Caretakers are presumably somewhere to thee southwest of the Hive, and they're doing better than me on the graph.  I hope that's just inflated expectations for mindworms, and not reflective of their colonization prowess.  If I have to be in an all out war with them, that pretty much torpedoes Scout smothering.  It's not possible to have a Truce with my arch-enemy.  We have to destroy each other.

[bvanevery]

Details confused circumstance

confused circumstance

MY 2133.  I can see borders for the Hive, but none for the Gaians.  Is it because the Hive has met the Caretakers, and the Gaians haven't?  Since I see no border, I'm going to try settling on the nutrient right between their cities!  It may not work, so I'm saving the game this turn.  I don't think I should have to lose a few turns of movement due to map drawing errors, or inexplicable diplomatic behavior that I can't remember.

Details a modest completion

a modest completion

Soon I'll have better Scouts.  Pretty soon I'll also have a Police State and some probe teams.

Details appropriate name

appropriate name

MY 2134.  The Gaians don't utter a peep!  What a funny setup.  I wonder if the Hive is in a position to object?  As is I've taken over a chunk of the Garland Crater.

Details immediate completion

immediate completion

Cleverly I change production to Recycling Tanks before popping a pod.  This will work fine as long as the Gaians aren't planning to rush my base and stomp it in its crib.  I need to move the nearby Scout to its new home.

[bvanevery]

Details and now a border

and now a border

MY 2135.  Maybe we get a border once our base radii overlap?  My damage is done though.  I'm probably going to steal that Monolith from them too.  To the southeast, I notice a Cyborg Scout.

[bvanevery]

Details oops

oops

MY 2139.  The Caretakers might be closer than I thought.  I'll have to go deal with that Battle Ogre.  Using my tougher Scouts.

Details die ugly scum!

die ugly scum!

I meet a Caretaker mindworm and spore launcher in the bush.  I get the drop on the stack.  Unfortunately the spore launcher defends, so the wounded mindworm is going to kill me next year. 

Meanwhile the Ogre isn't clever enough to shoot at my Scout.  I'll be able to maneuver onto that Rocky terrain in 2 turns.  That should be the end of that problem.  We'll just both sit around and wait forever for someone to come shoot the other guy.  Bet I get it done first.

[bvanevery]

Details you will be happy

you will be happy

MY 2143.  I learn Police State.  It is a point of honor with me, in my Usurper play style, to avoid giving my citizens a Recreation Commons for as long as possible.  They need to toughen up!

[bvanevery]

Details a Peacekeeping SOB

a Peacekeeping SOB

MY 2147.  The Peacekeepers could be northeast of the Gaians, or this Colony Pod could just be on a very long trek.  I also saw someone's Synth Probe Team around Gaia's Landing.  I don't know if it was Peacekeeper or Gaian.  I will be needing my own teams very soon, and it's good that I've raised my PROBE rating, to raise the cost of enemy mind control.  Maybe my tendency to hold onto my cash isn't such a bad thing right now either, as the differential of cash, does affect the mind probe cost calculation.

[bvanevery]

Details extent of empire

extent of empire

MY 2148.  I see the Peacekeepers' colored border, so they are officially neighbors.  I won't settle in their direction yet, not until I'm clearly stronger and know what their layout is.  The Gaians might have been rudely sandwiched between us and totally cut off from growth.  They're doing fine on the graph though, claimed to be equal to me.  I wonder if they've got a lot of mindworms rustled from the bush, but few cities.

[bvanevery]

Details entrenched opposition

entrenched opposition

MY 2155.  The Gaians have armored defensive probe teams.  Theirs are Disciplined and mine is Veteran.  Am I strong enough to overcome their defensive armor?  It's actually used in probe vs. probe combat, that's why I have the AI make those units.  I can't remember if a city gives a defense bonus to the action as well, or even if the Odds Calculator will display before we go into action.  I don't feel like losing this team, and I just want an easy infiltration gig, so I'll look for another option.  It would probably be better for the Gaians to run out of their hiding hole and come attack me.

Details squished

squished

Are the Gaians fighting for their lives?  Do they love their human neighbors?