Passive Aggressive Tactics - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.46

[bvanevery]

Details oh no you didn't!

oh no you didn't!

MY 2167.  More than the Cyborgs will!  Did you know that they can just do this to you, and it won't result in a Vendetta between the two of you?  You don't even get to say you want to start one.  So the passive aggressiveness cuts both ways.  I'll keep that in mind from now on.  It's time to double up my units milling around, so that they can't do this again.

Details heavy armor

heavy armor

I've completed a Plasma prototype.  I'm starting to make Police Plasma Sentinels.  Pretty soon I'll probably declare a Police State, which will help with the Cyborg antics.  I can definitely make some trouble for anyone who gets uppity with me.  All those Command Centers I've built inland, they're going to be useful after all.

Details covet thy neighbor's land

covet thy neighbor's land

I'm almost out of land on my own continent.  As I still have surplus Colonists coming, I intend to settle the Manifold Nexus.  I'm going to need probe team defenses though.  It would be awfully easy for Aki Zeta-5 to mind control my cities if she gets past whatever doubled up or mindworm guards I post.  Hmm, maybe I should bring all my Independent mindworms out to this place.  They can block up the roads.  Hmm, I don't have enough such units to stop her from walking right up to my base somehow, because we have no diplomatic relationship.  Cuts both ways.  So yes I really do need a lot of probe team defense.  This will have to wait until I declare a Police State and have produced the necessary units.

[bvanevery]

Details let's beat up the rioters

let's beat up the rioters

MY 2168.  I would have liked to wait until I'd gone Green, so that my net JUSTICE could be 0.  But I'm tired of certain cities becoming unhappy so easily, and I don't need the Colonists anymore.  Many of my cities have a Synth Police and a Scout unit in them, so a Police State will quash their unrest.  A few do not, but perhaps I can shift my existing forces around.  I do have the Lifter after all.  Fairly soon, everyone will be police suppressed with Non-Lethal Methods and it will not matter.

Details 1 JUSTICE it is

1 JUSTICE it is

I'm starting a movement: Drones Don't Matter!   

Details secured

secured

Santiago, you can sniff around my city with your stupid Recon Rover all you want now.  That armor's trained.  You attack, you're gonna die.

Details can I pillage land

can I pillage land

Since we have no diplomatic relation, and Aki Zeta-5 unkindly drew first blood by taking over my Unity Rover... can I destroy Cyborg terrain improvements without any diplomatic consequence?  I usually only think of this sort of thing during a Truce.  I'm not sure you can destroy them, but you can use a Former to put something new there instead.  If you have a Treaty, I consider that cheating, because the game really shouldn't have allowed that.  But if it's just a Truce, well, you can park on someone's land and deny its use, and that's perfectly legal.  So why not allow a Former to plow it under with planted fungus?  I'm very likely to do this sort of thing to the Cyborgs, since they're sharing a continent with me, and not as of yet being good neighbors.

[bvanevery]

Details pulling out

pulling out

MY 2169.  That mindworm larva has never moved.  It probably wants to go to Ironholm, the nearest Spartan city.  Where it will be summarily killed on a plain square.  There's nothing I could do about that, unless I had an air unit perhaps, to shield a Former and plant fungus there.  I'm nowhere near that kind of penetration of Sparta, but it's a good idea to pull on someone in the future.  Like say, a big stack of "Release Into The Wild".  For now, I'm just going to kill that larva to level up my own.  And then I'm leaving.  I'm obviously not doing anything productive here, and I do need picket units to block up Santiago, lest she wander around my own territory.  She'll probably eventually like me better too, if I'm not spending unproductive time in her territory.

Details corralled

corralled

I'm not putting up with that Recon Rover wandering around wherever it wants.  My cities aren't totally secure from a Spartan rover attack yet, and it's just darned annoying having such things choke up the works anyways.  2 AARs ago, back when I thought I was some kind of amoeba, I had way too much of that going on.  Not this time.

[bvanevery]

Details checking diplomatic status

checking diplomatic status

MY 2170.  I make sure that I still have no diplomatic relationship with the Data Angels.  Theft of D2 Information Networks proceeds uneventfully and without consequences.  My Foil Probe dies though.

Details is it allowed

is it allowed

Now I get to do my Sensor Array experiment.

Details nope

nope

Problem is, I forgot this was an experiment that could blow up in my face.  I restore the auto-saved turn and have to play it again.  I'm not starting a war for such a valueless, trivial reason.  I steal Information Networks again and my probe team dies again.

[bvanevery]

Details hope to take it

hope to take it

MY 2171.  Popping a pod with my mindworm and no moves remaining, was not my best idea.  I was worrying about the Cyborgs getting to it first, which is why my Ogre was blocking that Scout.  That's my original Ogre from the start of the game.  It's been walking quite awhile!  Pity if it dies from this, as I was almost ready to pick it an an Artifact up and go home.  I refrain from attacking because I do have 3-Res armor, and attacking might just deplete me faster.  It will also level up the mindworms I don't kill.

Details where what why

where what why

MY 2172.  You'd think the game could re-center the view before giving me this message.  Well Santiago thought it would be brilliant to kill my mindworm larva on my territory near Sparta Command.  And to attack with that Recon Rover, even though I'd just made room for it to exit peacefully.  The consequences are going to be painful for her.  I can definitely smother her with Plasma.

Details almost trashed

almost trashed

My Ogre is not going to survive.  Well hey I did reimagine these things as "bush scouts" and it has certainly done its job in that regard.  2nd mindworm blows it to smithereens.

Details good for surrounding

good for surrounding

Logistically, Sparta's toast.  Not that they had any chance before, but putting everything where I want, when I want, is going to suck hard for them.  I start researching 3-Pulse armor because that will stick it to them even harder.  My other choice was to go for the Command Nexus, but I don't need that right now. I've made piles of Command Centers in my inland core already.

Details you're so dumb

you're so dumb

You know an offensive is poorly planned when the opponent has a Colonist as their spearhead!  Where did they think they were going to go?

Details track laying unit

track laying unit

My Speeder Formers are starting to become available.  I build them in various cities that didn't make a Command Center.  They're much faster for laying new roads on open ground.  The slower and cheaper infantry chassis Formers can come in after them to build the rails.

Details where's the speeder

where's the speeder

I fumble when moving my unit and put my one Recon Rover into a patch of fungus, making it unusable next year.  Ah well, war is hell.

Details object lesson

object lesson

This is one of the ways I will teach them that they really shouldn't mess with the Caretakers.  And it's such a stupid location for a base anyways.  Once wiped, they should be in the mood for a Truce.  That won't happen until I get E1 Social Psych, but no harm priming the pump.

[bvanevery]

Details bringing up artillery

bringing up artillery

MY 2173.  Yeah, with a Unity Lifter and +1 PLANET, I can do all kinds of horrible things to you, that you can't do to me.  Shelling someone every turn, would definitely count as passive aggressive!  Pity it would require so much manual labor on my part.  That said, I do seem to recall some obscure commands to do a "bombing run".  Wonder if there's any automation involved in that?  Hmm, doesn't look like it.  Right-click menu doesn't show that command for this unit.  Must be something planes do.

Details wiped

wiped

Both Spartan targets destroyed.  I shouldn't need to do anything further to improve diplomatic relations.  We just need to have some.

Details unusual!

unusual!

It's rare to capture a wild Sealurk.  It also takes a very long time in my Explore tech tree, to be able to produce them yourself.  I tend to forget completely about them.  Recently I learned they have one unusual feature that no other sea unit has: they can attack land units directly.  If any Spartans are standing around on a coast, I should be able to put a hurting on them.  Of course this unit is on the wrong side of the continent, so it'll be awhile before it goes into action, but we're definitely gonna weapons test this!

Details can I kill probe teams

can I kill probe teams

Probe teams have no official existence.  Since we have no diplomatic relationship, can I slay them with impunity?  The AI has behaved as though one can't.  Probably this won't work, but I'm going to try.  I save the game, expecting this to get me in a war that I don't want.  Ok, I got a very official "it's gonna start a Vendetta" warning.  That's that.

Details armor up

armor up

Whaddya think you're gonna do now, Santiago??  You're a dumbass!  You knew this was coming.  Did you really think you were going to get off some kind of offensive, before the walls went up?  Idiot.  I swear someday, I'm going to make a game with an AI that plans better.  It still needs to make some mistakes so you can feel all smug about cleverly trashing it, but Santiago is like a helpless baby.  No chance.

[bvanevery]

Details too much milling

too much milling

MY 2174.  If you're going to make Colony Pods, go make a base with them somewhere.  At least they all have Clean Reactors on them, so the AI isn't stupidly running itself out of SUPPORT with these things anymore.  That's an important hack in my mod.  It's still a stupid waste of production though.

[bvanevery]

Details more milling

more milling

MY 2176.  I'm starting to feel bad for the Spartans.  They obviously have very stupid children.

Details majoring in milling

majoring in milling

And they think tromping around in fungus with armored units is a good idea.  Yeah, sometimes it might be.  In conventional combat, it does give a defensive advantage.  But against mindworms, you'd better hope you got lucky and attacked first, because I get the offensive advantage.  I'm a +1 PLANET faction, you really should have seen this coming.  A big reason I recommend Huge maps is to give the AI factions time to dig in and set up a proper empire.  The Spartans don't have one, they're just swimming in fungus.  The Cyborgs will probably do a lot better, if it comes to that.

Details hiking trip

hiking trip

I steal E2 Centauri Empathy without consequence.  Isn't it amazing the amount of research you can get done, if you're an Alien and you just don't build a Rec Commons?  I wonder how long I could keep this up?  In principle, I could acquire all techs except E1 Social Psych.  These particular humans will probably take forever to learn E3 Progenitor Psych.  In practice, sooner or later I'll get E1 Social Psych from a supply pod, whether I want it or not.  But it's amusing to see how anti-social I can be.  Passive aggressive rules!

 

Details Greener

Greener

My indigenous forces were already pretty good.  Now their size and strength are going to be terrifying.  And my citizens will be a little happier.

[bvanevery]

Details target for theft

target for theft

MY 2177.  As the inter-turn ticker goes by, I hear that Zhakarov and Santiago have signed a Treaty.  My infantry chassis probe team has returned to base unharmed as a Commando, so I check to see if Santiago has any new techs.  Maybe she got D3 Optical Computers from Zhakarov.  Maybe she slowly researched it on her own.  Whatever, it'll soon be mine!  I just need to plan some defense for my team, as I don't have a proper road connecting any of her bases.

Details dick settlement

dick settlement

I have 1 extra Colonist.  It could go to the Manifold Nexus, but my Isles are a little busy fishing supply pods out of the water around there.  It occurs to me that because I'm at war with the Spartans, I can settle my Colonist wherever I want in their territory.  How about that patch of nutrients between Sparta Command and Hero's Waypoint?  I've got the armor, there's nothing they can do about it.

I did this same kind of maneuver in my last game against the Gaians.  In that case, we hadn't even made contact yet.  But they started so close to me, that I thought it necessary to aggressively push my boundary outwards in their direction.  I had 2 of their cities just next to mine, 2 squares separation each!  They eventually allied with me, so it was all good thoughts and roses.  I quit the game right about as I was going to steal the Borehole Complex in the same way from them.

This time, I just want to cut off Sparta Command.  Heck I could trash everything except Sparta Command.  Not kill any more bases, just fill them up with more fungus than they already have.  Which is a lot anyways.  My own little mindworm backyard!  How passive aggressive is that??

[bvanevery]

Details sheesh

sheesh

MY 2178.  Can you possibly ask for it more?  So silly.  And if I hadn't gotten them, what about the wild mindworms?

[bvanevery]

Details timely

timely

MY 2179.  Nothing like having all your units arrive from the hinterlands at the same time, at your enemy's back door.  Fort Survivalist has 1 Synth Garrison and 1 Colonist in it.  Next year it's toast.  I'm perfectly happy to give the Cyborgs an easy route of western expansion.  They'll be much better neighbors, even if they end up being my enemies, because they'll have more to steal!

[bvanevery]

Details prep for the future

prep for the future

MY 2181.  I learn C4 Single-Sided Surfaces, which turns out to be complete overkill for dealing with the Spartans.  I'm going to steal D3 Optical Computers for them this year, so that's what I pick.  In the hope that I'll be able to direct my research to something more useful, instead of techs I'm just going to steal.

Details this is how it's done

this is how it's done

The Scout will kill the Rover Former.  The infantry chassis probe team will move along the river to where the Rover Former used to be, and will have 1/3 move remaining.  The Plasma Police and Colonist will move along the river and to the nutrient patch.  Then the probe team will steal D3 Optical Computers.  Next year I'll make my base.  The Spartans don't have any Recon Rovers in evidence.  In the event that they do, the wounded Scout will provide a distraction.  Most likely it just moves into the base to heal.

Details didn't expect rails

didn't expect rails

I'm not displeased to be so joined at the hip with this city, but I wonder how I'll capitalize on that.  I don't think sabotaging an enemy's base while at war is passive aggressive.  Doing it while you're in a Truce and framing someone else, that's passive aggressive.

Details movement 2

movement 2

And the best way to frame someone else, is with an Elite team!  Ready for that.  But who would I cause trouble for?  And if I don't have a diplomatic relationship yet, then there's no need.

Details Lifter tactics

Lifter tactics

The Unity Lifter is going to fly the Unity Mining Drill to Phantom Forces.  The drill will blow away the interloping Synth Garrison.  Note that in my mod, the drill is a Particle Impactor.  I thought the original game's version was too wimpy.  I think I'll bring the Elite probe team along as well, so that it can stay on the Lifter and fly east next turn.  I need to send it back into action at the Cyborgs.

Details unfavorable

unfavorable

The Synth Garrison is tougher than expected.  I need to bring up a mindworm.

Details ocean trouble

ocean trouble

The Sealurk has arrived south of Sparta Command.  I'm not sure it's going to be of any use attacking it though.  Somehow Santiago has managed a Commando Synth Marine in there.  Probably that's too tough for a larval life form.  My foil probe team, en route to infiltrate the University, unfortunately runs into a wounded Spartan ship.  It dives for the fungus, but probably it's gonna get blown away.  At least that means the ship will be Sealurk food.

[bvanevery]

Details lame

lame

MY 2182.  My Sealurk doesn't hold up, even against a half dead Spartan ship.  The odds calculator said I was favored 2 to 1.  I found my base.  I cautiously approach Ironholm with a stack of 3 mindworms.  I scouted the square just north of my stack and know it's empty.

[bvanevery]

Details die you easily Spartan!

die you easily Spartan!

MY 2183.  I smash up Ironholm.  I capture an Artifact in the process.  Where they end up, is always a bit of a mystery to me.  There doesn't seem to be any consistent rule about it.  It's not on the square I attacked from.

Details slaughter at will

slaughter at will

The Spartans have no defense for their backcountry.  I've been running down Colonists at will.

Details passive aggressive gamble

passive aggressive gamble

I've been sailing towards the Data Angels for a long time.  They have 4 techs I don't know, including E1 Social Psych.  Will my reign of silent terror come to an end?

Details Drat!

Drat!

I could have avoided this if I had really wanted to.  But perhaps Santiago is about ready to be my thrall.  If she doesn't fully capitulate, she's not keeping Ironholm or the Borehole Complex city.

Details seriously

seriously

Talk about prideful and stubborn.  They don't have the slightest chance, yet here they are.

Details orangey silence

orangey silence

I fished Miriam's comm frequency out of the water eons ago.  I've never met her in person, for the very good reason that she's on the opposite side of the map in the southern hemisphere.  The game gave us a Truce a number of turns ago, or at least that's when I've noticed.  It could be that if enough time passes without any physical contact, the game imposes a Truce.  Or maybe it's a bug, who knows.

Details you have the nerve

you have the nerve

Dude, I'm powerful.  You're weak, you come from a small island.  I think you've got a Scout on my territory, and you're so ugly!  You have the audacity, the gall, to be Belligerent towards me.  I don't care if you think I want to be Socialist... well he's signing a Treaty.  I'm not really in the mood to threaten him, so I sign off.  I don't like to threaten unless I'm actually going to do something to them.  Like pave them over with fungus.

Details you have no idea what you're in for

you have no idea what you're in for

Your kind of attitude, is the entire reason I created this After Action Report.  Psychologically, I prepare to give you your Truce.  But interestingly, we do not gain a diplomatic status after our little chat.  Business continues as usual.  I can certainly live with that!

Details the sane one

the sane one

Roze is actually showing as the strongest faction on the graph right now.  Might UNSURPASSED.  Maybe she finally figured out how to settle her land.  Maybe she ran into the Monsoon Jungle.  Like Aki Zeta-5, she refuses my Treaty.  Unlike Aki Zeta-5, this puts us in a state of Truce.  I don't know why it works one way with one faction and not the other.  But Truce it is.  I'll think of something long distance and wonderful for ya.

I don't bother asking after Zhakarov.  I know where he is.  That Spartan ship just got in my way last time.  I've got some more things coming around the continent.

[bvanevery]

Details insane human brain swiss cheese

insane human brain swiss cheese

MY 2184.  She's got some serious cheek!  She offers a Truce afterwards.  No.  Your death, imminent.

Details do you see sense

do you see sense

Losing the Borehole Cluster city didn't even put a dent in her paranoid delusions.