Passive Aggressive Tactics - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.46

[bvanevery]

Details sacrifice minerals

sacrifice minerals

MY 2203.  Before I make my final connection to Domai's land, I need to bring several mindworms back.

Details about face

about face

It's lame to turn around and go home, especially after this much overland marching.  At least I'll have a rail for the trip back.  I've managed to get 1 of Aki's probe teams killed.  The other probe team and mindworm seem to be frozen.

[bvanevery]

Details it pops

it pops

MY 2204.  It only took 100 years of pod popping for this to happen.  It's timely.  It saves me from needing to steal from Domai at all.

Details too late

too late

I checked Alpha Prime to see if there was a probe team in the way of my theft.  There isn't, but the bad news is the Virtual World is almost done.  I'm not rich, I blew my wad on the Weather Paradigm.  That wasn't wrong to do, considering my meltdown with Domai.  Aki may have been working on something here all this time, and this might be her final long term payoff.  It makes me more interested in settling at the Manifold Nexus and then conquering her capitol.  A simple threat would probably do it.  However, I'd like the whole region connected by rail first.  Presumably by kicking Domai off his island.

[bvanevery]

Details was about to steal

was about to steal

MY 2205.  I had to go and learn this on my own.  Well when I got started, the Cyborgs didn't have it going on yet.  I guess their research rate is quicker than mine.  I've built an awful lot of Network Nodes though.  Maybe I need to get some money into it?

Details probe killer

probe killer

The 2nd probe team finally blundered into the mindworm.  The 'trick' may be to just back off and let the thing move around.  I kill the mindworm for its pearls.  If it had gone more towards the Cyborgs, I bet they would have just done the same to it.  I'm realizing it's not just stirring up mindworms, it's stirring them up in areas that have weak defense, that's the best idea.  Bases that are next to fungus, have few defenders, and can be clobbered.

Details sea minerals changed to a supply pod

sea minerals changed to a supply pod

I remember this as something that could happen, but that I haven't actually seen happen, for quite some time.  Even better, I pop an Artifact!  Heck I'd raise every last darned mineral out of the sea if I could do that consistently.  I'll be on the lookout for more such opportunities.

Details all elite must die

all elite must die

Aki tries to talk to me before I steal.  I ignore her.  I gain E2 Adaptive Economics, but my team is toast.  I sure got a lot of mileage out of it!  Just a cheap infantry chassis probe team, that went on a lot of missions.  The Cyborgs are milling a Colonist in the vicinity of the Manifold Nexus, so I guess I'm not going to settle that so easily.  Truth is, it's awfully far away.

[bvanevery]

Details connected

connected

MY 2206.  Come at me bro!  Mindworms are arriving for dinner.

[bvanevery]

Details whatever you say

whatever you say

MY 2207.  I'm just trying to pass through, to go get some sea supply pods on the other side of his territory.  He wants war with the Believers and I'm not going to do that.  But hey, if he's dumb enough to sign a Pact anyway, that I'll never actually give him a shred of support for, well have at it!  Of course he insists on the war and I decline, so we don't sign anything.  I sail on through.

[bvanevery]

Details the slaughter

the slaughter

MY 2208.  I don't know what they think they'll do.  Coming through this bottleneck, they don't have the slightest chance.  I suppose I should shell the forest so that I can make a road more easily.  Come to think of it, putting a base right here would be good.

Details yet more theft

yet more theft

Aki has graced me with a new city.  I just happened to build one of the old fashioned cheap infantry probe teams.  It's so convenient that she settled on a river!

[bvanevery]

Details plasma power

plasma power

MY 2209.  I knock the forest flat as a pancake.  Speeder Formers sweep in and make a road.  This is important to get done so that I can drive on Domai's cities immediately.  There's a chance that he might be smart enough to slam me with Recon Rovers and take out my Plasma armor, but I did bolster it with a Sensor Array.  I've known how to make ECM and 3-Pulse armor since forever, I just haven't bothered.  The Spartans were never tough enough to warrant it.

[bvanevery]

Details toughness

toughness

MY 2210.  My Plasma unit is slammed by 2 Recon Rovers, but it holds and is promoted to Elite.  The 2nd Rover was really feeble.  Must not have been trained at a Command Center.  I could upgrade the unit to an ECM 3-Pulse unit, but why bother? It's not like Domai's got anything that can deal with me, or that he's gonna be on this island very long.  I just stand still on the Monolith and heal up, as it's a good point of defense.  Wouldn't mind having that forest back now, but you can't plant stuff on a Monolith.  You just have to wait for it to spread on its own.  Formers come up and put a rail on the Monolith.  Turns out this connects it to some network Domai helpfully built for me.

O, o.  I just got the greatest idea.  I could completely surround these sea bases with land, so that they can't go anywhere, and can't eat!  That would be passive aggressive!

Details should I

should I

Much as I'd like to steal Aki's next tech, watching a spore launcher obliterate her base is priceless.  Especially since she's rushing a unit.  If it follows the rules I have to follow with such things, the base will be gone before the unit can defend it.  But who knows, the AI may cheat.  In which case I'll kill the spore launcher in a couple of years, because it's in my way.  Although, I could just walk around it.  If it lives, and shells the base forever, that would be passive aggressive!

[bvanevery]

Details long way around

long way around

MY 2211.  The AI gets to cheat and rush a defensive unit before the spore launcher would wipe out the base.  However it declines to attack the spore launcher, so I'm walking around.  I just acquired B3 Industrial Economics through the Planetary Datalinks anyways so there's nothing for me to steal.  But that could change in the near future, and I'll be ready at that time.

Details like a rock

like a rock

The Plasma Garrison survives yet more attacks and simply reheals.  However Domai shelled my Sensor Array so I had to rebuild it.  To stop this from happening again, I move up my Hatchling Spore Launcher.  I don't know if it can hold up, but it will certainly last a few turns.  I also believe that merely putting a Former on the square will keep the Sensor Array from being damaged.  Not 100% certain about that, because it's been awhile since I defended against a protracted shelling, but it seems to work most of the time.  I could plant fungus on this square to increase its defensibility with a spore launcher.

Details center of everything

center of everything

I've almost got enough cash to build the Merchant Exchange.  Where should I put it?  That's the same question as, where should my capitol really be?  Given my arms of expansion, I'm going to say Phantom Forces.  It's somewhat between the Spartan arm and the Free Drone arm.  It wouldn't completely suck for absorbing the University, or some of the Data Angels.  Particularly if I turn that big ocean to the south, into some usable land.  I don't know if I'll get to that, but it's nice to have a perfectly radial diamond for one's economic core.  We'll see.

[bvanevery]

Details idle musings

idle musings

MY 2112.  The Cyborgs mind control a Free Drone sea base, pretty much scuttling my grandiose plan of passive aggressive land raising.  Well actually, I'm not sure.  If we don't have any diplomatic relation, can I raise land without penalty?  I guess I'll find out.

Details supply pod economy

supply pod economy

I use 1 Artifact and a lot of cash to rush the Merchant Exchange.  You can definitely get rich popping supply pods.  It's almost too easy.  I may go Democratic soon, to get more money.  I also don't want to bother making more police units.

[bvanevery]

Details easily remedied

easily remedied

MY 2113.  The Drones take their base right back.  Guess I'm still raising land.  The Drones do not attack me this year, signaling their weakness.  Indeed, inspecting their cities, they're now down to 2 or 3 defenders. 

Details happy money

happy money

Time to go Democratic and sweep in with surplus police garrison units.  Income doubles!  But I only have 15 credits left.  Not enough to finish a Rec Commons in 2 cities that need them.  Well, Domai's got 932 credits in reserve, wow!  Maybe taking his cities will give me the cash I need.  Yeah, taking his 1st city was enough for that.  I only got 50 credits out of that, so I don't even talk to him.  I want more.  Maybe all the loot is in his capitol.

Details easy war

easy war

I was surprised to lose a Unity Rover to a Former.  It didn't have a Sensor Array backing it up, it was just sitting on some forest.  Clearing road obstructions slowed my offensive somewhat.  I could probably take 1 more city this year, but this is an excellent defensive line that nobody's getting past.  I bring in 2 fresh mindworms and 2 Scouts for use next year, so that I don't have to complete the rail line if I don't want to.

Details it's my creation

it's my creation

I've done better at Secret Projects than the competition.  Last year I think 3 different factions were working on multiple copies of the Merchant Exchange.  No more.  I shut them out!  I'd really like to get my hands on the Virtual World though.

[bvanevery]

Details the foil probe problem

the foil probe problem

MY 2214.  I have not produced any kind of defensive probe units.  I'm only starting to do so now, as my home cities complete everything else that's 'basic' to a base.  This is not a problem on land because I'm inside of Domai's production timing.  He will not get any probe teams built before his last 2 cities are conquered.  The same is not true at sea though.  He's got a foil probe team just south of Chainlink Break.  In principle, if I take Hammer and Tongs this year, he could take it right back with mind control.  He's definitely got the money to do it.  It's only a question of whether the AI understands taking over a land base using a sea unit.  I think I've seen this happen before, but I'm not sure.  There's no question that the AI goes after sea bases with sea probe teams, in fact it has quite the obsessive passion about that.  This is a very good reason to leave someone's sea bases alone and not build any of one's own, until one has the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm or such.

I hope nobody else walks into the base I cleared out, like the Spartans.  I want the cash for the conquest, and I want to be able to raise land without interference.  But I feel like I'm doing what I have to do.  I didn't quite have enough units to take both bases, because there was some more spam on the roads.  My finger also slipped while pushing one of my mindworms around, and it couldn't attack a target.  Next year, next year.

[bvanevery]

Details many options

many options

MY 2215.  I research E3 Centauri Genetics, which enables me to start the Human Genome Project.  It also allows me to crush everyone with my own mindworms if I so please.  I'm quite happy with my native crop at this time however.  Finally, in my mod it removes the nutrient production cap.  I can eat hearty now.  In the future I would like to have a lot of money, so I'm going to go for the Planetary Energy Grid.

Details stalking the spy

stalking the spy

The Foil Probe Team is holed up at Chainlink Break.  I have realized that it's badly wounded.  To help it stay that way, I've started shelling the base.  I'm bringing up my one remaining unarmored Skimship Probe Team in the hope of killing it.  Domai's got a Laser Foil at Whipsaw Base to the north, which means I cannot directly approach.  However I do have 2 Isles coming in behind, so eventually I can get through this.  It would be best to take Free Drone Central first and leave Hammer and Tongs for last, on the assumption that Domai doesn't have any other Foil Probe Teams afloat.  I can check that... F7 says, he does not.  1 in operation.  2 in production, one at Chainlink Break and the other at Hammer and Tongs.

I put a few too many mindworms into the bush last year, to make sure I'd properly flushed out Domai's lurking units.  I didn't really have much in the way of unwounded forces this year, so I backed off to the Monolith to heal up.  My Formers finally completed some tasks elsewhere in my empire.  I don't have anywhere near enough Formers for the amount of land I've conquered.  I now at least have linked the rail to the rest of my empire, making gratuitous reinforcement easier.  I also got a defensive Sensor Array done.

Details my minion

my minion

The Spartans have attacked Free Drone Central, slightly weakening it, and doing damage to a unit standing outside it.  I don't want them taking any of these cities over.  For one thing, they'd get the big pile of cash.  Also I don't want them in the way of me raising land.  That said, I could tell them to hand over any city they conquer, for a modest fee.  But why should I spend anything at all?

Details classy antics

classy antics

As if on cue, Aki learns B4 Environmental Economics right as I'm ready to steal it.  My work done, I could relieve her of the Spore Launcher and make a small amount of money from the kill.  But I won't!  Continuous shelling is wonderful.  It may also keep her from expanding with more colonists.  My only regret is she's making a Foil Probe Defense and I hope she's not planning to send that my way.  So far they've gone towards Domai, so maybe I'm not at risk.  I'm also not sure the AI has the brains to bother land cities with these things anyways.

A Spartan probe team approaches.  They don't seem to have any diplomatic relation.  I don't know if that means it's a null relation like we have, or if they actually have had no contact.  I could leave my mindworm available to escort the Spartan team to complete its mission.  Actually that's a reasonably good idea.  I think I will.

[bvanevery]

Details the victim before collection

the victim before collection

MY 2216.  I didn't think about depopulation as a solution to the Foil Probe problem.  I've just made 1 new infantry probe unit, and 1 is back from bothering the Cyborgs.  I've also got 1 Skimship Probe Team at sea.  With only 3 land cities remaining, I actually will have enough to cover all the 3 bases.  I can keep shelling Domai's 1 Foil Probe as long as it just wants to sit there.  My Isles will eventually come up and trash everything.  I don't have to take the base, I just need to trash the Foil Probe so that I can't be bothered easily.  After all, I may defend against a hit or I may not.  I'm not a Police State anymore, my probe teams are not especially well trained.  I could make Probe Firewalls with 3-Pulse armor, but that takes a long time and I have much higher priorities for the productivity.

Domai has 664 credits.  How much am I going to get from him, taking these 2 cities?  I think I need to take the lesser city first.  It may be worth 0 when I kill it, and it's probably not going to be worth much in any event.  I might expect that most of the money will be in Domai's capitol, but I could be wrong.  I'd hate to do this in some kind of freak wrong order, and not get anything for the trouble.  So here goes.  A mere 24 credits from the wiped out city, and...

Details shut up a hole

shut up a hole

Don't you know how to be quiet when someone's mugging you for your lunch money?  If you had never opened your mouth to threaten me, none of this would have happened to you.  You're a Socialist prig, and I don't care if you think I'm supposed to be Socialist too.  My brain human, your brain puny!  You look like a super dimwit anyways.  You're lucky my mod doesn't give you the -2 RESEARCH penalty like in the traditional game.

47 credits, that's it?  No payday?  I'm not even taking a screenshot of that.  Pathetic.

Details suck seawater, fishface

suck seawater, fishface

The loss of land has a dramatic effect on Domai's productivity.  There aren't going to be any more Foil Probes.  Only the one.  Eventually, I'll send my own Skimship Probe Team around the southern side of the island, then come up and kill his.

[bvanevery]

Details snippy preachers

snippy preachers

MY 2217.  I've got a fairly strong Isle off of Miriam's coast.  It's just there looking for sea supply pods.  I deliberately sail right up next to one of her port cities last year, knowing that we could end up in this sort of chat.  She may have put a unit to sea, or she may have had a unit milling around on the land.  Either way, she wanted war with Roze.  No value in that for me, so I shined her on.  So now she's getting all Theocratic with me.

I've tried to make that a worthwhile social engineering choice for someone other than her, but there just aren't enough game mechanics for it.  I couldn't abide the -2 RESEARCH or +1 MORALE of the original game, as it cripples factions and overpowers them, respectively.  Nor do I think religious people should be particularly good at PROBE, so I made that the Police State option.  There's really nothing left but either GROWTH or SUPPORT, and there aren't enough penalties left either.  So I just have this teeny weeny bit of GROWTH given for free.  Other factions do tend to like it for a time, until something better comes along.  People pay lip service to God, then they do something else.

Only Miriam's into it, and only she can get something out of it, as she's the only faction with an inherent +1 GROWTH now.   I don't think the AI can pull it off, but a human player can use that to pop boom earlier.  +2 GROWTH and a Children's Creche and a Golden Age is a pop boom.  Later on in the game with Eudaimonia, she wouldn't need the Golden Age.  I doubt she's ever going to make it that far though.  Not at the rate I'm growing.

Details silly team

silly team

The Spartans haven't seen fit to move forwards, so I'm outta here.  They can solve their own problems.