AAR 3: Lal must suffer!

[Green1]

Being that I recieved a phone call from work (I contract) indicating my week or so of sitting on my butt and being on forums and engaging in nerdy past times is fixing to be curtailed, I thought I had better get cranking on AAR3 so the good folks at AC2, lurkers, and newbies alike would have some cool things to read during a small hiatus coming up.

Back in the late 90s to early 00s there was a movement in gaming that believed in brutal games. Us older folks know that everything comes in cycles. In the 80s, there were Rogelikes where it was not a matter of winning, but how long you could survive.

Well, this one is going to be one of those brutal, humiliating games. Plus... this one has a story! Well, a contrived one... but it does sound cool.

If you remember in AAR1, our buddy Lal was conquered by Miriam after a desperate fight for survival featuring mass executions and chemical warfare. Well, our buddy Lal has been sent through a psi gate to HELL. The only way to earn redemption is to survive.

Yes, LAL MUST SUFFER!

The setup:

Standard Map. This is a smaller map than AAR1 and AAR2. Abundant Native Life, Dense Cloud Cover, average erosion, low sea level.

There is no tech stag unlike the first two AARs. Tech will come like a normal AC game.

Version is SMAX, all official patches, and Kyrub's SMAX patch PLUS.

The main form of punishment comes in the form of the rogue's gallery for this adventure:

Lal. I will be reprising Commisioner Lal. Politician, Democracy lover, survivor?

Two Conqueror Marrs named Marr 1 and Marr 2. The Usurpers
Two Him'lees named Him'lee 1 and Him'lee 2. The Caretakers

These are  the alien factions in the hard-to-find nowadays expansion to SMAC called Alien Crossfire. They get a number of free techs, start with a battle ogre, and are many times outright agressive towards humans, for they taste good with ketchup. All alien factions also have a special victory condition where if they build enough of a certain late/mid game facility they can win Proginator Victory, calling in buddies from Tau Ceti to wipe out all opposing factions. The only weakness is they must always be at war with the opposing alien faction and can not profit from comerce and trade.

In a way, this is kind of a curious experiment for myself. I do know all Caretakers and Usurpers must be always at war with each other. I do not know if you have two of the same type if they must be at war as well. I guess, if we survive long enough we will learn together.

Yang. If there was a hell, Yang would be there. Nuke happy, agressive Police State advocate who knows kung fu and meditates on it.

Zak. Only because if you remember, Zak did pact with Lal in AAR1. Plus, it is kind of a hat off to New Age of Power and his ICS Zak.

A few more thing about alien factions. Did I fail to mention these guys are insanely overpowered? Yeah, I must reiterate: almost broken overpowered. In the SMAX community, they are so much so that no one is allowed to play as them single player. Well, take that back. You can play them, but the only point would be to show thier special victory movie. I would not do an AAR as them. I do not know about the MP guys, but I am sure those guys would show you the door if you selected them to play starting up or kindly ask you to pick up someone else.

Oh... and you cannot win diplomatic victory like our sneaky anarchist heroine Roze did in AAR2 unless all alien factions have been wiped off planet!

With that, our buddy Lal is gauranteed to have a rough day.

[Green1]

Oh yes... the start!

Two pods and fungus among us!

[Green1]

To the north, I recognize that lush, green tile anywhere. This is GOOD. It is the monsoon jungle special terrain feature. It will give us a bit of an advantage if the terrain north has a bit of it.

Under that colony pod is a monolith. I will probably go ahead and plop a base right near there.

[Buster's Uncle]

 

[Green1]

One small relief if you happen to play with the Proginitors I forgot to mention: you get a very few turns before they spawn on map as a small... and I mean small favor.

[Green1]

One of the pods has popped an alien artifact which means a free tech if brought to a base with the facility called a network node. We do not have any network nodes yet becuase we do not have the appropriate tech.

Our research, of course is Centauri Ecology which allows Formers, the workers if you will of Alpha Centauri to use Civ terms.

Bit more exploration reveals a decent amount of monsoon jungle to our north. This is good for nutrients. Some say a tad bit too good. Many folks from the tourneys of old on ancient forums would have this feature taken out by a CMN.

[Green1]

Centauri Ecology is out. Research is now on Industrial Base. As I remind if you have read the other 2 AARs. This is the normal rate of research. The other two games were tech stag games.

The two bases will build recycling tanks since Lal does start out with Biogenics and can build them. Being I have killed a few mindworms, I may rush one so I can get a former out.

So far, the dreaded aliens have not appeared. Nor has the other humans, Zak or Yang in this hell world.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'd say he was on a decent piece of mainland with Monsoon Jungle; if no Progs land too close, I doubt he's going to suffer all that much.

[Green1]

Industial Base is out. Next up Industrial Economics.

So far, so good. We are in a jungle paradise. Some decent city spots. You are right.

Our buddy Lal is not as bad on edge.

However, there is a lot to explore. After the tanks, another colony pod is needed and formers.

[Green1]

Industrial Economics is out, next Social Psych

The exploration is turning out interesting.

The only thing nasty we have run into is a mindworm or two.

No big, tusk, and nasties yet.

Although, we do have our first view of the power graph and standings. Yeah.. they are out there. Look at Yang's graph. If there are demons in hell, go figure they would eat Yang first.

[Green1]

Slight brain freeze. The research was Information Networks, not Social Psych! lol. Anyways, Info Networks is out and now we are working on social psych.

It is quiet in hell.

Maybe like BU said. Our buddy Lal may not suffer...too much. Hmm.. restart and make it worse? No. I never restart AARs.

[Buster's Uncle]

Are those borders all on the close side?  The water one surely is.

[Green1]

Are those borders all on the close side?  The water one surely is.

Yeah, a bit close I suppose.

[Green1]

Still, we expand.

I will say this, though. An early game nutrient bonus on Monsoon Jungle is friggin powerful!

My exploration to the south got curtailed by a hungry mindworm.

No big and nasties yet.

[Green1]

Social Psych is out. I am feeling cocky and I am going to shoot for Secrets of the Human Brain. The first faction that gets this gets a free tech. Unless I have missed something, I do not believe anyone has this yet.

I do not like those two mindworms that landed salivating over my formers.

Also... that resource square is a lot of growth for UN Social council!