AAR5 -(Morgan) Aliens Aren't Good for Profit (late August/September)

[Green1]

Once again, a few months in advance like I did for AAR4, I need a bit of help.

This time, I kind of want something really, really rough. I am going to be doing Morgan with 6 Alien factions.

Now, in the unfinished AAR3, I did have 4 alien factions - 2 Himilees and 2 Marrs. But, that got confusing saying Marr -1 and Marr -2, etc. BU suggested if I ever tried something like that again, to use custom Aliens. Alas, there really are not any good Aliens out there. Supposedly according to an ancient gamefaq, there was at one time an alien civil war pack supposedly on Network Node, but that is not in our downloads. Nor can I find any other mention of it.

As far as available ones, the only one decent is Antimind (who will be reappearing for AAR5). The only 2 in NN are the Bree (Maniac/ Network Node) which the AI has issues with, and the Manifold Seekers which never seem to do well either. There is also some sort of rebel Proj faction based on a Progenitor underclass uprising, but they are done like humans and I want all out civil war for this.

So, once again, over the next few months I either need help to find good Aliens, or... more than likely, have to make some myself that fit and have a good story with everyone's help. Do not worry. I will use the stock Caretakers and Usurpers. Antimind will be back. So, all we need is 3, not have to pull all 6 out of thin air!

Should be fun either way!

[Yitzi]

You might want to consider these.

Also, Morgan with 6 aliens is definitely interesting, as he loses his commerce advantage.  What I would do in that situation is (don't open the spoiler if you don't want advice)

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go Dem/Green/Wealth and use native life heavily.  Native life doesn't care about morale penalties, and can be kept in fungus to be support-free.  And of course Dem/Green is +4 Efficiency, so you can run 100% labs at no penalty, so long as your cash holds up.  (Planetpearls are your friend in making sure they keep holding up.)  In a serious war against the Antimind, though, you'll want to switch to Power and maybe even Fundie (but stay Green), and use cheap empath and trance units to kill them (relying on their Growth and Industry penalties to give you the advantage).  And of course you can't pop boom with Green, so for that Simple economics is probably best; without commerce, Free Market isn't worth the cost.

[Sigma]

The Tech Triade are another Alien faction from Network Node. Progenitors with +3 Research and -1 Industry along with 150% defense; also they have three leaders which is kind of hilarious. No idea how those diplomatic calls are supposed to go. Seeing them in action could be interesting, as they could be conceivably unstoppable in the late game, and their defensive bonus could go a long way to helping them survive until their ridiculous Research rockets them ahead of the pack.

EDIT: Actually I just had a major brainstorm for a really weird alien faction: an aquatic faction of sentient amoebas. I'm gonna get right on that.

[Buster's Uncle]

For that matter, I did two alt. prog factions in collaboration with Darsnan four years ago - the art's on my custom factions page, but if you want the .txt, you'll have to go to 'poly and find the scenario he posted in April of 2009.  I don't know how well they'd work outside his scenario...  But, as far as I'm concerned, and I doubt Darsnan would object to the repurposing of his designs, you're welcome to use the .pcxs and create your own factions.  I mean, I think you're more interested in the story aspect than anything, and for that, a faction need not have different stats at all; only different faces and names.

[Sigma]

Are you looking for factions that are relatively balanced, or ones that would be a challenge to play against?

[JarlWolf]

I am thinking he wants the latter, he's aiming for crazy I believe 

[Sigma]

I've got a question about Aquatic Factions: are all of Svensgaaaaaar's unique bonuses built into the Aquatic Rule, or are they coded somewhere else? I'm referring to his faction's ability to build in the deep sea and to mine extra minerals from ocean shelves.

[Yitzi]

I've got a question about Aquatic Factions: are all of Svensgaaaaaar's unique bonuses built into the Aquatic Rule, or are they coded somewhere else? I'm referring to his faction's ability to build in the deep sea and to mine extra minerals from ocean shelves.

Both of those are built into Aquatic, but his free Marine Detachment and naval yards aren't.

[Sigma]

Good to know.

BEHOLD

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#BLURB
^  While at first the specimen recovered from the New
Sargasso appeared to be nothing less than a giant amoeba,
subsequent tests revealed a the presence of a complex
nervous system unlike anything yet discovered on Planet.
This researcher apologizes to report that the specimen's
tissue experienced a state of rapid dissolution soon after
dissection.
^
^        -- Oleksiy Danilenko,
^           University of Planet Report on Specimen 91124

#DATALINKS1
^LEADER: {Nucleon Zedaak bora-Jellico}
^BACKGROUND: {Elected Leader of the Procyon}
^AGENDA: {New Procyon Homeworld}
^TECH: {Doctrine: Flexibility, Nanometallurgy}

#DATALINKS2
^+1 GROWTH:   {Rapid asexual reproduction}
^-1 MORALE: {Inept soldiers}
^-2 PLANET:  {Unconcerned with preserving native ecosystem}
^Aquatic alien faction. Begins with one Sea Escape Pod.
^Experienced deep sea miners {Free Subsea Trunkline at each base}
^Free Deep Pressure Hull for all marine units
^Suffers no negative effects from Democratic Politics
^Cannot use Police State Politics

[JarlWolf]

Also, do the aliens need to be Progenitors? I can easily make Alien factions that are not a Progenitor race but still interesting storywise/ stat wise. Let me know on that regard.

[Green1]

Are you looking for factions that are relatively balanced, or ones that would be a challenge to play against?

Antimind level of OPness is okay but not Scotsnoobs (BU newbie faction that is unbeatable) level of crazy.

Also remember, all aliens are always at war with each other all the time by default even if you have more than two. So it is not just me that is concerned with one being OP, but the other AIs. Also, enmity. If I even make toke treaties and agreements with one, it hacks off the other 5!  So all 6 are locked in permanent war. Morgan is trapped in a real alien crossfire!

I will look at all of the suggestions before now and the time AAR4 finishes. With customs, I usually playtest them for a bit before doing an AAR to make sure they are powerful enough. If not, I will try to make one. One of my ideas is a polar opposite of the Antimind, since it is now permanently in my rotation ( I would even put it in an MP game just to see what happens, if I could get the courage to convince them one day..lol). The Destroyers idea from Yitzi's thread sounds really interesting as an anti-antimind...

I fully expect to be challenged where there is a real chance of losing. Actually, a very good chance of losing at Transcend difficulty. Map will be Standard size/Abundant Life/Weak Erosive/Sparse Cloud/Mostly Land.

[Sigma]

I fully expect to be challenged where there is a real chance of losing. Actually, a very good chance of losing at Transcend difficulty. Map will be Standard size/Abundant Life/Weak Erosive/Sparse Cloud/Mostly Land.

Hmm then I guess my aquatic amoeba race probably won't work since they're dependent on a good amount of water.

[Buster's Uncle]

Okay, here's Darsnan's scenario I referenced before, with the alternate progs: http://apolyton.net/showthread.php/184748-SMAX-Eye-of-the-Beholder-2009-SP-game

[Sigma]

Okay, here's Darsnan's scenario I referenced before, with the alternate progs: http://apolyton.net/showthread.php/184748-SMAX-Eye-of-the-Beholder-2009-SP-game

Those Progs are really just alternate Caretakers, though.

[Buster's Uncle]

Yeah, I guess; my end was art, and I don't recall what Darsnan did to the stats or anything.  Are the other alt. progs not in that one?  It's been over four years and I honestly don't remember.

Still, given Green's initial inspiration to be able to use extra progs and tell them apart, this will do, I should think.