Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 02:03:37 PM
Possibly all my time playing Huge maps or larger have given me some "bad" habits. I think research rate may be pegged to the map side, and I may have a conceptual bias towards inherently slower research rates. That said, I'm not sure just how much slower they are. I don't tend to think "1 tech per turn" is typical or doable until very late in the tech tree. Maybe that's an artifact of playing on really big maps, like 128x256 for my massive "Continental Consciousness" AAR.
My opponent who Transcended, started with Lal next to the Monsoon Jungle and had no opposition. To try to duplicate his feat, I started on a Normal sized map with Lal. As luck would have it, I found myself next to the Monsoon Jungle with no opposition! So it's an apples to apples comparison. Can I Transcend by 2337 or earlier? I'm off to a bangup start:
creeping quietly |
I was able to sneak up on almost all of the Monsoon Jungle without meeting anybody. Once I settled UN Haven City I could see a border of some kind right next to me, so I did not explore further. I was able to push out UN Data Acquisition and had no idea that I'd settled 2 squares from a Gaian city. Perfect! I founded UN Settlement Agency last as the anchor for my land claim. Then I figured, now I'm pretty safe to push fowards and see what's up.
poor Deirdre |
This whole thing worked out because Deirdre is being hammered by the Usurpers. She allied with me immediately against them. She's got a lot of techs I want, but I'm not trading my Planetary Neworks to her just yet. Hey I'm still working on The Virtual World. I've already completed The Human Genome Project, and The Weather Paradigm will be mine in 6 turns. Not only was I blessed with the jungle, I also got some really good mineral deposits. This start is basically "beyond perfect", it's clearly the best case.
behold my Wonders |
An inefficient Planned economy is also part of my early Secret Project success. I'm at -3 Efficiency! Well whatever, doin' what I gotta. I will send out my probe teams, steal some stuff from Marr, and then see how my economy and tech are doing.
wraparound world |
I've known that the Manifold Nexus was to the east for some time now. However this big patch of fungus sprung next to my original capitol at the very beginning of the game. It was quite a groaner especially as it covered up the mineral deposit I had just popped. Eventually I cleared the minerals but it still prevents movement east. Mindworms have been hovering in that area and I've had to wait for them to step forwards to kill them. Only just this turn did I learn that the entire world probably wraps all the way around, that we're on a strip continent and I can attack the Usurpers more or less directly. Maybe that fungal patch was actually a benefit, preventing the Usurpers from coming to bother me earlier?
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 03:41:01 PM
big mango |
My jungle cities have obtained the maximum size without Hab Complexes. In an effort to stay on top of research, this turn I have gone Free Market. I have a big war looming with Marr as Gaia's Landing just got taken over, and I've built a road to it. I've also claimed the Manifold Nexus to the east, although we are not quite in combative contact yet. My effort to steal tech in that direction was unsuccessful, as I ran into a mindworm on a river while retreating from a Recon Rover.
steal me some missiles |
I have not been able to obtain Doctrine:Loyalty despite a Conquer research focus. Aki has it but she won't trade it. Zhakarov also has it and has been working on The Command Nexus, but I haven't met him so I don't know what his progress is. He's the only somewhat powerful faction in the game other than myself, presumably because he's isolated with tons of land. I have built 3 Command Centers in high output cities and a 4th is on the way, so I don't actually have problems producing troops. Right now we're going through a round of Trance 3-Pulse garrisons, to slow down Marr's ubiquitous Recon Rovers when they arrive. Also I've had a "Scout skeleton" nation for quite some time and everyone needs basic defense.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 03:47:43 PM
conundrum |
Ordinarily I'd be overjoyed to get planes "fairly early". But this isn't entirely compatible with a Free Market. I guess I'll have to decide how many people I can make unhappy. Or else give up on Free Market. I'm switching to Explore focus as I'm about to steal Doctrine:Loyalty from the Usurpers. They're working on the Command Nexus but I think they're unlikely to get it. Zhakarov has been working on it for awhile now, and I have enough Artifacts saved up to insta-build it.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 05:27:30 PM
liquidation |
I found that with a Research Hospital in each of my size 9 jungle cities, they can each afford to support the unhappiness of 1 X Missile Penetrator. Those are seriously hurting Marr. However from a research standpoint, I don't have any citizens to spare for science specialists. Even if I wanted to micromanage my citizens, which I don't. I hope that's not actually the answer to the Transcending problem. In MY 2210 I'm only researching 1 tech every 9 years and that doesn't exactly feel like the path to Transcending. I don't have the Efficiency to do any better than a 40-20-40 budget, and I have to spend that 20 on Psych or my cities would riot.
project envy |
The Planetary Energy Grid is likely to slip past me as I'm Explore focused. It must not be all that "early" as Zhakarov is building the Planetary Datalinks and Marr has plane technology. Fortunately I bombed the crap out of his city before he could finish a prototype. I have no idea where Zhakarov or Roze are. Since I'm on an equatorial strip supercontinent, maybe 1 is to the north, 1 is to the south. Well they're not boating around, and my boating has been really limited. Stabilizing my position in the jungle and fighting Marr have been much higher priorities.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 05:38:53 PM
Southern neighbors |
In MY 2212 while trying to pop a pod on an island to the south, I met Zhakarov. We traded techs and he gave me Roze's comm frequency. More techs and I elected myself Governor by an overwhelming margin. I don't feel quite as backwards as I was, but I still lack Cyberethics and Adaptive Economics. I did get Industrial Automation so now my cities can become huge.
Post by: Mart on April 03, 2018, 05:47:56 PM
Post by: Vishniac on April 03, 2018, 06:20:34 PM
There must effectively be some things you overlooked.
With Gaians in a current PBEM at 5 human players (and the 2 Alien factions), by 2210 I was at 5 turns/tech and, with Human Genome project and Virtual World, had no need of spending any credit in psych. At the very least, with your slight inefficiency as UN, you can have some empaths in your bases.
Though not among the best, I can watch and give you some tips if you wish.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 07:33:51 PM
Post by: Mart on April 03, 2018, 08:09:26 PM
Another is all-specialists bases. One can get needed nutrients and minerals for units upkeep by crawlers. And if it is a base of size 5 or more, it can bring something more than doctors can.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 08:46:52 PM
prepare to steal |
In MY 2226 I finally got Centauri Empathy. I actually got Doctrine:Initiative before that and completed The Maritime Control Center. I've gone Green, and it very much hurts my science output compared to Free Market. I've got no money and I get breakthroughs every 13 turns, instead of 9 turns like before. What it will allow me to do though, is go Fundamentalist. That is necessary because Roze and Zhakarov aren't selling me their techs. Zhakarov has cities immediately across the water from me, so he will be who I steal from. He's also only in a Truce and easier to steal from than Roze. With luck I'll be able to do it undetected, then go back to being Democratic. Without luck, I do have Marine capability and can invade.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 10:00:05 PM
as you were |
Now I'm back to Democratic Free Market, with also Knowledge. This is good for 1 tech per 6 turns, in the ballpark of what people think is supposed to be happening. I guess it doesn't work until you get Cyberethics. Zhakarov has researched Advanced Military Algorithms, so perhaps I'll just steal it from him and not worry about subterfuge. That would probably get Roze to be my ally.
It's MY 2236, so I've only got about 100 years to Transcend to match Brecon's performance. My budget is 40-20-40 and I'm not seeing where the efficiency to do more Labs is going to come from. Must I obtain Digital Sentience to get Cybernetic society? That tech is a long ways off. Maybe I should conquer Zhakarov just to make him my research slave. But if I take all his cities, he won't belt the techs out anymore. I could take them and give them back once he's my thrall, but... this whole "Transcend fast" thing is really bothering me. Doesn't seem basically logical, given where I am right now.
Oh well, the next milestone is getting Environmental Economics to remove the energy cap.
Post by: Mart on April 03, 2018, 10:29:33 PM
I do this between bases as much as I can, not that efficient, but still gives a lot of energy.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 11:02:25 PM
kvetching gets tech |
MY 2237, suddenly my energy restrictions are lifted and I'm Tree Farm capable. Guess I need to whine and complain more often. And drink a beer. Maybe it's karma for feeding the dog.
The fungal pops are getting annoying. I keep having to clean them up, and defend myself.
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 11:12:38 PM
gee whiz |
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 11:23:56 PM
level up |
Post by: bvanevery on April 03, 2018, 11:54:02 PM
I have a fair number of Artifacts squirreled away, but I'm waiting to see if Zhakarov researches another tech I can steal. Currently I have fungus to remove from all the pops, and several more Tree Farms to build. When those are done maybe I'll pop Artifacts, as I would need something to work on.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 03:16:58 AM
got labs |
MY 2261. Half of my cities will complete Fusion Labs next turn. Currently I'm at 1 tech per 5 turns. I really hope my research rate improves dramatically, otherwise I will begin to wonder about all of this. I've still got a lot of Artifacts I haven't popped. I've been popping them when I finish other tasks and need a Secret Project to work on. I didn't need a SP when building all these labs. I disbanded an awful lot of fission units, keeping only the X planes which do all of the actual fighting, and anti-mindworm units. That's part of how I've been getting the labs built. My Formers are basically finished and have nothing to do, so I've disbanded them as well.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 04:34:24 AM
wtf |
MY 2264. Completing the Supercollider in my capitol, which has The Merchant Exchange, did not improve my research rate.
MY 2265. Now it's 1 tech per 4 turns. Maybe the Supercollider kicked in.
My 2267. Now it's 1 tech per 5 turns again. I suppose it's on a rounding threshold.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 05:42:19 AM
my sps |
MY 2269. I've racked up an impressive count of Secret Projects, but my research doesn't go any faster. I've used up my last Artifact and there are very few pods left on the map. With the Cloudbase Academy to be completed next turn, I'm going to try replacing my old fission X Missile Penetrators with fusion Chaos Interceptors. All I ever have to do is kill incoming Usurper units, and perhaps those will be sufficient. Maybe getting rid of the unhappiness they cause, will boost my research rate? I could make more troops, I could even solve the Usurper problem once and for all. Outright conquest would be pretty trivial at this point. But I'm trying to crack the mystery of how to Transcend quickly. So far, this still doesn't make any sense.
Post by: Mart on April 04, 2018, 08:36:40 AM
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0038092X66900259 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0038092X66900259)
SMAC creators may have had something different in mind when making echelon mirrors, but general idea remains the same.
Lifting energy restrictions is about the time, when forests are removed from many tiles and combination of farms+collector/echelon are placed. Mineral production goes down, but it is often, that facilities are completed quickly after the first 10 minerals by hurrying the remaining mins.
One borehole is usually not yet causing ecodamage, if just replaces 3 forests. Two boreholes in a base, that's something realistic and practical still. After the first fungal bloom, one can get mineral limit raised higher anyway.
Specialists can also bring research quite up, they get multiplications too.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 01:59:03 PM
In fact it seems my terraforming strategy is basically wrong, at least in this era. I should have more forests and get rid of farms. Pains me, as it took quite awhile to make those farms, but they're obviously not as good as a Hybrid Forest.
While I'm waiting to build Super Formers and to rework various tiles, I will also try convoying nutrients from my cities that are size 18, to my cities that are not. Usually I've just built colonists but maybe moving nutrients works too. I've not usually done that.
Post by: Mart on April 04, 2018, 02:08:26 PM
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 02:21:43 PM
I pod |
MY 2274. I've popped the last pod that I can reach. There are 3 left in a landlocked body of water way to the south. I'd need to lower terrain or have a global warming flood to get to them. Technically there's an area of land I could settle and then produce a boat. Not sure I'll go to the trouble for 3 pods.
I have no city improvements to build. With a 40-20-40 budget I'm making too many credits. I will try shifting to a 30-30-40 budget and see if that helps anything. LATER: blowing my budget on more Psych didn't even make people happier. I'm changing it back.
Post by: Mart on April 04, 2018, 03:31:38 PM
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 04:38:35 PM
grand central station |
MY 2283. I have terraformed every inadequate farm to a forest now, but it hasn't changed my research. It holds steady at 1 tech per 4 turns, which at least is better than it used to be. I complete the Theory of Everything next turn. I've got massive amounts of money and nothing to do with it. I suppose I'll upgrade a few units to Tachyon.
I've completed a rail network for all my cities. Now I suppose I have a lot of Super Formers with nothing important to do. Ditto Super Cruiser Formers. I lowered some land to finally put a hole in the super strip continent, so now I can pass ships between the north and south oceans. Basically a Panama, although east-west instead of north-south. There is of course, nothing important in either of these oceans anymore.
I could have long since won this game by outright conquest, or by Diplomatic Victory. Both require the elimination of the Usurpers. What I'm actually doing, is sending 1 X infantry per size 18 city, and a lot of probe teams to introduce genetic plagues. The Usurpers are being slowly ground to bits. My Photon armor is not invulnerable to counterattack, I'm finding, so I need to be careful about timing my plagues to weaken the enemies. I've got 1 unit that barely survived and is limping back to a Monolith.
Actually since all my cities will soon be size 18 and I don't need Super Formers anymore, I'm making 1 X infantry per city, except my capitol. That should put an end to the Usurpers. I suppose the Super Formers could make an energy park and then I could crawl it. Although, sea crawling is probably inherently higher yield.
MY 2284. The Theory of Everything has changed my research rate to 1 tech per 3 turns.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 08:26:03 PM
melting aliens with chemicals |
MY 2297. I eradicate the Usurpers. They previously eradicated the Caretakers, so I could win Diplomatic Victory right now. I will press on with the attempt to Transcend quickly, even though it's already been proven, in this game, to be quite a bit slower than outright conquest. I don't know how it would be made faster in any other game either, as my research is still stuck at 1 tech per 3 turns. I've planted massive numbers of forests and put half as massive a number of supply crawlers on them. I also put tidal harnesses on the Geothermal Shallows and have mostly sea crawled it. None of these extra energy inputs seem to make any difference.
Post by: bvanevery on April 04, 2018, 10:23:57 PM
greenie |
MY 2299. Belatedly I realize that the growth penalty for going Green doesn't matter to me anymore. My cities were already size 18, and I built The Cloning Vats. Earlier in the game, I checked on the benefit or liability of going Green and changing my budget around. Previously, I couldn't get my Labs to go any higher no matter what settings I chose. Nowadays it does make a difference. By going Green I can change my budget to 20-20-60 without any penalty. This gets me to 1 tech every 2 turns.
I will complete The Living Refinery next turn. I thought I might be getting close to Super Tensile Solids but actually I'm missing a fair number of techs. Those darn N-Whatever tech icons look awfully similar to each other. Ergo I will stick with my Discover focus, as who knows, maybe I'll get some Quantum Labs.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 04:16:39 AM
Thunderdome |
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 04:42:59 AM
pub crawl |
MY 2305. I cashed in lots of crawlers from my capitol to make another Secret Project. Those crawlers must have actually been doing my research some good, because now I've dropped down to 1 tech per 3 turns again. Maybe building SPs isn't strictly compatible with the goal of quick Transcendence. However at this point I'm bored and just want to play the game. I don't feel like I should have to go through heroics to pull this off. After all, as far as winning the game is concerned, I could have won it 80 years ago. Zhakarov and Roze have been phenomenally pathetic at population growth, they've been in a war this whole time. Zhakarov never did any serious terraforming for some reason, so his population is pathetic.
With the decimation of my crawlers, I have more trees planted in unused land that you can shake a stick at. I have made a few new cities in places, mainly to fulfil strategic objectives like bridging land to Zhakarov, or preventing anyone from ever having a chance at claiming The Manifold Nexus. Now I'm goofing off and trying to give my vassal Aki some access to the main continent. I'd ally with Deirdre too since I'm Green, if only we weren't in sunspots.
MY 2307. I got Super Tensile Solids. I went back to Free Market because I'm not making any money under Green, and I can get 1 tech per 3 turns under Free Market anyways. My budget is back to 40-20-40.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 05:33:56 AM
I shot the sheriff |
MY 2309. I obtain Digital Sentience and go Cybernetic. My Police rating is laughably bad, but the isn't effect any worse than the plain Free Market drill anyways. I've exhausted my land supply crawlers, so I cashed in an old expensive X unit to get The Network Backbone done. We'll see if I have enough old units to do that with the Space Elevator next turn. It is also a "do it in your capitol" project. I haven't made any Orbital Power Transmitters, so the Elevator bonus for making them could be useful.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 06:37:17 AM
jumping jacks |
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 07:35:25 AM
bigger test tubes |
MY 2316. I gain Quantum power and build as many labs as my money can buy me. I disband Super Formers in order to avoid rush penalties. All they're actually doing lately is terraforming the land around Aki's cities. Hey she's my grateful slave, why not? I freed her from the evil clutches of the Usurpers, before I wiped them out. Really it's just a holding pattern, I'm nervous about leaving myself with zero terraformer capability.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 08:13:24 AM
woohoo |
MY 2317. I have achieved 1 tech per turn! The Quantum Labs have done the trick. Looks like my current social choices and budget are all required to achieve it. Free Market forever baby, rip dem trees! What Would Saruman Do?
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 08:42:11 AM
quelle research |
MY 2320. I am able to reduce my Labs budget to 30% and I still get 1 tech per turn. I have piles of cash and nothing to spend it on. I'm going to upgrade my units to Singularity but I'm waiting for a prototype to finish next turn.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 09:21:53 AM
low budget research |
MY 2323. Labs at 20%, still 1 tech per turn! Wouldn't mind hurrying up to win this thing though. It's 4:20 AM. There's been nothing quick about this game from a time usage standpoint. Well hopefully I'd be able to run through it faster in the future. Key is to stick with Free Market.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 10:59:17 AM
vote for your mother |
MY 2327. Zhakarov calls an election. This is just to demonstrate how much I'm overkilling this game.
showtime |
I had the foresight to make some crawlers last turn, anticipating that I might need to make some kind of Secret Project. Happy for it to be this one. It's 5:10 AM and this has been a long time coming.
bulk matter pop |
The Singularity Inductor caused some eco-damage. It's supposed to lessen the amount of damage done, but since I had no factories, the jump in productivity was enough to tip the balance. The Bulk Matter Transmitter exacerbated the problem further and now I've got my first good mindworm pop in quite a long time. There's only 4 of them though. Pity I got rid of my anti-mindworm units eons ago, as I had decades of stability. Well I can start by attacking with that 1 mindworm I captured in the stone ages and have been saving forever. I killed the rest with an Elite String Disruptor Hovertank. It hardly took a scratch.
cheeky techie |
Fortunately I no longer need to do any research, so I can now drop Free Market like a hot potato! Planet rating jumps from 0 to +5. Just for ;lol I'm going to keep researching 1 tech per turn, because I've got more money than God.
I don't really have to leave a clean place, as I will probably Transcend next turn. But I'm going to build Centauri Preserves and Temples of Planet in all the cities that are doing eco-damage. Some cities I've already done that, and I'm still doing eco-damage because of my amazing minerals output. Those cities, I'll build another anti-mindworm garrison unit.
need more sea crawlers |
That leaves my vast sea crawler fleet to assist me in final Transcendance next year. Wow, sea fungus is worth 5 energy now! To think all the work I did earlier in the game to get that kind of yield. UN Social Council shall be the designated "Transcendance" city, as it has coastal access, no eco-damage, and is unlikely to be bothered by mindworms next year.
counting change |
If that isn't enough, I've also got a few land crawlers to add to the mix. I've made special denominations of crawler sizes, so that for any given base, I can make the crawler that completes in 1 turn. That way I don't waste any minerals building them. I figured out a few games ago that more expensive crawlers do fully transfer to Secret Projects. I had so many crawlers this turn that I only had to spend 472 cash to rush the Voice of Planet. Next turn should be cake!
dissed |
Since I'm gratuitously Green this turn, I thought I'd try to make Deirdre my last minute ally in Eternity! Guess she wants to stay behind and rot with the plants.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 11:21:58 AM
I have the best thoughts |
In general. Maybe not at 6 AM as I finish this.
snacks |
I got some fungal pops, and some cities are doing massive eco-damage, but only 5 mindworms seem to have shown up. My Demon Boil is still healthy so it took out the main clump of 4. The Elite Whatever took out the Spore Launcher. I suspect the uptick in eco-damage is because I'm getting piles of minerals out of fungal squares now.
On to the main event! Let's see if 20k credits and a pile of sea crawlers is enough to put this baby to bed.
cake |
Yep. The crawlers were worth almost half the project. I've got more than twice as much cash as needed. In sum, I exceeded resources needed by a factor of 1.5x.
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 11:25:16 AM
doh |
Dammit, the buttons didn't cooperate and I didn't get my victory monument screenshot. This will have to do. Transcend Victory in MY 2329. So I beat Brecon's time by 8 years. Have to be honest: there was nothing fast about this game at all. 6:30 AM as I finish this. But at least now I have a better understanding of Free Market research.
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 05, 2018, 02:11:24 PM
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 04:40:55 PM
A partial excuse for Civ-likes is they're open ended and a bit sandboxy. Somebody who fools around a lot, rather than focusing on how to win quickly, might not mind meandering through the tech tree. I do wonder what good all the fungus production techs are going to do anyone though. By the time you obtain those, you could have long since gotten your victory resources by other means.
When I contemplate possible RPG aspects of 4X TBS, I wonder what is supposed to make these changes in the game "interesting". I spent an awful lot of this game just waiting for techs. Hovertanks? Useful in other games I've played, but not interesting in this one. I'd already conquered Marr, could have won the game right after that, and made a rather slow effort at conquering him anyways. I basically won the game, then declined to win and sat around to find out how long it would take to Transcend. I don't think Quantum and Singularity engines have been interesting in any game I've played. Too late in the game to be meaningful.
This also makes me wonder what it means to "win" in the real world. Is the USA winning? Is China? Is Russia? What would a victory look like? I think people fantasize about the world being taken over by Nazis, but if one doesn't have world conquest, what is victory? The English got about as close as possible to world domination, but where is their empire now?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 05, 2018, 05:25:08 PM
I'm sitting amidst my ancestral heimat, which is a bit eroded by overpopulation these days, but not bullets or radiation, and I'm alive with real prospect of another couple decades in comfort, not mere survival, and that's pretty winning for the US, despite an actual fascist national political trend going (that isn't inevitably going to get worse, at least if we bother to fight back)...
I'd venture that the smart game design strategy is "an hour of fun -or weeks- to a game" w/ all the defaults all set to auto and governors - which SMACX actually did somewhat, and we're just the NOT-casuals, by the very nature of an online fan community.
My sister Mylochka's experience playing SMACX was I set her up with a copy -I legit own three paid-for ones- and a custom deliberately-super-OP faction I made a long time ago as training wheels for SMACX newbs while they learn the game, The SupahNewbs faction to be found in Downloads, and she won her very first game and had a ball - if she was much of a gamer and had stuck with it, I'd have pressured her to switch to playing Gaians before she got bored. Sometimes an easy game is all I want...
SO - you make ALL the grognard elements optional and have-to-be-turned-on, I say, as the smart design strategy in building a game...
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 07:07:43 PM
I'm sitting amidst my ancestral heimat, which is a bit eroded by overpopulation these days, but not bullets or radiation, and I'm alive with real prospect of another couple decades in comfort, not mere survival, and that's pretty winning for the US, despite an actual fascist national political trend going (that isn't inevitably going to get worse, at least if we bother to fight back)...
Yeah but I'm hazarding a guess from your avatar that you're white, as am I. Blacks are not winning in the USA. Some are doing better than historically, many are doing badly. I see articles even in the local paper every week, indicating just how bad it sucks to be black, in general, in the USA. 60 year old unarmed black man gets shot to death by police here a few days ago. Yes his behavior was erratic, he was being uncooperative in a traffic stop and supposedly tried to get in a wrestling match with a cop. Details may emerge, but I'm not seeing the white guy dead in a similar situation. I'm wondering if there would even be a situation to begin with. The more I hang out in Winston-Salem during the winter, the more I'm made to realize how segregated my upbringing was here. There's this whole other world in half of the city where people have got a pile of problems. The local paper put out a murder map this winter, guess where all of them were? Yep, the black side of town.
Other minorities aren't doing well either, look at all the people fleeing Mexico. [Sleezebag]'s gonna try to get the armed forces to play Gestapo on the border for awhile. If this kind of society is "winning", it looks more like Chairman Yang winning.
Does Miriam ever find God anyways? How is that sect really supposed to win?
Quote
I'd venture that the smart game design strategy is "an hour of fun -or weeks- to a game" w/ all the defaults all set to auto and governors - which SMACX actually did somewhat, and we're just the NOT-casuals, by the very nature of an online fan community.
My play experiences over the past year, do favor longer games. Especially to the degree they were AAR driven. However I'm also conscious of the lack of value proposition, the long boring interludes where if I wasn't doing reportage on the games, frankly I would have quit and found something else to do. I need to find a way to make a better experience out of this. I find myself contemplating TV serials and why I do or don't continue to watch those.
Quote
My sister Mylochka's experience playing SMACX was I set her up with a copy -I legit own three paid-for ones- and a custom deliberately-super-OP faction I made a long time ago as training wheels for SMACX newbs while they learn the game, The SupahNewbs faction to be found in Downloads, and she won her very first game and had a ball - if she was much of a gamer and had stuck with it, I'd have pressured her to switch to playing Gaians before she got bored. Sometimes an easy game is all I want...
My project of getting the neighbor kid to play has stalled. Especially since he's not next door anymore, and I'm going out of town imminently anyways. Spring has come so it's back to Asheville.
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 05, 2018, 08:03:48 PM
Hey, black folks nothin'. I'm sitting in a state no longer a democracy -google it- where it's illegal for a trans person to pee, and I'm not even exaggerating much.
I was speaking of the US collectively, and nothing but, and I still stand behind my remarks. -Notwithstanding your correct quibbles.
The SupaNewbs (http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=96)
(http://alphacentauri2.info/MGalleryItem.php?id=255)
In case the kid could use training wheels...
P.S. Darcell Grimes is a smokin' babe for a woman who has to be in her low 60s, and it's a pity Tammy Watford is gay...
Post by: bvanevery on April 05, 2018, 08:19:45 PM
Hey, black folks nothin'.
Actually, black folks sumthin', in NC, you and I both know it. Legislature got caught red handed gerrymandering to suppress black votes, and with the voter ID stuff. So hath said the Federal courts. Aren't we about to have a special election or something? I need to get my voting situation together, might have to do absentee.
I think we conversed before that SMAC didn't touch race, as a major political ideology, aside from the Aliens. I mean, I have a hard time seeing the Morganites keeping black folks down. Who do they make into their labor class anyways? Yang used Genejacks; where do Morganites get their cheap labor from?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 05, 2018, 08:34:51 PM
-I DO hope it's just a fascist phase, me being a passionate NC patriot...
SMACX does loverly for teh diversity, actually.
Finally, Ingrid Alstadt is a GODDESS. ;nod
Post by: bvanevery on April 06, 2018, 12:25:47 AM
I'm afraid that the "Red shift" we've seen in NC in recent years, is because we now have a population worth fighting over in the Electoral College. A lot of people moved here and last I looked, we were 10th most populous in the nation. So apparently the Tea Party made a really concerted effort to take this place over some years back. They've managed to make South Carolina look progressive by comparison.
There's some older weather lady on the W-S news that I find myself strangely fascinated by the dresses she wears. I keep thinking she's showing up to some formal function in downtown W-S, like a Piedmont Craftsmen opening or something.
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 06, 2018, 12:45:28 AM
Despite the ugly nickname, I actually think she's got a good figure and a nice face, and usually dresses well.
Maybe you're talking about ---drawing a blank on the other, Kimberly King and -AH- Jennifer Emmert. She's sort of a chubby mess. They both do live reports when it snows, though Alstadt and Wynn are the only actual weather ladies since they let Julie Wunder and her magnificent head of shiny hair get away...
Post by: bvanevery on April 06, 2018, 01:15:21 AM
Post by: Buster's Uncle on April 06, 2018, 02:07:35 AM
Post by: bvanevery on April 22, 2018, 04:52:44 PM
A partial excuse for Civ-likes is they're open ended and a bit sandboxy. Somebody who fools around a lot, rather than focusing on how to win quickly, might not mind meandering through the tech tree. I do wonder what good all the fungus production techs are going to do anyone though. By the time you obtain those, you could have long since gotten your victory resources by other means.
When I contemplate possible RPG aspects of 4X TBS, I wonder what is supposed to make these changes in the game "interesting". I spent an awful lot of this game just waiting for techs. Hovertanks? Useful in other games I've played, but not interesting in this one.
Only in the past few days, while completely revamping all the relationships in the tech tree, have I realized that half of the stuff isn't necessary to Transcend. You don't need Quantum or Singularity engines, for instance. This is not readily apparent to someone who always plays with Blind Research, the default of the game. (I regard otherwise as cheating, or mollification of people coming from Civ II.)