| 'Copter | Crawler | Cruiser | Drone | Foil | Gravship | Hovertank | Infantry | Missile | Needlejet | Speeder |
I appreciate both the content and the spirit of you reply!
It's to the designers' credit, I think, that seismic changes to core gameplay mechanics aren't necessarily intuitive. I managed to come up with only a few.
New Terrain Types
- Shallowseas - Very large bodies of warm, very shallow water. Inspired by the Purelake found in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive book series. Too shallow for submersibles; ideal for aquaculture and wave-skimming hovercraft.
- Sandy Desert - Arid and semi-arid barrens characterized by shifting dunes that can encroach upon other regions unprotected by shelterbelts.
Tile Improvements
I'm open to new ideas for tile improvements. I thought that there was something especially eloquent about the original game's focus on nutrients, minerals, and energy. Possibly a fourth and fifth resource could be added, namely water and a "harvestable" resource similar to Tiberium, Vespene Gas, or Spice in other science fiction settings. These resources would be obtainable only through the use of specialized "harvester" units. Rather than create a tile improvement within their borders (or a colony without), players would need to dispatch harvesters to occupy the hex in question, then transport the "ore" or "raw" resource back to an outpost or base.
Chasses
'Copter Crawler Cruiser Drone Foil Gravship Hovertank Infantry Missile Needlejet Speeder
Factions
THE ASCENDANCY
Faction Characteristics
-2 Economy (progress is expensive)
+1 Efficiency (excellence in motion)
+1 Morale (every man a god)
x2 research progress on technologies related to biological applications
+25% in combat (heightened agility, endurance, intelligence, perception, and reflexes)
+10% increase in unit health regeneration (increased metabolism)
Aggression Erratic
Priorities Discover, Conquer
Starting Tech Biogenetics
Choices Power
Aversions Fundamentalist
The big question for me is, "What makes a compelling faction?"
However, the major difference between the two comes from the fact Yang sees Genetics from a philosophical viewpoint while Zakharov looks at it from a scientific viewpoint.They were just using Yang to quip on a controversial issue.
They were just using Yang to quip on a controversial issue.They were doing that with pretty much all of them.
The big question for me is, "What makes a compelling faction?"Connection with the real world. All of the AC factions represent pertinent questions; Zhakarov isn't just "the science faction", he represents the belief that science can solve all of our problems, held for instance by Americans, taken to it's conclusion. A Sid Mier design Zhakarov wouldn't have drones from their faction government ignoring the workers, he really would just be the science faction with the science bonus.
Personally, I think the most sensible dyads are: University/Believers, Peacekeepers/Hive, and Morganites/Gaians. The Spartans stand apart, inimical to everyone else, but content in their isolation.In the fiction, the Spartans fought the Peackeepers. Yang took his people and left for another continent (unlike the game, the novel has them land on the same continent.) You don't see the Chinese squabbling with the U.N, do you?
Possibly a fourth and fifth resource could be added, namely water and a "harvestable" resource similar to Tiberium, Vespene Gas, or Spice in other science fiction settings.Planet pearls, as it calls the energy credits you get for defeating mind worms.
I always felt that both Yang and Zakharov were into genetics. However, the major difference between the two comes from the fact Yang sees Genetics from a philosophical viewpoint while Zakharov looks at it from a scientific viewpoint.
Connection with the real world. All of the AC factions represent pertinent questions; Zhakarov isn't just "the science faction", he represents the belief that science can solve all of our problems, held for instance by Americans, taken to it's conclusion. A Sid Mier design Zhakarov wouldn't have drones from their faction government ignoring the workers, he really would just be the science faction with the science bonus.
In the fiction, the Spartans fought the Peackeepers. Yang took his people and left for another continent (unlike the game, the novel has them land on the same continent.) You don't see the Chinese squabbling with the U.N, do you?
Might I redirect to a different question? Does The Ascendancy, with its great project of producing a genetically-engineered super-human, have what it takes to be a stand-alone faction, or should that project merely be one facet of what is being done by The University or The Hive?The University would be better able to accomplish it, given their focus on scientific development. But for any of the SMAC factions it would merely be a side-project. The University is interested in the development of scientific knowledge in general, for which the military or genetic modifications are merely a tool.
I think that Yang, who recognizes no morality, is the more natural antagonist to the Peacekeepers, good humanists that they are. The Spartans would form a second, weaker dyad.Yang has very little interest in even interacting with the Peacekeepers, who are conquered by the Spartans in the novels anyway. In the fiction, Yang isn't specifically antagonistic to any of the factions because he keeps aloof from them. His goals are to remain immortal under the earth, like Qin Shi Huangdi, and not to pursue absurd ideological quarrels. To maintain parity, he allies with the Gaians, who are also falling behind, against the Morgans, I believe. But he had earlier purchased products from them, with the later consideration that Morgan was making too much profit.
Should The Ascendancy forswear cybernetics and focus on bio-genetics to a much greater degree, striving to "grow" the perfect human through science rather than modify an imperfect human after birth?No. If you're basing this on BE's "Supremacy", there's no reason to do that solely based on the philosophical standpoint given. While University focuses on the development of scientific knowledge, Supremacy focuses on the usage of technology to overcome their new environment, and there isn't any prejudice against cybernetics given, unlike, say, in Dune.
What if they didn't use drones? Other visions of similar societies, including Battletech's Clans, involve a sort of "bondsman" or subservient class, but maybe The Ascendancy wouldn't want the burden?They would likely use robots for a lot manual labour, but Alpha Centauri doesn't have a robot civilian other than the limited crawler. I don't think it would have been unfeasible for a space colony to have extensively used robots even ten or twenty years ago.
Is Santiago an isolationist or a would-be conqueror?She is isolationist/conqueror on the basis of her "survivalist" philosophy. She practiced both on said basis in Journey to Centauri. She wanted a space pod of her own to practice said philosophy over what she perceived as the "politics" of the other factions. She had hoped Yang might be part of her faction, but their philosophies and practices are different.
I've been using existing source material, namely the manuals and GURPS sourcebook, for information and inspiration. That said, I'm open to changes in faction design even for original factions.I'm not certain that they need modifications, other than the game needing more options for the Gaians.
The question surrounding the Spartan dyad is, I think, whether the Spartans are evangelical in their beliefs. If so, then the Peacekeepers make a natural adversary.They're not "evangelical" but would simply get tired of the U.N. faction, whose philosophy isn't based on survival in their new environment.
The GURPS material indicates that the Spartans worry about the "corrupting" influence of other factions on humanity's path to salvation-through-strength, but it seems counter-intuitive to me that a faction dedicated to honing perfect warriors would also wish to conscript colonists that reject their values.Conscription doesn't generally consider the values of those conscripted.
Unwilling recruits make poor soldiers. I don't see how the Spartans achieve their goal of forging perfect warriors any more quickly by attempting to conquer peoples who, according to their philosophy, should soon succumb to Planet irrespective of whether or not the Spartans move against them and well before they lure too many Spartans into questioning the Federation's philosophy.The Spartan's survivalism is pro-active. You are projecting idealism onto her that I don't think she has.
Yang. He's an interesting one. Is he Kim Jong-il, Pol Pot, and Mao Tse-Tung, rolled into one?No. Yang is based on Shang Yang, Han Fei, and Qin Shi Haungdi with their legalist governmental philosophy, and Taosim with it's control of the body and self, the latter of which is well-developed in Journey to Centauri. There are no references to Communism and his story works on the basis that Chinese government and governmental philosophy would return to it's roots. After studying at a military university it is mentioned that he taught combat methods in the "Golden Emperor's" army.
Would the Chairman live in constant fear of revolt?The Chairman is paranoid, but fear would not be the right word. The Hive is generally quiescent, like Yang, as it was made to be.
Almost certainly. Regarding settlement as a zero-sum game, he must be predisposed to attempt to eliminate rival factions whenever the opportunity arises.Only over the long run.
If Santiago would be disposed to simply seize the resources of other factions, Yang might be more disposed to steal drones and talents.That is what Qin Shi Haungdi did, making offers to try to persuade defection.
Yang presents a humanitarian conundrum.That doesn't matter.
No. If you're basing this on BE's "Supremacy", there's no reason to do that solely based on the philosophical standpoint given. While University focuses on the development of scientific knowledge, Supremacy focuses on the usage of technology to overcome their new environment, and there isn't any prejudice against cybernetics given, unlike, say, in Dune.
They would likely use robots for a lot manual labour, but Alpha Centauri doesn't have a robot civilian other than the limited crawler. I don't think it would have been unfeasible for a space colony to have extensively used robots even ten or twenty years ago.
She is isolationist/conqueror on the basis of her "survivalist" philosophy.
I'm not certain that they need modifications, other than the game needing more options for the Gaians.
They're not "evangelical" but would simply get tired of the U.N. faction, whose philosophy isn't based on survival in their new environment.
Conscription doesn't generally consider the values of those conscripted.
No. Yang is based on Shang Yang, Han Fei, and Qin Shi Haungdi with their legalist governmental philosophy, and Taosim with it's control of the body and self, the latter of which is well-developed in Journey to Centauri. There are no references to Communism and his story works on the basis that Chinese government and governmental philosophy would return to it's roots. After studying at a military university it is mentioned that he taught combat methods in the "Golden Emperor's" army.
The Chairman is paranoid, but fear would not be the right word. The Hive is generally quiescent, like Yang, as it was made to be.
Only over the long run.
That is what Qin Shi Haungdi did, making offers to try to persuade defection.
That doesn't matter.
My question is whether she wants to produce the perfect battalion, essentially disinterested in the fates of her neighbors except as they affect the success of her project.She isn't. She isn't an idealist, at least as such, she's even anti-political.
If she is determined to force others -- others who are by definition less worthy -- to join her cause.She would attempt to simply conquer them once her faction grew to their border, though she might be sensible enough not to start a war that would cause terrible losses for her faction. The latter is debatable. Santiago seems like she might be a stubborn, but not necessarily fanatical, or at least not as much as Miriam.
I think there's room for factions that explore other facets of human nature and thought. Can you elaborate on your interest in "more options for the Gaians"?The Gaians delve into psionics, but this isn't sufficiently expanded on - at least at a rate to make Gaians survivable militarily.
I imagine that Yang would seem to pose the greater concern to the U.N. faction.Yang may choose not even to reveal his faction sufficiently to be criticized.
Spartan society works because its members are by and large dedicated to Santiago's project and have chosen a martial lifestyle.Santiago would conquer the other factions for their mis-use of resources if for no other reason.
I understand the partial inspiration.It's not really a partial inspiration as I understand it. He has studied, and teaches, legalist and Taoist philosophy, practices breathe techniques and other physical control, and is likely named after Shang Yang.
Is Yang unhinged to a greater extent than other leaders? Is he a worse sociopath? Seen and judged by a rational observer, is he no better than Mao? Than Stalin? His society surely resembles Communist dystopias.He isn't unhinged, he is controlled. You may call him a worse sociopath than the other faction leaders. He is "better", more intelligent, and capable of running the Hive with less death than the Communist figures.
Under the Chinese emperors, the quiescent peasantry could expect to grow prosperous under the right conditions. That doesn't seem possible in Yang's society.I don't understand what you mean by prosperity. Where there isn't manual work to be done, Yang at least desires quiet contentment or meditation, such as in the gardens, if you aren't capable of advancing past manual labour.
I read: "ready to boil over."
It makes him the more odious to the Peacekeepers than the Spartans, who, for all their problematic philosophies, are both more respectful of individualism and less aggressive.The Peacekeepers don't matter. They can't even stand up to the Spartans.
Your Supremacy and Purity concepts lack distinction from each-other..
She isn't. She isn't an idealist, at least as such, she's even anti-political.
She would attempt to simply conquer them once her faction grew to their border, though she might be sensible enough not to start a war that would cause terrible losses for her faction. The latter is debatable. Santiago seems like she might be a stubborn, but not necessarily fanatical, or at least not as much as Miriam.
The Gaians delve into psionics, but this isn't sufficiently expanded on - at least at a rate to make Gaians survivable militarily.
Yang may choose not even to reveal his faction sufficiently to be criticized.
Santiago would conquer the other factions for their mis-use of resources if for no other reason.
It's not really a partial inspiration as I understand it. He has studied, and teaches, legalist and Taoist philosophy, practices breathe techniques and other physical control, and is likely named after Shang Yang.
The Peacekeepers don't matter. They can't even stand up to the Spartans.
I find it hard to balance the militarist vision of Santiago with her survivalist posture, which is probably why I tend to emphasize the latter.Santiago is most interested in her survival.
Why should Santiago fight wars? To prevent other leaders from taking their colonies down the "wrong" path?Pro-active survivalism. If nothing else, Santiago wouldn't want the University engaging in uncontrolled research anymore than Miriam.
That makes sense, but it doesn't speak to how Santiago would successfully reconcile differing attitudes about how to survive the onslaught of Planet. Not everybody is soldiering material.If they can't be conscripted then they would simply be occupied.
Makes sense, although I fear that psionics are rarely done well in science fiction. How to keep them from being over-powering?By not overpowering them. The game is spreadsheet.
I've always liked Dune's mentats concept, by the way. Maybe we can do something with that as well. Not as a replacement for psionics, but as a counterpoint? Yang's solution?Yang probably would have a few mentats if he could.
That's fine, but I do think that, once revealed, the Peacekeepers would find him the most worrisome of their adversaries.Only if they can see past the isolationism.
Yes, but the image conveyed by the GURPS material is decidedly dystopian.The image in the novels is less so.
Peasants under legalist government during the Warring States period could expect to be left alone by their government so long as they paid taxes, sent their sons into the army, and forswore from rebellion.By the end of Qin the peasants were sent to build the great wall, mass irrigation, the road system and other mass projects, and conscripted into industry for part of the year; agricultural production was monitored. Surveillance was collective. Nothing is beyond the Qin state, except for desert, mountain, swamp and sea, which were also penetrated, or in the case of the north, walled off.
As a practical matter, they were beyond the immediate reach of the emperor. Magistrates might be a reality, but they were not omnipresent.
They could reap the fruit of their harvests during years when the floods were predictable and enemy armies did not come pillaging.Han Fei advocates that all food be stored in state granaries.
LandlordsLandlords? What in the nine hells? Not in my Qin.
Definitely continue this line of discussion, but have you any further thoughts on The AscendancyI don't think the stats you gave it would allow it to stand up to the other factions. The philosophy for your faction would also stand only mid or late game. It doesn't entirely explain how they would approach the beginning game. But then maybe the Alpha Centauri factions don't really either.
Again, Consolidated Transport is a group of contractors that hope to restore contact with Earth while, in the meantime, providing competition to Morgan Industries./The Restoration are all about restoring contact with, and facilitating an exodus from, Earth.You haven't developed this faction philosophically. This is a goal even more long term than the previous.
The Estado Novo is a corporatist state based on a tripartite caste system: peasants, priests, and warriors.The Fascists, in the corporatist sense, or the or Hindus weren't successful on Earth and they wouldn't be succesful in space either. No one actually buys into corporatism/castism except for the most ignorant peasants or the exploiters, and it squanders talent. That would make this faction a less successful Hive or benighted Morganites, assuming they weren't simply overthrown like the Italian state.
Should there be an oligarchical faction based on slavery, an analogue to the southern Confederacy? Should there be a faction based on the principles of hydraulic empire, like pharonic Egypt or imperial China?The Hive does it better. Slavery also isn't a modern issue, except as a criminal underground one. The Confederacy in space is pure fiction without a real-world concern.
Should there be a faction based on the morals of the Old West?The old west didn't have morals.
Santiago is most interested in her survival.
Pro-active survivalism. If nothing else, Santiago wouldn't want the University engaging in uncontrolled research anymore than Miriam.
If they can't be conscripted then they would simply be occupied.
Yang probably would have a few mentats if he could.
By the end of Qin the peasants were sent to build the great wall, mass irrigation, the road system and other mass projects, and conscripted into industry for part of the year; agricultural production was monitored. Surveillance was collective. Nothing is beyond the Qin state, except for desert, mountain, swamp and sea, which were also penetrated, or in the case of the north, walled off.
Han Fei advocates that all food be stored in state granaries.
Landlords? What in the nine hells? Not in my Qin.
I don't think the stats you gave it would allow it to stand up to the other factions. The philosophy for your faction would also stand only mid or late game. It doesn't entirely explain how they would approach the beginning game. But then maybe the Alpha Centauri factions don't really either.
You haven't developed this faction philosophically. This is a goal even more long term than the previous.
The Fascists, in the corporatist sense, or the or Hindus weren't successful on Earth and they wouldn't be succesful in space either. No one actually buys into corporatism/castism except for the most ignorant peasants or the exploiters, and it squanders talent. That would make this faction a less successful Hive or benighted Morganites, assuming they weren't simply overthrown like the Italian state.
The other factions have too little philosophy for me to comment on.
The other factions have too little philosophy for me to comment on.
The Hive does it better. Slavery also isn't a modern issue, except as a criminal underground one. The Confederacy in space is pure fiction without a real-world concern.
The old west didn't have morals.
Most survivalist groups are content to hold themselves apart from society, not only because they reject central government, but also because their "project" can necessarily be shared only by a committed few.I'd submit that this Earth reality is not entirely applicable. I seriously doubt survivalists would keep to themselves in their remote mountain redoubts if they had the kind of numbers and power Santi is capable of building.
I'd submit that this Earth reality is not entirely applicable. I seriously doubt survivalists would keep to themselves in their remote mountain redoubts if they had the kind of numbers and power Santi is capable of building.
What does Santiago gain from occupation?
Is a mentat a specific type of talent?
You're talking about an essentially iron age polity. Qin peasants might be subject to the corvee, but they were not subject to a police state in the modern sense of the word.
The condition of Qin peasants was not substantially different from that of medieval serfs in the West, excepting that the state projects were larger in both ambition and scale.
Han Fei advocates that all food be stored in state granaries.
Possible for Yang, but not for the Qin emperors.
This faction is possible because of the idea of future communication with Earth. Morgan is a capitalist, and Zakharov a scientist, but does that mean that Morgan's society is one large corporation? Does everybody live in a "company town"?
Is the University literally a university in structure as well as function?
By the standards of Alpha Centauri, nobody's philosophy was successful. Do you think that eco-movements have been successful? How about legalism?
The innovation of the Esrado Novo is to emphasize the noblesse oblige of its warrior caste. Perhaps, instead of priests, there is merely a general class of talents that includes the second estate?
You're going to have to examine her GURPS page and draw your own conclusion.
There are AC civilians that can be considered mentats.
They didn't need to be, they were subject to collective tribunal, charged for eachother's crimes. Hence collective surveillance. Only weak totalitarian states rely on actual police presence.
Qin produced China, the West did not.
The soil productivity of every plot of land was measured, the productivity of every province reported to the province. Discrepancies were fined. Three rat holes in the state granary is worth one suit of armour.
Legalism developed the structure behind China's government and practice. Confucianism is just the religion of middle officials. The Han Emperor's selected legalists for their closest aids; the post-sui Tang Emperors struggled again against re-emerging feudalism and particularism.
So what philosophies, outlooks, and ideologies were missing from Alpha Centauri?I could certainly try to come up with more viewpoints, though to me it's more a question of whether the game could go more in depth with what it has to begin with.
Is something like that even feasible on a planet where you can't breathe the air without equipment?Not hard to manufacture, but wouldn't be the first faction I'd choose to stay in.
... armies are the closest thing to slavery still legal on Earth today.No.
Yes. Been through basic training?Twice.
You've been in the military for over 8 years in the armies of two countries?The time-span was 14 years since it's, well, complicated. But basically Yes. ;santi;
Spartans are all about 'freedom through discipline', yes?Might be delectably true for the historical Spartans, I'm not sure it would apply as well for AC's Spartans. They're just plain bunker survivalists. I'm not certain freedom would be one of their "core values." That might be a faction for Trenacker to think about.
As an aside, my sense of Santiago's faction was that it considered itself more "free" than most others.They sleep in mass bunker rooms. I doubt you could even come up with how they would consider themselves freer. Deidre's faction is an open democracy centered on agronomy; Morgan's is the definition of "free-market capitalism". Lal's is based on the U.N. charter. Even Miriam's faction could be considered freer.
#BLURB
The Colonel expected us to follow the Chain of Command. We will
do so, and with the knowledge that within that structural discipline we
are the freest people in the world.
Spartans, we will show the world that discipline, and we will teach the
murderous and hypocritical Peacekeepers a lesson they and the world
will never forget about the true power of a truly free people.
^
^ -- Lt. Colonel Sosimo Fernán,
^ address to the troops
People in a fundamentally monotheist religion like Christianity talked themselves into believing in the Trinity. It's entirely possible.The trinity works just fine if you're a pantheist. The Hindus manage it.
It depends, of course, on how one defines freedom -- that is, the ability to shape your own fate, or the immediate freedom to be a layabout if one so chooses.I wouldn't make the argument for the freedom to layabout. Neither does one does call disciplined or free a people who hold a meeting in a boardroom and then afterword resolve disputes with a knife fight.
Remember that militiamen who embrace martial organization in our own society often consider themselves "most-free" because they believe that they are among the few engaged in "right thinking."They are relatively free, no one tells them that they can't see their children at the end of the day.
Not a terrible idea. At Firaxis, they playtested SMAC by weighing down the Enter key.The game can be tested with the scenario editor.
The relation -and I'm not craping on the military, just observing that that's how armies are or they don't work as armies- is that you can't get much less free than being a grunt, where you're so unfree that you'll go over the wall and get shot at and maybe die on Sarge's say-so. And no officer rises so high that he isn't subject to orders outside the top guy in a military junta. Spartans are all about 'freedom through discipline', yes? It's something of a profound internal philosophical contradiction/dichotomy/nuance, is all. Soldiers do as they're told.A lot of false, of particular granted for generality and also of common places.
Delving into the history of the real Sparta could answer some questions I have read here about the Santiagists, mainly those about the isolationnist/conqueror dichotomy.Spartans are all about 'freedom through discipline', yes?Might be delectably true for the historical Spartans, I'm not sure it would apply as well for AC's Spartans. They're just plain bunker survivalists.
A lot of false, of particular granted for generality and also of common places.Does not compute.
And all this doesn't help your original statement to stand on its feet.
I don't have much time these days and don't want to derail an otherwise perfectly functional thread but if you want to know more... ;santi;Start a Rec Commons thread and educate me, then, Death Machine. ;)
I don't have much time these days and don't want to derail an otherwise perfectly functional thread but if you want to know more... ;santi;Start a Rec Commons thread and educate me, then, Death Machine. ;)
Let's look at some 21st century ethical issues that might be pertinent to a game like Alpha Centauri.I'm interested!
Again, if anybody is interested in participating in the simulation as a player, I'd greatly appreciate if they spoke up now. I'm even open to taking faction claims at this time.
Also, does anybody have any suggestions about where to go for proposed new additions to the game's tech tree?
What was Unity's mission? To escape a dying Earth, slipping the bonds with those "back home?" To "pave the way" for a mass Exodus? The question of whether restoration of contact with Earth is a worthwhile, or even an acceptable, goal is one that the original SMAC did not explore, but which I think will play a major role in my simulation.
2. Issues relating to freedom of information, including freedom of speech and freedom of thought.
3. Issues relating to equality, including distribution of wealth, designation of and access to "basic" services, and the consequences of free trade and free movement of goods and people.
12. Issues relating to human dignity, as in relation to "traditional" moralities and so-called "folkways," but also in relation to the right of some men to make choices for others, as well as in relation to problems of servitude.
13. Issues relating to man's relationship to man, including the tension between anarchy and hierarchy, encompassing the search for negarchy, or "natural" systems of self-restraint arising from a roughly equitable balance of power.
Yes - but I don't think they actually did anything. It can probably be done with .exe modding. Maybe talk to Dio about it...
Great! Anybody else interested? Sigma makes four at last count.I'm not certain what you are asking for.
Have you taken a look at the links? I think you guys would make ideal players.I'm not saying I am unwilling to attempt to participate, but I don't even consider myself creative or imaginative. I have done enough reading to tell you that there are people and forums very interested in pen and paper/dnd. I don't think they would be turned off by sci-fi setting.
I could roleplay a game of SMAC but if it's only pen-and-paper....Bleh! ;q;Pen and paper was the term I used. I assumed they were synonymous.
I'm not saying I am unwilling to attempt to participate, but I don't even consider myself creative or imaginative. I have done enough reading to tell you that there are people and forums very interested in pen and paper/dnd. I don't think they would be turned off by sci-fi setting.
I could roleplay a game of SMAC but if it's only pen-and-paper....Bleh!
I'm looking to develop a pen-and-paper roleplaying campaign and game world, to be played on web forums like this one, by real people, using text.
Consolidation of power in imperial hands in second century B.C. China owed primarily to the need for and consequences of the hydraulic monopoly necessary to control flooding.Ridiculous. Qin originated in the mountains. Their major engineering plans consisted of irrigation, not mere flood control. Chinese unification may be unique but imperial consolidation is not.
Byzantium is a good example of autocracy. That empire's perpetual instability -- indeed, its synonymic relationship with intrigue -- is evidence that it never achieve totalitarian heights.You should read the Dusan Code and get back to me. Change of hands at the top is hardly indicative of instability elsewhere, anymore than a temporary fever in the head indicates a problem in the bowels.
Ridiculous. Qin originated in the mountains. Their major engineering plans consisted of irrigation, not mere flood control. Chinese unification may be unique but imperial consolidation is not.
You should read the Dusan Code and get back to me. Change of hands at the top is hardly indicative of instability elsewhere, anymore than a temporary fever in the head indicates a problem in the bowels.
You may be assured that Orthodoxy was imposed on all Byzantine territories throughout the middle-east and Africa, a feat not achieved by Islam even today, save by Turkey when the Christians left in the 1900's.
The very reason that the Byzantine empire lost so much ground so quickly was the absence of unity and common sentiment.They lasted more than a thousand years, when overthrown by the Latins were restored by their own constituents, and the territories conquered by the Turks remained Christian.
They lasted more than a thousand years, when overthrown by the Latins were restored by their own constituents, and the territories conquered by the Turks remained Christian.
Egypt, Syria, North Africa, and Palestine did not remain Christian. In the Balkans, the Croats became Catholics. So, too, the Italians.Do not boast to me of the Italians. The Glory of Byzantium lives on in the Ottoman Empire and Russia.
Does anybody have any advice on where to go to find additional techs for the tech tree?Just nuke everything, everything will blow up long before we reach singularity.
Does anybody have any helpful advice on where to go to find additional techs for the tech tree? :D ;)
Nuclear weaponry should be an early tech. Nuke scout, nuke rover, nuke tanks, etc. At least if you want to be realistic; nuclear weaponry is already well-researched from earth times. It would make combat more interesting too. One hit, two hit, three hit, KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZWSMoE3A5DI#t=195 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZWSMoE3A5DI#t=195)
On Alpha Centauri or some other world, it may be far more difficult to mine Uranium and make nukes.Or it may not be. In the AC1, they made it this way so that the game did not immediately dissolve into thermonuclear warfare. But there is no reason that this has to be the case for AC2.
In my dedicated thread in exemple:
http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=7285.0 (http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=7285.0)
On Alpha Centauri or some other world, it may be far more difficult to mine Uranium and make nukes.Or it may not be. In the AC1, they made it this way so that the game did not immediately dissolve into thermonuclear warfare. But there is no reason that this has to be the case for AC2.
As you know, SMAC usually assigned technologies to one (or, very occasionally, two) "bucket(s)" linked to gameplay imperatives: Build, Discover, Explore, and Conquer. I've added Command, reflecting the need to effectively manage one's own society as well as influence others. I'd be open to further suggestions.
New technologies added to the tech tree so far:________________________
- Informatics (Discover, Level 1)
- Doctrine: Counter-Insurgency (Conquer, Level 1)
- C41 (Command, Level 1)
- Doctrine: Fear (Command, Level 1)
- Centauri Biology (Discover, Level 1)
- Centauri Geology (Discover, Level 1)
- Peltier Plates (Build, Level 2)
- "Self-Healing" Solids (Build, Level 2)
- 3D Printing (Build, Level 2)
- Ablative Coatings, (Conquer, Level 2)
- Cell Therapy (Discover, Level 2)
- Network Warfare (Conquer, Level 2)
- Doctrine: Awareness (Explore, Level 2)
- Digital Surveillance (Command, Level 2)
- Centauri Chemistry (Discover, Level 2)
- Centauri Hydrology (Discover, Level 2)
________________________________________________
- Small Modular Reactor (Conquer, Level 3)
- Combat Composites (Conquer, Level 3)
- "Self-Healing" Solids (Build, Level 3)
- Reactive Armors (Build, Level 3)
- Hydraulic Fracking (Build, Level 3)
- Microfission (Conquer, Level 4)
- Predictive Surveillance (Command, Level 4)
- Sousveillance (Command, Level 4)
- Centauri Aquaculture (Discover, Level 4)
Any further suggestions? I figure that SMR's and Microfission cover the "miniaturizes nukes" space.
If you want to continue the miniaturizing route, the obvious endtech would be "Portable Reactor" for infantry units.Isn't there already? Even the first scout patrol is powered by a fission reactor.
I *think* it is possible to let show units without reactor packs. I believe I saw this when tinkering with the native life slots in #units list.Isn't there already? Even the first scout patrol is powered by a fission reactor.
A question with those new techs: are they just fancy names or do they permit new actions/advantages/units/projects ?
A question with those new techs: are they just fancy names or do they permit new actions/advantages/units/projects ?Alpha Centauri techs are well-considered concepts regarding the unfoldment of a planetary colony (considered from the perspective of the 1990's), though expandable. AC did not go into social engineering as much as it could have.
Network Warfare is sufficiently different from networks generally that I think the distinction justified. I could be persuaded to drop Virtual Computing.Probes do not represent a change sufficient to constitute their own technology. Virtual reality could be expanded to constitute it's own technology, though in AC this was done in the form of a wonder.
Certauri Ecology is a "final" stage of mastery of biology, geology, chemistry, and hydrology.Centauri ecology is the first technology of Alpha Centauri, which allows you to produce terraformers. The other items mentioned are disciplines tied in with terraforming. Terraformers are a not a level two technology.
The earliest settlements would probably be constructed before the colonists could shape the terrain and local biome to their requirements.Why? Agriculture is not a difficult thing to do.
D00dz with shovels can do crude forming, like in 4,000 BC in Civ...Civ should force you to play as the Manchus for [poop]s and giggles, try and blitz China to form Qing. It's 1387, and your people have engaged in subsistence agriculture and nomadism since the Jin Dynasty's destruction by the Mongols...
At Planetfall, the colonists would be equipped to raise mounds and drain wetlands. They would not be equipped to planet sustainable forests or fertilize the local soil.Planet is a paradise for earth plants.
So, you're saying no need to research Centauri Ecology?Centauri ecology consists in it's most basic form in taking soil samples and preparing and deploying equipment; in-depth form, it consists in study of geology, as per the description. Once samples are taken and any unusual conditions prepared for, planet is full of nitrogen and other minerals/nutrients good for plants. Centauri Ecology represents the most basic of equipment and procedures, and is accounted for within 1-10 years (depending on available energy and faction). You take a sample, you prepare the equipment; planet is not an essentially toxic environment (as far as plants go), more an unusual one. Remember that, as far as soil goes, plants would probably grow better on Mars than Earth.
Presumably, the factions will have access to solar-powered rovers at first. I'm not yet entirely convinced that the earliest settlers are going to want to explore uncharted territory using vehicles mounting fission reactors...Fission reactor doesn't mean that every rover or scout patrol has a miniaturized nuclear reactor but probably that they are running electric and getting power from a big reactor at the base or on ships.
I take your point that solar power is "no solution to anything," even as prices-per-kilowatt hour drop for renewables.It's probably easy to make believe prices drop when pouring public money on it.
Green washing paid by our pockets...
Tens of thousands of indebted Spaniards have found themselves lumbered with fields full of expensive solar panels whose subsidies have been unexpectedly cut in the financial crisis.
"How do I feel? Completely fooled," said David Utiel, a 37-year-old teacher who invested in a solar plant, recalling the government's sunshine slogan.
"Fooled, swindled, disappointed, disgusted."
He was one of the 62,000 ordinary citizens in Spain who campaign groups say have been caught in a financial sun trap.
Nuclear plants received investments to be built.
Hydro-electricity plants also received investments to be built.
And then they started producing power and now they have become cash cows.
Renewables receive investments to be built...and then they are costing a fortune every year just because they can't be beneficial. THEY CAN'T!
Sure; I think AC has a credibility gap in not playing up the challenges of Planet just to breathe and drink and live. A new settlement is very expensive, and nobody can just go off and put up a shack. It's reflected in the gameplay a little, but not the story at all.
Well, if human technology is good enough to build sealed environments and somehow maintain a micro-biosphere in it, it should be good enough to start a new settlement on an alien planet with a presumed hostile ecology to humans.Just like in Red Mars.
Doesn't it also goes down to power requirements? With sufficient power, desalinization is not a problem on Earth and so purification of water, even large quantities, shouldn't be one on Chiron.You would think.
Just like in Red Mars.
And that's how I have always understood SMAC: that they can't breathe the air.
Otherwise why should they build Hab Complexes and Habitation Domes?