Cybernetic Conquest - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.42

[bvanevery]

Unless you're frenemies.   

And what if your Pact ally is basically irresponsible?  One thing that's bugging me about the diplomacy of this game, is that factions "morally outraged by the tossing of nukes", soon enough commit the offense themselves in retaliation.  So maybe they shouldn't have freaked out so hard in the 1st place.

If I had to choose whether my satellites would intervene, and my ally got wind that I was letting it happen, well mightn't they declare war on me?  So maybe I shouldn't have to be made responsible for that to begin with.

I definitely think there's plenty of room for rethinking the diplomatic model of a game like this.  One thing I would like, is not to have repeat mouseclicks about trivial matters that won't be dealt with.  Like whether factions have comm frequencies to offer or not.  Game mechanically I just want to get on with it.  I realize that streamlining the game mechanical UI, may cut the narrative stuff short.  I'd rather just have different, separate opportunities for narrative portrayal, than deal with these stock lines of communication over and over again.  I don't believe in the stock lines.  They turn the factions into cookie cutters of each other more than not.

This has also turned into a darned tedious finish.  I'm pretty bored.  Coming up with this much money probably just takes forever.  I could improve my COMMERCE rating by selecting more ECONOMY, at the expense of being able to eat and mine my fungus and get all the energy from it.  I'm skeptical that it would make much difference, and too close to the end to bother to find out.

[bvanevery]

MY 2400.  Svensgaard built a Nessus Mining Station.  This makes me wonder about the potential of global flooding, and of military assaults, due to increasing productivity.  At least he doesn't have the Cloudbase Academy or the Space Elevator, so he has a penalty on those minerals for bases that don't have an Aerospace Complex.  Still, enough brute force satellite building can create a problem, and he brute forces plenty of Orbital Defense Pods.  He's got such a spam of sea bases everywhere, all of them bearing the name "Pirate 49" nowadays.

Details stopping everything

stopping everything

With a round of Sky Hydroponics Labs completed, I doubt I need any more economic production in this game.  I'm about to slide into home plate, then see how the AI reacts to that.  I'm feeling a little paranoid about what the AI may try to do, so I start building defensive garrison units.  I haven't previously made anything in particular to stop mindworm attacks, since I have the Neural Amplifier.  I make them Clean so that I'm not watering down my productivity, should I need it.  It probably doesn't matter now though.

Details bigger boom

bigger boom

I also make a Missile Hovertank version of such things, as some of my bases are putting out enough minerals to do these in 2 turns.  Might as well not waste the productivity.  With a quantum reactor powering them, missiles are adequate for taking out many fusion units, and missiles are the cutoff threshold of cheap in my mod.

Details Isle bouncer

Isle bouncer

Similarly I make a kind of defensive ship.  Most of my sea bases were settled after I had any productivity issue, just to cover up nearby oceanic space and contribute to my economy.  Most don't have access to good onshore resources, and they generally don't produce a lot of minerals.  I didn't want to increase any global warming potential.

Details slightly more pop

slightly more pop

A sea base that produces 50-ish minerals, is a good candidate for a 100 mineral garrison ship.  However a sea base that only produces 40-ish minerals, ironically needs a more expensive ship design, to make use of the 3 turns of production that are going to be required anyways.

Rushed the Dream Twister.  110k credits saved.

[bvanevery]

Details successful constraint

successful constraint

MY 2401.  I wanted this base to change hands, because it divides my Spartan front from the rest of my empire.  Using force on the Spartans has been the best way to make them behave.  Whereas buying a Pirate base, has been the best way to make them behave, and those are way cheaper on the other side of the planet.

I saw a message go by about committing an atrocity against the Pirates.  10 years of sanctions got imposed on someone.  I don't see that any faction has X units, so I wonder what the atrocity was.  The obliteration of a base?  Obliterations are actually way worse than chemical attacks AFAICT.  Chemical attacks seem to get penalized per attack, whereas obliterations seem to be penalized per citizen dead.  Last I checked / remember.  It's all written up in one of my other AARs somewhere.

124k saved.  144k needed.

[bvanevery]

Details cult of destruction

cult of destruction

MY 2402.  This one was shot down.  138k saved.

Details the price of peace

the price of peace

For reasons I do not understand, the price of cornering the energy market is slightly cheaper than previously reported.  I begin!  My land cities are in no danger, their garrisons are very thorough.  My sea cities could be vulnerable if someone actually had some forces to concentrate, but I don't think anyone does.  Also I have many sea formers to distract any invaders.

Details modding to end all tedium

modding to end all tedium

Under my new 1.42 rules, I only have to hold on for 5 years.  Given the expense levels involved, the hugely long ramp up time, I think that's more than enough to give the AI its chance.  It's time for this game to be won.

[bvanevery]

Details to be moving

to be moving

MY 2403.  I honestly don't see any need for Psi Gates at this point, fun as it might be to build them.  Although I have played some games in the past where I did build them, nowadays I question whether I'd ever get to this in rational play.  Even with my LABS budget at 10% for as long as its been, none of the other factions have discovered Quantum Power or Graviton Theory.  They're helpless.  Nobody did anything aggressive.

Even waiting 4 more years is super, duper dull.  Gonna find something else to do for awhile.

[Geo]

Unless you're frenemies.   

And what if your Pact ally is basically irresponsible?  One thing that's bugging me about the diplomacy of this game, is that factions "morally outraged by the tossing of nukes", soon enough commit the offense themselves in retaliation.  So maybe they shouldn't have freaked out so hard in the 1st place.

If I had to choose whether my satellites would intervene, and my ally got wind that I was letting it happen, well mightn't they declare war on me?  So maybe I shouldn't have to be made responsible for that to begin with.

Pacts can be cancelled if you can't stomach your allies' decisions.

[bvanevery]

You lose Reputation.

God this endgame is the dullest thing I've done in awhile.  I can't recommend trying to win the game this way at all.  At least not how I did it.  Version 1.42 will have Economic Victory available with C6 Fusion Power.  I hope that helps but at this time, I have no idea.

[bvanevery]

Details the sum total of my excitement

the sum total of my excitement

MY 2406.  These last few turns are nothing more than watching paint dry.  Perhaps I should take an old school screenshot that requires some hand eye coordination, to improve the production values for the very end.  Unfortunately, something went wrong with my PrntScrn capture and I didn't paste it right.

Details a second chance

a second chance

This time I've got glorious Paint 3D open already, and I'll refrain from fiddling with Snip & Sketch, which is what caused the problem last time.

Details proper repercussions

proper repercussions

Not my best timing, but it'll have to do.  I've done AARs full of Planet Buster Porn before, if anyone really cares.  Every phase of annihilation.

Details closing in upon reality

closing in upon reality

Even not trying, I'm close to finishing the tech tree.  I moved Dissociative Wave late enough in the game to be irrelevant.  It's also very expensive, 100% cost increase.  I call that "soft retirement" of a game feature.  You can have it if you want to sandbox, but if you're rationally interested in winning the game in the shortest amount of time, there's no reason to care about it.

I have 70k credits.  I guess that means my economy really is cool.  Next year should be the victory!

Details for paranoia

for paranoia

I had to make sure the Datalinks haven't been gaslighting me about victory conditions all these years.  Yep, this really was the price of keeping the Caretakers in the game.  They have 5 bases left now.  1 of which is empty, presumably due to ongoing Pirate assaults.  I really never went to bat for them, so I'm not sure if that makes me a Humanitarian or not.  They will survive with enough population to make a small ghetto.

[bvanevery]

Details victory over the helpless and stupid

victory over the helpless and stupid

MY 2407.  Thanks to my modding of the victory conditions, it's finally over.  I think total conquest of every base, might have been fewer mouseclicks.  Or building a pile of Planet Busters and eliminating everyone in 1 turn.  Granted, that wasn't my temperament.  If I had been violent, I could have simply eliminated the Caretakers and declared Diplomatic Victory eons ago.  What a peacenik.

Details is this much of a score

is this much of a score

Snip & Sketch was incapable of capturing my planetwide banner screenshot.  Just feel free to imagine it.  I don't usually play to maximize my score.  This is one of the highest population games I remember playing, with some bases getting through about 50% of their dynamic range I think.  I'm assuming 99 is the cutoff but I could be wrong.  Of course I got Stairway to Transcendence for my book, and of course Snip & Sketch messed up again.

Details how long have these been recorded

how long have these been recorded

Yeah, compared to previous recorded games this population is quite large.  Almost 3X.  I'm not sure how long I've left my installation directory undisturbed.

Details moving on to true destruction

moving on to true destruction

Snip & Sketch once again was inadequate for capturing the map conquest summary.  It didn't show the Pirate control of the oceans, nor my own ocean control.  But in the scheme of things, I didn't occupy the planet to any special degree.  The Pirates and the Cultists had roughly equal spread.  The Spartans were smaller than us, having picked on the wrong power.  The Believers were roughly equal with them, pretty much my Nature Park with the occasional mushroom cloud going off.

Details this is what you see

this is what you see

I wonder if Economic Victory is much easier with the Morganites?  With no hangups about benefiting from the Manifold Harmonics.  And starting on the project with C6 Fusion Power.