[ISPG] Interactive SinglePlayer Game

[Mart]

Opening Interactive Single Player Game, or ISPG for short. This game is actually close to a demogame.

Faction we play: Apollo Industries

other AI factions:
2. Morganites
3. University
4. Technocrats
5. Authority
6. Peacekeepers
7. Pilgrims

Current turnplayer:
Mart



first 4 victory conditions (no cooperative)
Flexible start
Blind research
Map not visible

Map is 80x70
average apart from abundant native life and dense cloud cover.


Starting location:


In particular, the whole map with terrain shape feature, so we can roughly think about where the continents are (open the spoiler tag):

(click to show/hide)

RULES:
- You can download turn and view it, however:
- You cannot "fastforward" the game, by playing it, actual playing is for turnplayer only.
- Game pace is roughly 3 turns a week, however in the first 20 turns we can play faster. Games require more time later, so game pace may be even less than 3 turn a week later, midgame and late game.
- If you plan on opening a thread pertaining to this game, please add in its title in the beginning [ISPG] tag, for easier identification by readers.
- We play with Yitzi patch 3.4
- You can have set in your "alphax.txt" drone rule to "0" and copter speed bonus by reactor "2"


This is technically multiplayer, and you need password, which is:
<SPACE>
key from the keyboard.
You cannot enable scenario editor in this game (as in mp it is disabled).

---=== * * * ===---

If you are reading this, you are participating in the game. The level of your participation can be from reading Apollo Information Network (posts [ISPG] on this forum), posting occasional comment about how to play to actively post about many aspects of the game or later be a turnplayer.

Factions are selected in this way, so we have 2 industrial factions
Apollo and Morganites
two research factions:
University and Technocrats
and two mission commanding:
PK and Authority
It is all spiced with fanatical:
Pilgrims

Factions are from Sigma's pack, which can be downloaded here:
Link

More about our faction:

LEADER: Henry Roark
BACKGROUND: Union of American Commonwealths, Unity Construction Overseer
AGENDA: Free Industrial Society
TECH: Industrial Base

+1 INDUSTRY:   Well motivated work force
-1 EFFICIENCY:  Internal economic competition
Free Supply Crawler at Planetfall
Extra Drone per 4 Citizens: No social safety net
85% Hurry Costs: Fully staffed factories
May not choose Green Economics

[Mart]

This post would be first, how one could participate, by giving game comments, etc.

We start on southern hemisphere. But what is more important, we seem to be on eastern slopes of some mountain range, so due to westren winds, this is dry region.
We have only some moist tiles to the east, and this is where I would propose to establish our hq base:
- river, coast, moist tile.

Where to go with the second colony pod?
I think west-north is good direction.

From the map shape features (open spoiler tag to see) we most likely have Unity Wreckage there.
In like 10 turns we possible may know landing/crash sites of remaining factions.

[Mart]

Henry Roark is a very interesting person. I haven't read Sigma's description, but I have impression he is something between Morgan and Domai.
Some roleplay in this game can be included.

So we seem to play "soft"? version of Drones? A socialistic workers faction? Or mybe not quite, Roark is only oriented on people, while valuing good business?

[Mart]

Having two colony pod 'groups,' a team of dedicated scouts and recovered from Unity special droid unit, Roark decided to split his landing group. Observers reported, that to the east there is a river estuary.
"This will be great location for our first base. The river will allow us to place simple turbines and produce energy."
Believing, that Unity crash site is somewhere close in North-West direction, Roark orders the second group with scouts to go there. Finding a region with better nutrients may be actually more important. Behind that mountain range? To the west?



Reminder, password is a single key:
<SPACE>

[Mart]

"Olympus Heights? This is going to be the name of our main base?"
"Do you think, that this name is not adequate, Architect?"
"I would prefer some other name."

-----
What other name could be used? Some ideas:
Apollo Central
Apollo HQ

Any other proposals?

[Mart]

Apollo Headquarters established.
This is historic day of Mission Year 2102.



The first factories are being built immediately





And we have few things to decide:

• Do we leave the crawler in the base to defend it for this one turn, before a scout unit (?) is completed?
• We actually, as possesing Industrial Base, are building 1-2-1. Do we want it?
• If we continue on 1-2-1, do we hurry it as soon as it is possible?

The second colony pod continues to the north-west. It looks like its path is determined by fungal fields.
Research is set on 3 directions: EXPLORE, DISCOVER, BUILD.

[Mart]

The crawler remains in the HQ base, providing some protection against dangers of this new world.
This equipment, meant to collect and provide resources to first colonists is essentially a simple semi-automatic mining set, with additional trucks for transportation of resources to the base.





First factories start to operate. Something every Apollo citizen finds comforting, as it secures the future.



The other colonists group travels west.
It looks like, the peak to the west is not a volcano, as some were thinking.

[Mart]

Things to decide:

• We have 12 ec, end cost of "full hurry" of synthmetal garrison is 11 ec. Should we do it?
• Crawler is homed to HQ base already. Where to mine first? and what?
• Do we pop the first pod?
• Should we plan on establishing the second base now? The tile on the mountain, SW from current location of the colony pod, and 26,54 on the map. It is builder style location, possibly rainy tiles to the west, that are covered yet, but we know, where moisture in smacx get caught.

We do not have very abundant terrain here, but crawling nutrients seems to me the way to go.
We need population growth, the sooner the better.

[Mart]

Special concert to celebrate establishment of our first base will be held tonight in Apollo Headquarters.
The colonists searching for the second base site to the west will be able to watch it by net-link.

Apollo Headquarters Concert

[Mart]

2104

Hurried synthmetal garrison unit with 11 EC is completed.
Supply crawler popped the pod South from the base - monolith.



The remaining 1/3 move point goes to reach river tile, where it can crawl a resource not blocking the monolith.



Questions:
- Do we establish the second base where the colony pod is presently?
- Do we build scout unit in Apollo HQ?

A short comment:
Research goals are set 3: Explore, Discover, Build, however, the bar is green. Is it Cent. Ecology or Doc. Mobility? Or maybe Progenitor Psychology? ... Will it help us with uncovering mystery of this monolith? colonists are so eager to work around it.

We have a tech every 6 turns, next one in 5 turns. Accumulated: 5, cost 18. Each turn we collect: 3.
We also have +3 EC/turn. Planet likes us!

* pasword for the save is single character:
<SPACE>

[Mart]

Any idea, how to name that mountain near colony pod?
It must be beautiful over there: rocky around and a stream taking its beginning. It looks like apart from mining operations we will have some great area for workers holiday retreat place.
Only there is no road connecting the mountain peak and Apollo HQ.

[Buster's Uncle]

I see a river originating on the peak.

Fountainhead.

[Mart]

Ok! Will be marked next session.

I give more than 50% chance, our tech is Centauri Ecology. That's my feeling about this game in Blind Research. I wonder, how likely this will be wrong...
Any other guesses?

[Mart]

Something to be guessed, as an observation from game mechanics.
When I attempted to name the peak "Fountainhead," it turned out, that it is not close enough to our borders. Strange thing, but most likely, there is another faction in that vicinity very close to us.

2105



Mechanic's Marvel base established.

What are the choices for actions this turn.

• Do we leave the MM base empty this turn and go towards Unity Wreckage? If there is another faction nearby, we may not to be the first to scavenge the spaceship remains.
• What to build in MM? Continue the synth garrison, or make a scout?
• Do we scout with crawler while crawling?
• [ADDED from EDIT] Yet another question, we lack only 10 lab points for our next tech. By adjusting research slider we can get 5 labs/turn, and this is with no losses. Do we do it?

* pasword for the save is single character:
<SPACE>

[Mart]

The First Scout Unit
Independent military team, under personal command of Architect Henry Roark.
Lt. John Fet is the field commanding officer.
After successfully escorting colonization team to Mechanic's Marvel, its next task appears to be a reconnaissance to suspected U.N.S. Unity Spaceship crash site.
Many colonists already forget, that this "elite" unit was created back on Earth, and in its majority decided to follow Architect Roark after Mission Command failed.