The Formless Society

[bvanevery]

Well properly speaking that's Formerless, not formless.  But the latter sounds cooler.

Free Droning on and on again.  Huge map, average settings, random opponents.  Don't seem to be any aliens in this one.

I start on rolling rainy terrain with some other ok agricultural land around me, but a lot of fungus trails.  I move 1 tile to be on some flat moist terrain to make my capitol.  The first 3 pods I pop have mindworms in them!  It is of no consequence, although I really did push the "can't get hurt in the first few turns" theory pretty hard.  My 2nd colonist barely survived the attack.  Still, it did, and went on to found a city as planned.  The Sunny Mesa was immediately northwest of me so that's where I went.  Due to my popping I got a nutrient resource for my 2nd city while I was at it.

This looks like a "roomy" if not large island, so I don't feel any pressure to get off it.  I can probably get 12 cities in this thing.  So uncharacteristically, I choose a Discover research focus.  Maybe I can grab The Human Genome project, build lotsa recycling tanks, even grab The Virtual World?  I'm wondering why I don't usually start with Discover, then a few turns later I remember.  'Cuz you don't get Formers from that.  Gotta do either Explore or Build.  But I'd rather have those Secret Projects.  How much forming do I really need to do anyways?  This is fairly good land in all directions.  Really isn't any of that dry scraggly starve-to-death stuff.

Pods to the east yield 2 minerals, and a robot also sets up a pile of mines.  This is the other reason I didn't feel a strong compulsion to get Formers going.  When I get a city over there, I immediately start work on The Merchant Exchange.  Many turns later, I do get Biogenetics and switch to The Human Genome Project.  I have 6 cities at the time and begin Recycling Tanks in all that don't have builds to complete.  By the time I finish The Human Genome project, I have 7 cities.

I know that the University is in the game, because he discovers Secrets of the Human Brain.  Well I guess it's a bit much to expect the worst research faction to beat him to it.  I know the Peacekeepers are also in the game, as they were building The Human Genome Project too.  Now they're working on The Merchant Exchange.  Bet they get it before I can.  But I will probably start anyways, as it can become The Virtual World.

I am remembering that a risk with roadless societies, is parts of your empire can get attacked and you don't have a way to reinforce.  So formlessness is not a social condition I can maintain for long.  Also I'm going to want to develop those minerals next to my Secret Project city.  Also The Weather Paradigm is another Secret Project to build, even if it feels less important to me this game.  Will I really stick with Discover until I get Planetary Networks?  Time will tell.  I was thinking, first settle all my cities, then build Recycling Tanks, then get Formers going.  For some reason I got Doctrine:Mobility, think I might have popped a pod to get it, and I also got Applied Physics from my Discover focus.  So garrisoning shouldn't really be a problem, even if my mobility is limited.  I won't need Recreation Commons for a bit because my faction could go up to size 3 anyways, and with The Human Genome Project I can go to 4.  I doubt that undeveloped land will get my cities any bigger than that!

A little later...  The Pirates show up, on a slow transport with a scout rover.  He doesn't land on my shores however.  The particular city he's near, has a synth guarding The Human Genome Project, so I'm not stepping outside of my city to meet him.  Several of my cities have finished their Recycling Tanks so Svensgaard will just have to wait until I get a unit over there to say hello.

The Peacekeepers show up to the west.  It goes rather well!  Lal is my bro!  Many trades, an alliance, and he gives me Secrets of the Human Brain.  Since I always go Democratic for the efficiency, Lal could become a permanent ally.  I got Doctrine:Flexibility so can go fish for Artifacts now.  Also researched Centauri Ecology on my own, so I guess it's possible to get that with a Discover focus, just not immediately.  I still want Planetary Economics so will continue with that focus.

I will build Formers once I've settled all the city sites I want, as I previously intended to do.  Now my only "stress" is deciding when to stick some transports out there.  Hope it goes ok with Svensgaard, and I hope he's nowhere near me in any event.  I really hate having him chew up my territorial waters.

Datatechs are also in the game, currently working on The Weather Paradigm.  Haven't checked who else.

A little later...  Svensgaard is a jerk.  I tell him to shove it.  He declares war on me.  Oh well!  Guess it's not transports but synth laser ships, that's how it's gotta be.  I trivially sink his transport, he never even lands.  I get Lal to declare war on him too.  Now I need to find approximately where he is.

Lal contacts Roze.  Roze and I talk and trade tech.  I'm quite surprised that she gives me Planetary Networks in exchange for Secrets of the Human Brain.  Bad trade for you, Roze.  Yeah she's not working on it now but she should be soon.  Unless Zhakarov finishes it before I can really get started.  I guess I've got a stronger motive to fish some Artifacts now.  I may be too far behind to do it in a straight race, although one can never be sure of the quality of enemy build cities, so one has to try.

Morgan and Cha Dawn are also in the game.  They'll have to be enemies as I'm going to go Democratic Planned.   Roze traded me Ethical Calculus among other things, and I could have 2 permanent allies for going Democratic.  Just need to settle all my city sites first.

I switch to Conquer focus, hoping to pick up Doctrine:Loyalty and build The Command Nexus.

Quite awhile later...  I pulled off a surprising number of Secret Projects.  The Virtual World, The Command Nexus, The Citizen's Defense Force, all stuff that others had in progress before I got the techs.  Somehow I built them all.  I made a lot of money running my synth laser ships all over the map popping pods.  I never made a single transport for that, pretty uncharacteristic of me.  I just figured with so much hostility from the Pirates it wasn't a good idea.  Well it worked, I made enough money to build Secret Projects first.  There are still some small islands relatively near me with pods on them, as I haven't tried to do anything on land, but it has not been a priority to me.  Theft of tech has been working ok, so not a lot of need to get Artifacts.

I switched to Explore at some point, hoping to get The Maritime Control Center.  I'm finally building it and expect no one will get the tech before I complete it.  Surprisingly, no one has gotten Centauri Empathy.  I'm currently Democratic Planned Wealth.  Some of my cities are getting big now.  I will stick with Planned, but I could also be choosing Knowledge or Power now.  I will at least finish the MCC before I consider switching.  I could stand to get more Tree Farms built too, to keep people happy and reduce my eco damage.

There hasn't been much fighting this game.  Just the occasional shore landing.  I'm allied with Lal and Morgan.  Morgan doesn't like my politics but I never talk to him.  He'll probably dump me the 1st time I do.  I'm at peace with Roze.  I'm at war with Cha Dawn, Zhakarov, and Svensgaard.  Invading Zhakarov would be logical as he's somewhat close and I've got Cruisers now.  Cha Dawn isn't worth it, too far away and not a threat.  Taking out the Pirates might be annoying but possibly worth it over the long haul, as it would make me navally supreme.   On the other hand, sitting around building up my island is working fine too, so I don't know what I'll do.  My big plan is to sleep on it.

[bvanevery]

I sat around building up my island.  I contined to try to steal techs, and I succeeded at popping more pods in the ocean.  I've stolen most stuff but most everyone is working on The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm and I don't have that tech.  It's not trivial to steal it from Zhakarov as I've stolen from every one of his cities now.  He doesn't have the land mass to settle new cities, and for some reason he hasn't put any colonies in the water.  So I have to work harder to steal now, basically go around to the Pirates.  I've already stolen from his "lead" cities as well, so I have to go deep to his backside to be successful.  I'm Democratic Planned Wealth and not particularly good at theft.

Fortunately because I have the Maritime Control Center, these long distance maneuvers seem viable.  I now finally also have a 3-Pulse Cruiser with a lone probe team on board, running around popping pods on coastal land.  There's not that much threat in the water and there are no more land bases to steal from.  Morgan disavowed me, as expected, so I could go bother him.  But for now I'm not inclined.  If he does build The Ascetic Virtues before I can get ahold of them, I could just simply conquer him and gain it that way.  I'm nearing the end of my building spree, so now the questions loom.  Who to conquer, for what reason?  Well a juicy Secret Project would be a good sales incentive, wouldn't it.

I finally researched Centauri Empathy.  Surprisingly no one else did.  It is strange to be the "Exploration research" faction of the game, but I guess Cha Dawn is too small, Fundamentalist, and spread out to be an effective researcher.  Thought Lal might have done it, but he didn't.  Roze is sitting on The Monsoon Jungle but I guess that's not the sort of thing she researches.  I will stick to Explore focus because I'm managing to steal the other stuff, and it's good to have an angle that others aren't researching.

I finished The Empath Guild and voted myself Governor unilaterally.  I think I had 214 votes, and Roze only had 104!  I must have the same population as her now, despite her sitting on The Monsoon Jungle.  I guess sitting around building up your own Democratic Planned island does have certain advantages, that I wasn't thinking about before.  Nobody else supported my bid for Governor.  4 factions voted for Roze, but at least my ally Lal didn't throw his votes to her.  That would have really made me mad!  Happened one game, when my long term ally voted for the other person.  I played that turn over.


A little later...  Just after I wrote the above, I started up my game and realized Zhakarov only had 2 turns to go to complete the The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.  And he did it in one of the coastal cities nearest to me.  Soooo guess what I'm gonna do?

I completed Tree Farms in every city, and labs through Research Hospital.  Then I switched from Wealth to Power.  The missile marines and ships are coming!

I never did manage to steal anything from Svensgaard.  Some of my probe teams got killed.  The others were taking a long time to get there.  Belatedly I realized that a lot of other factions had moved on to Fusion Power and I'd better keep up.  I had a pile of money from all that Wealth I had been doing, so I just bought 4 techs from Lal for about 450 credits.  Good ally!  Talked to Roze about Air Power, but she wanted 525 for it and I'd blown my wad already.  I could get back to her on that, but Zhakarov doesn't have it and it's not important for conquering either him or Svensgaard.  I would have liked to buy Silksteel Alloys but she wants to sell Air Power first, no choice.  That's been a minor annoyance of SMAC compared to other games, the inability to say what tech you actually want to buy.

A Cult ship nearly killed my Cruiser with the probe team on it, but not quite.  It's trying to limp home but has run into a Cult Isle of the Deep.  I ducked into a fungus patch, not sure that's gonna fool him.  Meanwhile, other probe team ships are turning towards northern waters to pick up any remaining pods.  I think I have suceeded in emptying the southern oceans of them.

I finally put a Former and a scout on the small linear island north of my larger island.  Needed to develop some land for my 1 sea base, and I hadn't popped any pods there.  Well it set off an earthquake!  My island is now bigger, and funny shaped.  Big long pointy thing going up north.  Well I guess that will give all my excess Formers something to do, when they get done making Mines etc.  With all those tree farms I can probably afford more mines.  And if not, there's always Hybrid Forests.  And, I'm the only one researching Explore seriously, so I'll probably have Centauri Preserves available soon enough.

I will do a straightforward naval invasion of Zhakarov first.  But afterwards, I will probably build a land bridge to him, because it would only take the connection of several isles in close proximity.  They have pods on them I want to get as well.

Later...  It's almost 6 AM.  I'm obviously bored with this game.  I did fine, took The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm away from Zhakarov.  He didn't want to surrender after I clobbered several of his cities though.  I'm just tired of pushing the units around.  I don't think there's anything particularly special about the Free Drones now, compared to all the other factions I've played.  I think it's time to delete the game and not play for awhile.