Walk The Plank

[bvanevery]

That's what I'm supposed to be making everyone do this game.  I'm trying to get good with the sensibility of eXterminate, of completely destroying other factions.  None of this tedious building up stuff.  In my previous thread I mused on who's the best eXtermination faction?  I suspected it was Yang, but tried Aki-Zeta to possibly prove it wrong.  I did a very bad job as I wasn't actually aggressive.  The main failing is when I got Nonlinear Mathematics, I didn't attack Santiago immediately, who was sharing my island at close quarters.  Dumb dumb dumb.

I wondered if the Pirates could be a good eXtermination faction, because they start with superior mobility and the ability to build Command Centers.  2 games ago I played the Pirates as more of an arch-Builder faction and I got really bored.  So, 1 game ago, I didn't want to play them.  Now, why not?

Pirates, Huge map, average settings, random opponents.  I start in the middle of deep ocean with nothing.  I send my scout ship and 2 colony ships in 3 different directions.  Far to the west, and far to the east, I find coastal energy resources.  The one to the west is next to a diamond shaped land mass whose coast is completely covered in fungus.  I figure that's very likely The Ruins, so I put my capitol Safe Haven there.  Later turns show I was correct.  Port Svensgaard becomes a distant outpost to the east, that will probably be terribly corrupt.  However I'm imagining that since my goal is to eXterminate other factions, perhaps having a greater geographical spread will be helpful.

I think about how slowly I got going with transports and land movement last game, and that I need to be quicker if I'm going to put an early hurt on anyone this game.  So uncharacteristically, I pop pods in the water with my scout, hoping to complete transport builds.  It works and I get what I need quickly.  I try not to waste such tactics on making scouts, but I need to move fast so it accidentally happens once.  A scout can still be a delay of 3 turns at the beginning, so I wouldn't call it completely crazy to get that done fast too.  I remembered to make it a rover scout in one case, but oddly enough, it ended up having to suicide against 3 fungus pods and died from that anyways.  Again, a casualty in the name of getting things done faster.  Despite my speed, I do manage to pick up 2 Artifacts, I think from the land.

I settle the center of The Ruins.  I build a scout for basic defense, and a Former to clear fungus on the coast, so that Safe Haven will have a better minerals situation.  It only has access to 1 Monolith.  Then I start working on a Command Center, since the point of this exercise is to try to jump someone as fast as I can.

I fish some comm frequencies out of the water.  First I talk to Santiago.  We signed a Treaty but I don't think we traded.  I went about my business for awhile.  Then I got a frequency for Miriam.  She had Planetary Networks, where heck did she get that?  Well she was in contact with Roze.  I got to talk to Roze as well, and darned if she didn't trade me Planetary Networks as well.  I talked to Santiago again, and darned if she didn't trade me Biogenetics for something fairly lame.  The AIs really have holes in their heads, this early in the game.  The phenomenon of Roze or Aki pretty much giving Planetary Networks away is not unheard of.  It just always surprises me when factions do this.

So now I have far better tech than I'd have a right to expect.  I could really mess someone up, if only I can find someone.  It's still way too important to get some infrastructure together so I can crank out some military units.  I have a Conquer focus and need to get some weaponry.  Strictly speaking I do have Applied Physics, which might be enough to hurt someone if they're near enough to me.  But experience shows that if a faction is farther away, one better come with decent weaponry, because otherwise they'll have "teched up" by the time you get to them.  Yes you can pillage their infrastructure and annoy them, but to actually conquer requires real weapons.

I've currently got 3 land bases and 2 sea bases.  The Ruins is actually connected to a small island, which had a good nutrient and forest appear on it, so I settled that.  It would take at least 2 more land bases on that island to completely secure my land claim.  Although realistically, I think this time around I'd be more inclined to summarily kill anyone who tried to settle my island.

It's 4:40 AM so I'm going to sleep on this game.  I just was a little too irritated at the Aki-Zeta fluxxoming to sign off before.  Will I be redeemed?

In the distant past, I've played speed games where I beat the thing in 8 hours.  It generally consisted of making a beeline for the nearest faction, rapidly conquering it, making them my slave, and then using the AI's extra spawning resources to help conquer the next faction.  Keep making the beelines until they're done.  Those games were on Standard sized maps though.  I seriously doubt I've ever beaten everyone in 8 hours on a Huge map.  And I don't think I've done less than 8 hours on Standard.  I always thought that if I could do it in 5 hours, that would be "really good".  Over the years I've wished to design a SMAC-like game that could be consistently beaten in 5 hours, and expecting about 200 turns of play.  I never managed it.  Unit pushing is the devil!   

People may wonder why I keep writing these AARs where I never finish the games.  Well it's because they're Huge maps and arguably I think the games are unfinishable.  They consume far more time than they're worth, considering all the scenarios I've seen in the past.  If the game is sucking, why go through the pain?  You probably did something wrong at the beginning which is why it's sucking so hard.

[bvanevery]

I continued to colonize and build infrastructure, since it was clear to me that I didn't have the productivity to actually hurt anyone.  I've definitely got the tech though, having discovered Nonlinear Mathematics, and now most recently Industrial Base.

The land mass to the west, that The Ruins is the easternmost part of, is at least a small continent.  I found an Artifact and also had mindworms running about for a bit, so my scout rovers had to come back and deal with it.  As long as they're back, I figured I'd keep my free "anti-mindworm" units at home, and send out Recon Rovers that actually cost support.  So that when they get killed, I don't pay support anymore.

I've got 5 land bases on the continent now.  It was faster than making sea bases, and there were some decent resources to exploit.  Mt. Planet beckons just to the west, but that is getting farther from the efficiency range of my capitol.  It will still be worth it eventually, but right now I've got 6 land bases and 3 sea bases.  With my faction's -1 starting Efficiency rating, I got the Bureaucracy warning.  A base became unhappy, so I've gone Democratic.  Now I'm at Efficiency +1.  Support is of course now -2 and I'm seeing how this is a problem for the Pirates getting too violent.  Even my nice capitol in The Ruins doesn't have terribly high productivity right now.  It's going to take 7 turns just to produce a Trance Synthmetal Garrison prototype.

Santiago just allied with me.  On the positive side, we can be politically compatible, and I got an extensive map revealing where Roze and Miriam are.  On the negative side, Sparta is actually the faction nearest to me who by rights, should die the soonest.  Sigh.  How does one pick a victim?  Well the point is moot, I don't have enough production to do anything yet anyways.  My first move should probably be to send some skimship probe teams out and infiltrate whoever I can find.  Meanwhile, I need to use up my scouts on pod popping and fungal stalk killing.

Yeah, Svensgaard's "superior mobility" isn't overcoming the Huge map.

[bvanevery]

Belatedly I realize that editing my messages with the Later... heading, doesn't increase my post count.     It's not like my updates aren't long enough to constitute posts in their own right.  Or that it really matters in the grand scheme of things; who's reading?  Finally, for some reason I get the full editor with buttons for things like italics when I make a new post, and I don't when I'm editing an old post.  Go figure.

I met everybody.  I was at peace with everybody, and allied with some.  Then Miriam declared war on me, because she doesn't like my Democracy.  She's far to the south, the 2nd most powerful player in the game according to the graph, and has built some Secret Projects worth seizing.  Logistically it's a real chore to get to her though.  I've got Trance Impact Skimships coming from many of my port cities now, but they aren't anywhere near her.  I've infiltrated many factions, but most of those skimships were compromised.  I really need Doctrine:Initiative and The Maritime Control Center.  However I'm keeping my Conquer focus for now, because Adaptive Doctrine will make all my ships have Marine seizure.  That could be useful, and 3-pulse is also better ship armor for the upcoming naval war.

I've let all the Secret Projects go right by.   I have a pile of credits and at least 6 Artifacts, maybe 7, forgot to check.  Much as I may have wanted The Command Nexus, I think it got completed before I even had a chance to steal it anyways.  That's how far the distances are on a Huge map, for a skimship probe team.  Ultimately Roze got it.  I don't know if that's good or bad, because right now, she's a friendly Democracy like myself.  Which means I won't be seizing it any time soon.  Well, I don't think it's a critical Secret Project for me anyways.  As much as I may want to mess with people on land, the Pirates are a naval power.  I've just always found it's convenient to be able to make decent units in sea bases without having to ship them in.

Once I've finished infiltrating everyone, especially Miriam, and get tech parity, then I think I'll pop all my pods and see if I can get Doctrine:Initiative from that.  Which means I'm going to need to build a round of Network Nodes now.

I'm not sure I want to use nerve gas right now, because I have a couple of Pacts and many Treaties.  If I get sanctions, I stand more to lose.

[Mart]

Playing eXterminate with Gaians (Cult I guess also) can be interesting. They can build armies of native life.

I rarely play military Gaians, but with other factions, when having Manifold Nexus within borders, one can have +1 Planet and capture mindworms roaming fungus. I was getting quite a number of mw and was able to have campaigns with them. One thing though, abundant fungus on map is crucial.

[Kurvivor]

I wonder if drowning everyone is a viable tactic for Pirates
What is needed, bunch of eco damage is all? Melting caps? Lowering with 10 super formers?

[bvanevery]

I wonder if drowning everyone is a viable tactic for Pirates

It doesn't work, and I've written it up extensively in the archives.  Can't remember if I posted it in AAR or Theory of Everything, but it's there.  Industrial damage will trigger flooding, so will nukes.  The problem is, the flooding doesn't actually occur fast enough to harm enemy civilizations all that much.  It will degrade them, but the fantasy of them being obliterated wholesale off the map so you don't have to conquer them so much, it doesn't happen.  They just build Pressure Domes in enough cities that they aren't vulnerable to flooding wiping out their cities anymore.  Meanwhile, the flooding completely destroys any land empire you've painstakingly built.  I tend to terraform by hand, and there are land resources that are quite useful earlier in the game, so really I think it's mostly cutting your nose to spite your face.

As for Gaians, can't say I've ever tried to exterminate anyone with hordes of native mindworms before.  Some factions, like the Aliens, are pretty much immune to that because they start with 3-Res armor.  Also you can only capture so many native life forms at once, then they're just hostile.  They only move 3 tiles if there's fungus so it's hardly a blitzkrieg.  I think you can eXterminate with any faction if you really really want to, but I see no reason to suppose that the Gaians are especially gifted at it.  Even getting Locusts of Chiron late in the game, they move slowly, and on Huge maps that's just horrible.

Meanwhile... I popped all my Artifacts.  This got me some stuff, but not anything I'd call particularly great.  Got Industrial Automation, which is a prereq for Doctrine:Initiative.  Got gatling guns, then researched missiles a few turns later on my own.  Got Adaptive Economics but had already mostly built energy banks in all my cities, so not bothering with that for now.  Roze is building The Planetary Energy Grid but she's also about to get creamed by Miriam, so she may not even finish.  I'm trying not to get obsessed with builds and Secret Projects this game, but the reality is I need The Maritime Control Center to not have this game be a PITA.  So I am building The Planetary Transit System and The Planetary Datalinks while I'm waiting around for Doctrine:Initiative.  I could build more SPs than that, but I have my priorities.  I won't bother with others unless they prove easy and Doctrine:Initiative takes forever to get.

I've infiltrated everyone but Roze.  As she may be about to die, I may not need to know her!  I only just bought Adaptive Doctrine from Lal, so now I'm finally changing to Explore focus.  Deirdre is building The Empath Guild.  If I had it myself, I could probably elect myself Governor, since my bases are going to size 8 now.  I'm actually allied with Deirdre and I'm not going to go Free Market or Planned, so she might end up being a permanent ally.  Taking a bite out of Miriam will also secure the Governorship, eventually.  At present, Lal is governor.  I helped elect him and he's friendly with me.

[bvanevery]

Roze did die.  Unfortunately her Secret Projects are now fueling the monster that has become the Believers.  The graph says she's a lot better than I am.  That upsets me, because I know I'm better than her!  In my heart of hearts, I know.     For instance, I had Air Power a long time ago, and she doesn't have it.  I've got Silksteel Armor and she doesn't.  I have faster ships than she does.  I can do probe teams to her and she can't do any to me.  Plus I'm a better person.   

Yes I completed the Maritime Control Center.  Although I got the tech first, Miriam actually competed for it, and threatened to complete it herself.  I went Democratic Planned Wealth on a shoestring budget to prevent that.  Fortunately it was during a blackout so none of my allies could say anything about it.  I've now stabilized as a Democratic Green Power, but I still have to compete for various Secret Projects.  Lal threatened to complete The Hunter-Seeker Algorithm and once I got that tech myself, I simply couldn't let it go.  Having enemies grief me with probe teams is way too annoying to put up with.  Now 4 of us are fighting for The Ascetic Virtues, although I expect I'll win the race.  2 aren't really contenders, and I've been working on a minerals rich city atop Mt. Planet.  It can provide the supply crawlers I need.

Despite my Explore focus, Deirdre got Centauri Meditation and completed the Xenoempathy Dome before I could do much about it.  Fortunately I think that exhausted her resources and thus she's not going to get the Ascetic Virtues.  I've switched to Conquer focus because I don't seem to be able to out-Explore Deirdre.  I can probably out-Conquer Miriam though, considering the number of Research Hospitals I've built.

I'm not going to worry about Fusion Power for now.  The Silksteel Marines I've got coming are awfully expensive, but hopefully they will hold up well in combat.  Also once I figure out how to do an air campaign that far south, Miriam is toast.  For now I'm seeking naval control, and I've got plenty of Silksteel Missile Destroyers in the water to do it.  To be honest, Miriam has sent nothing more than the occasional transport at me, and I've summarily sunk each one.

In the interim, I put several sea bases around my capitol, to bask in its financial glory.  I'm not sure Port Svensgaard, way to the east, was ever much benefit to me.  In the future, I don't think I would open the game by sending my sea colonists so far apart.  But at least I did grab pods quickly and get mobilized immediately, so I didn't completely screw that opening.  I was also the decidedly most powerful player in the game for quite awhile.  It's only when Miriam got big that the computer decided I'm not, I'm not, c-c-c-cooool (envison Eric Cartman crying).

Politics: Lal, Deirdre, and Morgan are my allies.  Lal and Deirdre love my politics.  Morgan's probably getting pissed but he's weak and straight to the south of me, so he'd better behave.  Santiago doesn't like me, but she likes my politics, so I don't expect her to declare war.  I don't think she's that strong, although she does inhabit a bit of Monsoon Jungle.  I think it may have been a crappy, stillborn, ribbony Jungle this game.  She definitely can't hold a candle to Miriam, or myself, so she'll just be biding her time.

I haven't checked on whether I could gain the Governorship.  We had a blackout for awhile so that couldn't be done anyways.  Some of my cities have gotten fairly big, but I'm not a map sprawler.  I think Lal has got 4x for his votes!  He's not very big, but it takes a lot of votes to do substantially better than 4x.

One moral of this sequence of events has been, you don't get to just walk over everybody on a Huge map.  You might get someone next to you that's opportune to kill.  Or you might not.  In this game the person I need to kill, isn't anywhere near me.  Miriam is not toroidially as far away from me as possible; that would be a diagonal across the board.  But I'm far to the north, and she's far to the south.  It's a long ways to invade, but at least I've got the ships for it now.  Hope she doesn't spam me too annoyingly once I get there.  You go Marines!

So who's the best eXtermination faction?  Well, it might be a faction that can adapt to different conditions to do the exterminations.  Think you're gonna nerve gas everyone?  Well what if you're in 3 Pacts and the money is too good for that?  What if you don't get the techs you think you're going to get?  What if you can't slaughter someone immediately and you have to build up, is your faction any good for it?  I'm remembering why I didn't think the Spartans were "so hot" after all.  If they don't have a ready victim, they've got disadvantages.  The Pirates, on the other hand, are definitely capable of Building because of all the nice sea minerals and food.

The oceans are pretty empty of pods now.  I've been busy.  I've even sailed my original scout foil deep into Miriam's back lines.  Somehow I've had an instinct that she's preoccupied and won't kill it.  So far so good.  Almost the entire ocean has been revealed.  There are pods on various land masses, but none immediately near me, as I definitely used up my scouts.  All of that was pretty helpful to my cause, but I wouldn't want to get bogged down in further exploration.  It's time to take Miriam out.

[bvanevery]

Happy New Year!   

At 2:30 AM I declared this experiment over.  Yes I was doing fine.  But the point was to answer the question, do the Pirates have any particular gift as an eXtermination faction?  I conclude that they do not.  What did I really have to do to take on Miriam, halfway across a Huge map?  Build up forever.  That's not the sign of some "slam dunk" faction.

My air force was never useful, even though I got it way before Miriam.  Her air force was very useful.  She started using planes heavily, after I'd already built expensive ships and sent them to her, with no AAA protection.  Hey, it wasn't needed when I built them!

After I took 2 large sea bases and 1 small land base, she knocked the crap out of them with Missile Needlejets.  If she had half a brain she would have followed up with either Marines or ships, but she didn't.  So I got to keep her 2 large sea bases.  That was her ultimate undoing.  That ragtag contingent of Marines held on long enough to pacify the bases via conventional means (no Punishment Spheres, frankly I forgot), build Command Centers, and then garrison with AAA units.

Lal got Fusion Power.  He wouldn't trade the tech, he wanted to sell it for money.  It took awhile to scrape the cash together.  My 1st wave of fission units against Miriam, didn't do too well.  Ships got picked off by attrition because they weren't AAA.  She wouldn't attack them when they were full strength, but she'd blast them with her air force when they got wounded.  My 2nd wave of fusion units was awesome.  Miriam couldn't touch me.  I made sure the ships were AAA, even though I didn't have Neural Grafting yet, so they were blind as a bat.  Didn't turn out to be a problem because she just didn't have any sea presence to oppose my convoys.

When I quit, I had her 3rd sea base being shelled to bits, a transport full of fusion Chaos Silksteel Marines about to arrive and wipe everything out, and another boat of fusion Fusion Silksteel Marines en route.  Miriam had also learned Fusion Power meanwhile, but many of her cities didn't have those units in them yet.  These sea bases were just above Roze's old cities, which contain The Command Nexus and The Planetary Energy Grid.  Those were soon to be mine.  I'd say the lower left of her empire was about to crumble into dust, because it was primarily sea oriented.  Her mainland, that would take longer to crack, because she'd probably have time to get fusion units together.  Still I had way superior guns at that point, and way superior research.

I had built a pile of tree farms, so I didn't have any eco damage to worry about.  I had slid back to Democratic Green Knowledge because I had some Secret Project I needed to finish at one point, I forget which one.  I was annoyed that Deirdre got Neural Grafting and I didn't, but then again, I got Chaos and Fusion weapons.  So if the point was to out-Conquer Miriam, it worked.

Further conquest would have been a successful, but long game.  Miriam got to be huge because Svensgaard is not particularly good at bringing the pain to anyone.  The early sea mobility doesn't matter that much on a Huge map.  The -1 Efficiency pushes the need for Democracy, which ruins Support, which makes the Pirates a less than stellar eXtermination faction.  I was still rated the most powerful faction in the game for quite awhile, by a wide margin.  But that's not the same thing as doing a good job of suppressing other factions.  I don't think my opening game was "wrong" in any way.  I let Santiago slide at the beginning... well she was never a threat, the whole game. 

I think for my next attempt, I will try Aki-Zeta again.  Remembering this time that I can't count on being a Police State until much later in the game.