Mind Controlling Worms - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.37

[bvanevery]

Details gratuitous eco damage

gratuitous eco damage

MY 2256.  Two X Gatling Marines and a probe team did a beautiful job of completely destroying a big Morganite coastal city.  It took 2 turns.  Even with wounds and an inland Sensor Array that I hadn't previously seen, it was a bloodbath!  However I've now got gratuitous eco-damage in all my cities.  15 is the lowest, 26 is the highest.

Details pea shooter victim

pea shooter victim

I want to know if the damage rises when I use the X Recon Rover units.  I did decide on the "sweep the coast" strategy, since the X Gatling Marines make it possible to permanently destroy the region.

Details one hit to the body

one hit to the body

I used my toughest X Recon Rover to blow away their 1 armored defender.

Details 6 point rise in eco damage

6 point rise in eco damage

That's a big jump!  And it's everywhere, not just 1 base.  My highest eco-damage is now 32, consistent with a 6 point jump across the board.  If X Recon Rovers were ever free in the past, they're certainly not free now.  I don't know whether I happened to cross a threshold when I first used my X Gatling Marines, or if the bigger weapon started these events because it's bigger, but the damage is done.  I have to stop using chemical attacks and wait for this to settle.  Well I don't have to, but I don't want to drown!

Details even Lasers can kill

even Lasers can kill

I finish off the base with conventional attacks.  Getting the teeth of my offensive taken out, isn't fun.  I suppose I'll need to wait until I've got C5 Doctrine: Air Power to begin serious operations again.  I suppose this is a good time to scientifically determine whether Obliterations cause eco-damage or not.

[bvanevery]

Details electioneering

electioneering

MY 2257.  Svensgaard decides he wants to be Goveronr, deposing Zhakarov.  My vote really doesn't matter.  I'm not sure why it isn't displayed, but I contributed 81 votes to the tally.  Svensgaard has 232 votes so clearly he's been growing a lot, in that fat nutrient rich ocean of his.  This is the guy I thought I'd throw a few ineffective chemical weapons at!  At least when I ticked off Zhakarov, it was an accident, but I chose to bother the Pirates.  Logistically and strategically, it was an extremely bad move.  We'll see if I pay consequences for it.

Details here come the fungal pops

here come the fungal pops

How many am I going to get?  How big are the mindworm stacks going to be?  Unlike my last game, I don't even have 3-Res armor yet.  Zhakarov's got it, behind the protection of the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.  No Neural Amplifier and certainly no Dream Twister.  Did I stop using my chemical weapons in time?

Details eco damage drops 1 point

eco damage drops 1 point

Well, only 1 pop, and no indigenous life forms to go with it.  I'm off the hook.  Just do this 20 more times and I'm good, right?

Details Fusion powered yahoo

Fusion powered yahoo

I'm starting to question my decision to choose the Planetary Energy Grid over the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.  I was thinking that I could just nuke the HSA eventually.  But what if Zhakarov causes a big problem for me before "eventually" comes?  At least I have strong mindworms.  +3 PLANET and the lifecycle bonus of the Xenoempathy Dome.  I really don't have anything to fear from a conventional defensive war, particularly with all this fungus in the way.

Details look who came to dinner

look who came to dinner

The Pirates have decided to join the party.  Without the use of chemicals, my ships have no punch!  They are probably going to be target practice.  I send my Cruiser Transport back into port and put my 2 probe teams on defensive duty out east.  It's time to hunker down and weather storms.

[bvanevery]

Details will he play the atrocity game

will he play the atrocity game

MY 2258.  I keep forgetting that Pirates capture your ships.  Now that he knows this unit design, he could in theory make more of them.  I suppose he won't do it unless atrocities legalized, and I'm not going to do that.

Details how to kill a Locust

how to kill a Locust

Air Superiority is the fundamental tool necessary to survive a Planet uprising.  3 other factions have researched this.  So, that's how long it takes to get the tech, just waiting with the Data Angels' faction ability.  Now, how many excuses do I want to make to avoid mindworm apocalypse?  My current one is "let's see eco-damage go back to zero".

Details pissy mindworms

pissy mindworms

4 fungal pops this year, and 2 patches of mindworms, although no stacks of them.  Got an interlude about wiping drool from my chin.

Details eco damage drops 6 points

eco damage drops 6 points

So far so good.  But, my income is -2 / year, and I have a lot of Hybrid Forests I need to complete.  I'm not trying to hold any bases in enemy territory, so the mind control immunity granted by +3 PROBE isn't important right now.  I could do without the Police State.  I might go Capitalist, just to see if kowtowing to Planet is strictly necessary for survival.  But before making such changes, I think I will let my eco-damage drop some more.

Details liberalizing

liberalizing

I go Democratic.  That bumps my income to 8 / year.  Not impressive but better than losing money.  I really need to get to +2 ECONOMY, but which method will I choose?  I lose the use of police.  I've built sufficient happiness facilities that this isn't a problem and I don't have to change my budget.  The increase in JUSTICE probably helped too.

[bvanevery]

Details goofy simulation

goofy simulation

MY 2259.  This is a nonsensical sign of global warming.  Chemical attacks and surface heat shouldn't be triggering subsurface volcanic processes.  Only thing I can think of is a "Planetary zit" theory, due to the sentience of Planet.

Details locust hits to absorb

locust hits to absorb

I got 3 pops but no big stacks yet.  Just 2 on a square at most.  4 Locusts, 3 of which I can hit on the ground.  The 1 over water, I'll just have to take the hit.

Details the remainder

the remainder

I think I made 500 credits killing mindworms.  If it kept up, I wouldn't need a +2 ECONOMY after all.  I lost 1 speeder to foolishness killing a University speeder.  I'll lose another speeder to the Locust.  I could try defending it with a Trance Scout, but I think the Locust would just kill both of them.  Then again, it's a worthwhile experiment, so I'll try it.  On second thought, no, as all my Trance Scouts are Green.  Better train those up!

Coder's Pit, my designated metric of eco-damage, has dropped to 10.  Every city is working on a Hybrid Forest.

[bvanevery]

Details can I get it

can I get it

MY 2260.  3-Res armor and the Neural Amplifier are important tools for mindworm defense.

Details nope

nope

Unless I get a lot of money from killing mindworms this year, the University has got this one.  No fungal pops at all, so that's that.  Coder's Pit is still at 10 eco-damage.

Details midgame Green economy

midgame Green economy

My income dropped to -4 credits / year.  Not sure why.  I clicked on all my cities to make sure the workers were out doing what they're supposed to be doing.  I clearly need more money, and I clearly can't handle more eco-damage right now, so I wimped out and chose Wealth.  At least I get to use police units again.

So, I feel comfortable saying that at this point in the game, my chemical attacks haven't made any difference in my power or safety at all.  I could definitely have taken out the nearest cities on the Morganic coast by conventional means.  I could not have held them, but I could have Obliterated them.  I still don't know whether Obliterations make Planet mad or not.

Details holy bedfellows Batman!

holy bedfellows Batman!

Drat.  Morgan, Svensgaard, and Zhakarov are allied now.  That's a pretty serious turnabout.  Am I going to be left alone long enough to complete Hybrid Forests?  Morgan is building planes, and the others could fly their planes up to his land to clobber me.

Details stranger still

stranger still

And, Extremist-incapable Zhakarov is best buddies with Power-hungry Cha Dawn.  Their politics are completely incompatible and yet they do it.  Have I united Planet?  Well at least Cha Dawn wants to kill 2 of Zhakarov's other buddies.  Strange times.

[bvanevery]

Details here we go

here we go

MY 2261.  At least 66 meters isn't much.  If it stays there.  I get 1 fungal pop.  Coder's Pit is down to 9 eco-damage.

Details telltale rubble

telltale rubble

I think I found the USS Unity crash site.  I wonder if anyone has been here already?  It's in a pretty remote part of the map.  Svensgaard only has a coastal presence.  I have amassed 1067 credits from killing mindworms so it's time to rush some of those Hybrid Forests.  I need to get an air defense going.

Details stylistic update

stylistic update

The Pirates are starting to bother my southern tip in force, so this is where I'll build an Aerospace Complex.

[bvanevery]

Details no fun

no fun

MY 2262.  I get 2 fungal pops.  My cash is back up to 1144 from killing them.  That was easy, but Zhakarov is going to be more of a pain.  I can't just use mindworms to kill him, because he's got the Neural Amplifier.  Even his probe teams have that benefit, which puts a serious cramp in the traditional use of mindworms to eliminate them.  My X Gatling Marines get used in their conventional capacity to deal with these jobs.  They fight fine as long as I've got a rail.  In fact, a single Marine killed 4 3-Pulse Probe Teams foolishly stacked together!

[bvanevery]

MY 2263.  No fungal pops this year.  Coder's Pit is down to 7 eco-damage and my highest city is doing 18.

Details the things we forget

the things we forget

I don't remember having an Artifact in my home territory, but it started flashing in one of my cities.  I put it in my capitol for safekeeping.  No point cashing it for tech when other factions have better tech than I do.  I have 2 Artifacts on a large continent I can't get to.  The ocean isn't safe with all the Pirates milling about.

[bvanevery]

Details consequences schmonsequences

consequences schmonsequences

MY 2264.  Ok, last year at the last minute I switched to Capitalist, because, reasons.  So I get 266 meters of flooding as a result.  None of my cities are currently in danger at least.  4 fungal pops, but no big stacks, just 4 at a time in a few cases.  Coder's Pit now does 0 eco-damage.  My capitol is now doing 55 eco-damage, so I have to proceed with the next phase of the plan.

Details high flyer

high flyer

Now I can have nukes.  Maybe make a few to pop Zhakarov in the face?  So far the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm is by itself in Baikonur, which I can't even see on my map.  I'll need to launch a Sky Hydroponics Lab to get some intel on Planet's surface.

Details the fighting plan

the fighting plan

I switch to Knowledge.  I'm more interested in my troops being tough than my mindworms.  I won't be capturing mindworms anymore but that's ok, I wasn't usually capturing any anyways.  I lose the use of police once again.  Everyone is happy though.  Eco-damage in my capitol drops to 41.  That's not a big change but I'll take what I can get.  Now I farm the mindworms, repair my coast, and wait for Planet to calm down.

[bvanevery]

Details close call

close call

MY 2265.  The Locusts all decide to fly at my capitol.  They kill all the defenders, just barely leaving an Artifact intact.  I'm not sure why it didn't die along with all the rest.  A long time ago I thought about giving them Trance 3-Res armor as a defense, but I didn't follow through on it.  They are unchanged from the original game.  The rules on capture or destruction of an Artifact, are not at all clear.

[bvanevery]

Details long lost spaceship

long lost spaceship

MY 2267.  My mindworms finally heal up enough to uncover the wreckage of the USS Unity.  Even with my modding of the Chopper to have greater speed and range, I don't think it can make it back to base though.

Data DeCentral is down to 13 eco-damage.  One other base is doing 4.  The rest are doing none.  Does that mean I can afford a chemical attack now?  How many?

[bvanevery]

Details unintended loss of range

unintended loss of range

MY 2268.  My Transport Chopper crashed here, at the end of its 2nd turn of movement.  That's not what's supposed to happen.  I changed the Copter chassis, which is only used for this unit, to Range=2.  I thought that would make it move 2 turns, then start to take damage when landing on the ground the way a Copter chassis usually does.  Well that doesn't seem to be the case.  Seems I've made it behave like a Needlejet, which indicates that the Range values 0, 1, and 2 probably hardcode different behaviors.  I'll need to alter this, as a Chopper that dies that fast isn't going to be much use when discovered on a Huge map.  Maybe I'll just let it stay aloft forever and call it a day.  Or I could give it a range of 4, which is pretty much how long you got with a regular Chopper chassis before it died.  Or higher, if I want to ensure it can get from the boonies to somewhere safe.

[bvanevery]

Details Zhakarov gets cute

Zhakarov gets cute

MY 2269.  I forgot who proposed this, but I think it was Zhakarov.  I'm surprised that Svensgaard didn't go along with it.  It seems the AI doesn't know what's best for the Pirates!  My vote would not matter in either case.  Since Svensgaard voted NAY and has Executive Veto, his will prevails on a divided council.  If he had voted YEA, he would have had the votes regardless of mine.  And I have no ability to influence anyone, because nobody will speak to me.

Details payday!

payday!

I don't mind making some extra cash.  I've certainly walked / crawled far enough for it.

[bvanevery]

Details first in orbit

first in orbit

MY 2272.  Now I can see Planet!

Details University Empire

University Empire

Now I know how the University is disposed.  What a pretty jungle.  Doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to invade conventionally, but he does have Fusion Photonic defenders.  I don't have the weapons yet.

[bvanevery]

Details death is coming

death is coming

MY 2273.  None of my cities are doing eco-damage.  I've got a special surprise for the poorly defended Morgan Industries!  I just realized I don't have air cover the whole way though, so this could be a suicide mission.  Also I have neglected to bring a probe team to steal E5 Centauri Psi, Morgan's one great advancement in the meantime.