Mind Controlling Worms - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.37

[bvanevery]

Details my extensive library

my extensive library

MY 2274.  Zhakarov has had it for awhile.  Don't know how long Morgan has had it. 

Details poor academic preparation

poor academic preparation

It was a size 2 base.  I'm surprised Zhakarov didn't build a Pressure Dome.

Details a simple matter of conquest

a simple matter of conquest

It only took 1 chemical attack to knock out Morgan's 1 Plasma defender.  I attacked a hapless Former conventionally and then took the base.  My Transport sailed into safety from the Pirates, and I killed an unarmored Impact Squad next to the base.  I'm totally vulnerable to counterattack on land.  If Morgan doesn't end this now, then that's probably it for his west coast.

Details ridiculous

ridiculous

Data DeCentral jumped from zero to 18 eco-damage because of this one attack.  I suppose I wait to see what mindworms show up.  I might also have trouble fighting my way out of here, if I'm unwilling to use chemicals again.  What a war style!  It's like constantly running out of ammo, or supply.

[bvanevery]

Details heaping it on

heaping it on

MY 2275.  I refrained from chemical attacks this turn.  That cost me 1 Marine outright and left a 2nd all but dead.  Despite my kindness, Data DeCentral climbed to 26 eco-damage, and my southern tip city is doing 9.  Otherwise no eco-damage, go figure.

Details what do you think of that, Planet

what do you think of that, Planet

My Transport ran home empty, under cover of my Needlejet.

Details WOW!

WOW!

My southern tip city jumped from 9 to 53 eco-damage!!!  Planet not only hates Obliterations, it probably counts how many citizens were killed.  40k citizens = MASSIVE eco-damage.  Data DeCentral similarly jumped to 70.  Many other bases are doing various levels of eco-damage now.  It's widespread but not quite ubiquitous.  I'm in for serious hell next year.

Details kowtowing to Planet

kowtowing to Planet

Think I'd better try to mitigate this by going Green.  That cuts my income in half.  My southern tip city drops to 18 eco-damage.  My capitol to 23 eco-damage.  Some other cities have various lesser amounts.  I'm still gonna get wormed but that doesn't sound nearly as frightening.

[bvanevery]

Details Marines do the most dying

Marines do the most dying

MY 2276.  Now the funny thing is, I didn't get any fungal pops at all this year.  Go figure.  I lost 3 of my Marines.  I've got 3 more X units to bring in, and that'll be "it" for the old school units.

[bvanevery]

Details zippy probe teams

zippy probe teams

MY 2277.  It seems that others have been learning hovertanks.  My own next research is next year.  Have I been neglecting tech theft elsewhere?  Well, I never did infiltrate the Pirates.  Too far away, too difficult to reach safely.

Details before atrocities

before atrocities

I lost all my Marines that went inland.  Not surprising considering they were unarmored.  I made them when I thought I had naval control of the region.  I didn't think I'd have to scoot around dodging Pirate ships.  I'm preparing for payback with a 3 unit X contingent.

Details after 2 chemical attacks

after 2 chemical attacks

The 1st chemical attack jumps my eco-damage to 39.  The 2nd raises it to 54.  That rise is widespread through many of my cities, not just my capitol.  Is there a point at which one declares, this game is ridiculous?  What phenomenon is this supposed to be modeling?  And don't forget: it all goes away if we legalize it in the Planetary Council!  Dumb.  Just.  Dumb.

[bvanevery]

Details one little bitty village

one little bitty village

This is just bogus.  30k people dying shouldn't be making the planet fall off its freakin' axis.  If this had anything resembling truth to it, humanity would have died out in the time of Ghengis Khan.  Ok ok, this is the 'truth' of a sentient planet.  And it's complete BS.  If it were easy to get into the game binary to fix this, I would.

I had 1 fungal pop this year.  It only brings 1 mindworm and 1 Locust.  That doesn't make much sense, if I'm supposed to be doing such bad things.  And if what I'm doing is trivial, why the flooding?

Details supposedly more mitigation

supposedly more mitigation

I completed this with a lot of cash and my 1 Artifact in my homeland.  My capitol is now down to 21 eco-damage.  I'm not sure how much is due to this secret project.

Details unacceptable expense

unacceptable expense

I sent an R-Laser Interceptor against the Locust, and my plane just died.  I recall that being a pattern in past games, and a reason why I don't typically send planes to deal with Locusts.  In my last game, I had the Dream Twister giving me a big offensive bonus.  I also found that Air Superiority was not needed to attack a Locust, that being able to fly was sufficient to attack a Locust on the water.  I wonder if my odds improve with a plain R-Laser Needlejet, no Air Superiority?  I will make one and find out.

Details actual adversaries

actual adversaries

I figured out the mystery of whether my eco-damage is 'serious' or not.  I couldn't see the bulk of the mindworms until I moved around some.  I've got a couple of stacks of 9 units.  Ok gimme money.  I end up with 1142 credits.

Details administration

administration

I'm making a bunch of Research Hospitals to keep my growing population happy.  That's pretty dull compared to my earlier visions of blitzing everyone with chemical weapons, or nuking them!  It's 2 AM and I find myself rather bored with this game.  Chemical weapons haven't gained me any advantage compared to conventional ones.  I'm quite sure I could have taken out the Morganic west coast.  Getting into chemicals, makes me fearful of Planet's retaliation.  Which ironically, sends me scrambling to produce "eco appeasing" stuff, that keeps me from producing combat stuff.

The most substantial thing I've accomplished, is making the Copter chassis longer range.  I'll sleep on this game tonight, but come tomorrow, I may call it quits and find something better to do with my Life.

I can't tell whether the AI really fought better this game, or I just shot myself in the foot, wasting resources on more expensive chemical weapons that don't really do any good.

[bvanevery]

Details will I get nuked

will I get nuked

MY 2279.  Ok why continue this game?  I think the runaway tech trajectory the University is on, is interesting.  Partly it's because they're on the Monsoon Jungle.  Partly it's because I deliberately accelerated the Discover part of the tech tree.  A Discover oriented faction should be able to achieve a breakaway speed of tech, if they're left alone.  It didn't happen for the Cyborgs, they got squeezed between powerful factions.  It could have happened for the Gaians but didn't.  Perhaps the Cult of Planet provided enough pressure to keep it from happening, although not enough to overcome the Gaians.

Details finishing the job

finishing the job

Morgan Metagenics is defended by a nearly dead Clean Trance Scout.  I could destroy the city if I could just get units down there to do it.  It's just barely out of Needlejet range.  I suppose I could build a Carrier and move in and out of port to slightly extend my range, but sending my existing X units is faster.  I tried to ride the rail lines this turn, but enemy units were in the way, so I got back on my boat.

Details Pirate waters

Pirate waters

The Pirates have experienced huge growth, 3X what I've managed.  I've never infiltrated them because they've been too far away.  I don't actually know if they're doing interesting things with tech or not.  Recently they've established some sea bases just beyond the Morganic west coast.  I bet I can sneak some Cruiser Probe Teams down there, particularly after those 2 Morganic cities are gone.  Finally, for AI testing purposes, I should find out what they've built in the absence of Clean Transports.  I could do that using the Scenario Editor, but doing it in-game preserves my options.

[bvanevery]

Details mild poppage

mild poppage

MY 2280.  I get 2 fungal pops.  The western clump has a stack.  The eastern one doesn't.  I start the year with 1301 credits and 18 eco-damage in my capitol.  After killing the mindworms I have 1901 credits.  Perhaps I don't need much of an ECONOMY right now.  However, changing to Police State or Extremist drops my income from 50 to 21, without obviously providing much advantage.  I stay Democratic.

Details not this time

not this time

The Manifold Nexus is sinking!  If it goes underwater, it doesn't work anymore.  And as far as I've seen in any game, raising it back up again doesn't fix it.  So this is going to have to become high ground.

Details obstructions

obstructions

Pirate ships milling about the coast, keep my Cruiser Transport from reaching its target.  I retreat and cover it with an Interceptor.  I do have 2 planes to do a continuous rotation with, so long as my ship is within 9 squares of my southern tip city.  I make a conventional attack on the coastal defender sitting on open terrain and kill it.  The one in the forest is too tough for me to take out conventionally, and is not worth a chemical attack.  The purpose is accomplished however: I am able to ride the rail down to Morgan Metagenics.

Details avoiding responsibility

avoiding responsibility

Now here's a conundrum: is it better to make a conventional attack and then Obliterate a medium sized base, or to depopulate it with a chemical attack and then Obliterate it?  The last time I did a 40k Obliteration the eco-damage was completely awful, so I'm going to try a chemical attack this time.

Details exotic action at a distance

exotic action at a distance

My attack drops the base from size 6 to size 2.  Eco-damage in my capitol climbs to 28 and affects most of my other cities as well.  Well that's better than the 40k Obliteration was, but I'm also at +3 PLANET this time so I'm not sure if circumstances are equal.

I take the base and its population drops to 1.  I scrap a Naval Yard, an odd thing to find in an inland Morganic city.  My Elite unit is healed from taking the base and has 1 move remaining.  I ride back up to my Transport and get on the ship.  I send a Unity Rover from the ship to perform the final Obliteration, as it is less valuable than the X Recon Rover.

Details can I please kill just a few of them

can I please kill just a few of them

Eco-damage in my capitol rises to 34.  Acceptable.

Details Planet Pearl bonanza

Planet Pearl bonanza

With all the money I've made killing mindworms, I rush 2 Pressure Domes and the rest of the Research Hospitals.  I still have 953 credits.

Details a Truce with Infamy

a Truce with Infamy

Belatedly I realize that the Cyborgs are close enough now to infiltrate by land.  I have extra AAA Trance 3-Res units, so I send one of them into the fungus to prepare the way for a probe team.  It encounters a Morganic speeder, which I have to take out with a mindworm.  And it stirs up a native mindworm, so again another mindworm.  Finally I run into a Cyborg Scout.  This is a busy patch of fungus!  It seems that minor atrocities aren't so implacable to the unaggrieved after all.  It'll last until, presumably, my next chemical attack.

Details just barely

just barely

I make it to the Cyborg base with 1/3 move remaining.  The Xenoempathy Dome is pretty useful!  Most of my missions would have been blocked if I hadn't had it.  Since the Cyborgs are Pathetic, they don't have any techs.  This is more about being able to see what I'm invading someday.

[bvanevery]

Details I like your drowning

I like your drowning

MY 2281.  I get 2 pops with stacks of Locusts in them.  I have to kill them all individually because an Interceptor with Air Superiority does not kill a whole stack.  I wonder if a SAM ground unit would?  SAM naval units would definitely kill entire stacks last game if they were over water.  I also find that Hardened units are ineffective against Locusts.  They will wound them, but the Hardened unit will die.  Only Veteran or better will kill them, and they'll only just barely live through it.  My Interceptors were quite disappointing and I lost 2 of them.  This is all with a +3 PLANET rating.  I don't have enough expendable units, so 3 Locusts are left at full strength, and 1 more is nearly dead.  I rise to 2065 credits from killing them.  My capitol is now doing 28 eco-damage.

Details assured defense

assured defense

I start building a SAM Gatling Artillery in my capitol, which I know can harm entire stacks of Locusts.  The downside is I don't get Planet Pearls from any units I kill that way.  In other cities, I stubbornly build more Research Hospitals and Industrial lads.  I don't like being pushed around by Planet, and this money should have a use.  I made very poor use of it last game.  I'm able to build 8 such labs and I still have 305 credits left.

[bvanevery]

Details limited projects

limited projects

MY 2282.  The Pirates start building the Longevity Vaccine, giving me more motive to steal from them.  I get 2 pops but thankfully they're the ground stack kind.  I rise to 1472 credits killing them.  I rush 3 more labs, leaving me with 812 credits.  My capitol is still doing 28 eco-damage.  Once I've got troops, if the mindworms are still at it I'll build Centauri Preserves.

[bvanevery]

Details recombination

recombination

MY 2283.  No pops this year.  I design a ground unit to take out Locusts.  Is this the key to killing a whole stack of them and getting the money?  I don't know.  I need to make some appear, so I can find out!  My capitol is still doing 28 eco-damage.

Details damned if you do, damned if you don't

damned if you do, damned if you don't

A mere 75 meters before it was going to sink, I raise the Manifold Nexus.  Only to discover... it gets destroyed by raising it too!  I'm down to +2 PLANET now.  I don't know if my Farm helped it disappear or not.  I suspect the Nexus is a terrain feature rather much like the Monsoon Jungle, capable of going <poof> if the land is raised.  Which is, like, completely and utterly stupid.  I thought having it drown was bad enough, but this, this is ridiculous.

Details oh fickle U

oh fickle U

I notice the University is not making a Planet Buster anymore.  Their Monsoon Jungle homeland is also getting pretty trashed out by the flooding.  I think this answers my question: no, I'm not going to get nuked.  The AI isn't going to manage enough concentration to get the job done.  Yes, they'll have a productivity increase and yes, they could build a Skunkworks somewhere to speed a nuke along.  But what's really going to happen, is they're going to sink into the water, and the Pirates are going to bother them.  They're not friendly anymore, they went to war again some time ago.

I'm officially tired of this game and pulling the plug on it.  The gratuitous loss of the Manifold Nexus was the last straw.

Would the Pirates nuke me?  Let's take a look in the Scenario Editor and find out.

Details Ulrik's secret toy

Ulrik's secret toy

50 turns?  I think the answer is no, they will not nuke me.  Not before I realistically did whatever I wanted to do to them.  At a minimum, infiltration and intervention.  The AI can't focus that well, and, I haven't fully solved the Pirates' SUPPORT problem.

Details life without Cleanliness

life without Cleanliness

At least they didn't build excessive numbers of Transports.  22 doesn't seem unreasonable for an empire as large as theirs, and they haven't lost that many of them either.  I suspect that without the Clean Transport fixation goading it on, the Pirate AI decides that Isles of the Deep are a better option once they become available.  I've definitely seen Isle obsession later in the game.  Whether that's good or not is debatable, because they can be a darned nuisance as base defenders.