No Survivors, No Secrets - SMACX AI Growth mod version 1.42

[bvanevery]

Details watery grave

watery grave

MY 2233.  Doesn't look like anything Morganic will ultimately escape destruction.

Details organic assist

organic assist

MY 2234.  Due to my Knowledge, I capture my 1st spore launcher.  I think I'll go pop pods with it.

[bvanevery]

Details first victim

first victim

MY 2235.  Looks like my spore launcher is more useful for checking on fungus I'm trying to cross.  After killing the 1st unit, I find a 2nd unit in another square.

Details second victim

second victim

MY 2236.  Good old fashioned make them Walk The Plank.

Details third victim

third victim

No more Morganites in the western ocean.  They have one base in the eastern ocean, behind the Spartans.  If only the Spartans would take care of it.  I can't count on that, so I'm sending my fleet through the passageway.  I'll shell the Morganites as I pass, to make it easier for my X Recon Rovers when they arrive.

Details wiggly

wiggly

With my Knowledge I capture my 1st mindworm.  This Socialist thing is turning out not to be so bad!

[bvanevery]

Details mindworm travel

mindworm travel

MY 2237.  Who says mindworms move slowly?  The rift puts me in Gaian territory.

Details escalation

escalation

MY 2238.  The Gaians are fielding Impact Cruisers.  I can't win artillery duels with those.  I have Impact tech myself, I just haven't made a prototype yet.  I'm just letting my current fleet of Laser Skimships do damage and get chewed up.  They've accomplished their primary objective, which was to keep off the Gaians while I ferry units over to the mainland to kill the Morganites.  I've even got Formers being ferried over now.  Secondary objective is to screen for enemies while my Foil Probe Teams find places to steal from.  I'm closing in on some Cultist sea bases.

Details interference

interference

I'm surprised the Cultists are still active in the region.  They killed my spore launcher.  I have to retreat and work around the problem.

MY 2339.  A Cultist mindworm shows up near me and I have to kill it.  Then I have to wait around to heal up.  This means my X Recon Rovers are not getting down to target to do their job.

[bvanevery]

Details out of time

out of time

MY 2240.  Well I gave Morgan a crippling blow, but I didn't wipe him out in the time allotted.  I have my doubts that the Planetary Council will legalize the job, but I'll try anyways.

Details as I figured

as I figured

I will not displace Lal as Planetary Governor anytime soon either.  He's on the other side of the map and I presume he has plenty good land sustaining his burgeoning population.  This can only happen if Lal wants it to happen.

[bvanevery]

Details can't get through

can't get through

MY 2241.  Santiago is fielding too many Impact ships.  I try hiding 3 of my puny ships in fungus, hoping they give enough defensive advantage to wound the assailant and let my other 2 slip past.  I don't know if that's enough to take out the Morganic sea base.

Details conventional conquest

conventional conquest

MY 2242.  I take one of Deidre's sea bases, that was about to produce an Isle.  I don't want to obliterate it.  It's not just the sanctions.  It's that once you start down the road of committing atrocities against a faction, you have to completely wipe them out.  Otherwise in midgame they will nuke you.   "One at a time" is the way to proceed.  If I felt stronger, I might attack multiple enemies in parallel, but I don't feel that strong.  I can't really keep up with others in tech, despite having built decent infrastructure.  All I really want right now is to penetrate Deidre's front line and steal more techs from cities I haven't looted yet.

Details stymied

stymied

MY 2245.  That's pretty much the end of rooting out the Morganite sea base.  Hope the Spartans deal with it.

[bvanevery]

Details Deidre got wise to me

Deidre got wise to me

MY 2248.  Bearu did warn that the cost of mind control would go up.  Seems to have happened.  Deidre is also a Green Police State, so she's got +1 PROBE.  My mere Foils are not going to outrun this Cruiser, so I embark upon a campaign of mindless sabotage.  I notice that Deirdre has also learned C4 Single-Sided Surfaces since just last turn.  At what point am I going to be satisfied with tech and just cash my Artifacts?  Maybe when someone gives me Doctrine: Air Power and I've managed to make forward bases that can use the planes?  I don't know.  This is turning out to be logistically more than I expected.

Details cruiser probe exploit

cruiser probe exploit

My probe teams have a higher base MORALE than ordinary units, due to +2 PROBE.  I am thinking if I combine that with a Naval Yard, maybe I can make Elite Cruiser Probe Teams?  And maybe if I put some armor on them, enemy naval units will have a very hard time killing them.  Maybe they'll actually be able to sail to their targets without anyone being able to stop them, taking out weak enemy ships along the way.  So I'm going to make those kinds of units here.

[bvanevery]

Details researched

researched

MY 2251.  I wanted to steal this from the Spartans, but instead I researched it myself.  I suppose from a total productivity standpoint, it's good to be able to produce some things yourself.  I'm currently caught up with stealing from the Gaians.  I've not even infiltrated the Peacekeepers, they're very far away.

Details find the wimp

find the wimp

Recently I stole the Cultist map.  I still can't see much of Peacekeeper territory.  They must be occupying the big black blot in the southwest corner.

Details take the monolith

take the monolith

I have been completely unable to bring my X Recon Rovers to their city targets.  Of the 6 I built, 4 are dead.  I've been unwilling to make chemical attacks in the field while other factions are watching me, as the penalties for doing so are far too onerous.  Both the Cultists and the Morganites have heavily tromped on this region.  It's really only my Knowledge finally providing me with another mindworm, that has broken the stalemate.

I'm realizing this overland approach was a pipe dream and would never work in a sunspots timeframe.  It turns out that logistics are the 1st step in establishing an invasion.  The final taking or destroying of the bases is the 2nd step.  Whereas, attacking by sea with obliterations was fairly fast and easy.  Only the most remote Morganic sea base escaped my grasp.

[bvanevery]

Details counterprobes

counterprobes

MY 2252.  I had a probe defender.  They always end up over here, which is darned annoying because those Cruisers are patrolling and like to kill my probes.  I used a probe to kill one of their probe defenders, and then a Cruiser killed it.  Then their probe came to sabotage my base.  That's not such a big deal, but if I make the jump to 11 techs ahead, this base is suddenly going to be a theft liability.

Details can't break them

can't break them

This monolith is way too popular with Morgan.  He keeps bringing every unit he can think of up there for training.  His spam has worn me out.  I will have to retreat and try to fight him where it's easier to see him.

[bvanevery]

Details decamping

decamping

MY 2257.  The Cultists decided to show up a couple of turns ago.  They preferred to attack me rather than the Morganites, even though I tried to get out of the way.  I can't hang here.  At least the rail I completed, is on neutral territory rather than my territory.  That means the AI probably won't think about tearing it up.

Details naval hack

naval hack

My first Elite Cruiser Probe Team is underway.  I made it with 3-Res armor, which might have been a mistake.  I did have 3-Pulse available mid-production and forgot to change it.  This is better if I'm facing an Isle, but Impact ships have been more common.  My next unit will be 3-Pulse.  Now I need to sail to one of the other factions and pick up C4 Advanced Military Algorithms, which seems to have become popular lately.

[bvanevery]

Details why not sooner

why not sooner

MY 2258.  While stumbling around trying to provide some offshore artillery for my last two X Recon Rovers, I caused an Isle to surface.  Finally I captured one.  The oceans are pretty clean of supply pods, so I don't think this will do me much good.

Details stolen factory

stolen factory

MY 2260.  The Spartans provide me with part of what I need.  If I can really spam some high grade chemical weapons, then I think the atrocities will be worth it.

[bvanevery]

Details changing hands

changing hands

MY 2261.  Deirdre's Fishery is about to be liberated.  I don't want to be holding onto this anyways.  It's going to be a theft risk.

Details die Morgan!

die Morgan!

Looks like Santiago is finally going to take over that sea base.  I actually attacked it with my last remaining Laser Skimship a couple turns ago, and died.  Santiago had already weakened it with artillery.  Maybe I did make a contribution to its demise after all.

[bvanevery]

Details enjoy

enjoy

MY 2262.  At least nothing will get stolen from it.

Details relief

relief

Morgan is down to the 2 land bases, I believe.

Details Spartan skirmishing

Spartan skirmishing

Somehow I managed to use the Monolith last year and not get my X Recon Rover killed.  Not sure I can do that again.  Maybe the Spartans will finish these last 2 Morganic bases off and I needn't worry about it?

[bvanevery]

Details atrocious acts

atrocious acts

MY 2266.  I finally thought, ok, let's get this party on!

Details one wiped

one wiped

2 hits on the base and it's gone.  I need to heal somewhat before attacking the last base.  It currently has only 1 defender.  I wonder if the Spartans will think to take it?  It might be good to keep them off that land mass though.

[bvanevery]

Details Cultists are better

Cultists are better

MY 2268.  I steal C5 Doctrine: Air Power and B4 Environmental Economics from the Cultists.  It stings a little that they're out-researching me, especially since I have Knowledge.  Is it about who they were friends with?  Nowadays most hate them, but they're allied with the Peacekeepers.  It's bizarre and shouldn't last.  Maybe they've just been begging the Peacekeepers for tech.

Details had enough of you

had enough of you

MY 2270.  Taking advantage of a moment of enemy confusion, I end the charade.

Details this is how we do it

this is how we do it

That obliteration cost me 40 years of sanctions.  They're really stiff about this.

Details 116 bottles of Morg on the wall

116 bottles of Morg on the wall

I suppose the game could still be going on 116 years from now, but it would mean I did a bad job.  And I wouldn't need anyone's money then.

Details terms of empire

terms of empire

Who will Santiago and Cha Dawn go after, now that Morgan isn't an attractor anymore?  The Cult is at war with the Gaians.  Otherwise, they hate me.   

[bvanevery]

Details polluter

polluter

MY 2271.  I've got some serious eco-damage in some cities. I rush a Tree Farm on this one.  The rest will have to wait until next year to complete the first 10 minerals.  I had 1000 credits, possibly from conquering Morgan, so rushing is not a problem.  Right now I don't need new tech, so much as I need to get my existing infrastructure under control, by spending money.  Planes are also going to need Aerospace Complexes.

I have a probe team en route to Deirdre to steal B4 Planetary Economics.  After that we'll see if anyone has more tech for me to grab.  Zhakarov has D4 Intellectual Integrity.  He is slowly working on the Universal Translator and will never finish it.  I don't want to ruin our alliance, as he might yet be useful as a forward air base.  So, I won't be getting that from him any time soon.  At least it implies that others are unlikely to learn the prereqs for the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm.