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

[bvanevery]

Details unwitting protectors

unwitting protectors

MY 2339.  I'm within range of Peacekeeper bases.  Unfortunately I do not want to injure the Cult of Planet with chemical attacks.  I suppose that wouldn't be an immediate risk anyways though, given the mindworm defenders.  Maybe the next city has better options.

Details not really

not really

No strike with this plane this year.  I do have 2 Empath gravships coming.

Details better

better

At least my Laser plane is appropriate against these.  I kill 1.  I decide to commit my 2nd X Missile Needlejet as well and kill a 2nd.  I'm wondering if my Carrier will be attacked.  At least it has Trance defense against the Isle and the Locust.

[bvanevery]

Details air bugs

air bugs

MY 2341.  A Cultish Locust kills my Drop X Gravship, which had been flying back from an unsuccessful foray down south to mess with Lal.  I kill what's left of it with my wounded Laser Needlejet.

Details need mo' money

need mo' money

Perhaps my negative cash flow will be temporary.  My Gaian captured bases are nearing max size.

[bvanevery]

Details unimpressive matchup

unimpressive matchup

MY 2342.  My other Empath unit barely survived an attack on an Isle at sea.  I think I need a R-Laser design.

[bvanevery]

Details mindworm sky

mindworm sky

MY 2343.  My planes are badly chewed up and ineffective against the hordes of mindworms and Isles that Lal and Cha Dawn are fielding.  I design an anti-indigenous unit that I hope works better.

[bvanevery]

Details growth spurt over

growth spurt over

MY 2344.  I don't need to pop boom anymore.

Details larvae accountants

larvae accountants

Green actually makes me more money than Capitalist.  Go figure.  Just a slight increase in JUSTICE goes a long way.

[bvanevery]

Details bad fight

bad fight

MY 2346.  The performance of my gravships is poor.  First I lost my older Empath Impact gravship to a Locust.  Then even my new R-Laser gravship did pretty badly against a nearly dead Locust.  I'd say my -2 MORALE Penalty is no freakin' good.  I'm not on offense anymore, I'm just turtling up and getting my minerals production in order.  When my biggest city is ready, perhaps I'll put a Brood Pit on it.  Send my own Locusts out.

[bvanevery]

Details expensive targets

expensive targets

MY 2348.  I've got new weapons and armor available, but not the Quantum reactors necessary to make these affordable.  My most productive base has only a 50 minerals output.  I'm doing no eco-damage.  The downside of that, is I'm making no money.  I'm just gradually spending down the pile of credits I previously got from killing indigenous life forms.  I'm buying more and more infrastructure for minerals and defense, without any increase in revenue.  I suppose I could try stabilizing it with some Industrial Labs to increase my revenues.

Details proper war

proper war

MY 2349.  Cha Dawn declared war on Lal sometime recently.  Their previous alliance was irritating, because they are natural enemies.  In fact, we all are!  Some Peacekeeper bases in mostly Cultist territory are getting hit, saving me the bother.  Santiago unfortunately is still allied with Lal, although I swear I saw them go to war a couple turns ago, ever so briefly.  Now, how am I going to get to Lal, with all this other stuff in the way?

Nuking everyone would seem to be a good tactical option, but I won't win a Diplomatic Victory that way.   I actually think I haven't committed an atrocity against Lal yet.  I think my previous fly-by through his territory was useless, as he was well garrisoned.

[bvanevery]

Details completion

completion

MY 2350.  I've started disbanding my Trance 3-Res Super Cruiser Formers.  They require SUPPORT and they've terraformed everything that doesn't cost money to work on.  I'm not spending any money on terraforming as long as I'm losing money per turn.  I finally caught up with the flooding.  Although my eastern islands still need to sink and be replaced with sea improvements, I'd rather save the minerals and build a modest number of Clean units to work on that.  I may not need it anyways as my bases can still only go to size 14.  I have been stubborn about sticking to my Conquer only focus, even though that's not doing me much good right now.  I have no idea how Lal is doing on tech, but he hasn't started on Hab Domes.

[bvanevery]

Details my foolishness

my foolishness

MY 2351.  Lal threatens to win by Diplomatic Victory.  He almost pulls it off.  This is a problem with letting him build Secret Projects and insisting that I won't, the whole game.  I could have gained many advantages if I'd done so.  I do have some advantages for having conquered cities with Secret Projects, but the vengeance of Planet has stalled me out.

Details odd ally

odd ally

Right after the vote, I got a message that Santiago declared war on Lal.  I guess they're frenemies.

Details researchy

researchy

I'm surprised that Lal pursues Knowledge.  He doesn't have any special affinity for it in my mod.  This may be why Santiago declared war.

[bvanevery]

Details will I win

will I win

MY 2352.  I found a suitable non-AAA target.  I actually won, with only 50% wounds!  I did better than the odds calculator indicated.  Base drops from size 10 to 5.  Spartan bases are nearby, so I wonder if it's been hit with Spartan probe teams a bunch.  The lack of a Perimeter Defense is definitely helpful to the cause.

Details no defense

no defense

Because I am slack, I don't have anything to dispose of an enemy probe team with.  I also don't have any defensive probe teams here, because I didn't expect anyone to get this far.  I start making some Neutronium armored cruiser probe teams.  Santiago may get something now, but it won't happen again.

Details please oh please die

please oh please die

I have wondered if any of Lal's cities would starve.  I didn't see any aquatic infrastructure on a previous flyby.  Maybe these will die?  Lal only has 2 Sky Hydroponics Labs, hardly enough to keep anything going.

[bvanevery]

Details sun shafted

sun shafted

MY 2355.  I think it's been 20 years since I last proposed to Launch a Solar Shade.  If only we could have a nice chat about it.

Actually it was 30 years ago.  I'm slack!

[lolada]

Jeez where's all tha land  Ocean world incoming.

Nice to see AI building psi unit, it really makes it harder to take the bases down. About that probe team - i don't know if thinker mode changed ai in that aspect, but AI seems to gather enough units, "prepare an attack" (AIs in pact will announce they are starting an attack) and then unloads them all - including probes. I doubt they would ever land single probe on its own, but who knows i am rusty with ac.

[Geo]

Details growth spurt over

growth spurt over

MY 2344.  I don't need to pop boom anymore.

I see an airbase and 2 monoliths at sea squares. Graphical glitches?

[bvanevery]

Monoliths in the water are totally normal.  Monoliths are made out of magic.  They can survive anything.

Annoying in that regard, is that the Manifold Nexus is not.  Same guys doing the construction work, but one is shoddy.

Airbases do sink.  Those previous screenshots, the airbases still had land underneath them.  You just can't see it because the airbase graphic covers up the 1x1 island graphic.  Here's what that same region looks like in MY 2355:

Details plane gurgle gurgle

plane gurgle gurgle

Having the airbases sink last wasn't an accident.  I deliberately built them on higher ground, to give me the most time to use them.

[bvanevery]

Details no food for you

no food for you

MY 2358.  Lal's bases aren't starving enough for my taste.  I decide I want to turn the thumbscrews tighter on him.  I'm close enough to having my cities fully garrisoned with Neutronium Cruiser Probe Teams, that I can afford to lose some Orbital Defense Pods and replace them if I really need to.  Orbital warfare tends to favor the defender, typically at a 3 to 1 loss rate, but Lal only has 1 ODP.

Details they shot back with carrots

they shot back with carrots

WTF blew up my ODP?  Maybe their ODP, but the game certainly didn't tell me about that.  I save my game just in case my understanding of orbital combat is abysmal.  I'm not going to lose all 12 of my ODPs for stupid reasons.

Details why must I suffer

why must I suffer

I just lost 10 ODPs to take out 1 of Lal's.  That' doesn't make any basic sense at all.  Why should he have almost unkillable ODPs?  I'm not aware of any Secret Projects that provide ODP bonuses, and he hasn't built the Space Elevator or the Cloudbase Academy anyways.  I'm not going to accept this result, as it smells like a bug.

Details really big carrots

really big carrots

Even with no ODPs, my ODP dies attacking a Sky Hydroponics Lab.  That makes no sense at all.  I restore my saved game and beg off.

I am wondering if MORALE is used for orbital combat?  That doesn't make any basic sense to me, but I do have -2 MORALE.