Alpha Centauri, MP, and custom factions

[JarlWolf]

The Anti-Mind probably recruits worms rapidly is why it gets so many. Plus it having 2+ energy and nutrients probably helps it rapidly garner credits to rush units.

[Kirov]

Pretty rough.  Tends to travel long distances on large maps. Gets lots of captures. Even with mineral costs, tends to get LOTS of units.

Going Green versus it is a necessity. Free Market would be suicide. I would dare say Power as well.

Techs okay, but it is no Zak. Will quickly overwhelm without air power. Unlike the times against Planet Cult, air power is no guarantee it is over. Highly aggressive.

I'm not sure if I'd use air power, at least not against NL. Jets fight at 1:1, scout patrol attacks at 3:2, which effectively negates that hypnotic trance thingy. High speed is a good point tho, it may force you to a defensive mode.

I wonder what SE choices I would make. FM/Wealth is my standard as early as reasonable, obviously at a disadvantage here. Still may be worth it to run this combo and just crank out hordes of scouts. Highly depends on topography.

Also, the Antimind is very prone to losing the race to Neural Amplifier and Dream Twister, which mitigates its two biggest bonuses.

[Kirov]

The Anti-Mind probably recruits worms rapidly is why it gets so many. Plus it having 2+ energy and nutrients probably helps it rapidly garner credits to rush units.

It still needs to forest and mine minerals (only the very last turns of unit production are worth rushing). And as Yitzi agrees, the costs of NL remain the same. Maybe free Brood Pits, Cha Dawn style, would help to alleviate this problem a bit.

[Yitzi]

It still needs to forest and mine minerals (only the very last turns of unit production are worth rushing). And as Yitzi agrees, the costs of NL remain the same. Maybe free Brood Pits, Cha Dawn style, would help to alleviate this problem a bit.

Are we seriously discussing how to make Antimind more powerful?

[Kirov]

Well, I'm not saying the Antimind is weaker than other factions, but the range of situations when it can pose any real threat to a human player is still quite narrow. I was under impression we were talking about a coop MP game here. 2 allied players vs. 5 Antiminds would probably have a rough moment or two (depends if they can contact before meeting in-game), but I still would bet my money on SMACers. To kill a human, you need to give the AI much bigger guns.

[Buster's Uncle]

Off topic for this thread, but all the talk this week about overkill custom factions has me thinking that I'd like to see Earthmichael try an SP against the Scotsn00bs - I'm curious to see if he thinks they're as unbeatable as Name claims.

If he's finds them only ALMOST unbeatable, there's a scenario competition idea there, in the same spirit as the old One City Challenges.  How 'bout it, EM?

[Kirov]

What is this faction, BU?

[Green1]

Well, I'm not saying the Antimind is weaker than other factions, but the range of situations when it can pose any real threat to a human player is still quite narrow. I was under impression we were talking about a coop MP game here. 2 allied players vs. 5 Antiminds would probably have a rough moment or two (depends if they can contact before meeting in-game), but I still would bet my money on SMACers. To kill a human, you need to give the AI much bigger guns.

5 Antiminds would all be permanently at war with each other, so it kind of balances out. In the (unfortunately) unfinished AAR3: Lal Must Suffer, I put 2 caretakers and 2 usurpers in because I thought the 2 of each type would be on the same side and make Lal suffer. But, all 4 were weakened because they were too busy beating the snot out of each other.

I say, as is, the Antimind IS a real threat to a human player. Particularly on abundant life form maps! I may not be on Earthmicheal level (though I am in one MP game with him and will probably find out what EM level is ), but it gives me a challenge. Even Ete says they are bad boys. I think the faction is perfectly balanced. Not Scotsnoobs but about what an Alien faction should be. Tough, but NOT unbeatable.

Now could Antimind handle 2-3 players? I am not sure.

If I was a noobie, I would not want them in my first game, though. But then again, we are all playing Thinker to Transcend level. A lower difficulty Antimind may be a little less terrifying.

[Green1]

What is this faction, BU?

It is in the DL section.

I believe he made it back on another board in response for a request for a "god mode" faction.

[Buster's Uncle]

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=98

I was more directly involved in the creation of the SupahNewbs - though vyeh did all the work as far as stats, and Metaliturtle, who was the beginner who'd wanted a godmode for SMAC(X) in the first place, came up with most of the jokes/personality.  Russia4Life subsequently posted something he claimed was a lot more ridiculously overkill.  RMcD and I picked it up and fleshed it out about a year later - and about a year after that, Imagine a Cool Name did some playtesting of both, and reported that the Supahs, by comparison, were "like taking a pencil eraser to a nuclear weapons fight. Where the SupahNewbs are the pencil eraser. "

If anyone's curious, here's the thread:
http://www.weplayciv.com/forums/showthread.php?538-I-want-to-godmod-SMAC
His playtesting is on the last two pages.

[Kirov]

http://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=98

Hm, in that archive is but a lone PCX file. Where I can find the other ones? It takes several files to properly load a faction, doesn't it?

[Buster's Uncle]

WHAT?  AAAARGH!  Hold on, and I'll fix this.

Okay - try it again at the same address.  It should have the .txt included now.

I HATE when it turns out I've posted a bum file - and 50+ downloads before I find out.

[Kirov]

LOL, I started a game against 6 scots just for the hell of it and no, it is a bit too much. Nukes start to fly in the 20s, first attempts at cornering the market begin in the 40s, thwarted only by nukes straight to HQs... Although I noticed that Scot have techshare 2, which accounts for why they do transcendent thought somewhere in the 50-60s. Anyway, at that time regular factions are still ridicously weak, so I can't see how you can stop an AI from cornering when you just commission you first foil.

There are ways to deal with OP AI in scenarios, like for example deliberately emptying your bases for their air drop, then tech raping and buying the base back... But Scots start with fabulous wealth and quickly get loads of piss-poor techs, so basically you steal Doc:Loyalty and then you die anyway.

[Buster's Uncle]

From what I'm told, you only need one of the scots for that...

[Kirov]

I think it's actually easier with several as they keep each other in check. Of course, once one of them decides to come, it's over. Fortunately they praise my FM... I'll give a single one a try, it's fun.