07-04-2004 15:28									#1
	PLANET rating and Psi Combat Enter the AD-FREE zone

I was wondering about the specifics of how a faction's PLANET rating impacted on Psi Combat.

I understand that for each 'point' of positive PLANET rating the factions receives a bonus to Psi Combat.
- Is this bonus capped at +30%, or does having a +4, or higher, PLANET rating increase this modifier?
- Does having a negative PLANET rating result in Psi Combat penalties? If so, to what extent?

	07-04-2004 17:20									#2
	Re: PLANET rating and Psi Combat Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Trithemius I was wondering about the specifics of how a faction's PLANET rating impacted on Psi Combat. I understand that for each 'point' of positive PLANET rating the factions receives a bonus to Psi Combat. - Is this bonus capped at +30%, or does having a +4, or higher, PLANET rating increase this modifier?

No idea. I think it does go higher, though.

quote: - Does having a negative PLANET rating result in Psi Combat penalties? If so, to what extent?

Yes; the same as the bonus, but in the opposite direction.

Another thing to note: these modifiers only apply when you're attacking. They don't apply if you're defending.

	07-04-2004 17:23									#3
	Re: Re: PLANET rating and Psi Combat Get a bigger avatar today!

quote: Originally posted by GeneralTacticus Another thing to note: these modifiers only apply when you're attacking. They don't apply if you're defending.

Thanks!

Its a bit odd that the modifiers are only offensive though...

	07-04-2004 17:25									#4
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Well, given that the defender is at a big disadvantage in Psi combat anyway, I would imagine they wanted to keep Morgan from being utterly massacred by worm-heavy factions. (I mean, can you imagine taking on a Gaian worm with +30% PLANET bonus, when you have a lesser power rating AND a 30% penalty? It would be insane)

	07-04-2004 17:27									#5
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quote: Originally posted by GeneralTacticus Well, given that the defender is at a big disadvantage in Psi combat anyway, I would imagine they wanted to keep Morgan from being utterly massacred by worm-heavy factions. (I mean, can you imagine taking on a Gaian worm with +30% PLANET bonus, when you have a lesser power rating AND a 30% penalty? It would be insane)

Ah good point. It does encourage you to go on the offensive against other worm-using factions if you make use of Psi though; good to know if I start playing the Gaians or Fungus-Boy.

	07-04-2004 23:41									#6
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If there were both attack and defense penalites there would be no chance to beat Deidre or Cha Down ( 60 percent effective penalty).

	08-04-2004 06:28									#7
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

What are you guys smoking? Of course their is psi defense penalties. Haven't you ever played Morgan with a free market? Late in the game, with minus 30% in psi, playing defense, even with tachyon fields, hypnotic trance, and a lot of missiles, killing the psi with a free market is hard, and playing defense is just outright suicide. Unless, of course, you're like me, and send out fifty formers, kind of like a kamikaze former army, because, besides probe teams, I have nothing else.

	08-04-2004 06:52									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Commy What are you guys smoking? Of course their is psi defense penalties. Haven't you ever played Morgan with a free market? Late in the game, with minus 30% in psi, playing defense, even with tachyon fields, hypnotic trance, and a lot of missiles, killing the psi with a free market is hard, and playing defense is just outright suicide. Unless, of course, you're like me, and send out fifty formers, kind of like a kamikaze former army, because, besides probe teams, I have nothing else.

I rarely play Morgan, to be honest. I find capitalistic societies the least interesting society to play with in SMAC/X (possibly because I live in one?).

Also: the respondents to this thread have noticed that there is a defence penalty already.

	08-04-2004 07:13									#9
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quote: Originally posted by Trithemius Also: the respondents to this thread have noticed that there is a defence penalty already.

This is not what was said. Prior posters have correctly noted that a negative planet rating does not confer a penalty when defending against a psi attack.

	08-04-2004 08:37									#10
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quote: Originally posted by Petek This is not what was said. Prior posters have correctly noted that a negative planet rating does not confer a penalty when defending against a psi attack.

Uh yeah... that's what I meant to say. Oops.

I guess this is a monument to the need to proof-read, or at least to ensure that your hands are typing what your head is thinking.

	08-04-2004 08:45									#11
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It's the best when you have negative Planet rating and are losing everything to hordes of mindworms. Not only do you suffer from penalties in combat vs. native life, but the fungal blooms destroy all your echelon mirrors, boreholes, farms, etc and masses...and I mean MASSES of mindworms and locusts pop out.

	08-04-2004 08:48									#12
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....I still haven't figured out how Lazerus does it.

	08-04-2004 09:26									#13
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How Lazerus does what?

	08-04-2004 14:18									#14
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by Commy What are you guys smoking? Of course their is psi defense penalties. Haven't you ever played Morgan with a free market? Late in the game, with minus 30% in psi, playing defense, even with tachyon fields, hypnotic trance, and a lot of missiles, killing the psi with a free market is hard, and playing defense is just outright suicide. Unless, of course, you're like me, and send out fifty formers, kind of like a kamikaze former army, because, besides probe teams, I have nothing else.

Are you smoking something? There is no penalty in defence, only when you are attacking with psi.

	09-04-2004 07:39									#15
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

Ah, obstructor, perhaps you should try a free market and then get killed by mind worms. I may be lazy on the game, but I know all the concepts. It may change on difficulty levels, but I know for a fact you get penalties, with a free market and -3 planet, its a 30% penalty. No, I'm not smoking anything, if you don't believe me, try it on your computer, I just checked playing the believers and morgans, and big disadvantages late in game.

	10-04-2004 04:40									#16
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I don't want to appear to be harassing Commy, but I think it's necessary to post the correct information. Look at this image:

(The image appears two posts below.)

This is from a game playing as the University, running Free Market. In the top half of the picture, a trance scout attacks a mind worm. You can see the 30% combat penalty due to the negative planet rating. In the bottom half of the picture, the mind worm attacks the scout. This time, there is no defensive combat penalty.

Commy--Can you post a game save that supports your side? Or a screenshot similar to this one?

Last edited by Petek on 11-04-2004 at 16:39

	10-04-2004 04:59									#17
	Got spare money?

Image link not working. I thought the penalty only applied for inter-faction warefare...

	10-04-2004 05:15									#18
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Sorry for the broken image link. Let me try attaching it as a file.

Attachment: combat.jpg
This has been downloaded 58 time(s).

	10-04-2004 10:21									#19
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Perhaps you are right, Petek. If you look in the alpha centauri rules and this is what I saw, I directly copied this?

10, ; Combat % -> Psi attack bonus/penalty per +PLANET

This is only for attack. And there is no line such as this one for defense.

But, I swear I have had defense penalties playing as morgans very late in the game. Numerous times. I remember because that was when I started to do a green economy late in the game so I wouldn't have to deal with it.

Sorry, I don't want to say that I'm right and you're wrong, but I can only tell you what I have seen with my own eyes.

	10-04-2004 10:56									#20
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Next time you see defensive penalties, capture it and share it with us

	10-04-2004 14:29									#21
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Maybe you have a bug Commy? Does penalty apply to attck? If not maybe the game "switched penalty" from attack to defense.

	11-04-2004 05:16									#22
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Perhaps I just accidently thought I saw defense penalties, but they really were attack, since battles happen so fast sometimes, because I can't get defense penalties against psi to happen in any game with free market, which is good, because I can now safely play with a free market without having to worry about totally getting killed by psi on defence. Perhaps it has to do something with patches, because I just literally got Crossfire and all the patches.

	11-04-2004 08:44									#23
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On this specific point: "Is this bonus capped at +30%, or does having a +4, or higher, PLANET rating increase this modifier?"
Yes, in a Psi Attack, +4 gets you +40%, +5 gets you +50%, etc.
The higher PLANET rating does not further enchance your ability to capture natives.