03-06-2004 00:00									#31
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

How is SMAC on the ICS scale, anyway? Is it like Civ2 where you'll definitely win if you're the only one to ICS, or is it more like Civ3 where ICS is a viable but not unbeatable strategy? Or is it, as I suspect, somewhere in between?

- Kef

	03-06-2004 01:38									#32
	Inflate your Upload Space

Jamski, do you use FM in the runup to IA when playing as University? UoP gets there so quickly it seems like a waste to lose 80 ec's and +industry to run FM for 3-4 turns.

3 bases, 4 formers, maybe a colony pod, then IA arrives and you still don't have enough formers or colony pods. It's a tough call when you've only 3 bases whether to stop expanding to build a supply crawler. It's an easier call to make under Planned / Wealth when they pay off in 12 turns.

It seems like that the whole game. D:AP and MMI race by and you're still building formers. Planned / Wealth seems the only way to keep up -- at least until you're ready to "sprint" through the tech tree and no longer care about "keeping up".

Is Planned / Wealth for UoP really speeding up my infrastructure building, or is it just slowing down the technological pace, creating the illusion that I'm building faster?

Does it matter that Manifold Nexus is allowing more efficient fungus trolling and the occasional capture? I've gotten very lucky with the UoP games in that I've managed to capture MN early in every game. FM seems more attractive without the Nexus turning Planned into "Green-lite".

	03-06-2004 06:06									#33
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

If I had the MN and the XED, I'd go Planned.
Without both of those things, I'm a little suspicious.

FM gives techs like crazy, and it is a decent infrastructure tech, but I'd go Planned in the early game to max out my bases and to pump formers.

Playing as Uni, If I get the HGP (and ideally the VW) I try to go FM.
With the HGP I stand a chance at GAbooming under FM.
Need I tell you what Dem/FM/GA/Wealth does for your economy?

With such a setup I'll go ICS. -1 support from Dem means nothing when:
1. You have the tech rate to race to Bio-Engineering
2. You've got 4x the bases in the same area

Uni's 'drone penalty' means nothing on Transcend with the HGP. All of your units bar the first are drones (the first becomes a Talent) anyway.

	04-06-2004 05:56									#34
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

In my first "beeline to IA" Uni game I missed a couple of SP's, but in my second I so far have them all.

(Deidre might build XED because it's out of my tech path, but she hasn't yet.) Update: Lal gave me the tech.

I went Green after Vats so I could "tech sprint" (reallocate energy to tech without penalty, purposely allowing infrastructure to fall behind.) Update: paused the "sprint" to get funds for super former upgrades.

Before Vats I told myself "as soon as I run out of SP's to build I'll relax on Planned and hit the Market."

Techs were coming about as fast as I could build SP's, though, so there always seemed to be an SP in need of building.

Last edited by Santiago_Claus on 04-06-2004 at 20:51