04-07-2005 13:22									#1
	Neat little trick..? Increase Your PM Length

I don't play as Santiago very often, but I ended up with her tonight on random. I kind of experimented with my gameplay this time (instead of doing the massive invasion and relying on momentum) since I was stuck on an island, and I found something really neat for Santiago:

1/1 Infantry with 2x Police powers! They're cheaper than facilities (better than holos too, imo), gives you turn advantage in the early game or during base captures since you don't have to wait (or waste lots of EC) for your facility (these guys usually only cost 1 turn, or 50EC), and you can hoard them up if you're afraid of losing a few.

Any thoughts on this strategy? And any neat tricks you guys use?

	04-07-2005 16:49									#2
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Yes, my main PBEM that finished last month, I used a custom faction which started with +2 police. And in the endgame together with Thought Control (I had the Cloning Vats) I kept pop 11 sized bases happy with 2 police units, a rec commons and the longevity vaccine. Didn't need psych allocation whatsoever.

	04-07-2005 17:33									#3
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Happy as in no red faces at all or just no riots ?

	04-07-2005 20:21									#4
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Oh, everything above 8-9 pop was covered by thinkers or economists, except those bases where my 'choppers were stationed, which were good for policing as well.

So I had all workers and specialist bases, with now and then the odd drone quelled by a talent.

	04-07-2005 20:54									#5
	Re: Neat little trick..? Suffering from ads?

quote: Originally posted by cal_01 1/1 Infantry with 2x Police powers! They're cheaper than facilities

if you think they are cheap think about the price of nerve-stapling

	05-07-2005 02:05									#6
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But think of all those poor drones!

	05-07-2005 02:38									#7
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quote: Originally posted by Sebed if you think they are cheap think about the price of nerve-stapling

No commerce?

	05-07-2005 06:44									#8
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Nerve-stapling doesn't cost anything, true, but it only serves one purpose...drones...

On the other hand, having 1-1-1 police garrisons serves two purposes, police and defense...

1-1-1 won't stand up to much from a faction, but as the Spartans with +2 morale, they're great for worm defense...and they serve as police...

Not only that, but you can always upgrade them to better garrisons later...

IIRC, nerve-stapling starts to stop working after a while with SMAX...

	05-07-2005 07:00									#9
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..... and with just a rec commons, and 10% psych, and two 1-1-1 police units, your Spartan base can grow to size 7 with no drone problems!!

(unless it's a captured base, of course, where the psych doesn't help for the first ten turns or so after capture)

	05-07-2005 07:30									#10
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The only major downside I could think of is supporting these units. However, you typically start off with supporting two free units anyway, so it probably won't hurt that much.

edit: And where are the other tricks you guys have? :P

	05-07-2005 07:54									#11
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You say you want more?

	05-07-2005 07:57									#12
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edit: By the way, is Cha Dawn a guy or gal?

	05-07-2005 08:10									#13
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A puppet...

	05-07-2005 08:11									#14
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quote: Extracted from the Alien crossfire manual The Cult of Planet (led by Prophet Cha Dawn) The leader of the Cult of Planet appeared under mysterious circumstances a few years after Planetfall. Though clearly just a young boy, he claims to have the Word of Planet in his ears, and promises to lead his followers to a cleansing jihad, making them (and the will of Planet) supreme. The Cult has little interest in material things, causing a general economic slowdown in their faction. However, they are supremely in tune with Planet, and have better capabilities with native lifeforms than even the Gaians. They get a free Biology Lab in each base upon discovery of the appropriate technology, and their people are so in awe of the native life forms that mindworms count double for police duty.

	05-07-2005 11:22									#15
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quote: Originally posted by Googlie

Wow. I thought Cha Dawn was a woman all this time. How androgynous.

	05-07-2005 11:49									#16
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quote: Wow. I thought Cha Dawn was a woman all this time. How androgynous.

So, you're gonna change your avatar right now?

OT^TM

	06-07-2005 03:00									#17
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Nah, I'm an asian guy, so it fits.

Well, to be more on topic, I'm trying to find more unorthodox strategies. I was thinking of running University with Police State in order to absorb the extra drones. Has anyone tried this?

	06-07-2005 05:17									#18
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quote: Originally posted by cal_01 Nah, I'm an asian guy, so it fits. Well, to be more on topic, I'm trying to find more unorthodox strategies. I was thinking of running University with Police State in order to absorb the extra drones. Has anyone tried this?

people have tried pretty much EVERYTHING but I haven't seen anyone write on that combo so heck do some tests and write it up as to what you find . .. Do you plan to play perfectionist or more an ICS style since the lower efficiency will hurt with added b drones earlier plus you will hit inefficiency losses that much sooner

	06-07-2005 06:29									#19
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quote: Originally posted by cal_01 Nah, I'm an asian guy, so it fits. Well, to be more on topic, I'm trying to find more unorthodox strategies. I was thinking of running University with Police State in order to absorb the extra drones. Has anyone tried this?

Well there's always Yang

	06-07-2005 10:16									#20
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quote: Originally posted by Barinthus Well there's always Yang

Hah, that's true. However, I'm not too good with University since I find it hard to go aggressive with them for some reason.

	06-07-2005 11:39									#21
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Why do you want to go aggressive with the University?

	06-07-2005 13:51									#22
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To try something new, I gather?

	06-07-2005 14:33									#23
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Hm, okay.

Next time I might try using the Believers for a tech win

	06-07-2005 15:16									#24
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Simple, let them run demo.

	06-07-2005 23:30									#25
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger Hm, okay. Next time I might try using the Believers for a tech win

But going back to the original post, sounds kind of like me. I'm running Police State and once I convert to Planned I get +1 Planet. I gotta remember to take a screenie to show youse guys...but lately when I try making a screenie, the only thing I get is a black image with the dots of the other faction units.

	06-07-2005 23:31									#26
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quote: Originally posted by GeoModder Simple, let them run demo.

I'd like to see Lal run Police State...now THAT would be something...

	07-07-2005 00:04									#27
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Yes, my Spartan game used to be very, VERY weak until I learned to take advantage of the improved police rating. The money, minerals and time you save by utilizing police state plus cheap garrisons is precisely enough to help overcome the crippling Spartan industry penalty.

Being a builder by nature, it was very difficult early on to adapt to the anti-construction Spartan playstyle, but what I did is got into police ASAP, then shifted gears toward IA. All the while pursuing a policy of ultra-thin expansion. Once IA was grabbed, I whip out PTS for an instant faux pop-boom. At that point I'll typically leap to the front of the population race, and can use that extra size to either bully my immediate neighbors, or begin a second wave of expansion and pave the world.

The other nice bonus of the police-heavy Sparta is that bureaucracy limits rapidly become meaningless, as your cheap police units and rec commons ignore superdrones (as opposed to psych).

	07-07-2005 00:26									#28
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Of course, Free Market is a hands-off setting then.

	07-07-2005 03:12									#29
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Yes, absolutely. I'm not a big fan of combining Free Market and Police in any case, as the efficiency hit dissolves a good portion of the cash you get from Free Market, and the police problems of Market eat the best benefit offered by Police.

I typically like to go Police/Planned/Knowledge with Sparta. The high police rating, as I pointed out, makes b-drones a non-issue, and a healthy sprinkling of specialists can take care of your cash and tech needs.

Free Market doesn't suit Sparta for other reasons, as well. First of all, the industry penalty and inability to run Wealth make building the infrastructure necessary to maximize your benefits from a high energy income very difficult indeed. The Spartans need to live up to their namesake, and only construct such facilities as they absolutely require: Commons, Command Centers, Genejacks, Tree Farms.

Besides, staying in Market means you're forgoing your innate strengths as well, namely your crack military troops. Free Market thrives with good trading partners, and a good Spartan needs to stay aggressive. To be sure, once you've realized gains in a war of conquest and have reaped the benefits of your momentum strategy, you can switch to Free Market/Demo and still retain your lead, but you're never going to TAKE the lead without a campaign of aggression. Doing that properly means building lots of bases which in turn shall support lots of troops.

	07-07-2005 08:49									#30
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quote: Originally posted by CEO Aaron Yes, absolutely. I'm not a big fan of combining Free Market and Police in any case, as the efficiency hit dissolves a good portion of the cash you get from Free Market, and the police problems of Market eat the best benefit offered by Police. I typically like to go Police/Planned/Knowledge with Sparta. The high police rating, as I pointed out, makes b-drones a non-issue, and a healthy sprinkling of specialists can take care of your cash and tech needs. Free Market doesn't suit Sparta for other reasons, as well. First of all, the industry penalty and inability to run Wealth make building the infrastructure necessary to maximize your benefits from a high energy income very difficult indeed. The Spartans need to live up to their namesake, and only construct such facilities as they absolutely require: Commons, Command Centers, Genejacks, Tree Farms. Besides, staying in Market means you're forgoing your innate strengths as well, namely your crack military troops. Free Market thrives with good trading partners, and a good Spartan needs to stay aggressive. To be sure, once you've realized gains in a war of conquest and have reaped the benefits of your momentum strategy, you can switch to Free Market/Demo and still retain your lead, but you're never going to TAKE the lead without a campaign of aggression. Doing that properly means building lots of bases which in turn shall support lots of troops.

Sounds like you have a play-style like mine.

For me though, I tend to go Demo/Planned with Spartan since the efficiency effects cancel each other, and I get a nice growth bonus out of it. Later on, I might switch to Fundie if I feel evil and see that my +2 Morale bonus isn't enough to completely crush my enemies.