08-08-2005 21:46									#1
	Free drones and drones riots. Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Hi, i got these two "problems" with my SMAC.

First, when i play the Free drones, rioting bases NEVER join, i think i have the 2.0 patch applied, is there anyways to fix this?

Also, sometimes when i conquer a base, the rioting drones turn back the control their former masters, but when the AI conquests one of my base, they never join me back.

Anyone experienced this?

	08-08-2005 23:07									#2
	Put an end to popups!

Regarding your first problem: This has been discussed many times on this forum over the years. The consensus is that the AI never allows a base to stay in drone riots long enough for the feature to take effect. However, the feature does work. I once set up a game in which I played the Hive and the Drones also were present. I deliberately allowed my bases to stay in riots for multiple turns. Eventually, all bases (except my HQ) joined the Drones.

For your second problem: Are you saying that when you don't quell drone riots in conquered bases, they revert back to the prior owner? If so, that seems normal to me. Again, the AI quells drone riots right away, so this wouldn't happen to them.

	09-08-2005 02:26									#3
	Increase the size of your Attachments

What petek said

	09-08-2005 09:55									#4
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Ok, this sucks.
Is there any way to alter the rules so they don't always quell the riots? Cause it'd be more fun if i could get at least some enemy bases to join, that's why i wanted to play the drones.

	09-08-2005 10:33									#5
	Suffering from ads?

You could always keep hitting a base with probes using the "incite riots" option.

	09-08-2005 11:22									#6
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Zombiebaby Ok, this sucks. Is there any way to alter the rules so they don't always quell the riots? Cause it'd be more fun if i could get at least some enemy bases to join, that's why i wanted to play the drones.

It is impossible to get AI bases to defect to you in single player. Inciting riots won't help, as due to bonuses AI gets you can't get make AI citizens to become drones, which is required for a defection. It is hardcoded in the game along with other AI bonuses. You will have to try multiplayer or simulated multiplayer hotseat game to see them riot and defect to you.

	09-08-2005 11:24									#7
	Tired of ads?

Ok, so playing hotseat should do it?

	09-08-2005 11:25									#8
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Yes. It will work against any non-AI opponent since AI bonuses are the ones preventing it from happening.

	09-08-2005 11:26									#9
	Got spare money?

but i could still play against the computer or would i have to play against human opponents?

(i feel like a noob)

	09-08-2005 11:38									#10
	Support Apolyton

None of AI bases will ever defect to you. Only human controlled ones will.

	09-08-2005 15:04									#11
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

I dunno what youse guys are talking about, but I've had a couple of games where my rioting bases went over to the Free Drones (well, before I learned to quell them in a 2 turns or less...

...but back in the day, I had a few bases that went over the to Free Drone Alliance. What sucked even more is that I didn't have a homeland defense seeing as how most of my units were tied up in offshore wars. I've lost many a base to the Free Drone riots, before I learned that Police units are your friends & keep a few offensive units close to home.


Domai and his anarchistic view of society......

	09-08-2005 17:23									#12
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Frankychan I dunno what youse guys are talking about, but I've had a couple of games where my rioting bases went over to the Free Drones (well, before I learned to quell them in a 2 turns or less...

Likeliness to revolt has nothing to do with presence of Free Drones (unless they incite drone riots, but any faction can do that), but the choice of to which faction base will defect does. There is a 75 chance that revolting base will go to Domai. Bases usually defect to nearest AI, but with Drones in game, they are defect to him in vast majority of cases.

But since AI gets bonuses when it comes to dealing with drones, in SP no AI bases will ever defect to anyone, including other AIs. This Drone ability is therefore useless in SP, but with +2 industry and ability to run FM who really cares about that. Your bases can defect to other AIs if you mismanage them.

To test this, run FM and rehome as many aircraft as you can to a base. Your base will have all citizens turned to drones, rebel and defect to nearest AI.

This Drone ability also presents a nasty forbidden exploit for multiplayer, as one can simply force a base of his own to rebel and wait for it to join the Drone player so he can probe rape him with ease.

Did anyone research if the actual chance to defect to Domai is 75 percent? Might be an interesting thing to do.

	09-08-2005 20:21									#13
	Remove this text

quote: Originally posted by Illuminatus Did anyone research if the actual chance to defect to Domai is 75 percent? Might be an interesting thing to do.

In the test game mentioned in my previous post, eight Hive bases defected to the Drones and none to any other faction. I'll see if I can get a base to defect to some other faction.

	09-08-2005 20:35									#14
	Full PM-box? Change here!

True, but were the Drones the closest faction to you? Whenever I made tests in SP base would always go to nearest AI. However I nevere tried it in game with Drones present.

	11-08-2005 05:04									#15
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

I like the drones...+2 industry is nice...

My friend and I were playing hotseat once, he was playing as the cyborgs, and I was playing as the Free Drones...he conquered a base of an enemy rather close to me, and the base, having many drones, defected to me...since we were working as allies against a rather beefed up AI, I kept the base and used my +4 industry (wealth and planned) to quickly build units and facilities...he was doing free market and knowledge...with +5 efficiency, +4 research, and +2 econ, he had researched about 80% of our techs...using his energy and technology, the base quickly was built back up, and then I gave it back to him...

Anyway, it is an interesting idea, to have a research faction doing free market to combine with a heavy industry faction like the drones our hive...if done right, it is a very hard alliance to defeat...

	11-08-2005 20:04									#16
	Increase Your PM Length

Absolutely

The Uni/cyborgs, even Morganites teamed with the Drones or Hive can be very potent.

Did you have human opponents-- teaming up against the AI would be overkill

	13-08-2005 01:12									#17
	Increase the size of your Attachments

The AI was only one faction...one of the aliens, I don't remember which one...anyway, the aliens started with a lot more bases, techs, and formers than we did, and, the AI was given a boatload of Mk1 Ogres...I think we gave them +2 econ by editing the faction file, but I'm not sure...

	13-08-2005 02:14									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

+2 econ won't do the proggie's much good.

	13-08-2005 03:27									#19
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

It'll do them as much good as most other factions. +1 energy/tile.

	13-08-2005 03:43									#20
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

quote: Originally posted by Chaos Theory It'll do them as much good as most other factions. +1 energy/tile.

I think he was referring to the lack of commerce

	13-08-2005 04:03									#21
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Well, then they need the +1/tile even more to keep a decent tech rate.

	13-08-2005 13:24									#22
	Support Apolyton

quote: Originally posted by Chaos Theory Well, then they need the +1/tile even more to keep a decent tech rate.

Not any more than anyone else -- Instead of commerce the aliens get energy based IIRC on the number of facilities they have

	13-08-2005 18:21									#23
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

They get .5 energy per facility and 2.5 energy per secret project. For much of the game, this amounts to 0-1 energy per base, plus a small kicker per SP. This is nice before factions have made contact, but is quickly dwarfed by commerce, assuming a reasonably peaceful world.

	13-08-2005 20:27									#24
	Get a bigger avatar today!

Although, seeing as the aliens don't usually have many friends, I guess its only fair, since otherwise, they wouldn't recieve commerce anyway...

Energy grids have many advantages...they aren't dependent on war, and they can pay the maintenance for atleast half your facilities (until research hospitals)...

But, I'd still rather have commerce than energy grids...

+2 economy is very important to the aliens, as after the first few turns they tend to lack in technology, and I've rarely seen them do free market...if it weren't for the fact that they start with 3r armor and can easily research particle impactors in 2 techs, neither alien would be that threatening...