12-02-2001 20:11									#1
	Vel's guide Support Apolyton

nicely done but leaves some things for granted. For example, the statement 'so there you are with your two pods and scout patrol ...'

From that I assume that it's reccomended to accumulate two colony pods which you then send off with the patrol unit. Which group then, I assume, explores the black areas looking for a suitable place to plonk down a base.

'Suitable' is somewhat self-explanatory but leaves something out. For example - in CivII, the best squares to plonk down a city were green (grassland) or brown (plains) or river trying to include something like a silk forest, grapes, etc into the radius to help growth.

So ... which are the best squares in AC for the base site itself? Moist? Arid? Rainy? Rolling+? River? On a nutrient square? Perhaps on the side of a hill? Or on top? How much overlap is permissible before it will effect growth of either base? Which is more important at first - roads between bases or t-forming the base radius? How many formers per city? Should you set a former upgrading the city radius and then build one and set it on 'automatic roads'?

What about tech priorities? Should you first get techs that bolster your infrastructure before punching up military? For a University faction, which Secret Project(s) would you choose? Given a choice, would you opt for Human Genome or Virtual World knowing you'll probably only be able to get one before the other faction(s)? How many cities building SP(s)?

Cities on coasts. Are trawlers all that helpful? If a special energy square is outside a city radius, can you send a trawler to it to bolster the energy supply?

For your first bases, is building a few rovers a priority over Recycle? Should they patrol in pairs in case they find an Alien Artifact?

Inquiring (newbie) minds crave knowledge of this stuff.

Thnx.

	13-02-2001 04:44									#3
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Lbores,

Good questions all. Tau did a very creditable job of giving good answers. I won't pretend to dispute them but will instead give some rationale as to why they seem to make sense.

Q1) The two pods and a scout refer to a game set up and difficulty that allow the two pods. as mentioned. It also menas by defualt you've got the Look first option enabled ingame play. This is an important option b/c it leads to Q2 below.

Worms inthe very beginning are pityfully weka nad most time unless your slogging through fungus a worm won't be able to pick off you traveling pod or scout. AS a consequence as Tau suggests stear clear of the fungi and set up base in some clearish type land.

Q2) Best base site locations.

Many different schools of thought. Like the discussions though that are parraleling ours inthe SMAC section much is being written over in CIV2 regarding maximizing trade arrows (see energy) from the get go in order to blaze through the tech tree to key advances. Depending on game set up most especially blind or directed research, if directed is chosen it becomes very desirable to maximize energy even at teh early game to blaze your path to key techs of Centari Ecology (formers) and then up to Industrial Auto (crawlers). If blind research is enabled the answer isn't as clear cut.

OTOH it is most important that you have the ability fromthe get go to have the first square worked a 2 nutrient square (assuming you haven't built on a nutrient special). Base growth is important inorder to ICS justlike in Civ2.

Almost always though given the opportunity to build a base on a river, do so aslong as the surrounding squares leave a 2 nutrient available. Later onyou'll want to forest some of the river squares and yield a 1-2-2 which in the early game is a great square second only to a monolith. If one runs FM a farmed rolling/moist w/ river or a rainy/rolling river gives 2-1-2 also a great combo.


Q3) Base seperation. Too many schools of thought and much really depends on your factionof choice. My thought normally is a compromise wherein bases are 3 squares distant from each other. It plays into the mid game where one can decide to work a handful of squares and make specialists of the rest for big time research/energy windfalls.


Q4) which is most important (immediate t-forming)

Roads - naw usually thats a second or third priority.
A normal t-forming approach is make sure you have a 2 nutrient square then forest. This normally means farming a moist square ( or potenially nothing if your lucky to have a rainy) then going about a forest. Hopefully yo've chosen your first square to T-form as a rolling for an extra min. After the 2 nutrient square has been addressed its time for a forest and then maybe go back to the farmed square and polp down a solra collector or go on about building a road to the next base or base site in order to expedite getting your colony pods set up as bases pronto.

Q5) Bolster infrastructure or military

Really depends on the faction and the seeding onthe planet. Go out and explore ASAP. Normally the first few techs are generic and hopefully you know the lay of the land before youcommit one way or the other. No matter the faction you'll want Centauri Ecology for formers and then Planetery networks Beeline includes Net Nodes and Planned SE choice and Probes).

If you need to switch to guns vs butter then next logical choices are Laser tech and then Impact weapons followed by Mobility for classic Impact rover rush.

If looking for butter then continue with build techs to get to Induatrial Auto for crawlers and then upwards and onwards through restrictionlifting techs.

Again adjust your strat depending on your faction and proximity to hostile factions.

Q6) University Secret Project

Nuff said it is definitely VW for practically limitless horizontal expansion free from drone issues.

Q7) Choice between HGP and VW

Tau hit this one right as well at least for transcend level. Many times as empires get largish first citizenis a drone or at best the second citizenis a drone causing an initial riot. HGP is indispensible w/o having to rush build a number of facilities.

Q8) # of bases building SP's

Pretty much depends onthe AI and how active they are building SP's. I wouldn't hazard a guess other than I normally don't like to have more than 2 bases working on SP's as it prevents gorwth in my emprie whilst building the SP's of course they are likely supported by crawler producing bases as well. The initial pahse of SP building causes a pause in empire growth no doubt and the sooner one can get past the first round of SP builds and back to butter or guns the better.

Q9) Trawlers - worth it?

Ohhh Yeah in a big way. Look to them after fusion for a big return.

Q10) rovers or rec tanks?

Hmmm... an interesting question. On the one hand rovers are great for tipping pods and hopefully one gets a couple artifacts. If so they make an ideal source of minerals for cash in. Likewise an Ogre has its uses as well especially once it is damage it makes good sense to cash it in. OTOH tanks have great use. My normal preference is to go former, scout, pod, pod or tanks.......

My guess is depending on the faction and energy available it may make sense to build the tanks but as Tau suggests normally only when energy is available to rush build.

Long winded answer for it depends.

Last Q) Patroling in pairs.

Normally I would say no it doesn't make sense. Instead what I have taken to doing is on my continent I choose purposely to avoid tipping pods until I can set a base up next to the pod. In doing so I am normally guaranteed a benefical pod pop. Sure I may forgo some early benefits but instead of getting some maruading worms I'm more likely to get energy a finished build or the lovely artifact. On the ocean I normally wait until I have trance and flexibility and then patroling with a armored trance transport. I find the likelihood of popping a artifact much improved this way.

	13-02-2001 14:18									#4
	Tired of ads?

Tau Ceti wrote: Most of the time they [Alien Artefacts]will make it back on their own, but if you are in a high-risk area you might want to escort them.

My opinion: Alien Artifacts are extremly valuable, because they represent a technology. This means, in extreme cases, bringing home safely an AA can even decide between winning or losing the game.
They represent (in the early and mid game) the work all Your scientist can do in 6 to 15 turns!
So NEVER, NEVER, NEVER move an Alien Artefact without escort!!!
Especially because AA's seeem to entice mindworms then walking through fungus.

If You find an AA, bring it home, at once, on the shortest way, with an escort, and avoid fungus if possible.

"Starborn, Steelborn"

	15-02-2001 03:27									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

If you are playing builder or hybrid style, then I will have to respectfully disagree with TC and Ogie on the first SP to pursue.

It's gotta be Weather Paradigm first, then VW second. Why? One word, boreholes. With the WP you can make borehoels, drill to the aquifer and raise/lower land as soon as you build it, rather than waiting for the tech advance that would normally let you do these things.

Besides, if you are playing on a large or huge map (which you should be, if you are a builder), then by the time you have the tech for the VW, you should have at least three bases up and running. If you started the WP as soon as possible in the first base (or potentially the second, depending on terrain and specials), then it will be half done or more when you start on the VW in your third base. If you have managed to snag an artifact or two, you can complete both the WP and VW at pretty much the same time.

Just my 2 cents...

	15-02-2001 04:29									#6
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Expanding further on the AA issue - never ever ever pop a pod with an AA - more times than not it will mysteriously vanish. Never happens with other units, but every time with AAs.

Chipping in with my tuppence on the SP issue - the WP is essential for early-mid game growth. OTOH, if EcoEng is available in reasonably short order, other SPs might be given a priority - the 50% terraform bonus is nice, but not essential. This makes it especially valuable, of course, in tech stag games, when it may take upwards of 50 turns to get there....

There are also a lot of good arguments to be made for the VW, however. If you are the University, as others have already said, it is essential - allowing for extreme horizontal growth, and with it a fair few RPs. However, how high a priority it is with other factions is less academic - and depends mainly on your eagerness to pop boom.

The VW is useful if you are looking to pop boom in short order - all you have to do is put a Tanks, Commons, Creche, Node and a couple of crawlers up and you are away to size 7 (14 once you have built a Hab Complex). This can be massively important in your mid-game production levels - once you have a Tree Farm up, each square producing 2 minerals with a pop of 14....I make it 30 minerals. This can, of course, be customized to allow for eco-damage by specialising, which in turn gives you flexibility.

The HGP is probably the most all-round useful SP in the game, simply because it allows you one size extra before you have to worry about drones, and any extra time you get before you have to start thinking in terms of Holo Theatres is a very good thing indeed.

Much of this has already been stated by others, but they are my views on the subject...

	15-02-2001 04:38									#7
	Got spare money?

Another thing not to be overlooked is the HUGE energy saving the VW grants. Consider - for each base to build a Holo Theatre (as they will almost certainly need to at some point), they each have to invest something like 80(? - no details to hand) minerals and fork out 4 energy a turn. OTOH, for a one off payment of 2-300 (? again) you can have a holo theatre for the same price as a Network Node - about half the minerals and the upkeep is only 1. And anyway, you're building nodes in all your bases aren't you?

	18-02-2001 21:48									#10
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According to the Prima book, alien artifacts have a 50% chance of disappearing if you use them to open a pod. I never risk it.

Yes, when playing single-player I save before I pop a pod. My husband thinks I'm a big old wimp for doing this, but I've done it ever since Civ2 days when I got some 'advanced civilizations' in terrible locations that weren't worth keeping.

On which wonder, I haven't seen anybody else mention the reason I build WP first, which is that its effects can't be gotten any other way. If you don't get VW, that's sad, but you can always build hologram theatres if you have to. If you don't get WP, your terraformers are going to be average speed, and that stinks when you're used to the WP bonus.