I spent too much time focusing on expansion to get this first.
The Human Genome Project would have been perfect for me, since the Talents (super productive citizend) would have counteracted the Drones.
However the same turn I get a very important tech:
Ind. Automation is a very useful early tech. As you can see it offers up quite a few benefits. The ones that interest me are the Social Engineering change to Wealth and:
Supply Crawlers: these little babies can do three things: Transport a resource from 1 square, transport mateirals from one base to another, or be used to pay for secret projects like Alien artifacts.
Wealth allows me to make more energy per base and lower production costs of built items and facilties, at the cost of morale for my troops.
Now back to further expansion: the fungus I have ignored down south has been causing problems, spawning lifeforms. The fungal launchers can attack cities from afar and blow up square improvements. They need to be taken down.
One of the best things about SMAC this screen. In the buy screen you can pick how much you want to pay. The last five minerals cost 2 credits each, so they are very cheap to pay for if a base is new and you want to make every production point count.
During My exploration I find an Alien Artifact. These things become moveable units, but cannot attack, and if attacked by an enemy, get stolen. When taken to a base these devices can be used for several purposes.
After several turns I get it back to the base, If you remember, I told you that University bases get a free Network Node, meaning I can use the artifact right away, but I choose not to, not yet.
About 50 turns in, I have formers building roads, moving a Colony Pod through a gap int he fungus to make a 4th base, and am planting forests to eat up the fungus. Forests provide 1/2/1 1 food, 2 production and 1 energy. Much better than many unmodified squares. In addition they expand!, And when they expand onto a fungus square, it wilts and dies.
Next I work on my first Level 3 tech, Industrial Automation. This tech gives several benefits, and builds into my first big goal, Tree Farms.
I'm setting up a 5th base close to the fungus, and using my Formers to build forests to eat it and produce production minerals
With a Recycling Tanks, I can maintain a city size of 3 easily. That's 6 production.
Taking a quick look, I decide to get a Secret Project done, These are like Wonders in Civ, they bestow unique bonuses and have a much bigger impact.
One of the things I can do, aside of getting a free instant tech advance, is to spend the node to advance a project 50 points! I decide to hold onto it a while to see what happens.
After Initial scouting, we pick another technology to research. There is fertile land hear the landing area, but there is alot of fungus that needs clearing. We take Centauri ecology to get access to Formers. These units are liek Engineers in other Civ games, but have many, MANY, actions they can do.
I start to move my colony pod south and my discovered rover to the East.
We found the second base, Baikonur two spaces to the south. While this will cause a little overlap, it will make the bases easy to defend and use up all the nearby fertile spaces.
My explorign rover encounters a mass of mind Worms, this games version of Neutral npc units. Mindworms do combat via a special means. I'll go into details later. I go ahead and kill this unit to keep it from harassing me.
I finish the Ecology tech and now have some Formers.
Remember those pods I told you about? They can give bad results as well as good. This pod causes a white blood cell type reaction in the native life and grows a huge mass of fungus.
Not only will clearing the fungus be a pain in the ass, (6 turns per square per former) but thick batches of it tend to spawn neutral units, which harass bases and can pick off unguarded, non-combat units.
So after several more turns I have the nearby area scouted, It seems that the bloom to the south means Ill be expanding northward.
It would take forever to show off this game in it's entirety, so I will spend the next few updates showing off how the early game is played. I'm playing with the University faction.
(Ignore the title, it's the name of the Expansion, which Ill go into later)
After makign planetfall, I have two Colony Pods and a single 1-1-1 Scout Patrol (Those numbers mean Offensive power/Defensive Power/Movement)
The University gets a free bonus tech on Turn 1. I always go with Bioengineering. This tech allows me to build Recyclign tanks, which gives me 1 of every resource. I try to build one of these first in every base.
As you can see, we are on the northern end of a landmass, not near any other players for the moment. I'll go ahead and set up my main base, University Base.
Opening the base window, I can set which squares I want to pull resources from. I can extract from 1 square per 10k people. I have a Scout patrol ready to go below. Every base starts with 10 material points for building. Since exploration is more inportant early on, I leave this be and will work on making a Recycling Tanks next.
Over the next few turns I explore and find a good spot for my second Colony Pod/ You see little pods ont he ground? These contain a random item, from credits to a land rover!
My early exploration is underway and I'm off to a good start.
A fundamentalist faction wary of secular technology. Led by Sister Miriam Godwinson (Unity's chaplain) from the Christian States of America. The Believers' convictions give them a 25% attack bonus as well as increasing the morale of their Probe Teams and their ability to resist enemies' probe attempts. Their eagerness to defend their faith allows each colony to support up to four units without cost of minerals. Because the Believers feel that Chiron is their promised land they get to ecological ratings. The Believers are also skeptical of secular technology, thus their research rate is decreased by 20% and they may not accumulate any research points in the first ten years on Chiron. The Believers prefer Fundamentalist government and may not use Knowledge as a social engineering choice, and for reasons best known to themselves become very upset with neighboring Democratic and Police states; Sister Miriam generally decries them as "Godless". Their founding base is named New Jerusalem. The AI behavior of the Believers tends toward aggression and forceful actions to get what they want. Because they cannot gain technology at the rate of most of the other factions, the Believers prefer to deploy large numbers of technologically inferior troops, overwhelming their foes by force of numbers. They benefit from bullying and stealing tech from lesser factions. They are the only faction that gets a +25% bonus when attacking).
A technocratic faction that values knowledge and scientific advancement above all else, including ethics. The University are led by Academician Prokhor Zakharov of Russia (possibly named in tribute to physicist–politician Andrei Sakharov; the character's name was changed from Saratov early in development), Unity's chief science officer. The brilliant researchers of the University allow them to discover new technologies 20% faster than normal, but the openness of their academic networks leaves them prone to infiltration from other factions' probe teams. Every University base comes equipped with a Network Node base facility for free (Nodes boosts research by another 50% and allows the base to study alien artifacts.) Due to the University's lack of ethics in regards to research and experimentation, the faction suffers from more drones, representing the underclasses' discontent with and distrust of their amoral, well-educated leaders. The University prefers the Knowledge value in social engineering and may not use a Fundamentalist government. They are most likely to go to war with the Believers.
The Gaians are a faction that values living in ecological harmony with Planet and abhors ecological destruction, particularly after the way humanity left Earth. They are led by Lady Deirdre Skye (Unity officer in charge of hydroponics) of Scotland. The Gaians make planetfall with the technology Centauri Ecology. The Gaians' ecological safeguards allow them to avoid ecological damage and to capture native mind worms (they also automatically succeed on their first attempt to capture a mindworm), and their experience with lifecycles and recycling gives them an efficiency bonus. The Gaians also receive one extra nutrient from fungal squares and their infantry units can move through xenofungus with reduced movement penalties. The Gaians are pacifistic and freedom-loving, giving rise to their weaknesses: low troop morale and a lower tolerance for policing. The Gaians prefer Green economics and may not use a Free Market system in social engineering, and look upon Planned economics as little better - which usually leads them to bitter hostilities with the Morganites, The Spartans, and The Hive.
True to its namesake, the militaristic Spartan faction places the highest priority on strength, discipline and combat readiness. Colonel Santiago, a survivalist from Puerto Rico, and a UNS Unity Security officer, leads the faction, and lead the initial mutiny aboard ship. In game, Spartan units receive morale upgrades (making them better fighters) and their disciplined society is naturally tolerant of martial law, allowing two military units to help suppress a colony's drones. The Spartans' skilled military expertise allows them to build prototype units without extra mineral cost. However, the society's devotion to military imposes a 10% penalty to industrial production. (the soldiers get all the best gear, no matter the cost) The Spartans do well with the Power social engineering choice and may not pursue Wealth, They are wary of those who don't choose an emphasis on Power, seeing them as weak and capable of being plundered. The Spartans usually go after nations they deem weak, rich, tech-heavy, or have conflicting ideals, like the Morganites or the Peacekeepers.
Santiago has earned the right to lead her faction, a vicious and cunning ruler. She has lifted her belief of Survival of the fittest to it's apex. In game Spartans can be tough to fight on even terms if they can keep up with tech advances and get sufficent materials to fuel their war machine. That said, without people to plunder or threaten, or losing wars and bases can cause a domino effect, weakening a Spartan player until they are little more than a nusiance.
"Information, the first principle of warfare, must form the foundation of all your efforts. Know, of course, thine enemy. But in knowing him do not forget above all to know thyself. The commander who embraces this totality of battle shall win even with the inferior force."
The story of SMAC begins with a unified crew. They were to depart to the planet Chiron on the colony ship 'Unity' to set up the first human colony. In the hours before the Unity debarked to the planet, all hell broke loose. the Captain was murdered and the many human souls flocked to the various leaders they thought best for survival on the new world below, called 'Planet'
The Peacekeepers work hard to keep the peace through diplomacy and maintaining the United Nations charter. They are led by Commissioner Pravin Lal of India He was the UNS Unity's Chief of Surgery and third-in-command after its arrival in the Alpha Centauri system. The United Nations-style bureaucracy of the faction causes them to have less efficent use of the materials they have, and receive an efficency penality. The Peacekeepers attract intellectual elites and get a bonus Talent (counters drones, the games version of angry citizens) Peacekeeper colonies may grow two sizes beyond normal population restrictions. In votes for Planetary Governor and Supreme Leader, Lal's experience with politics means the Peacekeepers' votes are doubled. The Peacekeepers favor democratic politics and may not use a police state government in social engineering, and neither are they keen on religious dogma thanks to their liberal universalist tendencies. They usually have problems with the Hive and the Believers, who favor Police states and fundamentalist values. Their founding base is United Nations Headquarters.
Pravin Lai had a wife on board the Unity and she dies before she can be roused from cyrosleep.
"As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose thier grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting it's grip on public discourse has begun it's rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you acess to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
One of the best things about SMAC was the divisions of the Factions. Earlier Civ games had little difference between factions. Even the recently releases Civ 5 had minor differences, a special unit type and something else.
In SMAC each different faction is based around a charismatic leader.
The game centers around around 7 Faction leaders (14 with the expansion.) Im goign to go over the orginal 7 over the next few days.
The Peacekeepers:
Faction Leader:
Commisioner Pravin Lal
-1 Efficiency ( U.N. style bureaucracy )
Extra talent for every 4 citizens ( Attracts intellectual elite )
May exceed Hab Complex population requirements by 2
Receives double votes in elections for Planetary Governer and Supreme leader
May not use Police State politics
The Spartan Federation
Faction Leader
Colonel Corazon Santiago
+2 Morale ( Well armed survivalist movement )
+1 Police ( Highly disciplined followers )
-1 Industry ( Extravagant weapons are costly )
Prototype units do not cost extra minerals
May not use Wealth value in Social Engineering
Gaia's Stepdaughters
Faction Leader
Lady Deirdre Skye
+1 Planet ( Environmental safeguards; can capture mind worms )
+2 Efficiency ( Experience with life systems & recycling )
-1 Moral ( Pacifist tendencies )
-1 Police ( Freedom loving )
+1 Nutrients in fungus squares
May not use Free Market economics
The University of Planet
Faction Leader
Prokor Sartory Zakharov
+2 Research ( Brilliant research )
-2 Probe ( Academic networks vulnerable to infiltration )
Free network node at every base
One bonus tech at beginning of game
Extra drone for every 4 citizens ( Lack of ethics )
May not use Fundamentalist politics
The Human Hive
Faction Leader
Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
+1 Growth ( Rapid population growth )
+1 Industry ( Brutal serfdom )
-2 Economy ( Little political freedom )
Underground bunkers ( Free Perimeter Defense at each base )
May not use Democratic politics
The Lord's Believers
Faction Leader
Sister Miriam Godwinson
+25% Bonus when attacking enemies, from the strength of convictions
+1 Probe ( Devout believers difficult to brainwash )
-2 Research ( Suspicious of secular science )
-1 Planet ( Believe Planet is their promised land )
Accumulates no research points until Mission Year 2110
May not use Knowledge value in Social Engineering
If you don't understand what all the bonuses mean, don't worry, you will soon.
Every day for the next week I'm going to go over each faction leader and explain how they play and what they believe in.
Unless you've never played a CIV game, you should know many of the basics. Units are moved with the mouse or directional keys on the keyboard.
Like Many Civ Games, you start off with just a base.
A build screen.
And F1 pulls up the datalinks:
Similar to the Civpedia you see in other games, The Help menus in SMAC are magnificent, coverign every aspect of the game. there are also cross-reference links within each page.
F2 pulls up
The progress of research, very handy to see when you have infiltration. You can see where your enemy is planning to research and counter them.
F3 pulls up
Credit information, Loans, costs of army maintenance and facility maintenance.
F4 pulls up
Detailed City information. what each city is building, it's garrison, and the status of it's citizens.
F7 pulls up:
A detailed Unit listing. covering all units ever built, the status of the design, even how many have been lost.
If you can manage to get a Probe team into another players base and infiltrate their data-links, you can view the data for them as well. this makes long term planning a breeze. Whenever I play verse Human opponents the first thing I do is get infiltration, you never knwo when it will be handy. And the information is VERY handy in a long game.
Tomorrow I'll talk about the different factions that make up the game.
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There are many types of games in the world. I'm personally a fan of fast paced games where the speed of ones reactions are a central part of the game play. This blog will center on games and activities that give the brain more time to think and plan. Personaly I enjoy that moment when I make a move that cements my victory over an opponent, moreso if it takes time for the reality to dawn on my opponent. OVer the next few months I will share and showcase games I find to be the very best at engaging, strategic gameplay. I have a large number of titles I plan on sharing. Feel free to share any titles you would like me to showcase. Here is a list of games I plan on sharign in the near future. SMAC Blood Bowl League of Legends Twilight Struggle Total Annihilation Warhammer Magic The Gathering
This week I'm going to talk about my favorite game, Alpha Centauri.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (SMAC) is a very popular science fiction turn-based strategy video game thats an indirect sequel to the Civilization series. Set in the 22nd century, the game begins as seven competing ideological factions land on the planet Chiron ("Planet") in the Alpha Centauri star system. Alpha Centauri features improvements on Civilization II's game engine, including simultaneous multiplay, social engineering, climate, customizable units, alien native life, additional diplomatic and spy options, additional ways to win, and greater mod-ability.
What is impressive to me is the massive amount of options avalible. Unlike other civ games you can customize your units:
Customize your social system:
Have many, many Terraforming options:
And command a robust spying system:
This week Ill go over the details of this game and why it has such a dominant score on Metacritic and why it's the best Turn based civ game ever made.
