Can someone help my SMAX game skills?

[wgabrie]

I'm not bragging, but I want some people who are super SMAX players to examine my game and comment on how I'm doing, what I should/shouldn't have done (techs, buildings, terraforming, ect...), How to do it in different games.

Now from the self apointed 'plays like the AI' (Yes I have read Vel's Guide.) here are my notes on the game:

I had a lucky start by landing next to the Unity crash and the Dunes. The luck wasn't all the Unity goodies, but the great energy park it makes.

Q: If I don't land near the Unity Crash Site (big energy park), or the Sunny Messa (small energy park), I don't build an energy park at all and end up 'playing like the AI' the whole game from the lack of energy. How can I fit an energy park in? My bases take up most all the room on my continent. (Help me make energy parks when I don't start near those sites)

With Tech I first got crawlers, restrictions lifted, and fusion. Then I went with semi-random techs (what ever tech looked nicest).

Q: What tech b-lines should I go for after those techs?

I'm at war with the Spartans and have started building a bunch of units (not clean), but the Spartans are on the other side of the world, and out of range of my troops. (On their side of the world I have 2 cruisers and a probe team. I'm grabing her sea bases, and buying her land bases.)

Q: Is it a waste to grow my army at this point?

To conclude, I want to know how to get going like in this game and not end up 'playing like the AI'.

I've included the Save file (SMAX-only). Look over it and tell me what I'm doing right/wrong. I could also use some advice on what to do next in the game. I don't know, and I have a short attention span.

[Flubber]

I don't claim to be a "super player" but often regular joes like myself might be able to help. I tried to download your file a couple of times but it doesn't seem to want to unzip for me. I will try again since it is hard to comment without the context. Just to be sure, this is a smaX file and not smac. I will say that my winzip seems to be intolerant of commas in a file name and just doesn't show up when I unzip the dang thing.

1. You did not mention MMI or D:AP but those are important beelines as well-- having read Vel's guide you know all these basics anyway.

2. The value of large scale energy parks are hotly debated-- While there are advocates, there are others that believe that the time and resources expended could be more profitably spent increasing population and using specialists. There are threads and threads on this topic-- do a search under energy park. The reality is that a sea energy park is a often a better investment since it recalls so little former time.

For other comments I will just have to see your game (if I can ever get the dang file open).

[wgabrie]

Trouble unzipping? I have now uploaded the save file unzipped.

If you ever get it opened, I want you to know that this is unusually great game for me. I almost never get this far ahead without an energy park. Good idea about the water energy park; I should try that in another game.

The reason I bring this up is that I want to play Multi-Player games, but I am unsure that I am ready.

I have started an energy park, pop-boomed, and tree farm + hybrid forest everywhere.

Running:
Democracy/Green/Knowledge

[Black Sunrise]

I want to play Multi-Player games, but I am unsure that I am ready.

Play! Play!
They take months and years to play! Start now!
Seriously.
Go over to the MP section, post that you are looking for a game, or are willing to sub, email googlie and state that you want a game, and you'll be in a game in a little bit.
Playing humans ROCKS. Playing the AI is a good way to figure out the rules.

Indra

[Flubber]

I agree with black sunrise-- the best way to get ready to play MP is to play MP -- Jump in--When I get infiltration on a human opponent I see all kinds of things that I would never thought of myself.

[Black Sunrise]

BTW: the number 1 ability needed by a MP: ABility to check email frequently
The number 2 ability: ability to zip and unzip
the number 3 ability: the ability to check board frequently.
If you can do these three things, you should be in MP.

[wgabrie]

Okay, I'll do it ; however, if my base gets taken over by a mind worm in MY 2101, I'll say I told you so.

[Black Sunrise]

Nah, I don't play the cult. It'll get taken by my scout patrol of death.

[vitamin j]

I didn't look at the zip, but I'll weigh in as one who says don't bother with a land energy park. The former time is just too much. If you really have more formers than you know what to do with, go ahead. I would advise crawling condensers instead. A basic farm/condenser will give you 4 nutrients, which will support 2 specialists. Engineers each provide 5 energy, energy which is immune to inefficiency. You'll have a hard time getting 10 energy per square from an energy park. I do crawl ocean energy sometimes, particularly from those sweet energy bonus squares.

[wgabrie]

Originally posted by vitamin j
I would advise crawling condensers instead. A basic farm/condenser will give you 4 nutrients, which will support 2 specialists. Engineers each provide 5 energy, energy which is immune to inefficiency.

I'll have to use that in the future. In the past I have crawled condenser farms, but I have often just placed the two workers on differant tiles.

[DemonPrince]

Here's my humble 2 cents:

Energy parks are too time intensive in MP. ‚e‚�‚’�@the same amount of Energy with less land, do the combo Lower Land/Borehole.

Another useful idea is the Money Specialist/Food combo. Since Gene splicing comes early�@in the game, you want to have seaside bases with Kelp/Tidal plus Aquafarm squares being worked. At four nutrients and two energy a pop(pre-restriction techs) a size seven base can produce with three workers on, and four as Techs. With an Energy Bank, you can produce a minimum of 18 credits from just your Techs, with much more possible depending on your energy allocations, Commerce, and Efficiency. At�@100% Research, Eff 4 plus, this base is pure e-credits plus research, which will compensate for the facility heavy science bases that can truly benefit from this kind of energy allocation(the bases that need 100% research have NetNods, ReaHoss and BioLabs, etc.

And your infrastructure can't be destroyed with a few turns of bombing.

The idea is to specialize. Don't fall into the trap of trying to make every base a perfect jewel. The time and effort spent doing that means that you have fewer bases, and you aren't maximizing your mineral to utility ratio. Sure, you aren't being totally efficient, but you are being ruthlessly effective at the right time in the game.

(Now look at the same base using six ocean squares, pre E-restriction: size 13, 31 creds that are immune to Eff or Allocation, with another 12 energy spent wherever(and boosted by other facilities, and three facilties(Aquafarm, Hab, P-Sphere) and 36 turns Terraforming, plus the cost of you pop boom. For the time and effort of one energy park, you can have ten of these bases, and they will be a hundred times more secure.

And I'm just talking about the minimums here. Try the experiment. And you'll be amazed. With access to better techs, these number will go through the roof.

Techs can be stolen, but e-credits can buy you the empire of your choice. With a few Nerve units, e-credits, and a few probe teams, you can absorb an empire in record time, and still keep the fruits of their labor. Or just buy a large and beautiful number of research facilities.

Sure, the lategame techs lend themselves to other strategies like perfect bases, but the early game is where things really get hot. In MP, if you don't have decisive control by turn 100, the game is lost.

Just a few thoughts.

[Black Sunrise]

A LOT of my MP games seem to wind up with several powers pulling into mid-game, at peace, building up large perfect empires in preparation to smashing the others. Things seem to settle around 150-200, but the thing that pulls you down is finally knowing who gets ganged up on.