Random Events - Do you activate them? - Do you notice them?

[Googlie]

Had occasion in a recent PBEM turn to look more closely how random events are triggered, and I thought it might be interesting to get comments on how frequently you’ve encountered (or noticed) them

Prima’s Guide says:

No Random Event occurs before Turn {75 – (DIFF x 10)} where Citizen is a 0 DIFF and Transcend is a 5 DIFF

Each turn the game randomly picks a base (if there are fewer than 100, it picks between 1 and 99, and if no base – in built sequencing numbering order – there is no event)

If the base is size 4 or less, is the only base of its faction, or if already under a random event time line (e.g. minerals boom for 10 years) – then there is no event

Also, some random events chosen by the 'puter will have no effect, so no event that turn (e.g. Asteroid strikes Nessus Prime - no effect if none of us has mining stations there)

As well, if you roll a really good event while in the top 3 in any category (or a bad one while in the bottom 3 in any category) the turn will pass without incident

The full list is:

Asteroid Strikes base (base is destroyed - never happens to an HQ)
Biology Lab event (planet blight if no lab, +1 nut in all base radius squares for 10 years if a lab)
Bumper crops (+1 nut for 10 years in that base radius)
Childrens Creche event (if none, extra drone for 5 years; if one, pop boosted to that base's current ability to handle based on current food production)
Energy bank event (if none, then all mines in base radius destroyed; if one, then +50 credits)
Energy Market Boom/Crash (if have more than 1000 credits, lose 3/4 if more than 500 but less than 1000, and in 4th place or lower, reserves double)
Famine (-1 nut per square for 10 years in that base)
Hail Storms - only after turn 76 (all solar collectors in base radius wiped out)
Haze and Clouds (-1 energy per tile in base radius for 10 years).
Heat wave (+1 energy for all tiles in base radius for 10 years)
Industrial Boom (+1 mineral in all tiles in base radius for 10 years)
Industrial Collapse (-1 mineral in all base radius tiles for 10 years)
Network Node event (if none, then lose all accumulated research credits - if one, then free tech)
Prometheus Virus (if a research or nanohospital at that base, or if faction owns a *medical* SP (HGP, LV or CI), nothing happens. if not, 1/2 pop is wiped out)
Sea Beetles (all kelp farms in base radius destroyed)
Tidal Wave (all mining platforms in base radius destroyed)
Volcano erupts (never before turn 75) - all terrain enhancements in volcano radius destroyed, and base populations nearby *severely affected* (whatever that means - Prima doesn't say)

There are 2 others

a 20% chance of Asteroid striking Nessus Prime (all mining stations destroyed
a 20% chance of Solar Storm/Flare (all orbital power sats and defense sats destroyed, but triple energy next turn)

Of course, when starting the game, these can be turned off (and most PBEMs do turn them off as they are random, and not skill related)

Googlie

[vitamin j]

I play SP with them on. I like having some element of chance. Though having all your research wiped out because you didn't have one network node can be really bad! Prometheus virus epidemic is probably my least favorite. (An extra incentive to get the HGP.) And of course, asteroid strike can significantly change your game... I think they slightly favor a hard core builder game, since builders are more likely to have the disaster-averting facilities in their bases.
I don't think random events are on in any of the pbems I'm in. I should think a good player's game would probably not suffer too much from them, and the chance is generally just as good that they would benefit, but I understand the reasons for leaving them off in MP. One could argue that having pods off should be standard for the same reasons, but pods are on in every pbem I'm in... Come not between the SMACer and his/her alien artifacts!
My favorite is probably solar flares on alpha prime. I'll usually jack econ up to 100% for that turn...

[Googlie]

I know what you mean re the seed pods. In some of the games I've set up as challenge scenarios I've disabled the techs and artifacts from the pods

It can be such a gamebreaker though (the random event) - in a current 2-player PBEM I'm in we were literally neck and neck for Matter Editation - both 1 turn away. We were both thumbing thru our dirty tricks book, and I was launching ODPs while he was building Planetbusters, then whammo - I lost all research points 'cos there wasn't a node at a base I'd captured

Real bummer - set me back a full turn

Now he'll have the Voice next turn with the Ascent rushed and ready to go.

(But I managed to mind-control his base with a Planetbuster, and it's now in a position to strike at his Ascent next turn, leaving the way clear for me to Transcend )

OOPs - assuming he doesn't read this thread

G.

[TresXF]

without catastrophies smac would be pretty boring. sure, it is a hard slap in your leader's face when an asteroid wipes out an important base - but that's life.

in a mp game i'd activate random events.
i like dealing with the unexpected.

[fluffy]

I always keep random events on, as I enjoy the variety.

>Sea Beetles (all kelp farms in base radius destroyed)
>Tidal Wave (all mining platforms in base radius destroyed)

Has anyone actually had these?? I have seen all the others. Perhaps I haven't seen them because I don't create many sea bases?

[Googlie]

Yeah - I've had both (I do tend to build a lot of kelp farms - the tidal wave destruction was actually a notification of another faction's misfortune

G.

[RedFred]

I like random events in SP. I honestly don't mind them in MP since the element of randomness can keep the game more interesting (...and one player's lead from being too insurmountable). But I agree that it adds a bit more luck to the game.

Prima's guide I wonder about though.

Originally posted by Googlie
Prima’s Guide says:

...As well, if you roll a really good event while in the top 3 in any category (or a bad one while in the bottom 3 in any category) the turn will pass without incident

I am not so sure about this. I am almost positive that I have received positive random events while leading in some or most catagories.

Something seems amiss with the 'sea beetles' and 'tidal wave' random events. They don't seem as common for me as the others. Such as the 'severe hail storm'. It seems almost manditory that I get hit, or the AI gets hit every game. And I don't remember seeing a volcanic eruption in patched SMACX, although I have had them in vanilla SMAC.

Originally posted by Googlie
Asteroid Strikes base (base is destroyed - never happens to an HQ)

For sure I would disagree with Prima here. The ONLY base I have ever gotten nailed was my HQ. Twice.

[wheathin]

I like the minor random events, like +/- 1 nut/miin/energy per turn for 10 turns. Or the prometheus virus and improvement-killers (hail, tidal wave, etc). They add some uncertainty, and more of a realistic flavor to the game.

But I hate the crushing ones: volcanoes, asteroids, loss of orbital facilities, etc. I know they are supposed to balance the game by hitting the player who is in the lead, but those are too aggravating.

As to pods, I don't play with them. I don't like the early unbalancing aspects - I hate being next to Santiago when she gets two extra rovers, synthmetal, and lasers. And i've got nothing but scout patrols. Uh... Re-Start. And I dislike the mid-to-late game scouring of the globe to find the last few pods - it adds too much unpleasant micro-management.

[Adalbertus]

Originally posted by RedFred:

For sure I would disagree with Prima here. The ONLY base I have ever gotten nailed was my HQ. Twice.

I had this once, also the HQ. Initially, Garland Crater was missing on Planet, and the new crater was named so. So I think it was "planned" from the beginning. Was it in year 2312 for you, too? Just curious.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by RedFred

And I don't remember seeing a volcanic eruption in patched SMACX, although I have had them in vanilla SMAC.

They definitely do happen in patched v 2.0 SMAC/X

Seeing a volcano erupt was the genesis for big_canuck's one-turn 20 tile land bridge with connecting mag tubes in one of our PBEMs (he had something like 140 super fungicide rover formers deployed in that tactic that netted him ten or so of Tau ceti's bases the same turn as he moved his invasion force down the magline over the bridge)

G.

[Darius]

Originally posted by Googlie

Now he'll have the Voice next turn with the Ascent rushed and ready to go.

(But I managed to mind-control his base with a Planetbuster, and it's now in a position to strike at his Ascent next turn, leaving the way clear for me to Transcend )

OOPs - assuming he doesn't read this thread

Don't worry, I didn't read this thread until after I played my turn.

By the way, did you guys know that when a probe team activates a sabotage virus against a random target, it can destroy a planet buster?

[Darius]

I like the random events. They're a part of the alien world, like the mindworms. But I agree that in a very close game, about three turns from the end, having your research wiped out is a lot to swallow.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Darius

By the way, did you guys know that when a probe team activates a sabotage virus against a random target, it can destroy a planet buster?

Rats - and there went my ability to destroy the base building the Ascent

BUT

My orbiting sensors detected a lack of garrisons in several Hive bases, so hastily outfitting my shells with drop pods and nerve gas canisters, *Saddam's Elites* rode the Space Elevator and willingly launched themselves into the void clutching their re-entry friction-ablative skidsleds to their chests as they hurtled to Planet's surface

Taking no less than six empty Hive bases, they stripped the best base enhancement for energy credits and called Foreman Googlie to report the spoils.

Sufficient to outfit the elite dozen or so shard antimatter garrison units with drop pods and blink displacers, and then they set to work softening up the Ascent's base before allowing Saddam's Elites to finish it off, many giving valiently of their lives in the attempt.

Their job done, the survivors dispersed along the conveniently left mag lines to the captured bases, then torched them to deny their use to the enemy.

(By far the longest single turn I've ever played - at around 2 hours - had several versions of SMAX running at once as I scenario tested concepts before implementing them - quite a job with the alt/tab, remembering which was the live one)

Only time will tell if the sacrifice of so many troopers was enough, or if it was in vain

(rthere's a short fiction story there somewhere)

G.

[Darius]

Space Elevator! < Darius smacks himself on the forehead > That's what I forgot.

[mrdynamic]

I used to play with Random Events on ... Untill I got hit with the 20% chance of Asteroid striking Nessus Minning Station 3 times in 1 game !!! Sure I was the only faction with NMS, but geez...

[Earwicker]

I almost always play with Randoms "on", but I prefer the builder style - to which it is most accustomed. Most of the time, I give captured bases away to submissives (especially late in the game), so the risk factor isn't as great that the one missing Node will cost half my research.

It also trains me to spread out SP development just in case that asteroid comes smashing down. It is common that my SSC isn't HQ but one very close by. Never seen an asteroid yet, though [touches wood] - what is the radius of destruction?

[Adalbertus]

Originally posted by Earwicker:

what is the radius of destruction?

I'm not absolutely sure, but an asteroid creates a normal crater which is a quadratic area of 7x7 tiles, which I checked from a "Garland Crater" which was there from the beginning. I think, this is also the radius of destruction. Bad news for true ICSlers who can loose up to five cities. OK, for true ICSlers this is <5% of the cities.

When this happened to me, I think I had some earthquakes afterwards, i. e. tectonic movements which washed some of the terraformed tiles, and regularly changed the path of rivers, until about ten turns after the strike. But this also might be due to a rise of sea level which I tried to counter by a solar shade, the tiles I got washed had a height of 10 m.

[vitamin j]

I've been asteroided twice in SP games. Both times I was off to a very good start, far ahead of the closest AI competitor. I mostly just wanted to echo whoever mentioned the not-quite-randomness of the strike. Both times it happened, I used the autosave to go back to various turns. But the strike would come in the same year it had happened originally, every time.

[Adalbertus]

Originally posted by vitamin j:

I used the autosave to go back to various turns. But the strike I used the autosave to go back to various turns. But the strike would come in the same year it had happened originally, every time.

Tried to do the same. It was also reproducible. In year 2312, as I mentioned earlier.

[fluffy]

I wonder if there is a threshold for 'attractiveness for asteroid hit'?

I make a point of never building more than 1 SP in a base nowadays, and haven't seen a single asteroid for months.

Anyone had an asteroid strike with a base with less than 3 SPs in it?

[T-hawk]

There's a number of conditions that need to be met. Going off memory here:

1. The player must be Unsurpassed on the power graph.

2. The player must have caused at least one fungal bloom of eco-damage.

3. The asteroid selects a base, which is the player's best base other than the HQ.

This happens 20 years before the event.

4. At the time of the event, if there is enough room for the asteroid to strike this base and leave a crater entirely on land, it will do so. Otherwise, you get an undersea volcano erupting.

I've never actually experienced an asteroid hit myself, probably because I play smaller maps and never have my best city landlocked to such a degree.

[RedFred]

No, there is no special asteriod magic to the year 2312. The second time I was hit was over 100 years before that. As well, I went back to a .sav five years prior and did some testing. Although I was never able to avoid the strike, by playing differently I was able to alter the year I was hit by several years.

[Earwicker]

Originally posted by T-hawk
4. At the time of the event, if there is enough room for the asteroid to strike this base and leave a crater entirely on land, it will do so. Otherwise, you get an undersea volcano erupting.

Reeeeaalllllly? Hmmmm. That explains a lot of things. I have gotten the volcano in almost every random-events game. Fortunately, it has always appeared on the other side of Planet and never caused me any trouble. I never have a landlocked HQ because sea squares are so good for energy.

[Adalbertus]

3. The asteroid selects a base, which is the player's best base other than the HQ.

Disagree. It hit my HQ.

[gwillybj]

To butcher one of Corazon Santiago's statements:

"Life has been a random event from the beginning of time, and each new frontier has brought new ways and new places to die , and new random events. Why should the future be different?"

Random Events on .