Purposefully shooting your own foot. :)

Joe Bourque · May 9, 2000, 15:20

I'm kinda curious if anyone else tends to play Alpha Centauri and Civ type games like I do. I tend not to do things if they strike me as going against the character of my faction, or violate common sense... even if they are helpfull. For example, building tons of boreholes and factory type improvements as Deidre, or raising terrain where I already have a base ("Pardon the earthquakes while we inject fourty billion tons of earth under your house..."). Injecting a little role-playing into the game is part of what makes it fun for me. Now, yes, quite often this leads to lower scores and less butt-kicking power, but it makes me feel better. Anyone else do stuff like this?

Joe
[This message has been edited by Joe Bourque (edited May 09, 2000).]

RedFred · May 9, 2000, 16:00

Yes, playing the role of my faction properly is part of the fun for me. Not sure if that is really shooting yourself in the foot. But if it is, well then...BLAM!!! OUCH!!!... count me in.

Basil · May 10, 2000, 01:42

Me three! For me a lot of the fun is in the story, both the official story and the story of the game I'm playing.

Like you, as Dierdre I often won't build stuff that would be, in game terms, clearly beneficial. Then again, as Morgan I don't worry too much about the ecological consequences of development, so long as it brings in more energy. (If one borehole by a base is good, two will certainly be better - and who in a Morganite faction would be paid to discover that the second borehole has a 47% chance of causing a mindworm incursion over the next year?) As for the earthquakes, out of the question as Dierdre, but as Morgan they're simply a sign of Jobs, and Increased Energy Productivity, and not incidentally of Greater Shareholder Value at Morgan Energy

.

Adam_Smith · May 10, 2000, 08:59

No, I play to win. I haven't even read the SMAC story. It is too hard to pretend that it is real, and if you do it will screw up your perception of reality.

Enigma · May 10, 2000, 16:54

The whole play to win vs play in character idea is completely out of whack vs the AI, the AI can be trounced pretty easily no matter what the circumstances. Unless you design your faction to be bad.. of course.

It is fun using huge numbers of very green attack units

joer · May 10, 2000, 18:11

In cases such as PK or Gaians, I think it makes a lot of sense strategically to act AGAINST your character.

Dee's planet bonus lets her get away with a lot of naughty eco-damaging stuff. And if Chiron really pukes out worms -- all the better. Either capture'em and drop them on at Miriam's gates or kill them with your planet bonus and collect the money.

Lal usually doesn't have to care about any allies, he gets the governour seat in any case. So he can freely gas and nerve staple. Is that genejack factory really against any UN statutes? Who cares, as long as he can pump out more choppers with it.
But would I ever do such naughty things? Never...

I wonder what's against Yang's or Santiago's character. Probably being nice and making treaties.

Oh, yeah, and the stories are lots of fun, IMO. I don't care about reality (hey, I even like Star Trek), I just think the world is neatly designed.

-rambling joer.

Joe Bourque · May 11, 2000, 00:25

I haven't read the SMAC story either. But I do find it more entertaining to play within some form of `story', even if it's just the one I make up as I go along. Actually, this is one reason I like playing on the Earth map in Civ2. It makes the game seem much more real. Hopefully Civ3 will allow those of us who like to do so even more chances for role-playing stratgey games.

Joe
[This message has been edited by Joe Bourque (edited May 10, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Joe Bourque (edited May 10, 2000).]

Adam_Smith · May 11, 2000, 10:33

Ah yes, the old "I wash my hands of the whole UN Charter" Lal; played that role many a time.