Miriam OCC

RedFred · February 9, 2001, 00:32

Well, it wasn't a pretty victory but I got the job done so I thought I'd take a moment and brag...er..I mean to say...talk...about it a bit.

It was my fourth OCC game. I started my first Baisc One City Challenge about a week ago with Cha Dawn and won on my second try. I also won on my second try with Miriam, unless you count the game that I didn't proceed with due to my random starting location not being on the coast.

Settings were again random maps, directed tech, transcend level, regular-sized planet and other default settings. I played Ironman but not Ironman setting due to the crashes I still get in SMACX. The gang included the Spartans, UoP, 'Borgs, Gaians, PK and Data Angels.

My first attempt was also a Peace victory challenge. It seemed that by 2250 there was a lot of pent-up anger that eventually spiralled out of control during a communications blackout. So this time, after 100 years I was often deliberately at war with a far-flung faction that posed no threat to me. It seemed to strengthen my relations with the others. The Spartans were perfect for this.

I did find the UoP declaring war against me in the endgame due to running Wealth. Zak futilely sent a few green sealurks up against one of my seaformers but no harm done.

My worst military action was due to a late game worm rape. Actually it wasn't worms, it was a big pile of locusts. My single defensive air unit, a wimpy locust, lost against the first one. So I lost a quite a few sea crawlers before I got a R3 chopper built.

I built no boreholes or condensers and only three mirrors to postpone eco damage, but Lal was just out of control which meant some fluctuations in sea levels in the endgame.

The trick, if there was one, was extensive crawler poaching of pactmates' resources. If Aki ever broke Pact, I would have been dead in the water. I just kept pumping out sea crawlers or regular crawlers if I didn't have a tidal harness open. Aki had a bad habit of building sea cities on top of my sea crawlers but I just ignored her.

The only SP I bothered with was the ME and Ascent. Really that is all you need. On my first attempt I got the second tech-doubling one but I just missed it this game. I believe I if I can get either the ToE or the Collider I can build the Voice in a future game; but it didn't happen this time. In fact, I had to use every trick in the book including cash loans from the AI, and inward crawler retraction and redemption to beat Lal. To me, this tainted the victory a bit. So I am going to try it without any loans in a future game. As well I wasn't able to build a hab dome which would have been more optimal.

The game ended in 2321. I only got to 66%, How to Raise a Nerve-Stapled Child.

As with my Cult victory, if anyone wants a .sav of the Miriam OCC, let me know.

Googlie · February 9, 2001, 00:59

Hey, RedFred, YOU da MAN

Miriam in OCC is generally held to be the most difficult to accomplish, so congratulations indeed.

2321 might be a record for an OCC as well (need to check)

:: bowing to the maestro ::

Googlie

Blunderdog · February 9, 2001, 20:22

Nice going, Red!

I'd like to see those save files, if only to marvel at the fine craftsmanship.

RedFred · February 10, 2001, 01:27

Thanks for your words of encouragement Googlie!

You won't have to worry about me getting a swollen head. I know I'm not up there with the top rung of SMAC players yet. In another thread the big_canuk casually mentioned that he has to adjust his energy/research ratio in OCC games to prevent loss of RPs due to the one tech per city per turn truncation problem. I wasn't at that point in any of my four OCC games! The best I've done was RPs that got me a new tech almost every turn at the end of my second Cult game.

I doubt any speed records were broken by my efforts so far. I am convinced that with a bit of luck, a great starting position, and better play that I'll be able to top my regular-sized map OCC time of 2316 with the Cult by at least 10 or 20 years.

Miriam was much more difficult than the Cult in OCC. For me, anyhow.

Blake · February 10, 2001, 05:09

Thought I'd give this Miriam thing a shot.

Standard sized world.

Won by transcendence 2331

Basically played peacefull all game, had landed in a large inland valley (no water access). Specialists used a lot, account for atleast 1/2 of research. Also built small energy park and lots of boreholes.

SP's
WP (Lost ME to the drones)
SC
ToE
Nano Factory
Network Backbone
Dream Twister
Univ. Translater
Space Elevator
Clinical Immortality (I was bored...)
Cloning Vats
VoP
Ascent to Transcendence

Managed to maintain peace throughout entire game, altough as fusion tech came along things started getting really tense so I let everyone take there frustrations out on Domai (who got wiped out eventually).

At start acted as tech broker and just cranked up econ. Once I ran out of econ stuff to build I started on Lab enhancing stuff, stole tech for SC and built it. tech 8 turns. Researched to ToE and built it, tech 3 turns. After getting both Quantum Lab and NanoHospital I switched to FM and got to tech every turn (for about last 8 techs). The tech was so close the difference between tech 1 turn or 2 turn was usually one borehole crawler (once it was a matter of turning a transcnd into a worker on forest+river, altough it shouldn't have made a difference because both produce 4)

Used Worms as cash crop for income in mid game. Arty really rules against natives and Sam Arty cleans out those Locusts like nothing else.

Only lost a couple of crawlers, one to a worm Dee trolled up next to it (grrrrrrrrrr). Dee also enroached a little but I purchased her bases with my worm income and obliterated them (repealed the charter first)

Near the end the AI's started attacking each other and broke there pacts with me and I really couldn't be bothered fixing it, by that stage my island was isolated thanks to mass drownings (heheheh) I managed to avoid vendettas for entire game, except with Domai who was having too much fun being gang banged by the AI's to annoy me.

In preperation for Transcendence I built a couple of really expensive crawlers (I had mineral production over 100), cashed in one for VoP and rushbuyed.

Cashed in other for Ascent, my 11000 bankroll wasn't enough so I switched to Eudo, cashed in some formers which I had got bored of moving and a couple of normal crawlers and made partial payment, with mineral production enough to finish in same turn.

Final score 94%

I could probably have done it a bit faster by keeping Aki and Zak at tech parity and trading with them. And bee-lining to the +50% labs facilties (altough I was bee-lining for transcends and hab dome). Also didn't get ME and for atleast half the game didn't have +2 econ. Ofcourse having ocean access would have also boosted my research but reduced worm income, because locusts like water and I don't like getting drowned.

Blake · February 10, 2001, 17:31

The compete AI list: Domai, Aki, Dee, Morgan, Zak, Roze

Which are the builder crowd, Altough it is possible to be peacefull even with the warmongers, as long as you keep to minimal SE (Demo is usually safe). Especially avoid running Values, because they tend to annoy the AI's no end - strange thing, AI's don't mind much if you run there anti-ideo.

Anyway the SP list, I actually missed out one, the Cloudbase acadamy

First I was the tech leader in my game and had lots of cash. This was because I was using eco-damage induced worm farming (I can explain further on how to do this if you like) and this netted me about 400-1400 credits every turn, which is quite hard to spend. So I cranked labs to 100% and kept my units upgraded, bribed and bought stuff from AI's and not least purchased lots of SP's

The worm farming also drowned all the AI's taking them out of the race, there research stalled at level 7 techs and there production went to hell.

Anyway I'll justify the SP's
WP: I was inland, and got crawlers early. This allowed me to crawl condensors and get my population to 14 very quickly, 12 specialists really helps pre-restriction lifting. The 12 specialists would not have benefited from ME either.
SC: Tech
ToE: Tech
Cloudbase Acadamy: Deprivation, very hard for a landlocked faction to attack a faction with the acadamy. I didn't have to attack anyone anyway but better safe than sorry.
Nano Factory: Half upgrade cost, repair would have been usfull except I had heaps of monoliths anyway.
Network Backbone: Tech and police penalty removed, allowing me to run Demo/FM/Power/Cybernetic + Broodpit and keep some air units without drone problems.
Dream Twister: I built this as I switched to FM for second time, I was worm farming and needed to make up for the 60% reduction in planet bonus.
Univ. Translater: Tech (I actually gave away my artifacts to morgan to cash in for me, don't give to Zak, Zak wont share, you can almost always buy tech from Morgan)
Space Elevator: Econ boost. Didn't have to use it but the orb insertion can be great for landlocked OCC (consider you don't need to research the "gravitonics" tech line to trascend)
Clinical Immortality: No excuse, altough in 20 turns I probably could have ran for Gov.
Cloning Vats: Not deprivation! I wanted it for the pop-boom, the extra transcend every turn was the only thing keeping my tech at 1 per turn. I also researched the tech very late, the MMI branch to the ascent was the last I researched.
VoP: Because I got there first

Ascent to Transcendence

SP's I would have really liked to have are:
ME
Planetary Datalinks
Xenoempathy Dome

The most important thing is to leave some probes lying around in your pact bro's territory, as soon as they research the tech for SC steal it. It's very very bad if Zak gets HSA and the SC tech first, it could be a good idea to set the others against the HSA faction. And remember, sunspots ALWAYS strike when you REALLY need to trade (in my case they struck the same turn as Morgan got applied relativity, sheesh).

RedFred · February 11, 2001, 01:17

Blunderdog, that .sav is on its way.

Blake, I read with interest your approach to the game. My biggest surprise was your list of SPs. A long list! I can see shooting for the WP if you miss ME. I can also see the importance of nabbing the Vats to prevent another faction from declaring a diplomatic victory. ToE and SC are very helpful. Some of the other ones were a surprise.

I am also curious about the other six factions. You mentioned Gaians, Drones, Aki and Zak. Who were the other two?