For anyone fancying a challenge ;p

ellie · January 31, 2003, 04:16

See if you can work out a strategy to rescue this mess (my first attempt on crossfire which i got a few days ago)

save file is at

www.hobut.co.uk/saved.sav

I think basically ive messed it up too much to recover. Done stupid things, such as letting transportation put me off supply crawlers (nomally every spot not worked has a trawler). I have managed to avoid war almost totally but whereas usually i pull far far ahead in the late game and then go offensive. Here i havent got ahead. My only excuse is ive never bothered with sea colonies before and had zero idea how to run them ;p.

Anyway can this game still be won or would you restart?
(I saved this while very tired but If its the right file all my cities will be building nanohospitals and power transmitters And ill be the pirates making 1k per year profit.

Thanks

Ellie

VJ · January 31, 2003, 11:54

I don't have the expansion pack... :/

Googlie · January 31, 2003, 13:38

Hmm - several things:

1) - you are unsurpassed, so it's only a matter of time before the others gang up on you, so you need to upgrade defenses

2) - you can (and should) get your research rate to a tech a turn within five to seven turns

3) - your tech lead is so great that you can afford to go researchless for a couple of turns while you rake in 2800 credits per turn

I played the save for five turns, and might suggest the following:

I went max energy for 2 turns, then rush built everything, so that I could change production strategy

until you get supertensile solids, your bases can't grow beyond size 14, so any food-producing workers beyond 14 are useless. But in those bases where most are working aqua-energy tiles, I started on trawlers (crawlers on a foil chassis) to truck the energy in and will change the worker to a Thinker, for the +1 psych and +3 labs.

In balanced bases I went for best armor fusion AAA trance defenders (the best weapon with photon armor is impact - no cost effect)

I went 1 more year with max energy, then upgraded every aircraft/chopper to shard (now your might is more "Unsurpassed" than ever, if that is possible)

Some seabases adjacent to land need a transport in the base so that you can build then move onshore a former to get fungus removed and forests planted. (or build drop formers, but the trannies are useful in the end game)

At 2315 you are then just 20 to 25 turns away from transcendence, or even have the option of going for a "corner the energy market" win. You can't be elected "El Supremo" as the Caretakers are still around (and I see you did a 'naughty' by selecting just one alien faction when you chose the seven factions).

Conquest would be longer, as the Gaians are strong, as well as the Caretakers.

But you are poised for eventual victory - you just need to choose which path you'll go. Fasttrack for supertensiles, so that you can build Habitation Domes and blow thru the 14 max limit. You'll have to fight at some point, so you might as well get good AAA defensers in each base

G.

ellie · January 31, 2003, 21:48

Nod thanks i misread the rules (it is my first ever game!!)
and thought i couldnt transcend with caretakers around (i didnt mean to pick 1 alien i didnt think it was possible i just like fighting deidre as she does well).

Your spot on, everyone but consiousness declared on me (she loves me cos i throw her money and im demo/cybernetic i guess)

Thanks again, ill try a weaker faction next time

Ellie

Hendrik · January 31, 2003, 22:22

I managed to transcend in 20 turns... turn workers harvesting unproductive squares into specialists, beeline to cybernetic SE, run dem/fm/know/cyber at 90% research 10% pysch for a while (make lots of engineers to keep energy production up). You are at the point where there is very little you can do infrastructure wise to improve your empire, and you are too close to transcend for terraforming to make a difference... so focus on building sattelites.

When you have mineral problems like this with the pirates the best idea is to make some land cities.. build sea bases close to land. Make as many boreholes as you can.

If you were to go a military route I really recommend you get genejack factories, size 14 cities can really easily handle an extra drone, a single NLM unit will quell that drone.

It is worth it feeding any other faction whatever tech they want to not have them declare war, you are so close to transcendance that it doesn't matter.

Oh and get the global trade pact as soon as you can.

Capt Dizle · January 31, 2003, 22:59

Oh and now who thinks they are god of the fast transcend and has to do it with everybody's game????

Googlie · January 31, 2003, 23:21

ROFLOL !!!

Hendrik · February 1, 2003, 00:01

Naw, I am just avoiding doing homework in any way possible