Communications blackout!

Ned · February 20, 2003, 22:38

Communications blackouts are great! The reason they are great is because you can nerve staple all your bases without suffering any sanctions. (But see the caveat below.) This, in turn, permits one to run any SE setting without psych.

What I typically do is run Democratic/planned during blackouts in order to pop boom. Alternatively, I switch to free market even though I might have a significant number of units outside my borders that would ordinarily cause drone riots.

The blackouts are long enough so that if one nerve-staples one's bases immediately upon the blackouts occurring, one can provide a second nerve stapling to all all one's bases before the blackouts expires so that the nerve staple in effect will extend approximate ten turns into the "communications restored" period.

In order to nerve staple, one must have a police rating of at least 0. This means you must switch out of free market before (the next turn) one can impose nerve stapling. The Data Angels have a default to police rating of minus 1. In order to nerve staple, they have to switch to Police State in order to get their police rating to at least 0.

The caveat: Do not to nerve staple captured bases. Even though communications blackouts theoretically prevent the word of the nerve stapling from a being broadcast, the former owner of the capture base still learns about it anyway. I have had the misfortune of having even submissives become permanently hostile after inadvertently nerve stapling one of their captured bases.

Bkeela · February 21, 2003, 03:55

I had a particularly irritating case of sunspot blackout the other day. I had been in a war with Miriam for ages, and had finally battered her down to one base. I was dying for communication restoration so I could get her to submit, but a my other damned submissive, the Gaian's, had some mind worms heading straight for Miriam's undefended base. I had to cancel my pact with Deidre so her units were sent back home, meanwhile upon restoration of communications, she got *****y with me, and it ended in war. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Anyway, how long exactly do the blackout's last? Is it 20 years?

Bkeela.

MariOne · February 21, 2003, 06:18

UP TO 20 years.
I think I experienced some as long as 17-18, but also others as short as 9-10 years.

Major Guz · February 21, 2003, 06:50

During Sunspot (comm blackout) you can also nerve gas one of your opponents without the others learning from it and imposing sanctions on you

. However the opponent you just gassed will be your enemy forever (and pollution/eco-damage still happens, also during sunspot).
If you use Planet busters however the others will notice [the big hole your PB just made] and will declare war on you at once.