Coming from Beyond Earth

[rkade8583]

Growing up from Civ 1 upwards, somehow AC/AX flew under my radar. Seeing everyone compare the lemon that is BE to AC, I grabbed it (and the most recent unofficial patch) and, to put it mildly, I'm lost. Does anyone have any general early-game advice? I flatly refuse to use the "new" factions as I feel they're not as good personality-wise as the "old" ones and I learned the hard way that you need to have defenders in your cities but what else do I need to know about stacks? Do I have to stack-o-doom to get anywhere (god I hope not.)

I read the tv tropes page. I love the story and the leaders. I want to love the game but I need help.

 

[Petek]

Welcome to Alpha Centauri!

This thread contains some tips to get you started, plus some links to similar threads. The articles in the SMAC Academy also contain lots of useful information.

Feel free to post any questions here.

HTH

 

[rkade8583]

So basically I need to turn off blind research but I still would like to know about stacks and also proper city expansion. Is it like Civ 1 and 2 where the quicker the better or is it better to take a more measured approach?

 

[Hightower]

Quicker is better. More bases is almost always more optimal. In Alpha Centauri, maintenance is charged to facilities rather than bases, so you have to be careful not to build too many facilities too quickly. Some facilities, like Research Hospitals, are available early on but are expensive and not worth building until later in the game. Other facilities, like Recycling Tanks, Children's Creches, Network Nodes and Recreation Commons, are essential and should be built everywhere. Some factions are better at rapid expansion than others. In particular, factions with high Efficiency ratings should be expanding fast, as their advantages increase with larger empires.

 

[rkade8583]

That makes sense. I figured there had to be a way to halt rapid expansion to a degree. Now I just need to know about stacks and I'll be good to go.

I loathe stacks-o-doom. I really really do.

 

[Petek]

Stacks-of-doom aren't needed to conduct successful battles, and then can be weak when used by the AI. When attacked conventionally, every unit in a SoD will suffer damage if the main defending unit is destroyed. Artillery bombardments also will damage all the units in a stack. The most powerful attacking unit probably is the chopper, since it can conduct multiple attacks in a single turn. A common strategy is called "chop and drop." Use choppers to take out all the defenders in a base, then use a unit equipped with drop pods to capture the base. Both choppers and drop pods are available after researching Mind-Machine Interface.

 

[rkade8583]

Well thank god stacks aren't feasible. My loathing of them is why I like BNW so much but the logistics of moving all those units is... problematic.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Before you even get to choppers, bee-line for Doctrine:Air Power. Just half a dozen needlejets and you'll be able to do huge damage to the AI if you get their first.

Also, what faction are you playing as? Makes a big difference as to your playstyle. Gaians is a good choice for the newbie, if you go full-on tree hugger mode you can steamroller the planet with your mind worms.

 

[rkade8583]

I'd like to try them all but Planet not attacking me sounds good so probably Gaians. I'm not a hippie but a hostile sentient Planet makes me think adapting is a good idea.

 

[Herfelt]

I'd like to try them all but Planet not attacking me sounds good so probably Gaians. I'm not a hippie but a hostile sentient Planet makes me think adapting is a good idea.

Almost every faction can be played eco-friendly (with the exception of Drones maybe as they cannot use green). The roaming mindworms will still be aggressive, but your clean mineral limit will most likely not be an issue.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

Well, one of the beauties of this game is that any faction can be played almost any way. But for a beginner going full-on Green with the Gains is MUCH easier than say going full-on Free Market with Morgan since the latter requires a more in depth knowledge of the games mechanics to make it work effectively.

 

[Hightower]

Agree. In general, I would advise first-time players to stick with Green economics for the whole game. Using Planned and/or Free Market effectively requires a deeper understanding of the game. (Though the concept of "Planned first, Green later" is at least usable for new players.)

I agree that the Gaians are a solid choice for early play, but it's good to learn other factions as well. The Spartans are probably the most generic faction, and the Peacekeepers and University have relatively easy-to-understand games. The Hive and the Morganites are very strong factions but require skill to pilot, and the Believers are both hard to pilot and one of the weaker factions except on very small maps--though good if you just want an all-out war early game conquest victory.

 

[Mount Suribachi]

yeah, I would suggest the peacekeepers as a solid #2 for new players. Quite easy to win a diplomatic victory, especially if you build The Empath Guild.

 

[Scandal]

gamefaqs.com has pretty throughout guide to SMAX. Basics, buildings, techs and breakdown of strategies for each faction - everything is covered and makes a good read.

 

[Algeroth]

Agree. In general, I would advise first-time players to stick with Green economics for the whole game. Using Planned and/or Free Market effectively requires a deeper understanding of the game. (Though the concept of "Planned first, Green later" is at least usable for new players.)

I agree that the Gaians are a solid choice for early play, but it's good to learn other factions as well. The Spartans are probably the most generic faction, and the Peacekeepers and University have relatively easy-to-understand games. The Hive and the Morganites are very strong factions but require skill to pilot, and the Believers are both hard to pilot and one of the weaker factions except on very small maps--though good if you just want an all-out war early game conquest victory.

As a SMAC newbie I kinda disliked Peacekeepers as they seemed to me rather bland and uninteresting. It took me some time to understood that as a benefit that gives them unmatched flexibility.

Better #2 for new players would probably be Hive, just expand, expand, and bury any opponents under waves of your units. And #3 is probably Morgan, his economic advantage is easier to convert into technological advantage than Zarkhov's.

University and especially Spartans have no direct economic advantage (and they have economic disadvantage in Santiago case) and I would say they are harder to use properly. And I definitely disagree with you on the Belivers - IMHO they can be the strongest faction if you are not playing on huge maps.

 

[Ailedhoo]

Overall for the original 7 the Gains make good start for newbies with their efficiency and with potential of being less impacted by Planet's environment, along with the Peacekeepers who not only have extra votes for the council which can aid in diplomacy but have also potential with extra talent and populace space to be in a surge of intellectual golden ages.

The University is the one after you got hand of game; they are flexible with their research bonuses but the drones and minus on coverts means you need to have your eyes open, though two wonders (the Virtual World and the Hunter-Seeker) can both aid in the long run for the University.

The Spartans minus in industry makes them less when it comes to wonder rushes but their moral abilities and police skills will be useful in playing them aggressively.

The Hive will rely on your ability to maintain energy. Though the ignoring of negative efficiency is useful in allowing you the Planed and Police State civics to maximize both your support and industry you are going to need to focus on finding ways to make up for your economic short terms. The Merchant Exchange could prove aid in this, along with developing your titles to be more energy productive.

Believers are not as weak as pointed out, for they will depend on the occupation: do not underestimate their +2 Support and the potential to use the Democracy civic to downgrade to standard support with raised efficiency and growth rate as oppose to lessening the Support points from standard. The loss in research can be made up by the gain in covert activities (especially if you land near your close rival the University) The minus planet may be issue but you should be removing those fungus fields and use them worms as target practice for your forces.

The Morgan are in my opinion the more challenging of the 7 originals: the limit in population cap will be challenge when it comes to expanding and the minus in support will be issue when it comes to protecting your settlements while developing formers and scouts. On the plus side the energy have potential to grow...