Dune Wars : Game 2 - Arrakis. Desert Planet.

[AnotherPacifist]

Sigh, Ahriman, you're acting increasingly like Rhye when I told him about my "exploits." It's no fun that way...

 

[Stochastic]

It doesn't look like Slvynn is going to get a chance to play, so if no one complains, I'll take the next set in 6-7hrs.

Edit: OK I'm playing 10 turns now

 

[Stochastic]

Inherited turn 300:
Look around, looking good. I set up some signposts to advertise groundwater that needs wells.

Turn 301:
Heterodus tells us who is most powerful

Spoiler :

That's right! We're number one!

Turn 302:
Liquid Fuel in –>Industrialism for Factories
Arg, one turn more to unload, then we can crush the harkonenn for good!
Also, Liquid fuels is in, I recommend we try to build some bombers so we don’t have to wait on the Mortars when attacking Wensica.

Turn 303:
Lost a crysknife in the inbetween turn to a sand worm due to a unlucky last move that positioned immediately adjacent to the worm
Our first Mentat is finished.

Spoiler :

We haven’t talked this over, so I choose Industry Specialty (+15 hammers and +15% hammers with Sapho Juice)

The other options are (all including the SJ boost)
Civic Specialty (+3 happy and health with SJ)
Espionage Specialty (+10eps points +15%eps poins +150 eps defense)
Finance Specialty (+5gpt +8%gpt)
Military Specialty (+5xp)

Looking these over, I think the Industry is probably more useful as we are trying to build up an army that is technically superior to our opponent. So it is hard to get quantity and we don’t have to worry much about quality.

It seems like over all the worst is probably Civic, the +3 happy and health does not seem to be that great when it is rare to be hitting either cap (health especially) and we are running a terraforming civ where those caps are most likely to be met.

I might look over our cities and go for one finance Specialist just for variety, but I expect to get at least one other Industry specialist.

Finally, is it just me or is it kind of weird to have mentats, self proclaimed generalists in the book, to be specialised?

We invade the last Harkonenn outpost!

Spoiler :

Our mighty retributive force:


The remains of the last Harkonenn settlement:



Mwahahahah!

Though we lose one shield fighter. I consider burning Tarifah Gap to keep maintenance down, but decide to keep it as it provides 2 additional sources of polar ice as insurance against infiltrators/invasion as well as a base for fighters/bombers to attack the corrino cities.

Turn 304:
Wensica asks us to DoW on Tleilax, I say no thanks to pestilence!
Mentat #2 done in Chapterhouse –>Industrial Spec as well
However, looking at the mentat in Sietch Tabr, I don’t think it is working properly. It is producing the building “Milidary Mentat Sapho” despite being an industrial mentat. Bug detected?
See image for details:

Spoiler :

Turn 305:
Financial Mentat done in Gara Kulon

Turn 306:
Industrialism in go for Vendettas so that we can get Feydakin soon.
Technocrat founded in Garhabudula. Lookout. These Harkonenn names are harder to spell than the Fremen ones!

Turn 308:
Vendettas in–> Assault Doctrine
Set research to 0% to build up gold to upgrade Crysknife fighters to Shield Fighters.

The rest of the set was pretty standard, just building up troops
I’m constructing forts near wells that are on our borders to get the full cultural benifit.
I’m also constructing forts near the Corrino border to hold Bombers. These will need Guardsmen defense when we stock them up.

We should be able to declare early next set once we’ve payed to upgrade the crysknives that are lvl 2 or better (looks like about 1/2)

edit: Woops! Need the save too

 

[Deliverator]

Heterodus tells us who is most powerful

We should really update the historian names to be more Dunish. There are a handful of names we can use: Harq al'Ada, Bronso of Ix, Hayt, Palimbasha, Tagir Mohandis, Hadi Benotto (the fictional author of the Dune Encyclopedia)

Finally, is it just me or is it kind of weird to have mentats, self proclaimed generalists in the book, to be specialised?

I mentioned this in the mentat mechanics thread. It is a bit of a fudge. Perhaps we should use the term Focus rather than Specialty?

Looking these over, I think the Industry is probably more useful as we are trying to build up an army that is technically superior to our opponent. So it is hard to get quantity and we don’t have to worry much about quality.

It seems like over all the worst is probably Civic, the +3 happy and health does not seem to be that great when it is rare to be hitting either cap (health especially) and we are running a terraforming civ where those caps are most likely to be met.

This is pretty much the first feedback we've had on Mentats, so thanks. As usual everything is open to change and refinement if there are better suggestions.

 

[davidlallen]

Good suggestion on replacing the historian names. I will figure out where those are in the game code next week.

A few people have commented on mentats with specialties. I am not sure renaming it to "focus" really addresses the objection. As Deliverator said, any suggestions for different mechanics are welcome. Some details of previous conversations can be seen in the mentat mechanics thread in the sub-forum.

I had planned one or two other things for mentats but I never went back to them. I had planned a diplomacy mentat, but we never agreed on how it would work; mentats are not invisible and cannot enter enemy territory, so they should not travel to enemy cities. I had also thought about a mentat which would make captured cities more productive immediately. Some sdk code is required for that, but since I learned about "build culture" in captured cities, this seems less important.

 

[negyvenketto]

Lost a crysknife in the inbetween turn to a sand worm due to a unlucky last move that positioned immediately adjacent to the worm

I only move them 3 out of 4 tiles in desert and if I found a worm move 1 tile back.
Since they can move only 1 tile, never catch me.

Though we lose one shield fighter.

With that amount of siege
I always sacrifice mortars to do collateral on defenders (like cats in BtS) and never lose a city rider unit. (Or only against high odds.)

Set research to 0% to build up gold to upgrade Crysknife fighters to Shield Fighters.

I decided not to do that before, because it is very expensive. But we can upgrade mortars now. I think that would worth it.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

Well it looks like I'm up again. I'll play between 10-20 turns.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

0. I don't think we're quite ready yet for war. Some workers are still at the frontlines building forts and our western border isn't strongly fortified yet. I think I'll turn science back up until we get Fedaykins which are much stronger against rollers and missile launchers that the Corrinos have stacked up.
We also need more space ports for easy transportation of troops to our newly conquered cities.
Used a great techman to build the Art of Kanly (100% military production) in our capital. Also send another techman to our capital so we can use him for the War Codex (-50% war anger plus more great Burseg emergence)

1. Art of Kanly built. Even without a factory we can build a shield fighter in 1 move.
2. We have terraformed 1% of the planet with our first catchbasin built!

Um, I wasn't quite sure why we're building Quizarate priests, because spreading Quizarate will eliminate other religions in our cities, and we've got plenty of shrines. I'm going to send them towards the Atreides and Ordos instead.
3-8. Uneventful
9. Assault Doctrine finally in. I go for Solid Fuel next for a free great Burseg.

10. 2nd Catchbasin done at Djedida Pan.
12. Solid Fuel in, Frigate Transport next (4-5 turns) for the wonders and SPACE PORTS (I would not DOW until at least 1 space port is done in our capital). Military Academy done in capital (now has a whooping 160% military production, i.e. a Kindjal Soldier or Fedaykin in 2 turns and any other unit in 1 turn).

14. Leto cancels our Caladonian Wine contract, at the same turn we build the Dar al-Hikman in Gara Kulon. I renegotiate with a Polar Ice (he doesn't want anything else) and start the Bakka (no unhappiness) in Gara Kulon (our largest city)
16. Frigate Transport in, Space ports next which will end my turn. Cahueit Caves starts the Fai Revenue Service (24 moves)
18. Dune Messiah built in Ix territory.
20. Space ports in, I start one in our capital (3 turns) and go for Aerial combat next (free scientist). Several stacks approaching Corrino land, headed by Fedaykins and Kindjal Soldiers (stronger than anything they have) and supported by bombers and interceptors placed in nearby cities.

To do:
1. Do not spread Quizarate further until most cities have Shai-Hulud and Temples the of the Maker
2. Next player can probably DOW on Corrino safely. The Forbidden Palace will be done next turn close to our future conquests to save on maintenance costs.
3. After a unit has moved, it CAN board a ship which can then transport it further, so I would do that for things like Assault cannons which only move 1 turn. Fedaykins and Kindjal Soldiers can travel anywhere without transports.
4. The Imperial Space Port needs, well, a space port. I would build it far from the frontlines.
5. We now control 89 terraformed tiles. Just need another 70 or so.

 

[Stochastic]

I only move them 3 out of 4 tiles in desert and if I found a worm move 1 tile back.
Since they can move only 1 tile, never catch me.

With that amount of siege
I always sacrifice mortars to do collateral on defenders (like cats in BtS) and never lose a city rider unit. (Or only against high odds.)

Nice point with the crysknife movement, I'll try it out in future.

Yeah, I'm sorry about the shield fighter, I usually try not to sacrifice units, they cost hammers too. I just forgot how different the hammer cost is between shield fighters and maulas. In Vanilla civ, the siege is usually close or even more expensive hammer wise (cats and swords, trebs and mace/knights cannons and rifles etc) so its not worth it in terms of hammers to sacrifice more siege than the number of units you would save


Nice set AnotherPacifist! Looks like the military is build up is going well.

I think we should probably move the mentat in Gara Kulon elsewhere. It seems to be generating a military building despite being a financial mentat, so perhaps citing him in Hobber's Gap would be better

 

[AnotherPacifist]

Um, who's next? (Stochastic? Or our long-missing fearless leader Slyvnn?)

 

[Stochastic]

I just did 10 turns, I could do another 10 late tomorrow, otherwise I think you're up AnotherPacifist.

Edit: Make that late today (the 28th) Just realised the time

 

[negyvenketto]

I could play some turns as well. While you are sleeping

 

[negyvenketto]

I was a little bit disappointed with the save, I had to shut down research for 6 turns to accumulate gold for upgrade Maula Mortars to Assault Cannons and Shield Fighters to Kindjal Soldiers. I have expected it was done in the previous 20 turns. Nevermind.
The war has started again.




Sand Worms finished, started Arrakis Transformation


We has a Great Burseg, I made him a super medic



We are close to 2%, 1 more needed. I think we have more or less enough troops, I would start to build Reservoirs when it will be available next turn.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

Well, I usually don't upgrade mortars because you don't expect them to kill anything but just to do bombarding and collateral damage by sacrificing themselves. The ranged bombardment option is tricky because you can actually miss bombarding, and mortars bombard defenses as well as assault cannons. It's much cheaper to build new units, especially since we'll have more experienced units from our capital now. The killing should be left to the Kindjal soldiers and Fedaykins.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

OK Stochastic I think you're next. If you can't play, I think I should just end our protracted game and finish it myself, so I can finally delete the 1.6 folder and put in its place 1.7.x permanently.

 

[Stochastic]

Ok, I guess it is pretty much keep up the war and wait now.

I'll play tomorrow morning.

 

[Stochastic]

Inherited turn 340:

Looking around, we are also at war with the Bene Gesserit. Looks like sometime in the past they vassalised.

I decided to move the “economy mentat” to Sietch Abbir, its really doing a military mentat job so I’ll send it to a place building units.

Other than that, it’s looking pretty good. It’s frustrating how long it taking to get our infrastructure up in the Harkonenn acquisitions. I’d be really nice to have them turning out the hammers to units. Oh well, nothing we can do about it really because that would need private property and we don’t want to change civics with such a giant empire and the wearyness would be a pain

Turn 341
Arrakis Spice in –> Arial Combat (in 4) for the better planes.
Capture Zuwarah Ridge, not shaby! It kept a watershipper, greenhouse and tribunal! It also has an academy.

Spoiler :

Looking at the city placement, I should be able to take out the Corrino in ~6 turns.

Spoiler :

Looking at the Corrino land, I think we missed something important when we decided to declare war on them. They have almost no water resources and we are already so close to the victory so the gain in tiles that we will get will be very minimal if at all.

What is so exciting about the Imperial Spaceport wonder? All it does is give 1 free merchant. It really does not seem to be worth the hammers it is made of.

Turn 342
Some desert engagements with the Corrino, take out some thopters/suspensors with Feydakin/thopters.

Turn 343

Capture Tartrus Lookout. Not so hot, but its near some water so keep it.

Spoiler :

Capture Atar Pass.

Spoiler :

While I was planning on burning it to the ground (we don’t need the polar ice and can’t terraform the land so no point in keeping it, will just hurt maintenance), looking at it’s inside I just could not bring myself to burn a burseg and two great engineers. Stupid Wensica.

Turn 344
more troop movement

Turn 345
Aerial Tactics in –>Mind Training–>Desert Ritual

Capture Tawalil Rock, Keep it to help defend from Ixian culture.

Spoiler :

Turn 346
Capture Imperial Seat. Keep it for the water. Also has Sardaukar Contract (not that we plan on war from now on...)!

Spoiler :

Capture Yalbash Lookout. Keep it too.

Spoiler :

Is it just me or is it a bit over powered to be able to outright destroy units and capture cities with Siege? It seems like at the very least siege should not be able to take cities in a similar way to Helicopters. Otherwise you need way less “foot troops” to capture a city.
Also, being able to load troops after they have used all their moves? While it really captures the blitzkrieg, that also seems a bit over powered.

Corrino civ is destroyed.

Turn 347
Mind training–>Desert Ritual

Re deploying troops to take out Teilax as they refuse to talk
Do a Recon run on Teilax, wow, they only have one city!

Spoiler :

Turn 348
Still no talky from Teilax, war continues. Strangely we seem to have very little war wearyness. What is going on with that?
Finish Fai revenue agency.

Turn 349
Moving in for the kill...

Turn 350
Having seen our military might, the Teilax are now willing to ask for peace. I’ll leave it to the next person to decide whether to go for that or not. Troops are in place though...
Just for the heck of it I order some stuff from the guild, they can be used to take out the barbs that cropped up

Spoiler :

We are getting very close to the 3% limit... Next set will probably win!

Spoiler :

 

[Deliverator]

What is so exciting about the Imperial Spaceport wonder? All it does is give 1 free merchant. It really does not seem to be worth the hammers it is made of.

The wonders are completely redone in 1.7 so hopefully there will be another succession game to try them out.

We should try and do something more appropriate for the Fremen homeworld screen. That blue and green planet doesn't look much like 'Planet Arrakis, home of the Fremen'.

 

[AnotherPacifist]

Strangely we seem to have very little war wearyness. What is going on with that?

Nice set of moves.
War Codex (built in capital) has -50% war anger. (Sadly it's gone from the new patch)
Um, the save?

 

[Stochastic]

Nice set of moves.
War Codex (built in capital) has -50% war anger. (Sadly it's gone from the new patch)
Um, the save?

Touché. Here you go!