Losing the Space Race

Combining these thoughts ... here's my hypothesis.
1. The game checks to see that you have Apollo Program built *somewhere* in your empire, before allowing any spaceship parts to be built.
2. The partially completed spaceship resides, is stored, at your current capital.

If true, this would give the player options:
- Conquer the enemy capital, destroying the partially completed spaceship. The AI could begin constructing a new spaceship from scratch, requiring many more turns. The new spaceship would be housed in their new capital, as its parts are built.
- Conquer the enemy city that houses their Apollo Program. The AI would have to construct another Apollo somewhere to build the last few spaceship parts
- If the AI happened to build its Apollo in the capital, then conquering the AI capital (or destroying it) would achieve a double goal -- destroy the current partial ship and prevent the AI from starting on the other parts.

If item 1 above is not quite true -- perhaps building Apollo anywhere once sets a flag to enable construction of parts for that civ -- then it matters less whether the city containing Apollo survives or not. Consider the case of nukes: as long as any player, from any civ, has built Manhattan Project, then nukes are allowed. I don't think that razing the city where Manhattan was built will make nuclear weapons un-buildable.
 
Manhattan is a GW, Apollo is an SW, so the mechanics are not necessarily comparable.

To build Ship parts, a Civ needs to have an Apollo SW completed and intact. So yes, capturing an opponent's Apollo-town will prevent that opponent from starting to build any additional parts, before they have first rebuilt their Apollo.
 
[C]apturing an opponent's Apollo-town will prevent that opponent from starting to build any additional parts, before they have first rebuilt their Apollo.
Do they then have to rebuild all the parts as well, or do they keep those? And do they get to complete a part if working on one?
 
Do they then have to rebuild all the parts as well, or do they keep those? And do they get to complete a part if working on one?
If only Apollo was captured, then any completed parts and parts-in-progress are unaffected. If the capital and Apollo are captured, then they have to restart from scratch. See @Lanzelot's article ("Build projects with prerequisites"):
  • The Apollo Program can be completed, even if aluminium is lost in the meantime.
  • Open question: can the Iron Works be completed, if the iron or coal resource inside the BFC of the city gets "exhausted"? As the exhaustion of a strategic resource happens at random, this case is quite hard to test...
(*) The build project is changed interturn to some randomly selected project, and that project will not even complete that interturn, even if the shieldbox had way above the required number of shields.

Spaceship Parts
  • Spaceship Parts can be completed, even if the city with the Apollo Program is lost in the meantime. (Of course you can't start new Spaceship Parts until you built a new Apollo Program.)
  • SS Thrusters, SS Cockpit, SS Docking Bay, SS Engine, SS Life Support System, SS Stasis Chamber, SS Storage/Supply, SS Planetary Party Lounge and SS Exterior Casing can be completed, even if aluminium is lost in the meantime.
  • SS Fuel Cells and SS Stasis Chamber can be completed, even if uranium is lost in the meantime.
  • SS Exterior Casing can be completed, even if rubber is lost in the meantime.
 
Combining these thoughts ... here's my hypothesis.
1. The game checks to see that you have Apollo Program built *somewhere* in your empire, before allowing any spaceship parts to be built.
2. The partially completed spaceship resides, is stored, at your current capital.
So the SS parts are not stored separately in the city that each is built? I think I've read so before but I'm not sure.
 
That is correct. The parts are all stored together in the capital.
 
I've just remembered that the AI has occasionally sabotaged my production of SS parts. However, since I make it a policy to sell the AI anything at any money, they usually cannot pay for that (or for unit upgrades).
After I run out of ocean tiles to explore I just keep adding idle improvements to my tiles so that the AI will still want to pay me cash for the one or two ‘undiscovered’ tiles. A ten-tile-deep wall of barricades is a nice way to keep the workers busy, too.
 
I've just remembered that the AI has occasionally sabotaged my production of SS parts.
Is there an easy way to tell this, or do you just have to keep an eye on each individual part-building process?
However, since I make it a policy to sell the AI anything at any money, they usually cannot pay for that (or for unit upgrades).
Hm, hadn't thought of that. I don't mind selling tech, but I don't like to bring an AI Civ too much up-to-date unless it's to get another tech I need. E.g., now that I can make Berserkers (Standard map, Monarch), I want to keep the tech advantage over France since I have enough trouble winning battles as it is.
 
Is there an easy way to tell this, or do you just have to keep an eye on each individual part-building process?

Hm, hadn't thought of that. I don't mind selling tech, but I don't like to bring an AI Civ too much up-to-date unless it's to get another tech I need. E.g., now that I can make Berserkers (Standard map, Monarch), I want to keep the tech advantage over France since I have enough trouble winning battles as it is.
IIRC, sabotage production in a city is one of the espionage missions. Those require gold to complete, with the harder missions requiring more gold. Since Takhisis keeps selling the AI anything they will buy, she consumes all their gold leaving them little to none for potential espionage missions.
 
Is there an easy way to tell this, or do you just have to keep an eye on each individual part-building process?
During the AI's turn I got an announcement that production at one of my cities had been sabotaged and that city in particular is one where I was building an SS part.
WeirdoJoker said:
Hm, hadn't thought of that. I don't mind selling tech, but I don't like to bring an AI Civ too much up-to-date unless it's to get another tech I need. E.g., now that I can make Berserkers (Standard map, Monarch), I want to keep the tech advantage over France since I have enough trouble winning battles as it is.
Actually, Berserkers whopping 6 attack stat equals that of infantry, cavalry and guerillas, which means that they remain useful all the way to whenever you develop tanks or marines. And if transported by ship their low defence stat never matters, because they cannot be attacked back!

btw the advantage over France is better this way: A pikeman costs 30 shields. A musketeer, 60. 60 shields in pikemen means an extra happy face as a garrison and 6 def in all. And if you take all of France's available money they cannot upgrade to musketmen and you'll have halved their rate of production for defensive units.
Just sayin'!

Once you get them on the tech-for-debt cycle, the AIs end up eating out of your hand.
 
During the AI's turn I got an announcement that production at one of my cities had been sabotaged and that city in particular is one where I was building an SS part.
Ok, I've never seen that, so I guess I've been lucky (or haven't noticed...).
Actually, Berserkers whopping 6 attack stat equals that of infantry, cavalry and guerillas, which means that they remain useful all the way to whenever you develop tanks or marines. And if transported by ship their low defence stat never matters, because they cannot be attacked back!
Ok, that I have never noticed, having rarely played Vikings. That explains why my amphibious attacks with them in the past have been so successful!
btw the advantage over France is better this way: A pikeman costs 30 shields. A musketeer, 60. 60 shields in pikemen means an extra happy face as a garrison and 6 def in all. And if you take all of France's available money they cannot upgrade to musketmen and you'll have halved their rate of production for defensive units.
Just sayin'!

Once you get them on the tech-for-debt cycle, the AIs end up eating out of your hand.
Fair points. Having the tech doesn't help them if they have no money.
 
Ok, I've never seen that, so I guess I've been lucky (or haven't noticed...).
Usually, if an AI can spare the money to start intelligence operations against you, you have bigger problems to worry about.
Ok, that I have never noticed, having rarely played Vikings. That explains why my amphibious attacks with them in the past have been so successful!
The success of an attack derives simply from the Berserk having the highest attack stat in the game until the arrival of tanks (or Sipahis if the Ottomans are around). But the AI cannot counterattack against them!
 
Wow. Who ever thought Apolyton could be useful?
 
One day we'll destroy them, never fear. ;)
 
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