Planet carver slingshot with slav fed

[fivexthethird]

It's possible to get planet carvers on around turn 125 with the slavic federation.

You want to take scientists, tectonic scanner, laboratory.

Start out researching, in the order of your choice, ecology(can be skipped if you get a free solar collector), genetics, chemistry, engineering, and computing. Add in physics if you have firaxite nearby, and planetary survey if you need that.

Make sure, when settling, that you can get at least 4 petroleum and 1 titanium. Settling near firaxite helps, too.

Prioritize getting as much science as possible.

When you're finished with the mentioned techs, research robotics. Then hard tech mechatronics. That is going to take a really long time, however.

It is going to result in you lagging behind affinity-wise. On apollo, this is probably going to mean that, by the time the tech finishes, you are, at most, level 3, while the AI may be at an upwards of level 7. Though it is possible that some will be at an equal level if they got beat up a bit.

Due to this, get as friendly as possible with all your neighbors, to the point of allying them. If it looks like an AI is about to attack you, bribe someone else to attack them.

While you're teching mechatronics, get the +25% orbital unit production virtue.
Once you're finished with mechatronics, launch a satellite and take astrodynamics as your free tech.

It should now be around turn 125 and you have a orbital unit with strength 120. While most of the AI's don't have rocket batteries, so they can't shoot them down even if you put them directly above their cities.
It's going to be able to oneshot everything at that point in the game except for cities, because you can't do more than 100 damage in one shot.
With planet carvers, you can essentially roll through the AIs on your continent until they get rocket batteries.

Franco-Iberia can probably do all this too.

 

[Infiltrator]

Interesting. What affinity do you think goes in hand with this? I'd say Supremacy from the looks of it.

 

[MadDjinn]

I did this last night with Franco-Iberia. It's beyond easy to get planet carvers and then roll everyone while they have at most a few affinity levels.

 

[Infiltrator]

I'm just concerned how useful this is if you don't have any nearby, and I mean, really nearby enemies. I mean defensively it's amazing, but I'm having a hard time seeing how you can deploy this at someone's doorstep and start melting them. Then again I've only played several hours so I may be missing on some sort of unit that grants orbital deployment or something?

 

[TwistedEdge]

So I'm curious, when you did this, what level affinity did you have? I just gave this a look and it seems like you'd have 0 affinity by the time you reached the planet carver. Is that right?

 

[slowcar]

How do i place the unit above enemy cities? I can only select my own cities (and their surroundings). Do i have to forward-settle enemy capitals?

 

[MadDjinn]

You have to increase your orbital coverage to put satellites further out. Conveniently there is a building that gives some at that tech. Along with the launch pad and stellar codex you've got a pretty big range.

Affinity level will be low. Depending on quests and expeditions mainly.

I got it down to 114 turns with Franco-Iberia, but I think it can be even faster. Probably sub-99.

 

[fivexthethird]

I got it down to turn 100.

Spoiler :

I think that skipping computing helped. Virtue-wise, I went foresight>field research>laboratory apprenticeship then went into prosperity.
This is what my start looked like and how I'm getting my science:

I could've easily gotten more science than this but a station blocked me settling more firaxite. Sub-99 is definitely possible. Possibly even all the way down to turn 90, if you start with 4 firaxite and get great trade routes.

Note that most of the AIs only have 1 affinity level at this point.

 

[MadDjinn]

Yeah, skipping computers helps with speed. You can't steal science in time anyways unless someone else is already pushing a city intrigue.

But it does help with getting energy to buy the planet carvers. If you're also planning on going contact, then you can use it to steal science for the next techs. So the tech might be a bit later, but you've got the longer game in hand.

 

[rtfischbeck]

Turn 91 Astrodynamics. Could have gotten it a few turns sooner but had to prepare for Brasil's preemptive strike.

 

[kingsbury]

I think the most important part of any strategy is reliability. The building quests can be unreliable, as is spawning in a location with +science resources. In addition trade routes can't always be relied on earth game, and you also can't rely on the AI not to rush.

 

[MadDjinn]

This strategy is reliable. Inasmuch as you can consistently do it if you've got a peaceful first 100 turns. It works just as well with Franco-Iberia as you can manage the culture output/colony spam better, as you don't have to ignore free satellites.

 

[Martin Alvito]

I think the most important part of any strategy is reliability. The building quests can be unreliable, as is spawning in a location with +science resources. In addition trade routes can't always be relied on earth game, and you also can't rely on the AI not to rush.

That's a personal value judgment with no basis in fact.

If you're trying to finish in the absolute lowest possible time, it doesn't really matter if the strategy fails 90% of the time but saves a bunch of turns in the other 10%. (Assuming you have the time to play ten games, anyway.)

If you're trying to win every time, then of course reliability becomes a principal concern.

This strategy is reliable. Inasmuch as you can consistently do it if you've got a peaceful first 100 turns. It works just as well with Franco-Iberia as you can manage the culture output/colony spam better, as you don't have to ignore free satellites.

I think people underestimate just how huge a half dozen/dozen GPT in the early game really is, especially since we can once again borrow starting on turn 1. Sitting on your satellites is a pretty rough penalty.

 

[MadDjinn]

I think people underestimate just how huge a half dozen/dozen GPT in the early game really is, especially since we can once again borrow starting on turn 1. Sitting on your satellites is a pretty rough penalty.

true, so I tend not to ignore the free satellite even as the Slavic Federation, though, I'll sit on it for a bit to get at least a decent 2nd ring tech.

and also why I prefer F-I for this strategy.

Else, the Planet Carver can give you a world of Puppets, so it's a small trade off to make.

random side point for this slingshot:

Boost Orbital Coverage as much as possible. Buildings and some building quests boost it, along with the Stellar Codex and full Prosperity/Purity.

 

[kingsbury]

This strategy is reliable. Inasmuch as you can consistently do it if you've got a peaceful first 100 turns. It works just as well with Franco-Iberia as you can manage the culture output/colony spam better, as you don't have to ignore free satellites.

I've been rushed by the AI plenty of times before turn 100 in Civ 5. It has also happened a few times in Beyond Earth, and that is even without settling near them AND with building defensive units.

 

[Infiltrator]

Can't seem to get this pre 100 turn on apollo. Whats your production queue guys?

 

[Halbbruder]

You're missing the fact that you need 4 petroleum and 1 titanium to actually build one. So it might mean you won't get them at all if you don't have those resources near you or you'll get them about 50-70 turns later after some serious expansion.

 

[Infiltrator]

You're missing the fact that you need 4 petroleum and 1 titanium to actually build one. So it might mean you won't get them at all if you don't have those resources near you or you'll get them about 50-70 turns later after some serious expansion.

You can trade for it. Chances are if you don't have a couple of them you got money or another resource you can 1:1 with someone.

 

[MadDjinn]

You're missing the fact that you need 4 petroleum and 1 titanium to actually build one. So it might mean you won't get them at all if you don't have those resources near you or you'll get them about 50-70 turns later after some serious expansion.

the builds also hit chemistry and engineering, so you can toss out a colonist at any time to go get them.

 

[rantzzz]

I can't do it... How do you guys do it..?

I'm at turn 100+ and still researching Astro