Poll: Best Spaceship Bonus

[OldEarthRelic]

Criteria: Maximize chance of winning on higher levels on standard maps (whatever they are)

 

[Snownova]

I think there is no individual 'best' spaceship bonus or cargo or faction. Everything I've seen and read about Beyond Earth suggests that any 'best' tactic, if there even is one, lies in synergy between all starting bonuses. Combine the free worker with tectonic scanner for early titanium and such, Brasilia, weapon arsenal and lifeform scanner for an early alien genocide, etc etc.

The beauty lies in your faction being greater than the sum of its parts, not the individual parts.

 

[joncnunn]

Looks like it's dependent upon what standard map types are to me

If standard map types are a lot like "Large Island" or "Tiny Island", revealing all coasts is going to be super powerful. But if standard map type is instead a lot like "Pangena", then it's not going to be very useful.

Clearly if going for an OCC you want Retrograde Thruster to be able to have the best possible capital, otherwise it depends upon what is the normal range and what is the extended range.

Knowing where the resources are appears more valuable than knowing where the nests are, so I'll go with that.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Looks like it's dependent upon what standard map types are to me

If standard map types are a lot like "Large Island" or "Tiny Island", revealing all coasts is going to be super powerful. But if standard map type is instead a lot like "Pangena", then it's not going to be very useful.

Clearly if going for an OCC you want Retrograde Thruster to be able to have the best possible capital, otherwise it depends upon what is the normal range and what is the extended range.

Knowing where the resources are appears more valuable than knowing where the nests are, so I'll go with that.

Normal range=1 tile range.ie seven total tile options (can see 3 tiles out)
Extended =2 tile range.ie 19 total tile options (can see 3 tiles out)

also, I think the "Life" shows you all nests on the entire map..."Tectonic" only shows you resources on areas you can see normally.

 

[joncnunn]

Normal range=1 tile range.ie seven total tile options (can see 3 tiles out)
Extended =2 tile range.ie 19 total tile options (can see 3 tiles out)

So if I understand you correctly, then while in orbit either way we can see 3 tiles from wherever the icon representing the spaceship in orbit is, but normally have the choice of the tile it's on + the 6 adjacent ones on where it lands? Ouch, that's like a mandatory settlement rule in 4000 BC in Civ V would be (if settlers also ignored terrain cost)

That can be less than 7 choices if it was already centered on the coast since BE doesn't allow ocean cities unlike SMAC.

I think Retrograde with a 2 hex range instead of 1 hex range would significantly cut down on restarts judging by starting locations in Civ V.

 

[OldEarthRelic]

It's going to depend on the advantages of starting positions:

Special Buildings if on River/Hills/ next to Mountain?
Is there a 2/1 minimum, which makes Hills great?
Coastal Wonders?

etc.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

So far, it seems
There is a 1 hammer minimum
But grassland hills only get 1 hammer

Also, it is Not a 2 food minimum, instead a city adds +2 food to its tile. (which is really nice.. city on grassland = 4 food 1 hammer, city on desert=2 food 1 hammer 1 energy)

I do hope they just change it fully to +2 food +1 hammer

 

[joncnunn]

It's going to depend on the advantages of starting positions:

I'm afraid that humans are much more likely to simply restart if the best place to settle was one tile out of range.

 

[MadDjinn]

I'm afraid that humans are much more likely to simply restart if the best place to settle was one tile out of range.

no doubt there will ber 'rage restarts' when you find yourself 2 hexes off the coast, but can only get 1 closer or further away.

 

[swordoflight86]

Looks like it's dependent upon what standard map types are to me

If standard map types are a lot like "Large Island" or "Tiny Island", revealing all coasts is going to be super powerful. But if standard map type is instead a lot like "Pangena", then it's not going to be very useful.

Clearly if going for an OCC you want Retrograde Thruster to be able to have the best possible capital, otherwise it depends upon what is the normal range and what is the extended range.

Knowing where the resources are appears more valuable than knowing where the nests are, so I'll go with that.

Retrogarde thrusters really shine in multiplayer, when you can't just restart because you don't like your start options.

 

[3of5]

So far, it seems
There is a 1 hammer minimum
But grassland hills only get 1 hammer

Also, it is Not a 2 food minimum, instead a city adds +2 food to its tile. (which is really nice.. city on grassland = 4 food 1 hammer, city on desert=2 food 1 hammer 1 energy)

I do hope they just change it fully to +2 food +1 hammer

Keep in mind that the player had refugees selcted, those +2 food came from them, not from the city. The 1 prod minimum might apply to food too, making settling in grassland better than settling on plains?

 

[cazaderon]

I hesitated between life forms and retrograde thrusters. Picked life form scanner as aliens might be a huge pain in higher difficulty levels. So knowing where nests are and where they are being destroyed might be a lot more usefull than being able to pick starting location among more tiles.

 

[Aeson]

Yah, avoiding nests is going to be key for survivability of your Explorers until you can get Purity 1. It also seems to be a good indicator of where Xenomass is, and will give you a rough outline of land.

Coasts aren't all that important. Embarking is available very early on, all units can embark. If you can keep your Explorers alive you will fill it all in fast enough, coasts and land.

Retrograde is hit or miss. Probably the best option in situations where there won't be restarting to fall back on.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Keep in mind that the player had refugees selcted, those +2 food came from them, not from the city. The 1 prod minimum might apply to food too, making settling in grassland better than settling on plains?

No the +2 food did Not come from Refugees

The bonus from Refugees does not show up on the map

in Northernlions 100 turns, he had PAU with Refugees

at one point (while he was healthy)

his capital had
8 food from worked tiles (counted)
3 population

and 4.4 listed as the food amount

Which comes from
8 terrain
+2 refugees
-6 (3 population)
=
4
+10% for PAU
4.4


(and that 8 terrain included a 3 food Plains tile in the capital)

So grassland is actually worth settling on now city starts with 4 food

 

[Sprenk]

Tectonic Scanners might seem even more attractive if you consider that geothermal resources can otherwise only be seen by acquiring a leaf tech (Geophysics, a leaf of Ecology) which has no benefits besides seeing and exploiting geothermal. How many of us are going to spend the beakers to research that? (However, Petroleum and Titanium will quickly be available via Chemistry and Engineering, respectively)

 

[DarkestOnion]

I am torn between Retrograde Thrusters and Tectonic Scanner. I agree with MadDjinn over at Polycast that the choice between these two comes down to whether the Start Bias/Map Script typically offers a decent landing site. Imho, if the scripting is good enough, then Retrograde Thrusters become nice, but not as good as the option to pre-plan some of my future base sites. Conversely, if I have a lot of Rage Restarts from bad scripting, then I am going to commit to Retrograde Thrusters, as I nearly always move my Settler in Civ 5.

 

[Lucius_]

So settling grasslands gives 4 food 1 hammer? Hills I assume is 2/3? Does that mean plains would give 3 food 2 hammers?

Does settling add 2 food, 1 hammer to any tile's yield? I would think so if it does for grasslands. I can't see grasslands being a special case vs plains.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

So settling grasslands gives 4 food 1 hammer? Hills I assume is 2/3? Does that mean plains would give 3 food 2 hammers?

Does settling add 2 food, 1 hammer to any tile's yield? I would think so if it does for grasslands. I can't see grasslands being a special case vs plains.

Grassland Hills are only 1 hammer (plains hills are 2)

And settling does not seem to add 1 hammer, it seems to go to 1 hammer minimum... (settlement on a fiber (2 food, 1 hammer) gave 4 food 1 hammer)

So far it is
+2 food, minimum 1 hammer

I'm hoping they change it to +2 food, +1 hammer

 

[Lucius_]

Grassland Hills are only 1 hammer (plains hills are 2)

And settling does not seem to add 1 hammer, it seems to go to 1 hammer minimum... (settlement on a fiber (2 food, 1 hammer) gave 4 food 1 hammer)

So far it is
+2 food, minimum 1 hammer

I'm hoping they change it to +2 food, +1 hammer

If not, plains tiles become this oddball extra weak tile to settle on vs grass or plains hills.

 

[gunnergoz]

I tend to start games in one of two ways, depending on my mood.
The first is to take whatever the game RNG dishes out to me, and make do with that. This sort of start would demand that I also randomize somewhat the starting parameters of my forces. I then go in with whatever luck/fate deals out.
The second way is to cheat by re-booting the game until I get a start position that suits my fancy, and is best suited to optimize my setup to my advantage. If I were playing BE in that mental mode, I would select a set of parameters that suits my view of what the ideal start would be for that side (i.e. warmonger, turtle mode, research-oriented, whatever.)