OktoberFist - Page 2

Misotu · October 28, 2000, 13:13

I vote allow it. I have always used it - not because of the bug (only found out about that recently) but because I find it very convenient ...

Deimos · October 28, 2000, 13:26

I vote to allow it. I'm with Misotu on this one. I also find it useful and just found out about the bug.

DaRanger · October 28, 2000, 18:00

Stockpiling in the Building Cue?

Bug?

I am afraid I am unfamilier with either at this point :-)! Would someone care to fill me in on this one before we all start using it?

I would be MOST appreciative.

Any other bug's I should know about? I do not know of any as I spend little time online researching SMAC or SMAX, I just play like a fool :-)!

Thanks and Sorry again for the delay's with the turns, there will be no more. This is my first PBEM SMAX game so I'm learning as I go. Don't hesitate to yell at me if I mess something up as that's the only way I shall learn.

Regards,
DaRanger
Lone Protector of the Grove

Misotu · October 28, 2000, 18:13

Hi DaRanger!

The stockpiling thing is as follows (hope I get this right!)

The game does not calculate energy correctly under the following circumstances:

a) When you build a base facility, and there is nothing after it in the queue
b) When you build a unit, and place "stockpile energy" in the queue after it.

Under these two circumstances, you receive extra energy. It used to be the equivalent of half the number of minerals generated by the base - I think - but I believe that one of the patches changed this so it's now a bit less.

Now the reason why this is a bummer is that there are people like me who like to put stockpile energy in the queue after a unit, because otherwise your base just keeps building the same unit over and over. With the stockpile entry, I can ensure that I don't slip up and build more units than I want.

Apolyton addresses this situation by forbidding people to put stockpile energy in the queue after a unit

ACOL addresses it by informing everyone about the bug, and then letting them play the game the way they want.

The latter is my preference, not just because it mirrors how I play anyway, but also because I get a little tired of being forbidden to use facilities in the game simply because something doesn't work quite right or people have arbitrarily decided that they don't like the way it works (design workshop upgrades, for example. classic case). After all, there are loads of things in SMAC/X that don't work quite right

XWaste · October 28, 2000, 21:00

I've always put a fac after a unit in a build queue to stop repeat building, rather than stockpile. But I don't really care what other people do...it can't make that much of a difference can it (am ready to eat my words)

Misotu · October 28, 2000, 23:28

I don't necessarily know what facility I might want after the unit. It can take a few turns to build a unit, and by then I might be heading somewhere completely different ...

Yeah, unfortunately, it does make a difference what you put in the queue. Read the above

Over the length of a game, if I use stockpile energy I will make a load more energy than you for free, I'm afraid. Maybe not the decider, sure. But it will certainly make a difference over time ...

Deimos · October 29, 2000, 00:28

MY2182 to Forman Gopher

I don't see a problem with the stockpile bug, as long as everyone agrees to allow it. You can never have enough energy

DaRanger · October 29, 2000, 01:27

DaBug

Cool, thanks for the info.

I guess I am lazy, Unless I am at war I let the
gov. do most of the building. I will run production
on a base for the first 25 - 40 years to get what I
need for that particular base and then I turn it over
to DaGov. He's alway's been reliable for me and it
seems that later in the game I am REALLY glad he
took care of things!

DaRanger,
Sole Proprietor
DaRangers Deep Space
Spice and Fungus Grove

gopher · October 29, 2000, 04:41

turn sent to XWaste

XWaste · October 29, 2000, 07:24

2182 to jschwab

jschwab · October 29, 2000, 10:12

2183 sent to Misotu.

Stockpile is fine with me... It's there, I tend to ignore it since I do not use the queues anyway. Guess I am just a hands on kind of guy...

JSchwab

Misotu · October 29, 2000, 19:31

Nothing much to report, 2183 sent to Googlie at ireland.com

So ... what's the concensus on Workshop upgrades?

As far as I know - correct me if I'm wrong - you can upgrade more cheaply unit by unit. But if you use the workshop, you don't lose a move (and I believe some damage is healed, too).

Apolyton says this is unfair. I say this is part of the game design. I propose we allow workshop upgrades at any point in the turn ... ??

Googlie · October 29, 2000, 21:09

I agree

Deimos · October 29, 2000, 21:58

I also agree. Workshop upgrades can really save your bacon

Googlie · October 29, 2000, 22:35

2183 sent on to DaRanger

Googlie · October 30, 2000, 01:33

Fine with me too, so concesus is we'll let it stay.

To elaborate on Misotu's explanatiion:

When you hurry build with just enough credits, when added to that base's next turn mineral production, with another unit/facility in the build queue, it starts with an empty minerals box, as it should. SAfter all, that next turn's minerals has already been spoken for.

With Stockpile Energy in the queue, the game gives you not only the hurried unit, but also the energy value of that next turn's minerals.

Same thing when not hurrying. Any carried over minerals would normally be lost after the first row's value (default at ten minerals) to inefficiency when the same unit is continuing to be built. Pop stockpile energy into the queue and the full unused mineral value gets converted to energy reserves.

But the hurry build is the big winner.

Hugely significant with a large minerals producing base.

Note that it's only a problem when hurrying a unit, including colony pods, probes, crawlers, etc. Facilities work just right (because the game itself pauses after a facilities build)

So if you are producing, say, crawlers at one every two turns, by hurry building every turn you are "banking" every second turn's minerals into energy. Worth thousands of energy credits over a game's lifetime.

Googlie
[This message has been edited by Googlie (edited October 29, 2000).]

Deimos · October 30, 2000, 14:45

MY 2183 to Forman Gopher

gopher · November 1, 2000, 14:15

Turn to XWaste

XWaste · November 1, 2000, 16:52

2183 to jschwab

jschwab · November 1, 2000, 17:17

2184 sent to Misotu

JSchwab

Misotu · November 1, 2000, 17:33

2184 to Googlie.

Deimos · November 2, 2000, 17:15

MY2184 to Drones

Misotu · November 3, 2000, 18:06

Hi, just posting to let you guys know that I'll be away for the weekend, so I don't expect to be able to play any turns until Sunday/Monday. Apologies for the delay this will cause.
cheers, Mis

gopher · November 4, 2000, 16:11

MY2184 to Angels

XWaste · November 4, 2000, 20:05

2184 to the Consciousness

jschwab · November 4, 2000, 21:25

2184 sent to Misotu

JSchwab

Misotu · November 6, 2000, 15:54

2185 to the Hive.

Googlie · November 6, 2000, 19:42

--- 2185 to DaRanger ---

DaRanger · November 6, 2000, 20:30

2185 To DaPirates....

Googlie · November 7, 2000, 00:29

LOL