How do I ICS in SMAC?
Moderator: Thanas
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Cycloneman
- Padawan Learner
- Posts: 155
- Joined: 2007-09-13 09:02pm
How do I ICS in SMAC?
I'm trying to do it, and I've got a sort-of handle on it (I'm definitely doing well on lower settings), but I don't have the sort of grasp that allows for early game Industrial Automation beeline and I surely do not know how to use crawlers. Any tips?
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Andrew_Fireborn
- Jedi Knight
- Posts: 799
- Joined: 2007-02-12 06:50am
You know how to deploy the crawlers right?
Its been forever and a day since I last booted the game up, but I remember they have a special command to start sending material back to their home.
I also don't recall if you can have more than one working an acre at a time. They only return one of the three resources themselves, so it would seem a fair trade off for being able to pull in from stuff normally outside the city radii.
That said, the best way I know of to use them is to build up several good squares (or a LOT of mediocre ones) using the first wave to speed up the second batch by a good deal with added minerals.
Perferably, you've got a mineral bonus in a mediocre/bad spot that you want, and can secure, to mine/borehole to really jack up the income at whatever base.
Of course, I'm far from pro at the game. Rarely if ever set them higher than the third lowest difficulty.
Its been forever and a day since I last booted the game up, but I remember they have a special command to start sending material back to their home.
I also don't recall if you can have more than one working an acre at a time. They only return one of the three resources themselves, so it would seem a fair trade off for being able to pull in from stuff normally outside the city radii.
That said, the best way I know of to use them is to build up several good squares (or a LOT of mediocre ones) using the first wave to speed up the second batch by a good deal with added minerals.
Perferably, you've got a mineral bonus in a mediocre/bad spot that you want, and can secure, to mine/borehole to really jack up the income at whatever base.
Of course, I'm far from pro at the game. Rarely if ever set them higher than the third lowest difficulty.
Rule one of Existance: Never, under any circumstances, underestimate stupidity. As it will still find ways to surprise you.
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Archaic`
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1647
- Joined: 2002-10-01 01:19am
- Location: Brisbane, Australia
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The info on these old threads at Apolyton may help you. Of particular interest will be posts by myself and Sikander. That's not to say others don't have a lot to say, just that Sikander and I really took ICS to the extremes, finishing Transcend games before the first century was done.
Veni Vidi Castravi Illegitimos
After reading the manual (p93), there is a section called "Convoy Resources" [O].
(Basically you use the "O" key to activate this)
Orders a Supply Unit to deliver resources. It has two distinct functions:
* If the supply unit is outside a base, it delivers available resources from its square to its home base each turn. Choosing this command brings up a menu from which you select the resources you wish to convoy. The unit cannot deliver resources from a square already being worked by a base's citizens.
* If the unit is within a base, it convoys resources from its home base to its current location every turn.
(Basically you use the "O" key to activate this)
Orders a Supply Unit to deliver resources. It has two distinct functions:
* If the supply unit is outside a base, it delivers available resources from its square to its home base each turn. Choosing this command brings up a menu from which you select the resources you wish to convoy. The unit cannot deliver resources from a square already being worked by a base's citizens.
* If the unit is within a base, it convoys resources from its home base to its current location every turn.