Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

What's so good about this racial tech? Both of my allies chose it. It saves you a space port per system, but at the expense of 1000 racial points??

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CW:
What's so good about this racial tech? Both of my allies chose it. It saves you a space port per system, but at the expense of 1000 racial points??<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You are misunderstanding. It does not save you ONE facility slot per system. That's an insignifigant side-effect. It saves you the loss of resource/research/intel points of ENTIRE SYSTEMS when someone attacks the one planet that has the space port. In fact, it might be possible to cut off an entire system's resouces by merely blockading the planet with the space port. I haven't checked that yet. So many things to test... http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif Anyway, if you don't need space ports, that means your empire cannot be nearly so easily dismantled by resource denial. Land a colony ship in a remote system and you can start building resource extraction immediately. Your logistics are guaranteed. A 'normal' player on the other hand can suffer huge losses due to the destruction of a single planet, or even due to one clever attack with a "Smart Bomb" for that matter.


[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 18 August 2001).]

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

In addition to what Baron said, it means that if someone conquers your system they can't get anything out of it until they scrap something and build a space port. It allows you to hide mineral-mining on remote moons, even tiny ones with once facility slot.

Phoenix-D

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

The value also depends on the type of game. I'm playing in a game where you can only colonize planets of the same type and atmosphere as your home planet (methane ice in my case). That means 1 or 2 planets per system. So Natural Merchant might mean one more facility per planet.

There is also the benefit of getting cash flow earlier. If a space port takes 3 turns to build then Natural Merchant means that every production facility on the planet is done 3 turns earlier and yields 3 turns more stuff.

That said I've taken Natural Merchant twice and probably wouldn't take it again.

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

I really don't think Natural Merchants is that important. Without a space yard facility, you can build a space port in three turns. The 1000 racial points can be put to better use someplace else. 1000 points goes a long way and can more that offset the inconvenience of having to build a space port if one get destroyed.

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

Inconvience won't be the word you use if someone smart-bombs the only Space Port in your most important production system http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Phoenix-D

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
Inconvience won't be the word you use if someone smart-bombs the only Space Port in your most important production system http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/images/icons/icon7.gif

Phoenix-D<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's why those of us with Advanced Storage Techniques sometimes build more than one spaceport in a system. http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/ima...ons/icon12.gif

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

In my opinion you got to really screw up big to get your most important production system's space port smart-bombed or blockaged. If that happens your opponent probably is so ahead of you that you have no chance anyway, with or without the space port!

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

Only takes one shot, similar to plague bombs. Forgot to build a sensor platform or two, he sneaks in a ship and.. boom.

Phoenix-D

Re: Natural Merchant racial tech?
 

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
Only takes one shot, similar to plague bombs. Forgot to build a sensor platform or two, he sneaks in a ship and.. boom.

Phoenix-D<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, the smart bombs actually make the planetary intelligence operations valuable. Once you know where your enemies' space ports are you can deprive them of entire systems worth of production. I wonder if the AI would know how to use a smart bomb equipped ship?