Primitive Proportions

[Dingocat85]

I have an idea for a fun Primitive Ship Weapon: Raider Pods!
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Description: A tiny vessel of armed thugs used to beat up & enslave a ship's crew - Will not work against Master Computers.

Explanation: A seeker that, upon contact with an enemy ship, will attempt to control it, a la Allegiance Subverter. It should use relatively high supplies (you're arming a weapon with people, for god's sake! ), but a faster reload than the allegiance subverter - maybe, say, reload time 8?

Another weapon Primitives could get is a long-range, high-seeker-speed, tiny weapon sized, weak seeker damage resistance, level-1-plague-inflicting missile...named Infested Catapult, maybe?
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Originally posted by Grand Lord Vito:
Trade with this [primitive] race is not as profitable as total control of the species.

With enough unique Intel (plague intel, for example) and unique weapons (i.e. Raider Pods, Infested Catapult, any other ideas?), there should be *some* incentive to keep primitives around

[ May 07, 2003, 00:27: Message edited by: Dingocat85 ]

[PvK]

Ok, but in Proportions, I expect this plan will take many years (maybe even decades or centuries) to pay off more than you could theoretically get if you could figure out a way to leach their trade income, because even with 100% added population for new colonies, you still have to transport the people around to the colonies using ships (maintenance), and to build the colony infrastructure to compete not only with 20% of your homeworld and empire, but with 20% from any other homeworlds they trade with.

Of course, I'm not at all sure how much of their trade resources you'd be able to leach from the AI, or how much your opponents would be able to leach from them.

PvK

Originally posted by Grand Lord Vito:
Capture the Planet, drain the resources, and enslave this alternate breathing society to populate worlds that are compatible. Watch your POP and your production numbers climb then.

Trade with this race is not as profitable as total control of the species.

The original neutrals have far more to offer

[Aloofi]

I set the neutrals in Proportion to use 100% of resources in building units, but they still building ships. What should I do so the neutral AI only build units?

[dogscoff]

Interestinger and interestinger. The clukruk have had 40 or 50 turns now with galactic expansion, and they still aren't building ships. I sent a coloniser into their home system but not all the way to their homeworld and gifted it to them (The cheeky bastards refused a trade of 50000mins, orgs and rads+coloniser for that poxy troop transport they weren't even using!) but they didn't even move it. They just left it drifting, mid-system, for about 10 turns. Maybe I should have sent it right the way to the homeworld but it seems to me they are completely unable to move any ships at all.

So I declared war on them and took the coloniser back with boarding parties Next I'm going to reclaim the troop transport and see if they have loaded it with troops, and then maybe assault their homeworld. I have some serious troop technology (hey kids, research troop weapons and torpedo weapons to a high level- there are some nice surprises there) so I think I might just be able to take on their thousands of warriors with just a few hundred kt of medium troops and elite infantry. If their troop transport has been loaded, I can use their own people to conquer them

[JLS]

Aloofi, Try adjustments within the unit Construction file; for the results you are looking for. This race also must have its own Unit File, in its Pictures/Race~ folder.

Dingocat85, the AI handles Subverters pretty well, and should work fine on those pesky missile you described. Excellent Idea.

GLV, true to Primitive Home Worlds. Would be 100% value and ripe for your cultures facilities, however you will have to be near; to be able to afford transporting civilians in Proportions, with early techs.
You really must curb your gunboat ways with the AI , Trade is good

[ May 07, 2003, 15:19: Message edited by: JLS ]

[JLS]

Originally posted by dogscoff:

If their troop transport has been loaded, I can use their own people to conquer them

Now, this does not sound fair, to the AI.

We need to put some Self-Distruct on their designs.

Dingocat85, what do you think, we need something Primitive and creative.....Hmm

[ May 07, 2003, 15:12: Message edited by: JLS ]

[dogscoff]

Now, this does not sound fair, to the AI.

No it's not. There's nothing fair about it, but that's just the way it has to be when a bunch of semi-evolved steam tecchers squander my generosity and piss me off.

Seriously though, it might well open up a very easy conquest strategy for use against primitives:
-Gift them three or four starliners designated as "troop transports".
-Wait a turn or two for them to transfer all or most of their troops to the new ships.
-Capture the ships, use them to invade.

Hmm, I wonder if a variation on this could be used to strip normal proportions AI homeworlds of their troop defences?