Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri 1
Name: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Player: The Meal
Morgan Industries PBEM campaign vs. Mad Spinach
Pregame
Mad Spinach and I went to college together. We met during my last year as an undergraduate when we both lived in the same apartment complex.
We both ended up enrolling in the same graduate student program and in the same curriculum. As it turned out, I had just about every single one of my grad classes with Mad Spinach (so named because if you type in his actual name in a word processor, this is one of the spelling alternatives that pops up). We had become fast friends, and have remained so since Mad graduated and found work in February of 1998.
We had shared a like of similar types of PC games, primarily turn-based strategy offerings like Master of Orion and turn-based tactical offerings such as X-Com. When I got hooked on SMAC (a real SMAC junkie), it was a natural for me to share this with Mad and try to rope him into our PBEM circle. And despite the fact that this was his first PBEM game of SMAC, I knew better than to underestimate him as an opponent as he had always been a fantastic opponent of any sort.
I still shudder at the way he could wipe the floor with the MoO AI races...
Game Play
I separated my colony pods initially and founded two bases, MEEM and Admin in MY2102. In MY2103 I gained my first technology - Information Networks, allowing me to build a base facility (Network Nodes) with a base that didn't have anything better to do with its time. In MY2104 I ran across Santiago and her Spartan Forces. We had an information exchange, my Info Nets for her Doctrine: Mobility. Additionally, we exchanged world maps and formed a treaty (a requirement, as her speeder could have easily crushed my mere scout on the following turn). Unfortunately for Santiago, I had pulled up next to her unguarded base, and on the following turn, I moved my scout patrol in and wiped her off the face of planet. MY2105 was the first and last year that we lost a single faction out of the original seven. This was highly important as Morgan does not develop well with the Spartans as a near neighbor, and since I started on a peninsula that was cut off from the mainland by the Spartan Federation, any chance of peaceful expansion was gone.
My initial explorations had turned up the Garland Crater to my West (I could see the relief in the map - it was unfortunately overseas) and the Monsoon Jungle to my South - the area where I had just booted the Spartans from. I knew where I wanted to lead my initial run of pods...
In MY2107 I completed my first Network Node by hurrying it along with excess energy credits. The base that this was in had finally got to the point where I could begin construction of a colony pod and it would be generated at the very moment that it would have grown to size 2. In MY2109 my scientists completed research of their first technology (my faction's fourth, however) and that was Planetary Networks. At this point Chairman Spinach had called me up, and I traded my "free technology," Industrial Base, for his Biogenetics. Now I had a second important base facility to work on (Recycle Tanks) for when my bases weren't building anything more important.
Also in MY2109 I had seen some rogue worms near MEEM, which was nearing its growth to size 2. I began to move my independent scout back toward MEEM as there was a lot of fungus between there and the Jungle (about six squares away) and I did not want anything happening to the Colony Pod. The worms were dispatched by the scout defending MEEM, and in MY2111 I spent the credits to hurry my Colony Pod. During the movement of the Col Pod to what I determined was a great base location, I managed to get an Alien Artifact and a Cartagraphic Pod which revealed a University (man this place is popular!) scout to my South East (about six squares away), just inside the Monsoon Jungle.
Finally in MY2119, I managed to finally found Chem-Met in the Northern reaches of the Jungle and also got Centauri Ecology which allowed me to develop formers. It looked like the battle for the Jungle was going to be between myself and Zak. Heh.
By 2122 I had made contact with the fourth faction (out of six!), Gaia, who had all ready established herself in a base in the Western portion of the Jungle. The game was set to have abundant native life forms, so it was obvious that the most challenging AI faction in the game was going to be the Gaians. Of anyone I didn't want to share a land mass with, it would definitely have been Deirdre. Two Mission Years later, I saw a University Rover moving about to my South East.
The University had established a base in the very fringe of the Jungle, but had not yet established a second base. If Zak were going to clear the way with his rover, I had better establish some sort of vanguard of my own and meet him in the field.
As luck would have it (and luck was definitely with me this game - as evidenced by what a pushover the Spartans were), a rogue mindworm popped up and took care of the University Rover menace the very next year. Additionally, that worm unit managed to stay near the Eastern part of the Jungle (as near as I could tell) instead of heading my way to wreak havok, or to the West to become part of the Gaian's native army. In MY2128 my researchers developed their third technology (finally!), that of Industrial Economics. Despite the fact that Planet was covered with the terrible native fungus, I immediately shelled out the credits and made my first Social Engineering change, to Free Market. FM would strongly help me with both research and bolstering my energy credit reserves. At that point my three bases were earning 6 credits per turn and I was researching new technologies at a rate of one for every 8 turns.
By MY2130 I had popped out my first formers, and the following year I had established my fourth base, Forestry Building. This base was not quite to the Jungle - being somewhat between Admin and Chem-Met, on the Eastern shores of my continent. Unfortunately by this time the Gaians had placed a base in the geographic center of the Jungle. Their Lily of the Valley would turn into one of the key strategic points for the game. The same year I had founded Forestry Building, I had seen a Gaian scout moving directly toward it. Of course, as I tend to do with all my bases, the first item developed by Forestry Building was that of a defensive scout.
MY2132 dictated the nature of the decades to follow. As I was moving a Colony Pod to the remaining location in the Jungle (the center of the Northern edge) I managed to kick up a rogue Mind Worm. Additionally I saw that Gaia was moving another worm towards my Southern-most base of Chem-Met. After my turn ended but before Mad (remember Mad?) got to take his turn, the rogue worm had taken out my Col Pod, and Gaia had declared Vendetta against little ol' me. For shame!
MY2133 saw the scout defending Chem-Met to be wiped out by the evil Gaia's worm, and saw my Forestry Building Scout hold off the attack by Gaia's scout. In MY2134 I generated another Pod way back in MEEM (rushed, of course) and the following year I had researched Industrial Automation. It would prove to be the last peace-time technology we would research for a while. Especially after I saw Chem-Met obliterated before my eyes. While I didn't have a base deeply entrenched in the Jungle, I was *not* going to concede such a tasty location to the viscious Gaians.
In MY2136 I rushed a Probe Team in my new front line of Forestry Building, and the following year I founded the base of Walker, again on the Northern fringes of the Jungle. MY2139 saw the rebirth of Chem-Met, and I had also managed to maneuver my probe team to the Gaian shore base and infiltrated. Luckily my probe team was not lost on the mission, and two years later, I had managed to use these trained probes to Mind Control the strategic Lily of the Valley out from under her oppressive grip. But alas, she had worms in the waiting just outside the gates of LotV. It looked as if the fight was not yet through.
MY2142 saw my researchers proving their mettle by discovering the secrets of Applied Physics and gaining us the ability to manufacture more powerful killing machine. This must have scared those pig-dog Gaians, as she offered up a Blood Truce, which I happily accepted. Of course, before she offered such a deal to me, she had taken back the wonderful Lily of the Valley, but I was streched so thin at this point that the Blood Truce was really my only chance of building back up before she steam rollered me into submission.
Now there is nothing written in our truce that prohibits the effective use of espionage, and the following year proved that, when my Probe Team unit had managed to steal her secrets of Gene Splicing. While most resonable persons would realize that this does not invalidate the agreement we had made the year before, Miss Deirdre (and she will always remain a "Miss" with that attitude of hers) took offense and immediately reinitiated our Vendetta. Uh-oh...
I had a few years to prepare, and in MY2145 I had rushed my Prototype Laser(2) Rover in Forestry Building. The following year I had again got my Probe Team, who had earned their keep many years earlier, into position near her coastal city of Virgin Soil, and I had managed to coax her researchers into divulging their Secrets of the Human Brain.
As repressed as that crazy witch was keeping her researchers, it was no surprise that they were so willing to spill the beans to my peace-loving faction. Now despite the fact that one of the other factions had gained the research boon fitting to discovering the SotHB, my primary concern was to gain the ability to make my own troops more resistive to Gaia's mind worm attacks. And this trance ability was of key importance for this defense.
That same year I shifted stances from Free Market back to the Simple choice. Taking my Laser Rover to Lily of the Valley while I was still in Free Market would have been exceptionally unsettling for my populace, so this move was necessitated. Oh how it hurt to lose my energy credits and research abilities, but it was time to make the Gaians pay! Of course, over the next few years anything but my intented plans came to fruition as I had lost both my experienced probe teams and their backups (developed in the bases away from the front), a Former unit on the front, and a Rover that was near LotV. I also had rogue Worms pop up near Walker and developed Ethical Calculus in the year MY2150. Children's Creches are useful facilities, but they're certainly not going to give immediate help on the front lines of battle.
Between handling rogue and Gaian Worms, and the exchange of conventional units between myself and the Gaians, I was lead to believe that both sides of this conflict were rather beaten up. The power graph indicated that I was the most powerful being on planet in MY2153, closely followed by the dreaded Gaians, followed by my other near (but Laissez Faire) neighbor, the University. Mad Spinach occupied the fourth place, and was followed by the enigmatic Peace Keepers and Believers, wherever those three factions may be. Gaia, with her cushy location staked out in the Jungle lead the known planet with 18 council votes, Mad Spinach had managed to expand himself to 15 votes, and I was in there at 13 votes. Without contact with the other factios (and no infiltrator status with the UoP), I had no idea where they stood. Myself, I had the technology lead, Gaia lead in Military and Population, the Believers lead in overall wealth (!), and Spinach had managed to occupy most of the territory on the planet.
In MY2154 I rushed my first Creche in Forestry Building, counting on its morale enhancing abilities to help my front line troops. Neither Gaia nor I had sent out an offensive after our flurry of battle, and in MY2159 we made it official with our second Blood Truce. That very same year I shifted industrial gears and put my Social Engineering values into those of Wealth. MY2160 saw us found our first base in 21 years (since the second incarnation of Chem-Met was established), and that was named Marie's Deli. A random pod had turned up the Centauri Empathy technology. That same year (MY2161) I took the plunge and headed down the path of Democracy. The following year my scientists figured out the challenges of Non-Linear Mathematics (was one of them named Bendat?) and we lost a Probe Team that was scurring around in Gaia's territory. That may have perturbed her a bit as in MY2163 she demanded that I remove my units from her territory, with which I immediately complied. During these peaceful years (the eye of the
hurricane?) I managed to upgrade my bases with some of the key facilities I had available to me, and I believe they all were outfitted with both Recycling Tanks and Childrens' Creches.
The mid-to-late '60s saw military activities only from native lifeforms, and after I had upgraded my base defenders with the trance enhancement, these worms were little more than pests. It was unfortunate when in MY2167 it was announced that Gaia had developed The Human Genome Project. How did that crazy witch find time to work on secret projects during those lean years of our wars? Myself, I was spending my resources in my back lines on developing crawlers which would help scale up my economy and mineral outputs in the appropriate northern bases. By the late '60's I had decided it was time to save my credits for some of the future facilities which were soon to come my way.
The early '70's saw Gaia again request that I remove offensive troops from within her territory (which, again, I complied with). MY2171 saw my researchers determine the secrets of Ecological Engineering which, in turn, reminded me to switch back into Free Market so these and other advances would come along at a faster clip. (Whoops - should have done that a few years earlier...) MY2176 saw my first interaction with Miriam of the Lord's Believers, as she sailed a foil up against my northern shores. As Miriam had been fighting the forces of the University (no wonder I had it so quiet out of them), she enlisted me to join in the battle by offering me a Pact. Itching to taste combat again, and figuring the University to be patsies compared to the brutal Gaian forces, I accepted this offer. One cannot have too many friends on the harsh surface of Planet. That same year I was informed that the Blood Truce with the Gaian's had come to an end, but no action to nullify the truce was taken by either side. Had it really all ready been 20 years of pacificisim? In MY2177 Dierdre was voted in as the Planetary Governor. I guess that's what I get for selling comm links (The Believers and Mad Spinach's) to her the turn before. I vowed that this would be the last election which I would lose. On the bright side, that was the year that I finally discovered Enviornmental Economics and lifted the last of the blasted resource limitations. All the money I had been saving up was earmarked for Tree Farms to install in bases across my strengthening empire.
In MY2178 I got an unexpected boon as Mad Spinach called me up and asked me if I were interested in becoming a trading partner. As I had had no beef with Spinach or his motivations, I accpeted the offer.
Additionally, I traded technologies with the Believers and gained knowledge of Doctrine: Flexibility. I suppose I may need to have boats some day, as there appears to be more world across the oceans. Of course, I've had plenty to keep me busy domestically...
In the early '80's I took it to the University. Not wanting to abandon the advantages of Free Market, and knowing the Zak's fallibility to probe actions, I sent in the spys. I managed to convert one of his own Rovers to join the side of what is good and just (my side, you knuckleheads!). The advantage to using probe actions is that I can continue to develop facilities in my own bases (Tree Farms!) while I was off waging a silent war. The early Eighties saw the Peacekeepers finish their development of The Merchant Exchange (MY2182), and my own self complete The Weather Paradigm (MY2185). I gained infiltrator status of the University in MY2182 (what more could my probes do if he wasn't going to send any more units into the field to be mind controlled?) and even swiped Intellectual Integrity (hold your comments about irony til the end, please) from Zak's researchers in MY2182. I had also lost some Formers and Probe Teams to rogue worms in the early Eighties, but such are expected losses while running Free Market.
We took to the water in MY2186 and immediately unleashed an Isle of the Deep upon ourselves. The high seas appear to be more dangerous than originally expected. Miriam called up again, and we traded technologies with her, my Doctrine: Initiative was worth her High Energy Chemistry. I think she was hoping that a military technology would spur me to action against the University, but as that technology is primarily a defensive one I declined the implied reminder. I am certainly not going to the the first on planet to open up the (literal) can of worms associated with Nerve Gassing my enemies.
Additionally, I made a generous loan to the Believers, as it appeared as if they were going to be staunch pact-mates for the many years to come. MY2186 also saw me call up Brother Lal and purchase the Map of Mad Spinach's Speds for a mere 50cr. Holy crapoly! Those Speds sure spread across planet. With six of us factions located on the same land mass (the Believers were East of me and North East of the University, and Brother Lal was to the direct south of myself and the Gaians), the Speds had an entire planet to colonize themselves. And colonize they did. When I had commented on what appeared to be the Garland Crater to my immediate West in the first turns of the game, little did I know that it would become a Sped stronghold. Every island that stretched along my (and Gaia's) Eastern coast was filled with those Smurfy-colored peoples, and their expansion had wrapped around the Northern stretches of the planet to the point where they were on the Western side of the Believers. The world was very blue, and at that moment, I was scared. Lal also traded with me to give me Polymorphic Software, and the two of us decided that a trade treaty was in order.
Finally in MY2186, the Gaian's had began work on another secret project - the Command Nexus. Uh-oh, could a renewed war be far behind?
MY2188 saw me complete Synthetic Fossil Fuels in anticipation of an offensive thrust by the Gaians. I also founded the base of SDC in my feeble attempts to try to keep up with the Speds populating the world.
The following year I sent a Probe Foil into the Spedly base of Miner's Beach to infiltrate his databanks. Unfortunately I lost my expensive probe boat, but now at least I had a little bit of an idea what I was up against. And no, it didn't make me feel any better. MY2190 saw me trade with Brother Lal to gain access to his information on Optical Computers. The following year, my inner-deviousness began. I convinced Lal, for but the price of my research on Doctrine: Initiative to go to Vendetta with Mad Spinach. Additionally, Lal swore a Pact with me to help out our trade. It should be explicity noted that I was not yet at Vendetta with the Speds, but I managed to get Lal to do my bidding for me... MY2192 saw Deirdre complete the Command Nexus and begin work on the Xenoempathy Dome. I'm going to have to do something about her pretty soon...
And then it happened. MY2193 will be noted as the beginning of the Nealgan dominance on the face of planet. My researchers, bless their souls, managed to figure out Doctrine: Airpower. If anyone else in on planet had infiltrator status with me (other than our Governor, Dierdre), they should have shuddered. Zak immediately saw the implications of my discovery, and declared Blood Truce to the Vendetta that neither of us were ever fully committed to. MY2196 saw me switch back out of Free Market (it doesn't mix well with Noodlejets) to a Simple stance, and coincidentally saw my first Missle(6) Needlejet roll off the line. Not being one to let good technology go to waste, I immediately sent it towards the Gaian base of The Flowers Preach and declared a renewed Vendetta against the thorn in my side for so many years so long ago. Little did I know, that not two squares outside of Forestry Building, Gaia had a Worm surprise waiting for me. The needlejet easily dispatched the offending Worm, but it would seem as if I weren't the only one of us who had plans of renewing the conquest...
Supporting my war cause were a few Probe Foils cruising the high-seas and hitting up the Speds for whatever technology they could donate to my effort. Thier base of White Pine Trail coughed up Doctrine: Loyalty in MY2197 (unfortunately doing in my Probe Team, again), and Au Sable Point gave Advanced Subatomic Theory the following year. Additionally, Mad Spinach, proving his name worthy, called up on the Comm Link and offered me Centauri Ecology if I would go to war with the Gaians(!).
What a wonderful sounding idea, Mad. I'd love to go beat up the Gaians for your tasty technology. Not to mention that I've all ready fired off the first shot in what promises to be our final conflict... I beat down a few ineffectual Gaian probe teams near Forestry Building, and had The Flowers Preach emptied of defenders by the year MY2199. Now if I could only get some land units of my own in the area before it gets back to being defended.
In MY2200 my researchers brough the knowledge of Neural Grafting to my attention, and Brother Lal was kind enough to trade Cyberethics to me.
Additionally, I did manage to occupy TFP from the Gaians. The following year I had Centauri Meditation traded to me by the Speds, I took Lily of the Valley (finally!), I switched from Simple to Green, and I convened the Planetary Council in an effort to re-elect a planetary governor. If it wouldn't have been for the staunch support of Brother Lal, there is no way I could have outvoted Mad Spinach, who by this point had a great advantage (not fighting wars on your home continent will do that for you) for the privelege of leading Planet.
MY2202, of course, saw me in my newly elected position. MY2203 saw the University encroaching on my territory, so I politely requested they withdraw their troops. Unbelievably they had the audacity to deny my request and declare Vendetta on the mighty Nealgans! Silly University, have you no idea the power of the Needlejet? I swiped another of his rovers via probe team action just to show him the what a big ogre (at least economically) is capable of doing to a gnat of his proportions.
Additionally, that same turn, my conquest of Gaia continued, as I took Virgin Soil off her hands.
MY2204 saw me capture my first rogue worm, and the following year Gaia was so impressed that she completely and abosolutely surrendered to me (my taking of Song of Planet may have had something to do with the convincing part). With Gaia pledging a Submissive Pact to me, it was time to focus my attentions to the faction to my other side. By MY2209 I had taken exactly one of Zak's bases, Climactic Research, and the little puppy rolled over and played dead for my amusement. I had my second Submissive Pact in four years. In the meantime, I had discovered Planetary Economics in MY2208. Also, I convinced Zak to declare Vendetta against Mad Spinach's Speds. Give him someone else to think about...
Now if you've been following along at home, you realize the enviable position I have just put myself in. GS and UoP are in Submissive Pacts with me, and I've got the PK and LB in regular Pacts with me.
Additionally, I've got every one of these factions convinced to be in a Vendetta with the Speds, without actually drawing myself into the conflict (yet). So, what's a planetary governor to do? If you guessed passing the Global Trade Pact (and increasing the revenue generated by trade), then you'd be correct. She passed with flying colors in MY2211.
I'm not sure what the first conflict in the Nealgan-Sped war was, but my notes say that it was when the Speds destroyed my Cruiser (with one of his Skimships, I'm sure) near SDC in MY2213. In addition, this is the year that Speds had gotten Doctrine: Airpower on their own (I know for a fact that it was not stolen from me). Immediately Noodlejets of his own were in production - Interceptors due in 3, 5, and 7 turns, and bombers due in 3 and 10 turns. The Spedly industrial capacity was truly a sight to behold, and again, I was frightened... It would have been much nicer to have held the Airpower advantage for an additional five or ten years before he attained flight, as I could see that the end game was going to come down to a conflict between his industry and ability to crank out planes and my ability to out-research him to the point where I could counter act his numbers advantage. The race was on!
MY2214 gained me Superconductor (via research), and the Speds had rushed their first Needlejet. Nothing more than a harassment at this point. MY2215 the Speds managed to swipe The Lord's Wrath from the Believers. I started buzzing some of my airforce in that direction to help Lady Miriam defend her other bases. Since the Speds were spread so far around planet, they were capable of getting their Needlejets to just about anywhere they wanted, but it would take them a few turns to get there. I had a similar advantage, as I was pacted with everyone who was left, but my advantage was that it didn't really cost me that much to have one of those bases taken, as it was merely from the AI factions. Additionally, the only direct access the Speds had to my bases was through the narrow straight to the West of the Garland Crater, and to the East of my original three bases. I kept that area well stocked with Interceptors (and put a very tactical Airbase Complex in one of those bases to help repair my airforce much more quickly), and other than losses of Formers, Crawlers, a ship or two, and maybe some forest, didn't manage to lose anything I didn't really want to. We would go tit-for-tat with Interceptors (I'd fly out to knock down one of his bombers, then on his turn he'd send an Interceptor out to knock down my Interceptor, then I'd relaliate in kind on my next turn), which would seemingly appear to be a losing proposition for me as Mad had a superior industrial capacity. I had two things in my favor to dispute this notion, however. First, I'd send random sorties out from one of my pact brother's bases that he'd waste resources trying to defend against (a feint, if you will). And secondly, really all I was doing was trying to distract him (and keep his attacks off my soil) until I got the key technology that I was after.
Also in MY2215 I decided to start donating technologies, and gave Airpower to the PKs, LBs, and UoPs. I also gave away lots of technologies to all my pact brothers in an effort to keep them from researching things which I all ready had. I managed to get a few "extra" technologies out of Lal and Zak by having them research them for me. In MY2217 I manaaged to take White Pine Trail (a base on the shores of Garland Crater) from the Speds by use of an expensive landing party coordinated with my own Needlejet runs. This was a very expensive proposition for me, but it allowed me to minimize the number of targets he could send his planes after on my continent, and allowing me to defend a single important choke point. Just to get his goat, I renamed WPT to "Sped's Folly." At this point he had Interceptors 0t, 1t, 2t, 2t, and 4turns away, and Needlejets 2t, 3t, 3t, and 4turns away. I knew I was really in for it. MY2218 saw me get Advanced Military Algorithms and lose Sped's Folly (immedately renamed to "Sped's Glory!") to a renewed land and air assault by Mad Spinach's forces. Each time we'd take this base, however, the population would be decreased by one. With rapid swaps in ownership, it wouldn't be too long before it'd be wiped off the face of planet for good, which was my intention. And there was no way he could move a new Colony Pod into place in the viscious Needlejet crossfire taking place in the skies above this prime location each turn. Also in MY2218, the Believers took back The Lord's Wrath. I'm sure my airforce in that area was of some use in the matter...
MY2220 saw one of the first of the technologies I got my pact brothers to research from me, as the PK's gave me Pre-Sentinent Algorithms which normally would be of key importance in a game (the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm completely negates vulnerability to Probe Teams), but I didn't want to waste the ability to generate Needlejets and Interceptors in any of my bases, and Mad had never designed any Probe Foils (until the very end when it did not matter) which could cause me any concern. I'm certain that in future games (remember, this was his *first* PBEM game!) he will not repeat that same mistake (especially after reading this!). Additionaly in MY2221, I founded The Lode in a location which would allow me to direct Needlejet attacks towards the Spinach homeland. As it turned out, he actually targetted The Lode before I used it as a base to launch harrassment sorties, but it wasn't really all that important of a cog in the machinery of the Nealgan Victory Machine.
MY2222 saw something curious in that the Believers renounced our Pact status. Apparently my help in winning them back The Lord's Wrath went unappreciated, but after I looked at the situation a bit closer, not only were the no longer at Vendetta with Mad Spinach, thew were actually Treatied with him. It would appear that there was a rat spreading bad things about me. Fearing an eventual Pact between the Speds and Believers (and therefore giving Mad Spinach a new route to attack my home continent), I immediately sent Miriam 150credits to go back to Vendetta with the Speds. IF she isn't going to be my Pact buddy, I'm certainly not going to allow her to become his!. And then . . .
MY2223 rolled around, and that was potentially the second most important technology I got in the game: Mind/Machine Interface. MMI!
Choppers and drop-pods - the two things I most needed to make the back and forth nature of the Needlejets/Interceptors battles between us to tilt sharply in my favor...
MY2224 saw me finish up the Citizen's Defense Force (I feared what would happen if the Speds managed to land some of those nasty Missle Rovers on my home continent, so up went the Perimeter Defenses). In
MY2225 I noticed that the Speds were a mere 8years away from Superstring (and an offensive upgrade for him, from Missle (attack 6) to Chaos (attack 8)). Yikes! Of course, I had an ace in the hole. I had got the PK's to the point where they were 5years away from Fusion Power! MY2226 saw me research Orbital Spaceflight (yes, I had my allotments such that I was 3turns for each new tech - I was running 40%/0%/60% at the time). In MY2227 I managed to drop in a 1^-3-1 Infantry to retake (however temporarily) Sped's Glory (again renamed to Folly) for but a single turn. Upon Mad's "retaking" of the base, it was completely and forever annhilated, which was my intent in the first place. MY2228 also saw me (finally) vote to salvage the unity core (should have done this much earlier, too) - giving 500credits to every faction on the planet. Of course, the next turn I extorted my two Submissive Pact partners for money, garnering me roughly 1000 bonus credits that turn. You see, I was very soon to have a dire need of lots and lots of money... MY2229 saw me complete the Maritime Control Center (which really was a worthless decision considering the nature of the game, but at least I got another SP), and then MY2230 saw me trade with Lal to get Fusion Power. This was the last of my super-important technologies, as it gave my units (upgraded with all those credits I was hoarding) twice as many hit points, and allowed each of my air units to travel one additional space. By this time I was flying about with about three Missle(6) Choppers, and doing a fair amount of damage on the Spedly bases within range of the Garland Crater.
MY2231 saw me (finally) move my Headquarters to a more central location in my empire. I probably should have moved it about sixty years earlier, considering how energy inefficiencies are based (in part) on the distance of the base from your Headquarters, but it didn't strike me to do it until way late in the game. The fact that I was tying up industry on something like this (and not in cranking out troops) should give some indication of my confidence level at this point in the game. MY2232 saw me finish up Silksteel Alloys giving me the ability to withstand the Speds soon-to-come Chaos attacks. I also sent a piddly 650credits to Miriam to re-establish our Pact status with each other (and to give me another avenue to send out harassment attacks from). In the ensuing four years, Lal managed to start the HSA, and I put a base down on the Manifold Nexus island (giving me a +1 Planet rating.) I snagged Applied Relativity in MY2236 from Zak, and researched Bioengineering on my own in MY2237, but that, my friends, was the day that Mad Spinach and his Speds saw the light and threw in the towel. You see, I had also sent in about four Chaos Choppers (did I mention that I stole Sped's Superstring Theory the turn he researched it with a Probe Foil (maybe the MCC did come in handy)?) to Beaver Basin at the center of Garland Crater (and the heart of Mad's industrial capacity), and dropped in a Drop Infantry once it was empty. Once I landed those four choppers inside, along with my 1^-4-1 Infantry and the Perimeter Defense and wensor nearby, I'm thinking that Beaver Basin (immediately renamed to Cagey Beaver) was an impervious stronghold that would have been the perfect base for launching my final offensive and rolling over the rest of the Spedly Empire.
All in all, it was one of the most challenging and most fun games of PBEM SMAC I've ever been involved with.
~Neal