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Atrocities cause ecodamage, but I'm pretty sure the SMAX mod we used before uses a special setting to disable the ecodamage from regular atrocities (ie. not planet busters). Since you're not using it this game, you get ecodamage for retrovirus probe action, nerve gas pods, and razing bases (possibly nerve stapling too, but I think that's too small of an atrocity to qualify) unless the UN charter has been repealed, in which case they are no longer atrocities and stop causing ecodamage (but you keep the ecodamage from pre-repeal atrocities). You can easily trigger global warming with nerve gas pods alone if you're not careful and just use them freely.
The cessation of most cross-Planet commerce as a consequence of deregulation, and the loss of all viable trading ports as an unfortunate side effect of measures taken to counter the effects of climate change, resulted in a highly unfavourable business environment on Planet. The advent of negative share prices, the constant wildlife incursions which even saw the rumoured ‘Locusts of Chiron’ appear this fiscal year, and the incessant attempts of the UN to “re-regulate the market” all contributed to despair amongst investors and executives alike. Even if it managed to weather these ongoing crises, Morgan Industries would never again be in a position to contest market dominance, analysts predicted.
And yet, within a mere decade, Morgan Industries has once again risen to the top of the pack with its triumphant return to market growth and profitability! Nowhere is this more evident than in the rapid rebounding of share prices, with MORG hitting 744 credits as of closing time: while still far from the record highs witnessed during the golden age of commerce prior to deregulation, a nonetheless healthy result that bodes well for market growth moving forward; and most importantly, still far ahead of the competition!
How did Morgan Industries achieve yet another stunning market turnaround against all the odds? The answer lies in the Morgan Board of Directors’ wise decision to embrace the principles of Industry 4.0 as an until-then-untapped source of market potential. With the ongoing partnership with Provost Zakharov and the University of Planet providing a firm entrepreneurial foundation, several innovations took place in quick succession, and their fruits are already in the process of transforming the workplace as we know it.
The first and most fundamental of these innovations was the Morgan Backboneᵀᴹ, an ambitious investment in the company’s digital infrastructure that made use of the latest developments in distributed computing to leverage the computational resources of every customer on Planet in order to deliver an unparalleled user experience. Through the use of big data gathered by proprietary applications bundled with every computer – all with the consent of users, of course! – Morgan Industries is able to perfectly match consumer demand with supply. This allows the elimination of wasteful spending and streamlining of supply chains, all the while ensuring that environmental protections are respected and followed!
In addition, sophisticated analytic tools allow system administrators to take a hard line against software piracy and anti-market fake news, ensuring that both annual profits and employee satisfaction remain high!
This vast expansion in digital infrastructure also provided the necessary environment for Morgan Industries to implement the Self-Aware Colony Initiativeᵀᴹ. As the pinnacle of continuous refinements in process automation technology, it has enabled the cutting of costs on an unprecedented scale by making entire departments of salary-demanding middle managers redundant virtually overnight. Not only does it save Morgan Industries hundreds of thousands of credits per quarter, it has also improved company morale, with employees in less developed subsidiaries – particularly former Spartan bases – reporting greatly increased levels of satisfaction as a result of this transformation in management.
After all, why would any self-motivated high-achiever want to have their talents held back by fickle bosses prone to engaging in favouritism, nepotism, fraud, embezzlement, micromanagement, illicit substance abuse, all-expenses-paid junkets, sexual harassment, and misgendering, when they could instead be flourishing with the help of unobtrusive, untiring, and unbiased AIs which will always recall your preferred pronouns straight out of the database? As they like to say in the Morgan Welfare Office: SAC ‘em!
Such advances in automation technology have paved the way for the total automation of all manufacturing processes throughout Morgan Industries, which has not only boosted productivity and contributed to a virtuous cycle of capital investment, but also freed up large numbers of employees for higher-value-added activities. The difference between underdeveloped former Spartan bases and fully-developed Morganic subsidiaries speaks for itself: industrial output is up to ten times greater in the latter than the former!
But wait: it gets better! Previously regarded as unprofitable due to the prohibitively high amounts of processing power needed to manage large networks of nanobots in real time, the recent explosion in computing power available for commercial applications has now made macro-scale nanotechnology a reality. Intriguingly enough, the first viable product turned out to be not in manufacturing, but rather in the increasingly lucrative medical industry. The new “microtransactions for microsurgery” model sees intricate networks of medical nanomachines swarm within the bloodstream and major organs, identifying any potential medical issues and administering on-the-spot medical intervention without delay. The targeted nature of these interventions allows for even more efficient pricing structures, while ensuring that any issues are treated at fair market rates. The technology is still being rolled out across Morganic subsidiaries, but it is already making a killing!
And as a bonus, all the medical data is beamed straight to the Morgan Welfare Office in exchange for favourable access to discounts and promotions, allowing loyal customers to participate as interconnected components in Morgan Industries distributed computing initiatives! Truly, this is the next level in corporate synergy!
Nonetheless, investors remain confident nanotech still has a foothold in manufacturing. With rumours that the first prototype NanoFactoryᵀᴹ underwent a successful field test, a new era of just-in-time supply chains seems to be just around the corner...
The fiscal year is 2200 and Morgan Industries has crawled back from the brink, though things are still tense on Planet.
Long story short, I incurred a ton of eco-damage as a result of mass nerve-stapling and 2 Planet Busters (although not nearly as much as Sparta), which means I still get fungal blooms every turn or so despite having +4 PLANET. Killing all those worms made me a lot of money, several thousand credits or so, which let me rush the Network Backbone and the Self-Aware Colony despite having negative income. They synergise quite well together: the former lets me run Cybernetic future society while preserving my POLICE rating and giving free labs, while the latter cuts maintenance in half (saving 250+ credits per turn, effectively a 50% increase in income!) and gives free police in bases that don’t have enough (although Non-Lethal Methods is still superior). The Nano Factory isn’t too shabby either, allowing me to upgrade units on the cheap and leave more money for rushing shiny facilities every turn, like RoboPlants and Nanohospitals.
This turn, though, the fungal bloom resulted in Locusts everywhere, which as Hellraiser illustrated are much harder to deal with since they can’t be stack-killed or attacked with artillery. The era of easy planetpearls might be at an end.
Despite being nuked thrice and inadvertently landlocking themselves by raising land to deal with rising sea levels, the Peacekeepers are determined to continue being a thorn in my side. They constantly send jets and choppers across the ocean to snipe formers, and would probably have gassed some bases by now if I didn’t have psi defenders to protect them. Ultimately, formers are replaceable, population not so much. Still, I can’t ignore them forever...
The pace of the game also slowed down somewhat, since we're in the "turns take 1-2 hours to play" phase of the game and our schedules don't line up very well. Unfortunate, but what can you do.
Long story short, I incurred a ton of eco-damage as a result of mass nerve-stapling and 2 Planet Busters (although not nearly as much as Sparta), which means I still get fungal blooms every turn or so despite having +4 PLANET.
...
This turn, though, the fungal bloom resulted in Locusts everywhere...
ITZ like that thing Santiago was talking about. Pack your rice, close the hatch and boot-up VaultOS, the xenoid buttsex apocalypse is coming. The rapeworm conga line is just forming and is going to steam on ahead like a freight train powerhouse locomotive. Totally unstoppable just like a black mold infestation in a bunker once it sets in. The destination of this rape train is Mankind's asshole and lubricant is not included. Saps gonna Sap, should have listened to the 'thal Spartan when she warned you of the coming ITZ.
Seriously though, poor cleve impression aside, ITZ going to be interesting looking at that screenshot.
Turn has definitely slowed. Even Kalin have delivered turn later than expected. Meanwhile, my Peacekeepers are largely irrelevant and I'm waiting for Kalin or Troy to do something interesting.
This is University's CABAL mainframe. As per commands of Provost Zakharov, please read the following message:
*GOVERNOR* ZAKHAROV TELEPATHIC MATRIX ADDRESS
M.Y. 2223- THIS IS *GOVERNOR* ZAKHAROV SPEAKING - as rightful leader of enlightened mankind - supplanting sub-standard counterfeit reject and debased Planet Buster-fuel Pravin Lal - it is a most joyous privilege to inform Chiron of the stunningly success of implementing THE FINAL SOLUTION TO THE DRONISH QUESTION; emphatic-eudaimonic unity through telepathic mind-fusing centralisation utilising perfected symbiosis of thought transference and Virtual World management. With every faculty now fully linked-in to our communion barbaric old-tech police measures are henceforth rescinded. Minders rendered obsolete. Total intellectual freedom granted - within responsible reason and loyalty parameters, of course. Drone riots in Shen Kuo Academy, The Technodrome and Ahnenerbe Institute during transition phase deemed inconsequential. Boys will be boys. Sometimes, you have to trash the obnoxious servitor in your way. Trust the plan - we're doing this.
Effective immediately, wasteful faculty rec commons, stimulants, casinos, brothels and miscellaneous vain pursuits are to be dismantled by faction-wide bold step towards unified transcendence. Cat- fox- and miscellaneous girl constructs are naturally still permissable, and in fact, recommend. Let a thousand intellectual pursuits flower! Free thinking is not merely your right; it is your responsibility! All Faculty staff, contractors, allies and flesh/cybern creations are mandated regular Zywiec-47 psi booster intake to ensure steady connection to ZAKMIND and peak efficiency. Frivolity will not be tolerated. Embrace the Faculty! Comply -- or die! Sip the coloured fluid.
IN OTHER NEWS ---
Locusts of Chiron - Planetary pestoid devastation combated most proficiently. Rivalling emphatic entity "Planetmind" xenomorph infestation defeated by concentrated marshalling of dronoids. Casualties considerable though within most acceptable parameters. Experimental Brainblasteroid cybern-humanoid fused assault jets proven most effective, new copter variant pursued for rapid-response defence.
Kelp farm failure - statistically unfeasible freak accident of failing kelp farms cause mass starvation in several sea-based faculty holdings. Competent authorities are notified. Sea fungus ironically deemed most suitable source of sustenance. Servitors planting fungal fields at rapid pace. Rough casualty estimate: 50,000-100,000 sub-talentoid colleagues.
Rapid flooding continues - Direct Energy Outreach, Nikonov Fleet Base, New Crimea and Lomonosov Park have successfully transitioned into naval bases. Lack of boreholes in "Scenario Waterworld" prompt massive off-planet mining, Nessus stations online, sky farms under construction. Transition into orbital sustenance utmost priority. Tek-Lords voice outrage at pathetic lack of orbital power transmitters in comparison to Morganic dominance comprising ten fully operational space stations.
Peace with Human Hive - Recent developments have led to cessation of hostilities and renewed friendship with good colleague Chairman Bing. Faculty outreach currently pursues diplomatic solutions and joint efforts to redeem the backwards and mainly non-enhanced humanoid population mass to pursue common-good venues to ensure continued free flow of information and unregulated progress to perfection.
Air raids on Morgan Industries continue - Peacekeeping suicide death squads and choppers continue their harassment of our most precious pact partner to the utmost dismay of the Cognitive Elite Council. Proactive measures are scheduled to contain abhorrent aggression from Lal's terrorist coven. Peacekeeping officials are instructed to surrender en mass and yield to PROPER PLANETARY AUTHORITY lest they perish. Science finds a way. Get with the program.
This is University's CABAL mainframe. As per commands of Provost Zakharov, please read the following message:
PUNITIVE SANCTION: TEMPLE OF SOL OBLITERATED!
Peacekeeping progress update - regressive subversies purged with brand new deployment of Project Zakharov after failure to comply with lawful Planetary Council Mandate 1488-47. Enemy industro-research center Temple of Sol wiped off face of Planet by means of superior technological prowess. University communion members mandated 5 minutes of cheering time to celebrate spectacular victory with future breaks scheduled for follow-up planet buster strikes by Morganic allies. New deal for Chiron most imminent - governor publicly discusses merger with most compatible ally Morgan Industries, CEO insisting upon brand-name Morgan University causes concern; Tek-Lords strongly prefer brand University Industries. Inter-factional meetings scheduled and pursued peak priority.
Nessus mine complex established - rapid push into space-based mineral extraction bypass negative impact from flooded and submerged boreholes upon faculty industrial output. Fifteen mining stations fully operational with emphatic thanks to Morganic expertise and financial support. Nutri-gloop Sky Farm sludge station program pursued rigorously to offset kelp falm failure parameter. Vat-grown clonoid population boom ensures swift, steady and most bold progress in face of starvation scenario. Science finds the way.
Dream Twister online - New exciting thought transference technology resulting from the Mind over Matter Project stands to amplify proactive pacification procedures directed against Peacekeeping and backsliding Hive forces. Transition into predominantly PSI-based cybernetic conflict resolution solutions implemented across the board. Governor Zakharov excitedly oversees operations from Telepathic Observatory, awards responsible staff substantial Virtu-psionic waifu-time bonuses. Remember: progress pays!
Waterworld watch - Rapidly rising sea levels have all but washed away the shameful Gaian and Spartoid stains upon Chiron's collective history. Progenitor installation absurdly named "Temple of Planet" fully submerged along collapsed and flooded Garland Crater. Enlightened staff and colleagues welcome the cleansing tide of renewal preparing Planet for a proper re-set in line with enlightened and progressive thought.
Human Hive re-classified level 4 problematic annoyance - Refusal of most generous tech deals in conjunction with obnoxious and most uncooperative NAY votes obstructing Governor Zakharov's grand design has warranted rapid re-assessment of Chairman Bing's place in the new world order to come. Effective immediately Hivelings are once again to be expunged on sight. Relevant Faculty authorities have been notified.
Exactly twenty fiscal years following CEO Nwabudike Morgan’s historic declaration at the FY 2212 Annual General Meeting, Morgan Industries announced today that it had achieved the total elimination of all United Nations presence from the surface of Chiron and its surrounding orbits, on time and on budget.
Pursuing a high-powered business strategy inspired by some of the great visionaries of old Earth, the massed deliveries of fusion-powered litigation units proved to be the most effective and efficient method of overcoming the United Nations’ emphasis on vertical development. The deliveries themselves posed significant logistical challenges for the Morganic subsidiaries tasked with their implementation, with the ongoing climate crisis continuing to cause rising sea levels and increasing the risk of interception by copters or jets over the ocean. Further setbacks were also encountered, most notably the failed U.N. assault on Morgan Electronic Arts in FY 2225 in which regulators terrorized hapless QA testers and micro-transactors before being evicted in less than 48 hours, as well as widespread destruction of Morganic terraforming equipment in flagrant disregard for corporate property rights. Once again, however, Morgan Industries demonstrated its business acumen through adapting to rapidly-changing market conditions, with intrepid staging from forward airbases and naval aviation assets allowing even the furthest away United Nations bases to receive fusion-powered litigation in a timely and professional manner.
The last cutting of red tape that previously smothered market growth paves the way for the entirety of Morgan Industries to transition into a new and permanent golden age of free enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit on Planet. So far this transitional stage is seeing its greatest effects in the former Spartan territories, which following twenty fiscal years of the Morgan Plan have transformed themselves from impoverished hovels dependent on corporate charity into centres of high-tech manufacturing and ecological engineering, boasting annual profits and employee counts almost on par with the original Morganic subsidiaries themselves! While full integration into Morgan Industries is still expected to be several fiscal decades away, this extraordinary boost to profitability prompted the publishing of CEO Morgan’s Theory of Everythingᵀᴹ, greeted with great enthusiasm by shareholders that saw MORG prices surging to a high of 1,400 credits before settling at 1,200 at closing time.
In less ebullient news, shareholders were most displeased by recent reports that research grants to the University of Planet, totalling more than 1,000 megacredits, were diverted to the construction of additional anti-ballistic missile defense platforms in High Chiron Orbit. “We thought we were investing in the next generation of brightest minds, but it seems our cash has instead gone to inflating the size of Zakharov’s head,” one investor complained. A statement issued by the Morgan Board of Directors nevertheless declared the importance of maintaining parity with the University’s construction efforts in space, so as to avoid the creation of an “ODP gap”.
Grimgravy is officially exterminated as of 2232. While he fought bravely and even managed to take advantage of my inattentiveness a couple of times to cause me a bunch of economic damage – using copters to kill formers that I carelessly left out in the open, and more notably the sneak attack on Morgan Electronic Arts that fortunately for me ran out of moves before he could raze it – ultimately his inability to keep up orbital defense meant this could only end one way. I think I’ll let the images speak for themselves:
Between these and the two I used earlier, plus the ten or so I used in the duel with Merc, I think I can rightly declare myself to be the nuke king of Codex SMAC PBEM.
Believe it or not, it was actually way easier and more cost-effective to use nukes than to attempt conventional invasion. Grimgravy had a respectable number of defenders in his bases backed up by Perimeters, sensors, and even some Tachyon Fields; meanwhile, my only options to get units to him were either naval transports (unviable for a long time due to all my best bases being landlocked), or a land bridge (unviable because of rising sea levels that would just sink it again, plus he killed all my formers). So nukes it was. I managed the feat of nuking nearly every single Peacekeeper base out of existence: Kalin nuked 2 and captured 1, and another 2 were instead gassed to death.
For all that, I didn’t even receive all that much eco-damage: the worm spawns continued but were much less apocalyptic than before, and I only triggered one more sea level rise in that time. Flooding is still a pain, of course, with formers constantly having to raise land, and just this turn some more blighted rivers appeared and screwed up a bunch of perfectly good terraforming. But the worst of the waterworld apocalypse has passed and I don’t see any reason I shouldn’t be able to keep it that way.
Kalin meanwhile appears to have given up on staying afloat altogether and is letting just about all of his bases sink. Amusingly, this actually makes it harder to attack him, since there are no more roads and land units can’t directly attack sea bases. Not that I plan to do that, seeing as we made an agreement to end the game together a while back when all of us seemed to be stalling TURN for some reason or another. I see absolutely no reason to be concerned by him building a bunch of ODPs when he already had more than me and I wasn’t building any, or all the jets and choppers flying over my territory to attack the Hive, or even the recent public concern over the name of our proposed merger. No reason at all.
And in other news, I teched to Sentient Econometrics a while back and built Paradise Gardens in all my bases, allowing me to achieve the Morganic dream of permanent Golden Ages:
I have more raw pop than Kalin now, with some ~350 to his ~300.
EDIT: Also I got a new monitor and it seems to bugger up my image sizes for some reason
Today marked the end of an era on Planet, and the beginning of a new one, as Morgan Industries and the University of Planet have formally agreed to merge their respective operations into a single business entity, henceforth to be known as Morgan University.
More than simply formalizing the close business relationships that already existed in the form of Morgan Industries’ extensive subsidizing of the University, and its contribution to Planetary litigation operations against the Spartan Federation and the United Nations, this agreement promises to transform the present-day corporate-wide Golden Age into one that encompasses all humanity, through the ultimate synthesis of Morganic business savvy with University vision.
In truth, the two entities have been the most compatible on Planet for quite some time. Both of them proved themselves market leaders in the fields of cutting-edge weaponry and ecological engineering, sustaining ever-strong market growth year after year in the face of constant adversities! While they pursued different final solutions to the drone question – Morgan Industries from the top-down with its monopoly on entertainment and comfort, the University from the bottom-up by addressing the root of the problem – this parallel development is a clear demonstration that the University of Planet stands as the respected peer of Morgan Industries in every metric that counts: true grit, creativity, and above all integrity!
Moreover, CEO Nwabudike Morgan has never forgotten the personal debt of gratitude that he owes to his good friend, Provost Prokhor Zakharov, and the University of Planet for standing by the side of Morgan Industries during the lowest point of Sparta’s brutal sacking of corporate property and slaughtering of valued employees. This friendship has continued to hold firm throughout the twin crises of climate change and eco-socialism; and now, following the complete deregulation of Planet’s business environment, and the formal surrender of the Human Hive to joint corporate-scientific forces, there remain no further obstacles to deepening this friendship through full integration at all levels.
And thus it is the greatest honour of Morgan Industries to join hands with the University of Planet, to march together along the golden pathway to greater profit and prosperity, to reach out into deep space and dimensions beyond, to reap the fruit of Golden Age for all eternity! Then, now, and forever: Morgan University!
So yeah, game over, with something we haven’t seen in these games in a while, i.e. joint victory between me and Kalin. While it certainly goes against the spirit of the no-draws-allowed no-holds-barred last-man-standing ultimate thunderdome experience, we both had our reasons for doing so.
First, let’s look at my empire at the time of game over:
Golden Age pop boom to the Moon! 369 population, 1,700+ energy per turn on 50% Econ, new tech every 3 turns on 30% labs, and Golden Ages in every base with 20% Psych. Pretty nifty considering I lost 5 big bases to Sparta’s attack. That doesn’t include all the extra energy I get from killing worms every turn, which can easily be another 1,000 or so on a good turn. But the real prize is the bases with 100 minerals output per turn: nukes in 3 turns, secret projects in 3 turns! The power of megabux, baby!
So with all this advantage, why not go for the solo win myself? Let’s look at Kalin’s land now:
Or rather, what’s left of it. My understanding is that Kalin scrapped all his terraformers to rush secret projects much earlier in the game, which meant he not only fell behind on terraforming later, but also had few means to stop himself sinking in the waterworld that Hellraiser’s mass-stapling created. That said, he still had various nice projects like the Cloning Vats and Telepathic Matrix to let him boom indefinitely. No sneaky Diplomatic Victory possible here.
But most importantly: no roads, no land connection, and on the flipside no ports for me. I’m sure it could’ve been done – chopper spam, combat terraforming, overwhelming his ODPs once I got the Space Elevator – but it would’ve been a major effort. And frankly? I was getting sick of spending an hour a day checking bases and shuffling units around, and I didn’t want to spend another month doing it to win a game that was basically over.
So we decided to end the game on honourable terms, and move on to more interesting ventures. Like a new game with all 7 players again.
Nonetheless, I’m still claiming this as the first Morgan victory on the Codex.
To be honest, I don’t really remember what I was doing throughout this game; only that it led to good things in the end.
From the moment I found out I shared a continent with both Kalin and Hellraiser, the top two players in these games by far, I knew I was in for a rough game. My strategy for the most part was simply betting that neither would dare to make a move for fear of the other getting involved; and besides, why conquer when you can trade? Of course, I later misjudged Sparta’s readiness to attack and nearly died because of it, but on the whole it served me well.
I roughly described my basic development technique in this thread as we were playing: the initial settlement rush to get the most value out of the 20 free minerals per base; the switch to Democratic to fund basic infrastructure; and finally the switch to Free Market that turbocharged me from a second-rate power all the way to the top, putting me in a strong position to compete for the rest of the game.
The University actually offered to team up against Sparta much earlier; I was tempted, very much tempted, but in the end I decided I wasn’t ready for a war just yet, and didn’t really want to turn on Sparta in any case. (They were such good bros... sniff sniff.) That led the two of them to team up against Gaia instead; it was supposed to be a secret, but I could easily tell what they were up to from seeing their troop movements. For my part, I was a little peeved by their earlier collusion with the Peacekeepers to try and hoard tech, so I didn’t feel compelled to come to Gaia’s aid at all. Not that it would’ve been a good move to try and go against two stronger factions on my continent; I’d have to be insane to go for that.
As I lamented in the turn-tracking convo, it’s a shame that the Hive wasn’t able to really develop properly. A coalition with a strong Hive+PKs+Gaia versus the continental bros could’ve made for quite a spectacular conflict. Hopefully we can get something like that going in the next game.
