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Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 2:35:40 AM

Yazdor

Posts: 2
Joined: 7/31/2014
Status: offline

DWU community,

I need your assistance. I have done the tutorial, read the manual, looked at the Forum FAQ, read newbie guide, watched the DAS video series, and am halfway through Larry's extreme play through. I certainly may have missed some stuff, but I have a few questions that I could use your help answering.

1) Ship types: Does the AI treat Frigates and Destroyers differently in combat? Do I need Frigates and Destroyers or will one type be sufficient? Does the AI have a default setting for each class of ship in combat regardless of weapons if automated? Are some more likely to standoff and others charge in? I understand explores and civilian ships evade, but what about military ship class tactics by the AI? I am trying to avoid what some have called the "death ball" where everyone piles on top of each other unless you manually choose standoff.

2) Damage control / Repair bots: Do these work on stations/spaceports or just ships? I have seen old forum posts saying multiple repair bots on ships works and others saying it doesn't?

3) Terraforming: Is it me or is there no way to improve the quality of a planet or change it from one type (ex. ocean to desert over a period of time to optimize it for your race? I know you can build wonders and luxuries for growth rate, but what about improving planet quality?

4) Forward repairing and refueling of ships: I understand the resupply ship concept for refueling, but what about quickly repairing a fleet in enemy held territory? For large maps, where fleets travel great distances, is it optimal to rotate fleets, add modules to gas mining stations/spaceports, or build a super support constructor/resupply ship that can dock and repair multiple ships quickly?

5) Number of Manufacturing plants vs number of construction yards: I read an older thread that stated that people tested one manufacturing plant provided enough support for up to 30 consruction yards? This was referred to as a design bug. Has this been fixed?

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Yazdor

Post #: 1

RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 5:31:57 AM

loki100

Posts: 10920
Joined: 10/20/2012
From: Utlima Thule
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1 - the AI in its own game play uses the ship types for roles. You can do as you wish, even if you automate your fleets they will still do what you have told them to.

I use the 3 small (escort/destroyer/frigate) types not to vary by size but to create 3 designs. I make the destroyer my all round workhorse - it has enough of weapons/speed/defense to be effective, but its not great at any. I tend to make the escort into a ship optimised to go and capture things. So it is fast, has long range weapons (to knock out shields) and boarding pods when I get them, but relatively well defended. Great for capturing mines etc in a war.

With the frigate I build something that is fast/armed to the hilt and not well defended. These can be used for destructive raids in a war or to handle some specific problems. Give them ion weapons if you have a silver mist problem (silver mist ignores shields etc so why bother), there are also some debris fields full of kaltors, these are cheap and good for killing them.

2 - they basically help your ships/bases recover battle damage = very good idea

I'll leave the others to those far more knowledgeable than me

< Message edited by loki100 -- 7/31/2014 7:40:57 AM >

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RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 6:19:47 AM

Sirian

Posts: 174
Joined: 11/29/2012
Status: offline

2) these work on anything you can put them on - which is everysthing that is designed in the design screen. More repair components will not make you repairs faster, but it guards against one component being destroyed - another will continue the repairs.

3) you cannot improve planet quality, or change a planet from one type to another. BUT... you can build a facility that helps regaining lost planet quality after a desaster or planetary bombing. It will still not increase planet quality above what the planet had before the desaster. There is, however, a random event that will increase the quality of a random planet by +1 if you play Ikkuros.

4) Resupply ships cannot repair a fleet (or a single ship). You can repair ships at a starport or a starbase. You could build a starbase in space outside a system at a strategic location near your attack targets but I do not know if the transport AI can bring the required resources fast enough for the base to be of any use. I haven't tried that. I usually have rotating attack fleets and bring them "home" for repairs. On the other hand, I really DO like those repair systems, saves all this hassle.

5) I don't think so. Every thread I read tells that having only one manufacturing plant is enough for a large amount of construction yards.

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(in reply to loki100)

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RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 8:37:12 AM

Kilravock

Posts: 65
Joined: 6/10/2014
Status: offline

1. The AI uses the ships class for mission roles and fleet assignments. How ships behave in combat depends on the ship's design and engagement settings against weaker and stronger targets, which is set in the design screen. The ship class has no effect once it enters combat. Fleet combat will turn into a general melee, it just how RTS combat works unless you micromanage the fleets or ships.

2. What Sirian said. Getting repair bot tech and putting it on your ships and stations is a good idea.

3. Sirian is right again. The terraforming facility is only useful if the planet's quality was damaged. You can't raise it except through the editor.

4. This is why you want repair bots. Fleets with light damage will not need to be sent to a port to be repaired since the repair bot will do in field repairs. I do use resupply ships to extend my fleets combat endurance. I do use multiple fleets and reserve fleets so I can send fleets to ports to be repaired and refueled and still be able to conduct my campaigns. Heavily damaged ships just get scraped.

5. The 1 to 30 deal was tested under ideal conditions. I feel better with 1 to 10 and I think 1 to 5 is being fair to the AI. 1 to 30 is basically an exploit.

(in reply to Sirian)

Post #: 4

RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 5:07:04 PM

MikeSF

Posts: 35
Joined: 6/1/2014
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kilravock
4. This is why you want repair bots. Fleets with light damage will not need to be sent to a port to be repaired since the repair bot will do in field repairs. I do use resupply ships to extend my fleets combat endurance. I do use multiple fleets and reserve fleets so I can send fleets to ports to be repaired and refueled and still be able to conduct my campaigns. Heavily damaged ships just get scraped.

It's been a few updates since I've played, but I seem to recall a bug where ships that are damaged (if set to auto) will go back to a base to repair even if they have the ability to repair themselves. Still the case?

(in reply to Kilravock)

Post #: 5

RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 6:17:28 PM

Kilravock

Posts: 65
Joined: 6/10/2014
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: MikeSF

It's been a few updates since I've played, but I seem to recall a bug where ships that are damaged (if set to auto) will go back to a base to repair even if they have the ability to repair themselves. Still the case?

I think that bug was fixed. I have never noticed it though. The only time I have my fleets fully automated is when I am holding them in reserve at their homebase or I want them to return home after a war. When I use them on an offensive or defensive campaign, they are fully under my control, idle, on a patrol or blockade mission. The damaged ships will fight until they hit their flee settings and just go into deep space until they regenerate their shields or I order them to do something. They will return to the fleet if I leave the fleet alone.

I sometimes have issues with a ship or two doing something on their own and away from the fleet, but the case is usually due to low fuel or retro fitting a fleet.

(in reply to MikeSF)

Post #: 6

RE: Questions I cannot answer - 7/31/2014 8:37:54 PM

dwawilson

Posts: 6
Joined: 12/28/2011
Status: offline

quote:

4) Forward repairing and refueling of ships: I understand the resupply ship concept for refueling, but what about quickly repairing a fleet in enemy held territory? For large maps, where fleets travel great distances, is it optimal to rotate fleets, add modules to gas mining stations/spaceports, or build a super support constructor/resupply ship that can dock and repair multiple ships quickly?

You can use a Construction ship to repair a fleet in enemy territory. I usually park my Construction ship just outside the system I am attacking. Once the attack is complete I bring in the Construction ship to repair the ships that have been damaged. It can only repair one at a time so you may need to bring more than one. This is extremely useful if the enemy is using Rail Guns or Gravity weapons.

(in reply to Kilravock)

Post #: 7

RE: Questions I cannot answer - 8/1/2014 1:13:49 AM

Yazdor

Posts: 2
Joined: 7/31/2014
Status: offline

Thanks everyone for the answers.

(in reply to dwawilson)

Post #: 8