Constructors with insufficient resources

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Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 7:39:16 AM

Kianykin

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Joined: 2/12/2011
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will constructors ever finish building stations if there missing resources when they started construction?

Post #: 1

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 8:03:57 AM

feygan

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Joined: 3/31/2010
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kianykin

will constructors ever finish building stations if there missing resources when they started construction?

So far i've found its generally no, unlike repairs they don't seem to go get more fuel and extra resources. The only way around it I had was to stop the ship then click repair and it will collect whats needed to finish things. I generally tend to make sure my constructors have fairly big cargo bays now and try not to get them building anything too huge. But if you have one with 5000+ cargo i've yet to see them stall.

(in reply to Kianykin)

Post #: 2

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 8:53:25 AM

Kianykin

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Joined: 2/12/2011
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found the problem, I was out of certain types of resources, i did notice after awhile freighters docking to the construction ship to give it needed materials to complete the station

(in reply to feygan)

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RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 9:08:18 AM

Data

Posts: 3909
Joined: 1/3/2011
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indeed, this is wad

_____________________________

...Igniting stellar cores....Recharging reactors...Recalibrating hyperdrives....

(in reply to Kianykin)

Post #: 4

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 9:33:45 AM

Bingeling

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Joined: 8/12/2010
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The not so well hidden nerd inside me wants to see info...

Constructors - How many things has he made. Is he ok on resources for the current project? If he misses any resources, how much? "Build mining base on moon Boo. Fetching resources at ...".

Spaceports - Number of ships docked through life time. Amount of total space port income made. Total maintenance paid...

Military ships - Age as in time since it was originally made, is your original destroyer still around? And no, looking at names don't count. Total damage dealt, total damage taken.

You get the drift. It would possibly make the game feel turn based while it is actually a very slow real time, though. It may affect performance...

On the galaxy map - show amount of selected resource on your colonies. Color code or something to show level. Show who has excess, and who ask for more. Give a feeling of how much excess. Arrows that show the flow of the selected resource through your network of space ports would be too cool.

Show your resource locations on the galaxy map. You can see these in the expansion planner, but only the location at one at a time. Give them all on one map! This would be much the same as known resources (apart from you don't "own" all that you know.

When you select a fleet in the fleet management screen, have the supplied map show the location of each ship in the fleet, not the location of your different fleets. My newly assembled fleets are not always at the same spot, and it is tiresome to see if they have finished gathering.

Yeah, I'd like statistics.

(in reply to Data)

Post #: 5

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 10:00:21 AM

Data

Posts: 3909
Joined: 1/3/2011
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same here...I want stats also, not sure how much it will affect performance though

_____________________________

...Igniting stellar cores....Recharging reactors...Recalibrating hyperdrives....

(in reply to Bingeling)

Post #: 6

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 10:14:04 AM

Bingeling

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Joined: 8/12/2010
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There are two types of limited resources they affect...

1: Computer time and storage space.
2: Developer time.

Some stats are probably quite innocent. Like accumulating income stats for space ports. Remember, there is no need to do this for AI empires, and the worst case is not much more than 2000 human controlled space ports.

Some of my wishes are probably quite trivial to make (a dangerous claim for unknown code). Showing my resource locations on the galaxy map is very similar to known resources, for instance. Displaying resource levels for selected resource on space ports is probably not too scary, as long as the game is paused while you ask for it (fetch data, display data). This is not additional storage, the info is already there. The data is in expansion planner, the method is already used for other things on the galaxy map. The dangers is that menus become cluttered, and the game becomes less accessible to new players (make advanced stats a somewhat well hidden option that is off by default?). Also, showing some level sign of resource as color is a little bit of new code, and eats more developer time.

Combat stats for single ships is potentially scary to collect, much more so than income stats for space ports. Allowing to sort the ship list on any new stats (which would be the logical step) may require another column which would clutter the screen. Maybe one column could be dependent on some selection done? It would eat developer time, and introduce another button to confuse players.

Any extra stats collected would make the memory requirement a little higher, and the game slower to load. I suspect the game balances on a line here already.

Developer time is precious. There is one single developer... This means the developer should be allowed to give priority to developing in the direction that he finds most interesting, because a single developer team depends 100% on the motivation and interest of this developer.

(in reply to Data)

Post #: 7

RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 10:24:10 AM

Sabin Stargem

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Perhaps instead of collecting stats on starships, we can instead have a simulator, similar to what is in Space Empires IV/V? You get to look at the enemy vessel designs that you have successfully scanned*, and pit them against your own in whatever numbers you think are appropriate? Would be nice if the AI could actually use such a simulator to dictate ship design for use against rival empires and such.

*Would be nice if Exploration ships would check out unknown vessel types from other Empires in order to obtain knowledge of what they are built of. Would be very useful whenever they are not exploring the galaxy. That would need an ship design database of the other empires, though...memory intensive?

(in reply to Bingeling)

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RE: Constructors with insufficient resources - 2/15/2011 10:59:26 AM

Bingeling

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Joined: 8/12/2010
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I think the other empires already know what ship design they have, so it is no extra data beyond an "I know about this one"-bit. And a bit extra for each design (multiply by number of empires) is not expensive at all in a game of this scope. If it is worth making is a separate decision...

But a ship simulator is not that easy (nor is it really hard, but it is about developer time). And I think it is less about ship design than picking your fights, and having the correct number of ships. The AI should worry more about how it is utilizing its fleets.

Having attack targets on suggest is enlightening. Having the AI run core parts of your empire is generally enlightening, you notice what goes on.

"I think our fleet in system X should attack the 21st enemy fleet in system X". Well yes, we are actually already killing ships of that fleet, but we have not given the specific "attack fleet" order...

"I feel the Home Fleet should go kill the Urgleburgle mining station of our opponents". Well, that mining post is 4 sectors to the east, stretching its range. And the home fleet has just killed this medium space port and a bunch of ships in the system, and consist of 25 ships. I have 10-15 fleets. Do you REALLY think the home fleet should go 3-4 sectors to bust a mining station?

And sorry for an image a bit too large but... In my Swarm AAR, I finally got a deep cover agent into the blue enemies, so see positions by this galaxy map image too large for the job. I am the yellow guys. My enemy is dark blue and lives where the NW yellow colonies are. They are also at war with the dark greens who are not so easy to see, but make up the are just north of the blue home colonies.

So their scary 17th fleet or whatever of some 15-20 ships (they have more than one scary fleet), refuels at their resupply ship placed just next to my southern space port. That is a long way from home. It is also a long way from any fleet of comparable strength, but they probably don't know everything about me. I have a 3 ship fleet in that area, and it is mostly out of fuel... Target count was low down there anyways, pirates had made sure of that, and they had no troops after invading a colony further north thus could not invade anything.

What does it do? My spy informs me. "Attack station 005". I don't know where station 005 is, but it is not mine. Probably owned by the greens. I could see it disappear up to their home lands. It makes no sense. The AI lacks positional awareness. So it don't need to worry about optimizing designs to their opponents just yet. It should have stolen my territory map at least, and drop by some of my systems in the area in case there was something to kill. And refuel back at the ship. I should need to worry about a 17 ship fleet with a fuel source prowling my southern territories. At least as long as they have a troop on board, or there is something in the area killable by a fleet (which it hardly was) ... They move explorers into my systems. Why not jump into my home system and kill a mining base? They know there are a couple available to be killed. And then leave before dieing to some other targets in there (space port and defensive bases, but they won't help a mining post).

The AI spends way too much time moving big fleets between distant positions. They now make "fleets" and "strike forces", strike forces should mop mining bases (and if they tend to die doing it, take a hint and make the strike forces a bit larger).

< Message edited by Bingeling -- 2/15/2011 11:00:25 AM >

(in reply to Sabin Stargem)

Post #: 9