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Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 8:21:39 PM

JonBrave

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Joined: 8/6/2006
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OK, so, I finally got a PC which can play this thing...

Yes, I have done the tutorials, and clicked around some. Started playing from 1 colony in tiny world, so see what's going on. After quite a while, I found the first other place I can build a colony, and done so. I order that place to build a Space Port, and some other things. It seems to me it takes ages to construct. Am I supposed to do anything to make it build faster?

I shall feel free to post more dumb questions here in due course, if I may. :)

Post #: 1

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 8:27:12 PM

Data

Posts: 3909
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Not only you may, it's mandatory

To your current one, check the resources needed to build the SP and verify you have enough of them. The classic case it that you wait for a resources that you don't have.
You can check the design resources in the design screen and your current stocks in the expansion planner.

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Post #: 2

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 8:31:40 PM

JonBrave

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Data

Not only you may, it's mandatory
To your current one, check the resources needed to build the SP and verify you have enough of them. The classic case it that you wait for a resources that you don't have.
You can check the design resources in the design screen and your current stocks in the expansion planner.

Ummmmmmmm

Is that something I can understand, like some figures in red if I haven't enough? I'm afarid I have little idea what you're talking about!

(in reply to Data)

Post #: 3

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 8:48:54 PM

Kayoz

Posts: 1516
Joined: 12/20/2010
From: Timbuktu
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quote:

ORIGINAL: JonBrave

quote:

ORIGINAL: Data

Not only you may, it's mandatory
To your current one, check the resources needed to build the SP and verify you have enough of them. The classic case it that you wait for a resources that you don't have.
You can check the design resources in the design screen and your current stocks in the expansion planner.

Ummmmmmmm Is that something I can understand, like some figures in red if I haven't enough? I'm afarid I have little idea what you're talking about!

Check your expansion planner. Order by "Your Demand". That'll give you an idea of what you need.

What race are you using now?

(in reply to JonBrave)

Post #: 4

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 8:53:46 PM

JonBrave

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Thank you, I shall try that. I am playing Human.
But I think the point is, I have no trouble building stuff at my Home planet, but building seems to be real slow at my first colony. Stuff stays at "79 bits needed" for a long time. Back home it seems much faster?

(in reply to Kayoz)

Post #: 5

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 9:06:09 PM

J HG T

Posts: 1093
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From: Kiadia Prime
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You can check what resources that SB being build needs by selecting it, douple-click empty space in the bottom-left stats screen of the SB, select the cargo panel from down-left of the screen, check what resources show zero storage (the left number in the column indicates the amount of resources in the base/ship) but also some amount in the right, in the "reserved" column.
This means that the base is in demand of those resources. See if you have those resources mined somewhere in your empire, or construct a mining base to a planet that has those resources.

From what I've observed, chromium is one of those resources that can be problematic to obtain for races that dont start on continental or swamp planets. It's worse if you get unlucky with good planets and/or you lower planet quality when starting a game. Has happened to me couple of times.

< Message edited by J HG T -- 7/3/2011 9:14:14 PM >

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Post #: 6

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/3/2011 9:14:59 PM

JonBrave

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OK, looks like I have some investigating to do!

Q2: I have more money than I really know how to spend. The "advisors" don't advise me to build any ships, but I build a fair smattering anyway! I accept all upgrade suggestions. Do rush researches every so often. Am I just doomed to be rich?

(in reply to J HG T)

Post #: 7

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 8:03:53 AM

Data

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How large is you military? That eats up tons of cahs usually but if you're not in any wars atm than yes....you're doomed

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Post #: 8

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 5:24:42 PM

Kayoz

Posts: 1516
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From: Timbuktu
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quote:

ORIGINAL: JonBrave

Thank you, I shall try that. I am playing Human.

Human ain't bad - you can find most of the resources you need on continental planets - or barring that, marshy planets (once you've researched it... that is, if you have RotS). Pay particular attention to your consumption of polymer and steel - those are in high demand once you plant your first colony.

By the "first colony", I mean that the AI will do a mad rush in civilian shipbuilding. You should see your HW port build queue going to 25-50 ships - freighters and such. That's a LOT of steel and polymer - and ANY resource which is missing will cause the entire queue to grind to a halt. You need to plan for this initial rush in advance - plop mining stations on any polymer you can, and build a few spare steel mines as well. Keep in mind that each race will have different problems at the start.

As for your cash surplus - I wouldn't be too concerned with it. You'll need a fair bit of wonga to keep up the production and maintenance of your exploration fleet (I'd suggest getting 10 explorers as a minimum out there ASAP) - not to mention bribes for pirates and to build colony ships. If you STILL have excess wonga which you don't need - then you can always drop your tax rates. Accelerating your early growth will pay off in spades later in the game, when your increased tax base will be able to fund a larger military.

Oh, and ignore the advisor messages with regards to defence bases, at least early in the game. Waste of money and resources. Your medium port is more than capable of dealing with the occasional pirate that wanders into its gun range. A def base will, in all likelihood, be completely surplus to your def requirements. A few more destroyers to see off pesky pirates would be FAR more useful.

(in reply to JonBrave)

Post #: 9

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 7:44:40 PM

JonBrave

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@Kayoz
Excellent, clear reply, thank you so much!

(in reply to Kayoz)

Post #: 10

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 8:14:58 PM

JonBrave

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@Kayoz
My Expansion Planner tells me I'm in need of "Megallos Nuts", or some-such. I can't believe that can be holding up production!

@J HG T
I suspect your explanation is vital, but unfortunately I am unable to follow your steps!

Sigh, I realise I must be being a noob here, but I'm just floundering in the dark! So far, I can't do any "materials" planning 'coz I just don't get it!

(in reply to JonBrave)

Post #: 11

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 8:21:19 PM

Data

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You're right, JB, megallos is a luxury resource....for ships strategic resources are needed.

_____________________________

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

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Post #: 12

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 8:25:43 PM

J HG T

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From: Kiadia Prime
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Luxury resources, like Megallos nut, aren't needed in construction at all. They are used to boost planets development and are also used to trade with other races. Construction wont definetly halt if colony doesn't get luxuries. You can check galactopedia to see what resources are luxuries and what are strategic resources that are used in construction.

Yeah, English ain't my native so it's sometimes hard for me to explain things clearly.
If you know the screen where you can see what resources the planet has in store, that's what I meant. Planets storage and SBs storage are practically the same. Left shows what planet has in store, right shows what's in demand. If there's strategic resources in demand and none on the storage, changes are that it's halting the construction on the planet.

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Nothing is impossible, not if you can imagine it!
"And they hurled themselves into the void of space with no fear."

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Post #: 13

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 8:32:11 PM

JonBrave

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@J HG T
Your English is good, it is more likely my noobee confusion

I appreciate your clarification, although I don't yet know where it is, I shall click around and am sure I will get there!

(in reply to J HG T)

Post #: 14

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 9:02:16 PM

kev_uk

Posts: 288
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From: South Wales, UK
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quote:

ORIGINAL: JonBrave

@J HG T
Your English is good, it is more likely my noobee confusion I appreciate your clarification, although I don't yet know where it is, I shall click around and am sure I will get there!

I think its the lack of clarity from the UI that hinders us here. The UI is good, but there is so much 'under the hood' that really confuses. I am confused. And so are many others. Not a bad game, good for the automation, but as a 'noobie' its really confusing. Click and learn, so be it.

(in reply to JonBrave)

Post #: 15

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/4/2011 10:21:51 PM

Igard

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There are a few little AI shortcuts that aren't apparent when you first start playing. Just keep asking. I don't usually answer questions myself, because I prefer to use the power of images to describe things, so it can be a bit of a chore to take screenshots and upload them and so on.

What might be a good idea, is a tutorial sub-forum. We could make each thread entitled with a particular lesson. eg. 'How to check your station or ships resources' or 'How to manually control and maintain your fleet' etc.

That way, all the helpful threads wouldn't get lost and when someone asks a question, we could simply link to these threads.

Ah, but where to find the time, eh?

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Post #: 16

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/5/2011 12:18:51 AM

Kayoz

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quote:

ORIGINAL: JonBrave

@Kayoz
My Expansion Planner tells me I'm in need of "Megallos Nuts", or some-such. I can't believe that can be holding up production!

Nope - that's a luxury. Your population probably wants the luxury good, but it's not going to make a difference to your starship assembly.

Look at how many freighters you have, and how many are under construction (open your ship roster, select freighters, the ones listed in orange are under construction) - that's usually an indication of your empire's ability (and desired ability) to shift resources around. I haven't made sense of the prioritization of the freighters' activities by the AI - but the freighters generally get around to shipping the stuff to where it needs to go, with the results more reliable once the initial civilian ship-building spree is over. If you are still having excessively long delays in building, and you have few freighters under construction, and no serious shortages of strategic resources - then it's time to scratch your head.

In the meantime, I think all you can do is grit your teeth and wait for the AI to logistical system to stabilize.

(in reply to JonBrave)

Post #: 17

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/15/2011 3:20:46 PM

Niaru

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Okay, first post for me and I did not want to open a new thread for possibly stupid newbie-questions.

1.
Hello everyone!

2.
Is there any possibility to force the civilian part to retrofit their ships? Say, I managed to "get" better propulsion and storage tech from my loving neighbors, and I already made new designs for the civilian ships, is there any way to retrofit the already present ones so they can haul more cargo faster through the empire? In the fleet window, if I klick, say, all my large freighter designs, and choose the retrofit option (which apparently costs a hell lot of money), nothing happens. After more than a year, no ships have been retrofitted, no money spent. I can individually differentiate between the old freighters and the newly built ones in lower zoom factors just by the speed they move around.

3.
Whats about with the "super luxury" ressources?
They seem to be worth a lot, but neither my empire, nor the other seem to value or even need them (besides the fact that they seem to be pissed off if I do not check the box in the diplomacy window - even then, they do not buy anything).
Extend the question to all luxury ressources: What are they for? My colonies seem to be able to reach 100% without them.

4.
Is it possible to retrofit mining stations via construction ships?

5.
Does any one know whether the "yellow dot" (signal light) could work on weapon (missile) graphics? These missiles are a little bit too big, about half the size of an escort ship. If I could make a smaller one with the signal light as exhaust graphic.... I tried, but it did not work. Perhaps one of you guys already having experience with graphic modding the game can tell me more?

If the answers to questions 2 and 4 are no, then I might add them to the suggestion thread for the new expansion.

Thank you in advance for the answers!

< Message edited by Niaru -- 7/15/2011 3:21:55 PM >

(in reply to Kayoz)

Post #: 18

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/15/2011 3:27:30 PM

Data

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1. Hi Niaru and welcome to the community

2. No, you can't. The only way is to delete them via the editor and allow the AI to request the newer designs. Btw, you can also differentiate between older and newer ones on the design screen; it will tell you how many ships of that particular design you have

3. They boost the development and you can hardly reach 100% or more development without them

4. Only by scrapping them and building new ones instead

5. That's for a modder to confirm....and I do hope you're one as well

2 and 4 have been requested many times but it would be good to have your request as well, add more weight
have fun

_____________________________

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

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Post #: 19

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/16/2011 1:47:53 AM

Niaru

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Keeping to the good work of asking questions...

1. How do I get a planet above 100% development? I control all three super luxuries and play the Securan.

2. Any idea why I can't build some facilities on certain planets? In said example, I researched the elite troop training facility, but could build it only on utopia some 5 years later.

3. How do ion weapons and defenses work? Do the defenses stack?

4. Do fleet offense/defense systems and individual ship systems stack?

5. Are the storylines of the original game and the expansion compatible? Would it make sense to activate them both?

A lot of potentially annoying questions, so thank you for sour patience!

(in reply to Data)

Post #: 20

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/16/2011 3:33:54 AM

Kayoz

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From: Timbuktu
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru

Keeping to the good work of asking questions...

1. How do I get a planet above 100% development? I control all three super luxuries and play the Securan.

Nothing more you can do. Your development will go up as the special luxuries get distributed to them. It might take a while - subject to the vagaries of the freighter system.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru
2. Any idea why I can't build some facilities on certain planets? In said example, I researched the elite troop training facility, but could build it only on utopia some 5 years later.

Check for existing facilities of the same type. If there is an existing facility of that general "type", then you can't build another one. You might have robo-factories or clone troop factories (proper names?) already on those planets.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru
3. How do ion weapons and defenses work? Do the defenses stack?

Ion defences only defend against ion weapons. Shields and armour defend against any normal (ie: non-ion) weapon. Armour is your ONLY defence against creatures. I'm not sure that answers your question.

Normally I don't bother with ion weapons, though - simpler to blow the bleeders up, than incapacitate them. They're pretty, but I can't see them being worth the trade-off for reduced firepower.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru
4. Do fleet offense/defense systems and individual ship systems stack?

iirc, yes - individual ship weapon and one fleet system can be counted. I'm not certain which fleet system is applied, though - closest, fleet lead, or highest bonus. Perhaps someone else can address this.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru
5. Are the storylines of the original game and the expansion compatible? Would it make sense to activate them both?

Yes. They are mutually independent. You can run either or neither. Without the traditional story line, however, you won't have any debris fields - which can make the Shak rather a greater threat when they show up.
ref: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2347203&mpage=5

< Message edited by Kayoz -- 7/16/2011 3:44:33 AM >

(in reply to Niaru)

Post #: 21

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/16/2011 7:48:31 AM

J HG T

Posts: 1093
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From: Kiadia Prime
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kayoz

quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru
4. Do fleet offense/defense systems and individual ship systems stack?

iirc, yes - individual ship weapon and one fleet system can be counted. I'm not certain which fleet system is applied, though - closest, fleet lead, or highest bonus. Perhaps someone else can address this.

Fleet system with highest bonus in the fleet the ship is in will apply. So, if you have, for example, salvaged derelict ship with a fleet targeting system that gives bonus of 20%, that applies over any lower fleet targeting system bonuses. So 20% targeting to whole fleet + targeting system bonus on invidual ships.

< Message edited by J HG T -- 7/16/2011 7:49:15 AM >

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Post #: 22

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/16/2011 9:33:37 AM

Niaru

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Thank you a lot!

(in reply to J HG T)

Post #: 23

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/16/2011 9:21:37 PM

Merker

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Niaru

2.
Is there any possibility to force the civilian part to retrofit their ships? Say, I managed to "get" better propulsion and storage tech from my loving neighbors, and I already made new designs for the civilian ships, is there any way to retrofit the already present ones so they can haul more cargo faster through the empire? In the fleet window, if I klick, say, all my large freighter designs, and choose the retrofit option (which apparently costs a hell lot of money), nothing happens. After more than a year, no ships have been retrofitted, no money spent. I can individually differentiate between the old freighters and the newly built ones in lower zoom factors just by the speed they move around.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Data
2. No, you can't. The only way is to delete them via the editor and allow the AI to request the newer designs. Btw, you can also differentiate between older and newer ones on the design screen; it will tell you how many ships of that particular design you have

Ha you newbs, see that you still don't know this game entirely?
Just a few days ago I decided to play some DW again and found out that you can in fact upgrade and disband the civilian fleet from the ships&stations screen. Just select the ship in question and select upgrade and you'll get options, or scrap/retire and you'll get options and the ship WILL execute the orders. You can also put civvies in a fleet and command them into battle or just tell them to move wherever

. I will post the appropriate pictures when I can access my main gaming comp.

Until then: play some more you obviously don't know the game at all. And I'm talking about vanilla DW here!!!! you have the equivalent of entire libraries to learn about this game.

Cheers

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Post #: 24

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/24/2011 12:10:41 PM

JonBrave

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Returning to my thread after a while.

Don't mean to be too negative, but I gave up on this one, and returned to another game which at least I understand. From a newb POV, I just couldn't get what was going on and what I was supposed to do. I couldn't find the vital screen mentioned by "J HG T" anywhere, despite much clicking around. Yes I did the tutorials.

Maybe I'll have another go sometime. I just got frustrated.

(in reply to Merker)

Post #: 25

RE: Total Newb Qs - 7/24/2011 1:25:43 PM

Data

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when and if you're up for it again follow this -> http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2453216
I always find it to be the best tutorial.

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Post #: 26

RE: Total Newb Qs - 10/1/2011 11:21:34 AM

elmo3

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I'll post this question here after doing a search and seeing several similar threads.� In my current game I have 5 colonies in dire need of steel.� That is partly my fault as I only have one source at the moment.� However I also have two colonies with lots of steel in storage, more than what the other 5 colonies need, and very little of it is currently reserved.� So the question is, will my freighters ever move that excess steel to where it's needed or is my only option to expand steel mining and hope it gets shipped to where it's needed and not to where it's already in overabundance?

Edit - I should probably point out that the steel is needed at the 5 colonies to build small space ports. Not sure if that would influence why they are not getting any steel or not?

< Message edited by elmo3 -- 10/1/2011 11:25:39 AM >

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Post #: 27

RE: Total Newb Qs - 10/1/2011 11:34:22 AM

Data

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it doesn't influence it and getting more sources is the surest way to go. A couple of tests you can do aside from this:

1) scrap any steel needing construction and try to build a chain of space ports starting from the two colonies that have them going to the five that don't. This should improve freighter traffic for this.

2) at the two colonies that have it build ships with designs that consume tons of steel...than scrap those ships at the colonies that need it

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Post #: 28

RE: Total Newb Qs - 10/1/2011 12:55:41 PM

elmo3

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Thanks for the tips Data.� Would not have thought of number 2.� In reading between the lines of your answer it sounds like freighters will not reliably move excess stuff from one colony to another where it's needed, but there are workarounds.

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Post #: 29

RE: Total Newb Qs - 10/1/2011 1:33:40 PM

Bingeling

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I have managed to play the game just fine without using specially designed ships as ad hoc freighters.

Things will eventually get built. If there is a long way to well supplied colonies, it will take some time. But the game got a fast speed setting that makes time flow when nothing happens. And if lots of things do happen, who cares about some remote spaceport taking forever to be constructed.

In general I miss some easy to obtain info on resource situations. Where do I lack a resource, and where do I have a surplus? Where are actually my steel resources? For instance I may somehow obtain control of a former enemy capital. A good spot for a large space port to use as ship building hub in the area. But do I have all the necessary strategic resources reasonably close? It is not easy to figure out. It should not be hard to display this info within the galaxy map and/or expansion planner.

(in reply to elmo3)

Post #: 30