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More new player questions - 1/16/2014 12:44:43 AM

Zygon

Posts: 34
Joined: 1/9/2014
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Hi.

1. Do I need to place mines on colonies? I've been mining a local desert planet because I cannot colonize it, but I'm wondering if I'll need to leave the mine there once I am able to build a colony.

2. Also, do I need to place a spaceport at all colonies? I'm assuming it's needed to transfer resources in/out, but I'm not sure.

3. Is it possible to build a space station in deep space and use it as a refueling point for the sector?

4. How is distant measured? My ships show weapon damage and distance, but I'm not sure how to measure it. Is 100 good or really bad?

5. When you set up the game, is the #x# sectors? So 15x15 would be 15 sectors both ways? When I build FTL engines the range shows X sectors, I'm assuming one square is one sector but don't know if it's further divided.

< Message edited by Zygon -- 1/16/2014 2:08:29 AM >

Post #: 1

RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 12:53:51 AM

Zygon

Posts: 34
Joined: 1/9/2014
Status: offline

6. Thought of another one, the role of the ship, does it mean anything beyond the default (evade, all weapons, etc.) setting for autopilot?

7. Just so I know for sure, the different between them.
-- All weapons means it will start firing as soon as any weapon is in range.
-- Stand off, it will stay at maximum range for the longest ranged weapon you have and fire from there.
-- Point blank, it will wait until all weapons are in range before firing.

Is that correct?

8. Also, if I set the default actions on a class of ship, is it possible to change them for individual ships if by some weird reason I decide to? I noticed I can open the design from the ship screen and change them there, but I want to make sure I'm not altering them for all ships of that class.

< Message edited by Zygon -- 1/16/2014 2:08:50 AM >

(in reply to Zygon)

Post #: 2

RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 7:40:39 AM

Fenrisfil

Posts: 216
Joined: 6/2/2013
Status: offline

1. No. Colonies mine themselves naturally (which is why if you colonise a planet you have a mining station at, the station will disappear. Sadly colonial mining isn't as good as your mining stations can do, but once the colony is there mining components no longer mine that planet.

2. Resources can be transferred in/out directly via the planet itself. Space Stations cause additional resources to be stored up in the station to facilitate the ship building that the stations are capable of (note, this means they store stuff up even if your not planning to build ships there). Stations also provide defence, but most importantly they provide a housing for the recreation and medical components, both of which aid the growth of a colony. Ideally then every colony could do with having some form of base that has those two components, but these don't necessarily need to be full stations (you can put those components on defensive bases, monitoring stations or the unused "starbase" base class).

3. Potentially, however if your creating a refuelling base, it is much more effective to build it at a gas giant with the relevant resource and to make sure it has gas mining engines on it and if your doing that and don't need to build/repair you may as well just use a gas mining stations. Also space stations not at your colony is size limited and I'm not totally sure you can build them in deep space (I know you can build monitoring and research stations in deep space however).

< Message edited by Fenrisfil -- 1/16/2014 5:11:23 PM >

(in reply to Zygon)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 8:51:13 AM

Bingeling

Posts: 5186
Joined: 8/12/2010
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6: The role of the ship matters when the AI orders ships or set up fleets. It also matter when it comes to default retrofit options, and what a ship can retrofit too (default is newest design of ship role).

Apart from that it does not really matter.

7: No, that is not correct. The stance tells the ship how to behave in combat.

-- All weapons: Move so that the short range weapon is also in range. Max range of the short range one, I guess.
-- Stand off: Stay at the max range of the longest range weapon.
-- Point blank. Move in at point blank to deal max damage

Having long range missile ships with "stand off" attack a powerful shorter range spaceport can be fun to watch...

8: Action class? If you are thinking of stances, they are set in the design and works for all ships of that design.

5: As for ranges, I am pretty sure any sector range given is a rough estimate of range. The "length" of a sector is different depending on how you cross it, as it is square, making it a poor measure. And yes, a 15x15 galaxy is 15 times 15 sectors.

3: I am quite sure only pirates can build spaceports anywhere. You can however make a star base design with gas mining and defenses to rival a space port. I would avoid construction yards, though, as a star base in the middle of nowhere is unlikely to receive supplies, potentially making ships seeking repair or retrofit stuck there.

4: Look at the automated designs, and the ranges they got. That should give a hint of what is good and bad ranges.

(in reply to Fenrisfil)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 10:39:36 AM

Deathball

Posts: 117
Joined: 4/3/2012
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Bingeling

6: The role of the ship matters when the AI orders ships or set up fleets. It also matter when it comes to default retrofit options, and what a ship can retrofit too (default is newest design of ship role).

Apart from that it does not really matter.

7: No, that is not correct. The stance tells the ship how to behave in combat.

-- All weapons: Move so that the short range weapon is also in range. Max range of the short range one, I guess.
-- Stand off: Stay at the max range of the longest range weapon.
-- Point blank. Move in at point blank to deal max damage

Having long range missile ships with "stand off" attack a powerful shorter range spaceport can be fun to watch...

8: Action class? If you are thinking of stances, they are set in the design and works for all ships of that design.

5: As for ranges, I am pretty sure any sector range given is a rough estimate of range. The "length" of a sector is different depending on how you cross it, as it is square, making it a poor measure. And yes, a 15x15 galaxy is 15 times 15 sectors.

3: I am quite sure only pirates can build spaceports anywhere. You can however make a star base design with gas mining and defenses to rival a space port. I would avoid construction yards, though, as a star base in the middle of nowhere is unlikely to receive supplies, potentially making ships seeking repair or retrofit stuck there.

4: Look at the automated designs, and the ranges they got. That should give a hint of what is good and bad ranges.

Some corrections: Stand off means the ship will maintain max range of the enemy ship. So if an enemy has a max range of 300 your ship will try to maintain a position at 301 range. And everyone can build spaceports anywhere so long as they fit into the max size for stations build outside a colony. There's just no point in doing so.

(in reply to Bingeling)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 12:41:24 PM

Bingeling

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Joined: 8/12/2010
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Ah, I guess the spaceport behavior changed with shadows. Building anything with a construction yard away from colonies is a bad idea, though.

As for ranges, I low my close range brawlers, apart form the fun of watching long range ships take down spaceports without a scratch.

(in reply to Deathball)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 1:10:43 PM

Deathball

Posts: 117
Joined: 4/3/2012
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It didn't change, its always been like that. Just check those abandoned stations you take over, a lot of them are space ports.

Edit: Checking again it seems you're no longer able to. Thats odd, I recall being able to do that at some point.

< Message edited by Deathball -- 1/16/2014 2:22:48 PM >

(in reply to Bingeling)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 1:27:34 PM

Bingeling

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Joined: 8/12/2010
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There were pirate spaceports, but I am quite sure you could not build one not at a colony. Pirate spaceports also had gas mining equipment, I think. I kept some of them as fuel bases in games of relaxed economy.

(in reply to Deathball)

Post #: 8

RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 4:05:25 PM

Fenrisfil

Posts: 216
Joined: 6/2/2013
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4. Weapon range is mostly relevant by comparison to other weapons. 100 is bad, 990 is very good (only top level missiles and torpedoes reach that). If your ships are fast they can get away with shorter ranges (not so much for stationary bases). Also consider some weapons lose damage over range so you may want to be closer anyway. Missiles are by far the best weapon for long ranges (long range, no damage loss and of course seeking). Also remember to make sure your ships are set to use appropriate tactics (If your capital ship has 1 missile and 500 rail guns you probably don't want to default to "stand off").

6. Role affects how the AI uses the ship and some roles do affect capability as well as limiting build options. Military ships (though not troop transport) need weapons to be valid, troop transports need a troop module, etc. Only resupply ships will "deploy" (i.e. turn into a mobile refuelling point). The AI will only use passenger ships to move people, cargo ships to move cargo and mining ships to mine, however if you put a normal mining engine on a gas miner it will use it to mine mineral resources. There is very little difference outside of the design for the main military ships (escort-cap) and if your controlling design, fleet formation and ship activity you can basically use them however you feel.

< Message edited by Fenrisfil -- 1/16/2014 5:10:52 PM >

(in reply to Fenrisfil)

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RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 4:16:47 PM

Fenrisfil

Posts: 216
Joined: 6/2/2013
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Deathball

Some corrections: Stand off means the ship will maintain max range of the enemy ship. So if an enemy has a max range of 300 your ship will try to maintain a position at 301 range.

I'm fairly sure this goes out the window when the target has equal or longer range than an attacking ship that is set to "stand off". It seems to me in those circumstances the ships will move to their own max range, though I couldn't say for sure, all I know is they do attack still, even though they are within missile/torpedo range.

(in reply to Deathball)

Post #: 10

RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 5:19:00 PM

Deathball

Posts: 117
Joined: 4/3/2012
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Fenrisfil

quote:

ORIGINAL: Deathball

Some corrections: Stand off means the ship will maintain max range of the enemy ship. So if an enemy has a max range of 300 your ship will try to maintain a position at 301 range.

I'm fairly sure this goes out the window when the target has equal or longer range than an attacking ship that is set to "stand off". It seems to me in those circumstances the ships will move to their own max range, though I couldn't say for sure, all I know is they do attack still, even though they are within missile/torpedo range.

Yes, if the enemy outranges your ship it will use its own max range but otherwise it will stay just out of the enemy range to maximize its own damage.

(in reply to Fenrisfil)

Post #: 11

RE: More new player questions - 1/16/2014 6:26:15 PM

Zygon

Posts: 34
Joined: 1/9/2014
Status: offline

I am loving the depth in this game!

Thank you for all the answers, I do appreciate your time. :-)

(in reply to Deathball)

Post #: 12