Turn Off Military Ship Automation

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Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 2:48:45 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

I have started a new game. I am only capable to building weak escorts, frigates, and destroyers. There are a bunch of Giant Kaitors in my system.

Each time a ship is built it is put on automated. It then jumps to the Giant Kaitors.

The problem is that it doesn't even give the ships time to charge their shields. They have shields that can have a strength of 200 and they are only charged to 20 or so when they come out of jump and start attacking the Kaitors.

Additionally, they are going their one-by-one, instead of grouping up on one Kaitor at a time with multiple ships.

I have tried clicking to turn off the automation as soon as the ship is built, however, ships are getting built to quick, like three at a time. I can turn off the automation on one, but the next two are built and sent off to fight before I can get to them to turn off automation. With fast enough clicking I might be able to keep up, but this is more work that it should be.

So, my question is, is there a setting that I can change so that ships are not automated when they have completed being built? This way I can build up a fleet, let their shields charge, and attack en masse on one Kaitor at a time.

Post #: 1

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:01:18 PM

FireStarterXoX69

Posts: 24
Joined: 5/27/2013
Status: offline

Options menu, there's a checkbox.

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 2

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:04:53 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: FireStarterXoX69

Options menu, there's a checkbox.

I'm sorry, but I don't see such a checkbox.

http://screencast.com/t/4YECyvFHJf

UPDATE

I found it. I needed to go one level deeper.

http://screencast.com/t/6Lmhb07vJC

< Message edited by tinjaw -- 6/6/2014 4:38:23 PM >

(in reply to FireStarterXoX69)

Post #: 3

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:06:02 PM

Bingeling

Posts: 5186
Joined: 8/12/2010
Status: offline

Apart from the option in empire settings.

Pause the game.
Order your ships.
Got to ship list, filter by military ship.
If many, sort by firepower or fleet (depending on what you have around).
Multiselect them with ctrl-click and shift-click. Add them to a fleet.

Pay attention as they are built. Boss the fleet around, when all are built, attack.

Shields are not important fighting wildlife, they ignore them and go straight at armor. You can try to run away with the targeted ship while the rest shoot at the kaltor.

(in reply to FireStarterXoX69)

Post #: 4

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:06:55 PM

Aeson

Posts: 784
Joined: 8/30/2013
Status: offline

Well, to be fair, shields don't protect against Giant Kaltors anyways. You can disable ship automation in one of the options screens, you can try selecting the spaceport and turning its automation setting off (which means that ships built by the spaceport default to manual, not automated), and you can go to the ships list and disable automation by clicking on the blue circles regardless of whether or not they've been built yet. You can also add ships to existing fleets within the ships list, or create entirely new fleets out of selected ships from within the ships list, which may make your management problems somewhat easier. You can also try playing with the engagement stance and engagement range of the ships (though engagement range is only available to fleets) - setting the engagement stance to something like 'when attacked' should prevent the ships from going after the Kaltors on their own, but engagement stance and range can only be done manually by selecting each ship or fleet and playing with the appropriate buttons under the selection details in the lower-left corner (engagement stance is at the right edge of the list of buttons, engagement range will appear somewhat closer to the center but still off to the right and only appears for fleets).

As far as fighting Kaltors goes, it really doesn't matter whether you have shields or not - Kaltor attacks bypass shielding regardless of type and strength. Armor plating will provide some protection, at least until the Kaltor breaks all the plates. The best way to fight Kaltors, though, is to have a ship which is at least as fast as they are with good turning speed, and kill the Kaltors without ever letting them get close enough to damage your ships.

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 5

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:15:06 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aeson

you can try selecting the spaceport and turning its automation setting off (which means that ships built by the spaceport default to manual, not automated),

There appears to be no way to turn off automation on a Spaceport. No button is available.

http://www.screencast.com/t/CcZu9w3io

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aeson
and you can go to the ships list and disable automation by clicking on the blue circles regardless of whether or not they've been built yet.

That seems to work.

(in reply to Aeson)

Post #: 6

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:23:10 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

I have used the ship list to turn off automation on the ships while they are being built. When the ships are built, they are not listed/shown as automated. However, they are still getting assigned a mission once they are built.

Here is one such ship. I turned off automation while it was being built. The ship was built and assigned a mission to attack the Kaitor.

http://screencast.com/t/mnfq1RDm

< Message edited by tinjaw -- 6/6/2014 4:25:34 PM >

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 7

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:33:54 PM

Bingeling

Posts: 5186
Joined: 8/12/2010
Status: offline

Even a manual ship will react to it engagement status. Usually they have "engage system target". The shipf is built, the kaltor is system target, and off it goes.

You can intercept them, distract them with a move order, and change the engagement stance (temporary) to "when attacked". That should allow them to wait a bit. Or just have them move in circles by some micro management until all the ships are ready and can attack at once.

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 8

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:37:10 PM

Darkspire

Posts: 1986
Joined: 6/12/2003
From: My Own Private Hell
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: tinjaw

I have started a new game. I am only capable to building weak escorts, frigates, and destroyers. There are a bunch of Giant Kaitors in my system.

Each time a ship is built it is put on automated. It then jumps to the Giant Kaitors.

The problem is that it doesn't even give the ships time to charge their shields. They have shields that can have a strength of 200 and they are only charged to 20 or so when they come out of jump and start attacking the Kaitors.

Additionally, they are going their one-by-one, instead of grouping up on one Kaitor at a time with multiple ships.

I have tried clicking to turn off the automation as soon as the ship is built, however, ships are getting built to quick, like three at a time. I can turn off the automation on one, but the next two are built and sent off to fight before I can get to them to turn off automation. With fast enough clicking I might be able to keep up, but this is more work that it should be.

So, my question is, is there a setting that I can change so that ships are not automated when they have completed being built? This way I can build up a fleet, let their shields charge, and attack en masse on one Kaitor at a time.

Enter the options screen from either the main menu or in the game by pressing ESC.

Click the 'Empire Settings' (image 1 A)

Clear the check box (image 2 B)

Darkspire

_____________________________

Darkspires's File Repository

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 9

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:40:10 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bingeling

Even a manual ship will react to it engagement status. Usually they have "engage system target". The shipf is built, the kaltor is system target, and off it goes.

Ah. That makes sense. I am still trying to get my head wrapped around all the different levels of automation. Thanks.

(in reply to Bingeling)

Post #: 10

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:41:34 PM

tinjaw

Posts: 632
Joined: 8/5/2004
From: Leavenworth, KS
Status: offline

Darkspire,

Thank you. I think we crossposted. I stumbled upon that while you were writing up your post.

Thank you for clearing that up. It will help the next person to find it.

(in reply to Darkspire)

Post #: 11

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:42:43 PM

Bingeling

Posts: 5186
Joined: 8/12/2010
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: tinjaw

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bingeling

Even a manual ship will react to it engagement status. Usually they have "engage system target". The shipf is built, the kaltor is system target, and off it goes.

Ah. That makes sense. I am still trying to get my head wrapped around all the different levels of automation. Thanks.

That is not bad automation, though, but it is a hard behavior to fight. If you park a manual fleet at a colony, and a pirate escort wants to raid, you want them to shoot it. That is the engagement stance at work.

What is not so nice is that they engage an exploration ship in the system and leave the colony they were parked at. Or the colony left them on its orbit. In that case they have to hyperjump to the escort and are delayed in killing it.

(in reply to tinjaw)

Post #: 12

RE: Turn Off Military Ship Automation - 6/6/2014 3:52:52 PM

Darkspire

Posts: 1986
Joined: 6/12/2003
From: My Own Private Hell
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: tinjaw

Darkspire,

Thank you. I think we crossposted. I stumbled upon that while you were writing up your post.

Thank you for clearing that up. It will help the next person to find it.

They would do if they ever used the search engine, very few do, I get serious D�j� vu round here sometimes, I often think that I should just make a text file in with the answers and do a cut and paste job