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Defense base not defending

 
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Defense base not defending - 10/14/2016 1:47:10 AM   
Stormy Fairweather

 

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So I found one of those huge alien relics, and I built a defense base next to it, but it won't fire. It has weapons, energy, fuel, even fighters, but when my constructor repairing the ship is attacked my defense base does nothing. When i select it there is no targeting reticle, nor any commands i can find to make it fire.

Am I missing something? (it has been awhile since I played)

PS - Since I already have a thread up, two other questions. what is the 'alliance name' box that occasionally pop up in diplomacy, and is it normal for the game to think you double clicked when you didn't?

< Message edited by Stormy Fairweather -- 10/14/2016 2:09:46 AM >
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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/14/2016 5:51:13 AM   
Bingeling

 

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Is the defense base design yours or an AI design? That is: Does it work in other situations? It ought to find an attack on your construction ship as hostile enough to warrant shooting. A broken design could explain it, as could not having energy (but you say it got fuel).

I can not say that I have watched "randomly placed defensive bases" do anything useful, though. I assume that is because I have not tried it. I have seen similar things not fire on "hostile ships just driving by". But shooting at a ship of yours is not "just driving by".

I do not know about the alliance name (I probably never ally much...), and I have never noticed and issues with double clicking. What is that double click issue, exactly?

(in reply to Stormy Fairweather)
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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/14/2016 7:51:51 PM   
Aeson

 

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quote:

what is the 'alliance name' box that occasionally pop up in diplomacy

It's a tool available to the player which allows the player to name treaties between the player's empire and the faction whose name or relations status was double-clicked. Technically, this can be done at any relations status, though I personally would suggest using it only for Mutual Defense Pacts. So far as I am aware, there are no mechanical benefits to making use of this feature, but it can be useful to keep track of alliance blocks - e.g. the Federation has MDPs with the Alliance, Republic, Empire, and Kingdom, and the Alliance and Republic also have MDPs with one another, so if you name the treaties between the Federation and the Alliance and the Federation and the Republic the "Grand Alliance" or "Space NATO" or whatever else floats your boat, it's easier to see the alliance block at a glance in the diplomacy menu; you'd normally have to go through each empire in the diplomacy screen to check for alliance blocks. Remember, however, that MDPs can and sometimes will be terminated by the computer's empires.

It might be possible for the player to name treaties between other empires, but if so I don't know an easy way to do that. Also, so far as I can tell, there is no way to name alliance blocks, only individual treaties. The Federation, Alliance, and Republic may all have MDPs with one another, but naming the Federation-Alliance MDP the "Grand Alliance" will not also name the Federation-Republic and Republic-Alliance MDPs the "Grand Alliance" at the same time, probably at least in part due to the way the web of diplomatic relations can become a complicated mess, especially in larger games.

This is probably more useful for players who want to create a scenario similar to the Ancient Galaxy scenario that came with Universe than for normal gameplay.

quote:

So I found one of those huge alien relics, and I built a defense base next to it, but it won't fire. It has weapons, energy, fuel, even fighters, but when my constructor repairing the ship is attacked my defense base does nothing. When i select it there is no targeting reticle, nor any commands i can find to make it fire.

I have no idea what's going on here. Do you have problems with other defensive bases of this design not engaging hostiles, or is it only this one? Does the ship attacking your construction ship belong to a pirate faction or to an empire, and what is your relations status with the ship's owner (e.g. peace, protection agreement, etc)?

If you can and are willing to do so, you might consider posting two images, the first showing the situation (relative positions of the station, construction ship, and aggressor) and the second showing the station design. No promises, but maybe someone will be able to tell something about what's going wrong from those.

Some things you might try:
- Check to make certain that the station is actually in range of the aggressor.
- Play around with the station design's engagement stance settings. Maybe something screwy is going on and the station is waiting for the aggressor to get into point blank range to open fire or is trying to flee because the station somehow got set to "flee when enemy military sighted" or something equally silly and this somehow prevents the station from engaging.
- Change your diplomatic relations status with the faction to which the aggressor belongs. Maybe there's something screwy going on with the station not recognizing the aggressor as a valid target because the empire controlling it is technically at peace with your empire or because the pirate faction to which the aggressor belongs has a protection agreement with you (and yes, it is possible for computer-controlled empires and pirate factions to attack player-empire ships and stations while not technically at war or while protection agreements are in effect, though it is much more common to see declarations of war or cancellations of protection agreements before actual hostilities take place).

In the future, I'd recommend using a Resupply Ship and a small fleet rather than a defensive base for protecting construction ships against raiders. Another alternative is to arm your construction ships well enough that they're capable of fending off raiders on their own; they aren't as good at being alternative battleships as Resupply Ships are, but even with 35% of the total size going towards mission-related components, Construction Ships can make for fairly capable superheavy combatants. Unless you're dealing with powerful pirate attacks, a fighter bay or two, a decent number of shield generators, and a reasonably-sized block of armor is probably all you need, but if you wanted to you can probably make the ship more powerful than that, especially if you budget power assuming that the Construction Ship is stationary in combat (i.e. [reactor output] >= [power requirement of the armament] + [shield regeneration] instead of [reactor output] >= [power requirement of the armament] + [shield regeneration] + [movement power requirement]) and are willing to accept that your construction ship probably won't be winning any sublight speed trophies even against other construction ships any time soon.

< Message edited by Aeson -- 10/14/2016 7:53:01 PM >

(in reply to Bingeling)
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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/19/2016 7:50:53 AM   
Stormy Fairweather

 

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Thanks for the responses. I abandoned that game, but will keep your tips in mind.

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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/26/2016 4:10:42 AM   
johanwanderer

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Stormy Fairweather

Thanks for the responses. I abandoned that game, but will keep your tips in mind.


One thing to try next time: once a station is fully built, there will be an option to "Launch All Fighters" at the bottom left panel when you click on it. (Before it's fully built, you can still launch individual fighters, but it's tedious.) The fighters will generally attack anything it is considered hostile.

Also, make sure you have the weapon range set to "All weapons" or "Standoff". Some of the defaults have it set to "Point Blank", which is useless until you have really good tractor beams (or if the enemy likes that engagement range against a big target).

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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/31/2016 4:31:32 AM   
syntaXerroR

 

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I've had experiences where bases (whether it be a space station or a mining base) don't seem to fire until the moment something shoots at it, even with 'All weapons' selected. This sucks for when you put the longest range weapon on a base and it doesn't fire until the enemy get to their maximum range with blasters. :(

(in reply to johanwanderer)
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RE: Defense base not defending - 10/31/2016 10:05:53 PM   
Uncle Lumpy


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Sorry, for some reason my post was duplicated?!!? And I have no idea how to remove the duplicate.

< Message edited by Uncle Lumpy -- 10/31/2016 10:11:00 PM >

(in reply to syntaXerroR)
Post #: 7
RE: Defense base not defending - 10/31/2016 10:08:04 PM   
Uncle Lumpy


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You might try Default Engagement Stances on the Empire Settings menu. Go to the pull down menu, upper left of game screen (Save AS, Exit Game, etc.) and select Options. Then select Empire Settings, near bottom left of menu. There you can set the engagement stances for ALL your fleets, individual ships and bases (Attack Only When Attacked, Attack Nearby Targets, Attack System Targets), for both Manual and Auto control of Patrol, Escort, Attack/Bombardment, and Other. Your empire may be set at Attack Only When Attacked. If so, they will not attack anything that does not attack them first.

I found this by accident. My invasion fleet would attack its target, drop troops, then attack and destroy every mine and base in the system. As I wanted to capture fuel mines I found this infuriating. I either had to send my invasion fleet out of system (leaving my invading force naked) or set them to Blockage. Then I found my default setting for everything was Attack System Targets. Once I switched this to Attack Only When Attacked I could pick and choose which Bases and Mines to destroy or capture.

You can also change the Default Engagement Stance of individual ships and fleets (but not Bases) using the Selection Panel (lower left of game screen). Select either Next Ship or Next Fleet and box/button appears in the lower right of the Panel. Clicking through this box/button allows you to select Attack Only When Attacked, Attack Nearby Targets, or System Targets for the Ship or Fleet you have up in the Selection Panel.

I tend to leave my Empire setting at Attack System Targets for defense. Then use the Selection Panel to tailor my separate Attack Fleets to not attack system targets if I want to capture fuel mines, or if it's a small empire and I want to inherit all of their mines and bases after I invade and conquer them. Or I leave them at Attack System Targets if I'm only trying to destroy my opponent's ability to wage war by destroying his vital fuel mines and bases.




< Message edited by Uncle Lumpy -- 10/31/2016 10:49:07 PM >

(in reply to syntaXerroR)
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RE: Defense base not defending - 11/1/2016 2:18:48 PM   
Malevolence


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Fixed defenses are a lie. Anytime you think a fixed combat platform is a good idea, just think again. Mobile is always strategically and economically more beneficial.

The only time to consider a fixed platform is when the firepower and protection are significantly higher than what could otherwise be achieved using a mobile platform. That goes for planetary defenses as well.

Such advice will keep you in good stead no matter the "game".


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RE: Defense base not defending - 11/1/2016 2:23:55 PM   
btd64


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I've never had a major problem with defensive bases. Range of weapons matters. Sometimes I launch the Fighters and bombers just to have a leg up....GP

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RE: Defense base not defending - 11/1/2016 2:27:36 PM   
Malevolence


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quote:

ORIGINAL: General Patton

I've never had a major problem with defensive bases. Range of weapons matters. Sometimes I launch the Fighters and bombers just to have a leg up....GP


Range of weapons does matter, but that is a tactical consideration; not the strategic implication of combat power being tied to a geographically fixed site.

Unless those fighters or bombers are constrained to only deploy from a fixed site, use a carrier (or mobile platform) instead.

"Fixed fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity."
-- George S. Patton, Jr.

< Message edited by Malevolence -- 11/1/2016 2:36:22 PM >


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*Please remember all posts are made by a malevolent, autocratic despot whose rule is marked by unjust severity and arbitrary behavior. Your experiences may vary.

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