Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (Full Version)

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DonkeyShow -> Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (4/22/2011 3:05:52 AM)

Behold! The Donkey has another dilemma.

STATUS:
- automation of miltary ships is off
- one side of my empire is completely quiet, the other side is under attack
- I'm stationing fleets in each system to guard against these attacks

So I notice that the fleets in systems that see no action just kinda sit there waiting for something to happen. Good!!! That's what I want you little #&%$ to do!

My problem is that the fleets in the high action systems keep running around doing things I didn't tell them to. They like to fly just outside the system into deep space and just sit there. They also like to get fixated on some enemy ship that was just passing through and chase it halfway across the galaxy. Worse, individual ships will break off from the fleet and just go do something. I don't know what... maybe they're looking for a good donkey show.

I tell them to patrol system. That works for a while. But the order seems to clear itself and go back to "no mission" after a while. I've tried sending them to a spot and having them sit there with "(no mission)(engage system targets)". They still like to run around. I set each fleets home colony to one in the system they are guarding. I figured they would naturally try to stay close to home. Nope.

I've lost and retaken the same colony like 3 times now because the fleet I put there keeps running out to nowhere or deciding to go on the offensive. What exactly do I have to do to make them stay put in a system?



cookie monster -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (4/22/2011 3:41:25 AM)

Lower lefthand window

Select fleet

Click on top right box with ship with gun

Set engage to ''Engage when attacked''



DonkeyShow -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (4/22/2011 3:51:01 AM)

I totally love you dude.



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (4/22/2011 6:25:15 AM)

Too late, DS, I think he's already taken [:D]



DonkeyShow -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (4/22/2011 2:59:23 PM)

Hey it's the new millennium. There's room for more in any relationship...

-singing- people all over the world, start a love train, love train -----

[:D]



MaxyGamer -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (6/12/2011 1:37:38 PM)

Yeah, engage system targets sounds nice but your ships keep on chasing shadows all over the place giving your rather great tactical disadvantage at times.

But with engage when attacked option on, your ships won't attack any 'explorer' spy ships hiding in your certain systems... will they? will they just sit and wait to be attacked even if some hostile forces are in your systems?




cookie monster -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (6/12/2011 2:22:56 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: MaxyGamer

Yeah, engage system targets sounds nice but your ships keep on chasing shadows all over the place giving your rather great tactical disadvantage at times.

But with engage when attacked option on, your ships won't attack any 'explorer' spy ships hiding in your certain systems... will they? will they just sit and wait to be attacked even if some hostile forces are in your systems?




The name is self explanatory.

They will "Only engage when attacked".

However the toggle is bugged and must be reset after every time a new order is given.

"Engage nearby targets" is also an option for more local defence.



trogdor826 -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (7/31/2011 4:13:40 PM)

speaking of orders for fleets and individual ships, i often like to send a couple escorts with my high cap freighters but once they reach a destination, their mission ends, is it possible to make an order for fleets/ships permanent for escort duty rather than re-issuing the order every time?



Bingeling -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/9/2011 7:46:14 PM)

Late but...

I am so fond of escorts that the only thing I ever do with them is to scrap the starting one... But.

I would imagine escorts on auto do this kind of stuff. So just have them around on auto and see them aggravate your rivals with military presence. If you want a special escort, just assign the escort order, and put the escort back on auto, and it will resume its automatic duties once the escort mission finishes.

In general I find no need for escorting civilian ships, it seems that the ones that die usually die from wildlife or being caught up in the aoe blasts of planetary assaults in distant wars. Manual escorts for colony ships is a different matter (as long as I don't shield them and arm them).



evilknight -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/14/2011 4:07:15 AM)

to be honest i love using escorts and frigates as screens for my larger ships, if they die its no big deal but if my cap ship or a cruiser bites it i'm in alot of pain. I'd also like to see cap ships broken into carriers and battle ships. I know you can just select your own design and build it but i tend to forget which one was which if I dont play everyday.



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/14/2011 9:35:00 AM)

Yap, more granular ship classes has been requested by several of us already. One more vote is always welcomed, welcome to the forum evilknight.



Kayoz -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 12:32:24 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: cookie monster

"Engage nearby targets" is also an option for more local defence.


What's the practical difference between "engage nearby targets" and "engage system targets"? I haven't seen any.



Mercator -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 12:55:29 AM)

I'm new and haven't yet had a chance to play, but I'd assume the difference being proximity.

One being ships and fleets just outside the system but 'too close to be comfortable'

The other being actual system border violators



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 9:56:57 AM)

Spot on, Mercator, welcome aboard.



Fishers of Men -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 8:44:03 PM)

How would the design of Distant Worlds define "nearby targets"? In the early game, where Hypedrive and fuel cells limit movement, nearby could mean next to a spaceport or mining station. In the late game, it could mean a nearby star. I usually play using the idea that the enemy is within sight of me on the most closeup screen. Anybody else with a different experiemce?

FoM



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 8:58:08 PM)

Same here but if we're patient enough we can test this and find the limit....if we're patient enough [:)]



Kayoz -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/19/2011 11:42:14 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercator

I'm new and haven't yet had a chance to play, but I'd assume the difference being proximity.

One being ships and fleets just outside the system but 'too close to be comfortable'

The other being actual system border violators


In other words - no practical difference?

I've yet to see the AI stop a fleet just outside a system...



Mercator -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/20/2011 3:24:49 AM)

Well, then game mechanics might make it a difference between 'in-system' and a radius of the planet.



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/20/2011 7:50:46 AM)

A very reasonable assumption to make, otherwise why would Elliot go to all the trouble of defining two different stances that do the same thing? Star systems are large enough that ships must make in system hyper jumps so it stands to reason that "nearby" can be related to a planet or location that doesn't require hyperjump to reach.
Again, this can be nicely settled via testing. In my early days I would have jumped at the opportunity, now real life must thake precedence....for now [:)]



ehsumrell1 -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/20/2011 8:59:44 PM)

Normally, the 'nearby target' stance allows the ship to remain while attacking/defending within a certain distance of either its current location or (if on escort duty of a vessel or patrolling a planet) its
selected target. Whereas the 'system target' stance allows the ship to 'chase' an enemy ship within
the current system and beyond disregarding any patrol or escort duty until either its target is
destroyed or lost out of its sensor range. This is the way it is supposed to work. But there are also
other factors at times that affect this, such as if the ship is part of a fleet, or on automatic, or
in a disruptive nebula or gas cloud, etcetera, hope this helps! [:)]



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/21/2011 8:10:44 AM)

quote:

hope this helps


Understatement of the year. Again, great info from the son'a beta tester [&o]



MaxyGamer -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/21/2011 8:15:53 PM)

This vital tactical function needs tuning. I hate when my manually patrolling destroyers go on some wild chases outside of my systems. Engage system targets should ONLY mean engaging system targets and not leaving important strategic points without protection. Even worse is that they don't return back to their manually set tasks and just keep on sitting there in the middle of nowhere. I play the game on the complete manual setting and having to deal with this every single time is quite infuriating.



Harmonious Hegemony -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/22/2011 11:19:54 PM)

In my opinion, it is an enormously frustrating aspect of this game to assign a fleet or ship to a strategic position and then have it run off on some pointless mission a few minutes later. I have tried all of the "Engage Nearby, Engage System, When Attacked" commands and ships seem to follow that instruction for just the shortest time, and then run off and do something totally irrelevant anyway. A corollary to this is to have a Construction Ship with 90% fuel and when you tell it to Repair X or Construct Y it heads directly to the nearest refueling station. Repeat the command as often as you like but it will not do it without refueling first. Grrrr. [:@]



ehsumrell1 -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/23/2011 1:08:49 AM)

I can understand your frustrations. Although I've noticed in my games that if I
order a fleet or vessel to do something, then take it off automated, it usually
reacts to its orders according to the battle stance it has. Don't get me wrong though,
I hope that Elliot does get around to fine-tuning this element of the game. [:)]



Data -> RE: Sit fleet, sit! Good boy! (8/23/2011 6:33:43 AM)

+1



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