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Ship Design Question - 6/30/2014 4:14:15 PM

bluestrike15

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Joined: 5/30/2014
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Recently I've looked at a few guides and i noticed some of them say you should build your ship components in order so they work before they are done. What I want to ask is what if you want to add a new component into a design but You want it to be build before some other components. Say for instance, a mid to late pre-warp ship I want to add shields. But i want them to be build before my weapons.

Post #: 1

RE: Ship Design Question - 6/30/2014 6:28:40 PM

Aeson

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My understanding is that ship components are built in the order that they are listed in the design screen, barring resource shortages that delay a component's construction. So if you want to add shields to a design and have the shield generators built before some other components, you're going to have to strip out those components and then add them back in after you've added the shield generators.

(in reply to bluestrike15)

Post #: 2

RE: Ship Design Question - 6/30/2014 7:19:23 PM

bluestrike15

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Joined: 5/30/2014
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Seems like that may be the only way. I wish the devs would add a option to pick which parts get built first. THAT would be something amazing to see.

(in reply to Aeson)

Post #: 3

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/1/2014 3:42:00 AM

feelotraveller

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Joined: 9/12/2011
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Just to clarify: components are generally built in the order that they are listed in the design. If the component next on the design list is not available (not yet built by manufacturing) then another will be added instead.

For shields to power up they need an energy source. For a new ship this means having energy collectors before shields on the design list. (Fuel is the last thing to be added to new builds.)

(in reply to bluestrike15)

Post #: 4

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/2/2014 8:57:07 AM

CaptainZero

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Joined: 7/2/2014
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feelotraveller,

Does that mean that when I click on the header in the component window to, for example, list the components by alphabetical order I am actually changing the order that components are built?

(in reply to feelotraveller)

Post #: 5

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/3/2014 3:43:20 AM

feelotraveller

Posts: 1040
Joined: 9/12/2011
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Unless I have misunderstood that is the window to the left?

The components used by a design are listed in the window in the middle of the design details screen. (I don't have the game open but I don't think there is the option to list the components by alphabetical order there?) It is this list that determines the order the game tries to build the components in.

(in reply to CaptainZero)

Post #: 6

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/3/2014 4:18:44 AM

CaptainZero

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feelotraveller,

Both the left window (available components) and middle window (components that you have put in the design) can be listed alphabetically, by type, or in the case of the middle window, by the number currently in the design. I ran into this problem when I read about the build order last week:

1. Design a base exactly like I want it with shields up front, etc.
2. Build base
3. Go to redesign base to add some upgraded components. To find the pesky maxxos blasters that I want to pull off I click the middle window header to sort the list by component type and then scroll down to the weapons and pull them off.
4. Now I realize I have changed the build order! $#@%!!!! Now I have three options, everything alphabetically, by type, or by number in use.

(in reply to feelotraveller)

Post #: 7

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/3/2014 8:38:37 AM

Keston

Posts: 300
Joined: 5/7/2010
Status: offline

I thought they were built by order added to the build? Which would not change, but the answer is not obvious from the interface.

Armor and shields up are important against a light enemy raid when under construction. Energy is needed for Weapons and Shields, but what is needed before being able to power up those weapons and shields?

(in reply to CaptainZero)

Post #: 8

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/3/2014 2:04:16 PM

Aeson

Posts: 784
Joined: 8/30/2013
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quote:

Energy is needed for Weapons and Shields, but what is needed before being able to power up those weapons and shields?

Command Center + Reactor + Fuel (fuel is only ever added at the end of the build, though) or Command Center + Reactor + Energy Collector. Weapons won't fire until the ship is completed and launched, regardless of how much energy the ship can generate from its collectors, but shields can charge during the construction process if you have energy collectors.

I also suspect, like Keston, that build order is more or less the order in which you added parts to the design (though possibly only tracking when you added the first such part to the design), though I've not paid enough attention to it to see if that were the case.

(in reply to Keston)

Post #: 9

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/5/2014 2:55:13 AM

feelotraveller

Posts: 1040
Joined: 9/12/2011
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quote:

ORIGINAL: CaptainZero

feelotraveller,

Both the left window (available components) and middle window (components that you have put in the design) can be listed alphabetically, by type, or in the case of the middle window, by the number currently in the design. I ran into this problem when I read about the build order last week:

1. Design a base exactly like I want it with shields up front, etc.
2. Build base
3. Go to redesign base to add some upgraded components. To find the pesky maxxos blasters that I want to pull off I click the middle window header to sort the list by component type and then scroll down to the weapons and pull them off.
4. Now I realize I have changed the build order! $#@%!!!! Now I have three options, everything alphabetically, by type, or by number in use.

Yes, thanks for the correction. I saw that when I went to that screen later that day.

My suspicion is that Keston is right about it being order the non-zero component of that type is added to build that matters. (Alternatively the order could be set when the design is saved.)

A quick test should sort it out. Let us know what you find.

(in reply to CaptainZero)

Post #: 10

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/5/2014 3:01:24 AM

feelotraveller

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Joined: 9/12/2011
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Aeson
Weapons won't fire until the ship is completed and launched, regardless of how much energy the ship can generate from its collectors, but shields can charge during the construction process if you have energy collectors.

Did this get changed sometime? Weapons used to fire (Shadows and before) while a ship was building as long as energy was available from the reactor. (A command centre was needed and it could be life support and habitation as well...)

Mind you this is such a marginal case, both infrequent in arising and low volume of firepower when it does, that it does not really matter much.

(in reply to Aeson)

Post #: 11

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/5/2014 4:16:41 AM

Aeson

Posts: 784
Joined: 8/30/2013
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quote:

Did this get changed sometime? Weapons used to fire (Shadows and before) while a ship was building as long as energy was available from the reactor.

I could be mistaken. I just can't think of any time I've ever seen ships under construction fire their weapons, though since they're sitting under a spaceport which most likely is firing much more than they could it'd be relatively easy to miss.

(in reply to feelotraveller)

Post #: 12

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/5/2014 6:01:02 AM

Keston

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What about ships under repair in dock?

(in reply to Aeson)

Post #: 13

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/5/2014 5:19:56 PM

Aeson

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Try setting up such a situation and seeing what happens.

(in reply to Keston)

Post #: 14

RE: Ship Design Question - 7/13/2014 7:19:31 AM

johanwanderer

Posts: 209
Joined: 6/28/2014
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There is a "Construction Summary" button under the right window. That is the actual order of construction. Sorting the windows do not change that.
When you add an existing component (i.e. add one more blaster and your design already has blasters) it is added to the same section. I have only seen components get mixed up once, and I have not been able to reproduce that.
Weapons definitely will fire even if the ship/base is not fully constructed. You need: command, hab, energy + energy storage (reactor, not fuel). I usually make sure larger ships / stations have the following order: command center, auto repair, counter measures, hyper deny, hab modules, life supports, collectors, reactors, shields, targetings, weapons, armors, evreything else.
Ships in docks will not fire until after the dock is destroyed. After the dock is destroyed, then it depends on whether it has command + hab + energy, as above.

(in reply to Aeson)

Post #: 15