How minesweeper work
 

Hi

Can ship with minesweeper modules to clean sector without the moving in this sector?

For example - there is the enemy mine field in the sector 4,1. Can minesweeper to destroy this mines, if the minesweeper stay in the sector 4,2?

Thanks

Re: How minesweeper work
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I THINK the only time you can sweep mines is moving INTO the sector. Staying still or moving out does no good.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

You can issue them an order to sweep mines. Movement does not have to occur.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

Nope, you have to be in the sector to sweep. But please note there IS a 'sweep mines' button in the command bar. You can sweep the sector you are currently in without moving out and then moving back.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

no. a minesweeper must move into the sector with the mines.

much to slow.

[ February 02, 2004, 23:36: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: How minesweeper work
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">But how I can be in the sector with mines in the beginning of turn? I mean if minesweeper can not to clean all enemy mines in the sector than it will be destroyed. If ship can to clean 10 mines per turn and mine field consist from 20 mines ship will sweep out ten mines and be destroyed by elevens. Or may be I do not understand something?

Re: How minesweeper work
 

A cloaked ship could fly into the sector and launch mines there. Or, a minelayer could attack your undefended planet, but not fire because it has no weapons, and launch mines. This is more of an issue with multiplayer games, as the AI is not as clever as human opponents. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: How minesweeper work
 

There is a minesweep order, but it seems not work when the ship is not moving. Bug or feature?

Re: How minesweeper work
 

You have tested the sweep mines button and it does not work? Since there is explicitly a button in the game GUI for this, it must have been intended to work. If ships have to be moving to sweep mines, then the sweep mines button is useless, so it must be a bug.

[ February 03, 2004, 00:20: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Re: How minesweeper work
 

Ah...

I see what it's supposed to be now. I've never bothered to use it before. We have misunderstood how the game is designed. That button is for issuing the AI 'move to' order just like the 'remote units deploy' or 'remote unit recover' buttons are for issuing the order that the AI would issue to send a ship to a specific location. So it seems you cannot sweep mines without moving! It sure would be nice to be able to sweep the location where you are currently located without leaving it. I wonder if we could get MM to change that at this late date???

Re: How minesweeper work
 

Baron, do you mean it's a button to order a ship to sweep mines at a certain location? Similar to ordering one to lay satellites at a certain location?

Re: How minesweeper work
 

I thought the reason for the sweep button was basically a manual override for the "Ships should not move into known mine fields" empire option. Normally when you have that checked your ships won't move into a minefield, even if given the "move to order", right? I may have that wrong, that's just alsways been my assumption.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

That would make sense, Geo.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

I have had a minesweeper in a hex mined by an ally. When we went to war, I could not sweep the mines in that hex. I believe I didn't even get the button because the ships were fleeted. After removing them from the fleet, I swept mines in the hex to no effect.

The mines did not get removed while I stayed in that hex.

I was unsure of what happened at the time, but it looks like the discussion here explains it.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

That is not a very useful feature then.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

Geo, you can order ships to move to a known minefield and they will move to it. Trusting little buggers aren't they? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

But I agree with Fyron. It looks like the sweep mines button serves no useful purpose. The one thing it can do can also be done with a simple move to order.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

I would tend to disagree with both of you.

Though not necessarily useful, I suspect, assuming I understand its purpose correctly, it could provide the following use:

Let's suppose you do NOT want to turn off the "ships should avoid minefields" switch (in order to prevent a string of ships, for example, moving through the same minefield one after another). But, let's also suppose you have a fleet assembled with sweepers in it that you DO want to enter and sweep a minefield. Here is the use for the button.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">You can still use the move to command even if you have the "ships should avoid minefields" switch on. Just order the ships to move to the sector in question. You can also remove the tagged minefield using Ctrl-R.

Re: How minesweeper work
 

Exactly. It is redundant, and therefore useless.