Minesweeper Question
 

I searched through the forums but couldn't find an answer to this specific question & thought I would ask it here http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Let say you are attacking two planets (in different squares). Each is covered with 100 mines & you plan on attacking both in the same turn. If your fleet has mine sweepers that can handle 100 mines will it clear both planets on that same turn? Or after the first 100 mines will you then get hit with the next 100?

Thanks for any assistance you guys can give me.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

You can only have 100 mines per sector. So the mine sweeper will clear those 100 mines. If you then move to a new sector, the mine sweeper will clear those mines as well. The mine sweeper works regardless until it has hit its maximum ability.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

So if you have 101 mines in the secter and can only sweep 100, the last mine damages a ship. Not sure if it damages shields or armor, though.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

How would you have 101 mines in a system if the limit is 100 mines per system? *Non modded games of course*

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Each empire can launch 100 mines in a sector.

Mines ignore shielding entirely. They damage armor first like everything else (unless you mod in armor skipping mines, of course).

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

The mines, if they've been launched from 2 planets owned by two empires, aren't orbiting each planet per se, but are all in one sector, so it all happens in one move. In that case, you'll need mine sweeping capability to get them all.

If your hopping between planets in two different sectors within one silmutaneous turn, then the minesweepers are availible to work on each sector individually.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

It'll sweep both planets. Mine sweeping components can sweep their stated number of mines each time they enter a new sector. So you're good! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

...What happens if you mod in shield damage from mines?

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

You can't. That happens to be hard-coded. I guess ships are assumed to not have their shields up when not expecting combat?

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

It would make sense - Do any non-combat effects affect shields?

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Sector damage, warp point turbulence, intel, and events also ignore shields.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

This thread wants to be wikied.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Note!

Depending on the ship movement ID order. If two or more fleet of ships are moving into the same sector on the same movement day and only one of them have mine sweeping ability. It is possible for the non-mine sweeping fleet to move first into a sector thereby getting hit by the mines, before the sweepers move and clear the mines.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

One BC with 20 minesweepers 5 and a speed of 10 could clear 1000 mines in one turn. It could clear 100 mines in each sector it moved through. 10 moves, 1000 mines. Getting 200 in two sectors is nothing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

200 in one sector as may happen when laid by multiple people would hurt.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

A Battlecruiser with 20 Minesweepers will have exactly 0kt for other components (a mere 600kt is hardly enough for twenty 30kt components), so it isn't going to be built anytime soon, let alone move anywhere.

A Battleship with Emergency Propulsion V and Propulsion Experts should get the job done, though, and will sweep several hundred more mines a turn. Of course, most people don't lay a full 100 mines on every single sector.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

You guys have all been very helpful. In the FAQ it doesn't actually tell you that a minesweeper component can clear that many mines per square it hits each & every move it makes on the same turn. The component does say "per use" but that to me could have gone either way & I was preferring to not find out the hard way http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Asking because I have a fleet of ships attacking multiple planets in one of my games (I believe 5 in one simultaneous turn). Didn't want to find out that the guy had 100 mines over the first planet & that my mine sweepers started to peter out after that.

Thanks again for all of your assistance.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

So, I guess we can assume that shields are down outside of combat.

You're welcome.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

per most tv/movie shows shields are lowered unless combat looms (probably so the captain can spout those overly dramatic words " raise shields" thus informing the audience in its infinite intellegience that Violence will now commence (oh no hide the wimmin n chillin)

however justification is usually that the shields interfere with scientific sensors and are a major power drain

what i dont like is that we dont have a small (i'd say hardcode to max at 25%) settable chance to detect mines before we run over them i mean come on them scientific super sensors etc should be good for something right

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Those sensors are present. They are called "Minesweeper V." http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

An alternative is to remove the cloaking ability from the mines. Maybe then add cloaking devices for mines, which depend on tech like normal ones do. Now, you get a nice mine cloaking vs. detection arms race.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Just out of curiousity, what damage abilities are effective when modded onto mines or mine components? For example, if you create a warhead that only damages engines, will you have mines that will only knock out an opposing fleet's engines and not do any other damage?

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Yep.

And as of 1.91, the mines will also stop detonating once there are no more engines to destroy, even if there are surviving ships and mines still.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Every damage type that causes actual component damage will work. Things like Shields Only, Disrupt Reload Time, and the allegience subverter type will not work, as they have no bearing outside of combat.

(AS could in theory, but it does not work as a mine warhead as far as I know.)

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Now that would be a cool mine.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Yep...It's a mine-mine!

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

That would definitely make for an interesting border/planetary defense (that it, until minesweepers become a main part of the opponents' fleets).

With that bit of info, I've been looking over the damage types listed in the Components.txt file, and I'm guessing that the following types would be allowed as valid mine warheads (please let me know if this list is in error http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

Normal (the default type), Only Engines, Only Weapons, Only Shield Generators, Only Boarding Parties, Only Security Stations, Only Planet Destroyers, Only Master COmputers.

Something did still pop into my head about mine damage though..when a ship hits a mine, the damage bypasses the shields and goes straight to the armor. Would that still apply to these specialty mines, or would they only damage the components that they were designed to seek (in general, I know that Suicide Junkie already answered about the Only Engines type, but I've seen it listed somewhere that not all abilities skip armor)? Also, is it possible to use Skips Armor/Skips Shields and Armor as a damage type?

I apologize for the sudden glut of queries, but some ideas have started popping in my head and I wanted some feedback from people who have a lot more experience modding than I. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

The shields aren't even checked when mines are involved. Skips Shields will simply work as normal, as will skips Phased Shields. Skip Armor and Skip Armor/Shields will both skip the armor and do internal damage.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

This thread really really wants to be wikied.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Looks like the Skips Armor ability could be used to make some rather deadly minefields...mebbe too deadly http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

A large mine can have 4 big explosives on it. 1200 shield skipping damage with 100% chance of hitting if not swept. That is pretty hurting no matter what. They are even likely to be cheaper than fancy engine damagers whose damage could be fixed that turn by repair ships in a fleet.

Yes, It was a BB I meant with 20 sweepers, not a BC. Good catch Alneyan. Max it could go would be 17 unmodded, though I have never had one go that fast. If 100 mines were in each hex, 1700 mines could be swept in one turn. But I expect 105 mines in one hex would be it's downfall if there were two players teaming against it.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

...Hmm...A mine that takes out minesweepers...

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

If you are moving at speed 17, it means you must be on Emergency Propulsion. This points to not being in a fleet of ships which means you are most likely to be alone. You would then take all the damage on the minesweeper.

An interesting mod would be to have a (cheap) mine that killed only minesweeper components. You could place them one hex away (or surrounding) a heavily mined hex. The first mines would just remove any minesweeping components but leave the fleet speed intact. It could move on and hit a bunch of large mines taking the damage from all of them. It would only work if you were not able to totally clear the first mined hex, but why let reality interfere with my plans to conquer the universe. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

Better to have the mod simply remove minesweeper components.
Then, mines can be low-damage without being useless.

You could also limit mines to 10 per sector, say, which means if you want a serious minefield, it will be multiple sectors deep, and cover a large area.

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

...Tactical mod?...

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

oo no mine sweeper component and half present damage mines limited to 10 or 20 per sector and mines are only lvl 1 automatic cloaking with components to cloak each type to a diff level

forces you to use ships kinda like icebreakers massive armor components and a repair ship nearby since even organic armor doesnt regen outside of combat

and with cloak components just for mines but only for one type of cloaking each you have much more interesting minefields

ex survey system see mines in a nine by nine square around the planet but each sector has a different number of mines some have 3 some 5 some 12 some 20 and you klnow the limit is 20

so is it a path into the planet with 2 mines ea that he forgot or is it a decoy path that will blow you to smithereens with the 18 cloaked mines in each sector

ms windows minesweeper for spaceempires IV ironic since spaceempoires IV for ms windows http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

I wonder if you could mod mines to effect everyone, even yourself. After all, loose mines are no ones friend. Combined with no minesweepers could be an interesting setup. Well, maybe...

Re: Minesweeper Question
 

That can not be modded.