System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Looking for a bit of help -
Checking the threads, there does not appear to be any way to autolaunch fighters or sats upon production. Is there any mod that can take care of this, or alternatively a command to launch all units from all planets in a system? If not, should I drop this in as a feature request?

Thanks

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

A good way to manage this is to have a transport with repeat orders pick up the units and deliver them to front line planets of cargo bases. Or, use the transports to move all the units to one central location for convenience.

If you're trying to build up a defense, its a different story from just needing the cargo space to build more.

An Auto-Launch toggle button would be a very nice feature. I reccommend you send it in.

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Sats at least can be auto luanched very easily by just turning on the global sattelite minister and the specific minister for that planet. Then they will launch any available sats the turn after they are built. All you have to do is set up the build queues.

Unfortunatly this does not work for mines I know. I don't know about fighters. Never tried it for them. Not sure if there is even a fighter minister.

Geoschmo

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

The satellite minister may still keep some of the sat's on the planet depending on the "Percentage of total satellites to keep as planetary cargo" setting in the race_AI_settings.txt file, so if you want all sat's in space, set the value to 0.

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hmmm, interesting. I had forgotten about that setting. I don't think it's working that way. It's set to 40 by default for all the AI, and in every game I have used this minister in it's launched all the sats.

Geoschmo

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Wow, I wish my ministers worked like yours. I nearly always find satellites just sitting in the cargo of AI owned plants when attack. It's a waste and an annoyance. I wonder what other AiI or game settings might affect how the satellite minster behaves?

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

I don't know. I have never really tried to make it work one way or the other for an AI player. I am just selectively using the mines/sattelite minister to control the launching of sats and take a little of the micromanagment out. It works quite well actually. I wish it worked for mines as well but it doesn't.

Perhaps it's beccuase I am so selective. Maybe the problem with the AI is that somehow they competing minsters are contradicting each others orders? I don't really know.

As far as I know the ministers are the same as AI control are they not? That's what I have always been told anyway, and I have never seen anything except possibly this point to contradict that.

The other possibility is as I said maybe it has something to do with rounding. I tend to go for missle sats so they are more expensive and I can't build as many per turn. I will try some experiments with cheaper sats and try to get mroe built per turn and see if some get left in cargo.

Geoschmo

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

I actually tested the "Percentage of total satellites to keep as planetary cargo" line with my Corrian race and found with the default 40, sat's were being left in cargo, and when set to 0, they were not.

And I agree, I wish we had this line for mines as well. The AI needs mines in cargo for warp point defense, but also needs them in orbit for planetary defense.

[ July 05, 2002, 18:09: Message edited by: Gandalph ]

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ok, so that tells us it's doing something. But now to figure out why the discrepancy between that and what I am seeing when using the sat minister to launch sats. I went back and checked my most recent game where I used this minister and it left no sats in any planet's cargo.

Geo

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Thanks for the info!

I'm using the transport routing for delivery of fighters to the front lines. I'll try the ministers for launching auto-launching fighters for the static defense areas and let you all know how it goes.
Thanks again!

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Geo: Since it's a percentage of "total satellites", maybe you had some satellites in cargo on other planets that totalled up to 40%? Or maybe the game counts satellites in the build queue as part of the total?

Or maybe the satellite minister doesn't check the "percent total satellites to keep in planetary storage" value? (i.e., maybe the unit build minister checks that value...)

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well in the couple of games I have been using the sat minister I had no sats in cargo anywhere on any planet.

I did try some tests the other day and got all confused. I had planets that would launch all their sats, and planets that wouldn't launch any sats. And it wasn't the total percentage thing because I scrapped/jetisoined all the sats every where and then tried it just on the planets that were refusing to launch and they still would not launch their sats while on minister control. I could order them to and they would just fine, but the minister couldn't for some reason. And the planetary minister was on for those planets.

So something else is going on here that I can't figure out. I kind of gave up. I might have another look at it another time though.

Geoschmo

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Another good way to launch them is to build some satellites, order them to be launched and then set the "repeat order" button. This will stay until you cancel the planets orders.

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

Here's an odd thought on the minister: does it check the 40% against the total number of satellites called for in the construction files? i.e., if the file calls for 10 satellites per planet, the minister waits until there are at least 4 satellites per planet before launching? And if there are NO calls for satellites (or some minimal number, like maybe a "must have" line of 2 satellites; or even a missing unit construction file), the minister calculates the 40% as 0 satellites and therefore launches all satellites.

I'm really reaching on this one, and my theory doesn't necessarily account for planets that don't launch satellites at all. I'm assuming you had the non-launching planet's cargo capacity more than 40% full, just in case that was the determining factor.

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, this works. But this was not added until 1.60 IIRC. Maybe even 1.67. Not an option for non-Gold games.

EDIT: ANd now that I think about it, does it work at all? If the order to launch is executed before the order to construct it won't work in simultaneous games. I'll have to check that out.

Geoschmo

[ July 11, 2002, 16:28: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: System Wide Launch or Auto-Launch ???
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would say, you found the solution to this mystery. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Geo: Yes, it will work, I do it all the time. The only thing is you must have unit already present on the planet otherwise you cannot give the launch order. After that it doesn't matter if you actually have a unit present to launch, the planet will try it every turn again.