Big Storms
 

Storms are pretty meaningless until Stellar Manipulation is developed, since they generally occur in open space where they are easily avoided. What if storms were bigger and took up more than one sector - this could be done by having it so that when a storm is specified in SystemTypes.txt, it also takes a size parameter, size being a number from 1 to 169 (the number of sectors in a system) and defining the number of adjacent storms to actually generate. (Or, add a way to generate one stellar object a certain distance from another... currently you can generate another object in the same sector or orbit, but not a certain distance away...)

Re: Big Storms
 

When you can make storms, you can put 4 or more together to get a bigger one. Maybe if you mod the number of storms that appear and their positions in the data file, they'd be more likely to be touching when generated and work like a bigger storm? Dont't let the fact that they're different types discourage you. Happens in SciFi all the time -- different parts of an obscuring part of space haveing different properties.

It would be nice if things could take up more than one sector in SE5. Then you could have built up planets as a smaller, earlier, ringworld.

[ October 30, 2002, 13:34: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

Re: Big Storms
 

Storms are IMO not meaningless. Many times I've set up bases of operations deep in enemy territory inside a storm. It's quite effective when you can build a few SY's and replenish fighters, sats, etc.; refuel / resupply; or just build up an attack force within the enemy's territory.

I 'discovered' this by accident a LONG time ago. I got one of those 'spacial anomolies' that transported a SpaceStation with an SY half way across the map early in the game. Didn't (at the time) know what to do with it so I started building. Of course, I couldn't do any diplomacy or intel untill we had a Warp Point connection, but I still could raid 'em... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Big Storms
 

I agree. It took me a fair while on a hotseat game with the cat to wonder how on earth he kept on slipping light cruiser squadrons into my rear systems and playing merry havoc with my commerce.

Pondered that one for ages until I discovered that base space yard lurking in a storm the little rascal.

The other tactic storms are good for is where you have a border system with a storm 2 or 3 sectors away from the warp point to the enemy sector. Plant a minelayer in the storm, watch his ships sneak through to raid your systems and meanwhile, lay a nice field on the warp point. It is a right laugh when he sneaks back through right into your minefield.

If I have a storm near an inhabited planet, I also like trying to sucker the enemy to attack that planet by maintaining stacks of fighters and warships in the storm.

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Better. Make the storn's size defined by a number from 0 to 6 ... said being the number of squares of "Radius" from the centerpoint. A 0-radius storm would be the current, one-sector-only storm. A 6-radius storm would be the whole sector (the center, 6 to each side, that's 13x13).

Round storms would be best, ofc, but ... *shrug* ...

Re: Big Storms
 

oops, I forgot which color storms are good hiding against which sensor level.

Re: Big Storms
 

The color is independant from the abilities. It is completely random.

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I am pretty sure you could add several storms and give them all an exact position. Like one at 2,3, one at 2,4, one at 3,3, and one at 3,4. This would give you a storm the size of four sectors.

And I think you can even make it a special storm type in the sector abilities file so it will aways be the same picture, if you want the storm to look consistant accross it's whole size.

But it wouldn't be a random size and placement the way you want it to be.

Geoschmo

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You're thinking of nebula systems, not storm sectors.

Re: Big Storms
 

Geo, make the special multi-sector storms be a different size than Medium (which is the size of all default storms). Change all the normal storm sizes in SystemTypes.txt from Any to Medium. Then
to make a multi-sector storm, you have 4 sizes you can call upon. Have 1 entry for a Tiny, a Small, a Large and a Huge storm in SectType.txt. You can use 4 tiles (one for each size) to design the multi-sector storm in SystemTypes.txt. You can then tell the storms to be a different storm type than Normal Storm. Make 4 entires, for each of the tiles in StellarAbilityTypes.txt. You can give rach part whatever ability you want it to have, with a 1000 chance to occur. Or, you could get rid of the normal single sector storms, and have 5 tiles to use for multi-sector storms.

Re: Big Storms
 

I use non damageing storms to hide in. If I'm desparate I will use a damaging storm for protection. It is also a good place to hang out to monitor a system.

Re: Big Storms
 

about usefulness of storms. i found it extremly useful to have a BC or so loaded with a SY, storm generator and some kind of supply renewal (say quantum generator). it might be expensive, but it realy pays up for the cost

Storms also can be useful for later level scouts. they can see you behind cloak, but cant see you behind a storm. create one every turn you stop. you'll need a storm destroyer too to cover up your patch.

Re: Big Storms
 

Taera, not every storm is an obscuring one. I have heard it reported that created storms are never obscuring, but I don't know if that is true or not. I have never tested it. But I can't imagine all created ones are.

EDIT: Ok, did some quick testing. It appears all of the created storms have abilities of some kind. About half of them end up as obscuring storms. But none of them will defeat a level 3 sensor. So in the stock game it won't be much good, no better than regular ship cloak, and a lot more expensive. I believe you can mod the files so that created storms will defeat a level 3 sensor however.

Geoschmo

[ October 31, 2002, 03:01: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: Big Storms
 

it may be more expensive to create a storm creating ship, but then you dont have to give all ships the cloaking ability to hide them. also do space yard build while cloaked?

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">A cloaked SY does not have a build queue (on a ship or base).

Re: Big Storms
 

So I've been thinking about the multi-sector storm more. Using 5 tiles, we need a central tile that could be used both in any centralized part of a storm, or as a single sector storm. Then, we need 4 tiles that would go on the top, left, botton and right of this central tile. These side tiles wouldn't take up the whole sector, and would be designed so that they were modular. You could have a storm like this:

^
X>

Or like this:

^^
XX>

And it would look good. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

(each character is 1 sector)

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">A cloaked SY does not have a build queue (on a ship or base).</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">An ACTIVELY cloaked SY does not have a build queue. One in a cloaking storm/nebula, however, is another story.

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">A cloaked SY does not have a build queue (on a ship or base).</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">An ACTIVELY cloaked SY does not have a build queue. One in a cloaking storm/nebula, however, is another story.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Such a SY is most certainly not cloaked. It is obscured. Were it cloaked, it would have the green dotted circle around it, and it would have the Decloak button active. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Big Storms
 

sorry guys, i need to brush up on my linguistic skills. what i meant by "does a cloaked spaceyard create things?" is that you can build items in the ion storm but not while cloaked. thus in this aspect using storms is better, and again you can save space on ships by not have to add cloaking devices.

[ November 01, 2002, 01:14: Message edited by: desdinova ]

Re: Big Storms
 

speaking of cloaks, how can you create a cloaking device for something you have no knowledge of. example, temporal scans, if you lack temporal knowledge how would you know how block it. same thing with psychic.

edit: i guess if it is a full spectrum cloak you could block scans you dont know. but i think they should be 1-2 levels below the others. a level 3 cloak would stop level 1 or 2 temporal or psychic scans if you dont have the racial traits.

[ November 01, 2002, 01:13: Message edited by: desdinova ]

Re: Big Storms
 

That is what mods are for, making the game how you want it to be. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Big Storms
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">true, i have been reading several of the mods already made and will soon play them to see how they work. then i will begin experimenting on my own. i really like how easy it appears to mod this, but looks like the individual races will be the hardest part.