Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Consider the following setup in a single sector:

A planet with cargo capacity for 10 fighters.
A transport vessel with cargo capacity for 100 fighters
100 fighters with full movement

Goal: To recover the 100 fighters from orbit and load them onto the transport vessel.

In a Turn Based game, you can load all 100 fighters onto the transport by repeatedly recovering the fighters, transferring to the ship and repeating. In other words:

1. Recover 10 fighters from orbit to the planet
2. Transfer 10 fighters from the planet to the ship
3. Repeat (1) and (2) nine times. (Or, do the sequence of (1) and (2) a total of ten times.)

Is there any way to do the same thing in a Simultaneous game?

(If there isn't, and you want to say that I'm cheating by doing it in a TB game, then I whole-heartedly agree. I won't do it anymore if you tell me it isn't possible in a simultaneous game.)

Thanks!

[ February 24, 2003, 03:41: Message edited by: raynor ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm pretty sure you can. I just ran a test, while not 100% what you said, still pretty close. I just had my home world, build 100 fighters, launched them, build a cargo ship and had it sit there. (This is all simultaneous game) I then gave the planet orders to recover fighters. Then same turn I had ship ordered to pick up fighters from planet. I ended turn and the ship had the fighters on board. While the planet was able to hold all 100 fighters and not just 10, I believe this would work if you just put it all on repeat orders.

Hope that helps.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Thanks for the advice! I'll give it a try.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

It should not work with a planet that can only hold 10 fighters. It might, but I doubt it. The planet recovers 10 fighters, and then stops recovering. Then, the transport loads 10 fighters, and stops loading. What you should try, however, is setting both the planet and transport to repeat orders ("k" hotkey). In theory, this would cause the planet to recover fighters, the transport to load them, the planet recover, transport load, and so on. Maybe.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

I don't think it would work, unless the recover fighters routine and the load cargo routine are run every day during turn processing. Then, it would still take a third of your month to do so. Not having tested it (and not having a strong urge to do so), I guess my opinion doesn't weigh that much. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

I'm going to test to see if it will work with a planet and only 10 fighters. Will return shortly...

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

...Back, Ok I just tested it. Planet could only hold 10 fighters. Had 100 fighters in orbit, had ship that could hold them all. I told planet to recover fighters, then told ship to load fighters from planet. I put them both on repeat orders. Result: I cannot recover all fighters and load them on ship in one turn, only ten per turn. So it took me a full year to get them all on the ship.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Simple solution to this is to redesign the cargo ship and give it one fighter bay. This should not decrease the cargo capacity much. This will give you a ship that can only launch a couple of fighters per turn, but can recover as many as it can hold in one turn.

Geoschmo

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Doh!
I didn't even think about adding a fighter bay. That would pretty much solve the problem right there.

Note to self: Think a bit more often. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

I wonder... does the limit on the number of fighters than can be launched also apply to recovery? I'm not sure. I think it does. I build my carriers with a few fighter bays replaced with cargo bays so that I can hold more fighters but not necessarily launch or recover them. (all on the same turn)

I'm not sure. In any case, thanks for the help.

[ February 24, 2003, 19:14: Message edited by: raynor ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If it did, then I would not have suggested it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

No, it does not.

Geoschmo

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Interesting thread. I always thought that the number of units able to be launched and/or recovered per turn was the same.

Can I ask this again to clarify? So what your saying is that you can recover more units than you can launch per turn?

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, that is what I am saying. There is no limit to he number of fighters that can be recovered in a turn. There is only a limit to how many the ship, base or planet can hold in cargo.

Geoschmo

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Just to put this to rest, a ship with a launch bay can recover however many units it can store in one turn, regardless of recover rates. Geo has said this several times. Now, you have two experienced people confirming it. Let's stop beating a dead horse.

[ February 24, 2003, 20:40: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sorry, IF - I really don't think I'm beating a dead horse - maybe I'm being ignorant... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif but I'm just asking questions... And I don't think I'm all that less experienced than you - look at my "member number"....

Geo, is this just in simultaneous mode? I can't seem to recover more than I can launch in turn mode. I'm using Gold 1.84...

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

That is a different question, and is not beating the dead horse. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

It is possible that it was changed in a recent patch, and neither Geo nor myself have tested it in a while.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

Actually I tested it today usign 1.84, but I had only tested it in Simultaneous since that was the original question.

However, when I test it now in turn based I can still recover as many as I can hold. The only limitation is in launching.

Not sure why you are having a problem with it Rdouglas.

Geoschmo

[ February 24, 2003, 21:58: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

If RDouglas is like, me, he's got this great big light bulb above his head that is as bright as the sun. To me, it is *awesome* that you can put a single fighter bay on a transport and then be able to recover as many fighters as the transport will hold. I mean... you just can't imagine how much time that fact will save me and how much it will add to the game. All this time, I have been recovering fighters to the planet, transferring them to the ship, and so on. This is quite the epiphany. Thanks, Geoschmo. Sorry, if I didn't believe you.

[ February 24, 2003, 22:18: Message edited by: raynor ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

No problem Raynor. It's not clear though because it sounds as if Rdouglas is not able to do it in turn based like I am. I am waiting to hear what he is doing so we can explain the difference.

It's also not entirely clear that this whole thing of recovering fighters en masse isn't a bug. While in turn based if I use the regular launch/recover button instead of the remote launch button a window shows up with the number of fighters that can be launched with a slash and then another number. This appears to be supposed to be the numebr that can be recovered. So naturally you would think that's the limit. When you launch fighters the first number goes down, but when you recover them the second number does not.

I never noticed this before today because I almost never play turn based.

Geoschmo

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

I don't know if this is the answer or not Geo, but I always thought those numbers worked the following way.

A planet can launch 1000 per turn according to the Launch/Recover Units screen. So it has the numbers 1000/1000.
Those numbers were it could launch 1000 per turn, which is correct on the first set of numbers. The second set of numbers is what is in question, no?
So you're saying that second set supposedly is how many it can recover per turn? I just thought it was there to show how many could be launched to start with.
For example, the planet: Can launch 1000/Can recover(?)1000; could be turned into: Can launch 1000/Out of 1000.

This is the way I thought it was. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

That is perfectly reasonable Ragnarok. It doesn't really say one way or the other. I like your way though cause it means it's not a bug and won't be changed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Edit: The more I look the more I think you are right Rag. Nowhere does it say anything about a number of units to be recovered.

[ February 24, 2003, 23:20: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's exactly it, it doesn't say which way it is supposed to be. Because of this, and because it didn't change when you recovered units I just assumed it was supposed to work as I already stated. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">When I first played the demo a few years back, that is exactly what it looked like to me. I guess you just interpreted the display incorrectly. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

I'm pretty pumped (while being embarrassed at the same time.) I added a fighter bay to a transport and was able to recover 100+ fighters at once. It worked the same in both TB and Simultaneous.

Thanks again!

All this time, I just *assumed* that the launch and recover rate were identical. Yeah, yeah, don't tell me about assuming. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Simultaneous query : recovering fighters
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif Sorry folks! (Embarrassed and feeling very ignorant...) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif

Double checked Last nite on all my installed Gold Versions and I cannot reproduce it now - so it must never have happened!?! (I swear it did but it must not have if I can't reproduce it) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

I do apologize for the stir - I am not a troll... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif