Design Names
 

when creating design names for ships, what is the minimum do you need to have in the list?

Re: Design Names
 

Nope, not at all. However, if you're planning to use the file with an AI yoou'll probably need a good few hundred entries, becasue the AI dos gobble them up. Human players tend to be (usually) more economical with their names.

Re: Design Names
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You'd think that. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Design Names
 

AI will run out of names in a long game and start naming ships 'design 4002' if the list is not long enough.

Re: Design Names
 

So what do you think? 100? 1000?

Re: Design Names
 

100 is certainly not enough. 1000 is probably more than the AI will need.

Re: Design Names
 

it depends on the length of the game... an AI with several types of attack ships, WPs, fighters and sats (etc) might need well over that.

Re: Design Names
 

I do the same a trooper, but use acronyms, indicate what they're carrying (APB12.4 is four Anti-Proton Beam XII, (c6k/s~) is 6,000 kt of Cargo and unlimited supplies), and so on). That way I can tell what a ship is any time and I can tell the ones I've named form the ones that haven't yet earned a name.

Of course, were I playing against humans this would be a bad idea. Wouldn't want some KotH veteran to be able to tell my colonizer Light Cruiser from my mine layer Light Cruiser.

But I havn't put them in a file, I just type them in as I go. Maybe a file would be better....

Re: Design Names
 

Roman numerals are limited to XV or XX, I don't remember the exact number.
I think there have been some improvements in a patch but a good AI in a large galaxy used to run out of names in a long game if its design name list was shorter than 2,000 or 3,000 names http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

Using acronyms will let your enemy know your designs without need to scan them. Designations go to the design type, names are just to distract.

[ July 09, 2003, 16:01: Message edited by: Andres ]

Re: Design Names
 

Then again, it is a great deception to use those names or acronyms against humans. Maybe your "Princess class Population Transport" looking so plump and vunerable there all alone on the warp point ***bats eyelashes*** is really your newest unnamed fully trained Violator class APB12 assault ship just waiting for juicy little ships to come by.

Slick.