Retrofit to cheaper design?

[SpaceBadger]

Will the game not allow you to retrofit to a cheaper design? This doesn't seem to be addressed in the FAQ; it only mentions the 150% limit on more expensive designs.

In a new game this evening, I had some small transport ships that each carried a couple of APB2s (we started on Medium Tech so had these already without researching). I then researched Physics up to level 2, then started researching PPBs. Once I had the PPBs researched to about level 3 I think, I tried to retrofit some of those transports to replace the old APBs with new PPBs. The game would not allow the retrofit, but did not give me any message explaining why not. I did notice that the new design was slightly cheaper in resource cost than the old design, and this is the only thing I have thought of that might have prevented the retrofit.

I can go back into that game later and get the exact details of the two designs, but it was a multiplayer with my son and that other computer is in use right now for homework.

SpaceBadger

[narf poit chez BOOM]

probably an automatic obselete thing so your retrofitting screen doesn't get cluttered.

[SpaceBadger]

I just checked Components.txt and don't see how the second design could have been cheaper - PPBs are much more expensive that APBs. I guess I will have to wait until I can reopen the game and check the design specs - there must have been some other changes as well. IIRC, I just hit Upgrade, and then manually changed the APBs to PPBs - so there may have been some other components changed as well, such as a Propulsion upgrade, and also the Cargo components would have been changed to Cargo 2.

I'll report back later when I have more details.

SpaceBadger

[narf poit chez BOOM]

de-tails: what de animals have on de but.

whiley's dictionary imitation.

[SpaceBadger]

Narf: It showed me the design in the retrofit screen, it just wouldn't let me retrofit to that design. I could see the design, and click on it - and nothing happened, or rather, it just dropped me back to the Scrap/Analyze/Mothball/Etc screen without giving me either the "Cannot retrofit" or the "Retrofit completed, new components need repair" message.

From looking at components.txt, I still do not see how the second design could have been cheaper - all of the components that I suspect were changed were either more expensive or the same as what they were replacing. Will have to restart the game and write down the design details, when I can use both of the computers needed.

SpaceBadger

[Saber Cherry]

Could you afford it?

[Suicide Junkie]

If all the components are identical, then it won't let you retrofit...

Otherwise, it would only be an insufficient funds or the 150% value thing.

[Fyron]

It sounds like you are playing a simultaneous move game. In those games, you will see nothing after giving retrofit and scrap orders. You have to wait until the next turn after the orders have been processed to see the Messages in the log.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

the order should still show up in the orders list. i think. i'm tired.

[SpaceBadger]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
It sounds like you are playing a simultaneous move game. In those games, you will see nothing after giving retrofit and scrap orders. You have to wait until the next turn after the orders have been processed to see the Messages in the log.

Boy, is my face red!

Yes, it was a simultaneous move game. I can't believe I have not seen this before. Have I really not done any retrofitting in our multiplayer games before? I guess not.

I did not realize that retrofitting works differently in simultaneous. No message or anything, just a "Retrofit" order for the ship. I found that one of the ships (which I had not moved after attempting to retrofit) is now actually retrofitted as I wanted, while another one (which I loaded up with some satellites and sent off on a mission after the retrofit apparently failed) has now generated a log message that it could not retrofit because it has cargo in it.

D'oh!

SpaceBadger