anti-planet drone woes

[Swarm]

My first post

I've been trying to make some use of drones in a PBEM game (v1.91).

Anti-ship drones are fine, but I can't persuade a carrier to launch anti-planet drones in the simulator. (And I'm loathe to try them out in the field until I know they will work)

I've tried various alternatives -

• drone carrier with/without weapons.
• design type "Drone Carrier" or not.
• ship (& fleet) strategies optimal, max range, don't get hurt etc.
• drone loads of anti-planet, anti-ship and mixed loads.
• I've tried various strategies for the drones themselves too.

The only way I can trigger a launch is to define the drones as anti-ship (but with anti-planet warhead and a strategy which prioritises planets), and ensure there is a ship or base in the simulation as well as the planet.

I have had zero success in getting them to launch against a lone planet during combat.

What am I missing?

If someone could confirm that they have succeeded in this, I'd appreciate it. Especially if they could tell me the strategies and drone design.

[Timstone]

Hi Swarm, I can't help you with those &$#*&$&^(* drones, but I can welcome you to this forum

Be welcome and enjoy this excellent forum!

[AMF]

Everything I've ever heard about Drones is that they're buggy as heck.

[Q]

Try the "remote launch" order. But you have to make this in a test game not in the simulator.
Anyway in unmodded SE IV drones are of very limited value and probably you spend your resources better in building warships.

[Swarm]

Thanks, but launching them outside of combat is not the problem. Getting them to launch during combat is.

[PvK]

I had the same problem. Brought a bunch of drones in a drone carrier ship to a planet assault (and there were enemy ships present), but the drones didn't launch in combat. I haven't figured out how to make them launch, or what made those not launch.

PvK

[Slick]

I think you are seeing the "fix" for the AI launching Anti-Planet drones against ships:

(from history.txt)
Version 1.81:
...
3. Fixed - AI will no longer launch "Anti-Planet" Drones in combat.



Maybe you need to make the drone an "anti-ship" drone with an anti-planet warhead and then make sure the strategy you give it is tweaked to attack planets before ships. Screwey...

Slick.

[Fyron]

Yes, drones are definitely screwey... As they are, the game is better off without them.

[brianeyci]

I found a way of using drones -- I used drones against Capt. Kwok in a KOTH game. Didn't get too far though. But if you do want to use drones, here's what you do.

1. Colonize every planet, no matter how small. The small planets can be used to construct drones. The only problem is cargo space, but if you have a drone carrier in orbit you can collect them as they come out. This works best if you have perfected the "dual-emergency build start". What this involves is finding a large breather planet early on and colonizing it. Then, midway through your initial emergency build, build a transport ship to shuttle population to the new planet. By turn 25, you should have around 20 colony ships rather than the normal 10-15. The advantage is even more pronounced if you have a three planet start, you have around 60 colony ships by turn 25 rather than 25.

2. Since drones can't take advantage of training and can't be fleeted, they're perfect as missile weapons. Fifty drones is fifty missiles. 100 drones is 100 missiles. Best thing is that this number of drones can fit in a relatively small drone carrier fleet, lets say 30-50 ships. So, your opponent sees your 50 ships and has an insignificant number of PD (because no sane person would use missiles anyway). He gets annihilated by the drones. The key after this is to go on a riot run, because he will start mounting large amounts of PD. Since you will not be researching ECM or Combat Sensors or even ships hulls (I find you don't really need anything more than destroyers to pull this off), you can have quite advanced fast seeking speed missiles.

I think the above strategy only works in small maps, and only if your opponent is not expecting it (who expects someone to use DRONES and MISSILES) and only if you can pull off a riot run after, or else he'll start building many PD ships. You also need a lot of micromangement to pull it off, and luck to find breathable planets early to start the "dual-emergency build" or forget about it as you won't have enough small planets to build sufficient amounts of drones. But if it works, you can say you beat someone with DRONES and MISSILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<edit>Also missile drones need a strategy of "maximum firing range" as primary and "don't get hurt" as secondary with targeting priority to "has weapons, nearest, etc". That way the drones dance in and out of enemy range, and can be quite effective this way.</edit>

Brian

[Swarm]

Thanks everyone. I hadn't seen that entry in the history file. I'm glad to know its not just something I'm doing wrong. Pity -- I had a ripe target for those antiplanet drones lines up :-)