Do the regular Empires do Stellar Manipulation?

[Sinapus]

Does that 'Not Connected' AI state make the AI make new warp points if you play in a 'not all warp points connected' game and the empire runs out of room to expand? Or is that only when they lose contact with a human player?

[Baron Munchausen]

"Not Connected" is an AI state and is not related to warp point status. It's the "catch-all" just in case the checks for the other states fail. And yes, the AI is smart enough, at least in the latest patch, to recognize when it is isolated and build and use stellar manipulation -- once it manages to research it.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 25 January 2001).]

[raynor]

Playing a game where tech cost is medium and starting tech is low, has anyone ever seen the AI build ships with stellar manipulation components?

Do you remember how many turns into the game it was?

How about in games where you start with all technology?

Thanks!

[Sinapus]

I've stolen designs for Stellar Manipulation ships, but never seen one actually built.

They are very expensive. So maybe the AI doesn't have enough resources available.

Maybe they should throw in one level of each resource producer into the research tree at various points instead of way down near the bottom.

Has anyone played with not all WPs connected and gotten a visit from one race or another?

[eagleton]

I destroyed a destroyer of the Texrak (Neutrals!) with an open-warp-component! Looking at their system, they had obviously opened a warp point although they never leave their system!

[raynor]

It is good for hubris to confess stupidity now and again...

Typically, you pay around 15KT minerals per turn maintaining a ship with a stellar manipulation component. So, I thought I would be really smart and put one on a space station so I could get the 50% maintenance savings. Now... I will freely confess that I had, upon many occasions, tried to use my wormhole creators and gotten the message that I couldn't because I didn't have any movement remaining....

So, I had this plan to build a couple of base stations in one sector. The first space station would open the wormhole, and the second would close it. Thus, I could create a sort of DS9 effect.

So, I waited, and waited and waited. (I don't use the emergency build thing, of course). Finally, the wormhole closer came on line. Then, a couple of turns later the wormhole opener. Hurrah! I massed my ships to go through the wormhole. I powered up the stellar generators. I tried to open the wormhole. And it hiccuped! Sorry. No movement remaining.