Custom strategies ignored in combat simulator?

[aroenche]

I just purchased the full v1.02, and immediately patched up v1.30.

In the .51 demo, custom strategies could be defined and used in the combat simulator, but this appears to be completely broken in 1.30.

I created a quick single player full tech game w/ temporal and crystalline racial tech, then designed a starbase and destroyer in order to get a feel for the new tech levels.

SB has 4 massive base mount null space projector IIIs, along with 2 large base mount anti-proton beam XIIs, and Multiplex Tracking (5). Targeting priority is set for Has Weapons, Strongest, Least Damaged, Nearest. Default type priorites are in effect, with no Don't Fire On types selected. Damage Percent per Ship is set to 10%, with "Damage Targets Until All Weapons Gone" selected.

Destroyers have 2 best Quantum Torpedoes, 1 Crystalline and 1 standard armor, 2 best Phased Shield gens, and default Optimum Weapons Range strategy.

Both designs have best ECM and Combat Sensors.

1 Null Space Projector (NSP) III hit on these destroyers will destroy all components save for both armors (damage 420/510).

SB weapon component placement is NSP-NSP-NSP-NSP-APB-APB

So here's what happens:

SB fires NSP on destroyer, leaving the 2 armor components.
SB fires next NSP on same destroyer, killing it.
SB stops firing, although there are still plenty of targets in range, and 4 of its 6 weapons are charged and ready to fire.

The base seems to be behaving as though it didn't have multiplex tracking...

What's going on?

[jc173]

Haven't played around with the simulator too much but was the base assigned to your side or the computer opponent?

[aroenche]

quote:

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Originally posted by jc173:
Haven't played around with the simulator too much but was the base assigned to your side or the computer opponent?

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The behaviour was the same under either scenario...

[Possum]

I can confirm this. I was playing around in the simulator myself earlier tonight, oddly enough also using NSP3's on a base with multiplex.

Like he says, it would fire on one ship 'til the ship was dead, then stop shooting for the turn, even though it had weps to fire and enemies within range.

[Admiral Grover]

I would have to agree. Several of my starbases in the simulator and strategic combat don't use the Multiplex ability at all. It is highly annoying when a station can use 6 out of 8 of its weapons to destroy a dreadnaught, and it leaves the other 2 until the next turn. Someone should send this in to MM as a bug (if not done already).

Regards,

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Admiral Grover
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"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarrely inexeplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened."
- Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

[aroenche]

Thanks for the feedback guys, glad I'm not the only one who finds this behaviour confusing.

Another possible problem I've noticed is that in this same scenario, if you substitute weapons only or sheilds only weapons on the base, all type weapons will continue to fire on the initially selected target, even though the first shot wipes out all weapons or sheilds on this target. Is this by design? It seems pretty useless to outfit a base this way, given that it will blow its collective load on one target (with no effect after the first shot), while other targets which /can/ be effected are present and well within range.

I can manually target the same weapons on any target desired (up to 5), but this is not a satisfactory solution for simul play or in any largish game. The micromanagement would be overwhelming.

Can anyone confirm that this is intended behaviour?

BTW, my install is right out of the box, with no mods of any kind.

Thanks



[This message has been edited by aroenche (edited 18 April 2001).]