The AI_DesignCreation-file: A question to all AI-modders and ship designers

[Rexxx]

I’ve got a problem with the AI_DesignCreation-file. I designed three types of fighters (small, medium, large).
Small is equipped with 1 DUC, one shield, 1 sensor and 5 engines
Medium is equipped with 1 APB, 1 shield, 1 ECM, 1 sensor, 1 armor and 6 engines
Large is equipped with 1 APB, 2 shields, 1 ECM, 1 sensor and 8 engines.

I listed the designs "backwards", meaning the large comes first, then medium and at Last small. This "system" (which I found here in a post from Deathstalker) works fine for my "normal" attack ships, only the first (= the best, biggest, nastiest) design is built, the older, smaller ones become obsolete.
However, this doesn’t work for my fighters. The AI designed the large fighter and built even a few, then made the design obsolete and switched back to the small fighters. Now, I’m sitting here with hundreds of - in my opinion - absolutely obsolete small fighters and the AI doesn’t stop to build more. Giving different names to the designs helps a bit, at least I got a mixture of all three designs. But I want only the large fighter to be built…..
Any help would be appreciated.

Regards
R.

[Mephisto]

I encountered the same problem with ships. My solution is make each class use a unique different size, i.e.:

Large fighter size: 21 - 25 kt.
Medium fighter size: 16 - 20 kt.
Small fighter size: 1 - 15 kt.

That should help.

[Rexxx]

Hi, Mephisto
Thanks for your answer.
Unfortunately I did it exactly the way you're proposing. Each design has its specific size limitations. I was just using the pattern which works so well with my attack ships.
Anyway, maybe my problem comes from using different weapons. I will test it by equipping the medium/large fighters with DUCs as well. If nothing works, melting all designs into one might be an alternative.

[Atraikius]

Try giving each fighter a more unique role (i.e. use the small fighter as a cheep, fast to build interceptor, the the meadium as a strike fighter - slower, but armed with both a missile pod, and either a small DUC or small meason bLaster, and your large as your main fighter), ensureing that each has a different design name. Then instead of calling for fighter in the Construct_Vehicle file (still haven't gotten around to seeing if the Construct_Units file accepts design names, but you could try the same in that), use the design names of each. You will still have the smaller and older fighters, but you should have some control over the amount that are built, and the larger fighters should be built more often.

I would suggest setting the minimum tonnage on the larger two fighters to allow small fighters to keep from limiting your fighter construction before medium and large fighters are researched.

[Atraikius]

Rexx - you wouldn't have happened to research either DUC level 2 or 3 after you had researched your Last level of APB for the fighters? If you had, the AI is seeing your small fighter as the latest and most advanced fighter because the DUC is a more recent advance than the APB's are.

[Rexxx]

Hi Atraikius,
thanks for your answers.
The problem isn't in the research file, DUCs are researched much earlier. In fact, I used APB pretty late and only because of building the fighters I want to.
Do you mean calling for different Design Names or Design Types in the Construction_Vehicle file? So far I tried only Types (Attack Ship, Attack Base etc.). Never thought of calling for Names. Same question is for the construction_unit file which controls almost my whole unit production.