Upgrading Cargo?

jkmoss · #1 May 20th, 2001, 06:35 PM

I've not finished reading all the past Posts yet, but this one is frustrating me enough I'd like to ask rather than keep reading.

How can you upgrade weapons platforms or satellites? If you need to just jettison/self-destruct them and rebuild, is there some way to do that without having to visit every colony individually?

Marty Ward · #2 May 20th, 2001, 07:05 PM

You can only upgrade the design. Once you have built them the only way to get improved ones is to jettison them and replace them with newer designs.
I think there is a way jettison from one menu but I don't recall which one, maybe the construction (the one with the wrench).

#3 May 20th, 2001, 07:39 PM

Once you have built a space yard you can launch satellites into orbit from the planet launch/recover. Then use the scrap/analyze button to scrap them so you get some return for your money. If you have no room for a yard then you do have to pick them up as cargo and transfer to a planet with a yard, but this makes sense only if there are a LOT of them or if you will be visiting that planet anyway. If neither option is available then jettison or self destruct in the scrap/analyze will do it. I use self destruct to get rid of mines orbiting my planets once an area has been totally secured.

Cargo jettison is a white box with red flame coming out the top on the icon line above the planet display. It does not light up until you have selected a planet with cargo available to be jettisoned.

[This message has been edited by LCC (edited 20 May 2001).]

Baron Munchausen · #4 May 20th, 2001, 08:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jkmoss:
I've not finished reading all the past Posts yet, but this one is frustrating me enough I'd like to ask rather than keep reading.

How can you upgrade weapons platforms or satellites? If you need to just jettison/self-destruct them and rebuild, is there some way to do that without having to visit every colony individually?

This problem has been annoying SE IV players from the beginning. You can scrap launchable units like fighters and Sats by launching them into space in a sector with a space yard. Troops and WPs are lost resources once you build them. Apparently 'upgrading' units is too difficult to implement in the code. Both beta testers and players have been asking for the option to at least scrap units in planetary cargo storage. Send in youe email 'vote' for this tweak any time. It's the volume of support that seems to make the difference with changes in existing features.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 20 May 2001).]

Possum · #5 May 20th, 2001, 08:43 PM

Oh, come on, this is a minor issue. Leave Aaron alone to work on the major stuff he's already committed to, like Drones and a scenario editor.

To a certain extent, I do get frustrated with you guys who are FOREVER demanding new features. Maybe we could have a 30-day moratorium on bothering Aaron for anything except bugs.

I intend no offense here, and I'm sorry if I've given any, but step back a ways and listen to yourselves.

jkmoss · #6 May 20th, 2001, 09:12 PM

I'm not sure this one is a minor issue. You can already scrap an entire facility class from the Colony screen, but you have to visit every colony (over 100 in my current game) to dump its cargo. I like micromanaging (it's part of 4X to me), but that's a little too much...

We should be able to scrap an entire design of anything, ship, facility, or unit, whenever we need to. If the code's too difficult (or too time-consuming) at the current time, put it on a list for "someday".

BTW, the Design screen says obsolete designs are automatically deleted, but I've never seen one go away, ever. Is the screen wrong? I'd really like to be able to get my old design names back to reuse. Maybe make the "Name's already in use" check ignore obsolescence? Now *there's* a minor request!

Marty Ward · #7 May 20th, 2001, 09:37 PM

Isn't this why the forum exists, to discuss problems,ideas and to suggest things that each person thinks should be brought up?
I hope everyone in this forum doesn't write to MM with every idea they have, that would be overwhelming!
I have been on this forum for ~6 months and only wrote to him once to thank him for the game. I assume the beta testers read the threads and generate the feedback to him. Is this how it works?

capnq · #8 May 20th, 2001, 10:32 PM

quote:
BTW, the Design screen says obsolete designs are automatically deleted, but I've never seen one go away, ever. Is the screen wrong? I'd really like to be able to get my old design names back to reuse.

All you need to do to reuse a design name is type a tag on it such as a Roman numeral, i.e. Vigilance, Vigilance II, Vigilance IIIb, etc.

------------------
Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft

jc173 · #9 May 20th, 2001, 11:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jkmoss:
BTW, the Design screen says obsolete designs are automatically deleted, but I've never seen one go away, ever. Is the screen wrong? I'd really like to be able to get my old design names back to reuse. Maybe make the "Name's already in use" check ignore obsolescence? Now *there's* a minor request!

I think for that to happen you need to scrap all existing units of that design or upgrade too a new design in the case of ships and bases. If the design is marked as obsolete it should go away, not sure if you can resuse the name as is though. I usually use a mark number and a letter code to represent different upgrades a minor variations. something like Nathan Hale Mk IA thru Mk IG in my current game for one of my strike cruisers.

Omega · #10 May 21st, 2001, 05:21 AM

The biggest problem that I have with the whole jettison cargo thing is that it is an all or nothing proposition. If I have 5 old weapons platforms of the same type, it is not possible to jettison just one. You have to flush the whole stack of them. If you could jettison just one of a stack, this would allow their replacements to be phased in over time. This is why the AI never seems to update their colony defenses. Their oldest colonies often have WP with really old tech.