What do you use transport ships for?

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by MaCready:

Are they for moving troops around or do they have other uses?
Can you use them to deploy satilites and weapons platforms?

Moving population definitely, lauching sats and mines (with the proper component installed on the ship) often. I often use them to drop troops in combat. If I have to move fighters from one planet to another, I usually have them fly.
Weapon platforms ... umm no, the new planet can usually build it's own fairly quickly

[Elowan]

Originally posted by Undertakr:
I never mess with the possibility of sending the wrong colony type ship, I put them all on one ship, that way if plans change on my way to somewhere, I don't have to wait for a specific colony ship to build, mine can do any type. Just build a space yard on a base or station and have it repeat building colonizers the entire game and you'll be way ahead of everyone else.

- Takr

I solved the dilemma by modding a universal colony component that you get once you research all colony types. Saves money and time since you don't have to build so much sh--, er crap.

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by Arkcon:

quote:

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Originally posted by MaCready:

Are they for moving troops around or do they have other uses?
Can you use them to deploy satilites and weapons platforms?

Moving population definitely, lauching sats and mines (with the proper component installed on the ship) often. I often use them to drop troops in combat. If I have to move fighters from one planet to another, I usually have them fly.
Weapon platforms ... umm no, the new planet can usually build it's own fairly quickly

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Not if you want the planet to also develop quickly. Making the new colony build both its facilities and its own defenses can be a fatal mistake against a real (human) opponent. I'd put forward deployment of Weapon Platforms near the top of the list for transport uses.

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
Not if you want the planet to also develop quickly. Making the new colony build both its facilities and its own defenses can be a fatal mistake against a real (human) opponent. I'd put forward deployment of Weapon Platforms near the top of the list for transport uses.

You're right, I'm a little soft on that, playing against the AI and all. However bear with me on some observations of mine...

Say you've colonized new planet in a new solar system. It's a medium non-breatheable world. It can hold, IIRC, 600 kt of cargo, and three facilities. With 34 million people in domed cities, again IIRC, it takes 1 turn to build a small missile platform. Two (or 3) turns to build a spaceport or resupply depot or 5 turns to build a spaceyard.

Now given that, Baron, you'd make sure you dropped 3 weapon platforms to shave 3 turns off of the year and a quarter. Would most people max it out with population to get, what, everything built in 7 turns instead of one year.

And will those 3 platforms really defend a planet againt a human player? I started my first PBW, so I guess I'll learn the hard way. But if I wanted to keep that planet, I'd leave a ship in orbit until it's shipyard could buid it's first ship. And put some fighters or mines or sats on each warp point.

[ September 29, 2002, 02:49: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Grandpa Kim]

Undertakr said:

No matter what anyone says, two things win this game, expansion and minerals.

Quite right, so why are you building those expensive and slow build colonizers? They cost you more in minerals (orgs and rads too) and take at least one turn more to build. So while you build 4 of your colonizers, I build at least 6... or 4 and two small transports. Amazing how many people you can move with two lousy transports. At any rate, within two years I have 50% more colonies than you. I'm ahead of you in expansion and mineral production.

Kim

[Sinapus]

I use them for population transports, general cargo transfers, carrying spare units here and there, tankers (gave supply storage the cargo ability), and repair/space yard ships (did the same thing to those components as well... Oh, and mine and satellite layers.

[Fyron]

I like building colony ships that can be built in 1 turn in the later stages of the game. A colony ship with Ion Engine IIIs and a Solar Sail III moves 8 costs around 4650 (or so) minerals, which can easily be built at any planet with HI, 120% construction aptidude, SY III and a decent amount of population. Medium or Large Transports can bring in the population after the colony is established, so why bother having huge, expensive colony ships?

[Grandpa Kim]

My late game colony ship has one quantum engine and a solar sail III. Moves speed 7 and is actually cheaper than Fyron's Ion model. It also frees up space for additional cargo components or whatever you like.

Kim

[Fyron]

Kim, I never said I had the optimum model. I am too lazy to figure out what that is. My model works fine for me (and is faster than yours anyways). The 1 turn build time is all I care about.

[Undertakr]

quote:

Quite right, so why are you building those expensive and slow build colonizers? ...within two years I have 50% more colonies than you. I'm ahead of you in expansion and mineral production.

Kim

Possibly, not necessarily because the planets I get will have a building bonus due to population, so if you base your theory on just starting planets, you are correct, you may out produce me, but with all of my building bonuses, I'll probably be out producing you because it'll take less time for me to build shipyards on the new planets.

I do like the idea someone posted about 1 engine on the smaller ships, I hadn't thought of that, that's quite a good idea.

- Takr