"targeting priority order" vs "target type"?

[Dogboy]

I'm having trouble getting my ships to assault planets. No matter what I do, they get drawn away by armed ships that flee to the other side of the map.

I see that there is a "targeting priority order" under empire settings/ tactics, which I suspect is key. But I'm not sure how that interacts with / differs from "Target type order and settings" (which is below it). Could someone point me to a FAQ or clarify this?

One of the choices in "targeting priority order" is "Target type". Does this mean that the ship will fire on ships according to the targeting priority order, from top to bottom, and then if it gets to "target type", it will then prioritize ships according to the Target type order and settings" list? That must be wrong, because if I have "do not engage" listed in Target type order and settings, my ships won't engage, even if I don't have "Target type" listed in targeting priority order.

But, it would explain why my fleets keep going after ships even though I have put planetary defenses and planets above ships on the priority list.

Is there a simple way of thinking about this, or a tutorial somewhere that spells this out?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, DB


Thanks!