The Ultimate ship design

[Stone Mill]

Posted by Phoenix-D:

This is where the Retrofit command comes in handy.

Don't overlook Phoenix's answer. It's the key solution to this. I find myself retrofitting immediately after production more often than not. This way you can add the Lastest components.

At key points, build repair bases to expedite retrofit repairs (when dealing with fleets). Nice to do this over a planet with Resupply and Training facilities. Kind of like one stop shopping.

[Baron Munchausen]

A good way to avoid this mistake is to keep the components of your ship in a specific order. If you always put ship-control items first, THEN engines, THEN WEAPONS, etc... you are much less likely to 'forget' something vital. It can be a hassle to revise an old design and keep things in order, though. This is why I wish MM would return the 'replace' command to the ship design window so you can upgrade/change things without having to essentially re-assemble the entire design.

[couslee]

I am "anal" that way also. I will delete everything in a design just to keep things in "proper" order. I know it don't matter if the engines immed follow the cq, but it drives me nuts. That is what was so frustrating about my blunder. It should not have happened to MEEEEEE!
I have a plan, it's a good plan, I am gonna implement that plan, just as soon as I can get my head out of my arse. lol

What I need to try and get use to, is not using the "upgrade" button. I spend a lot more mouse clicks removing items from an upgrade. would be easier to just "create". I still have not got that down to intuition yet, but have been using the upgrade button to check which components are upgradable. It would be nice, it there was an indicator of what components were just upgraded (highlighted, boxed, anything)

Doobian, can't use them that way, because no engines=no supplies. besides, the support cost is too much for that. Might as well build a station or sats. No, the only viable options are reload save, or refit, or recycle.

On to my rant.... I read, and it would seem to hold true, that obsolete designs with 0 in service get the design deleted when the game turn switches from .9 to .0. Based on that info, I did all my upgrades, even if only a minor retrofit, so that i could clean out all the old designs. it's turn .0, and all those obsolete designs with 0 in service are still there! What other factor does there have to be to get rid of the damn things! I hope they add a "delete design" opion in the next patch, or allow editing of a design that has 0 in service and 0 in build queue.

[Gryphin]

couslee, Of course it should happen to you. < Gryns > If it didn't we would worry about you. How many times have you sent out an empty colonizer?

[couslee]

gryphin, with this game (meaning SE4).... not even once. Ok, once, but it was intentional. I learned that lesson a long time ago playing stars!. At least in this game, it can still colonize the planet, and most people use population trasports anyway, so sending one out with no pop is no big deal.

To change the flavor of this thread, I just built my first porta-builder and want to remote mine an asteroid field. it has 776/301/754 for the resources. I want to design a good all-around starbase remote mining facility. This is the design I put together.
master computer
5/each of the 3 remote miners
3/shield5
1/emissive3
1/multiplex4
1/combat sensor1
1/ecm3
1/repair3
1/stealth armor 3
1/scattering armor3
2/security station1
2/shield depleter5
5/CSM4
4/PDC5
5/anti-proton7

Cost 31kt/1500/5960
maint 3856/187/745
takes 1.3 yrs to build.

The question is, what would you do differently?

[ January 18, 2003, 05:52: Message edited by: couslee ]

[Suicide Junkie]

I would say "Don't waste the resources by having different types of miner on the same ship/base", but seeing as the place will Last for 70 years of game time, I don't suppose it really matters.

[couslee]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
I would say "Don't waste the resources by having different types of miner on the same ship/base".

Why though? if your setting up an immoveable mining operation why wouldn't you want to stripmine all 3 resources?

Or do you handle remote mining differently? (ie ship based instead of station based)

edit in:
you would put 15 of one type and grind out the single resource instead? then what, retrofit the next batch?

or perhaps use a smaller space station chassis.hmmm

Just trying make a decent design. as you said, it's going to Last for the better part of a game.

[ January 18, 2003, 06:56: Message edited by: couslee ]