Design Names

[trooper]

It depends on the player. I generaly use the same name for a determinated ship function (mine sweeper, carrier, mine layer, pop transport, warp point creator...) and add roman figures for the Version. So I use about 30 names during a whole game.

[Loser]

I do the same a trooper, but use acronyms, indicate what they're carrying (APB12.4 is four Anti-Proton Beam XII, (c6k/s~) is 6,000 kt of Cargo and unlimited supplies), and so on). That way I can tell what a ship is any time and I can tell the ones I've named form the ones that haven't yet earned a name.

Of course, were I playing against humans this would be a bad idea. Wouldn't want some KotH veteran to be able to tell my colonizer Light Cruiser from my mine layer Light Cruiser.

But I havn't put them in a file, I just type them in as I go. Maybe a file would be better....

[Andrés]

Roman numerals are limited to XV or XX, I don't remember the exact number.
I think there have been some improvements in a patch but a good AI in a large galaxy used to run out of names in a long game if its design name list was shorter than 2,000 or 3,000 names

Using acronyms will let your enemy know your designs without need to scan them. Designations go to the design type, names are just to distract.

[ July 09, 2003, 16:01: Message edited by: Andres ]

[Slick]

Then again, it is a great deception to use those names or acronyms against humans. Maybe your "Princess class Population Transport" looking so plump and vunerable there all alone on the warp point ***bats eyelashes*** is really your newest unnamed fully trained Violator class APB12 assault ship just waiting for juicy little ships to come by.

Slick.

[Fyron]

Roman numerals are limited to XV or XX

Not for custom ship names, which is what he was talking about.

[Krsqk]

Originally posted by Slick:
Then again, it is a great deception to use those names or acronyms against humans. Maybe your "Princess class Population Transport" looking so plump and vunerable there all alone on the warp point ***bats eyelashes*** is really your newest unnamed fully trained Violator class APB12 assault ship just waiting for juicy little ships to come by.

I got slammed like this several times in PBW until I finally started remembering to check the design class name. Of course, you can still name your attack ships "Princess," but I can see if the class and the design name match.

One other trick which has been mentioned elsewhere on this forum is to change the ship number. For instance, build a single "Plague"-class frigate and rename it to "Plague 0005." When your opponent sees it, he has to decide 1)If you really have biological weapons, and 2)If you really have at least 5 of them. If he's the accepting type, he may not even consider that you're bluffing. The same can work with just about any type of ship--it at least gives the appearance that you have more ships than you really do.

[Taera]

I've found my tactic for ship naming quite optimal - i have a nice file with ~1500 insects names which i choose randomly for any given ship - my upgrades go to like IV ror V, then i switch to a different name. Does knowing that that cruiser is called Appletree Aphid help you much? and those are completely random, i only have like one or two favorite early-game names.