Multiple planet captures

Slaughtermeyer · #1 December 29th, 2001, 02:03 AM

Is there a special trick to capture many planets by the same fleet in the same simultaneous turn? I've seen it happen with a fleet that contained only one transport, but when I try it using the load troops command, it doesn't seem to work, and I can't think of anything else.

CW · #2 December 29th, 2001, 04:21 AM

If you are in tactical combat and the two planets are right next to each other (no room in between), then you select the planet you have captured and click drop troop. I'm not sure about strategic combat though.

shino6 · #3 December 30th, 2001, 06:28 AM

I have not seen any way to do it in strategic combat. My fleets always drop troops on the first planet they come across, then bombard the second planet to slag. *grumble*

This is something I wish they would fix in a future patch. There was one time I was partnered with a human friend of mine in a multiplayer game, and there was an enemy AI occupying a moon orbitting the main planet my friend had colonized. I set my fleet on "capture planet" and went after the AI.

My fleet promptly captured my friend's planet, then blew up the AI moon. This is most definitely an improperly implemented feature.

- Shino6

Will · #4 December 30th, 2001, 07:27 AM

Use more than one transport if you want to capture multiple planets. Once the troops are dropped on a planet, you can't pick them up during combat, and the only way the other planet can be captured is if they happen to be "touching" (check the squares in the mini-map). This probably will not work in strategic, as the captured planet probably won't have a "Capture Planet" strategy.

And, to prevent capturing your friend's planets, you should try establishing a TREATY.

shino6 · #5 December 30th, 2001, 08:23 AM

Read my post more carefully. ;-) I was in a PARTNERSHIP and my ships still attacked his planet.

Bug.

- Shino6

Phoenix-D · #6 December 30th, 2001, 09:15 AM

Look at it this way: if you hadn't captured his planet, you probably would have glassed it!

Combat can have only two sides. I bet your friend wasn't at war/non-intercourse with the AI, was he? That means that his units are considered allied with the AI IF you are the one attacking. If you were parked there and the AI attacked, he'd ally with you.

Phoenix-D

Q · #7 December 30th, 2001, 09:23 AM

Shino if you have the savegame file or you can recreate the situation you should mail it to MM. This is a bug for me, because you never should be able to attack an ally. At least that's the way I understood it until now and I never saw the contrary in my games.

shino6 · #8 December 30th, 2001, 03:05 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Q:
Shino if you have the savegame file or you can recreate the situation you should mail it to MM.

I do not think I still have the turn file. The scenario should be easy enough to recreate...

Player X controls main planet and is partnered with Player Z.

Player Y controls moon orbitting Player X's planet and is friendly (non-war/intercourse) to X, but is at war with Z.

Player Z attacks Player Y's planet with a small fleet and a single transport filled with troops.

Player X's and Y's planets have no ships, troops, or weapons platforms.

Now, if what Phoenix is saying is true, every single time this happens I will have no choice but to bombard/capture both planets if I am Z and I want to assault Y. I suppose this is a valid tactic for Player Y but personally I would rather the combat system be more flexible and grace my fleet commanders with intelligence enough to distinguish between two terrestrial bodies of differing nationalities. I can understand if there were military forces hovering over both planet and moon, but both these worlds were undefended.

- Shino6

shino6 · #9 December 31st, 2001, 02:52 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
Look at it this way: if you hadn't captured his planet, you probably would have glassed it!

Combat can have only two sides. I bet your friend wasn't at war/non-intercourse with the AI, was he? That means that his units are considered allied with the AI IF you are the one attacking. If you were parked there and the AI attacked, he'd ally with you.

Phoenix-D

I suppose I can be thankful that didn't happen.

As I recall he was not in a state of war with this particular AI. I understand why it happened now, although I still think it's a poorly implemented "feature" (perhaps bug is overstating it).

On the other hand, I remember quite specifically telling the game the correct planet to invade (the AI planet). It would appear that in simultaneous play mode this order is irrelevant since it chose the first planet it came across to invade. If so, what is the point of asking which planets you would like to attack if the game considers every terrestrial body in this particular situation hostile?

- Shino6

Will · #10 December 31st, 2001, 06:03 AM

Ah, I guess I didn't read the "partnered" in your post

I'm pretty sure combat can have more than one side, however (Combat Simulator has 10, after all). It would be a really wierd situation if three -- or more -- sides that are all at war with each other go into combat, and are basically put on teams!

Like Q said, try to recreate the situation. Even better, have a beta tester do it for Gold.

Oh, and you should probably gift the planet back

--edit: #%@! sig...

[ 31 December 2001: Message edited by: Will ]