A newbie writes:

Jon Brave · #1 January 27th, 2001, 03:20 PM

Wow! What a fast and usefull response. I had been intending to ask questions a while ago but didn't think it would be worth it!

4. *Think* I get it. Had been thinking more in MOO2 terms, whete weapon mount was per individual weapon; you're saying whole ship.

6. Possible. But I think the planet shows up on list of colonizable/breathable/empty. Yet no "+" when look in system. Don't quite understand whether I don't know what's going on in system? Can see some systems without having anything there, some not?

quote:
Originally posted by Jubala:
4. When designing ships there's a button labeled weapon mounts to the right. There you choose your mount based on the size of the ship your designing. I suggest using this because if you don't you'll get your head handed to you by those who do.

6. Not sure what you mean, but if you have no scan in a system with a oxygen/rock planet and that planet is colonized by someone else you will not see the little star.

Jubala · #2 January 27th, 2001, 05:07 PM

Always glad to please.

4. I haven't played MOO2 so I don't know how it works there, but in SE4 the mounts go for all direct fire weapons, ie beams and torps. Missiles and point defense are not affected by mounts. You can have weapons of different mountsize on the same ship if you want to, just change the mount before you put them on. Useful sometimes when you can't get anymore of the biggest mounts to fit but a smaller one will.

6. That's probably because of the fact the colonizable/breathable/empty routine still thinks the planet is empty but because of a small oversight by the programmers (or a minor bug) the little star dissapear when the planet is occupied even though you technically don't know it's occupied. I hope that makes sense.

As for seeing stuff in systems you don't have a presence, that's probably because someone you have a partnership with has a presence. You see all they see and vice versa.

Tomgs · #3 January 27th, 2001, 08:00 PM

4) You can cycle on or off the weapons mounts for individual weapons if you like just select the appropriate mount before you add the weapon to the ship design. Normal mount is the same as not selecting a mount at the beginning. Larger weapons mounts are almost always desirable though because they normally do more damage per KT of space taken up with larger mounts. Bases are even better the weapons mounts increase range as well as the Damage per KT increase.

[This message has been edited by Tomgs (edited 27 January 2001).]

Blue Lord · #4 January 27th, 2001, 09:06 PM

I just responded in SE4C forums to this, but I guess I can post it here to if it's any help

1)It only increases Planet conditions, and thus raising the reproduction rate, and maybe happiness. I havn't been using them to much. You can scrap them when it's done. Infact, you'll get a message in you're log that you cannot improve planet conditions anymore.

2)Depends on what you want the mines to do. If you want them to stop ships from entering the system you just load up on a ship with minelayer components and move it to a warphole. If you want them to act as planetary defense, but 'em in orbit before combat, since PDC will easily take them out if you launch them in combat.

3)If you give the ship orders to move to "Resupply Planet I" in the "Test Sytem" and on the same turn, before it moves there, you can order it to go to the planet "The tester" in system "Elinga" the orders will stack in a queue and will b completed in the order they where given.

4)By increasing size, the direct fire weapons can also increase firepower. But you can't select certain mounts if the ship is too small.

5)Any unit (mines, fighters, satellites, troops) can't be retrofitted at all. Ships however can as long as they are in a sector with a spaceyard. Now, old destroyer class with shields lvl II. I wnat to upgrade the destroyer to have lvl III. I click upgrade and name it something like "Destroyer Mk II" (Mk, stand for Mark, meaning something like Version 2)Then I retrofit my destroyers to this new design.
Note: You cannot make the destroyers to be cruisers, you are only allowed to retrofit beetween designs, not hull sizes.

6)If you see a system that you have no ships in (For example if you start with the trait "Ancient Race") and an enemy already has colonized the planet, but you can't see his colony because you have no precense in there.

Jon Brave · #5 January 27th, 2001, 09:22 PM

4. Haven't played MOO2? You jest?! OK, I think I get this one: the next weapon I place is modified by the current/Last selected weapon mount? But I don't get much feedback to know what I Last selected, do I? The only clue is that after I have chosen the weapon it has an "L" for Large (and presumably "M" for Massive or whatever)?

6. Yes, that might be it. You mean: if I was there a while ago and it was empty it still shows up on my list of empties, but if someone has since colonized it the "+" gets removed? So even if the list says there's a colonziable planet for me it might not be empty by the time I get there? That could easily be what is going on.

7. A new question, since you're so helpful. I don't think I can get my mine sweepers to sweep? Am I right in saying that once I have entered a square where enemy mines were that square has a blue square round it with something like an "M" in it? But if I pick a sweeper and the "sweep mines" icon and send it to that square nothing seems to happen: no more mines maybe? If I put a mine sweeper in a fleet will it auto-sweep for me as the fleet enters a square? I'm losing too many valuable ships to mines!

quote:
Originally posted by Jubala:
Always glad to please.

4. I haven't played MOO2 so I don't know how it works there, but in SE4 the mounts go for all direct fire weapons, ie beams and torps. Missiles and point defense are not affected by mounts. You can have weapons of different mountsize on the same ship if you want to, just change the mount before you put them on. Useful sometimes when you can't get anymore of the biggest mounts to fit but a smaller one will.

6. That's probably because of the fact the colonizable/breathable/empty routine still thinks the planet is empty but because of a small oversight by the programmers (or a minor bug) the little star dissapear when the planet is occupied even though you technically don't know it's occupied. I hope that makes sense. As for seeing stuff in systems you don't have a presence, that's probably because someone you have a partnership with has a presence. You see all they see and vice versa.

Tomgs · #6 January 28th, 2001, 02:23 AM

7) The mine sweeping button is misleading. It is used to sweep mines that may have been laid in your sector by enemy ships maybe during a combat while the minelayer was killed. You would rarely ever use it (I never have found a use for it since the Last patch that made mines laid in combat reload after battle) because it for some reason won't move ships into a known mine area with this command (this just seems wrong to me

). Ships will sweep mines if you just send them into that sector no special command is needed. However if there are more mines than your sweepers can sweep then your ships will be damaged or destroyed until all the mines are gone.

[This message has been edited by Tomgs (edited 28 January 2001).]

Jon Brave · #7 January 28th, 2001, 02:29 AM

Newbie, who has been playing one game of SEIV (Version 1.19) for a while, has a sundry selection of things he does not understand (in no particular order) and would be obliged for any clarifications. If I get any answers I may post some further questions here.

1. I don't really understand climate control. I presume it's just improving "Conditions" (e.g. does not alter atmosphere)? What effect does this have --- increased happiness/max. population/growth rate/build rate/facility spaces? What difference does happiness make, other than not rioting? And if I've built a climate control, can I destruct it after whatever has increased, or would that put me back to start? Does anything increase facility spaces, or is that just a function of planet size?

2. If a planet is storing mines, I know once it launches them, rather than transferring them to a mine layer, they cannot be recovered from space. If I do not want to put them on a ship, is there any point in not launching them as soon as they are built? If they are stored, could I wait and launch them in combat? But would that do anything, and wouldn't the enemy ships thereby have avoided being exploded when they first entered the planet's square?

3. I send a ship to a remote system, via several of my systems which have squares with yards. If I was moving it manually I would have it visit these planets to resupply on the way. I don't think the computer's movement does that for me? Do I really have to do it manually or plot waypoints if I need this?

4. I don't really understand weapon mounts --- haven't used them. How do you cause/know a weapon to have other than normal mount? Is this why some opponents' weapons have an "L" (for Large mount) written on them?

5. I have discovered some new technology. I have figured to create a new design using this (if I use "Upgrade" I have to change the design name to append a "2" or whatever, unless it's only a prototype, in which case I can "Edit" instead, right? A bit annoying, but I guess existing ships have a "pointer" to the original design?). Am I right in thinking all my existing ships *and* units (e.g. mines) stay in their old design whatever I do? I have just discovered ReCycle|RetroFit --- is this how I upgrade existing ships to the new design?

6. My race likes Rock + Oxygen. Colonizable planets which fit this have green "+" (or red if wrong atmosphere). But there are planets in some systems which show up as fitting this and are uninhabited but don't have any "+". Why not? Are they still colonizable?

That'll do for now.

Jubala · #8 January 28th, 2001, 02:50 AM

1. Planetary conditions affect population growth rate. Once it's up to optimal you can scrap the facility.

2. Mines are no use to you in combat. Launch them once they are built unless you want to launch them someplace else, like a warp point.

3. Yes, you have to manually tell it to visit the resuply depots.

4. When designing ships there's a button labeled weapon mounts to the right. There you choose your mount based on the size of the ship your designing. I suggest using this because if you don't you'll get your head handed to you by those who do.

5. Upgrading a design creates a new design on which all components that can be replaced with newer components are replaced with newer components. Already existing ships of the old design are not affected. To upgrade exisitng ships to the new design get them to a shipyard and retrofit them. Units can not be upgraded.

6. Not sure what you mean, but if you have no scan in a system with a oxygen/rock planet and that planet is colonized by someone else you will not see the little star.

Jubala · #9 January 28th, 2001, 04:40 PM

4. Just above the component window a text appears telling you what mount is currently selected.

6. Excatly.

7. Just fleshing out Tomgs Last sentence a little: If there are more mines then your sweepers can sweep then your ships will be damaged or destroyed until all the mines or all your ships are gone.

Jon Brave · #10 January 30th, 2001, 12:07 AM

OK, since you're being so helpful...

Conditions, Value, Population, Growth, Happiness, and structures which improve them --- what's the precise relationship? What do I get out of building my plebs a Climate Control or a Pacification Center? Is the maximum number of permitted facilities dependent on an unchangeable planet size?