What do you use transport ships for?

Skirmisher · #1 September 29th, 2002, 12:51 AM

Hello,

What do you folks use transport ships for?

Are they for moving troops around or do they have other uses?
Can you use them to deploy satilites and weapons platforms?

cshank2 · #2 September 29th, 2002, 12:52 AM

I use them only in proportions to transport populations before I get a large starliner

Skirmisher · #3 September 29th, 2002, 12:54 AM

So you use them to add population to your colonies?

Captain Kwok · #4 September 29th, 2002, 12:57 AM

I use them for transport

.

You can use them to transport and transfer anything including population. You can droops troops, but not launch units. This includes fighters, satellites, mines, and drones. You'll have to use the specific launchers for those items.

[ September 28, 2002, 23:58: Message edited by: Captain Kwok ]

pathfinder · #5 September 29th, 2002, 01:10 AM

I use them to transport all kinds of things, population, troops, satellites, mines, weapon platforms, fighters...you name it. Just can't, as Capt Kwok says, launch anything...do a cargo transfer...or drop cargo to a planet

[ September 29, 2002, 00:11: Message edited by: pathfinder ]

Fyron · #6 September 29th, 2002, 01:22 AM

Put a launching bay on a transport, and it can launch things.

Arkcon · #7 September 29th, 2002, 01:30 AM

Transports and colonizers are big ships - 300 kt of space, that you get before you research ship construction twice and get destroyers which are also 300 kt.

They have a built-in downside, they must have fewer engines and must carry certain components. The transport must be 50% storage bays. The sattelite bay counts as a storage bay, so it's great for putting sattelites on warp points or other spots you don't have a planet.

Using an escort for that purpose, with it's ability to have 6 engines, doesn't really seem to be a better choice

Elowan · #8 September 29th, 2002, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MaCready:
Hello,

What do you folks use transport ships for?

Carry Bud between systems; White Tower 'rat meat' as well on occasion.

[ September 29, 2002, 02:14: Message edited by: Elowan ]

Pax · #9 September 29th, 2002, 02:48 AM

I use transports for larger colony ships. If I'm playing a Max-Tech start game (solo ofc), I tend to go the expensive but low-brainpower route, and use a Large Transport hull to mount all THREE colony module types. Saves counting up how many gas, ice, or rock colonisers you need, etc, etc.

And even a Medium Transport can haul slightly more population (just over 100M, say), with many more supply bays, for a much longer net range.

Undertakr · #10 September 29th, 2002, 03:06 AM

I have to agree, 99% of the people I have played against never realized, or don't use this strategy, but I believe that's a major mistake.

Use transports as colony ships from your HOMEWORLDS. You can transport a hell of a lot more population on it and that gives your new planets big bonuses immediately. I use regular colony ships from non-homeworlds until I get population built up on my new planets.

My other idea was already mentioned, I never mess with the possibility of sending the wrong colony type ship, I put them all on one ship, that way if plans change on my way to somewhere, I don't have to wait for a specific colony ship to build, mine can do any type. Just build a space yard on a base or station and have it repeat building colonizers the entire game and you'll be way ahead of everyone else.

No matter what anyone says, two things win this game, expansion and minerals. If you can do both better than the rest of the people in the game, you have a huge advantage.

- Takr