size of fleets midgame

[Fyron]

3. What's the best way to test if a fleet is going to do the correct thing? I now use the combat simulator to achieve this.

Create a test game on max tech. Use 2 human players, no AIs. Build everything you need to test.

For example: make 20 dreadnoughts and put 15 missiles on each of them. Strategy is maximum weapons range -> Propably enemy does not have enough point defence to block all 300 missiles coming in.

A few PDCs on each warship and then a decent amount of Aegis ships (with tons of PDCs) will counter that quite easily.

[ February 26, 2003, 00:39: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Karibu]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:

quote:

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For example: make 20 dreadnoughts and put 15 missiles on each of them. Strategy is maximum weapons range -> Propably enemy does not have enough point defence to block all 300 missiles coming in.

A few PDCs on each warship and then a decent amount of Aegis ships (with tons of PDCs) will counter that quite easily.

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True enough. My point was, that if enemy does not suspect you to use tacktics like that, you may surprise him and succeed. For example my fleet follows basically next composition:

2* Minesweepers (enough to sweep 100 mines)
1* Repair/supplyship (before quantum reactors)
1* PD-ship (for those pesky missiles&fighters)
1* Troop transport
N* Beam attack ships (depends of the purpose)

And often I have 2 or 3 different kind of Beam attak ships also. Those with computer viruses, with boarding parties, etc. All depending of the enemy and mission.

[Fyron]

People that don't put PDCs on their ships are just asking for a whooping.

[Karibu]

I the game I am currently playing, one of my allies attacked to a enemy sector with 150 ship fleet filled with missiles. In that sector was 4 planets build with defences and a 60+ ship enemy fleet (beam weapon ships + talisman).

Unfortunate things was, that he went into that sector through warp point, so he was in the middle of the enemyfleet and in the range of the planets at the beginning. Also he moved after the enemy had moved his fleet.

Enemy lost 3 planets and over half of its fleet. The enemy uses 2 or 3 PD weapons in his ships, so there was moderate PD defence. Even considering all this, enemy lost 3 planets and half of its fleet.

However, had he arrived into that location normally and battle would have started opposite ends of the battle field (not fleets mixed up in the warp point), he would have beaten planets and other ships easily.

150 ships and say, 10 missiles each of them. Does anyone have PD to counter that? I recon the weaknesses in the tactic when you use missile based attack ships, but it in the large amounts and normal battles, it will destroy enemy before it gets near you. Missiles has their uses, though it is quite limited and only in specific occasions they are effective enough. I have also always thought, that PD is too effective. It never misses (reduces the value of figs and missiles).

In real life, try to shoot down something that comes toward you 10 000 miles (or kilometer)/hour. For a computer (at least nowadays) it is impossible task to calculate the missile position and lauch counter measures to shoot it down. Though, I admit that computers will be far more effective that we now can imagine in the time when humankind travels into stars.

Though, I prefer beam weapons myself. At the end, they are more effective and you can use them to shoot almost anything (it should be possible to make missiles shoot at satellites also. They are static target).

[Fyron]

60 ships is not much to use to be defeating 150 ships of any reasonable sort, really. You have to use roughly equal numbers, or your examples become flawed.

If you are going to be using lots of missiles, you can easily be defeated by using extra PDCs. PDCs destroy many missiles in much less space. Remember that they can fire every round and missiles can only fire every 3 rounds. So, 2 PDC, which take less space than 1 missile, can effectively counter 6 missile launcher components (as there are almost always missiles flying about each round). The fact that hte PDC fire before the missiles ever have a chance to hit the targets makes PDC even more overwhelming against missiles.

Retrofitting a few dozen ships to have extra PDCs when I find out that you are using missiles is not very expensive, and can be done by the SYS and repair ships that go with every fleet our in the field.

It never misses (reduces the value of figs and missiles).

Yes it does miss. Not very often, but it does happen. 1% to miss means about 1 out of every 100 shots miss. It hits nearly all the time, yes. But to say that it never misses is wrong.

[ February 26, 2003, 11:26: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Karibu]

60 ships is not much to use to be defeating 150 ships of any reasonable sort, really. You have to use roughly equal numbers, or your examples become flawed.

Very true. Like I said, PD is way too powerful compared to missiles. Also, do not forget that I said the battle started in the warp point, fleets mixed (Missile fleet taking full battering before firing first volley). Either PD should be less accurate or missiles should be able to take more damage. IMO PD accuracy could be from 30%...70% (10% more accuracy with each new PD cannon level). Though that is only speculation, I hope developers check PD accuracy in the SEV (5th Version). Apart from the beginning, missiles are only useful in large masses.

[ February 26, 2003, 11:57: Message edited by: Karibu ]

[minipol]

Yesterday i designed a battleship with lots of shields and armor and a few planetary boms ( forgot the exact name). Quite effective but as i mixed them with my fleet, they didn't seem to attack. Fleet orders where drop troops and optimal weapons range. When i changed the fleet orders to drop troops and point blank, then the planet busters as i call them attacked the planet.

I'll have to try some more to tune the strategy of my fleets as i'm new to simultaneous.
Is it possible to have those planet busters go in point blank and have the rest stay back on maximum weapons range orders and still have troops dropped in the end?