Fight Dirty?

Pooka · #1 May 23rd, 2003, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Everything that deals with mines already spaced happens before anything else. When you send those sweepers though, they _will_ clear the mines (and get hit by them if there are any mines left) before they engage in combat with the enemy. Remember to set them to RAM (set the whole class to Ram) so they do some damage before they're slaughtered.

Then send your troublemakers through the very next turn.... Maybe you should only send on through, at first, just in case he has Sensor Satellites somewhere. It would be good to know before you send the whole fleet through.

Well, since this just cost me my fleet, it should be noted that sweepers get to sweep /after/ combat occurrs. I've been stealing his minesweepers and they just get shot by his fleet. Since every other ship I had ever claimed had only been attacked by a fleet, never a minefield, (infact I didn't even know what the 'struck a minefield' dialog looked like.) I figured he hadn't deployed his mines yet. (I found ship after ship with mine layers, but with it's full compliment of mines on board, etc. I figured he'd forgotten to deploy them.)

Lost my entire fleet to his minefield. Fortunately he's bored and likely done with the game now, but still, there needs to be a series of documents on how to use minesweepers, specifically on blockaded warp points. Otherwise it looks like it's just a matter of an invincible defense winning the game.

jimbob · #2 May 23rd, 2003, 06:54 PM

Sorry your fleet was destroyed

I'm interested to know exactly what happened. Are you certain that the mine sweepers went in first? Movement of ships occurs by day... that is to say, if you have a sweeper fleet with a movement rate of 10, the fleet will move one sector on day 3, then one more on day 6, 9, etc. If the other fleet (say your battle fleet) has a faster movement rate, lets say of speed 15, then it will move one movement point every second day.

It may not have been apparent to you, but unfortunately this means that the battle fleet will warp through the warp point before the sweeper fleet = mine detonation!

Now, did your battle fleet have a higher movement rate than the sweeper fleet? Or maybe the battle fleet was closer to the warp point than the sweeper fleet? I'm pretty sure that the sweepers would have done their job before combat was enjoined if they had warped through ahead of the battle fleet... this is why I always put the sweepers in with the battle fleet... sorry I didn't tell you this before.

Lastly, regarding his miner having mines on board still. I'm willing to bet money to donuts that he had put out his maximum complement of mines already, and those onboard mines were surplus. Once you went through and swept the mine field, he would be ready to erect and instant minefield again. If he was smart, he was sending "deploy mines" orders every turn, so that if you came through and destroyed a few mines, he wouldn't have to wait a turn before deploying replacements!

[ May 23, 2003, 17:56: Message edited by: jimbob ]

Loser · #3 May 23rd, 2003, 07:02 PM

Did you send in minesweepers or just send in your fleet because you didn't think there were any mines?

The mine sweepers you stole from him wouldn't sweep mines because they were already in the sector. Mine sweepers automatically sweep mines when they move into a sector, but if they are in a sector with mines in it, you have to use that little sweep button. Of course, you wouldn't get a chance to push this button when there are enemy ships in the same sector.

Ruatha · #4 May 23rd, 2003, 07:14 PM

Use the ship movement replay button to see which ships went in in which order, then report back!.
Now, dismissed, carry out your orders Private Pooka.

Pooka · #5 May 23rd, 2003, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Loser:
Did you send in minesweepers or just send in your fleet because you didn't think there were any mines?

The mine sweepers you stole from him wouldn't sweep mines because they were already in the sector. Mine sweepers automatically sweep mines when they move into a sector, but if they are in a sector with mines in it, you have to use that little sweep button. Of course, you wouldn't get a chance to push this button when there are enemy ships in the same sector.

This was the problem. I figured minesweepers swept mines. My sweeper fleet never even got deployed. I held them back because I figured, why send my minesweepers, when I can just use his?

The documentation, as I have said, is very poor on this subject. Regardless, I have a minefield of my own, plethora of fighters, and collection of starbases. I also didn't send my cloaking SY through, so I still have that. I'll set it to building some other stuff while I rebuild a fleet. Very frustrating lesson, though.

Loser · #6 May 23rd, 2003, 07:29 PM

Don't just leave it there... send the sweeper fleet in to die and pop that SY throgh the turn after... or maybe with them.... but cloaked.

But if it's in the same fleet as them, even if it's cloaked, I think it still ends up in combat... I think...

Well, when you make that work, you build your Drone Factory in some obscuring Storm and start raining hell down on his unsuspecting population with your cloaked drone fleet. yeah

Doom, doom, doom, doom, doom....

Loser · #7 May 23rd, 2003, 07:29 PM

[edit: double post, sorry]

[ May 23, 2003, 18:52: Message edited by: Loser ]