Getting rid of excess ships

[Grumbling Grognard]

I have been 'Retrofitting' my older ships. First you need a 'new-upgraded' design saved. Then move the old ship to a location with a space yard (it can still be building something else at the time so this will not even take up production queue space!)

Then there is a button across the top that looks like a recycle symbol. This is brings up the mothball, scrap, retrofit screen (or whatever it is called). Hit the retrofit button, choose the new design and the ship is 'retrofitted' with no delay...

But there are two catches that I have seen. First the new model can not be more than 50% more expensive than the original model and secondly, after you hit the retrofit button even though all of the new components are now installed on the ship, they are all DAMAGED and must be repaired before they can be used (and this can take a few turns).

Oops. Of course you could use this same screen to just "Scrap" the ships. It tells you the scrap value before hand, but it is a LOT more cost effective (IMHO) to retrofit if possible.

Also, if you capture an enemy ship you can "Analyze" the captured ship in an attempt to gain technology.

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The Grumbling Grognard



[This message has been edited by Scott Clinton (edited 03 August 2000).]

[JeffM]

I generally don't scrap either. Retrofit is the best and actually easiest way. However, once in a while I really do have a ship I don't want. Then scrap works just fine.

But, if you retrofit too many at once, you might have trouble paying for maintenance and end up "abandoning" ships due to poor maintenance. Make sure you have enough excess resources (Empire Status button) before you retrofit.

[wingte]

Why would I want to keep those tiny Escorts and Frigates that were all I could build at the start of the game?
I can understand keeping the Destroyers since they can be turned into colony ships and then disposed in a really useful way.
Hmnn,, wonder if it would be worthwhile turning the Frigates into robo miners??



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Wingte

[Baron Munchausen]

It's true that smaller ships become less and less useful as the game progresses. Shields, combat sensors, ecm, and other goodies become more and more essential just for the ship to survive, and a frigate barely has room for these if it is going to have any weapons to defend itself with. But there are still a few missions that a frigate might perform in the mid game. Scouting is one. It can be an unarmed scout. Especially with a cloaking device, which can substitute for all the other defenses it would normally need. Smaller ships have one advantage over larger ships, they are CHEAPER. So having frigates and destroyers fitted with cloaking devices and long range scanners to watch your enemies can be better than cruisers. Also, there might be a need for medical missions. If your planets develop plague, you have to send a ship with a medical bay to deal with it. A frigate can carry a medical bay as easily as a battleship, and it costs a lot less.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 05 August 2000).]

[Grumbling Grognard]

Well...

Something I am sure I am not alone in doing is refitting my obsolete (ie too damn small) ships with nothing but engines, armor and as many colbalt warheads as they can hold. Even a small frigate packed with warheads can KO a basestation on a suicide run!

Only downside is those colbalt warheads are expensive!

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The Grumbling Grognard

[JeffM]

Frigates make good mobile miners.

I generally don't even build escorts, too small. But if I do, they generally don't survive long.

Instead, I research the frigate size ship right away and then build them.

[Machetti]

interesting.

i just went through the 100 turns that the demo allows, came in first, but i don't think i even researched anything beyond frigate. i understand that in later game tactics that you need those space-consuming peripherals to keep up with the jones', and there's something to be said for trying to get most efficient use out of those components by having lots and lots of guns on board.
but before you get to those, there's really only one difference between a big honkin' ship and many small ones: the big ship is easier to hit, easier to target, easier to corner, and is a bigger loss if something goes wrong. with a large fleet of smaller ships, if someone gets a lucky shot in, big deal. i've got a bazillion other ships there waiting to blow you to smithereens.

i should probably keep my mouth shut. someone's liable to bLast me with my own advice.