Space Monsters!!!

[Egregius]

So planetary cloaks dont work?

What then? You could only put them in a nebula with a map-editor, and that wouldnt work for random games.

[Phoenix-D]

Sector cloak on a base, then.

Phoenix-D

[geoschmo]

I don't believe that works either. Sector cloak only works for storms IIRC. Someone talked about a way to make a storm during the game that would have cloak ability. If you do a search yo9u may turn something up. I can't remember how they did it exactly.

Geoschmo

[Fyron]

Sector cloaking on a component placed on a base works perfectly. It makes the planet, and everything in orbit around it, disappear from sight. Also, if your ships happen to enter a sector that is cloaked by an enemy, your ships will also disappear.

[Suicide Junkie]

quote:

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Also, if your ships happen to enter a sector that is cloaked by an enemy, your ships will also disappear.

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Woah, really? The cloak-er race can still see their own ships, can they also see the enemy ships that they are cloaking?
That could be a very nasty trap: place the cloak on a wormhole exit, and any ships that go through are lost, but still pay full maintenance!
After the first time that happens, a human would chain orders so the ships don't stop there...
Would entering a minefield clear orders?
BwaHaha

[Rollo]

I think that is a misunderstanding. Of course your ships do not disappear. Just like in nebula you can still see your own ships. But if you have a ship above the monster planet (with sector cloak), the monsters cannot see you (again, same as in a nebula).

Rollo

[geoschmo]

Ok, well I stand corrected. If this works then its simply a matter of adding a base design for the monster race including the sector cloak component and making that base a high priority for them to build. As long as they get it built before the planet is discovered then the planet should be safe. Even if they dont' get it built before being discovered, once it's built the others can't attack without sufficent sensor capability to defeat the cloak. You can make the sector cloak level higher than any available sensor and you will have a permanent unbeatable cloak too. Planet will be safe for ever, unless they scrap the base.

Unless for some silly reason the AI doesn't know to turn on the cloaking device. Has that been tested?

Geoschmo

[AJC]

I created the sector cloak in my mod about 6 months ago - It is a base component, there is a thread floating around somewhere when I was discussing it.. It is in the MOD1 mod on the DL site. I have been refining the AI use of fighter missiles for the mod.
I found that there were problems with sector cloaks. You would mask the enemy ship on your turn if he moved into the same square. My solution was to allow the sector cloak to detect cloak vessels up to the level of the sector cloak.

There was a situation created by doing this however - if a cloaked ship moves into your square with the cloaked planet, they detect each other.

Also - you cannot sector cloak warp pts or stars.
Only asteroids, planets and anything the base is with in that square..
I also found that it was unbalancing, if the vessel that had a sector cloak, moved . Thats why I limited them to bases. They are very powerful.

In my mod - hyperoptics III will detect the Stellar cloak.

the first one listed is the researched component the second was the artifact Version in my mod.

Name := Stellar Cloaking Device I
Description := Cloaking device used to cloak a sector of space.
Pic Num := 247
Tonnage Space Taken := 40
Tonnage Structure := 40
Cost Minerals := 200000
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 100000
Vehicle Type := Base
Supply Amount Used := 0
Restrictions := One Per Vehicle
General Group := Shields
Family := 2800
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 4
Tech Area Req 1 := Cloaking
Tech Level Req 1 := 3
Tech Area Req 2 := Shields
Tech Level Req 2 := 10
Tech Area Req 3 := Physics
Tech Level Req 3 := 4
Tech Area Req 4 := Stellar Manipulation
Tech Level Req 4 := 6
Number of Abilities := 2
Ability 1 Type := Sector - Sight Obscuration
Ability 1 Descr := Renders all vehicles and/or planets within sector invisible to normal sensors. Prevents level 4 scans.
Ability 1 Val 1 := 5
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Ability 2 Type := Sensor Level
Ability 2 Descr := Cloaked vessels and enemy mine fields can be detected while stellar cloak is active.
Ability 2 Val 1 := EM Active
Ability 2 Val 2 := 5
Weapon Type := None


Name := Sector Cloaking Device
Description := Cloaking device used to cloak a sector of space.
Pic Num := 248
Tonnage Space Taken := 20
Tonnage Structure := 40
Cost Minerals := 100000
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 50000
Vehicle Type := Base
Supply Amount Used := 0
Restrictions := One Per Vehicle
General Group := Shields
Family := 2900
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Sector Cloaking Device
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Number of Abilities := 2
Ability 1 Type := Sector - Sight Obscuration
Ability 1 Descr := Renders all vehicles and/or planets within sector invisible to sensors. Prevents level 3 scans.
Ability 1 Val 1 := 4
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Ability 2 Type := Sensor Level
Ability 2 Descr := Cloaked vessels can be detected while sector cloak is active.
Ability 2 Val 1 := EM Active
Ability 2 Val 2 := 4
Weapon Type := None

[ 21 January 2002: Message edited by: AJC ]

[Phoenix-D]

If I remember correctly from my tests, sector cloaks don't *have* an on/off switch. That only works for ship cloaks.

(fighters, FYI, work the same way with ANY type of cloak- the cloak is always-on)

Phoenix-D

[AJC]

quote:

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Originally posted by Phoenix-D:
If I remember correctly from my tests, sector cloaks don't *have* an on/off switch. That only works for ship cloaks.

(fighters, FYI, work the same way with ANY type of cloak- the cloak is always-on)

Phoenix-D

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Mothballing the base - turns the cloak off!