Carrier Battles Mod

[Suicide Junkie]

Slick said:
I think I'll try this mod. It looks very well done and polished. Questions (sorry I haven't read the entire thread yet; working on it):

By assigning different strategies, can different carriers have different fighter launch stack sizes? (after the battle, the ships would have to redistribute their respective fighters since fighters won't necessarily return to the ship that launched them)

How important are non-carrier hulls in this mod?

Do drones have any differences in this mod? Are there any advantages to using drones over fighters?

Ah, questions

1) Yes! Launch groups depend completely on the carrier's (or fleet's if you are not breaking formation) strategy.
The DEFAULTS have been set to launch in groups of 3.
Three is not an option in game, so if you ever change the strategy, you can't change it back. (5 is the minimum the game will let you change it to)

2) Carriers should take their fighters back in the same order and distribution they launched them in I think. I haven't tested it, but you will often leave combat with three half-filled carriers.

3) Non carrier hulls provide a lot of the flavour. Point defense, assault, missile tugs, transports, even micro-carriers.
Carriers are usually quite tough, and can have some support weapons, but they typically provide the variety vicariously through the mix of fighters they carry.
You need mixed fleets in order to do well. Some bombardment, some assault, some PD and lots of interceptors, dogfighters and bombers to fill in the gaps.

4) Drones do not exist as such.
The only hull types used are Ship, Fighter and Troop.
Satellites are available, but use the ship hull so that they require repairs and resupply after combat.
Mines do not exist; its honourable, stand up fights all around. Satellites fill the role of blocking warppoints.

5) Mixed use is the key here.
Ships need both shields and armor to minimize damage.
Short-range, long-range, ammo-using and energy-based direct fire weapons all have their niches. Mounts from 20mm antimissile popguns to 100mm shield-busting howitzers.
A wide variety of missiles are also available; everything from planetary bombardment beasts, to itty bitty anti-missile missiles (SE4 deluxe only ) CSMs, multipurpose, antifighter, cluster missiles fill out the middle.

[Suicide Junkie]

We will soon have a course taught by Ekolis.

Sometime this weekend, I will get out of this zombie state that two weeks of solid overtime work has driven me into...
Then I will be reorganizing the course list and uploading the new stuff!

In other news, "Carrier Battles Mod #8" on PBW will be starting this weekend as well.
This is your last chance to sign up. Have your EMPire file ready.

[Atrocities]

Hey SJ, Lets end the CB game that I am participating in. There are only 2 or 3 players and to be honest, I have no ships, and am just researching. When I design ships they say they have movment, so I build them. They are built, but have no movement. It is just an excersize in frustration for me now.

[Suicide Junkie]

See: SHP 200: Principles of StarShip Design. (Chapter 3 - Propulsion Systems)
You did not put any/enough engines on your ships.

Drive Reactors are *NOT* engines. They only provide bonus movement, and you need at least one movement point worth of engine ports in order for the reactor to help.


We talked about this on email back in August, but that was a long time ago.

PS:
In that game, there are two huge empires, and two tiny ones.
I think I should suggest that the big empires partnership with their adjacent small empire. Should keep the game balanced, and let you try out some combined-fleet co-op action.

[Atrocities]

I have no fleet. I cannot colonize. The largest ship I can make has no room for anything once engines are added.

[Will]

AT: Be sure to use the "Small Ship Reactor" mount for the non-carrier ships. That frees up quite a bit of space.

[Atrocities]

My problem is that I never took the time to play the mod to the degree that I know what in the hell I am doing.

The mod is not for new players of SEIV that is for sure. It is one of the most complex comprehensive mods I have seen since Adamant. Job well done SJ.

[cshank2]

I want to try this so bad, but alas, I have no idea how to work PBW. Oh well. (Plus, I like to play my games at my own pace of 15 turns an hour )



Edit: Changed Minutes to Turns... like it was supposed to be... before the sleep elves changed it... yeah.

[Suicide Junkie]

Once you have an account, log in.

In graphics mode, you can mouse-over all the buttons to see what they do (text appears on the right)

Click the "attack" icon to go to the games screen. By default you see your current games, colour coded by status.
Click the fleet icons to view "open games" or "all games", and then choose one from the left.

When you see a game you like, select it by clicking, and then click the resupply-at-nearest lightning bolt to join.

During the game, you use the cargo-load and cargo-drop to upload your turns (and empire file) or download the next turn.

[Suicide Junkie]

The Carrier Battles Page on imagemodserver has been updated.
Nifty new stuff!

http://imagemodserver.mine.nu/other/...arrierBattles/