New player struggling

[Andy Watkins]

Dont defend planets. Defend Space. If the enemy reaches your planets it means your fleet has been shredded and you are already history.


I tried that first couple of games I tried but had problem then that enemy ships could move quite fast and would "Shoot past me" and clobber my planets. At minimum you seem to have at least an outer layer of systems that need protecting, this may well be half a dozen or so systems with several worlds in them....

Plus supply, I normally base my ships on planets because of supply. I used to base them at worm holes but then have to remember to keep getting them resupplied.

Andy

[Andy Watkins]

2 extra questions

I use Robo miners on space stations over asteroids. I just read something that gave me the impression I could do the same over empty non colonisable planets???

Can a ship have just 1 shield generator on it or is more allowed???

Andy

[Vulture-B]

Andy,

for the defend space issue, use satellites and mines on wormholes and have a fleet within the system, this works at least as an early warning since it will show up in the log.

yes you can use robominer on planets, best strategy would be if you have two or more planets in the sector, you will deplete the planets. so if you still want to colonize them setup a mil instalation, research or intelligence compound.

if only one component is allowed/effective per it is stated in the information window, so yes you can (and maybe should) use more.

concerning your list of research, there are always at least two ways to one target in this game. military actions, intelligence, trade and research can bring you closer to everything you have in mind.

ru
vulture

[Quikngruvn]

Andy, in your research list, I'd add Advanced Military Science to at least level 4. The first three levels give you ship and fleet training facilities (which are vital to surviving a war). Levels 4 through 6 give Hyperoptics, which can detect cloaked vehicles.

Also, a note about robo-miners: only the miners from one ship are effective in a given sector. But, all the miners on that ship will be used....

Quikngruvn

[wr8th]

quote:

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Originally posted by Gryphin:
RE: Ship Capture: If you study this early, you may not have to study shields or as many ships sizes, (and several other techs).

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If you have ship capture ability try sprinkling warp points liberally with mines. Any intruding ships that are damaged or incapacitated can be captured, repaired (bring a repair/supply ship) and analyzed for technology....

[ 11 April 2002: Message edited by: wr8th ]

[Gryphin]

Hmm, I guess I have not beatten this to death yet.
<Soap Box>
I don’t use mines but I was wondering:
Let me guess.
A ship enters a mine field and looses all engines.
Since it has lost all engines it can’t use any remaining shields.
Since it has no shields it is easy to capture.

My question:
How much would the following cost you in resources per turn?
The Mines, (once deployed can not be used anywhere else)
The Mine Layer, (specialty ship that drains resources when not in use and will become obsolete as your fleet becomes faster)
The Repair Ship, (is a drain when not in use, granted has other uses when needed)
The fleet to protect them at the Worm Hole while capturing and repairing the ship.

I feel the resources spent on this strategy would be better spent on the best fleet you can build. This will give you:
Much greater flexibility
The ability to move all elements to where you need them.
Retro Fit for all elements
The ability to move elements to the front lines as your empire expands.
You may want to include Satellites. These can be moved when convenient.
</Soap Box>
I guess I'm just too competitive.

[capnq]

quote:

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Tried building empty DD's and retrofitting them but it said could only increase value by 50% or something so I had to scrap the lot and start again.

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You can make an intermediate design within the cost limit, then retrofit to that, repeating as needed until you can build the final design you want.

Note that the new design only has to be under 150% of the combined total minerals, organics and radioactives, not the individual totals.

quote:

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I normally base my ships on planets because of supply. I used to base them at worm holes but then have to remember to keep getting them resupplied.

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A ship only uses supplies when it moves or fires*; you can park it somewhere indefinitely.

*Or uses a component that uses supplies, such as [edit to correct error] a Cloaking Device.

[ 11 April 2002: Message edited by: capnq ]