Frequently Asked Questions for Newbies

[Ruatha]

Ok, that seems like a more strategic guide, this thread aims to answer questions as " Why don't my colonies build anything?" - "move population there!".

[Gandalph]

After all my play time, I just discovered something new.

Cloaked ships will not gain experience while at a planet with a ship and/or fleet training facility. You MUST decloak the ship to benefit from the training.

You can add this in where ever it fits.

[capnq]

1.2.6. On a construction queue, you can use the Fill Queue button to save Groups of construction orders for repeated use. Put the items you want in the queue, Fill Queue, Add Queue; name the set. Once a set of orders is saved, it can be selected with Fill Queue to add the set to the construction queue. If an item in saved set becomes obsolete, Fill Queue will produce an error message when you select that set, so you have to define a new set whenever you upgrade a design.

[sachmo]

I found this thread incredibly helpful...when I found it! How about a sticky?

[capnq]

4.2.6.1. Heavier mounts increase the range and damage of weapons. To use a heavier mount on a design, press the Weap Mounts button on the design screen. The Weapons Report screen also has a Mount button.

[Stone Mill]

Please check me on this...

Repairs and Retrofitting
1.4.6 Only one ship may use a spaceyard for retrofitting at any given time. However, next turn, a different ship may retrofit while the other ship(s) use the space yard to repair the newly retrofit components.

1.4.7 Engines that are retrofit to a different engine type lose all supplies. Ensure you retrofit engines over a resupply depot.

1.4.8 You cannot retrofit (captured, insurrected, or gifted) ships with special racial technology components that your race does not possess.

1.4.9 A space yard ship with a repair bay is an excellent way to refit ships in forward positions.

[DirectorTsaarx]

Originally posted by Stone Mill:
Please check me on this...

Repairs and Retrofitting
1.4.6 Only one ship may use a spaceyard for retrofitting at any given time. However, next turn, a different ship may retrofit while the other ship(s) use the space yard to repair the newly retrofit components.

1.4.7 Engines that are retrofit to a different engine type lose all supplies. Ensure you retrofit engines over a resupply depot.

1.4.8 You cannot retrofit (captured, insurrected, or gifted) ships with special racial technology components that your race does not possess.

1.4.9 A space yard ship with a repair bay is an excellent way to refit ships in forward positions.

I think simultaneous games have issues with retrofitting more than one TYPE of ship per sector per turn, but you should at least be able to select multiple ships (of the same type) and retrofit all of them at once - as long as you want to retrofit all of them to the same type. Non-simultaneous games allow you to do multiple retrofits per turn; you could even retrofit the same ship multiple times (the infamous "retro-series"). Repair bays and shipyards repair a certain number of components per sector per turn, and those components can be scattered across multiple ships.

You're right about a ship losing supply when the engines are retrofitted (unless, of course, you have supply storage components that are NOT being retrofitted; otherwise, you have the same problem - i.e., you don't get free supplies by retrofitting/repairing a supply storage component).

I'm not certain about the special racial tech thing; you can't ANALYZE the racial tech unless you have the corresponding racial trait, but you can certainly scrap the ship and you should be able to retrofit the ship to one of your own designs (which, obviously, would destroy all the other race's special components).

Also note that you can put multiple repair bays on a single ship and they will ALL work together; they will even "combine" with a space yard component (and/or a space yard facility).

Hope that all made sense...