Enemy movement (turn-based)

Zanthis · #1 February 3rd, 2001, 07:15 PM

Anyone else wish you could see where the fsck your enemies ships went? I can't tell you the number of times I've see an enemy fleet three spaces into a system, I click end turn and they are gone. I have no idea by which WP they left, or if he self-destructed the entire fleet.

Hey MM, any hope of getting movement lines for ships whose movement you observed? Especially important against humans with ducking in and out of WPs. You almost have to use mines at WPs just so you know when someone peeks at your system.

Jubala · #2 February 3rd, 2001, 09:27 PM

Yeah, a sensor log kind of thing that reports in the turn log that ship this and that from empire yonder sailed through system hither. Would you like to see the sensor data?

Yes takes you to the system and replays what happened. No and nothing happens.

ColdSteel · #3 February 3rd, 2001, 11:37 PM

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I was going to post something on this as well. In most other games like this you can see the enemy ship movements when they are within your sensor range. I had a dozen Phong ships pop into one of my systems and threaten my planets there. As I was hustling to intercept with a fleet 2 systems away, bam, they just vanished. I still don't know where they went.

I sure hope they add this as an option even if it does slow the enemy turns down. Worth it.

Q · #4 February 4th, 2001, 08:21 AM

Sorry but I disagree.
If you could trace the movement of the enemy ships, there would be no more (useful)possibility to hide in a storm! I like it much better with this uncertainty.

Emperor Zodd · #5 February 4th, 2001, 09:12 AM

My thoughts exactly Q.

Barnacle Bill · #6 February 4th, 2001, 01:27 PM

Logically, you can't hide in a storm if somebody is watching when you enter it. You could make a hard-coded change that combat in a storm is not possible because ships inside can't see each other to fight, but if you have something that can see a ship enter you are going to know it is in there.

ColdSteel · #7 February 4th, 2001, 08:56 PM

Then they should perhaps make the storms larger than one hex in size.

Logically, are you are telling me that if a massive fleet of ships enters your home system intending no good, you (with high technology at your disposal) are just going to lose track of where they all are within spitting distance of your homeworld? I don't think so. Maybe you see them enter a large storm and lose track of where they are in there, sure, I'll buy that. If the storm was, say, 6 hexes in size, then you could go poking around in there trying to locate them. Maybe they could evade you.

Now, perhaps this is one of those things people are used to from playing SE3, I don't know. As a newcomer to SE, I'm just having a little trouble with it.

Emperor Zodd · #8 February 4th, 2001, 10:18 PM

Think of it as "The fog of war".

ColdSteel · #9 February 5th, 2001, 02:07 AM

Actually, you know, after thinking about it some more, if I was just able to get an additonal log message somethng like "Phong fleet of 12 ships exited system via Jinook warp point", then I could easily live with it as it is. I like fog of war but with cloaked ships, storms, etcetera entering into it as well, it sure makes a mess for tracking enemy movements without at least some point of reference entering and leaving a system.

In fact, I think adding a new cloaked "sensor base" that you could build on warp points that would give you the above log message would be pretty cool and add something to the game. Maybe MM envisions the drones doing something functionally similar eventually in scouting out enemy positions, I don't know. As any good general knows, without good, fairly recent intelligence on the positions of enemy forces, you're dead meat. And I worry about these things.

Zanthis · #10 February 5th, 2001, 03:51 AM

I kinda like the larger storms idea. Log Messages would work for me. Especially log anything wierd, like "Phong fleet of 12 ships self-destructed in Yoshi system". Would be annoying to have a fleet disappear and get no log message. I'd be thinking, "I thought he didn't have cloaking?"

BTW, anyone else wish you could tell your ships to "block" your so-called "allies"? I had a ship on a WP and a Trade Alliance with the Phong and he slipped a Colony ship past me and grab a world. Pissed me off. I don't want to fight him, just not let him past. And don't suggest diplomacy, I'd already had him agree to forgo his claim on the system, but since the ship was already enroute, it ignored the agreement. *grrr*