Max RunAway range proposal

[AngleWyrm]

Currently there is a hardcoded maximum weapon range of 500 units. This means that any vessel at a range of over 500 is safe from all attacks, and therefore has no reason to increase the range.

Max Range
Have the "Don't Get Hurt" code consult a moddable function to determine when to stop increasing the range. AI scripts could then redefine the function to calculate enemy maximum weapon range, take into account rate of closure, etc, or just use a default of 500.

[Phoenix-D]

What would be the point? Getting even farther out of weapon range can only help, especially if the enemy is, say, able to launch fighters..

[AngleWyrm]

Scenario where that is not true:
AI ships guarding a warp point, and my mine layer jumps through. After they kill the mine layer, they are then stuck on Run-Away forever. Every turn they get further and further away from the mines. So now I can easily stroll right through their warp point, because their guardians are a bajillion minutes away. This applies to most guard duty scenarios; Ships in orbit, ships guarding a space station or mining facility, or escourting a civilian vessel.

It's also a problem whenever there's a speed difference in ships within the sector. They become separated and can be brought down individually later on.

[Raapys]

I'd like to see some sort of 'Reset to original postitions after combat' feature.

[Suicide Junkie]

The flee-as-a-group setting needs to be enforced a little better I think. Stay together unless the enemy is almost in weapons range, then ditch the slowest members.

[AngleWyrm]

Setting a desired range would be a good addition.
We have "Max Weapon Range", "Optimal", "Short", "Point Blank".

I'de like to also have the option to set something similar to optimal that is "Outside Enemy Weapons" by some amount. For instance, "Enemy Weapon Range" + 25 units.

[dmm]

Suicide Junkie said:
The flee-as-a-group setting needs to be enforced a little better I think. Stay together unless the enemy is almost in weapons range, then ditch the slowest members.

You don't like being forced to role-play the Marines (or is that the Green Berets)? "We never leave a ship behind!!"

[dmm]

First of all, why are attack/defense ships running away? I don't understand that. Any attack/defense ship with working weapons should never have "Don't get hurt" as a strategy.

Second, I have never liked the way combats get fully played out individually for each ship entering a sector. It has always been especially unfair to the AI. The problem arises because "combat time" is totally separate from "movement time." I don't have a simple solution though. (Note: I always play "turn-based." Is this still a problem in "simultaneous?") Seems like you could "charge" the movement points of a ship/fleet for time spent in combat. Finish off the enemy quickly, and you lose only a few MP (or maybe even none). Take the whole combat time, and you lose all your MP. (If combat occurs late in the movement phase, then the program would deduct some MP from next turn.) This would make a suicidal stand by an outdated fleet potentially worthwhile, since it might prevent the enemy fleet from reaching your homeworld before your flagship fleet. Would give a new worth to heavily armored/shielded ships. Would be amazingly cool if combined with allowing ships to change sectors by going off the combat map. Could add a strategy "Stay on course," for those situations where it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.