I noticed a few odd things today.

Cyrus · #1 June 5th, 2001, 11:44 PM

I was using Phased Polaron Beams against some ships earlier today and I noticed that after I had taken out all of their shield generators they still had 300/0 shields left, yet when I hit them once with a meson bLaster they went down to 0/0 and I was able to capture them. Obviously this is a bug and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed it, and if there is anything being done about it.

The other thing I noticed is that two empires can't have ships with the same name. This makes sense, but it's kind of annoying as another empire has the same design file as I do and they've already taken all of the cool names

Again, has anyone else noticed this, and would it be possible to restrict the checking of names to only your own empire?

Suicide Junkie · #2 June 6th, 2001, 12:27 AM

quote:
I was using Phased Polaron Beams against some ships earlier today and I noticed that after I had taken out all of their shield generators they still had 300/0 shields left, yet when I hit them once with a meson bLaster they went down to 0/0 and I was able to capture them. Obviously this is a bug and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed it, and if there is anything being done about it.

When the shield generator is destroyed, the energy field dosen't dissipate instantly

Yes it is a bug and I've noticed it, but it dosen't really concern me much.

If they've only got standard shields, then they're usually technologically inferior.
If I've used shield penetrating weapons to destroy all their shield generators, the ship is not usually worth capturing anymore because of all the other damage the PPBs did

quote:
Again, has anyone else noticed this, and would it be possible to restrict the checking of names to only your own empire?

Absolutely not. If you look at an enemy ship, of design "CannoWhoopAss" is it your design or theirs?

Just add a code to the front (or end) of all your design names, such as "My ______"

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 05 June 2001).]

PvK · #3 June 6th, 2001, 12:29 AM

#1 sounds like a bug, though since "shields" are fantasy tech, having a thin shield bubble left after generators are destroyed could be a reasonable effect.

#2 I don't think your work-around would work easily, because it is possible to capture enemy ships. However there are ways to program around it, but MM might have better things to fix...
Why don't you just alter your ship name slightly, like adding a "." or a "2" or something?

Cyrus · #4 June 6th, 2001, 01:04 AM

suicide_junkie,
It was a concern for me because I was in the process of refitting my destroyers to use PPBs and it was just chance that I had one with normal weapons. The reason I wanted the ship was because it was several tech levels above my own ship construction, though capturing it for the spinal-mount (Devnull mod I think) shard cannon would have been cool in and of itself.
Yeah, I could name them specifically my_<something> but the name file had the names "Watcher" and "Ghost" in them, one of which I usually use for my stealthed satellites, and the other I was planning on using on my stealthed Battlecruisers. Just kind of annoying, so I ended up starting with Watcher-II instead

PvK,
I agree that having a shield residue would make sense, but not having 300 shield points vanish because I hit it with 15 points worth of meson bLaster fire

Suicide Junkie · #5 June 6th, 2001, 01:52 AM

quote:
I agree that having a shield residue would make sense, but not having 300 shield points vanish because I hit it with 15 points worth of meson bLaster fire

Well, you just punched a hole, or maybe destabilized the field. Without a generator to stabilize/maintain the field it quickly collapses.

DirectorTsaarx · #6 June 6th, 2001, 04:58 PM

I've seen the "shield residue" thing as well, but I think it usually disappears in the next combat turn, so you don't have to worry about carrying "conventional" weapons along with the shield skipping weapons. Of course, I don't build ships with only PPB's (or other shield-skipping weapons) and usually put at least a couple shield-depleters on my boarding party ships, so it's never been a concern for me...

Hotfoot · #7 June 7th, 2001, 02:06 AM

On the topic of the naming structure, I personally give each of my ships a model designation after the name, so that I can continue to use the model name as I continue to upgrade class. For example, say I were to make my standard Support Vessel class ship, outfitted with solar collectors and repair bays, the Caretaker class vessel. The first ship of the classification would be the Caretaker Mk1. When I get better components and I upgrade the design (maybe even to a better hull) I up the designation by one, so the next in the series is the Caretaker Mk2.

Most ships only Last long enough to get a Mk2 or Mk3 designation as technology advances, but more general-purpose designs, like the Caretaker, or the Jumpstart (my population transports) go up to Mk6 or Mk7 at times.

-Hotfoot
"Beware the Terrors of the Shaderni Empire."

Aristoi · #8 June 7th, 2001, 08:50 AM

For fun in multiplayer games, I will use letters for the shipname, such as ZX. That way it is not obvious what the design is for. When I make warships, I'll name them in random order, like ZX-IV, then Z-X, then ZX-I, so that it is not obvious which design is an upgraded Version of what.

Just keeping people on their toes.

jc173 · #9 June 7th, 2001, 10:07 AM

Or if you want to be really confusing and don't have a problem keeping your ships straight, use the Borg name file. Sheesh just a bunch of letters and numbers strung together. I tried playing as the Borg once for the helluva it, but I couldn't remember for the life of me what designation was for what ship.