To Suicide Junkie

[ArchAngel7]

I added drones to vehicle size and components but they still don't show up under unit creation. What do I need to do? Thanks. - for P&N of course!

[Suicide Junkie]

I am planning to add drones as a Pirate-only tech.

If you add the regular drones without further modding, they'll be really messed up as to speed. Pull out the movement bonus, and watch the mass/engines per move setting.

You will need to alter the following entry in techareas.txt to get your drones available for research:

code:

---

Name                  := Drones

Group                 := Applied Science

Description           := A dummy tech area

Maximum Level         := 5

Level Cost            := 10000

Start Level           := 5

Raise Level           := 0

Racial Area           := 999

Unique Area           := 0

Can Be Removed        := False

Number of Tech Req    := 0

---

[CombatSquirrel]

S_J,

Still getting the biggest kick out of P&N, but I wanted to ask you the rational of increasing the Tonne Structure of Engines so rapidly in comparision to the damage delivered by Engine Destroying Weapons. Was this just necessary for play balance?

The way it works, for my solo games, is that my nomads can rarely develop EDW to a level to have any effect on the planet-bound, bonused AI. I can sink the lion's share of my diminished research into the attempt, but it seems to be always 2 or 3 levels too few.

Combat Squirrel

p.s. did I say thanks yet?

[Baron Munchausen]

Did you factor mounts into your estimate of Engines-only weapons vs. engine size? Larger ships have a very substantial advantage with any weapon, even the specialized ones.

[Suicide Junkie]

The way it works, for my solo games, is that my nomads can rarely develop EDW to a level to have any effect on the planet-bound, bonused AI.

Uhm, not really. The engines all still have 20 hitpoints each.

You do know that shields will block engine disruptors in the latest patch, right?
Try throwing some shield depleters in before your engine disabling weapons.

Vs humans, you may also find players using the high quality mount to toughen up their engines, but the AIs will always use unmounted engines.

[ October 26, 2002, 22:48: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[CombatSquirrel]

S_J,

I mispoke. It is the armored Versions of your engines that are giving me fits. I AI-adapted the TDM-Modpack races over and a slew of them luv those engines. 40 structure on an Armored Ion Engine I is a real challenge for a nomad player that races for propulsion and EDW early. I will just have to abandon that strategy for now, and find another angle to use to pick off those colony ships.

Several of the changes in Gold and its patches have caught me by surprise. The shields counting against damage for EDW was a shocking jar, and the fact that bases have been crippled for resupply was a major kick in the pants for my nomads. Makes P&N much more challenging... which is always a good thing.

Baron, if I had had Light Cruisers early enough the mounts would have been invaluable, but by investing my research on EDW, my boarding ships don't have the gusto to capture engine-armored enemy LCs for analyzation, and I didn't research the Ship Construction tech soon enough.

Now, I am afraid that I will have to live out the rest of my remaining life pathetically huddled in opaque space storms dreaming of what might have been...

Combat Squirrel

[CombatSquirrel]

Ahh, the answer has come:

Engine Destroying Mines from P&N have given me a new (temporary) hold on life...

Combat Squirrel

[Suicide Junkie]

So what are you up to? Dropping engine mines, then bLasting the immobile hulks with missiles until it is safe to board?
Come to think of it, you could probably do that with regular mines.

[ October 28, 2002, 03:40: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[CombatSquirrel]

Yeah, I really needed to capture some ship's Tech, and I didn't have comparatively powerful enough ships to do it by "duelling" or ambush.

But I could lurk hidden near a few Engine Destroying Mines in a Warp Point trade lane and scavenge the cripples after a few Organic Missiles. Regular mines would do more damage to those very components that I need to HighJack: EDMs do a greater proportion of damage to the engines, which I don't need, and of course hobble his supply to fire remaining weapons and power shields.

I know this stragedy is only going to work for a short time before the Sweepers put a stop to it, but without some way to get scavenged Tech at that point in the game, I was going to be totally ineffective later, and all I needed was a ship or three.

Combat Squirrel

(I really did mean to say thanks...)

[CombatSquirrel]

S_J,

Typo or inside joke?

Name := Hawking Reactor
Description := Direct matter-to-energy converter utilizing a black hole as a catalyst. A vast amount of supplies can be stored in a miniscule space using this device.
Pic Num := 37
Tonnage Space Taken := 35
Tonnage Structure := 35
Cost Minerals := 1000
Cost Organics := 250
Cost Radioactives := 20000
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base
Supply Amount Used := 0
Restrictions := None
General Group := Supply
Family := 25
Roman Numeral := 0
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 2
Tech Area Req 1 := Resupply
Tech Level Req 1 := 5000
Tech Area Req 2 := Astrophysics
Tech Level Req 2 := 2
Tech Area Req 3 := Tractor\Repulser Weapons
Tech Level Req 3 := 1
Number of Abilities := 1
Ability 1 Type := Supply Storage
Ability 1 Descr := Can store 50,000 units of supply.
Ability 1 Val 1 := 50000
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Weapon Type := None