Target Practice!

[Bandus (OP)]

Is it possible to design/designate ships as hostile or some how target friendly ships? I'm curious about a newly  design ships performance and would like to test it but I have not yet encountered any hostile races.  Thanks!

[Icecoon]

I think you can target everything in Aurora. So one of your ships can target the other.

[Bandus (OP)]

When I go to the targeting screen I can't seem to see items to assign to FCS systems and weapons despite ships being in range. Not sure what is happening there.

Edit: I did find a checkbox to show only hostile contacts. I unchecked it but still could not see friendly units. Possibly of interest, on the "contacts" tab on the system map I do not see any contacts either despite having it set to show all contacts. I do have active sensors and fire control systems on the intended attacker and the target is in range of those sensors, but no dice.

[Gyrfalcon]

With SM mode, it is possible to create ships and 'gift' them to another race, allowing you to set up shooting matches. Alternatively, you can create designs for the race and use the fast OOB creator to generate your desired enemy fleet.

I generally do this in a separate game, since the end result is free wreaks lying around everywhere.

[sloanjh]

Moved to The Academy.

[Brazouck]

Hi,

i don' manage to do that, I activate SM mode, clic on add npr, but nothing happens.

Thanks

[Conscript Gary]

NPR means non-player race, so they're beyond even the SM's control. You'll want to make a normal empire somewhere

[Brazouck]

NPR means non-player race, so they're beyond even the SM's control.  You'll want to make a normal empire somewhere

Thanks but how do I do that ?

[Conscript Gary]

In SM mode, in the system info window, you should be able to select a body and create a new empire on it.

[Brazouck]

thanks, i just do it and destroyed a poor gate builder with 24 ASM ! not very sportsmanship in this

it is like sunking japanese fishing boats with torpedoes in silent hunter 

[strych90]

it is like sunking japanese fishing boats with torpedoes in silent hunter 

Which was one of my favorite things to do.  Always felt like accomplishing something amazing being able to hit those little things with torps.

If you make a TG with one ship, name it "target" or something, go to the ships you want to test weapons orders.  Click the "show taskgroups" ticker.  You may be able to have them target the "Target" task group in the orders menu.  Or at least launch a missile.  Haven't tried it and I'm currently on a work machine or I would.  If it works it would be easier than SMing everything. 

[Conscript Gary]

The 'Launch Missile At' order doesn't mean 'shoot a missile at the order location', it means' move to the location, then fire your missiles at whatever you were targeting beforehand'.
Useful for minelaying.

[strych90]

The 'Launch Missile At' order doesn't mean 'shoot a missile at the order location', it means' move to the location, then fire your missiles at whatever you were targeting beforehand'.
Useful for minelaying.

Oh ok.  As I said I've never used it, so I was just going off what I thought it was.  Thanks for the correction.  Also could be useful to know what it actually does. 

[Conscript Gary]

Something to be aware of, the launch missiles at order ends order execution but doesn't generate an interrupt. So if you set an order chain of launching missiles at a series of waypoints and increment by 30 days, only one missile will have been launched. Another 30 days,another launch, even if the waypoints are only 10k from one another.
Come to think of it I should report that as a bug once I can confirm it still happens in 6.21

[Person012345]

Something to be aware of, the launch missiles at order ends order execution but doesn't generate an interrupt. So if you set an order chain of launching missiles at a series of waypoints and increment by 30 days, only one missile will have been launched. Another 30 days,another launch, even if the waypoints are only 10k from one another.
Come to think of it I should report that as a bug once I can confirm it still happens in 6.21

Most orders don't interrupt if they're not the end of the order chain. Solution: Don't advance by 30 days (if you're going to you have to accept things like this, it affects short civilian runs quite severely too for example).