2.5 Suggestions

[Erik L (OP)]

How about, in line with what Truezuluwiz was saying about complexity, a button on the design screen that creates "max" tech projects. For example, a race has up to 12 cm focal length, Cap recharge 4 and UV laser. The max button would create a 12cm/R4 UV laser. The same would occur for each of the tech areas.

Of course, this approach would not always generate the most efficient designs, but it could ease the start of a new NPC race.

For missiles, this would be a lot more complicated. Maybe a selection for missile size, and then an automated routine to create a size xx missile. Of course, this will probably not create missiles that most of us would use.

[Steve Walmsley]

Wouldn't it make sense when refitting a ship to reset the overhaul clock?  After all, while shipyard crews in there replacing engines and upgrading systems and whatnot, they should also be replacing worn widgets.

You can overhaul a ship at the same time as refitting it. Give it an overhaul order and then start the refit once the ship is in overhaul. The problem with resetting the overhaul clock due to a refit is that you can have refits that cost a lot less in time and money than an overhaul.

Steve

[Steve Walmsley]

How about, in line with what Truezuluwiz was saying about complexity, a button on the design screen that creates "max" tech projects. For example, a race has up to 12 cm focal length, Cap recharge 4 and UV laser. The max button would create a 12cm/R4 UV laser. The same would occur for each of the tech areas.

Of course, this approach would not always generate the most efficient designs, but it could ease the start of a new NPC race.

For missiles, this would be a lot more complicated. Maybe a selection for missile size, and then an automated routine to create a size xx missile. Of course, this will probably not create missiles that most of us would use.

I coded something like this for lasers a few months ago but never got on to any other systems. I will be adding autodesign for components and even ships at some point but given the variety in possible designs, it may be a while before it happens.

Steve

[Steve Walmsley]

In v2.6, active sensors will now detect jump point transits. You will receive an event if you detect a transit and if you spot a transit through a previously unknown jump point, that jump point will become known automatically.

Steve

[James Patten]

Starfire had the "hidden" types of jump points, which could only be discovered if someone went through from the other direction.  Does Aurora have the same type?

[Steve Walmsley]

Starfire had the "hidden" types of jump points, which could only be discovered if someone went through from the other direction.  Does Aurora have the same type?

Aurora has dormant jump point, which are not quite the same as Starfire closed jump points. Dormant jump points are invisible until a ship enters them from the far side. After that they become visible to anyone who surveys the system. In Starfire, closed jump points were hidden unless you actually saw a ship transiting.

Steve

[James Patten]

Dormant jump points are invisible until a ship enters them from the far side. After that they become visible to anyone who surveys the system.

Does that mean I have to re-survey a system I've already surveyed, if one of these appears?

[Steve Walmsley]

Dormant jump points are invisible until a ship enters them from the far side. After that they become visible to anyone who surveys the system.

Does that mean I have to re-survey a system I've already surveyed, if one of these appears?

If you are the one who finds it, then it will appear automatically. In v2.6, if you see another ship transit a previously unknown jump point, then that too will appear automatically. If you suspect a dormant jump point is in a system but don't know where it is, then a re-survey would find it.

Steve

[Randy]

You can overhaul a ship at the same time as refitting it. Give it an overhaul order and then start the refit once the ship is in overhaul. The problem with resetting the overhaul clock due to a refit is that you can have refits that cost a lot less in time and money than an overhaul.

  How about a single command to do both? - Refit and Overhaul would be real handy at times instead of trying to remember to give both orders...

[vergeraiders]

Can the maps (system and galatic) be made to come up in window mode and remember their location and size like most of the other windows?

thx

Mike

[vergeraiders]

I like the concept of you just can't switch yards between projects willy-nilly, but I think the concept of tooling up is at least a little outdated.

I'm a fan of shows like Modern Marvels and Build it Bigger (which are especially cool in HD) and the new catch phrase seems to be 'Design-Build'.

The concept behind this is that the workers start building some parts of the ship before every single bolt and cable run is laidout. Assisted by 'walk through CAD' this seems to work very well.

To me the concept of tooling up appllies to large scale manufacturing in the 60's-90's where the workers would first make the rigs to make the parts to make the ship (or plane - I saw this myself at Boeing in the late 80's).

With current computer controled equipment this is less of a factor - tooling up pretty much just requires downloading the CAD file of a part into the right tool (cutter, welder etc.) and off you go.

Considering all of this I think that some first of class surcharge is appropriate but that taking about 1/2 as long as a ship takes to build to be ready to start building is excessive. (I think that if any current commercial shipyards did this they would be out of business very quickly.)

My thought would be about a 120% time for the first of any ship and maybe 105% material cost - which in aurora is significant. These could even start higher and be researched down like most everything else, call it racial Design Efficency.

This would only apply to the first one ever and others could be started as soon as the first got to 'normal time' remaining. Each shipyard could then keep a record of the procedures and could switch to another class, then switch back ad a very low (say 105% time only) or no cost.

The question of trading these between shipyards might depend on gonvermental or industrial factors, ie a comunist govt all the yards are owned by the state so transfer is automatic, while in a corporate each corp protects its own designs and govt contracts).

Mike

[James Patten]

Can the maps (system and galatic) be made to come up in window mode and remember their location and size like most of the other windows?

And in the same vein, can we have a zoom reset external to those windows?  I accidentally zoomed in too far in one system and now Aurora crashes every time I try to bring up that system's map.

[Steve Walmsley]

You can overhaul a ship at the same time as refitting it. Give it an overhaul order and then start the refit once the ship is in overhaul. The problem with resetting the overhaul clock due to a refit is that you can have refits that cost a lot less in time and money than an overhaul.

  How about a single command to do both? - Refit and Overhaul would be real handy at times instead of trying to remember to give both orders...

The problem is that one is a movement order and the other is a shipyard task so there is no mechanism within the code to create a joint order.

Steve

[Steve Walmsley]

Can the maps (system and galatic) be made to come up in window mode and remember their location and size like most of the other windows?

And in the same vein, can we have a zoom reset external to those windows?  I accidentally zoomed in too far in one system and now Aurora crashes every time I try to bring up that system's map.

What do you mean by crash in this context? Does the program crash to desktop or is it an error message? There is sometimes an error if you zoom in too far but it can be corrected by zooming out again. In v2.6, I have changed the code so you can zoom in a lot further than before.

Steve

[Steve Walmsley]

I like the concept of you just can't switch yards between projects willy-nilly, but I think the concept of tooling up is at least a little outdated.

I'm a fan of shows like Modern Marvels and Build it Bigger (which are especially cool in HD) and the new catch phrase seems to be 'Design-Build'.

The concept behind this is that the workers start building some parts of the ship before every single bolt and cable run is laidout. Assisted by 'walk through CAD' this seems to work very well.

To me the concept of tooling up appllies to large scale manufacturing in the 60's-90's where the workers would first make the rigs to make the parts to make the ship (or plane - I saw this myself at Boeing in the late 80's).

With current computer controled equipment this is less of a factor - tooling up pretty much just requires downloading the CAD file of a part into the right tool (cutter, welder etc.) and off you go.

Considering all of this I think that some first of class surcharge is appropriate but that taking about 1/2 as long as a ship takes to build to be ready to start building is excessive. (I think that if any current commercial shipyards did this they would be out of business very quickly.)

My thought would be about a 120% time for the first of any ship and maybe 105% material cost - which in aurora is significant. These could even start higher and be researched down like most everything else, call it racial Design Efficency.

This would only apply to the first one ever and others could be started as soon as the first got to 'normal time' remaining. Each shipyard could then keep a record of the procedures and could switch to another class, then switch back ad a very low (say 105% time only) or no cost.

The question of trading these between shipyards might depend on gonvermental or industrial factors, ie a comunist govt all the yards are owned by the state so transfer is automatic, while in a corporate each corp protects its own designs and govt contracts).

I want the decision to change what a shipyard builds to be a significant decision for the player. "Retooling" is the way the game represents this but it is more than changing the tools in the shipyard, it simulates the planning for the new ship class, getting the maintenance setup, training crews, etc.. Even modern Navies plan to build ships in a series of production runs. They don't tend to build one-offs, or if they do it is an expensive proposition in terms of unit cost.

Steve