Automation?

[Magnnus (OP)]

I've gotten to the point where I feel like I'm spending most of my time telling survey and jump gate ships where to go, and yes I do know about the survey bodies, survey points, and construct jump gate special orders. The problem is that once they are done with that system I have to bring up the galactic map, find a suitable location, and navigate their way to that system; I'm hoping that there is some way to automate the part of finding another system.

Its really becoming a problem because I have about 15 geo ships and 20 grav survey ships as well as about 10 jump gate constructors, and I have to navigate all them whenever they finish a survey or run out of fuel(to get them back to a suitable system or to get them to the colony if its too far); this seems to be the only thing that I'm doing, and its getting very tedious.

[James Patten]

Are all your geo/grav survey ships in separate task groups?  What I typically do is assign 2-5 ships (of the same type) to a single task group, then when you go to explore a new system, instead of "Transit" you should "Transit and Divide into single ships" (it isn't quite that name but I can't think of the name used).  So task group Survey Group A becomes task groups Survey Group A1, Survey Group A2, etc with all task groups making Survey Group A1 as their "master" task group.  When your survey ships are done zipping around the system, you can have the subordinate groups join the master group, or you can issue the command for the master group to take all the subordinate groups in (I've had problems with this command in the past however).

In prior games I had my survey ships as FACs with a survey carrier.  The task group would also carry around a tanker so that refuelling was much easier.

You still need to figure out where to explore next but you'd only need to do it for 5 groups (if you have 3 geo and 4 grav survey ships in each task group) rather than 35.  For the jump gate constructors you can always tell it do construct on one side then transit and construct on the other side.

[Magnnus (OP)]

They are in separate groups and the problem isn't how long their taking its how many systems they have to visit. I must have at least 30 unexplored systems that are only growing, and I still have previously explored systems that need surveying; That which is why I spend so much time telling the individual survey ships to go to a new system. If they were all in a master cluster I would only have to give that cluster the orders more often. I already tell jump gate ships to do both sides. Theres just so many systems that I need to survey that it takes up most of my time.

[Erik L]

That is probably the biggest time consumer in Aurora. Directing survey operations.

[Magnnus (OP)]

That is probably the biggest time consumer in Aurora. Directing survey operations.

Something should be done about that then; I don't want to spend all my time directing survey operations. thats not very fun.

[sloanjh]

That is probably the biggest time consumer in Aurora. Directing survey operations.

Something should be done about that then; I don't want to spend all my time directing survey operations. thats not very fun.

It (survey ops) gets interesting when you run into a Precursor (or NPR) - which I'm surprised you haven't done yet

John

[Magnnus (OP)]

That is probably the biggest time consumer in Aurora. Directing survey operations.

Something should be done about that then; I don't want to spend all my time directing survey operations. thats not very fun.

It (survey ops) gets interesting when you run into a Precursor (or NPR) - which I'm surprised you haven't done yet

John

I've run into both, but that happens once every 20 or 30 in my experience; not to mention that finding a system with either of these in it can happen just as easily if a computer tells the ship to go to that system or you do.

[sloanjh]

I've run into both, but that happens once every 20 or 30 in my experience; not to mention that finding a system with either of these in it can happen just as easily if a computer tells the ship to go to that system or you do.

What I was trying to say is that, in my experience, the game slows way down after you encounter your first alien or two, because you're trying to manage the (potential/probable) war.  That might be because I tend to start conventional, so I'm operating at a tech disadvantage and am ultra-cautious to keep from having them follow me home, but by the same token if you're at a point where running into aliens is just a bump in the road then there's probably something wrong with the game balance and/or NPR AI.

John

[Magnnus (OP)]

I've run into both, but that happens once every 20 or 30 in my experience; not to mention that finding a system with either of these in it can happen just as easily if a computer tells the ship to go to that system or you do.

What I was trying to say is that, in my experience, the game slows way down after you encounter your first alien or two, because you're trying to manage the (potential/probable) war.  That might be because I tend to start conventional, so I'm operating at a tech disadvantage and am ultra-cautious to keep from having them follow me home, but by the same token if you're at a point where running into aliens is just a bump in the road then there's probably something wrong with the game balance and/or NPR AI.

John

I have come across an NPR but all that happened was I initiated communications, and every once in a while I see a ship fly by. I haven't found any of their planets yet so I can't attack them (I wouldn't want to anyway), and I figured there wasn't any real diplomacy since nothing diplomatic has happened. I did ask about what you can do with aliens and how to do it in the "Alien Contact!" thread but nobody ever responded.

[Hawkeye]

I have come across an NPR but all that happened was I initiated communications, and every once in a while I see a ship fly by. I haven't found any of their planets yet so I can't attack them (I wouldn't want to anyway), and I figured there wasn't any real diplomacy since nothing diplomatic has happened. I did ask about what you can do with aliens and how to do it in the "Alien Contact!" thread but nobody ever responded.

Well, no expert on diplomacy with aliens here, but a few points I gathered.

1. You should form a diplomatic team for any alien race you encounter, if you want to play peacefull. This will, over time, improve you standing with that race

2. Once your standing gets good enough, a couple of options (sharing geo and grav survey data, sharing research, sharing jumpship use,...) become possible (look at the diplo screen (Ctrl+F5). For some options to become possible you need very high postive ratings, which will take quite some time, even if you do nothing stupid, to lower them (like, putting a battlefleet in orbit over their homeworld, for example)

3. Best look at this post from Steve, where he explains how diplomacy from 4.1 on is working  viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1613&hilit=diplomacy#p14676

[Steve Walmsley]

Best look at this post from Steve, where he explains how diplomacy from 4.1 on is working  viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1613&hilit=diplomacy#p14676

Thanks for responding to this. I think I will add a few similar links to the tutorial thread to give people a heads-up on various rule sections

Steve

[Magnnus (OP)]

Best look at this post from Steve, where he explains how diplomacy from 4.1 on is working  viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1613&hilit=diplomacy#p14676

Thanks for responding to this. I think I will add a few similar links to the tutorial thread to give people a heads-up on various rule sections

Steve

I have actually read that already but I was wondering if there was any way to do anything active with the NPR rather than waiting 10 years for a number to go up. I was especially wondering this because there have been a number of versions between 4.1 and 4.77 and a lot could have been added.

I've run into both, but that happens once every 20 or 30 in my experience; not to mention that finding a system with either of these in it can happen just as easily if a computer tells the ship to go to that system or you do.

What I was trying to say is that, in my experience, the game slows way down after you encounter your first alien or two, because you're trying to manage the (potential/probable) war.  That might be because I tend to start conventional, so I'm operating at a tech disadvantage and am ultra-cautious to keep from having them follow me home, but by the same token if you're at a point where running into aliens is just a bump in the road then there's probably something wrong with the game balance and/or NPR AI.

John

This also made me curious because if meeting an NPR AI should slow the game down more I figured there was more I could do with them, but I guess he just meant war (which I would prefer to avoid).

[sloanjh]

What I was trying to say is that, in my experience, the game slows way down after you encounter your first alien or two, because you're trying to manage the (potential/probable) war.  That might be because I tend to start conventional, so I'm operating at a tech disadvantage and am ultra-cautious to keep from having them follow me home, but by the same token if you're at a point where running into aliens is just a bump in the road then there's probably something wrong with the game balance and/or NPR AI.

This also made me curious because if meeting an NPR AI should slow the game down more I figured there was more I could do with them, but I guess he just meant war (which I would prefer to avoid).

I was actually talking about role playing your strategy for dealing with the aliens, in case they want to go to war.  How does the population of Earth react to the fact we're not alone?  Are the jump points on the way to the aliens picketed with stealth pickets that can let your empire know if the aliens enter your space?  Do you have a forward-deployed fleet between you and them?  How careful are you being to not let them know the WP you're using....

By the time I get done managing my fleet to account for these possibilities, I'm spending most of my time on that rather than ordering survey ships around.

John

[Magnnus (OP)]

What I was trying to say is that, in my experience, the game slows way down after you encounter your first alien or two, because you're trying to manage the (potential/probable) war.  That might be because I tend to start conventional, so I'm operating at a tech disadvantage and am ultra-cautious to keep from having them follow me home, but by the same token if you're at a point where running into aliens is just a bump in the road then there's probably something wrong with the game balance and/or NPR AI.

This also made me curious because if meeting an NPR AI should slow the game down more I figured there was more I could do with them, but I guess he just meant war (which I would prefer to avoid).

I was actually talking about role playing your strategy for dealing with the aliens, in case they want to go to war.  How does the population of Earth react to the fact we're not alone?  Are the jump points on the way to the aliens picketed with stealth pickets that can let your empire know if the aliens enter your space?  Do you have a forward-deployed fleet between you and them?  How careful are you being to not let them know the WP you're using....

By the time I get done managing my fleet to account for these possibilities, I'm spending most of my time on that rather than ordering survey ships around.

John

Ehh... I guess I'm not really trying hard enough; I've mostly been waiting for something to do. Time to take initiative!

[mrwigggles]

Ehh... I guess I'm not really trying hard enough; I've mostly been waiting for something to do. Time to take initiative!

Come on, you play dwarf fortress, do stuff for the sake doing stuff because its cool. Do you really need to have a magma fall curtain all around the dining hall with platinum masterwork statues  in a structure cast from obsidian? No, buts its cool.

Right now I am smoothing a 4z 30x45 cistern, with a ring a floodgates at the bottom so I can dig into the bottom level without having to worry about the pressurized water incase I have to expand the water works (Never know when you need a drowning chamber, or a swimming aid teaching room or a waterfall). I am also thinking of placing statues down there as a good luck charm, bless the water with wealthy statues so that the water be blessed with wealth, with wells on every level of the apartment complex, with the kind own personal well, and three for the food prep, one for the brewers, one for the lonely tanner. There tons of fully smoothed channels at the very bottom of the map for all the plumbing.