Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread: C# Edition

[Mayne]

The NPR will not run out of MSP since they don't suffer the same beam weapon failures that human players do.

I have added NPR weapon failures, but it might only be in the unreleased version.

It seems like it is in the current patch.  The NPR weapons firing slowly but surely fell to 0.

[Destragon]

Weird, I thought there were no NPR weapon failures in the game yet.
Here's a link to Steve saying that this was implemented for the upcoming 1.14/2.0 version:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12524.msg153041#msg153041

[Mayne]

Weird, I thought there were no NPR weapon failures in the game yet.
Here's a link to Steve saying that this was implemented for the upcoming 1. 14/2. 0 version:
hxxp: aurora2. pentarch. org/index. php?topic=12524. msg153041#msg153041

I can't say definitively, but I am not sure what else could explain what I observed then.  3 beamships bombarded my colony with fewer and fewer weapons until it was down to a single ship with a single weapon and even that eventually stopped.

[Froggiest1982]

The NPR will not run out of MSP since they don't suffer the same beam weapon failures that human players do.

I have added NPR weapon failures, but it might only be in the unreleased version.

Would you be willing to make it optional at game start?

[Vandermeer]

To add something to the illumination of this issue in question:

[...]However I think in C# the NPR is able to distinguish between military and commercial engines and target the former preferentially though I haven't seen this tested in practice.

[quote edit for pictures]


[/quote edit]
The setup was various different kinds of 7-9kt missile destroyers with the NPR faction vs 12x 7.5kt missile destroyers on mine (+2 beam defenders) and a large civilian armored freighter with CIWS on the other side of the engagement.
One might have expected the AI to prefer one or the other target, but though they seemed to somewhat prefer to shoot at the military targets (..maybe just because there were more though?..), there were always some salvos also shot at the freighter, which he then absorbed.
So in effect, the tactic is not a perfect shield anymore, but definitely a useful pressure release valve. That is if it happens every time like this. Though I doubt it, the AI might have also considered the freighter a threat due to it sitting on the jump point escape route in the back. That seems like rather advanced reasoning however, so I am not convinced. Active sensors on the very close freighter could also have something to do with it.
Anyway, one way or the other, civilian shields can still be put to use.

.

Another way to cheese the game is to make a large civilian ship with nothing but massive amounts of armor and just sail it in front of your combat vessels and let it cheaply tank all the damage for you.

[...]However I think in C# the NPR is able to distinguish between military and commercial engines and target the former preferentially though I haven't seen this tested in practice.

The AI does know to shoot a military ship before a civvie... IF both are in range.  The cheese-method is to make the missile sponge, sail it in front, let the AI waste all of it's missiles on it, THEN send the fleet in.

Warning:  against a planet, the AI "wasting all it's missiles" might take you an real-life day of clicking 5 second increments ;p

I have just come upon another good testing situation. Although there were no shots fired, I could see a fleet of beam AI ships chase a military ship (a fighter), but then immediately abandon mission and turn around once behind them 4 civilian crafts appeared.(large ones 2x150kt, 2x750kt)
Gif of situation:

Off-Topic: show

So they shifted priority to a civilian target. Arguably they might have shot it first as well, though that has not been proven here.
Curiously the whole fleet chased after them as well, while in the older example I had some ships shooting my military fleet while a few others shot the freighter. All were in range all the time.

Do with that information what you will.

[boolybooly]

Is there any way to SpaceMaster a planet temperature at the game start?

I want to something like the disaster Earth scenario only I want it to start with -40°C and then gradually return to terran normal. I tried to enter SM mode and edit the value but could not. Is there a wangle?

[Black]

I don't think that is possible, as the temperature is based on other factors, like distance from the star and atmosphere composition. Easiest way to emulate what you want is most likely to add Frigusium to the atmosphere. You can the gradually remove it in SM mode or with terraforming equipment to emulate restoration of ecosystem.

[boolybooly]

I don't think that is possible, as the temperature is based on other factors, like distance from the star and atmosphere composition. Easiest way to emulate what you want is most likely to add Frigusium to the atmosphere. You can the gradually remove it in SM mode or with terraforming equipment to emulate restoration of ecosystem.

Good idea thanks, I will give it a go.

[Rince Wind]

The diplomacy rating you see on the Intelligence screen is your empire's opinion of the aliens, not the other way around. You have no way of knowing your exact score with them, just that eventually they will start trading with you and so on.

Thank you! They can't send anyone to me, I doubt they found the dormant jump point I used yet, So they'll have to wait longer for any goodies.

[boolybooly]

OK - is this a bug?

I  created a start for a scenario I am working on and set conventional player start but with 100k research and 50k build points.

Once the game is generated the research points are available but the build points are not.

See screenshots, one shows the start settings including the build points. The other shows post generation ship class misc tab with build points zero (by activating SM to show instant which otherwise does not show), plus the edge of the research window behind it on the right with 95,000 points remaining, as expected after researching TN in case that was a sticking point.

Have I missed something or is that an edge case bug ?

[skoormit]

OK - is this a bug?

I  created a start for a scenario I am working on and set conventional player start but with 100k research and 50k build points.

Once the game is generated the research points are available but the build points are not.

See screenshots, one shows the start settings including the build points. The other shows post generation ship class misc tab with build points zero (by activating SM to show instant which otherwise does not show), plus the edge of the research window behind it on the right with 95,000 points remaining, as expected after researching TN in case that was a sticking point.

Have I missed something or is that an edge case bug ?

Have you designed a ship yet? Could be that the logic to calculate and display the build points requires (inadvertently) at least one design to exist.

[boolybooly]

OK - is this a bug?

I  created a start for a scenario I am working on and set conventional player start but with 100k research and 50k build points.

Once the game is generated the research points are available but the build points are not.

See screenshots, one shows the start settings including the build points. The other shows post generation ship class misc tab with build points zero (by activating SM to show instant which otherwise does not show), plus the edge of the research window behind it on the right with 95,000 points remaining, as expected after researching TN in case that was a sticking point.

Have I missed something or is that an edge case bug ?

Have you designed a ship yet? Could be that the logic to calculate and display the build points requires (inadvertently) at least one design to exist.

Thanks for replying. Yup, that screen is the misc tab of an unlocked station class design showing zero build points. Sorry had to edge it over to show the research points.

If I lock it it or add an engine (and research and update armor) and lock it or rename it "Ballad of The Bard" it makes no difference, it still gets "nul points"!

EDIT - I have tested a bit more and reported this as a bonafide bug in the appropriate sub forum.
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12961.msg159762#msg159762

[TMaekler]

In regards to "the AI prefers civilian targets over military ones": How about a "Target Queue"?

Maybe Steve can add some code to the AI that it doesn't switch around (immediately) to new targets, even if they are preferable according to the priority rules of the AI. As in real life any captain has to reevaluate his targets if new ones present themselves. However it highly depends upon several factors why the captain switches to more valuable targets (or doesn't switch). It is for example "stupid" if you chase after the biggest carrot when they come and go from vision. You just get none of them. So as long as there is no reason to disengage from an ongoing engagement to go after the more valuable civilian target, any captain would first finish the ongoing engagement and only thereafter go after the new targets. So he basically queues his targets... .

[nakorkren]

Just tried creating a geosurvey drone (missile) and separately a "that planet looks likely to be inhabited, I'd like to go poke it with something that doesn't have crew onboard" drone with passive and active sensors. However, when I try to use them, I can't figure out how to aim and fire them at a planet or other body. Best I can seem to do is create a waypoint, but the planet moves (and the waypoint doesn't) before the drone gets to the waypoint. Is there way to send a missile directly to a body, without having visibility of a target of interest (waypoint, ground force, or sensor signature)?

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I wasn't able to find it via search.

[Black]

Just tried creating a geosurvey drone (missile) and separately a "that planet looks likely to be inhabited, I'd like to go poke it with something that doesn't have crew onboard" drone with passive and active sensors. However, when I try to use them, I can't figure out how to aim and fire them at a planet or other body. Best I can seem to do is create a waypoint, but the planet moves (and the waypoint doesn't) before the drone gets to the waypoint. Is there way to send a missile directly to a body, without having visibility of a target of interest (waypoint, ground force, or sensor signature)?

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I wasn't able to find it via search.

If you create waypoint at the planet, it should stay attached to it and you can send missile to it. I use them in my current game and it works for me. I checked some systems I probed early in the game and the waypoints stick to the planets just fine.