relative numbers of ships

Distant Worlds is a vast, pausable real-time, 4X space strategy game which models a "living galaxy" with incredible options for replayability and customizability. Experience the full depth and detail of large turn-based strategy games, but with the simplicity and ease of real-time, and on the scale of a massively-multiplayer online game. Now greatly enhanced with the new Universe release, which includes all four previous releases as well as the new Universe expansion!

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buncheesy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:15 pm

relative numbers of ships

Post by buncheesy »

Howdy, new player here just reaching the stage in my first game where there more stuff going on than my head can fit in - playing default start with Humans on normal difficulty

I have 4 colonies. (made the mistake of trying to build a medium port on my second colony rather than a small first and its still building but that another story.)

I have
9 explorers - explored maybe 60% of the galaxy
8 construction ships - doesn't seem enough however they keep wandering off
6 escorts
15 frigates
8 destroyers - just designed my first one which was fun
1 capital ship - found it
1 troop carrier - not planning war for a while
skirmishers with pirates only.

1.Are these proportions about right? especially with regard construction ships?
2.How do I stop my construction ships wandering of to a gas giant 4 sectors away when there's plenty of unmined planets close by?
3.Do people design their own private vessels commonly - eg freighters.
4. what doe the option "automatic upgrade" do if you designed the ship yourself?

cheers and thanks in advance

PS any way to change my login name while keeping the same email address and registered user details? [;)]

buncheesy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:15 pm

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by buncheesy »

Question 4 is the most urgent to me

that is, what does setting upgrade to "automatic" for a ship you designed mean ie will it simply replacing exisitng balsters with the imporcved blasters or will it screw up the whole design?....and I really did make a mistake with my login name.

I am actually registered as "buncheesy"[:'(]
dostillevi
Posts: 323
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 11:31 am

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by dostillevi »

1. sounds about right
2. nothing you can do really. You could design them with extremely limited fuel reserves, or instead give your scouts very limited reserves. Your constructors won't build if they don't know what's there. Just remember some resources are more scarce than others and you might need that far away mine.
3. yes, for several reasons. the most basic upgrade improves speed and mobility. I design mine into specific roles, with fuel limited fast freighters hauling things around my core worlds while longer range freighters go out to remote mines and trade with other empires. Be sure to design your freighters with lots of fuel if you want them trading with other empires, so they can get there and back.
4. can't help here.. I play without automation. sorry. I do know that if you tell a design to upgrade, it will only make sure that all components are the "most recent" of that type of component. This may not always be what you want, and the automatic design won't add new components like proxy sensors or ECM, in my experience.
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loki100
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Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:38 pm
Location: Utlima Thule

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by loki100 »

ORIGINAL: letmein

4. what doe the option "automatic upgrade" do if you designed the ship yourself?

from observation it will replace like for like. So if you now have a better reactor or drive or version of a particular weapon system, then auto upgrade on a non-AI designed model will just deal with those issues.

Handy, but it does mean you need to pay a wee bit more attention to the ongoing upgrades of those designs
buncheesy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:15 pm

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by buncheesy »

thanks very much dostillevi and loki100 for the replies

dostillevi - I have always been totally OCD about micromanaging eg in CIV IV I would even manage build queues for the hammer carry over.

In this game I am trying and sit back a bit and let things happen (against my natural tendencies). However I like the tip about freighters.

cheers
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Icemania
Posts: 1847
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:14 am
Location: Australia

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by Icemania »

ORIGINAL: letmein
In this game I am trying and sit back a bit and let things happen (against my natural tendencies). However I like the tip about freighters.
cheers
Distant Worlds heavily rewards players who invest in manual play and reading around the forum for tips.
Canute0
Posts: 616
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:43 am
Location: Germany

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by Canute0 »

But if you want a bit challenging game, let the AI design all ships ! :-)
buncheesy
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:15 pm

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by buncheesy »

well I am a natural micromanager so I am taking over more and more of the automation. I can understand however why many would want to leave a lot of functions automated in this game - spent two nights (2-3hrs) designing ships, sorting fleets, queuing construction ship missions, shuffling characters. probably had the game running for oh maybe 15 minutes! I assume I will get a bit faster when I am fully familiar with ship design.

on that note, although I am hijacking my own thread:
Any body got advice about the different weapon systems you can research and which ones work well together?

I will have a search through the forums in the brief time I have before work.

edit: found a post about armour and weapons......a little complicated. Couldn't find a guide to weapons types. If I get the hang of this game maybe one thing to investigate....
Canute0
Posts: 616
Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2010 10:43 am
Location: Germany

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by Canute0 »

Any body got advice about the different weapon systems you can research and which ones work well together?

The only 2 systems who work well togehter are missiles and Assault pods, because missiles got a hard time to break through armor and then you can capture the other ship/base without big damage.

But for ships i wouldn't mix main-weapons systems, and the same for research. I concentrate allways at one weapontype so i get version. Other secondary i research later, Steal the tech or get them maybe from captured ships.
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CyclopsSlayer
Posts: 583
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:49 pm

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by CyclopsSlayer »

Personal favorite is the Energy Torpedo, although Missiles have a dear place as well due to their Standoff Range and punch. Both synergize well with Fighters. Missiles also unlock Point Defense systems, but those seem to be next to useless and even the AI hardly uses them.
The only weapon I develop along with them is sometimes the Bombardment line.

Haven't used the Gravitic line much yet, really should try them out.
ReadeB
Posts: 100
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 11:15 am

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by ReadeB »

Thought I read that Titan beams were the most "efficient" for damage/ship space. I do the same as Canute, I beeline for Titan beams and steal the rest.

Though I have found that lots of fighters/bombers roaming around my spaceport can turn pirates around even when they drop in in large groups.
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CyclopsSlayer
Posts: 583
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:49 pm

RE: relative numbers of ships

Post by CyclopsSlayer »

In response to the comment lost this morning...

The reason why I consider Point Defense 'useless' is simple... (Unless I completely misunderstand how combat and PD work)

At best case, Terminal PD does 8 damage at range 250 every half second.
A mid tech 'Advanced Fighter Interceptor' has 20 Shields and 100 Health.
Throw in that the Fighter has ECM/ECCM such that the best non-Racial ECCM equipped weapons have a -40% to hit.

So a endgame PD needs to hit a single fighter 3 times just to get through the shields. The ECM would make that 5 shots for those 3 hits. And that is only if they reliably target the same fighter, and ONLY that fighter until it is dead. 10 PD randomly shooting into a large Fighter swarm would be unlikely to kill 1 fighter more than every several shots.

Then you add in that Adv. Missile Bombers fire from almost 3x the range that PD can shoot back...


So, unless I completely misunderstand things, the space taken up by the PD banks would be better spent on adding a defensive fighter bay or something...
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