4WheelSword
The original N-body Problem
- Pronouns
- It/She/They
Where can I get this?
Aurora 4X Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Jack Hansan
- Start date
Okay, question. What settings do you use to get passable passive sensors?
Define "passable"? Passive sensors are supposed to be a lot weaker than actives, as a balance against not screaming your location to the whole system.
I don't know, because my ship (kinda early, but not that much) is having a hard time tracking contacts that aren't almost literally on top of it.
So to rephrase, how is a sensor system supposed to be set up for a ship? I'm not sure what all the differences are in the create project menu are (mainly revolving around 'how can I get this thing to see stuff that isn't almost on top of it').
Sensors 101: Or how to not make your ship blind
Okay, first of all, I haven't played in ages, but I don't think sensors have changed much since then...
You've got your passive sensors and your active sensors. Passive sensors have only a single strength value, which is simply the size of the sensor times a multipiler determined by your tech level. Their detection range is directly proportional to both the strength of the sensor and the strength of the contact - that is, doubling the size of the sensor will double the range at which it picks up a strength 100 contact, and the same sensor will pick up a strength 200 contact from twice as far away as a strength 100 contact. The two types of passive sensors are thermal and EM, and they serve very different roles.
Thermal sensors are primarily for picking up engines. Engines put out a lot of heat, and the larger and faster a ship is, the easier it is to spot with thermal sensors. (You can also detect missile engines with thermal sensors, but they're so small that you usually won't until they're right on top of you.) They're important because they're the only way to detect enemy fleets if neither of you has your active sensors on.
EM sensors are primarily for picking up enemy active sensors. Any active sensor that's turned on has an EM signature that you can pick up - and these signatures are usually enormous compared to a ship's thermal signature. It's pretty easy for an EM sensor to pick up an active sensor from well outside that active sensor's range. Big active sensors have a larger EM signature, and high target-mass sensors also do - this means that your missile defense radar may go unnoticed, but your ship-detection system definitely won't. The problem, of course, is that enemies can and will simply turn their active sensors off when they don't want to be spotted.
Then there's the active sensors. These are critical, because most weapons can't shoot at anything you don't have active sensor coverage on. The base strength of an active sensor depends on its size, your active sensor tech, and also your EM sensor tech. This last one is important, because unlike most tech upgrades, it's completely free - it doesn't increase the size, cost, or EM signature of the sensor. (It's also kind of the main reason to research EM sensor tech - EM signatures tend to be so big that low-tech EM passives work fine.) You can also increase the range of your active sensors by increasing their resolution - this lets them see big ships farther away, but cripples their ability to see smaller objects. It also (as mentioned above) makes the sensor much easier to spot. You'll generally want at least two sensor resolutions in a fleet; resolution 1 to detect missiles and a higher resolution to pick up enemy ships.
Now, it's important to keep in mind that not every ship in a fleet needs these sensors! Your ships can all fire on each other's contacts just fine. It's common practice to have one or two ships in a fleet with big sensors and small backups or none at all on the rest.
In other news, we have taken our first casualty: an unarmed scout ship was maliciously attacked by aliens (after I told it to bumrush the hostile contact...) and destroyed. Our revenge strike is inbound, but what effectiveness it may have is unknown.
I found his tutorial very useful for things like this. it explains the basic things and methods and once you understand them its mostly a matter of upscaling your technology/ships.
Well, that was a tactical failure. We lost nothing but over a hundred missiles, but they only lost a few plates of armor and three times our missile expenditure. That planet probably had a PDC on it to sustain those kinds of fire rates (unless PD missiles fire faster than 'true' missile launches, but they still had missiles coming out almost every 20 seconds).
New plan: come back with a Missile Cruiser or two and 40-50k speed missiles and try to replicate the one time I slipped missiles past/in front of their missile screen.
...Well, that was wrong. Minutes after I posted this the enemy ran out of missiles and were left open to the FREEDOM and RETRIBUTION we were exporting.
Although, what do salvagers do, exactly? I vaguely remember somewhere saying they could salvage tech as well...
Janusi
Intermittent Author
- Location
- Wobble, Capital of Mars
Salvagers retrieve minerals and components from wrecks. When you drop those components off on a planet, you can dissassemble them for the chance at getting some progress in that tech or they're used to speed up the next ship you build if you already have that component.
AAR of the Breznev Encounter:
Scout ship of the Kirov class finds a system that has ~15 wrecks in it before detecting multiple neutral and a hostile contact. Wanting data on the first enemy I've seen, it is ordered to close the distance and promptly eats approximately a dozen guass rounds.
Retribution Force arrives, consisting of a pair of missile destroyers and a cruiser. Contacts lit up include a handful of 2400 ton Neutrals (with one wreck identified as one of them, indicating that the Neutrals are at war with the Hostiles) and a 14150 and 14500 ton Hostile contact over both of the habitable worlds in the system for a total of four enemy vessels.
Given my derping of missile design I start unloading Size 1 missiles at one group of hostiles in the hope of running down their AMMs. This takes a while, which in the meantime the other group... Stays over the other planet and does nothing.
Other than one incident where a salvo of a dozen missiles somehow slipped under the enemy radar and lit up one of the ships (and I think silenced the PD that was swatting down individual leakers), there is several hours of unloading missiles at the contacts and them being destroyed. Eventually, however, right as I turn my ships to leave, eight of my ASMs (10 damage warheads and 10.3k speed) hammer the enemy contact. Rejoicing, the Retribution Force turns back and proceeds to take apart the enemy ships, take up an orbit just inside of the planet moon and fires a single nuclear warhead at a Thermal 7 population contact. As well as shoot up twelve Size 24 (what kind of missiles are those, even?) with lasers. There are ground forces on the planet, but I'm leaving them alive to test our own ground forces and see how that kind of combat is resolved.
Scout ship of the Kirov class finds a system that has ~15 wrecks in it before detecting multiple neutral and a hostile contact. Wanting data on the first enemy I've seen, it is ordered to close the distance and promptly eats approximately a dozen guass rounds.
Retribution Force arrives, consisting of a pair of missile destroyers and a cruiser. Contacts lit up include a handful of 2400 ton Neutrals (with one wreck identified as one of them, indicating that the Neutrals are at war with the Hostiles) and a 14150 and 14500 ton Hostile contact over both of the habitable worlds in the system for a total of four enemy vessels.
Given my derping of missile design I start unloading Size 1 missiles at one group of hostiles in the hope of running down their AMMs. This takes a while, which in the meantime the other group... Stays over the other planet and does nothing.
Other than one incident where a salvo of a dozen missiles somehow slipped under the enemy radar and lit up one of the ships (and I think silenced the PD that was swatting down individual leakers), there is several hours of unloading missiles at the contacts and them being destroyed. Eventually, however, right as I turn my ships to leave, eight of my ASMs (10 damage warheads and 10.3k speed) hammer the enemy contact. Rejoicing, the Retribution Force turns back and proceeds to take apart the enemy ships, take up an orbit just inside of the planet moon and fires a single nuclear warhead at a Thermal 7 population contact. As well as shoot up twelve Size 24 (what kind of missiles are those, even?) with lasers. There are ground forces on the planet, but I'm leaving them alive to test our own ground forces and see how that kind of combat is resolved.
Shadows
Sacred Priestess of the Benevolent Dice Gods
- Location
- USS Civilian, DDG-214
- Pronouns
- She/Her
AAR of the Battle of Epsilon Eridani
Two Imperial scout-cruisers arrive at system's #3 jump point, due system south. Upon exit from the jump point, both are destroyed by hostile fire.
Two weeks later, a pair of Imperial Assault Dreadnoughts arrive, armed with extreme x-ray lasers and eight launchers carrying the Mark 32 72,000 km/s Shipkiller missile, carrying a 3-unit Tri-Cobalt warhead.
A month after that, sterilization of belligerent system was complete.
Two Imperial scout-cruisers arrive at system's #3 jump point, due system south. Upon exit from the jump point, both are destroyed by hostile fire.
Two weeks later, a pair of Imperial Assault Dreadnoughts arrive, armed with extreme x-ray lasers and eight launchers carrying the Mark 32 72,000 km/s Shipkiller missile, carrying a 3-unit Tri-Cobalt warhead.
A month after that, sterilization of belligerent system was complete.
*scratches head*
What do you need for marines again? For some reason it's not allowing me to build them.
What do you need for marines again? For some reason it's not allowing me to build them.
For when you want to capture a ship. Either research or you forgot to build the places to actually train GU
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No, I mean what do you need to be able to produce them so you can board enemy ships, as I want to try it since the only enemies I've found seem to like to stay right on orbit of their planets.
GU training on a planet with a GU training facility. if you cant select the option to train them, research them in logistics.
I can't find them in either place...
Aaand the neutral aliens decided to attack me. :/
Probably because they colonized a planet after I did.
This is a problem as they have passed through Sol multiple times. And are currently butchering a cargo convoy with what I assume are fighters or FACs.
Probably because they colonized a planet after I did.
This is a problem as they have passed through Sol multiple times. And are currently butchering a cargo convoy with what I assume are fighters or FACs.
What does it mean when it says a target is 'streaming atmosphere'?
You have breached the armour (and are now able to do internal damage; however, some armour might still remain).
This also confirms that you're not fighting against one of the spoiler races, precursors.
Edit: And not the swarm, either. They're leaking liquid.
Edit: And not the swarm, either. They're leaking liquid.
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Duzzit
CSC 1st Multiversal Fleet Commander
- Location
- London, UK
Ugh, long running game, have been smashing precursors, but am having issues of mineral shortages (well, Gallicite anyway) but I have begun to expand enough mining capacity to finally stop worrying about it, when suddenly...
I can't open the Economics window. Oh it's present, it's just an invisible tab. It's only for this one save as well, not for other games.
All other windows open fine, all commands work. Economics window is just invisible.
I can't open the Economics window. Oh it's present, it's just an invisible tab. It's only for this one save as well, not for other games.
All other windows open fine, all commands work. Economics window is just invisible.
4WheelSword
The original N-body Problem
- Pronouns
- It/She/They
SO, playing around with conventional instead of trans-newtonian civs (missile ships ahoy), I've run into a problem. Conventional missile engines have a research cost of 0, a research time of n/a, and can't be selected in the drop down in missile design.
Any advice?
EDIT: oh wait, jumping ahead 30 days got them to tick. nvm.
Edit 2: oh my god conventional missile engines are terrrible.
Any advice?
EDIT: oh wait, jumping ahead 30 days got them to tick. nvm.
Edit 2: oh my god conventional missile engines are terrrible.
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Try resetting the window positions.
Research and construction (and planetary positions) only advances every five days [1].
[1] Though you can change this in the game setup window; it's called Construction Period or something.
4WheelSword
The original N-body Problem
- Pronouns
- It/She/They
TIL you can't build anything like a warship without trans-newtonian technology. Look at this poor frigate:
Before you ask, no, I can't add Missile FC, Magazine space, or other weapons
It has 4 useless missiles in box launchers. Cool, huh.
Before you ask, no, I can't add Missile FC, Magazine space, or other weapons
It has 4 useless missiles in box launchers. Cool, huh.