Heroic Corp (5.086+)

[Arkillion]

Hour 2: The evil Hybrids are everywhere, I haven't taked a single planet yet and only two nebulas completed. This is the slowest game I've ever played lol. With an extra 500 knowleadge I will be able to get bomber mark2, there's a couple of fortress nearby and they're always good against Hybrids, so here we go toward the third nebula. Dam, Neinzul Mourner, I hate that nebula >:O goodfully it's not that hard so I'll be able to focus on something else. Oh, a strong hybrid popped, good thing it's only at 1 or I would be doomed lol.

2:23:30: Only 5 prisons left,  I can't wait to get out of here lol. My hit-and-run tactics with Z Bombard are succesfull, 2/3 planets are cleared of hybrids, Ipmar will be an hard rock to break... 4..3..2..1.. Mission completed ! I get the neinzul fortress and cruiser + interceptor bay module, which don't seem really powerfull in my opinion. Alright champion level 16 and armed, bomber mark2 unlocked, I think I'll get another planet.

Grmmll another wave 2:34:00, can't they just leave me alone?! 160 ships, 1 zenith shadow frigate mixed with triangles, and more speed booster for me Now which planet I should take.. I'll go with Vuaos, nothing special except being really annoying and in the middle of everything, also mark IV.
While I make some raid starships to deal with that pesky alarm post on Kalnugin I decided to EMP Ipmar to try to clear off some of the 70 hybrids, Mark2 EMP sent! The mission is a complete victory, only 3 Hybrids are able to escape my wrath and my fleet is barely scratched.

Snap, the alarm is trigged and a whooping 26 ships are going for me =/. Now time to kill that planet. Ha during my attack the 600 threat attacked my Homeworld, they didn't stand a chance. Vuaos command station is detroyed, will need to clear the planet later, my whole fleet died on the attack =/

[Arkillion]

Here's the save, you should be able to have fun with the nearby hybrids.

[Diazo]

Okay. This test on 5.086

Something seems odd to me.

Load the save, power down the bombards so I don't have to wait 30 seconds for the first targetted shot and dump everything into Jibingfi.

Select bombards, right click hybrid, power them up and watch them obliterate the targeted hybrid.

Now, the weird part.

There are about 7 hybrids in the system and the very next thing to enter into range is another hybrid, but once their reload finishes the bombards all target fleet ships, they seem to like bombers for some reason.

Taking into account their attack multipliers, bombards should be preferring Hybrids anyway even without a right-click, they do twice as much damage to a hybrid as to a bomber or missile frigates. (The frigates seeming to be their second prefered target after bombers.)

The only thing I can think of is that the hybrid that the escort fleet of the hybrid I right click is inheriting the direct right-click I made on the hybrid somehow.

I was also wondering if the hybrid got the "do not auto-attack" flag AIP increasing structures did somehow, but the bombards are perfectly happy to shoot at a hybrid when it is the only thing in range without my intervention.

I'm thinking this needs a look from Keith and/or a mantis post, that is not the behavior I would expect.

D.

[Faulty Logic]

Corroboration: they ignore the hybrids after the first manual target.

 I would have expected this if focus fire was on, but it wasn't.

I have this problem in my games too (I just give an order queue with shift).

I suspect hybrid mind control.

[TechSY730]

It almost sounds like there is something weird going on that is making the preferred target reduce the targeting priority of the prioritized ship type.

Can someone test this for other ship types being prioritized?

[Faulty Logic]

I have tested this for other types, and it seems to be a hybrid-only problem.

[Hearteater]

I wonder if it has to do with modules or hybrid maturity.  Targeting a specific ship targets that ship specfically, then that ship type and mark, and lastly anything of that ship type in general.  But maybe hybrids are split into multiple hidden ship types to handle maturity.  Or maybe modules are throwing things off.

[Mánagarmr]

Paging Keith. Let's see how long it takes before he finds this

[keith.lamothe]

Oh, I've been following it, just not a lot to say right now

It's not hybrid maturity; that doesn't change the base object type or ship type, both of which are used by the preferred-target mechanism (i.e. object type = FighterIII, ship type = Fighter; so it will shoot the mkIII ones if it can, another mark of fighter if it can't, and then just whatever).

It does sound like something's up with it though.  It shouldn't be a module thing because those can't be targeted from far-zoom, but I suppose stranger things have happened.