Dyson Sphere/Advanced Factories

[Commander Killswitch]

Hello all,

I've just recently started playing and I'm kicking myself that this game sat in my Steam library for years before I fired it up. I'm really enjoying it.

I've got a game going with a Dyson Sphere. I liberated it, but there's an Advanced Factory in the system. Here's my questions:

1. Should I have hacked the advanced factory while the AI still controlled the system?
2. If I hack it now, will there be a hacking response from the denizens of the sphere? Currently neither I or the AI control the system.
3. I know the tooltip for the sphere mentions that it cannot be harmed by conventional weapons (or something to that degree), but it does not say it is indestructible. Is there a way to destroy it?
4. This is the second game in a row where the advanced factory has spawned in the system with the Dyson Sphere. Is there a greater likelihood for this to happen with the sphere enabled?
5. Could there be another advanced factory out there somewhere? I'm playing a 40 system map.

Thanks all!

[Toranth]

If you've already destroyed the AI Command Station, then it is too late to perform any hacking actions in that system, sorry.
If you build you own command station there, you will take control of the Advanced Factory.  You can then destroy your own Command Station to return the system to the Dyson Sphere, while retaining control of the Advanced Factory.  Of course, this will turn the Dyson Sphere hostile for at least one spawn cycle, so you'll need something present to defend your Factory...  In addition, you'll probably want to take and keep an adjacent system to give supply to the Dyson Sphere system, so you can build and maintain defenses there (turrets and forcefields, for example).
If you don't want to do that, then YES there will be another Advanced Factory out there somewhere.  There is always at least one Advanced Factory and one Advanced Starship Constructor for each AI (ie, 2 of each) somewhere in the galaxy.  So if you can find it, you can hack or capture that one instead.

You cannot kill the Dyson Sphere without also destroying the system and everything in it - and even then, only with one specific optional method enabled.  This would seem self-defeating for your purposes.

As for the spawning, I seem to remember that the Dyson Sphere is more likely to be co-located with some high-value building, but I don't think the Advanced Factory is more likely than any other high-value capturable.

[Nat]

For (1): that depends.  If the system is particularly hard to defend, hacking the Advanced Factory might be preferable to owning it.  If you can get supply to that system and follow Toranth's advice, the presence of the Sphere might make defending the Factory easier, since player-friendly Gatlings could help you against an AI incursion.  However, as Toranth cautions, you would temporarily need to defend the Factory from the Sphere's player-hostile Gatlings.  A Mobile Builder could help you here, as it would allow you to build fixed defenses in the system prior to constructing the command station.  However, you would need supply to the system for the Mobile Builder to be usable.

[openipka]

1) Yes. Hacker must work in a system where a AI Command Station still alive. So you cannot hack it after the AI-CS exploded.
    But you still be able to control the facility by building your own Command Station. In that case you need to protect it.
2) Sorry, but you cannot hack it.
    In general cases, hacking in a system where lies a Dyson Sphere won't cause any response from it. It will just send Gatlings to attack each sides (AI and you).
3) Unfortunately, no way to break it. Imagine you are going to confront  against a medium sun. By the way, there is no way to do harm to Devourer, either.

4) Seems not. It is said that the Dyson Golem will not spawn in the system that is too close to an AI Core Homeworld.

5) Yes. Every map contains 2 IV factories and constructors for each AI (so you can get four). Regardless of the size of the map.