This is So basic, Please don't laugh at this question!

[Bud Backer]

I am not getting the difference between Attack-Move and just Move. (Is there another type of move?)

For some reason this doesn't gel.

[Mánagarmr]

Move will keep moving regardless of what happens. They will not defend themselves and not attack anyone until they reach their destination.


Attack-Move will attack any enemies encountered on the route.

[Coppermantis]

Regular-move ships will indeed attack enemy units in range as they move. Attack-move ships stop to engage, and will auto-kite if that is enabled.

[tadrinth]

'Move' is kind of confusingly named because all ships will automatically attack enemy ships within their range unless you power them down.  So, a move command tells them to change their position, but since nearly all ships in AI war can shoot while moving at no penalty, they'll happily continue to shoot while they move to their new position. 

If you don't want them to shoot at things, you can power ships down with 'k'. 

Attack move is more like 'engage-move' or 'chase-move'. 

There's also free-roaming-defense move, or FRD, which I think defaults to v+right click.  That says 'kill all enemies in the system and any enemies that show up, and wait here whenever there aren't any enemies'.

You can also tell ships to group move with g+right click.  That tells all the ships to fly at the speed of the slowest ship, so they stick together in a big group.  Can be combined with most of the other move commands.

[Mánagarmr]

Oh welp, I meant they will not STOP to attack. Of course they'll shoot as they pass by. Sorry for the confusion.

[Bud Backer]

Thanks guys, that's awesome.

So move will fire in passing, while attack move will stop.

Why would I want them to stop? Would it not be advantageous to keep moving?

I guess what I'm asking is why pick one or there other, there has to be a reason to make the distinction.



Second part to this is:

I always use group move. Is there a reason not to? It seems to me that together the ships can support each other whereas if they move with different speeds they will separate and be more vulnerable.


Finally:

I am trying to use Cloaker starships more effectively. What I am having trouble with is when I give an order to attack, the whole group moves to where the individual ships are in range to fire, and the clockers run right to the target (I suppose because they don't have weapons, so zero range, so they get within knife-fighting distance!).

How do I prevent this?

(Hopefully my questions are getting less silly! )

[TheVampire100]

Yeah, there is a reason. First group move let's the selected units always move in the speed of the slowest ship aviable. And if you have some really slow ships you probably don't want o crouch through the syste, Another thing is that there might be targets where you have to be fast because they are a threat to your units. For example ion beams.

Also it is sometimes just wise to let a group of ships in the background because they have a different purpose and are not there to attack head on. For example artillery ship types.

Instead of targeing a unit directly, send your ships near the enemy. They will still fire automatically if they are in range and there are legal targets. OR don't use the cloaker starship and your attack force in the same group. If you press ctrl + 1 (2,3,...) you can create a control group and after that you can just press 1 and 2. Put your cloaker/support ships in one group, your attack force into another and alternate between them to click on proper targets.

[Bognor]

I always use group move. Is there a reason not to? It seems to me that together the ships can support each other whereas if they move with different speeds they will separate and be more vulnerable.

The answer will be clearer if you ever use fast short-ranged ships like Vampires or Cutlasses.  You want them to rush ahead of the fleetblob so they can take the enemies' first strike (they're cheap to replace) and then start inflicting damage as quickly as possible.

[Bud Backer]

I am only using the basic ships so I don't have Vampires or Cutlasses, yet. But I can see what you mean as raid starships are very fast and likely are wasted as part of a slow moving fleet. I have to shed the "build big fleet, go on attack" mentality that comes with having hundreds (eventually thousands) of ships.


Thanks for the suggestions to use control groups and not moving not to attack an enemy, but just move within range. Chances are good the clockers will remain with the fleet.

[Chthon]

Raid starships really aren't made for big fleet fights.  The damage they do in those style combats is minor compared to other ships, and you're right, they die easily.

Instead if you look at their damage bonuses, they do 4x damage to Ultra-Heavy and structural, as well as ignore force fields, and black hole machines.  These are the ships you send after special targets in a system after you draw off the main force.  Targets like problematic shields (have structural HP) and some guard posts or specials.

Fortresses may have Ultra-Heavy armor, but don't send Raid Starships after those.  The damage output on a Fortress can kill a Raid Starship pretty easily.  Bombers are better for those.

The absolute best targets though are those your normal forces can't reach, and don't do much damage in return, regardless of armor type.  Killing a Dire Guardian Lair on the other side of a Black Hole Generator, or assassinating a warp gate under a heavy shield.  These things are easily done with just a few Raid Starships, where it could eat an entire fleet otherwise.

In other words, your Raid Starships shouldn't be with your fleet ball.  They are special operatives in your army.

[x4000]

So move will fire in passing, while attack move will stop.

Why would I want them to stop? Would it not be advantageous to keep moving?

I guess what I'm asking is why pick one or there other, there has to be a reason to make the distinction.

This never really got answered.  "Stop" is not actually really quite accurate.  "Stay within range of targets I come into firing range of" is a better descriptor.  So if your ship kills the thing in passing, then fine, it just keeps going.  If the thing it is attacking doesn't move, then sure, it stops.  If the thing it is passing is itself headed somewhere else, however, then your ships will break off to engage.

Sometimes you want that to happen, sometimes not.  For instance, if the AI is sending in a huge mass of ships that are all splitting up like crazy, you might attack-move into the middle of them in order to have your guys split up and give chase (though honestly, if this is your own planet, Free Roaming Defender mode is VASTLY better for this purpose).

But let's say you are strafing a big blob of enemy ships and you want to get past them without having some of your ships stop and some not stop (different ships with different ranges, recall).  If you attack-move, then the ships that come into range will not only fire, they will stop.  The shorter-range ships won't fire if they are out of range, and will keep moving.  Worse, if some of the enemy ships break away, some of your ships that are within range of them will, too.

Well, I say "worse," but that actually could be perfect.  If you are attacking a cluster of enemy units that is not already mobile, and you are on an enemy planet, then FRD mode is a terrible idea -- really, FRD on enemy planets is basically "suicide mode" for your ships.   Anyway, sending in your ball of ships in attack-move mode against that cluster of guys can be a great way to not only attack the ball, but catch any stray enemy ships that break away by having your ships pursue them as needed.  This is another case where group-move is a really bad option, because you want to have your fast ships able to pursue the breakaway ships, while your slower ships are going to be firing from range anyway, so they don't really need to stay together.

Anyway, attack-move can also be a negative thing to use if you want to keep orderly ranks of ships.  Aka, let's say you want to have some certain ships of yours at one range, while others flank and draw away the enemy, and then a third group moves in.  If you want the ships to definitely completely listen to your orders and not stray around and exert a bit too much self-determination, then a regular move is definitely the order of the day.   Then once your basic trap is sprung on the enemy, doing an attack-move a short distance away to have your guys do cleanup and catch anyone who is escaping is kind of the perfect followup.


So really it is extremely contextual.  I don't really use group move because I use waypoints and staging areas instead, and that's just how I got used to playing (from far before there was group move).  But group move certainly is very useful.  Attack-move is what I use 80% of the time on enemy planets that I am actually attacking, while the other 20% of the time I'm doing more precise maneuvers that require just regular moves.  If I'm passing through an enemy planet and not intending to try to take the whole thing out, then it's definitely move 100% of the time.  If I'm on my own planet and there's no one around, move is just as good as anything else.  If I'm defending my own planet, then FRD.

Hope that helps.

[TheVampire100]

Very good explanation, I guess that clears it up for everyone.
I want to add that FRD is howver very useful if you want to clear up the rest of a planet you take (instead of letting them escape or click on every single one).

[x4000]

That's true -- if you have overwhelming force at an enemy planet AND the enemies are scattered rather than clustered, FRD works really well there, too.  That's basically a neutral planet at that point, not really an enemy one, because the enemy has been thoroughly broken and is basically just a minor presence.

[Bud Backer]

That's a fantastic explanation, Chris! Thank you. With a title alteration of the thread to Movement Modes Questions you could sticky it!

[x4000]

My pleasure!  And if someone with wiki access wants to just compile the various answers here into a coherent strategy tidbit, that actually would probably be the best thing for the most people to be able to find it.