CPA ship shortage

[Vinraith]

Had a CPA just now, was going to be ~5500 ships. When it went from "wave" to "threat" it showed up as ~2500. Is that a bug, or just a bunch of free ships on unscouted worlds?

[x4000]

It's possibly a bug -- it's not a display thing, at any rate.

The main problem is that if it can't find enough ships to fill the order of the CPA, then it just fills what it can.  If it tells you that there will be a wave of 5k mark II ships, and there are only 2.5k mark II ships, then that's all it will send.  It should also send the 500 mark I ships that exist (for example, if that's the case), but I'm not sure that part is working.

As far as what to do when there are simply no more ships available for the AI to send: well, I'm open to suggestions.  It could send higher-level ships, or warp in new ships, or just do what it's doing.

Oh: and, it should try to break open barracks, which it doesn't currently do.

[Vinraith]

It definitely shouldn't have any trouble finding enough ships. Sounds like it's a bug to me, then, I'll post on mantis in a few.

[x4000]

Thanks!

[Vinraith]

OK, it's in, with before and after saves.

http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=1989

[x4000]

Oh, awesome -- that will be great for testing.  Thanks!

[TechSY730]

To answer your question about what to do about not enough ships to fill CPAs, the AI could find eligible ships and star-ships of other mk. lvls, but with proper scaling due to that. (Like if there is a 1.5:0.8 ratio of Mk. I to Mk. II in use for wave multipliers, then it should be willing to get 80 Mk. II ships of a certain type to fill he role of 150 Mk. I ships of that same type, and vice versa. If there are no other ships of that type, it should be willing to look for other types of ships, with proper relative scaling of course)

[Vinraith]

To answer your question about what to do about not enough ships to fill CPAs, the AI could find eligible ships and star-ships of other mk. lvls, but with proper scaling due to that. (Like if there is a 1.5:0.8 ratio of Mk. I to Mk. II in use for wave multipliers, then it should be willing to get 80 Mk. II ships of a certain type to fill he role of 150 Mk. I ships of that same type, and vice versa. If there are no other ships of that type, it should be willing to look for other types of ships, with proper relative scaling of course)

Yeah, though we might want to put a bit of a restriction on how high it can go mark-wise, especially based on difficulty. Maybe something like this:

When the CPA can't be filled with normal "freed" ships of the desirable mark:

1) Open barracks until either the CPA numbers are filled out or you run out of barracks.

2) Free an equivalent firepower of ships a mark higher than those desired until the CPA numbers are filled out or you run out of ships.

3) Warp in any necessary reinforcements to fill things out.

For higher difficulties you might allow it to plumb into higher mark ships beyond a single mark above that desired (I actually thought that was how this worked already). Maybe as much as 2 higher on diff 8 and as high as needed on 9 and 10, but keeping the scaling appropriate of course.

[Wingflier]

I didn't realize CPA attacks used units that actually exist in the game, I thought they just generated the necessary numbers out of thin air and attacked. So you mean to say that planets will actually be emptier after one of these?

[Vinraith]

I didn't realize CPA attacks used units that actually exist in the game, I thought they just generated the necessary numbers out of thin air and attacked. So you mean to say that planets will actually be emptier after one of these?

They always are. Frequently border worlds that have built up massively will be all but empty in the wake of a large CPA (800 ship systems dropping to ~200 ships is fairly common in my games). If you've got anything left, it's virtually always the best time to strike.

[Lancefighter]

800 ship systems? thats nothing..

I've got two planets next to me in excess of 3k units each >.>

[Vinraith]

800 ship systems? thats nothing..

I've got two planets next to me in excess of 3k units each >.>

Err, what? Border aggressions should have kicked in and swamped you a long time ago, planets in the current system can't sustain more than ~1000 ships before they start spilling into your systems, making barracks, spewing out carriers and so on.

Oh, or is this under 4.048 with the "stuck threat" glitch?

[superking]

yeah, I have experienced more than a few understrength CPAs in my days

I liked the suggestion somewhere above that it frees starships to make up the numbers when running short, sounds fun!

[Vinraith]

yeah, I have experienced more than a few understrength CPAs in my days

I liked the suggestion somewhere above that it frees starships to make up the numbers when running short, sounds fun!

I missed that, but it does sound like fun.

[TechSY730]

800 ship systems? thats nothing..

I've got two planets next to me in excess of 3k units each >.>

Err, what? Border aggressions should have kicked in and swamped you a long time ago, planets in the current system can't sustain more than ~1000 ships before they start spilling into your systems, making barracks, spewing out carriers and so on.

Oh, or is this under 4.048 with the "stuck threat" glitch?

If IIRC, higher level turtle type AIs get enough guard posts that 3000k ships is feasible without triggering border aggression. They don't call them turtles for nothing. . I could be completely wrong though.