First game questions

[barryvm]

Yep, now I'm going to have to play fair to win this one.

[Vacuity]

Alright, overall development isn't going too badly, but I've hit a stumbling block along the way: an AI superfortress covered by a shield generator, with a second fortress nearby also covered by a shield generator.  Although it's possible to approach and attack the superfortress without coming in range of the regular fortress, it doesn't tend to work too well.  For example Raid starships can't get in firing range of the superfortress and its forcefield generator without coming in range of the fortress as well.  There are too many AI Guardians and fleet ships for sending my bombers in solo to be a practical solution.  Is there a practical way through this other than throwing wave after wave of my own ships against it?

Ideally, I guess I'd like to draw the fleet ships and Guardians off the planet, so that sending my bombers in with a minimal escort would be practical.  Another option might be to expand elsewhere first and tech up to Mk III bombers with the knowledge gained.  I would then have the option to create Mk III & IV bombers which might have the hitting and staying power to chew through the shield and superfortress reasonably quickly.  I can deal with the fortress and shield once the superfortress is out the way.

I have another question related to one of my initial questions; does it make sense to use the ship design hacker on an ARS that you're intending to capture anyway?

[Diazo]

Superfortress? Ouch!

Anything not polycrystal is just going to die, especially with that second fortress there.

I took a quick glance at your opening post and don't see which bonus ship you got so I'm going to assume it does not have a polycrystal hull.

Two thoughts come to mind.

First, and this will only work if your entry wormhole is out of range of the fortresses, is dump your entire fleet in to make the AI ships release onto threat and chase you. This happens when the number of your ship in system outnumber the AI's ships significantly. You can destroy other Guard Posts also to reduce the number of ships the AI has so it will take fewer of your ships to make the ships release its ships onto threat. Clean up all the ships you can to reduce the number of AI ships in the system that will attack your bombers.

Second, or first if you can't get your other ships in, is to just send in waves of bombers. This will cripple your economy because bombers are expensive, but they also are high health units and so should take down a significant chunk of the force-field before dying.

Third (if the map allows it) is to just go around. That is going to be a tough system to take down no matter what you do.

There are a few other tricks that can be done, but they are highly dependent on system layout. Is a picture possible?


On the Ship Design-Hacker, you have to capture the ARS to make use of them. When you click on an uncaptured ARS (with scout in system), you will icons for 3 fleet ships in the bottom left (where the constructors are). The one on the left is what you will get when you capture the system. The purpose of the ship-design hacker is to allow you to choose one of the other two ships. The short version as follows:

Scout System With ARS
Select ARS, decide you want the middle or right ship.
Bring in the Ship Design-Hacker, wait while it hacks and defend it from the AI response. (The AI will spawn waves specifically targeting the hacker so bring along forces to defend it.)
Once the hacking completes, capture the system as normal.
Once the ARS is captured and under your control, select it and then you can select which of the 3 ships you want to unlock at your Space Dock.

D.

[Vacuity]

Alright...  Problem sort of solved.  I made a suicide run with my Raid Starships to kill the warp generator next to the Superfortress, under the shield generator.  A one way mission, to be sure, but it addressed my biggest concern about the system.

My bonus ship was the Spire Gravity Ripper which I've found... a bit useless...  Certainly not useful for going against entrenched fortresses.

Sadly, none of the entry wormholes is out of range of the superfortress: two of them are in range of both the fortress and the superfortress; one is on the edge of the fortresses range which means ships exiting the wormhole may or may not wander into range.

Going around seems to be the overall solution, but is this a risky neighbour to have next to a system I'm wanting to take and keep?The neighbouring planet to this one is desirable/necessary as a stepping post forward which also has an advanced fab on it.  I could take an alternative planet instead, but then I wouldn't get the advanced fab, and I'd have eliminated some warp gates that didn't need eliminating.

I believe I've followed your instructions for checking the ARS, but trying to click on the AI-held ARS yields nothing of interest.  I'd like to include a screenshot, but sadly Photobucket has changed since I last used it for posting screenshots.  Trying to upload pictures there results in an upload failed message.  Less than useful.  To be sure, I have a scout in system and try to left-click on the ARS.  The info popup about the object appears in the lower left of the screen, but there's no icons for fleet ships.

I presume I'm missing something...

Edit: And another question.  I'm trying to eliminate a Nuclear Eye that's in my path and I know I need to eliminate all the guard posts in order to do so, but... I've done that and the eye is still present saying there's one guard post keeping it alive?  I have a scout in the system, and all that's showing in the summary is a core shield, my golem, the eye, 3 asteroids, the warp gate and the command station.  What else do I need to kill here?

[barryvm]

Probably a cloaked guardpost: scout the obvious guardpost locations (near resources and near command center) with a scout starship or decloaker (scout starship is better because it is itself cloaked).
ALternative strategy: bring in reinforcements, fly around the system a bit and wait until you see ships appear out of nowhere, that's where the cloaked guardpost is.
Bring a scout starship near it to expose it and fire away with your fleet.

[Faulty Logic]

I presume I'm missing something...

You need to get a science lab of some type into the system to see the possible unlocks. ScienceIIs are best for this.

Once it's there, pause, select it, and click on the ARS tab.

[Vacuity]

Yes to both posters.  I should have had a little more patience in this case.  I took the system with the ARS and then spotted the ARS tab on the ARS's tab, so I figured that meant I had to have a science vessel under my control present to be able to view the options.

Then a little later I was investigating why there were so many cloaked ships in a system I thought I had neutered, and realised on the UI that using the mouseover popup on the right-hand summary of ships in-system actually detailed the types of ships that were cloaked, which included "AI Stealth Guard Post Mk II", so I think I'll have to go back to that system with the eye and take a closer look.  And maybe take a look at other systems I ahd neutered but which retained suspiciously high numbers of cloaked ships.

It's a useful thing to know about the UI.

[Diazo]

Oops, yes.

From my previous post, with corrections:

Get any Science Ship you own into the system. Any of the 4 will do, but Science II is recommended as it has more health then a Science I and does not provoke a response like the Ship Hacker or Knowledge Hacker.
Select your science ship, then select the ARS tab. The left ship is what you will capture from the ARS without ship hacking, if you want the middle or right ship you need to ship-hack.
Bring in the Ship Design-Hacker, wait while it hacks and defend it from the AI response. (The AI will spawn waves specifically targeting the hacker so bring along forces to defend it.)
Once the hacking completes, capture the system as normal.
Once the ARS is captured and under your control, select a science ship you own in the system (usually the ARS now that you have captured it) and then you can select which of the 3 ships you want to unlock at your Space Dock.

[Vacuity]

I seem to have spent most of today's gaming time on threat elimination/reduction as I have found the hybrids to be more than a slight pain in the rear.  It's been interesting and instructive, but I have to post and explain that I have discovered the joys of tractor beams.

Faced with a CPA, I split my main force into three main groups.  Two groups made of roughly half my main fleet, and a third "group" consisting of my black widow golem.  The threat got dumped into two neighbouring systems, one next to my homeworld, with half my fleet, one next to some of my advanced factories and fabs, where my golem was.  The threat next to my homeworld was dispatched summarily, the threat next to my golem?  Well, I sent the golem in and it captured a large chunk of the enemy forces in its tractor beams and started whittling them down, then I thought: wait a moment, I have turrets just through the gate I came in by, they can help!  So I pop the golem back through with the wormhole with lots of ships in tow.  I pop my view through myself, to discover that the ships the golem towed through are exploding on the minefield there.

Oh, yes?

Golem shuffles left.
Ships explode.
Golem shuffles right.
Ships explode.
Golem does the two-step over the minefield.
No more enemy ships.

That had me thumping my desk and laughing.  Beautiful stuff!

[keith.lamothe]

Golem shuffles left.
Ships explode.
Golem shuffles right.
Ships explode.
Golem does the two-step over the minefield.

It's the ElectricExplosive Slide!

[Vacuity]

Alright, so I'm a bit flummoxed by some of the Spire Craft... 
I get the point of Siege Towers, they're pretty straightforward.
I get the point of Ion Blasters, the short range is a bit of a bummer, but they're definitely useful.
I've learnt to use Attritioners; defending my own planets, and deliberately aggravating entire planets-worth of ships (though the latter should be used with care).
I understand the point of Martyrs, though I haven't actually used them yet; grab a bunch of hostile ships and drag them back into my defences.
Scouts make useful, though expensive, pickets.

The Shield Bearer and Ram both have obvious uses, but they're suicide jobs.  What do people actually use them for?

The Penetrator seems very useful, but... what for?  Against entrenched fortifications (i.e. forcefields and fortresses), bombers are vastly superior.  What else is there for them to shoot at other than leaving them in my home territories occasionally obliterating troublesome hybrids with a single shot?  Are they useful for things that aren't set up in my game?

The Implosions Artillery's the worst of the lot...  I want to like it, I really do.  But every time I've tried to use them, they've died in fairly short order for little apparent effect.  Obviously, they need to be used against high hit point targets, but what?  They barely outrange fortresses, which in turn shred them in moments if they stray within range.  With no armour, lots of ships getting bonuses against them and relatively low hit points for their investment, they tend to get shredded by fleet ships.  Unless you've managed to largely clear the planet of everything *but* the fortress they're a bit of a liability.  What else are they useful for?

The good news in my campaign is that I've managed to take out the shielded superfortress and fortress.  In retrospect, the biggest problem wasn't the superfortress itself, it was the Mk V shield protecting it.  Having got myself Mk III and IV bombers, I managed to take down the shield in one sortie, the superfortress in a second and I cleared the system with little further trouble with my third.  Good practice, as I'm guessing that AI's homeworld will be something similar.  "Fortress Baron" is no understatement.

[Faulty Logic]

The Shield Bearer and Ram both have obvious uses, but they're suicide jobs.  What do people actually use them for?

What you would expect: SBs are for huge engagements (exos, cpas, HWs) and just protecting stuff.

Rams are used to kill big stuff (golems, fortresses, motherships) and are most useful under cloak.
They also have forcefield immunity.

Implosions Artillery's

Are used for killing big stuff at range. The squish the moment the AI looks at them funny. Often, you want to cover them with a sheild bearer. These spirecraft are best on defence.

They allow you take out targets like AI Eyes directly, but are more useful against enemy massive ships (particularly the H/Ks).

The Penetrator seems very useful, but... what for?

Well, they're ff immune, making raids against protected data centers or co-processors trivial.
En masse, they can insta-kill enemy golems/H/Ks/forts.
And there are a couple of rather important AI structures under rather nasty forcefields in every game.

[Vacuity]

Thanks for the summaries Faulty Logic, my only confusion there is what you mean by "H/Ks".  H = Hybrids?  But they're not really "massive"...

OK, some more questions.

First topic; the Dyson Sphere.  If I free it, does it pose a risk to me in an indirect sense?
Firstly, is there a chance of it destroying AI-controlled structures on nearby planets that I wouldn't want destroyed?  There's an ARS two hops away that I haven't claimed yet and am quite interested in.  I'd like to know if I should free the Dyson Sphere first (providing a distraction in that area), or take the ARS first.
Secondly, will the dyson gatlings generate threat on neighbouring worlds they pay attention to?

As a side query, I have the Dyson Sphere set to a value of 2, so I suspect it may not be powerful enough for the first question to be an issue in this game and it may be more useful to me for the Mirror Mk V fab there, and use the 3,000 knowledge to unlock another Mk II turret which would help fortify the place against the hostile gatlings spawned.

The planet is strategically useless in terms of location and would probably require eliminating another two warp gates.  Would the Mirror fab be worth the guaranteed trouble?

Or, as it's in a dead-end and otherwise non-useful corner of the galaxy, might I be better off leaving it alone completely and avoiding the AIP increases?

Edit: Re-reading the wiki entry, it almost makes it sound useful to leave that system with the current status quo, as enemy reinforcements that might otherwise be going to more critical areas of the galaxy may be getting diverted there

The other line of query is regarding the AI Super Terminal.

Are there any particular advantages in using it sooner or later?  If I use it later, I have a larger force with which to defend it for longer (and thus reduce the AIP a few extra points), but are the forces spawned against me dependant on the initial AIP value when I started the hack?

And finally, are the hack responses to the knowledge hacker, ship design hacker and AI Super Terminal all related?  If I use the AI Super Terminal for as long as possible, will it make further use of the knowledge hacker suicidal or are the responses independent?

So many questions.  My apologies for that, but when each game takes so many hours, it's definitely faster to ask than to play and find out for myself.

[Bognor]

Golem shuffles left.
Ships explode.
Golem shuffles right.
Ships explode.
Golem does the two-step over the minefield.
No more enemy ships.

This surprises me.  I've tried doing that with Riot Control Starships, but it doesn't work; I'd assumed tractored units are automatically immune to mines.  Maybe it's different here because the ships are paralyzed?

Dyson sphere: Yep, what you said.  The Gatlings should easily take care of any threat they provoke.  They'll never destroy capturables such as Fabricators, ARS, or Ion Cannons, unless you've already captured those things and the Gatlings are hostile to you.

The three forms of hacking (Superterminal, knowledge, ship design) are indeed related in the manner you describe, and I believe all three are completely independent of AIP.  Your first ship design hack doesn't provoke much of a response if you haven't done any prior hacking, nor will it have a big effect on future hacking.  Subsequent ship design hacks each provoke a much bigger response than the one before.  There's probably no reason to knowledge hack in a game with a capturable Superterminal as Superterminal hacking is far more efficient than knowledge hacking.

I'd suggest Superterminal hacking later rather than sooner, just because you'll have a bigger fleet to hold off the response.  Also, I normally ride at or very close to the AIP floor for the first half of the game or so, so early Superterminal hacking would actually be detrimental as it raises the floor.

H/K = Hunter/Killer, a horror found in very strong exo-waves.

I wrote about some uses I've found for Spirecraft Implosion Artillery here.  I've found swarms of Spirecraft Rams useful for taking out core guard posts and other nasties on homeworlds, including the obligatory Fortress Mark III under dual Core Forcefields.

[LordSloth]

Bognor and Faulty Logic have pretty much said what needs saying.

Just want to reinforce the points on a few of my favorite ships.

Put Rams in standby so they do not suicide on the first valid target. Escort them with cloaker starships (one in front, one behind; or just one if you're only heading next door), get them next to the superfortress, pause, remove from standby, then issue attack order. The lowest level ram from the lowest level asteroid is a two-for-one bargain dealing 40 million damage each. Four rams will obliterate a superfortress.

If you're talking a game with superweapons or say, a golemite ai, they can also be used against cursed or widow golems to decent effect, I think. It's been a while.

Don't forget the 'ignores force field' part of being a ram, and most if not all melee ships. Overkill is still a valid strategy. Gravity effecting units, laser deflecting units can render raid starships ineffective.

You might also send them in under cloak to pop a raid engine, if the system is so heavily defended you don't expect a Penetrator to make it back out.

I love 'em, but I rarely keep spare Rams on hand.

Implosion Artillery kill everything in the same amount of time. If you don't have high mark bombers, they can help you tear down the superior AI forcefields and 'meatier' AI fortresses before a patrol catches up to you. For what it's worth, you can actually even take fighters into range of a fortress and have them live - the key is leading with the bombers so they saturate the targeting till they die. A bomber screen should help with your 'accidentally getting into range' problem, and then you just pull the artillery back and send in the bombers to finish the job.

A full stack of MK1 Implosion Artillery (8 in most cases) can take any unit down to 55% in 30 seconds, if I do my math correctly. In a minute, they'll take it down to 30%. In two minute that unit with be at 9% health.
For comparison's sake, four Implosion Artillery MK3 do 1% damage each shot, 1 second refire, leading to: 30% health remaining at 30 seconds, or 9% health at 1 minute. Mix and match the tiers, and I can't even pretend I know how to do the math for that. I'm sure I could come up at some crude, botched estimates by grossly simplifying.

Where the mk1 does a piddling 0.25% damage, the mk5 does a whopping 4% damage, and can take any ship down to 30% in 30 seconds. Considering how likely you are to be backing it up with your lower mark implosions, it can definitely be worthwile.

Advisory: Beware Sniper Guardians, Snipers, Sentinel Frigates, use Scout Starships or Counter-Sniper Turrets. Beware Zenith Bombards and curse the heavens. I'm not exactly confident that any Implosion Artillery will survive an infestation of Hybrid Hives w/o extreme paranoia and gravity ships, or eradicating most of the spawning facilities on the mkIVs