Interface Poll: Engineer Autoassist Toggle

[Revenantus]

Autoassisting refers to the action of engineers automatically assisting spacedocks with construction. This reduces build times but increases the rate of resource consumption.

Would you prefer that the toggle be set per engineer, so you can choose which engineers will autoassist?

Would you prefer that the toggle be set per spacedock, so you can choose which spacedocks the engineers will autoassist?

Would you prefer that both options were available? (Note this isn't ideal as it creates a probably unacceptable level of complexity, hence it will only be added as a vote option if someone can make a really good case for it.)

I can add other options if people have further suggestions.

[liq3]

Engineer for sure. It'd be nice to have 2 II or III engis tele'ing around healing everyone up and such, that won't ever start sittin' around assisting a space dock.

[maritime]

While we are talking engineers... I would like an option (or maybe a set behavior) for the lvl 2 engineers to stay with a fleet when it is in "group" move mode...

Right now if I have a big fleet with a few engineers in it all selected as a combat group and I right click somewhere for them to go (usually an enemy!) the lvl 2 engineer teleports right there and dies immediately. Kind of lame. I use lvl 1 engineers to get around this, but they are slow!

[liq3]

While we are talking engineers... I would like an option (or maybe a set behavior) for the lvl 2 engineers to stay with a fleet when it is in "group" move mode...

Right now if I have a big fleet with a few engineers in it all selected as a combat group and I right click somewhere for them to go (usually an enemy!) the lvl 2 engineer teleports right there and dies immediately. Kind of lame. I use lvl 1 engineers to get around this, but they are slow!

I find the easiest way to get around this is tell the level 2 engis to go into FRD mode into some far off corner of the planet. They'll tele there, most likely avoiding any attention, and then when needed tele in to heal your units up.

[Huw]

I doubt the engineers are intended to accompany fleets in the first place, isn't there a mobile repair ship for that purpose?

As for the poll, with my MKII and MKIII engineers teleporting all over the place, I sometimes find it difficult to locate them and give them orders.  As such, my vote goes to setting it by spacedock.

[Echo35]

Definitely per Engineer. Also, would it be possible to be able to set the Engineers to only assist space docks? I've had a few instances where there were Engineers assisting a build queue, I went to build a turret or something nearby, and they left the space dock to build the turret and wouldn't come back until it was finished.

[Revenantus]

Definitely per Engineer. Also, would it be possible to be able to set the Engineers to only assist space docks? I've had a few instances where there were Engineers assisting a build queue, I went to build a turret or something nearby, and they left the space dock to build the turret and wouldn't come back until it was finished.

If you manually order an engineer to assist a space dock they will remain on task and won't assist with building or repairing.

[keith.lamothe]

I would prefer by-engineer.  I would generally vary the amount of extra building resource consumption by varying the number of "available" engineers.  Haven't had trouble selecting them with the icons on the right.

[Echo35]

Definitely per Engineer. Also, would it be possible to be able to set the Engineers to only assist space docks? I've had a few instances where there were Engineers assisting a build queue, I went to build a turret or something nearby, and they left the space dock to build the turret and wouldn't come back until it was finished.

If you manually order an engineer to assist a space dock they will remain on task and won't assist with building or repairing.

I have never had that happen. I'll build one space dock and an engineer assisting it, and then I'll build another engineer and the first one will break assisting the space dock and build the second engineer and won't go back until its done. For example, In my single player game, I have two space docks right next to each other. Both have an engineer assisting them. I decided I wanted another engineer assisting the bottom one, so I start building another Engineer. Both engineers (From the top and bottom space dock) break off, and assist the construction of the new engineer. When it is done, all three of them start assisting the nearest space dock, which happens to be the bottom one, so the top one is no longer being assisted and the bottom one is now taking more resources.

[Revenantus]

What version of the game are you playing?

On the most recent prereleases engineers that have been explicitly ordered to assist spacedocks will not leave to assist with construction. Under the current rules, an engineer will leave to assist with construction only if it is auto-assisting the dock and the structure to be built has fewer engineers already assisting it than the dock the engineer is attached to.

[liq3]

I doubt the engineers are intended to accompany fleets in the first place, isn't there a mobile repair ship for that purpose?

As for the poll, with my MKII and MKIII engineers teleporting all over the place, I sometimes find it difficult to locate them and give them orders.  As such, my vote goes to setting it by spacedock.

Two words: "Planet Summary".

[Huw]

It wasn't really meant to sound like that.  I just meant I'd find it easier to set by spacedock than by engineer.  But thanks for the help anyway!

[Echo35]

What version of the game are you playing?

On the most recent prereleases engineers that have been explicitly ordered to assist spacedocks will not leave to assist with construction. Under the current rules, an engineer will leave to assist with construction only if it is auto-assisting the dock and the structure to be built has fewer engineers already assisting it than the dock the engineer is attached to.

1.013, about to install the 1.014K and see what happens.

EDIT: Seems to be working since 1.014. Nevermind! I'm still in favor of the per engineer option though

[Revenantus]

I apologize, I forgot to check that you were on the pre-releases. Glad to hear it's working as you expect now.

[Admiral]

I voted "Toggle by Engineer," but I'd like both almost equally.

What I'd really like is a global setting rather than engineer or dock (anything that can be accelerated) based.

Either way, I think there should be a "global engineer autoassist disable" button (like the PAUSE ALL button, maybe a Control-click of it?) so if the resources get really negative you can slow things down easily...?

Of course, with the "Anti-Admiral patch" (parasite cap; I'm joking - hey, I had an Admiral patch some releases ago so I guess it all evens out in the end) there will be many fewer engineers on a team (at least, on one of my teams, where I usually cart around 40+ Engineer IIIs on offense and leave 8 on defense at every planet) so it is not that important one way or the other.