Need help understanding a game mechanic?

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WonderMax13
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Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by WonderMax13 »

Hey guys, running the no build/no upgrade mod to keep it as streamlined and fast paced as possible, all is well, however I find whenever I reach an alliance or Affiliation treaty with another race they just stagnate. Prime example is the way the Ferengi just have a bunch of troop transports and a colony ship sitting at one of my starbases? They don't colonize, expand, explore, build starbases, nothing.

But if I break treaties and go neutral they all kick back into gear (which isn't what you want as Fed, you want peace) Is it something I'm doing/not doing?
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Spocks-cuddly-tribble
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by Spocks-cuddly-tribble »

WonderMax13 wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:48 amThey don't colonize, expand, explore, build starbases, nothing.
The BotF AI is very primitive and unfinished in many aspects. The same problem occurs if the AI is limited to the map range of a superior opponent and has no allies. We never found a solution to this sitting-duck AI issue. :sad:
I don't know how many bugs is too many but that point is reached somewhere before however many in BotF is.
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WonderMax13
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by WonderMax13 »

That's unfortunate, I get it to work sometimes, they've all expanded to the point where they can get around easier now, admittedly I've used cheats and have massive fleets and many systems but I funnel tons of credits to them to keep it interesting. One strange thing is though, none of them are building any dangerous ships? (I'm on turn 1370 and the game still runs great, especially with my hardware, turns still don't take a silly amount of time) like they're all stuck on destroyers/cruisers/scouts. Havent' seen a single D'Deridex/Vor'Cha/Galor.
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slickrcbd
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by slickrcbd »

I swear on Vanilla I lose more ships to orbital platforms than I do to enemy fleets. Especially strike cruisers and battleships.
Most of the danger of enemy fleets is that they attack my underdeveloped colonies that are still building basic structures and growing and haven't put in the orbitals needed.
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thunderchero
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by thunderchero »

slickrcbd wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 3:27 pm I swear on Vanilla I lose more ships to orbital platforms than I do to enemy fleets. Especially strike cruisers and battleships.
Most of the danger of enemy fleets is that they attack my underdeveloped colonies that are still building basic structures and growing and haven't put in the orbitals needed.
I never build orbital batteries, If I can't protect a system with my fleets I should not have that system. :wink:
I have better thing to use energy/population on.
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Deimos
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by Deimos »

I rarely build orbitals either, but keep the existing ones on minor race planets, as they usually build a ton mid-late game.
It's a shame the orbitals have no effect vs the alien ships, like the sphere/cube or that planet ripping crystal entity.
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slickrcbd
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Re: Need help understanding a game mechanic?

Post by slickrcbd »

I tend to neglect them, although I might build some if I'm fighting an empire on one side of my space and suddenly another empire declares war on me on the exact opposite side of my space when all my ships are on the other side of the galaxy (or at least my empire) and the computer can send fleets to attack my perimeter worlds with impunity.
In that case I'll try to buff up the perimeter worlds by building orbitals in order to make the enemy bleed for every system since I know I'm going to lose something until I can redeploy the fleet (or just send all the current production to the new front and stop reinforcing the current front).
One tactic if I see a fleet I know will take the system is to power up all the orbitals, and sell off all the other structures except energy, planetary shields, and orbitals, plus and any superfluous energy structures that aren't needed to man the orbitals.
Then when they attack the next turn they take some losses and have to pay to rush build food structures while suffering moral penalties as the population starves.

Other than that, I tend to neglect orbitals unless the planet is under threat and I need to buy time for my fleet to get into position to save them.
If I try to defend everywhere I wind up being too weak to defend anywhere so I need to concentrate my fleets.
It's not like there are fast, cheap expendable short-range ships with decent punch you can use for defense like modern missile corvettes (think the Osa class, or the Houbei ), with powerful but expensive medium and long range ships for offense. The closest are destroyers, which lack the punch to take on enemy capitals.

Actually, that would be an interesting idea for a mod. Make a "corvette". Fast, short range, take a scout hull, give it the hull of a Cardassian scout (or whoever has the toughest scout hull), Federation shields (or whoever has the strongest shields on their scout), reduce the sensor range to minimal instead of scout, and make it's energy weapons and torpedoes as strong as a battleship or dreadnough, but only the same number of mounts as a scout. Call it a corvette. I'm not sure how well it would fight against enemy capitals however, and for balance you'd have to make all the powerful but short-ranged ships at least medium range.
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