newb questions on design workshop

[PresidentMarcos]

Once, the enemy sent a whole bunch of Laser Synthemetal Fusion Gunships at me. Good thing I had a lot of Needlejets and AA defences! Personally, I like keeping a Needlejet interceptor, an Airborne Probe, and a SAM vehicle in the workshop at all times.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Googlie


I played one of these "revolving faction" games (SP) where I changed factions every 100 turns or so. My penultimate change was from the Hive to, I think, The Angels, around 2350 or so, and I left the Hive with some 15 choppers. and maybe 4 drop units.

Imagine my surprise when some 30 years later they attacked the Angels and I got swarmed with around fifty choppers - I was on 2 small continents with some 8 bases on each by then, and got chopped and dropped in one and lost all 8 bases.

Talk about a classic "jaw-drop"

G.

I just HAVE to play another revolving faction game ( I'll just have to clone myself to find the time)

[gwillybj]

I wonder sometimes if I got a special edition or something, so many things people say the AI doesn't do...
I regularly see the AI build various configurations of Copters with no input from me, and no alpha.txt edits.
Of course, it uses them about as well as it uses Conventional Missiles (Worm-Bombs), and usually beyond the "point of no return"
I guess if the Worms can't be hit any other way (like waiting for them to come in range of Empath Rovers or some such better-qualified unit), you crash your Copter into the boil, make mincemeat of them when the rotor blades go flying off, and fry the whole mess when the reactor blows.
And the only hero we have is Richard Baxton, aka Recon Rover Rick.

[Googlie]

Originally posted by BustaMike Ever seen the AI built a chopper? I have maybe once if at all.

I played one of these "revolving faction" games (SP) where I changed factions every 100 turns or so. My penultimate change was from the Hive to, I think, The Angels, around 2350 or so, and I left the Hive with some 15 choppers. and maybe 4 drop units.

Imagine my surprise when some 30 years later they attacked the Angels and I got swarmed with around fifty choppers - I was on 2 small continents with some 8 bases on each by then, and got chopped and dropped in one and lost all 8 bases.

Talk about a classic "jaw-drop"

G.

[BustaMike]

Automated terraforming is similarly silly as the AI's ...

What ever do you mean? It's good to build a farm/mine on an arid flat square right?

[Adalbertus]

From discussions on this board I got the impression that every bit of automation which is offered to you uses the same routines as the AI. AI knows the whereabout of every unit on planet (so it's futile trying to hide in fungus or build a unit with cloaking device in Single Player). If you order your units to attack enemies on their own, they'll also "see" hidden enemy units. Automated terraforming is similarly silly as the AI's ...

[BustaMike]

i presume it does the same for the AI players (in SP)

Well, kind of. It means they only design certain types of units in the first place. Ever seen the AI built a chopper? I have maybe once if at all.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by BustaMike


Sometimes this is awful. I always shut the autoprune and design units automatically features off because I freakin' hate it when the game "uprgrades" production all my copters to needlejets and says they're better.

i presume it does the same for the AI players (in SP)

[Flubber]

Originally posted by BustaMike


because I freakin' hate it when the game "uprgrades" production all my copters to needlejets and says they're better.

that computer


I turn off autodesign and autoprune Always and make my own units-- I give them my own names to distinguish them

I do keep old units around for a long time. My interior bases may be defended by a single 1-1-1 with no probe team accompanying although its more likely that it would be a 1-1-1 with nonlethal methods if I have a decent police rating.

[BustaMike]

Originally posted by Taz
The game automatically labled units obsolete when you have built a more advanced unit.

Sometimes this is awful. I always shut the autoprune and design units automatically features off because I freakin' hate it when the game "uprgrades" production all my copters to needlejets and says they're better.

[spartak]

Originally posted by Mongoose


This only occurs if you have the auto-prune flag set to 'on'.

I suppose you guessed how I have it set up then?

[Adalbertus]

TKG, I usually build quite a lot of different units. I'm at war most of the time unless the number of my submissives converges towards six. The AI simply loves suicidal wars. And I tend to leave at least an AAA, an ECM, and a Worm Guard in each of my bases. Just love it to be attacked by a conventional missile - and the missile loses (Silksteel + AAA + Aerospace + Sensor can do the job). Together a rover, a SAM noodle, a Chopper, and three generations of weapon and armour and two reactor designs it's already quite a lot.

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by Taz
The game automatically labled units obsolete when you have built a more advanced unit.

This only occurs if you have the auto-prune flag set to 'on'.

[Method]

Originally posted by Adalbertus
I'd still recommend using the "obsolete" button. If you delete the design, you're going to delete all existing units of this design. If you don't obsolete old units, you'll keep all the crap in the city build screen, which I enter more often than the unit workshop.IMHO, it's a good idea to see if you've got the money to upgrade the single 2-1-2 recon rover to 8-1-2 just to clean up the workshop.

as taz says the game usually obsoletes units for you. and i rarely retire designs. if there's something obsolete i'll just upgrade it. that way it's out of the base screen *and* the workshop.

however, usually don't have too many units designed anyways since i'm rarely at war. all i need is a rover, infantry (rarely used), a garrison or 2 (maybe 1 with AAA and 1 with ECM or something) a chopper and noodle and an interceptor. when it comes to crawlers and formers however, i tend to have about 30 designs of each

[spartak]

The game automatically labled units obsolete when you have built a more advanced unit.