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Ship Chains: theory & practice

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  • Ship Chains: theory & practice

    Ship Chains: Theory & Practice

    We often refer to ship chains, but any detailed discussion was a while back, so I thought I'd start a discussion. Here's what I think I know.

    1. The critical setup is to have a series of ships one move apart. YMMV with ship type and availability of Magellan. One ship in port, next ship one move out, repeat as needed. Caravan/freight starts in or moves to the port, and is put to sleep. (Poor thing!) Ship moves to the location of the next ship. Wake up (activate) the sleepers, then put them back to sleep. Next ship moves, and the cargo moves with them. Repeat as needed, and one shipload of cargo can move an arbitrary distance in one turn. [I think Scouse Gits was the first to bring this to my attention.]

    2. Couple this with railroads, and "voila, le transporter beam" for one shipload of cargo.

    3. For some reason, until this week I never realized that for a fully-functional ship chain which can repeat this stunt every turn, you need double the number of ships (basically an outbound chain and a return chain). A single chain can deliver a shipload on alternate turns, pulsing out and pulsing back. The double chain is optimum for "2-continents" work.

    4. I have wondered about efficiency: can you deliver more cargo with a ship chain or with individual ships. The answer is that if sufficient cargo is available (an invasion, for example), then individual ships can deliver more shiploads than a ship chain can. Example:

    Case: 2 legs, 4 ships, all start in origin port, fully loaded, no return cargo.

    No chain: Turn1, move, T2, delivery (4 loads), T3, move, T4, reload, T5, move, T6, delivery (now 8 loads), T7, move, T8, reload, T9, move, T10, delivery (now 12 loads).

    Forming chain: T1, move, T2, delivery (4 loads), T3, move, T4, 2 ships reload, 2 wait at midpoint, T5, deliver load (5 total), now 1 load per turn, so at T10 you deliver the 10th load. -2 loads overall.

    5. That's theory. In practice, you simply won't have enough cargo on an ongoing basis to keep the holds filled. The advantage of the chain is for fast delivery and thus a better chance of meeting transient demand for a product. The optimum is probably a two-continents trading setup with ports and railroads at each end.

    6. Also in practice, it's likely that demand for your products will be scattered among multiple AI destinations, so perhaps the ship chain will go to a "distribution center" from which individual ships will serve local destinations...if I could ever in my life be quite that organized!

    -- Hermann
    "...your Caravel has killed a Spanish Man-o-War."

  • #2
    Great Post HtL - we shall comment later when the wine has cooled.
    _________________
    The SGs in Macon Villages
    "Our words are backed by empty wine bottles! - SG(2)
    "One of our Scouse Gits is missing." - -Jrabbit

    Comment


    • #3
      It seems to me that it depends on how well you can defend your ships since
      both methods deliver 1 load per turn on average (once the chain is set up).

      No chain: As described you would lose everything if those ships get found (all the ships and the caravans). If you stagger their movement so that they are not all at sea at the same time then you lose those extra deliveries gained while the ship chain was being created. You still lose the caravans if the ship is sunk . Using the convoy you only need to control that part of the ocean where it currently lies, so it doesn't require a huge presence - especially if you stack strong defenders with the
      transports rather than worrying about stopping every enemy unit from finding them.

      With chain: You never lose a caravan since they will never be on a ship mid-ocean (at the end of your turn) , but you have to defend the entire chain if you want it to stay effective. This requires a large navy or early dominance of the water.

      It also depends on whether you prefer to be getting a constant supply of cash and science or a big boost every few turns. I personally find it easier if the money is coming in steadily. But I guess that once the caravans are across the ocean there's no need to deliver them straight away anyway - could miss out on that science bonus if you do. A few turns of either and you could buy however large a navy you want though .
      "One day your life is going to flash before your eyes, make sure it is worth watching."

      Comment


      • #4
        Another point - since the difference in the methods is how long it takes to get them moving at full efficiency the time needed to build the caravans becomes important. Unless you happened to have 32 caravans grazing by the dock. A perfectionist is unlikely to have enough cities on one continent to make them in one turn and if your ICSer can afford to rush build that many why hasn't he won already. The ships for the chain can be moving into position while the caravans are being built.
        "One day your life is going to flash before your eyes, make sure it is worth watching."

        Comment


        • #5
          quote:

          Originally posted by Scouse Gits on 03-09-2001 03:44 PM
          Great Post HtL - we shall comment later when the wine has cooled.
          _________________
          The SGs in Macon Villages


          Thanks to Eurotunnel, no need to chain ships between Macon and Liverpool any longer (TGV all the way to London, then... what's the post-Thatcher name for British Rail?).

          Hermann
          What (the h*ll) does "voila le transporter beam" mean?

          EOL
          I would use my frigates and/or ironclads and rule the seas, rather than calculate the odds of survival for my transports. But, of course, taking chances can be part of the fun of the game.
          Aux bords mystérieux du monde occidental

          Comment


          • #6
            <<
            Hermann
            What (the h*ll) does "voila le transporter beam" mean?
            >>

            As you suspected, deliberate torture of the French language . . . and instant transport of cargo from one end of the world to another.
            "...your Caravel has killed a Spanish Man-o-War."

            Comment


            • #7
              quote:

              Originally posted by La Fayette on 03-12-2001 10:20 AM
              Hermann
              What (the h*ll) does "voila le transporter beam" mean?



              A U.S. science fiction television show (Star Trek) uses what it calls "transporter beams" to effectively teleport people and items from space ships to the surface of planets. It seems the objects are converted into energy, beamed (like a radio broadcast) to a particular place, then reassembled into physical form. They can also use this technology to "beam" people back to the ship.

              Comment


              • #8
                Hermann and Edward
                Et voilà!
                Merci beaucoup.
                ( I'm going to use that beam to get transported instantly to Liverpool next time a magnum of Macon Villages gets there).
                Aux bords mystérieux du monde occidental

                Comment


                • #9
                  Now La Fayette - are you calling us cheapskates? That was no magnum - it was (emphasis on was) an entire half case! Friday was one of our better nights ...

                  ------------------
                  Scouse Git[1]

                  "Staring at your screen in horror and disbelief when you open a saved game is one of the fun things of a succession game " - Hueij
                  "The Great Library must be built!"
                  "A short cut has to be challenging,
                  were it not so it would be 'the way'."
                  - Paul Craven
                  "Our words are backed by empty wine bottles! - SG(2)
                  "One of our Scouse Gits is missing." - -Jrabbit

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    quote:

                    Originally posted by Scouse Gits on 03-13-2001 08:07 AM
                    Now La Fayette - are you calling us cheapskates?


                    I wouldn't dare!
                    And I suppose that strong ICSers appreciate that new way of turning double black faces to light blue.
                    Aux bords mystérieux du monde occidental

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I spent Saturday in an alcoholic haze - and had no chance to lie in! Then in the evening it all started again for a friend's birthday. And I thought wine caravans improved money and science!
                      ----------
                      SG(2)
                      "Our words are backed by empty wine bottles! - SG(2)
                      "One of our Scouse Gits is missing." - -Jrabbit

                      Comment

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