Player Management Aids (Save our Gaming Hours)

[Tampa_Gamer]

Just finished up another 50+ hour game, and just want to reiterate that a few minor items (which have all been repeated before in the master wish list thread) would greatly decrease wasted gaming time (gaming hours are hard to find and who wants to waste them with mindless clicking!):

(1) [RALLY POINTS] Almost every single strategy game (turn-based and real-time) contain these since they help reduce the number of repeated commands mid/late game (good examples - Space Empires V, GalCiv 2, etc.). Optimally, you would create these by right-clicking on a set point in space or an object (a/k/a fleet or planet) and then be offered an edit box to name them. Once created you should also be able to bring up a listbox of current rally points and edit them rename them, etc. (similar to the Fleets screen). Finally, you should be utilize the rally points when you (1) right-click a ship and give it a move order (the list of rally points should appear similar to the assign fleet interface), and (2) in the shipyard menu - where you should be able to tell a shipyard to direct all state ships to rally point X.

(2) [CHANGE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR OF CONSTRUCTION QUEUE - ADD TO TOP NOT BOTTOM] If a player is adding ships manually to the construction queue of spaceyard or planet, at least 90% of the time I will bet they want it constructed sooner than the 30+ freighters sitting in the queue. The default behaviour for when you purchase a ship manually should be to add it to the top of the queue, not bottom. The current default forces us to move it by clicking (up) past every existing ship to accomplish this - and again for each additional purchase. Alternatively, you could add a "move to the top" button - but I think that would be more difficult to program than just changing the default behavior.

(3) [GENERATE A MESSAGE IF CONSTRUCTION YARD IS STALLED FOR A PARTICULAR RESOURCE] Currently, there are no notifications of any stoppage. If you are lucky enough to realize something is stalled (for me I am lucky if I catch it in the first year, if at all), you then have to punch up the construction summary to see what resources the item needs, then you need to punch up the cargo amount of the construction yard to see if any amounts are 0/X reserved. Then you can scan out to see if any freighters are inbound with the material, then you can perhaps build an appropriate mine nearby if necessary. A lot of needlelss time could be avoided by simply generating a low level message to the player that the construction yard on XXXX is stalled due to a shortage of YYYYYY. If a player does not want to see those messages, it could be a toggle in the options screen along with the other message options.

[Tampa_Gamer]

sorry, duplicate post

[rogerbacon51]

I'd like to add one:
Make 'ships start automated' a member of the design class and not a global. In other words, let us decide it for each design we make. Yes, I'd like all of my mining ships an dexplorers to start automated but I want my destroyers and cruisers to start under my control. I think combining this with the rally point idea above would make it MUCH easier to form fleets, which I currently find difficult.

[MisterBenn]

I would really appreciate if the "Set Fleet" option from the Ships and Bases screen were also on the Build Order screen. When I perform a bulk purchase of ships I always have intention of allocating them to a single fleet, either reinforcing an existing fleet or creating a new one. I would love to set the fleet allocation from this screen as at the moment as soon as I have closed this dialogue, I go to the Ships and Bases screen, find these new ships in the list and then allocate their fleet. I would make constant use of this improvement!

[Jeeves]

(2) [CHANGE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR OF CONSTRUCTION QUEUE - ADD TO TOP NOT BOTTOM]

You are going to be a happy camper soon, a little bird told me.

Lonnie Courtney Clay

[Shark7]

In the spirit of rally points:

I'd like to see an option to set a fleet to defend a certain system, and not leave it to pursue. IE if the Earth Defense force is stationed to defend Earth, it shouldn't be going over to the Alpha Centauri system to chase down a pirate.

Don't get me wrong, the stances have helped, but I'd still like to see the home base assignment keep the fleet in that system at all times.