Matrix Games Forums

If I might ask some clarifying questions regarding the movement of resources, luxury goods, and whatnot:

1.) If these types of automated civilian ship movements are vulnerable to pirates, space monsters, and enemy empires, I can only hope/presume that we can employ naval forces for the purposes of classic "commerce protection", yes?

2.) If that is in fact the case, do these automated ship movements occur at regular times/intervals, thereby facilitating our ability to arrange military escorts for them?

3.) If the answer to #2 is also "yes", is there a function that will allow us to automate said escorts so that we don't have to manually assign them to civilian ships/convoys every time one sets out (from a colony, space port, etc.)?

ORIGINAL: elliotg

There are also other mechanisms to disrupt an empire's trade: imposing Trade Sanctions on them (no trade between your two empires), or even blockading their colonies, space ports or mining stations.

Oh joy! So we can prevent a colony, mining station, etc. from importing/exporting goods & resources? That's friggin' SWEET!

ORIGINAL: martok
If I might ask some clarifying questions regarding the movement of resources, luxury goods, and whatnot:

1.) If these types of automated civilian ship movements are vulnerable to pirates, space monsters, and enemy empires, I can only hope/presume that we can employ naval forces for the purposes of classic "commerce protection", yes?

2.) If that is in fact the case, do these automated ship movements occur at regular times/intervals, thereby facilitating our ability to arrange military escorts for them?

3.) If the answer to #2 is also "yes", is there a function that will allow us to automate said escorts so that we don't have to manually assign them to civilian ships/convoys every time one sets out (from a colony, space port, etc.)?

1. Yes, there are Patrol and Escort missions for military ships. You can assign a ship to patrol a mining station or other base - it will then keep an eye out for any nearby threats and engage them. Escort missions mean that the ship travels with a mining ship, freighter, etc and likewise fends off any threats.

2. You have no control over the movement of your civilian freighters, they move in response to requests for goods, etc.

Nearly all of the dangers to freighters are at the endpoints of a trip, either at the origin or the destination. It's very difficult to intercept a ship while it is enroute. So the best strategy is to patrol those endpoints, e.g. your mining stations, colonies and space ports.

But escorting does make sense for other ship types, like mobile mining ships that seek out resources at a wide range of locations.

3. If you automate some of your military ships they will assign their own patrol and escort missions. As long as you maintain a decent number of military ships, they should generally keep your facilities covered, at least from smaller threats like pirates and space monsters.

My personal style of play is to have a large pool of smaller automated military ships that I leave to patrol/escort most of my stuff. I then organize the rest of my military into fleets which I use for larger missions like taking out pirate bases, or engaging enemy empires.

The overall effect of this play-style is that things don't become onerous, but you're still in control - you can manually direct any of your automated military ships at any time. You're also notified of any attacks and can quickly respond with the nearest available military ship.

Thanks for your responses, Elliot. Much appreciated! You've answered my questions to my full satisfaction. [:)]


On a tangentially-related question: Are you a fan of the Honor Harrington books? I ask because the way you describe your play style sounds a little like how naval operations in the HH universe work. [;)]

ORIGINAL: martok
On a tangentially-related question: Are you a fan of the Honor Harrington books? I ask because the way you describe your play style sounds a little like how naval operations in the HH universe work. [;)]

I'll admit that I had to look that up on Wikipedia - I hadn't heard of them. But looks very interesting, I'll have to dig out some of those books.

Hi,

I found out about this game on The Adrenaline Vault. A nice suprise so early in this new year

I used to be a lurker here on the Matrix Games forums, but this thread has lured me in.

What caught my attention here was the whole supply lines talk.

The supply lines reminds me of an 'old' (2001) RTS/RTT space game called; Conquest: Frontier Wars.

Allthough that game is actually a real time tactics game where you control large fleets and use planets for base building it too used a supply line mechanic. Supplies where transported between sectors (which could contain several planets) and these supply routes could be intercepted, to bleed out the enemy forces. As these forces would run out weapons and fuel.

Are fleets affected in this game by supplies? For example can a fleet run out of fuel supplies or ammunition supplies? Or am I thinking to complex here.

I am really looking forward to seeing more videos of the gameplay. Kudos to the designer/developer, very unique. Is this a one man (Indy devver) effort? Would love to read a postmortem on how this was developed.

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton
Are fleets affected in this game by supplies? For example can a fleet run out of fuel supplies or ammunition supplies? Or am I thinking to complex here.

Yes, fleets (and all ships) need refuelling. When you're at war, having nearby refuelling locations is critical. Sustaining long-range operations requires some planning. There are mobile resupply ships that help with fleet refuelling. Some of the upcoming videos will go into more detail on this.

Is this a one man (Indy devver) effort?

Yep, pretty much. Although there's been a lot of great input from artists, Matrix staff and testers [:)]

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton

Hi,

" (2001) RTS/RTT space game called; Conquest: Frontier Wars."

Hey Captain,

I checked out Conquest and I am wondering why I gave it a pass back in 2001, maybe I was deployed or something. But I checked for someplace to buy, thinking it would be jewelcase ware, and it is still FULL PRICED! Damn Ubisoft.

[&o] [&o]

This game is looking amazing

ORIGINAL: lordxorn

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton

Hi,

" (2001) RTS/RTT space game called; Conquest: Frontier Wars."

Hey Captain,

I checked out Conquest and I am wondering why I gave it a pass back in 2001, maybe I was deployed or something. But I checked for someplace to buy, thinking it would be jewelcase ware, and it is still FULL PRICED! Damn Ubisoft.

Hey....Conquest is still one of the finest RTS i've ever played...still on my HD!

Cheers

ORIGINAL: elliotg

ORIGINAL: martok
On a tangentially-related question: Are you a fan of the Honor Harrington books? I ask because the way you describe your play style sounds a little like how naval operations in the HH universe work. [;)]

I'll admit that I had to look that up on Wikipedia - I hadn't heard of them. But looks very interesting, I'll have to dig out some of those books.

The first book in the series I bought was War of Honor in hardback. (On sale for <$5). In it is a CD of the previous books that you can read. IOW's I got the entire Honor Harrington series up to that point for $5.

Will this game be Digital D/L only?

Will there be a retail Hard copy put out?

JosEPh [:)]

ORIGINAL: elliotg

Yes, fleets (and all ships) need refuelling. When you're at war, having nearby refuelling locations is critical. Sustaining long-range operations requires some planning. There are mobile resupply ships that help with fleet refuelling. Some of the upcoming videos will go into more detail on this.

Asome, that will make for some very cool strategies.

ORIGINAL: elliotg
Yep, pretty much. Although there's been a lot of great input from artists, Matrix staff and testers [:)]

My hats of to you sir [&o]

ORIGINAL: lordxorn

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton

Hi,

" (2001) RTS/RTT space game called; Conquest: Frontier Wars."

Hey Captain,

I checked out Conquest and I am wondering why I gave it a pass back in 2001, maybe I was deployed or something. But I checked for someplace to buy, thinking it would be jewelcase ware, and it is still FULL PRICED! Damn Ubisoft.

No way... that's just criminal... Here in the Netherlands I know they released a ubi classic series or something several years ago. I bought my copy when the actual game came out in 2001.

Try eBay. I know I've seen versions on eBay.

ORIGINAL: Anguille

Hey....Conquest is still one of the finest RTS i've ever played...still on my HD!

True, I still play too

ORIGINAL: JosEPh_II
Will this game be Digital D/L only?

Will there be a retail Hard copy put out?

JosEPh [:)]

Matrix always provides both download and boxed copy as purchase options. Boxed copy is mailed to you.

As for in-store retail: possibly, we're still working that one out.

ORIGINAL: elliotg

ORIGINAL: martok
On a tangentially-related question: Are you a fan of the Honor Harrington books? I ask because the way you describe your play style sounds a little like how naval operations in the HH universe work. [;)]

I'll admit that I had to look that up on Wikipedia - I hadn't heard of them. But looks very interesting, I'll have to dig out some of those books.

Yeah, I definitely recommend the series, especially if you like (or are interested in) military science fiction at all. In many ways, it's very similar to the Horatio Hornblower series (notice how the protagonists in both series share the same initials?), only it's set in space.

I'd -- naturally enough -- suggest starting with the first book in the series (On Basilisk Station) to see whether or not you like it. If you do, odds are good you'll enjoy the rest of them as well. Good luck!


@Aurelian: I've been purchasing them all in hardcover since War of Honor as well, if only because I can't stand to wait now when there's a new release out on the shelves. [:D]

ORIGINAL: elliotg

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton
Are fleets affected in this game by supplies? For example can a fleet run out of fuel supplies or ammunition supplies? Or am I thinking to complex here.

Yes, fleets (and all ships) need refuelling. When you're at war, having nearby refuelling locations is critical. Sustaining long-range operations requires some planning. There are mobile resupply ships that help with fleet refuelling. Some of the upcoming videos will go into more detail on this.

Outstanding! So few space 4x games bother modeling logistics in any kind of detail, so this news makes me happy. Thanks elliot!

So, this game looks quite promising.&nbsp; Three questions.
&nbsp;
1st:&nbsp; Will there be any type of tactical combat involved?&nbsp; If so I would assume it is on a kind of scalable&nbsp;strategic/tactical map a la Sins of a Solar Empire?
&nbsp;
2nd:&nbsp; With such a large universe to play in, what are the types of opposition we are looking at as players?&nbsp; Pirates and Independent colonies have already been mentioned (do these actually do anything, or are they simply things to conquer or harvest for resources), as have "grand menaces" to borrow a term from sword of the stars.&nbsp; How many hostile empires are we looking at in a given galaxy (just a range would be nice... could it be hundreds?)?
&nbsp;
3rd:&nbsp; It was mentioned that resources are needed for colonial development and happiness, and that government types and racial characteristics are involved.&nbsp; Is it possible to have civil wars and/or rebellions?&nbsp; The reason I ask is that an addition of significant penalties for failing to keep your nation happy has always been a big thing for me, especially with the prospect of having to face elements of your own empire in combat.

ORIGINAL: lwarmonger
1st:  Will there be any type of tactical combat involved?  If so I would assume it is on a kind of scalable strategic/tactical map a la Sins of a Solar Empire?

Yes, there is full tactical ship-to-ship combat - you can fully control any of your military ships at any time and direct them individually if you wish. The map is the galaxy itself - you can zoom seamlessly from a single ship out to the entire galaxy. Tactical combat takes place in this single map (like all other game activities).

2nd:  With such a large universe to play in, what are the types of opposition we are looking at as players?  Pirates and Independent colonies have already been mentioned (do these actually do anything, or are they simply things to conquer or harvest for resources), as have "grand menaces" to borrow a term from sword of the stars.  How many hostile empires are we looking at in a given galaxy (just a range would be nice... could it be hundreds?)?

Pirates will actively attack your and other empires, and can become quite strong if you don't squash them. Independent colonies trade their resources with you and are often great targets for new colonies, because they have an existing population. Independent colonies can also become havens for pirates - they'll ambush your freighters as they trade resources at these colonies - giving a kind of 'wild west' feel to them.

The maximum number of proper empires (not pirate factions) in the game is 20. This is mainly so that each empire can have a distinct identifying color. And IMHO hundreds of empires just wasn't very fun (I tried it [:)]).

Some empires can become quite large, and some races are naturally quite aggressive. So you tend to naturally get grand menaces in the form of evil, all-conquering empires.

And there's also space monsters that can be a real pain - they can disrupt trade and prevent you from colonizing valuable planets. Some of them are quite strong, and need several ships to take them out.

3rd:  It was mentioned that resources are needed for colonial development and happiness, and that government types and racial characteristics are involved.  Is it possible to have civil wars and/or rebellions?  The reason I ask is that an addition of significant penalties for failing to keep your nation happy has always been a big thing for me, especially with the prospect of having to face elements of your own empire in combat.

Yes, civil wars and rebellions can occur. Colonies can decide to leave your empire, either becoming independent or switching to another empire. So keeping your colonies happy is important. Colony unrest is exacerbated when you are at war for long periods - war weariness can become a problem for some races and government types.

ORIGINAL: elliotg

Pirates will actively attack your and other empires, and can become quite strong if you don't squash them. Independent colonies trade their resources with you and are often great targets for new colonies, because they have an existing population. Independent colonies can also become havens for pirates - they'll ambush your freighters as they trade resources at these colonies - giving a kind of 'wild west' feel to them.

Apart from the mentioned above, can pirates spawn/grow into their own galactic empire if you leave them alone for too long?

I am really liking this living Galaxy game design here. The more I read, the more I want this game

ORIGINAL: Captain_Proton

ORIGINAL: elliotg

Pirates will actively attack your and other empires, and can become quite strong if you don't squash them. Independent colonies trade their resources with you and are often great targets for new colonies, because they have an existing population. Independent colonies can also become havens for pirates - they'll ambush your freighters as they trade resources at these colonies - giving a kind of 'wild west' feel to them.

Apart from the mentioned above, can pirates spawn/grow into their own galactic empire if you leave them alone for too long?

I am really liking this living Galaxy game design here. The more I read, the more I want this game

Pirates don't own colonies, so no, they don't become a proper empire. But the more successful attacks they have, the more ships they obtain. They can also upgrade their ships and bases, getting some fairly advanced tech.

You can choose to make deals with pirates if you wish. You can buy a variety of secret info from them. You can pay them to not attack you. You can also pay them to attack other empires - but secretly, so that you're not blamed for the attacks.