Matrix Games Forums

If you make larger ships for the AI to build don't they have to pay more for those larger sizes and thus increase your income from the private sector?

I been experimenting with small, medium and large freight ships and maximizing all of them out to the size I have teched up in. So like at 400 size all my frighters are size 400 with same amount of stuff and cargo bays. The size increase is getting me more of the private sector money at their expense. I am no longer seeing them stockpile reserve cash like I used to. You do have to be careful with it because they can overbuy and have no cashflow or stockpile.

I can do this with mining ships and gas and mineral stations as well. Getting all the money from the private sector eventually.

So, I say it's logical. Long as you don't overdo it and leave them something to build more ships and upgrades with. [:)]

Also, the faster you can make them the more revenue they will make in a shorter amount of time. Distance being 2nd to speed.

See, you don't have to abuse diplomacy to break the game

But, diplomacy exploits yield a lot more money than the private sector. Like I said before I made 18 mil just from one race at the same time I was embargoing another race for the money and then asking the other race to lift the embargos. It's sad this game has so many exploits like that. I can hardly help myself not to use them. [:D]

What he should do on the freight ships is make a limit by size of what the ships can carry. WIthout limits set it's easy to do this on everything in the game that can build to a certain zize. It's like my destroyers are battleships when I deck them out to 400 or 600 size. Limit their sizes an adjust costs so that you can't make 100 battleships (capital) ships so early in the game.
Make is so you need to build the smaller ships. As it is once I get to battleships I rarely build anything else but them and crusiers with crusier being 100 pts less in size to lower maint costs. But, when you can exploit 18 mil out of a race you don't care about maint then.

I once had so many fleets out there I had to put the game on auto as I just didn't have time to mess with each one individually. Plus, the fact they all had doom rays. It was a massacre everywhere they went. That's the point where it gets to be just wasting time wasting time. Cause you ain't gonna lose and it's just mop up duty from that point on.

I took the Draht from 30 colonies down the less than 10 and he subverted and he was really the only power out there. I was giving away my lesser tech items to other races so they could compete with him for awhile. He's like cryin for sanctions and trades. too funny.[:D]

The game has much potential but needs a lot of work in the diplomacy area and the building of all things have caps on size (mines, starports small to large etc. etc.). Small ships 150, frigates size 230,destroyers 300, crusiers 400, capitals no less than 500 and up. Don't allow caps until you get to large size ships not that first one after contruction. That 1st one after construction should allow better reactors only if you have teched up to them and it should be the 3rd reactor or 4th one even for that tech. Now, don't say I can "stifle" myself and do it that way. I don't want to stifle myself I want it fixed. [:D]

ORIGINAL: aaatoysandmore

The game has much potential but needs a lot of work in the diplomacy area and the building of all things have caps on size (mines, starports small to large etc. etc.). Small ships 150, frigates size 230,destroyers 300, crusiers 400, capitals no less than 500 and up.

I say this with all due respect: You can take that idea of yours.... and shove it up your... you get the idea.

The AI doesn't build huge escorts, so why don't you act like that too? You want to ham[er yourself by limiting yourself, go right the hell ahead, don't insist on shackling everyone else too.

Leave my 4500-size dreadnaughts alone (This happens when you abuse resupply ships' ability to refuel themselves from cargo to pack them so cargo bays + 2 gas extractors + 1 docking bay = 20% of size and use only 1 fuel cell, freeing up space for something on the order of 80 Plasma Thunderbolts by size 3300--i.e. one level under max construction research--even if you went overboard on armour)

The great thing about this game is that you can play how you want to, as difficult as you want to. Sometimes I play with one military ship design, and other games I play with all the ship classes. If extreme difficulty is too easy, set other empires at tech 3 or higher while you start at pre-warp. I've never played a game where the options are so open ended, and that's probably why I keep playing it after all these years.

Yes, but in DW II restricting the sizes within the program will be the best way to go. [:'(]

What is the best way to go, depends on each individual player.

For instance, you want restrictions on everything because you love to try to break things. Others enjoy the lack of certain restrictions because it allows them to play the game they want to.

I do of course wish for better diplomacy and various other things that you have pointed out, but those are not really that important for me. I solve it by playing with house rules, and have no problem in avoiding broken stuff as I play. Of course, it would be better to not have to play with house rules, but it could also lead to a situation where it is "only one way to play the game".

Don't forget that if you put (Ultra) Long Range Scanners on your freighters you NEVER HAVE TO BUILD ANOTHER MONITORING STATION INSIDE YOUR TERRITORIAL PERIMETER EVER AGAIN. And the CIVVIES PAY FOR IT HAHAHAHAHA

On the other hand when you need pickets further out, stealth exploration boats in deep space are so much better than the monitoring stations the AI seems to love...

...I just discovered that the point defence guns don't count as the 1 weapon freighters are allowed. So you can pack them to the gills with PD guns and your civvies will happily buy them (note: I have not yet computed whether it's possible to make a Small Freighter with 4 cargo bays capable of taking a planet-killer hit (i.e. 30K+ shields) and still make it had at least 20 sublight cruise speed and 15 deg/sec turning, most likely not though it's doable with dreadnoughts I mean resupply ships. So you don't really need to pack too many PD unless you are worried about pirates.)