Matrix Games Forums

I have a fleet of capital ships designed to destroy fortress structures like ports and bases.
I also have a fleet of cruisers designed to attack military ships.

However, when both these fleets attack a colony at the same time it just degenerates into a free for all. I have to keep pausing and instructing the capital ships to stick with the program and concentrate on the space port and defensive bases. Meanwhile the cruisers quite often attack defensive bases in suicide missions.

Is there a way to program these ships to concentrate on the target types I've designed them for?
- e.g. Capital Ships -> primary target = space ports -> secondary target = star bases

I've looked at the Empire Settings under Options, but they're too generic. The design screen has settings for dealing with stronger & weaker opponents, but that doesn't help either.

TIA

There isn't, at least not that I'm aware of.

I would suggest that if you want to do this kind of thing, you jump in the cruisers first somewhere away from significant defenses (say, jump to the star rather than to the colony), wait for the warships in the area to engage your cruisers, and then jump in the capital ships on top of the fixed defenses.

Though it is not possible as far as I am aware to program specific ship types to attack specific targets only you would probably use fleet postures (Page 71 of the manual)

I have not had a chance to test this but this is how you would do it I believe


- as you have done set up 2 fleets... 1 to attack the bases and the other fleet to attack fighters.

- With the fleet that is going to attack the bases Set Range for the target not sector and have it high enough that this fleet that will attack the base will go in to attack the bases starting from a more distant range.

- With the fleet attacking ships, once you intercept the fighters switch from attack to defend mode ... I believe they will defend themselves from being attacked by the enemy ships.

- With the fleet attacking ships you could also target the bases and use set range for target so that if they are really close to the base then it will attack the base. If you have a short range to attack the base and you also set the fleet to defence mode then I am sure it will attack the enemy fighters in defence mode while the first fleet goes in to attack the bases as they are usng a much bigger range to target.


- Another thing to look at is the standoff setting in the design screen where the ship will fire torpedoes at maximum range and try and keep at a safe distance. I think the way this works is that the ships drop out of warp at a greater distance and will move closer on thrust not warp speed while the other fleet is taking out the bases.

- Again - if your fleet of cruisers is attacking bases and being hammered go to defence mode long before they get within range of the bases and let them fight enemy ships in defence mode when they are attacked.




Refer item 4 in first post here with the rest of the post worth reading as well
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