I have a question..

[Rathar]

Ok, my question is simple. How do you make ships in strategic comabt (or heck, in auto tactical) launch their drone cargo?

I've fiddled around with all kinds of ship and fleet settings but nothing so far.. (max range, drone attack, fighter attack ermm..)

PS, this wouldnt matter if I could fleet drones, sorta..

Looking to obliterate someone with a massed swarm attack and well, drones that pop in one by one and run out of supply isn't much of a swarm..

[EaX]

i don't use drones, i think i only used them 1 time, just to see what they were, but i think on strategic combat they're automatically lunch, i don't know tactical, i think it's like launching fighters.

[Rathar]

Well, you know how you can sort of watch your ships zip around in the little strategic window? Well, I never ever see my drones launched (unlike fighters, you see swarms of them pour out)in either auto tactical or strategic. Dunno.

Strat aborted, for now..

[EaX]

i was talking about combat, if what you want is to use gather many drones to attack someone like using ship, i don't think it's possible, but as i said, i don't really use drones so i'm not sure.

[douglas]

Well, first the ships need to have drone launchers. If they do and they're not launching at all, then I think it's a bug. If the problem is just that they're not launching enough of them at once, you need to increase the "Drones per target" setting in the launching tab of the strategy the ships use.

[luke_slovakian]

Remember in the new patch they fixed something and now "anti-planet drones" will not be launched so if so change that.

[Atrocities]

Drones serve a purpose for some players. Not all players, but some. They can be build quckly, are very powerful, and are deadly. Never underestimate a drone.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Plus, they don't cost maintenence, so you can stockpile during peacetime.

[Atrocities]

The only thing that makes drones worthless are PDC's. One Weapon Platform with a single PDC can protect your planet from a swarm of Drones.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Atrocities: I'll believe it when I see it.

[Ragnarok-X]

I like drones. Give them good engines, a lvl 3 warhead and armor and they surely overcome planetary defenses. Add stuff to increase defense and laugh at your pitiful enemy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Atrocities]

I have been playing with drones now for about a week. I have to say that they do have a purpose when employeed in ones overall strategy. I call it Drone Tactics.

[Rathar]

This is all fine and good but my drones still don't launch in strat or auto tactical.. Curious what I am doing wrong.
Anti ship drones with no warhead but 3 missile launchers. (trying to make a swarm of missiles to overcome silly amounts of PD)

[Suicide Junkie]

Are you using a modded drone launcher component or something?
Make sure you have combat launch ability points...

[Rathar]

straight se4 1.91 or whatever it is atm.

[geoschmo]

Well, all we can do unfortunatly is guess, and it sounds like none of our guesses are correct so far. If you can post a savegame for us to look at we might be able to come up with something. If it's a multiplayer game and you don't want your opponents taking a peek you could email it.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Does the drone have engines? Will a drone launch without engines?

[geoschmo]

Wait, no warheads you say? Do they have weapons of any sort? Is it possible the game is deliberatly not launching them because they have no weapons. Wave you tried drones with a weak direct fire weapon? This should cause the drones to approach the enemy close enough that it will attract some PDC fire.

[Rathar]

Large drones (180kt) 3 missile v's, 2 engines to give it speed 8 (high tech game)

Ive tried setting my drone carriers to drone attack, fighter attack, dont get hurt(accident..), maximum weapons range and optimum weapon range. The drone carriers themselves are well armed with big big guns, 12 drone launchers, space for 24 drones and all they ever do is run up and try to shoot stuff.

Ive put them in fleets, told both the individual ships and the fleet to do the same strats, diff strats, no dice heh.

What I am really asking is for anyone to succeed in making a drone carrier that launches drones in auto tactical or strategic and tell me what settings you had to set what to to make it happen.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Again, did you try adding a direct fire weapon or warhead?

[Rathar]

Ill try but I don't want to as the whole point is to launch as many missiles as possible http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif