How do I detect stealth armor?

[Kimball]

How do I detect a ship with stealth armor III? Do I need tachyon sensors AND hyper-optics? What level of each do I need to detect stealth armor III? Thank you.

[Baal]

I believe that all that you need is Tachyon Sensor I OR Hyper-Optics I to detect Stealth Armor III, since all the Stealth Armors are level 2 cloaking.

[Kimball]

Baal, you are correct. I ran a simulation with Stealth armor all you need is Hyper Optics or tachyon sensors. It appear that is true with a cloaking device as well, just one or the other of the appropriate level.

The cloaking device blocks em passive, em active, temporal, gravitic and psychic scans. If all it takes is hyper optics or tachyon sensors to see a cloaked ship, what good are the other cloaking methods?

[PsychoTechFreak]

Right, you just need to research ONE sensor type if you have the original setup (cloaking not modded). I don't recommend to research Tachyon Sensors, they are very expensive. The cheapest to research sensor is Hyper Optics. See also:
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/ubb/Forum23/HTML/002391.html

[Baal]

I think MM might have pondered the use of cloaks that have varying levels of cloaking for different things (Passive, Temporal, Active, etc.).

I was pondering it myself but I do not know how to make a cloak that cloaks different levels for different sensors.

[Dracus]

I think You can edit the components.txt and add different types of cloaks.
I.e.
Name := Cloaking Device I
Description := Field generated around a starship which passes all energy around the ship. This field has the effect of rendering the ship invisible.
Pic Num := 38
Tonnage Space Taken := 40
Tonnage Structure := 40
Cost Minerals := 1000
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 500
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat
Supply Amount Used := 100
Restrictions := None
General Group := Shields
Family := 26
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Cloaking
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Number of Abilities := 5
Ability 1 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 1 Descr := Prevents level 1 Active EM scans.
Ability 1 Val 1 := EM Active
Ability 1 Val 2 := 2
Ability 2 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 2 Descr := Prevents level 1 Passive EM scans.
Ability 2 Val 1 := EM Passive
Ability 2 Val 2 := 2
Ability 3 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 3 Descr := Prevents level 1 Psychic scans.
Ability 3 Val 1 := Psychic
Ability 3 Val 2 := 2
Ability 4 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 4 Descr := Prevents level 1 Gravitic scans.
Ability 4 Val 1 := Gravitic
Ability 4 Val 2 := 2
Ability 5 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 5 Descr := Prevents level 1 Temporal scans.
Ability 5 Val 1 := Temporal
Ability 5 Val 2 := 2
Weapon Type := None

Remove the ability and in theory to allow that type of scan, increase val 2 and you should be able to make cloaks that can not be detected at all.

Name := Cloaking Device I
Description := Field generated around a starship which passes all energy around the ship. This field has the effect of rendering the ship invisible.
Pic Num := 38
Tonnage Space Taken := 40
Tonnage Structure := 40
Cost Minerals := 1000
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 500
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat
Supply Amount Used := 100
Restrictions := None
General Group := Shields
Family := 26
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 1
Tech Area Req 1 := Cloaking
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Number of Abilities := 4
Ability 1 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 1 Descr := Prevents level 1 Active EM scans.
Ability 1 Val 1 := EM Active
Ability 1 Val 2 := 2
Ability 2 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 2 Descr := Prevents level 1 Passive EM scans.
Ability 2 Val 1 := EM Passive
Ability 2 Val 2 := 2
Ability 3 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 3 Descr := Prevents level 6 Psychic scans.
Ability 3 Val 1 := Psychic
Ability 3 Val 2 := 6
Ability 4 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 4 Descr := Prevents level 1 Gravitic scans.
Ability 4 Val 1 := Gravitic
Ability 4 Val 2 := 2
Weapon Type := None

I removed the temporal totally and increased the EM passive to level 6. So in theory, temporal can see the ship no matter what and Psychic can not unless you add a level 7 tech to psychic in the tech tree. Oh course this still needs to be tested ingame before I can be sure.

Hmm, I noticed the weapon type
Maybe I could even make a cloak that can cause some type of damage to other ships.


[This message has been edited by Dracus (edited 05 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Dracus (edited 05 May 2001).]

[disabled]

pthh! screw sensors. I use mines. It solves the threat of enemy ships being undectable for a good amount of time as long as yuo keep rotating and upgrade them mines.

------------------
--------------------
HADRIAN AVENTINE
snpacifica@yahoo.com
http://www.hyperionbase.com

[Dracus]

maybe a cloak that also sweeps mines. That way cloaked ships can pass through mine fields undetected. Then scanning Sats would be useful.

Don't know if this will work, can't test it until I get home. I am just using Cloaking Device I to play with these idea's, If they work then a couple of changes to the tech tree and these could be added.(just a thought)

Name := Cloaking Device I
Description := Field generated around a starship which passes all energy around the ship. This field has the effect
of rendering the ship invisible.
Pic Num := 38
Tonnage Space Taken := 40
Tonnage Structure := 40
Cost Minerals := 1000
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 500
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat
Supply Amount Used := 100
Restrictions := None
General Group := Shields
Family := 26
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 2
Tech Area Req 1 := Cloaking
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Tech Area Req 2 := Mines
Tech Level Req 2 := 1
Number of Abilities := 6
Ability 1 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 1 Descr := Prevents level 1 Active EM scans.
Ability 1 Val 1 := EM Active
Ability 1 Val 2 := 2
Ability 2 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 2 Descr := Prevents level 1 Passive EM scans.
Ability 2 Val 1 := EM Passive
Ability 2 Val 2 := 2
Ability 3 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 3 Descr := Prevents level 1 Psychic scans.
Ability 3 Val 1 := Psychic
Ability 3 Val 2 := 2
Ability 4 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 4 Descr := Prevents level 1 Gravitic scans.
Ability 4 Val 1 := Gravitic
Ability 4 Val 2 := 2
Ability 5 Type := Cloak Level
Ability 5 Descr := Prevents level 1 Temporal scans.
Ability 5 Val 1 := Temporal
Ability 5 Val 2 := 2
Ability 6 Type := Mine Sweeping
Ability 6 Descr := Can sweep 5 mine per use.
Ability 6 Val 1 := 5
Ability 6 Val 2 := 0
Weapon Type := None

A cloak that sweeps 5 mines.

(man I just went crazy. Ideas for new tech are hittting me like bricks. Armor that can absorb fire and then direct it back at you. Tons of hidden weopons. Maybe time to create a new mod, hmm, wonder if these will really work.)

[This message has been edited by Dracus (edited 06 May 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Dracus (edited 06 May 2001).]

[capnq]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> maybe a cloak that also sweeps mines. That way cloaked ships can pass through mine fields undetected.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>You'd still get a log message that the mines were swept, but you wouldn't be able to see where the ships went afterwards.

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Cap'n Q

[DirectorTsaarx]

We should lobby for MM to add a special tech that requires, say, Cloaking 3 and Mines 5 (or maybe expand tech to Cloaking 4 & Mines 6) to get a cloaking device designed to sneak through mine fields. For play balance, either make it really large so it seriously affects battle power, or make restrictions work & only allow it on small hulls (at which point the AI would have to figure out how to use it, of course...)

[Dracus]

I never get any Messages that my mine fields were sweeped. I only get the log message that I sweep the enemy minefield.

[Dracus]

I think you only get the log message if they lose a ship or the field is triggered. I just lost 80 mines to a fleet of sweepers And got no message. The only reason I knew they were there was the little triangle showed enemyships in my border.Sent in a fleet and and took out 6 mine sweepers. But now I have no mine field.

[capnq]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I never get any Messages that my mine fields were sweeped. I only get the log message that I sweep the enemy minefield.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I've been getting regular Event log Messages in one of my current games something along the lines "Minefield at System sector (x,y) triggered. Xi-Chung have lost 1 ship. 4 mines were swept."

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Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft