Help - ships do not engage!

[Merry Jolkar]

I have no idea how planetary defenses work. I had some defensive ships stationed at my home planet, and when the AI attacked, my ships weren't
included in the combat - only the unprotected planet and the attacking ship! The game is less intuitive than Stars! I'm afraid the person that
has spent the most time experimenting with the game will become the de-facto winner - just because he understands the game interface best! How best to bring everyone up to speed?
Thank you!
Merry

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Merry Jolkar:
I'm afraid the person that
has spent the most time experimenting with the game will become the de-facto winner - just because he understands the game interface best! <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Correct.

Solution: You provided it.

A more specific breakdown of the specific symptoms your ships encountered would help suggest a solution.

[ January 02, 2003, 20:05: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Fyron]

Did your ships have engines?

[capnq]

Was this a simultaneous movement game, and did you order the defensive ships to intercept the attackers with the Attack (A) command?

The only way for the ships to have avoided being in the combat would be for them to have moved away from the planet's sector. Depending on how far apart the fleets started, in simultaneous it's possible for two fleets to "swap" sectors without engaging.

[Edit] Oh, another way for the ships to avoid combat is if the enemy attacked a different sector than the one the defenders were protecting. You didn't have another colony in the system with the same picture as your homeworld, did you?

[ January 03, 2003, 21:49: Message edited by: capnq ]

[Merry Jolkar]

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions. The problem I reported was conveyed to me from a player. I know that he did not send his ships to intercept, so I don't think the problem is due to the ships passing one another during mutual interception. I'll ask him to confirm that his ships have engines (!), and that they had supplies. Also, that the planet was actually the one he thought it was!

[Puke]

there is a movement replay that will let you see where ships were going during the turn, if you are playing a simultanious game. that will let you determine if the ships were all indeed in combat in the same sector, when you thought they were.