When you go bankrupt

Gavin · #1 October 23rd, 2001, 07:20 PM

I tried that, bearclaw, and found I had to constantly keep monitoring 'the junkyard' for live ones. How did you manage the 'junkyard patrol' ? (constantly having to remember which sectors contain cripples and how many were in there)

I prefer ship capture or just plain destroying now, it's cleaner, I want a fun game, not a micromanagement nightmare that makes my day job look easy.

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'If there are gods, they do not care, and justice always goes to the strong. But know this - all that is done before the naked stars is remembered' - Klingon proverb, the Final Reflection.

Cheeze · #2 October 24th, 2001, 02:04 AM

I disagree with the abandon ship idea. There is such a thing in place already in the game (assuming it works) in the Self-Destruct Device. I've never used it, but that's a cost you have to consider...will I take up space with a device I probably won't use, or do I risk being stuck with a great deal of damaged ships I cannot scrap? If you decide to scrap ships, doesn't that work in time to counteract any automatic and random ship destruction?

Puke · #3 October 24th, 2001, 03:02 AM

thats not exactly the only purpose of the self destruct device.. imagine a foe with large boarding parties. do you waste 60 or so KT per ship with boarding defenses, or drop a SDD on there?

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"...the green, sticky spawn of the stars"
(with apologies to H.P.L.)

CW · #4 October 24th, 2001, 09:31 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Lynx:
I disagree with the abandon ship idea

It is plainly illogical to NOT have the option to abandon ship or cut off supply. If I can order my ships to do suicidal attacks why can't I simple NOT pay for things that I don't want any more? Your reasoning might be that the rule adds challenge to the game, but I strongly believe that most people hate rules that don't make any sense.

henk brouwer · #5 October 25th, 2001, 01:33 AM

quote:
Originally posted by CW:
[b] It is plainly illogical to NOT have the option to abandon ship or cut off supply.B]

what about the mothball option?

CW · #6 October 24th, 2001, 02:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by henk brouwer:
what about the mothball option?

You can't mothball a ship without a shipyard, and sometimes you just don't have one nearby.

Cheeze · #7 October 24th, 2001, 05:47 PM

Yes, the self-destruct device is there to deter boarding parties, but it does serve this other purpose. I don't entirely agree with the abandon ship option, since it makes it too easy for players to send ships as far from their own systems as possible, and then simply abandon them when they are out of supplies or usefulness. That would unbalance game play since it would not check the player who just continues to build and send ships out to attack constantly and doesn't mind their maintenance expenses. I would also say it's mostly unrealistic. From the perspective of a crew, why abandon a ship when there's no hope of being recovered? Sci-fi stories that do an "abandon ship" are either leaving a ship that's being destroyed or they engage some self-destruct device/sequence. In this sense, the AI is annoyingly on target...it's ships immediately return for resupply when they are low on supplies.

You don't want a ship any more or can't afford it? Then you can: destroy it (SDD or fire on it), mothball it, scrap it (both requiring a shipyard), or send it on a suicide mission. In any result, it requires at least some thought and planning on the player's part. Or you hope the computer decides to trash that one when you run out of resources to support your ships. This does put it out of your control, but it could be said that different ships have, or do not have, resources that keep them going where others, even inconveniently, must be scrapped.