ships in gravity wells

i think that when a fleet/ship jumps into a grav. well it should have to travel to the other jump point before it can jump on
6,783 views 18 replies
Reply #1 Top
I like that idea, but there must be a issue as it seems good, but wasn't implemented.
Reply #2 Top
Overwhelming support for this one means it will be tested out shortly and likely included in a future beta.
Reply #3 Top
But then on the other side if you want your fleets to get halfway across the system it'll take a lot longer then it does now...
Reply #4 Top
Yes, that is likely true. But it is far better than what is happening right now.

I really hope they make it so each gravity well has a very small location for each Phase Space Lane exits/entrances to other gravity wells.

By that, I mean that the Phase Space Lane starts at axis 0/0/0 of the point of origin gravity well and ends at 0/0/0 of the destination gravity well. Ships would need to get in line with that Phase Line in order to jump.
Reply #5 Top
The way it is now, a ship going from A to C has to stop at B

A - (must stop )B -- C

Maybe it could be changed that a ship that goes from A to C doesn't stop at B but goes around the gravity well.

A - (goes around)B -- C





Sometimes as my empire gets bigger I still send ships from the home planet to the front and it takes forever for them to get to the front lines because of the constant stops , re-angle, and re-entering of phase space.

A - (must stop )B - (must stop )C - (must stop ) D - (arrives at destination) E **takes forever**

Reply #6 Top
I think this will prove cumbersome :/
Reply #7 Top
I don't like the idea of skipping it.

Then how can you use the phase inhibitor?

I think there should be 'set points in which ships must travel to and from when phase jumping.

Because when a ship comes in from direction A, it is in a brilliant position already to phase jump to any other place, even if it is on the other side of the planet!

Using that picture up.

Ship comes from A, arrives at B. Moves to otherside of B then can reach C.

Otherwise we don't need these 'lines' of travel and might as well just have it free-for all! imo
Reply #8 Top
maby they could make it so if their is a phase space inhibiter it stops them from going aroud the planet and makes them stop to fight till the inhibiter is destroyed. if there is not one they just go right past it. unless it is your world or an allied world then you could go past it aneyways.
Reply #9 Top
You could always tie the space-lane to a structure.
So if you want to jump from planet A to planet B you need some phase-space-jump-startpoint-thingymabob to get the ship into phase-space. For each direction one structure.
This structure won't work for enemies (except perhaps for a PsyTech hacking-ability?), but they could construct such a structure near one of their own nearby planets to jump in your direction. That means you can only attack planets that are near your own ones. That would make sense. No weird hopping around in an enemy empire until you find a lesser defended planet.
Big ships could perhaps jump without any aiding structure (special ability: start jump together with all ships within certain radius?), but are still subject to restrictors.

Right now large distances are very easily covered. There are few strategic elements to the positions of planets.
Reply #10 Top

maby they could make it so if their is a phase space inhibiter it stops them from going aroud the planet and makes them stop to fight till the inhibiter is destroyed. if there is not one they just go right past it. unless it is your world or an allied world then you could go past it aneyways.


well i was mostly talking about my OWN ships , the inhibitor would have nothing to do with my own ships. and if the enemy tried to do the same thing the inhibitor would prevent them from doing so and they would have to stay and fight. making the inhibitor even more valuable.
Reply #11 Top
i think that when a fleet/ship jumps into a grav. well it should have to travel to the other jump point before it can jump on


Absolutely.

In my first testgame, I got the message of some inbound enemy vessles. I look at the system and see 3 or 4 enemy frigtes approaching.
No problem, I think, there are 3 gauss and 2 hanger defense platforms between the jumppoint they are going to appear and the one leading deeper into my territory.

Then, those bastardes just reentered hyperspace again, to happily move on into my territory. You can imagine my wtf expression.
Reply #12 Top
You could always tie the space-lane to a structure.


That would be very cool. Like in Babylon 5 isn't it where they have those things prebuilt?

Reply #13 Top
TBH The current system is fine tbh, changing it would make one thing better at the cost of ruining something else. If you want to blockade a system, the build an inhibiter (I think a Inhibitor Cap ship should be available for suns and when you are fleet chasing). Currently your waiting for antimatter to recharge for the next jump, and that means even medium distance trips take a while as it is, making that emergency run with your feel back home cos your under attack take even longer would be bad. As for Speeding it up, I don't think that's necessary, some delay is reasonable.
Reply #14 Top
Oh yeaah! The star place must be very important. Larger gravity well, it is a star after all.

But wait, its well is gonna be the whole system isn't it!

hehe

Anyway, being able to build in star place will make it an unbelievably awesome strategic location!
Reply #15 Top
the fastest ships in the game are fighters and they are not fast enough to engage enemy ships before they can jump again

i have even put ships at the in coming jump point and they were not fast enough to stop them

which means that you have to build huge defences on everything becouse the way it is now an enemy fleet can get in your back before you can even engage them

But wait, its well is gonna be the whole system isn't it!


it is true that the stars well is the whole system but it has a limited area of effect where it is the only thing that affects things

ie the earth has two moons the one we see and one that has a 70 year cycle

true the secound moon is temporary and will only orbit the earth 10 times

i hope i made my point on the stars well

Reply #16 Top
i just thought of this in the game there is tech that lets you jump further

which to me means that as in the above pic

when you first start the game to go from a to c you have to go through b

but with tech you should be able to go from a to c without going through b

and in either case you should still have to go through the grav. well to keep going to d
Reply #17 Top
In considering the topic covered here, there is definitely a weakness in the game with the way an opponent can completely circumvent logical defenses and the nature of the positioning of planets and the jump lanes. Implementing a jump-around or edge-jump sequence while a ship is 'passing through' would be excellent. Perhaps an advanced jump drive that can do the former at higher technology levels.

A big problem, as others have pointed out, is how the enemy can jump to the edge of your system, jump again to the system on the other side, then jump back, thereby bypassing any defenses you've put in place. I've been dealing with this by building respectable defenses by every lane -- but with high maintenance, this isn't always a viable option if you're waging a decent war. So my strategy has been to focus on strategically significant systems (choke points). But, until I get a phase jump inhibitor in place, these strategies are basically meaningless.

I'm not recommending changing the game mechanics too horribly, but having the option of some additional items would be very nice. I'm not the first to suggest these, but I feel these would contribute to diversifying the strategic and tactical options available to the player as well as providing different approaches during different phases of the game. I'm definitely seeing some nice mod options with features like this, too.

1. Ship-based phase jump inhibitor, or perhaps an early-game weapon (structure or vessel based) that delays jumping for a time.
2. Some ships cannot jump without structure(s) at start (and finish) (ie: Babylon 5)
3. Construction ships that can build structures in both star wells and planetary wells
Reply #18 Top
all i know is i find it verry anoying to have to stop at each one of my planets and phase jump again just to get to another one of my planets and haveing to cross each gravety whell would drive me mad.