1/5 Casing Spaceship

[Flipantropo]

Hello, I have recently been playing lots of OCC Space games, and I find it curious that, in close races, the AI tends to delay Composites and launch the SS with just 1 Casing.
But what really intrigues me, is that they always succeed despite the 20% chance, whereas my 4/5 Casing ships (80% chance) fail quite often.

Then one day I launched a ship with just one Casing out of desperation (It was a guaranteed loss not to launch that turn), and it quite surprisingly made it, all 20 turns to Alpha Centauri.

So the question is: Is 20% some sort of magic number for spaceships? Is it secretly rigged so the AI can win Space Races more reliably?

 

[obsolete]

There is no rigging that I have seen, I think you are terribly confused. I have yet to ever see the AI with a missing casing.. NEVER EVER EVER have I seen this...

The only thing it will drop off on, is it does usually just one instead of both Big Engines. That tweak came in the last patch IIRC, because it would sit there and burn off 5 turns just to save 2 turns, ahah!

....

After thinking, just maybe you are playing some low level setting that causes this? Do you have a save just before it launches? This I have to see... or I wont believe it.

 

[Tatran]

I have yet to ever see the AI with a missing casing.. NEVER EVER EVER have I seen this...

It's very rare, but it happens.
I remember losing a game to an AI (Wang Kon iirc) with only 4 casings at the same arrival date.
From memory when more spaceships arrive at AC at the same date, in vanilla all players win.
Unfortunately, the situation with Korea was in BTS where there can be only one winner and I lost the toss.

 

[Flipantropo]

Emperor level OCC. The AI did this sometimes, they launched with 1 casing when I had already launched my SS, so it was their only chance to beat mine (which lacked some thrusters/engine).

 

[obsolete]

Well I don't know.. been doing a LOT of OCC immortal, and not once have I seen them launch in an attempt to beat me with missing casings... and yes, usually I don't even have all the engines and I'm sending it up in the air...

I'm trying to remember something though... if an enemy capital launches the space-ship, but then is razed, does the ship still arrive?

 

[Flipantropo]

I'm trying to remember something though... if an enemy capital launches the space-ship, but then is razed, does the ship still arrive?

I think yes, capturing a capital stops their spaceship, but I am not sure.

 

[obsolete]

So, we still don't know 100% yet.. ahah. I used to know all this stuff years ago like the back of my hand...

Ok, IIRC you get to KEEP your parts (if you haven't launched yet), but you have to re-build the Apollo if you lose the capital. This perhaps explains why you can keep building space-ship parts even AFTER you launched... Well not really, because you can only build the parts you failed to build on the ship that has already been launched.... Ahah, I consider this more a bug than anything but whatever...

Back to the original question... hopefully someone who knows FOR SURE can give a head's up on this. I don't want to find out the hard-way.... lol

 

[Tatran]

I don't want to find out the hard-way

When you are playing with permanent alliances on, keep an eye on the capital of your ally during a war.
If the their capital is captured/razed you can start the whole building space parts process again.
I don't think you can destroy a project unless a civ is completely eliminated.
If a capital is captured/razed after launch, the spaceship is destroyed.

 

[obsolete]

I don't think you can destroy a project unless a civ is completely eliminated.

That doesn't help me when 99.9% of the time I finish that.. Stasis Chamber (or whatever you call it). Either I have the tuffeset luck in the world, or the AI is specifically coded to wait until that last hammer is going into that project (the biggest part), then POOF.... some spy destroys the whole thing and I have to rebuild it back from scratch.... ahah!

 

[Pangaea]

Counter espionage can at least make it more expensive for them, although it won't prevent them from trying. Must be a kick in the shin when that happens. I'd probably be spitting flames

 

[TheMeInTeam]

So, we still don't know 100% yet.. ahah. I used to know all this stuff years ago like the back of my hand...

Ok, IIRC you get to KEEP your parts (if you haven't launched yet), but you have to re-build the Apollo if you lose the capital. This perhaps explains why you can keep building space-ship parts even AFTER you launched... Well not really, because you can only build the parts you failed to build on the ship that has already been launched.... Ahah, I consider this more a bug than anything but whatever...

Back to the original question... hopefully someone who knows FOR SURE can give a head's up on this. I don't want to find out the hard-way.... lol

Capturing the capital will 100% destroy a launched spaceship in BTS 3.19. In the past I've won a few games exactly that way, tac nuke --> take cap, even inland ones with paratroopers launched from a coastal city taken that turn if need be. I still remember a game I won as the 3rd nation to launch. So many unfortunate accidents.

I've never seen the AI launch short on casings, though sometimes one might be mislead because it'll do the launch animation before all the notifications of parts completed. I guess it might in theory launch early if guaranteed to lose in not doing so, but I haven't encountered that.

It's hard to build an engine in two turns so it makes sense to run a 12 turn ship in OCC, building 1 engine.

 

[Tatran]

Here's the thread from 2009 where Korea wins with only 4 casings.
Kossin couldn't be right about the last Korean SS part, because the SS Docking Bay was finished in January 1954, no launch.
In July 1954 and January 1955 also no launch by Korea. Finally in July 1955 Wang Kon lauches his spaceship.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=321102

 

[obsolete]

I'll take a look at that thread this evening...

For the record:

I don't think you can destroy a project unless a civ is completely eliminated.

Just this afternoon an AI destroyed my Cockpit which had been completed ~10 turns previously.

So... technically yes, the AI can and does destroy completed projects... at least quite a few of them. I thought they could do that, but wasn't sure since memory fails me I've been gone for so long.

 

[obsolete]

Ok, I read through that thread.

I think Kossin may be right, because it is the only thing that makes sense to me?
Even if you both launched on the same turn, I would imagine since you are listed AHEAD in the que for that year's turn-order... you would have priority?

I will keep a close eye on this from now on...

 

[Tatran]

With my comment about destroying projects I've meant the 3 main projects, Manhattan, Internet and Apollo.
The AI is certainly able to sabotage SS parts and yes, SS parts are projects too.