On Spaceships

[mpescatori]

Hello all,

I've been cluttering my games with unwieldy spaceships...

I've read the handbook, leafed through it until the paper was wafer thin, but could not find any decent information nor advice on how to structure a proper spaceship.

So... if I recall correctly, there are three categories and some subcategories:
1) Structural
2) Navigation (or something like that) = motor/engine, fuel
3) Modules = living, life support, solar panel

My understanding is,
- Structurals must be the same number as the sum of all Navigation+all Modules;
- Navigation: there must be AT LEAST as many fuel as engine, i.e. always an even number;
- Modules: living, life support and solar panel modules should be the same numer amongst themselves, i.e. always a multiple of three.

This brings me to thinking the smallest possible ship should be 3 Modules + 2 Navigation = 5 Structural, but I have a feeling such a "pocketsize" ship would go nowhere.

So, the possibilities are:
Modules 1+1+1 = 3
Navigation 2+2 = 4
Structural ==== 7

Modules 2+2+2 = 6
Navigation 3+3 = 6
Structural ==== 12

Modules 3+3+3 = 9
Navigation 4+4 = 8
Structural ==== 17 ... and so on...

Then there is the issue of "Energy": I build my ship, and as I assemble the structurals and modules etc. my "energy levels" remain "0%"; then they suddenly climb to 66%, and rise until 84% +++

Question: How do I get "energy = 100%" ?

There is the issue of Flight time: in theory, a spaceship with a big engine and few colonists (i.e., Modules = 3, Navigation = 6, Structurals = 9) should have high speed but she'll actually still give me "success = 0%"...

So... who is the spaceship guru, please ???

Thanks

 

[Magic_gorter]

You should look at this thread. If I'm right there is a table with all 100% spaceships. You need at least 15 structurals. Otherwise you can't fly.

I copied the table:

Module	Component	Structurals	Travel time
Sets	Sets				in years
1	1		15		36.1
1	2		15		21.0
1	3		15		15.7
1	4		17		13.2
1	5		21		10.0
1	6		25		8.3
1	7		29		6.7
1	8		33		5.7
			
2	1		23		64.6
2	2		23		36.0
2	3		23		25.8
2	4		23		20.6
2	5		23		14.5
2	6		25		11.6
2	7		29		9.1
2	8		33		7.6
			
3	1		31		93.1
3	2		31		50.9
3	3		31		35.9
3	4		31		28.2
3	5		31		19.7
3	6		31		15.4
3	7		31		11.6
3	8		33		9.5
			
4	1		39		121.6
4	2		39		65.8
4	3		39		46.0
4	4		39		35.9
4	5		39		24.8
4	6		39		19.2
4	7		39		14.4
4	8		39		11.7

 

[Ace]

"success" tells you two things: 1: 0% means your ship will not fly, any higher % means that you will achieve a successful landing. 2: A higher % means the amount of points you will get added to your civ score with a successful landing. The % is based on the # of module sets you have. Ie., one set will give you 20% success as long as you have at least on set of componets and enough structuals. That means you will get 20% of the possible points for a spaceship landing.

The word success is kind of misleading because most of us thing it means the % of success at first glance, but it really means the % of the maximum points that you will get. And the points are the # of "colonists" you land.

 

[timtofly]

Build one structure at a time and see where/how they line up. You have to have at least 15. This will give you a good picture how the modules and power assemblies are attached. The Last game I played I built the modules first. They sort of hung out there in space.
Also, there is an asterick by the structure count that will dissappear when you have enough, but if you have too many structures it will slow the ship down until you get the right mix of structures and power modules.

 

[mpescatori]

Right.

So, my understanding is the "pocketsize" spaceship doth exist, it being the 1-5-21 format.

21 structural, 5(x2) components and 1(x3) modules, and 10 years flight time.

Seems a pretty good package to me ! True, other formats will take fewer years to Alpha Centauri, but a lot more to build !!!

 

[Peaster]

..... but a lot more to build !!!

I think you are on the right track. But if you have a large healthy civ, you can probably build a faster ship in a couple of extra turns, and minimize dangers from the AI. If you want to research this more, see the Early Landing Guide by solo, or the spoiler threads in the GOTMs, to see what the best players do. Maybe the more experienced landing players can offer some general advice on this ?

 

[Magic_gorter]

It all depands on what I want to achieve. I build the biggest ship if I want the 400 point bonus. But if the AI could beat me with a faster ship I will build the fastest ship (normally the AI is not building a ship when I go for the stars but at the highest level (Deity or Deity +) this might happen).

When playing GOTM I might build the fastest 100 points spaceship if my empire is not big enough. It gives a better GOTM score.... So everything else between I won't build....but perhaps others do build them. If so I'm curious what the reason is???

 

[Peaster]

Aristotle advised us to always seek the Golden Mean. But in Civ2, the best strategy is usually an extreme one!

 

[timtofly]

If the AI launches a ship before you do, then you are probably behind them tech wise. By this point in the game, your tech slider should be low and your luxury and coin sliders should be up. Your cities and trade should have high pop counts and three trade routes of 10 or higher. From these forums I have learned that the AI mirrors your tech slider. If you can get your techs through means of more caravans or science improvements then do so rather than relying on the slider. Conquering their cities and keeping their pop. in check will also slow down their science. If you are 10 to twelve techs ahead of the AI then they may not even have the tech to build a part. Once you start building your ship though they will try to steal the tech.

 

[Millman]

Apollo P. was universal in my Civ 2 version. Once I started building it they could too. But at one city, they built a construction in 50 turns.

That was my best game where you nearly dominate everything. It's not good to get into the business of pinching a penny that it becomes two. -Aristotle

 

[uLutu]

@Magic_gorter thank you