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Starsector is an open-world single-player space-combat hyphenated-description game

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Posts

  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    There are two types. One is a "something must be nearby" one where a pirate fleet will haul ass over there. I'm still not sure what the faint signal does.

  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    The faint signal increases the defenses at the other probes/etc. "we were attacked by something up defenses".

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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Strikor wrote: »
    There are two types. One is a "something must be nearby" one where a pirate fleet will haul ass over there. I'm still not sure what the faint signal does.

    Oh neat! I had that happen once, I thought it was a coincidence.
    Goumindong wrote: »
    The faint signal increases the defenses at the other probes/etc. "we were attacked by something up defenses".

    Weird, I've had that message come up, but those dormant remnant fleets still stay dormant.



    In other news, I managed to salvage a Conquest with only one D-mod. I still like flying around my SO Dominator, but the AI seems to not do a whole lot with the Conquest. Any recommendations on a build if I were to take over piloting it?

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  • Casual EddyCasual Eddy The Astral PlaneRegistered User regular
    Goumindong wrote: »
    Yes. But not a lot.

    Safety Overrdies range = Min (Weapon range,450+(weapon range -450)*.25)

    So if you're on a cruiser and fit an assault chaingun your range is... conveniently 450. If you fit a Hephaestus Assault Gun your range would be 450 +(900-450)*.25 = 562.5. If you added an ITU for +40% range these would become

    Assault Chaingun -> 495 = 450+ (450*1.4 - 450)*.25
    Haphaestus Assault Gun -> 652.5 = 450+(900*1.4 -450)*.25

    For Destroyers(20% boost) and Frigates (10% boost) you probably won't even be able to notice the difference. You kinda have to have longer ranged guns and be a big ship to see anything noticeable. And even then the HAG on a cruiser only gains 16%.

    Yeah feels like you’re better off beefing up flux dissipation or defenses since you have to get in so close

  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    How important is it to be somewhat close to the core systems when colonizing? I found a wonderful system with 3 great planets (one jungle, two arid). But it's literally on the edge of the map.

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  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    Heir wrote: »
    How important is it to be somewhat close to the core systems when colonizing? I found a wonderful system with 3 great planets (one jungle, two arid). But it's literally on the edge of the map.

    It's useful but not necessary if you found a boss planet. You get bonuses or penalties to pop growth depending on how close your colony is to others, so your first colony will be a bit slower but nothing gamebreaking. Your own colonies count for that bonus, so future ones will be easier.

    Aside from that it's just distance to trade and resupply and such. Your colony will eventually be able to supply your fleet on its own, but in the early going you're going to need to ferry stuff back and forth between colonized systems, and it will be a farther drive to pick up new ships and stuff. As long as you give yourself time and are able to defend the system it's fine to settle far away.

  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    Dormant fleets are separate from small pings. The pings effect the fleet size you have to defeat when you salvage a probe/survey ship/mothership.

    Conquest is an odd beast and has a number of good options but its hard to understand and a lot depends on what you want to do with it.

    First off its symmetric broadside. And as a result there is no reason to fit symmetric unless youre piloting it. The AI can have trouble deciding on what side to stick at. Though a nice thing about the ship is that if can use both sides for effectively double armor total in a pinch.

    Second off it has the second highest raw flux dissipation in the game at 1200. This gives is more flux than an Onslaught at full vents if it has none! It also has 20,000 capacity. One of the highest in the game.

    Buut its shield is ass. Small area(90deg), worst efficiency(1.4!), high upkeep cost(480). And its armor/hull are pretty weak. 1200 armor, 12000 hull is about the same place a Dominator is (1500 armor, 11,000 hull) as an example, maybe a bit lower.

    Fourth off its a lot slower than you might expect from the fast capital. Its top speed is 45 but its maneuverability system has less overall movement than the Onslaughts burn drive.

    As such there are a couple of ways to pilot it. Brawling and Support.

    The support is going to be built around this kind of structure

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    Gauss Cannons + ITU give you 1920 range. 320 more range than TPC's from an Onslaught. 480 more range than HAGs/Mark IX. The MIRVS give you long range kill power and ECCM ensures they'll hit. The downside here is the DPS is low and your owns ships are liable to get in the way. But you will note that you have a lot of spare OP for other things. (anti-fighter is probably the most important). This is probably ideal for general fleet use

    Edit: Make sure to put the Gauss on alternating and fire them manually at targets before letting autofire take over. This is because auto-fire otherwise simply fires when a target is in range and you want a consistent laydown of damage rather than spikes that the enemy can lower/raise its shields to absorb

    There are a number of different ways to do a brawling ship and a basic one probably looks like this

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    Heavy Kinetic in the side(storm needler is OK too but hard to fit). Resistant Flux Conduits to aid in venting. Hardened Shields to make your shields less ass(but still not good). The heavy Blasters in the front can deal with small ships and the double cyclone reapers will paste bigger things. Buuut you're going to lose to bigger things because they can just stick their guns in your face and you cannot bring the Kinetic and HE to bear at the same time.

    Replacing one MK ix for HAG or Mjolnir is also good

    This is pretty good at killing stations. Storm Needlers can also do well. Heavy Armor is nice on top. RFC can be swapped for more caps.

    Yeah feels like you’re better off beefing up flux dissipation or defenses since you have to get in so close

    Always beef up dissipation and cap. Dissipation is more DPS. capacity is more tank.

    Goumindong on
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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Great info @Goumindong thank you. The conquest I have has omnishields...which makes piloting the damn thing harder than I'd like since the shields face whichever way my mouse points, which also causes my ship to spin that direction?

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  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    Omni shields is standard for the conquest. A front shield conversion would be OK but would also provide serious problems with your ability to bring the broadside to bear. You could go forward guns only but then youre stuck with two medium energy.

    Its typically better to pilot it using standard controls especially due to its broadside alignment

    That also makes it easier to do the broadslide, which is a pretty mean maneuver. So here is how a broadslide works.

    1) get going max spped in the direction you want to go.
    2) turn the ship without using thrusters so your broadside is continually facing your target
    3) slide on by firing all the while.

    You can use the broadslide offensively and defensively. It is acutually possible to have enough cap to not trigger the 1% speed boost cap(helmsmanship 3) with a storm needler and HAG(or two HAG) Which would let you close with enemies at 100 speed while still presenting the full broadside. (So long as youn havent taken any shield damage yet)

    Back in the day it used helmsmanship 3 used to be 5% and you could fire gauss cannons alternating without triggering. :(

    Goumindong on
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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    So Deployment points. I get the initial deployment piece, where you only get so many DPs and it's based somewhat on your fleet size vs the enemy's. But in some fights, as I take out enemy ships, I get more DPs back that I can use to deploy more ships via the reinforcements button. Other times though, the DP number never goes up. Any rhyme or reason to how I can get more deployment points during an engagement?

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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Also, has anyone seen a good respec mod? Now that I understand the game a bit better, I'd like to move some of my skill points around.

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  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    Heir wrote: »
    So Deployment points. I get the initial deployment piece, where you only get so many DPs and it's based somewhat on your fleet size vs the enemy's. But in some fights, as I take out enemy ships, I get more DPs back that I can use to deploy more ships via the reinforcements button. Other times though, the DP number never goes up. Any rhyme or reason to how I can get more deployment points during an engagement?

    The DP number scales based on your current fleet size and theirs. So if you start bigger than them and are capped at your max relative deployment points destroying ships does not alter the balance of power. If you start smaller than them(or not so much bigger than them that you're not capped on balance of power) as you destroy enemy ships your deployment point total grows as a result of your fleet being now relatively larger
    Heir wrote: »
    Also, has anyone seen a good respec mod? Now that I understand the game a bit better, I'd like to move some of my skill points around.

    Console Commands includes are respec feature

    Goumindong on
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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Thanks on both counts @Goumindong

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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    I'm having the hardest time finding a system that has volatiles on a planet while also having other planets in the same system with metals/farmland. How detrimental would it be if I colonized a planet with volatiles in a system nearby?

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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    Not too bad. My main system last time didn't have any volatiles and I still made a good profit. If it's close and you have plenty of patrols they can generally keep the supply line safe.

  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Or alternatively, I have three planets in one system. Two of them have <150% hazard ratings and have metals and farmland. But the gas giant there has a 225% hazard rating but has a nice supply of volatiles. I know that will make things more costly, but would that be better since they'd all be in one system?

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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    I would definitely go for the single system. 225% is a bit high (most gas giants tend to be) but as long as you don't build a bunch of expensive industry there it will be fine for extraction purposes. Organics are also important so make sure they have that as well because your light industry will hunger for them greatly.

    Strikor on
  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Ok hopefully just one more question. I've saved up about 5 alpha cores, but I've got a smattering of Gamma and Betas too. I know I can make the Alpha core an administrator, but what should I be doing with the other cores.

    And do I even WANT to use my Alpha Cores? Won't that make the other factions hate me?

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  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    edited September 2019
    Heir wrote: »
    I'm having the hardest time finding a system that has volatiles on a planet while also having other planets in the same system with metals/farmland. How detrimental would it be if I colonized a planet with volatiles in a system nearby?

    In space Defenses are a bit weaker(because you cannot overlap) and you will have more pirate activity as a result. But otherwise there is no detrimental effect.

    If youre lookong for volatiles cryovolcanic worlds and gas giants tend to have them (maybe ice giants too).

    Re: Cores.

    There are reason to use different cores. Gamma will prevent a 1 unit shortage. Beta will prevent a 1 unit shortage and also reduce upkeep. Alpha will prevent a 1 unit shortage provide a boost and reduce upkeep. (Or as an admin provide all three skills). Some things really dont need alpha.

    If you do install a core it increases your luddic path threat(which is bugged and does nothing right now) and also the hegemony will periodically come search for your AI cores. You will need to pay them off (100k first time doubles every time up to 800k), go to war with the hegemony (accessibility penalty and well... war with the hegemony), or destroy the inspection fleet with your transponder off (pirates/other hostiles doing it will also work but you must be around for that to happen)

    Goumindong on
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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    All cores are very useful on buildings. Gammas reduce commodity demand by 1 each. Betas do the same but also reduce upkeep by 25% (very nice for those expensive industry buildings). Alphas do all of the above plus an additional effect depending on the building type. Production buildings get a flat +1 bonus to everything produced, starports get an accessibility bonus, orbital stations get a very high level commander in combat, ground defenses get a defense boost, etc.

    Installing any cores can make the Hegemony grumpy and go all U.N. inspector on you, but with more railguns. When an inspection is announced you have 3 choices: allow, bribe, or refuse. Allow will let them walk in and take your cores (or I think they get angry if you had them and move them before they get there). Bribe lets you pay them off starting at 100k and scaling up to 1m credits. Refuse makes them turn hostile and declare war on your faction when they arrive in system.

    I generally find stacking cores to be worth it. Bribes are annoying, especially if you're flat broke when they're announced and need to scramble to make some money, but the benefits are so good. Whether or not you want to deal with that risk is up to you.

  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    You can colonize with that. (you can colonize with much less. Max spending is a few hundred k per month due to building restrictions anyway). If you want to survey without spending $$$ on supplies/fuel then store your fleet and fly around with a small fleet.

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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    Surveying gets a lot cheaper (supplies wise anyway) once you unlock surveying equipment and put it on every noncombat ship you have. Once you do that, you can usually survey all non-gas giants for 5 supplies.

  • Casual EddyCasual Eddy The Astral PlaneRegistered User regular
    Colonies have unlimited free storage from the get go so another reason to get one started asap

  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    Dumping all your unused ships and weapons in colony storage is a great way to give yourself an easy refit warehouse.

  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Any advice for finding the source of Luddic Path Cells? So far they're not impacting my colonies, but as I add tech mining and cores I know that'll change. At least with pirate activities I can usually find someone at the bar to point out their base to me.

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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    When they infest your colonies you can talk to someone in the bar the same way you do with pirates, the only difference being it costs 10k.

  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Ah you're right. That was relatively easy.

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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Welp, I kill the base and another one pops up right away. How annoying.

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  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    My colonies have built me a Paragon and a couple Astrals. That plus my 6 Conquests and I'm having a helluva fun time farming Alpha Cores in High Danger system from [REDACTED] Fleets.

    Also I found a value in the settings.json to drastically raise the threshold for Luddic Path Cells. <3

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  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    Luddic cells dont do anything at the momwnt anyway. Even if they did while the reform time is low the suppport timer resets

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  • Casual EddyCasual Eddy The Astral PlaneRegistered User regular
    What are redacted fleets?

  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    Goumindong wrote: »
    Luddic cells dont do anything at the momwnt anyway. Even if they did while the reform time is low the suppport timer resets

    This is mostly true from what I've read. They need both low colony stability and smuggling shipments of weapons in order to carry out an attack. The latter is why it's an EXTREMELY bad idea to try and make friends with them - they'll still try to smuggle but your patrols won't shoot them down because hey we're all friends here, right?

  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    Strikor wrote: »
    Goumindong wrote: »
    Luddic cells dont do anything at the momwnt anyway. Even if they did while the reform time is low the suppport timer resets

    This is mostly true from what I've read. They need both low colony stability and smuggling shipments of weapons in order to carry out an attack. The latter is why it's an EXTREMELY bad idea to try and make friends with them - they'll still try to smuggle but your patrols won't shoot them down because hey we're all friends here, right?

    Has nothing to do with smuggling at the moment.(your patrols will not shoot down smugglers anyways) Its supposed to be a probability based on stability such that at a high stability youre unlikely to suffer an industry being shut down.

    But currently if your stability is 2 or higher the probability of intercepting is 100% so the only real effect is the “luddic activity” stability penality

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  • Casual EddyCasual Eddy The Astral PlaneRegistered User regular
    Get a waystation ASAP - it doesn’t count as an industry and let’s you buy fuel!

  • HeirHeir Ausitn, TXRegistered User regular
    Get a waystation ASAP - it doesn’t count as an industry and let’s you buy fuel!

    I don't believe it let's you buy fuel, it just starts to stock it in your storage section of the colony.

    To buy/sell you need to build Commerce, which DOES take an industry slot. I plopped it on my third colony, which is useless overall beyond being the only good source of volatiles within several lightyears of my first two colonies.
    Kamiro wrote: »
    Colonized my first planet! It's a class 5 habitable planet with a good farming bonus. The other planets in the system are gonna be a good source of ore and volatiles once I get them going. But currently I'm concentrating on getting this first one up and running.

    It's a bit far away from the core. Currently takes about 800 fuel to get my resupply fleet (with a few escorts) back to the closest core planet.

    Lucky! In my current sector, I can't find a single system that has good farmland, ores and volatiles.

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  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    It sort of lets you buy it in the sense that the cost is deducted from your income at the end of the month. I have never done the math to see if it's a good deal or not, though.

  • Casual EddyCasual Eddy The Astral PlaneRegistered User regular
    edited September 2019
    As far as I can tell it’s a similar price to buying it somewhere else, plus no tariffs or black market heat

    Casual Eddy on
  • StrikorStrikor Calibrations? Calibrations! Registered User regular
    Yeah larger colony = more industry slots. There are a few ways to increase growth. Having high stability is a good one as well as toggling free port on (which does lower stability slightly but is totally worth it). Or, if all else fails, you can directly shovel credits toward encourage growth.

  • HappylilElfHappylilElf Registered User regular
    Strikor wrote: »
    Yeah larger colony = more industry slots. There are a few ways to increase growth. Having high stability is a good one as well as toggling free port on (which does lower stability slightly but is totally worth it). Or, if all else fails, you can directly shovel credits toward encourage growth.

    I've been basically hunting pirate stations and dumping all of the money into my colonies.

    Working so far but it's weird how rapidly I go from rich to poor to rich again.

  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    Strikor wrote: »
    It sort of lets you buy it in the sense that the cost is deducted from your income at the end of the month. I have never done the math to see if it's a good deal or not, though.

    A very good deal. You pay market average every time

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