AI Ideas

Pirates will go after trade ships instead of bounty. I've used this to save my butt in some games.

If it's targeting a frigate, just send it behind the Kol and keep doing so each time it gets turned around into range again. It's plenty slow enough at turning (at least without upgrades) that you should be able to do this. If it's being controlled by a player who knows to pick nonmoving targets though, it won't work so well.

I think he raises an excellent point about cannons firing through asteroids though.

Alternatively, I see the point of not bother due to the Z axis. being available.

Heck, doesn't the "unit" AI fire its weapons (that can't bear on the primary target) even on non-targeted units? I've seen that behavior often enough in game!

I'll have to give that a go then I didn't realise.

I know a player can do it, but I'd like the AI of a way weaker ship to try and get the best advantage they can rather than slug it out against massively superior firepower. They basically commit suicide as it is.
The Kol will be fine though as it has point defence and fighters/bombers.
If there was a enough frigates to cause a problem, it would force the player to either use more assets in teamwork (IE: two Kols forcing the smaller ships into each other's fire arc) or complementary forces.

How about the AI do it? Wasn't it supposed to be like that? Has intensive micromanagement become a feature of this game? Or is it just because the AI hasn't been given the final attention yet?

It does, but AFAIK a Kol will only use its beams on the primary target, so it'll keep on turning until it can get a firing solution.

Nah. Every ship will use every weapon on every enemy as long as something is in range. It's just that the primary target has the highest priority and that the ship will turn to face it (or turn for a broadside).

From my experience, kryo is correct, if you tell the Kol to attack a specific target, it will turn to it and hit it with the beams, it will not use the beams on any other target while turning. I've never seen it behave differently.

The Kol and the Marza are, I think, the only two capitals that prefer to be facing the target, the other capitals seem to prefer broadsiding and don't have much in terms of frontal firepower. I really like this about the capitals though, that they have weapon platforms throughout the hull and do hit several targets at once. Gives the battles a more cinematic feeling Wish more ships could do that!

Hmm... that would be quite strange.

Need to test it later then. I really thought it would still fire at targets which are in the front.

I think for the Kol/Marza, their main weapons (beams/missiles) are the only non-free firing ones. All the lasers/autocannons on all the capitals always seem to free fire at whatever if they can't engage their primary target.

It's easy enough to test too, since the first cap builds free Let me know what you find, if you get to testing it before I do (about 4 hours till I'm home from work )

Ok, I've tested it with the Kol Battleship. Jumped in to a grav well, gave an attack command for a pirate ship which was quite far away. While flying towards it it attacked every pirate that came within weapons range with all weapons including the beam.

Hmm, neat Just confirmed for myself, too.

But van, does it do this if the targeted ship is in RANGE but not in the ARC?

Because that is the real question of this, will the Kol use its beams offensively if the enemy unit is in the weapons range but not in their targeting arc..?

Of course not.

Every weapon is only used when an enemy is in firing range and in the 180° firing arc of that weapon (but then it's used always.)

Or do I understand your question wrong?

I mean that will the beams target secondary foes if the primary is in their range but not in their arc, while it is turning etc.\

(secondary targets being random enemy units NOT targeted specifically by the player, that ship being the primary target)