Lipizzaners and Magic Crystals

from Sins Forums

Hi all,

Noob to the SoaSE game, but I've scanned through the strat forum a bit. I have a couple questions.

1.  In a recent game (comp stomping), I earned the feat "Dancing Pony" (I don't know for what). While it is funny, I assume this is a dev joke since it didn't seem to confer any bonuses. Does anyone know what the feat is based on or what bonus it gives, if any?

2.   I'm sure it's been asked by others, but does it matter where in the grav well you place trade-increasing structures such as refineries or trade ports? Meaning, if I have a roid or planet that has two trade ports, do I want to place a trade port on the closest planet facing the direction of the planet with those ports?

3.   Is there a noticeable benefit to loading trade ports or refineries on a planet or a roid that has 4 resources? meaning, if I have an ice planet that has 4 crystals, is it a good idea to just slather it with trade ports or is there a point of diminishing returns? 2? 3? More?

Thanks,

CK

strategy
3,268 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

1. known as the Space Ponies achievement, get a point in your achievement file nothing else, is a joke
    oh and congrats on finding it, some have been playing this game for over a year and a half and still not got it

2. no it does not matter, on some huge maps I play I just hit "k" (it turns on autoplace) and place how many I need or can in gravwell (make sure you hit "k" to turn off autoplace for tactical structures, they do require manual placement for best effect)

3. yes on trade ports, the more you place the more you get, as for refineries there is a limit, it is three in a colonizable garvwell (CGW) and four in an Uncolonizable gravwell (UCGW), plus the refineries also effect the gravwells that are next to you, that is how you get the refineries to the UCGWs
   Advent do not have refineries per say, but their tradeports can be changed over to affect resource roids that is not limited by the amount you place (in others words you can put 5 advent tradeports in a gravwell and switch them all to refine and all will effect the resource roids) but they cannot affect UCGWs

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

3.   Is there a noticeable benefit to loading trade ports or refineries on a planet or a roid that has 4 resources? meaning, if I have an ice planet that has 4 crystals, is it a good idea to just slather it with trade ports or is there a point of diminishing returns? 2? 3? More?
End of quote

Trade ports are unaffected by resource rocks.  They do not interfere with each other, and two trade ports equals twice as much money.  However, the best way to build new trade ports is always to expand your longest trade route, as that will improve the income from all your trade ports.

Always place refineries in locations with the maxmium number of resource rocks.  Each resource rock adds to their overall benefit.  Refineries also affect resource rocks in adjacent gravity wells.  Refineries only stack 3 times, so they will not have further effect after three refineries are built in the same gravity well.

Advent refineries are the exception.  You can use as many as you like in the same gravity well, but they only affect that gravity well, not others nearby.  Usually it's not using the "resource focus" form of trade ports.  More often it's better to keep them as trade ports and use the credits to buy what you need from the black market.

The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Advent refineries are the exception
End of quote

Avent has refineries or did you mean trade ports D ?

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Advent trade ports in resource focus mode are their refineries.

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

No one mentioned it, so...

In terms of placing Trade Ports, yes, it does very slightly matter. You'll want to place them as near to the edge of the gravwell as you can, that's in the direction of the trade lane the tradeships will be traveling along.

Why? So that your tradeships will have the shortest turn around possible. While the turn around doesn't affect how much money you will generate at your trade port - it does keep your trade ships in phase-space... where they cannot be destroyed.

When your trade ships are destroyed, you lose credits. No, I'm not joking. You are penalized credits (and possibly resources, I don't remember) every time you lose a trade ship! That is why the TEC have technology to make the trade ships more durable. High turn around = less trade ship vulnerability = less credits lost!

Try to keep some defenses around your trade stations if you can (pirates love to attack them), even just parking some strikecraft next to one can sometimes be sufficient.

I'm not certain if destroying enemy trade ships gives you resources/credits or not... you'll have to ask someone else.

-Itharus

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Itharus, reply 5
No one mentioned it, so...

In terms of placing Trade Ports, yes, it does very slightly matter. You'll want to place them as near to the edge of the gravwell as you can, that's in the direction of the trade lane the tradeships will be traveling along.

Why? So that your tradeships will have the shortest turn around possible. While the turn around doesn't affect how much money you will generate at your trade port - it does keep your trade ships in phase-space... where they cannot be destroyed.

When your trade ships are destroyed, you lose credits. No, I'm not joking. You are penalized credits (and possibly resources, I don't remember) every time you lose a trade ship! That is why the TEC have technology to make the trade ships more durable. High turn around = less trade ship vulnerability = less credits lost!

Try to keep some defenses around your trade stations if you can (pirates love to attack them), even just parking some strikecraft next to one can sometimes be sufficient.

I'm not certain if destroying enemy trade ships gives you resources/credits or not... you'll have to ask someone else.

-Itharus
End of Itharus's quote

yes you do get credits for destroying enemy trade ships

of course you barely lose or gain anything by destroying or losing trade ships, it is barely even worth it unless you are playing on a really small map

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

it does keep your trade ships in phase-space... where they cannot be destroyed.
End of quote

Chances are if the enemy is in the well with the trade port, it's the port and not the trade ships under attack.  I'd rather put it in a defensible location to protect the port.

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

They need to drastically up the amount of credits/resources gained/lost for killing/losing trade/refinery vessels imo, so that it has more effect in the game.

*tries to think of a way to include more slashes*...

Damn...

-Itharus

WAIT!

There we go.

/Itharus

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

Well, losing a trade ship doesn't directly cause you to lose credits, but it does reduce the credit income that is coming from the trade port that trade ship originated from (so, over the time it takes to rebuild that trade ship, you're losing out on what that ship could have made).