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Author Topic: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay  (Read 2242 times)

goduranus

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Similar to the other thread, but more specific. A supply range overlap on the starmap, take the supply count in the fleet inventory, subtract cost of ongoing repairs, then divide by maintenance consumption, to get the number of supply days remaining. Multiply this number by fleet speed, to produce a supply range circle and display it  like the fuel range circle.

Pausing repairs should increase this ring, to make it more obvious that suspending repairs will extend the fleet’s range.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2019, 09:58:51 AM by goduranus »
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bobucles

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Re: Supply range overlay like with fuel range overlay
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2019, 05:15:39 AM »

Running out of supplies isn't a disaster in the same way that running out of fuel is. You can dramatically boost your effective supply range by pausing repairs and mothballing. You can probably run a fleet all the way across the sector on zero supplies with some chain-mothballing tricks.

Plantissue

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2019, 06:52:04 AM »

What do you mean by chain-mothballing tricks? If you need to mothball, you mothball. There is no need to turn individual ships on/off mothballing or do it in steps. If it gets really bad you can just chuck virtually everything including crew out of the airlocks and virtually mothball all your ships.
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bobucles

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2019, 07:56:37 AM »

Mothballed ships don't malfunction. When a ship malfunctions it takes damage until it eventually blows up. By playing mothball games, you can deliberately spread malfunction damage across your ships and end up cruising very far.

DatonKallandor

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2019, 03:35:08 PM »

Unlike fuel consumption, supply isn't per-lightyear, so any circle would be highly inaccurate and prone to change.
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Beep Boop

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2019, 12:42:58 AM »

Supply usage also isn't constant, ships consume more supply when replenishing CR and less so when just operating in normal health, which means as your daily supply usage fluctuates from various things, that circle is going to wibble and wobble pretty wildly.

It also doesn't result in game over if you run out of supplies, whereas if you run out of fuel and don't crash land someplace you can refuel, game over, you're lost in space forever.
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DatonKallandor

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2019, 06:40:47 AM »

It also doesn't result in game over if you run out of supplies, whereas if you run out of fuel and don't crash land someplace you can refuel, game over, you're lost in space forever.
Distress Beacon can save you if you run out of fuel, but it's random if you'll get someone willing to help and sell you fuel or a pirate fleet. And if it's a pirate fleet you might not be able to win. But running out of fuel isn't an instant hard game over - it just can be.
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goduranus

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2019, 11:43:03 AM »

Supply usage also isn't constant, ships consume more supply when replenishing CR and less so when just operating in normal health, which means as your daily supply usage fluctuates from various things, that circle is going to wibble and wobble pretty wildly.

It also doesn't result in game over if you run out of supplies, whereas if you run out of fuel and don't crash land someplace you can refuel, game over, you're lost in space forever.

If CR replenishment is taken out of the calculations, then the circle will be steady. Running out of supplies is game over if you run into a stronger fleet when out of supplies.

bobucles

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2019, 04:39:08 PM »

Quote
Running out of supplies is game over if you run into a stronger fleet when out of supplies.
Running into a stronger fleet is game over, regardless if you do or don't have supplies. Only fast escape ships really matter, along with maybe one or two sacrifices to let those faster ships escape. It is still very possible to fly half way across the sector and limp into a port without supplies, it just sucks. It is not possible to fly home without fuel.

A supply range would pretty much do players more harm than good. Supplies can be lost in storms, from battles, planet scans, system hazards and simply by taking more time than normal when exploring. A player who takes just enough supplies to "cover the distance" or "last the days" is nearly guaranteed to end up running dry and killing themselves.

TiberQ

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #9 on: December 28, 2019, 07:30:35 PM »

U should probably switch this around.
When out of fuel do a distress call and use the pirate fleet to refuel yourself = unlimited amount of range ^^

If somehow u run into bad luck and a patrol of some sort comes along, use that minimum amount of fuel to fly 1 system over and repeat distress call.
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goduranus

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2019, 01:27:53 AM »

Quote
Running out of supplies is game over if you run into a stronger fleet when out of supplies.
Running into a stronger fleet is game over, regardless if you do or don't have supplies. Only fast escape ships really matter, along with maybe one or two sacrifices to let those faster ships escape. It is still very possible to fly half way across the sector and limp into a port without supplies, it just sucks. It is not possible to fly home without fuel.

As long as you have supplies, you can escape with emergency burn, which takes a lot of supplies and generally only a little of fuel. If you have no supplies, you can’t burn, and will be forced to fight.

bobucles

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Re: A specific implementation of supply range overlay like fuel range overlay
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2019, 12:25:51 PM »

Quote
you can escape with emergency burn, which takes a lot of supplies and generally only a little of fuel.
E-burn doesn't have a direct cost of supplies. It costs a tiny amount of CR, around 3-6%. You can suspend repairs on your fleet and still have over a dozen E-burns in storage, without requiring a single ounce of supplies on hand.

In fact the main reason to keep supplies around is to escape the far more catastrophic fleet decay that happens when you can no longer afford upkeep. Fleet decay is far more damaging than the normal upkeep expense, for example my 3.2/day upkeep increased to 14/day decay when the supplies ran out. So it makes sense to suspend repairs at a critical threshold and only spread around the last bits for upkeep or to keep abilities online. That critical threshold is far larger than the daily cost, you probably want to start rationing when 1 month of supplies remain since so many hazards will cost your fleet a few days or a week's worth of supplies.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2019, 12:28:34 PM by bobucles »
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