Catching Mineral Packets |
Thu, 09 July 2009 00:30 |
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bluechucky | | Crewman 2nd Class | Messages: 17
Registered: April 2009 Location: Melbourne Vic, Aust | |
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Hi guys,
Can some one explain to me how to catch mineral packets with a freighter?
I've followed this in my test bed, but I can't seem to catch any:
http://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/%22Defending_Aginst_Packe ts%22_by_jmeyers@erinet.com_1997_v2.6/7
Can some one better explain it? I've even positioned myself at an appropriate mark one or two years in the future, but always seem to be out by .1 light year (even using 400% zoom to place the ships)
Cheers
Bluechucky
(edit by Ron, fixed URL)
[Updated on: Tue, 25 January 2011 20:18] by Moderator
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Catching Mineral Packets, how to calculate their future locations, PLC |
Thu, 09 July 2009 05:28 |
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bluechucky wrote on Thu, 09 July 2009 06:30 | I've even positioned myself at an appropriate mark one or two years in the future, but always seem to be out by .1 light year (even using 400% zoom to place the ships)
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Kreedon's advice is the easiest way to do it... if you have enough time and space to do so.
Most packets will be only for 1 turn in space, though, and then you need to be at the right spot at the right time and here is the tool to calculate it:
PLC - Packet Location Calculator v1.0.1 by James McGuigans (zipped as PLC.zip 194 kb) - Program for predicting the future location of mass packets and fleets. Accurate over multiple years.
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Re: Catching Mineral Packets, how to calculate their future locations, PLC |
Thu, 09 July 2009 10:47 |
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Altruist wrote on Thu, 09 July 2009 05:28 |
bluechucky wrote on Thu, 09 July 2009 06:30 | I've even positioned myself at an appropriate mark one or two years in the future, but always seem to be out by .1 light year (even using 400% zoom to place the ships)
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Kreedon's advice is the easiest way to do it... if you have enough time and space to do so.
Most packets will be only for 1 turn in space, though, and then you need to be at the right spot at the right time and here is the tool to calculate it:
PLC - Packet Location Calculator v1.0.1 by James McGuigans (zipped as PLC.zip 194 kb) - Program for predicting the future location of mass packets and fleets. Accurate over multiple years.
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I knew there was an error in the Stars Calculator with Interception even in the latest v3.06 but didn't realise that James had written PLC. I've previously had to move planets to the same relative positions in a test universe & actually chuck a packet!
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Re: Catching Mineral Packets |
Thu, 09 July 2009 20:27 |
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Eagle of Fire wrote on Thu, 09 July 2009 12:52 | Without using any tool, the easiest way to know where to send your freighters is to look in your backup and get the last packet position before it hit your planet.
Of course this is only usefull once you've been hit... This is why you have calculators for the rest. However, if you never been hit before then it is more or less a guessing game than anything else.
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Sometimes you suspect that your opponent is about to throw a packet so you want to place some freighters at the first year position. You can't necessarily be certain of the warp speed but, if you know your opponent's Energy tech, you can expect it to be warp 10 or 13 unless your opponent is PP.
I also sometimes want to place freighters at the first year position of my own packets. In my current game I did that because my opponent had a base but I didn't know whether it contained a mass driver so I chucked the packet, pinged the base, ensured that I had a penscan & sent some catchers to the first year position. Then I could allow the packet to proceed, syphon off any minerals that are excess to requirements or catch the whole thing depending on whether there was a mass driver &/or whether my opponent built defences.
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