| Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Sun, 14 August 2011 08:24  |
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 iztok |
 | Commander |
Messages: 1218
Registered: April 2003
Location: Slovenia, Europe | |
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Hi!
Strange thing: if I make a copy of the starting colonizer design (Santa Maria, Spore Cloud, Pinta) without Colonization module, can the copy still colonize a planet. However the slot where the Colonization module was, must remain empty. This also works for a copy of any ship design that had a Colonization module.
I've noticed that behaviour while running some testbeds, among them also a HE race. What I've noticed when sending a MiniCol ship with Col module and a MiniCol ship without it (just empty slot, serving as a cheap fuel booster for 2 W-9 trips), both ships disappeared after arrival, despite I've split the fleet. When I started investigating what happened I noticed BOTH ships had colonized the planet.
Funny bug. I've also checked empty remote miner, but it can't mine. Looks like this is connected with some flag on a ship design, that isn't cleared when Colonization module is removed.
What are consequences of this bug? Cheaper colonizer ship with less mass, that results in longer range. In early game, where every bit of resources counts, it could give quite an advantage.
BR, Iztok
[Updated on: Sun, 14 August 2011 08:44] Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Sun, 14 August 2011 12:04  |
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| BlueTurbit |
 | Lt. Commander
RIP
BlueTurbit died Oct. 20, 2011 |
Messages: 835
Registered: October 2002
Location: Heart of Texas | |
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So now that it has been publicized, this should be added to bug abuse/cheat list to punish violations. Right?
BlueTurbit Country/RockReport message to a moderator
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| Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Sun, 14 August 2011 16:17 |
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| BlueTurbit |
| Lt. Commander
RIP
BlueTurbit died Oct. 20, 2011 |
Messages: 835
Registered: October 2002
Location: Heart of Texas | |
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I was SS once and stole pop when it first was discovered.
Kool, I thought.
The next turn I got "cease and desist" order and word spread like wild fire to ban this. And later patch fixed the bug. 
[Updated on: Sun, 14 August 2011 16:18]
BlueTurbit Country/RockReport message to a moderator
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| Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Tue, 16 August 2011 02:13 |
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| goober |
 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
Messages: 175
Registered: December 2003
Location: +10 | |
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| craebild wrote on Mon, 15 August 2011 19:27 |
I would say it should be considered a cheat and prohibited in all games, and it isn't that difficult to check for the host or 3rd party checker, you just have to look at the current turn and last turn, and that is needed for checking for any other cheat, too.
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I don't disagree.
OTOH if everyone is benefitting from it, and everyone can it seems, then it can be seen as a newly discovered feature of the game that gives it a bit more flexibility and frees up a slot (think of it as taking the time to train your LF crews, for instance, how to colonise before sending it them out!) It certainly appears to make AR's look more viable generally if it works for pintas.
If it is disallowed, it is quite easy to fall foul of it accidentally. When playing HE for instance I usually design colonisers first and then copy it for my fuel tanks. It seems my fuel tanks can now colonise too! As long as they only do so in the company of a coloniser, I don't see a problem ... I've just fallen foul of the bug and lost myself a fuel tank (just as would have happened if I hadn't separated them). I doubt anyone would notice or care - but technically it would be a serious breach of the rules. I think players/hosts are sensible enough to know it isn't really a breach ... but some folks out there, myself included at times, can be very fussy about such details.
Goober.Report message to a moderator
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| Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Tue, 16 August 2011 03:26 |
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| wasp |
 | Crewman 2nd Class |
Messages: 16
Registered: January 2008
Location: Finland | |
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| [email |
m.a@stars[/email] wrote on Mon, 15 August 2011 17:28]
Which begs the question of how many other things can be copied/deleted and still get the same (buggy) treatment from Stars! 
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Trying to fake energy dampener and jump gate this way didn't work. A design with weapons deleted didn't count as Armed in battle tactics. Looks like the test for component count > 0 is missing in just this one case.
[Updated on: Tue, 16 August 2011 03:27]
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvoReport message to a moderator
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| Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module |
Tue, 16 August 2011 07:14 |
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| m.a@stars |
| Commander |
Messages: 2768
Registered: October 2004
Location: Third star to the left | |
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| goober wrote on Tue, 16 August 2011 08:13 |
if everyone is benefitting from it, and everyone can it seems, then it can be seen as a newly discovered feature of the game that gives it a bit more flexibility and frees up a slot (think of it as taking the time to train your LF crews, for instance, how to colonise before sending it them out!) It certainly appears to make AR's look more viable generally if it works for pintas.
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If many people still find it hard to see chaff as a feature of the game (and it is) this is even harder.  Yeah, everybody could do it, same as they could do Cheap Starbases or Minerals-to-Bombers, but most don't. And it only takes one doing it as it should be done to make it unfair for anyone else to do it "the new way". 
Admittedly, there could be games that explicitly allowed it, same as there's "no chaff" and "no diplo" games.
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it is quite easy to fall foul of it accidentally. When playing HE for instance I usually design colonisers first and then copy it for my fuel tanks.
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If it was so easy, HEs would have discovered it decades ago.  While it's not uncommon to give every Scout orders to Colonize, it's not so common to give a fuel booster orders to Colonize. I'd even guess it's pretty uncommon to have fuel boosters reaching planets at all. 
| Quote: |
It seems my fuel tanks can now colonise too! As long as they only do so in the company of a coloniser, I don't see a problem ... I've just fallen foul of the bug and lost myself a fuel tank
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Technically, yes. But as long as it could be shown as a one-time mistake, I guess the punishment wouldn't be too harsh. 
So many Stars, so few Missiles!
In space no one can hear you scheme!  Report message to a moderator
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Re: Copies of colonizer ships can colonize without Colonization module
