| Re: Overalapping fields |
Fri, 13 March 2020 23:24  |
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 magic9mushroom |
 | Commander |
Messages: 1361
Registered: May 2008 | |
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Micha wrote on Tue, 27 May 2003 15:24Overlapping fields means you need more chaff if you want to chaff sweep since you want (need) to reduce all fields.
This is actually a rather notable trick, and I'd go so far as to say that it voids any "disadvantage" of having multiple fields of the same type in the same space, as long as the fields are correctly placed.
Basically, suppose I have a planet 70 ly from yours, and I want to ensure you can't go from your planet to my planet in 1 year. This is a bit tricky with all fields centred on my planet, since I can only lay 4899 mines of each type (assuming I don't have enough laying to roll over your starbase - and given a single slot of MegaDs sweeps >43k mines per turn that's a very safe assumption). To batter the fields down to the point where your main fleet will get through takes about 400 fleets - this is a lot, but not impossible.
However, I'm a tricksy SD and I can lay mines in other places. Instead of laying just my 4899 mines at my planet, I set four fleets (with this order of fleet IDs):
1) 1 MML with 2 std*130 and 1 hvy*200 + 2 MMLs with 2 spd*50, sent to 51 ly of the way toward your planet,
2) Same fleet as #1, sent to 17 ly of the way toward your planet,
3) 4 MMLs with 2 std*130 and 1 hvy*200 + 10 MMLs with 2 spd*50, sent to 34 ly of the way toward your planet,
4) My main minelaying fleet at the planet.
The first two fleets lay 260+200+200 on arrival, the third lays 1040+1000+1000, and the fourth maxes out the 4899 mines of each type (they all lay separate minefields because no layer is in the fields of the layers before it). This doesn't actually cost me all that much more than the main minelaying fleet itself - I'm only actually laying about 1/3 more mines. And, of course, it doesn't reduce the chance of a fleet just YOLOing through (which is already ~0.0001%). However, collision sweeping only damages the field hit, so it will now take an extra 26+20+20+26+20+20+50+49+49 = 280 impacts to clear the extra mines; you cannot have 680 fleets, so you can't guarantee getting to my planet from yours in 1 turn (you can try collision-sweeping it down a bit and then YOLOing through what's left, but you're unlikely to get through and you run a risk of blowing up half your fleet on the heavies).
Other races can try this to an extent, but it doesn't work as well since they only have one mine type and can't lay nearly as fast (or on arrival). An SD can establish layered fields in 1 turn and then retreat the MMLs to the planet; another race would have to leave their minelayers (probably frigates) out for at least two turns, where they risk getting skirmished, and even then with only standard mines the amount of fleets needed to collision-sweep away the minefield is significantly lower (there's also a 35% chance of simply YOLOing through the minefield and rendering the extra layers moot, which won't work on the SD).
[Updated on: Fri, 13 March 2020 23:31] Report message to a moderator
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