Questions on Fighters

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Daybreak
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Questions on Fighters

#1 Post by Daybreak »

Hi all

I have just installe the laest version to find that wow all different. Anyway

1) If I have 6 fighters, do I need 3 Launch bays to launch in first turn?

2) I read something about fighters only launching first turn then attacking second turn- is that correct?

3) it seems early on every hull except organic has been nerfed (due to not having enough slots to also cater for fighters, and fighters are just compulsory otherwise your ships will go down hard. Do others find the same?

Thank you

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Oberlus
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#2 Post by Oberlus »

Fighters do not attack during the bout they are launched (and can't be attacked).
They can be launched from first bout. All will be launched in a single bout if there are enough launch bays, otherwise it will take more than one bout.

Four types of fighters:

Interceptors:
- 1 launch bay per hangar.
- Higher tech increases hangar capacity and launch rate (you'll always need just one launch bay per hangar)
- Targets fighters.

Strike fighters (strikers):
- 1.5 launch bays per hangar (i.e. hangar holds 3, launch bay can launch 2).
- Higher tech increases damage.
- Targets fighters and ships.

Bombers:
- 1 launch bay per hangar (both 2).
- Higher tech increases damage.
- Targets only ships.

Heavy bombers:
- 0.5 launch bays per hangar (hangar only holds 1 h. bomber, launch bay can launch 2).
- Higher tech increases damage.
- Targets ships and planets.


Fighters are not compulsory, but are very good in certain situations:
- If your enemy abuses PD (flak cannons, interceptors), that calls for more cannons and less anti-ship fighters on your side. Or more interceptors to smokescreen your other fighters.
- If your enemy has shields, that calls for more anti-ship fighters and less cannons on your side.
- If your enemy uses chaff (small, cheap hulls to soak damage from your big weapons), that calls for more strikers, bombers, arc disruptor (new multishot cannon) on your side, and less heavy bombers and heavy cannons (plasma, death rays).

Organic hulls are great for abusing fighters thanks to their surplus of internal slots, but they are also relatively weak so tend to die more in combat (even in battles where you had great advantage you can sustain some losses) and are more vulnerable to system mines.
Robotic and asteroid hulls with high armor and the right combination of PD and anti-chaff weapons can be pretty effective against an organic fighter-focused fleet.

As a rule of thumb, shields can reduce same-level cannon damage by -50% (e.g. MD4 vs grid shield) or -33% if pilots are great, and enough PD can reduce fighter damage by 50% (fighters will shoot on bout 2 but be killed on that bout and so won't shoot on bout 3) or -66% if you set bouts per combat to 4.

Daybreak
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#3 Post by Daybreak »

Oberlus wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 7:27 am Fighters do not attack during the bout they are launched (and can't be attacked).
They can be launched from first bout. All will be launched in a single bout if there are enough launch bays, otherwise it will take more than one bout.
Am I missing something?

You attack a system with ships with fighters
a) All defending ships are lost. what happens to fighters? they don't seem to be there for second turn. You talk about bouts, I assumed you meant turns. is that what I am missing - there can be several bouts within a turn? If so that makes a little more sense. You have so many guns that can fire once per bout, etc etc. Is there a limit to bouts per turn?

b) Most attacks end with one turn, or possible a second turn, so if bouts are within a turn, it makes sense when you talk about 3 or 4th bouts or launches.

Or lol have I got this all wrong?

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Oberlus
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#4 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 11:13 am You attack a system with ships with fighters
a) All defending ships are lost. what happens to fighters? they don't seem to be there for second turn. You talk about bouts, I assumed you meant turns. is that what I am missing - there can be several bouts within a turn? If so that makes a little more sense. You have so many guns that can fire once per bout, etc etc. Is there a limit to bouts per turn?

b) Most attacks end with one turn, or possible a second turn, so if bouts are within a turn, it makes sense when you talk about 3 or 4th bouts or launches.
I'm a bit confused.

To be clear:
A "turn" is the time lapse between you press the "Turn" button twice. As in "turn-based strategy game". Game starts at turn 1 and can continue forever.
Every turn, when two enemy armies are in the same system there will be a combat. A (combat) "bout" is each one of the combat rounds in which ships fire their weapons and are hit by enemy weapons during that combat (lasting one game turn). Combats have (by default) 3 bouts. If "turns" are the words used in any documentation about how combat works, that's worth opening an issue in GitHub because it makes things rather confusing.

When you kill a carrier ship during a combat, the fighters that were carried and launched by that carrier will keep fighting during that combat, regardless, and at the end of the combat (after last bout) they will be recovered by other carriers if they have spare space in their hangars. Otherwise, those fighters will be lost for next turn combat (if there is any following combat on next turn).

Daybreak
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#5 Post by Daybreak »

Oberlus wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 12:09 pm 1) A (combat) "bout" is each one of the combat rounds in which ships fire their weapons and are hit by enemy weapons during that combat (lasting one game turn).
2) Combats have (by default) 3 bouts.
I was confused too by Combat Bout and Bouts

What I am getting from the above is
1) A Combat Bout lasts 1 turn.
2) A Combat Bout can be up to 3 bouts.

So in other words, a Turn can contain up to 3 bouts

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Oberlus
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#6 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Thu May 28, 2020 2:17 pm I was confused too by Combat Bout and Bouts

What I am getting from the above is
1) A Combat Bout lasts 1 turn.
2) A Combat Bout can be up to 3 bouts.

So in other words, a Turn can contain up to 3 bouts
A "Turn" doesn't contain by itself any "Bout".
A "Turn" can have many combats, each one will have 3 "Bouts".
"Bout" word is reserved for combats (which happen within each "Turn").
A "Bout" = "Combat Bout" lasts one bout.
A "Combat" = "Battle between enemy fleets that happen when they meet at the same system in the same Turn" can last up to 3 "Bouts".

Check out combat logs.

Daybreak
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Re: Questions on Fighters

#7 Post by Daybreak »

Thank you, I understand now.

I also understand now why I may lose a battle when I thought I had a clear advantage.

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