exploit

I don't know if this was intended in the game but it is an exploit I've used. When in a system you have a ship on the one side of the system of five habitable planets and you need it to get to the other side in one turn and you don't have enough engine power to get you there. you have the ship launch next to the nearest planet. then move the ship into orbit of the next planet. Launch the same ship on the other side of said planet closest to the next closest planet C. Move ship into orbit. Again launch ship on opposite side. and then if needed goto planet D. This exploit allows one to move a ship potentially several spaces more than it could at its own accord.

Sorry to all others that have used this exploit if this was not attended. If it is great. I just didn't know if it was or wasn't.
2,082 views 9 replies
Reply #1 Top
I wouldn't call it an exploit as such. Just think of it as the ship using each planets gravity to slingshot to the next.   
Reply #2 Top
I wouldn't call it an exploit as such. Just think of it as the ship using each planets gravity to slingshot to the next.


Then why doesn't the autopilot use it ?

I agree it's a little cheesy, but it's not all that significant. I personally think it would be cool if the effect was stronger, ie you get an extra more for leaving orbit, and the auto pilot used it.

It would be sort of a home turf speed bonus.
Reply #3 Top
Then we could slingshot our ships around the sun, and send them back to the very beginning of the game! That way we could have an obscenely strong fleet at the get go, and save some humpback whales to boot!
Reply #4 Top

The autopilot code doesn't use it because our pathfinding code would probably explode. 

If you want to sit there and move your ships by hand, knock yourself out.

 

Reply #5 Top
i figured as much (about the pathfinding code), and i always wondered if this was legitmately exploitative. superficially it's at least a little realistic, gravity assists being what they are. though one could easily counter by saying the spacial warps needed for hyperdrive would be too strong to be used near a planet, meaning that it should take a movement point to enter or exit a planet's orbit.

but since i merrily use this game feature (or "exploit") from time to time, i'm not exactly eager to see it go.
Reply #6 Top
Its been well known for a long time (certainly since mid last year) and the staff have chosen to leave it in. (Not to mention Carielf's no-so-defacto blessing,...and the fact that the planet orbit code would probably have to be entirely rewritten to weed it out. )

drrider
Reply #7 Top
Now I suppose you might call it a small exploit when your secondary planet is 2 spaces from your homeworld, and you use this 'feature' to shuttle a colonist or transport to entirely populate the second world in one turn.

But you pay for it in extra mouse clicking, honest, Cari, and I suffer from carpal tunnel so its a real hardship, and I DO have to build an extra colonist to make it work, and...and...

drrider
Reply #8 Top

But you pay for it in extra mouse clicking, honest, Cari, and I suffer from carpal tunnel so its a real hardship, and I DO have to build an extra colonist to make it work, and...and...

Heh, well there are a lot of other things that need to get done before I'd even consider re-writing the pathfinding code to accomadate this sort of strategy, so I suggest that you invest in a more wrist friendly pointing device.  There are YouTube vidoes about how to use your Wii as your mouse. 

 

Reply #9 Top
Heh, well there are a lot of other things that need to get done before I'd even consider re-writing the pathfinding code to accomadate this sort of strategy,

I'm pretty sure he was just joking. Clearly routing autopilot *through* planets should be so far down the list of things to do that no one could really be serious about asking for such a feature.