Auto Explore

from GalCiv2 Forums
Dont know if this has been covered, but please tell me there is an auto explore button this time for scouts and survey ships. It was a real to explore large galaxies without some kind of auto explore button in GalCiv1.
8,749 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Yes.
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
Sorry for the newbie-ish question, but I've been playing the game (pre-ordered it) for a good while now, and I've never found that auto-explore button. Where is it?
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
It's called Sector Sweep. Not obvious, but it works, and not just for one sector.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I have never tried sector sweep in GC2. I didn't find it useful in GC1, so never even thought to try it. Sector sweep will do a Civ4 style auto-explore? Or do I have to keep setting its auto-pilot to go to the next sector, at which point it goes back to sweeping until interrupted?
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
For Colphe:

There are two kinds of auto command.

The auto explore in the beta works when you hit the key A but it is for exploring anomalies with the survey ship. I have not seen a button for it but I recalled the key command from GCI and it still works.

There is a button for sector sweep and like star pilot I never cared for how sector sweep worked in GCI. I would build more scouts if I could set them to explore any unexplored sectors on the map but they just keep sweeping the single sector until you redirect them. I only tried sector sweep in the beta once and it seemed to have a bug or I was doing something wrong. I don't really recall but it told me it couldn't do it for some reason. Based on the comment by Pop up I will try it again

In a huge game I did build some super scouts with boosted range. The generic scout is not that good on a big map with its short range and on a small map I have been able to cover the map adequately with the flagship.
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
The starting scout sucks all around. The problem is it has a sensor range of 3 for all non-Torians. Your starting flagship is a good explorer because it has a sensor range of 5. It might not see that big a difference, but that's a radius figure. And considering you can just build colony ships or constructors and get the same sensor benefits, well.

I now design a cargo hold that holds 1 extra engine, 1.2 extra sectors of range, and all else is crammed with sensors (giving it a total sensor range of 14). It does very well for clearing out the fog.

Sector sweep is no longer sector sweep. It is now auto-explore in the beta. Very nice, as that's one less thing to micro-manage.
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
As soon as I've got the time, I usually research all the sensor techs and then build something with sensors only.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
It's not perfect, it seems to focus on the unexplored area closest to one of your colonies/starbases, ignoring how close it is to itself (I had a scout on auto-sector sweep once ignore the grey to its left and right, and go all the way to the other side of the planet it was exploring around). Still, it's a nice way to eliminate micromanagement in the midgame.