65 replies to this topic

[NeilGartner]

Another Newbie Question,

Next turn, I'm going to be putting my population groups to work and build up my production base but I can't find the cost in building these Installations and exactly what each one does. Can anyone help and point them out to me? Downloads please?

Also, what resources do I need below to construct ships. I got an idea but when I looked up Synthetic Materials which is important in the process of building your defence fleet, it tells that it requires Gaseous Elements, Petrochemicals and Industrial Chemicals. Then when I looked up Gaseous Elements, it states that it requires Raw Resources to make it? What makes Raw Resources?????

It's getting to the point that it feels like I'm running in circles.


-Coal Mine
-Crystal Refinery (ship building)
-Fiber Mill
-Fuel Refinery
-Gas Refinery
-Gemston Mine
-Iron Mine (VERY important for steel - ship building)
-Light Metal Mine (transaluminum - ship building)
-Mineral Fertilzer Tanks
-Precious Metals Mine
-Radioactive Mine (ship building)
-Rare Elements Mine (ship building)
-Shenn Stone Mine

Any helpful advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

Neil

[Prospective]

Neil,

I understand how you feel, I've been in this game since October of last year and can appreciate some of the frustration.

Start by going to the Rolling Thunder website. Here's the link:

http://www.rollingth...rnova/index.htm

At the bottom are links to the rules and various player made files that can be helpful to the newbie. In the "Supernova Rules" section, you will see a file called "SN Installation Supplement". That file will provide information regarding the construction of mines, cities, and any other startup "building".

Raw Resources are produced by Strip Mining Complexes. Each Stripmining Complex generates 1,000 Raw Resources per game turn. Since you have 85,000 on the startup, you will initially produce 85,000,000 Raw Resources per turn.

Keep asking questions, these guys have been very helpful to me and I'm sure they will be equally as helpful to you.

One other suggestion is to read all the old posts contained here in the forums. There is a lot of information (overwhelming at first) but it has answered a lot of my questions. And, look up some of my early posts. I asked a lot of questions that you probably will be asking, and I've received very helpful answers.

It is a steep learning curve, but this game has been very enjoyable. You'll get the hang of the basics soon enough.

Steve

[NeilGartner]

Hey Steve. My sanity thanks you.

Just when I feel that I'm getting on top of everything, something new hits me. I'm hurrying now to get a better understanding of the rules before my next turn arrives. I also realize now that I might have to print a lot of this stuff out.

Cheers.

Neil

[Octus Imperium]

Part of the enjoyment of this game (to me) is the discovery of new tech, exploration finds, interesting worlds and a successful production run. The latter is the most difficult to create and sustain. Just when I thought I had it right, I ran out of adequate raw material production. When I got the Improved Stripmine numbers up, Industrial capacity became problematic. And I sure needed all those MK II Fusion Engines to expand the colonies at a reasonable rate for more Iron and Crystals, but those got dinged by the Industrial Capacity problem. MAYBE this turn things have been realigned again, but even if things run smoothly this cycle, I just bet the summer will not be here before the next production problem raises it's ugly head.

In other words, steep learning curve AND steep enjoyment curve!

(And in a year or less, you will be answering newbie questions!)

Octus Imperium

[NeilGartner]

I have to wonder how some empires around here and get away with building these huge multi-million ton dreadnaughts. I hate the idea of one showing up unexpectedly on my doorstep.

I also noticed that I have no radioactive resources listed on my homeworld geological survey. Is this something I have make through my industrial complexes?

Neil

[ali-t-akua]

Quote

(And in a year or less, you will be answering newbie questions!)

Definitely less. (I started 50 weeks ago.)

There is a couple spreadsheets in the download section that will help you. One is a list of all first level tech and some second level tech and what it takes to build it, if it is a buildable item (not all are, some techs are enabling and automatically go into effect once you complete the research). The second one has a production spreadsheet you can use.

Most mines by the way require 500 Construction Materials (Con Mats) and one pop to build and produce a variable rate of production based on the following formula:

Output = # of mines *(yield- # of mines/10). There is more information on this elsewhere in the forum.

Con Mats require Timber and Steel to build which require iron and lumber. You can get iron from either raw materials (from stripmines) or from mines.

To build ships you issue the SHIP order. You need to have all of the items required in inventory or the order fails. Each item is made up of other items and so forth down the the base material level. (I have counted up to four level of production.) Also you need to have enough shipyard slips to build each ship and enough total shipyard capacity or the ships you want will be placed into a queue for next turn. Ships are built based on the assigned priority.

I hope this helps. Oh and everyone makes mistakes with their production queue so dont worry. (There is a thread on newbie errors that lists a couple of them.)

[NeilGartner]

ali-t-akua, on May 5 2005, 10:35 PM, said:

Also you need to have enough shipyard slips to build each ship and enough total shipyard capacity or the ships you want will be placed into a queue for next turn. Ships are built based on the assigned priority. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do I actually need shipyard slips to build ships? Here I thought I was okay with 100 shipyards.

Thanks for all the help here everyone. The last thing I want to do is waste my turns fumbling around completely clueless.

Neil

[ali-t-akua]

Quote

Do I actually need shipyard slips to build ships? Here I thought I was okay with 100 shipyards.

Absolutely. Each shipyard gives you the capacity to build 10,000 Tons so your 100 shipyards gives you 1 Million Tons of capacity. However, you need the slips to build a ship. Each slip will allow you to build one ship. I believe that you start with one slip. I would suggest you build enough slips to build 5 to 10 ships at least for a start. Later on you may want to add to the number and add more shipyard capacity as well.

[Prospective]

When building ships, there are two installations that impact how many ships you can build in one turn and how many tons of ship can be completed in a turn. The two installations are: Shipyard
Shipyard Slip


Shipyard
Each shipyard is capable of producing 10,000 tons per turn. With the initial 100 shipyards, you can produce up to 1,000,000 tons of ship EACH TURN.

Shipyard Slip
A shipyard slip allows you to build additional ships in parallel. You start with 1 shipyard slip. Until you build more, work will only be done on 1 ship at a time.

If you issue a SHIP order and specify multiple ships, only the first one will be worked on and the rest will be put in a queue. Once the first ship is completed, work will begin on the second ship. When the second ship is complete, work will begin on the third ship.... etc etc etc.


An example:

With your initial 100 shipyards and 1 shipyard slip, you can build 1 ship, any size from 1,000 tons (the minimum ship size) up to 1,000,000 IN A SINGLE TURN. If you try to build a 1,000,100 ton ship with your initial configuration, it will take 2 turns to finish the ship.

However, if you constructed one additional Shipyard in the above example, your capacity would have increased to 1,010,000 tons. The ship in the above example would be completed in one turn.


Another example:

Assuming 100shipyards and 1 slip, if you specify a quantity of 2 (or more) in your SHIP order, and each ship is 500,000 tons, the first ship will be completed the turn the SHIP order was submitted and the second ship would be completed on the following turn.

However, if you had constructed an additional Shipyard Slip in this example, BOTH ships would have been completed (since you have 2 slips and the capacity to build 1,000,000 tons).

Hope that helps.

Oh, one thing you have to remember. In order for work to begin on a ship, the individual components need to be in your "Stockpile" list.

Lets say you design the following ship:

1 Mk I Nuclear Engine (100 tons)
1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive (100 tons)
3 10cm Autocannon (300 tons)
500 Fuel Tankage (500 tons)

To build this ship, you'll need to issue a SHIP order. However, on THE TURN you issue the SHIP order, you will have to have 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine, 1 Mk I Nuclear Jump Drive, 3 10cm Autocannons and 500 Fuel Tankages built and listed in the "Stockpile" section of your printout. If you do not have the components pre-built, the order to build will be cancelled and you'll get a message stating that you do not have the appropriate components to build that ship and will have to re-issue the same orders over again (after building the required components).

Always have the ship components that you need for a particular ship design built and in the stockpiles before issueing a SHIP order.

Regarding the ship above, you'll notice that the tonnage adds to 1,000 tons. This is the absolute smallest ship that is allowable in game. There is no upper limit that I've ever heard of. Next, you'll see that there is no Standard Hull Plate or Mk I Computer Systems, Cargo Bays, Mk I Short Range Sensors, etc., etc. in this design. None are required (though each system has it's benefits).

Actually, I don't believe that there are any requirements to building a ship (other than having 1,000 tons in it). To qualify as a ship, you might be required to have at least one engine on board (can anyone confirm this is true?). I think if you omit any engines, the object is considered to be an "Orbital Installation". So, theoretically, you could have designed the above example as 900 Fuel Tankage and 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine and it would be valid.

Keep asking the questions and reading old posts, they are invaluable.

Steve

[ali-t-akua]

Quote

Actually, I don't believe that there are any requirements to building a ship (other than having 1,000 tons in it). To qualify as a ship, you might be required to have at least one engine on board (can anyone confirm this is true?). I think if you omit any engines, the object is considered to be an "Orbital Installation". So, theoretically, you could have designed the above example as 900 Fuel Tankage and 1 Mk I Nuclear Engine and it would be valid.

You are correct. One engine is required to be a ship. Orbital Installations and Planetary Installations only vary by how you chose them when you are defining the design. Also, the structural integrity of a Orbital is three times a ship and a Planetary is nine times.

One final point. If you want to leave your system don't forget fuel tanks and a Jump Engine. (There may be other ways to leave the system without Jump Engines but they are not common knowledge at this time at least not as far as I know.)

[Hughestrog]

NeilGartner, on May 6 2005, 01:35 AM, said:

I have to wonder how some empires around here and get away with building these huge multi-million ton dreadnaughts.  I hate the idea of one showing up unexpectedly on my doorstep. 

I also noticed that I have no radioactive resources listed on my homeworld geological survey.  Is this something I have make through my industrial complexes?

Neil

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes.

You'll need to convert Raw Resources into Radioactive Elements, then these into Processed Radioactives to be able to run your Power Plants.

If you're going to go ahead and build a lot more slips, then remember to be supplying enough power. The order that installations are supplied with power are as follows (I think):

Shipyards
Fuel Refineries
Resource Extraction
Stripmining Complexes
Industrial Complexes
Other

Apparently it's not nice running out of power, as it screws your order queue up. A viable alternative (depending on yield) may be hydro or geothermal.

[Locklyn]

Also remember that shipyards also draw 100 power each now whether or not they are being used or not unless this has been changed again?
Since the excess power report is broken you cannot rely on it to report your power need s correctly so keep your own track.

Cheers
/Lars

[General Miles Avatar]

I have to wonder how some empires around here and get away with building these huge multi-million ton dreadnaughts. I hate the idea of one showing up unexpectedly on my doorstep.



You wont have to worry about this possibility for quite some time... and even if one does poking around it will most likely be from one of your neighbors who will most likely be at around the same level of technology. I dont think an elder empire will be visiting your area of space for
years real time. Its a really big galaxy.

[ali-t-akua]

Quote

Its a really big galaxy.

And that is an understatement.

One other thing that often trips people up is the order that things are produced.

The orders you enter are run (except ships and production orders) then standing orders then convoy routes

Power is generated
Mines are run
Factories
Ships are built (All itmes must have been completed at the time the build order is given, not when it occurs)
Research is completed
People are born

And the eternal cycle rotates next turn.

There are some subtleties but if you keep this in mind it will help

(Oh and a lot of this is in the rule set but there is so much there that sometimes it is hard to remember everything until you actually have run a few turns.)

[octagon999]

Find or make a spreadsheet that will help you with production. While Pete can run production on the back of an electric bill envelope, I cannot.

Excel is my friend. Make it yours also. There are many versions out there for the asking.

Enjoy, its a good game.

Tom
Rathe Federation