From Panzers to Planet Crackers

[Lord Uriel]

Krysia,

  I'd also suggest just opening the order entry program and 'scrolling' down the orders.  Pretty self explanatory, but then you could ask questions about any you found that you didn't understand.

      Sabeli Ecok

 

 

Thanks man. Okay try these two...

 

Question #1:

 

In the document called; "Readme - Recieving Turns".

 

In the second paragraph; "All of your active fleets will appear in the drop-down lists, your colonies will show up with their population group #'s, researchable items will be displayed when needed and so on."

 

Now then, where is this "drop down" list located and how can I access it?

 

 

Question #2:

 

How long does it take the rest of you to get an answer from Pete, concerning your turn results? (I sent a message the day I recieved mine, and am still waiting. This really leaves me with little time, should I require the information?) I'm not complaining here, but want to have an idea, so that I can plan accordingly for the futur.

 

 

Thanks,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Getting an answer from Pete could take anywhere from 1 minute to several weeks.

Im sure he gets so barraged with emails that a few will slip by him. If you

dont get an answer in a few days then try again. if that still doesnt work and

its kinda important for you to know then you can try the land line.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I would like to add that there are times when I have spoken to Pete, asked my question, gotten my reply, hung the phone, and then say to myself: Did he answer the question?

[Krysia's Krusader]

Access to what, exactly?

So far I have accessed the SuperNova Game Info area, here. Also the two areas that yourself, and Drasn pointed me towards, further up in this thread. Which other area should I visit, or other thing, do I need to play this game?

 

Microsoft Access. The reports are not necessary to play the game and in fact most of the canned ones I dont find useful but mileage may vary.

 

Ah, okay. That's a computer program. I'm not good with computers, so I wouldn't know how to use it any way...

 

 

Personally I find some of the programs from the Phasedragon Empire management System useful. Galaxy.xls is very useful to track your exploration although I still use another spreadsheet for some exploration data. I ahve never gotten the Production spreadsheet to work. You should be able to find the link by searching Phasedragon.

 

The other program you may want is a mapping program. I use some freeware from ATT called Graphwiz. Others are using Astrosynth. It is up to you.

 

Thanks, but that all sounds like it will be beyond my capabilities (computer skills).

 

 

(I apologize if you have heard all of this before but I was not sure.)

 

Don't be. I appreciate all the advice that's offered concerning this game.

[Krysia's Krusader]

Okay; next set of questions:

 

In the SN Turn Entry Program, once you're in the "Order Entry" screen, there's a little box (or button) with an asterix on it "*".

What does that mean, or do?

 

To the right of that, there are several recatngles, in a horizontal row, with the second rectangle shaded in green. Below that, there is a slider bar, which moves this green rectangle, either towards the left or the right. What do these things signify - or what is the intended function of this?

 

(I looked in all the 5 different "Readme" documents, and can't see any reference to this. If I missed it somehow, please tell me which one it is located in.)

 

Thanks again in advance,

[ali-t-akua]

Okay; next set of questions:

 

In the SN Turn Entry Program, once you're in the "Order Entry" screen, there's a little box (or button) with an asterix on it  "*".

What does that mean, or do?

 

To the right of that, there are several recatngles, in a horizontal row, with the second rectangle shaded in green. Below that, there is a slider bar, which moves this green rectangle, either towards the left or the right. What do these things signify - or what is the intended function of this?

 

(I looked in all the 5 different "Readme" documents, and can't see any reference to this. If I missed it somehow, please tell me which one it is located in.)

 

Thanks again in advance,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That is where the entered orders will be shown. The line with the asterisk is where the next order will be entered. The Green rectangle is where the order will be shown adn the rectangles to the right are for the data fields.

 

Thanks, but that all sounds like it will be beyond my capabilities (computer skills).

 

You will find that you will need some way of mapping your space. You can do this by hand but as you move out from your HW you may need some way to visualize your space and redrawing your WPs every time a new connection is discovered can take a lot of time.

 

Another possibility is to use Cestvel's SNFindPath. This program will calculate the best path between two points in your space based on criteria you select from a list.

 

You might ask some of the other players what they use.

[Krysia's Krusader]

Okay; next set of questions:

 

In the SN Turn Entry Program, once you're in the "Order Entry" screen, there's a little box (or button) with an asterix on it  "*".

What does that mean, or do?

 

To the right of that, there are several recatngles, in a horizontal row, with the second rectangle shaded in green. Below that, there is a slider bar, which moves this green rectangle, either towards the left or the right. What do these things signify - or what is the intended function of this?

 

(I looked in all the 5 different "Readme" documents, and can't see any reference to this. If I missed it somehow, please tell me which one it is located in.)

 

Thanks again in advance,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That is where the entered orders will be shown. The line with the asterisk is where the next order will be entered. The Green rectangle is where the order will be shown adn the rectangles to the right are for the data fields.

 

 

All right. With your explanation, and me playing with it some more, I found out the following.

- The green rectangle does not move. It always stays in the second area, and serves to highlight the order code.

- The rectangle on the immediate left of that, gets a number assigned to it - in multiples of 10 - when you actually save on order.

- The slider arrows on the bottom, moves the entire upper rectangle row left and right (not just the green one). Presumably to see what has been entered, if the order requires more than 19 inputs.

 

Oups! You edited your post from what I last saw.

<laugh!>

Okay, we are both saying about the same thing. So looks like I've got this part figured out. Good.

[ali-t-akua]

Okay; next set of questions:

 

In the SN Turn Entry Program, once you're in the "Order Entry" screen, there's a little box (or button) with an asterix on it  "*".

What does that mean, or do?

 

To the right of that, there are several recatngles, in a horizontal row, with the second rectangle shaded in green. Below that, there is a slider bar, which moves this green rectangle, either towards the left or the right. What do these things signify - or what is the intended function of this?

 

(I looked in all the 5 different "Readme" documents, and can't see any reference to this. If I missed it somehow, please tell me which one it is located in.)

 

Thanks again in advance,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That is where the entered orders will be shown. The line with the asterisk is where the next order will be entered. The Green rectangle is where the order will be shown adn the rectangles to the right are for the data fields.

 

 

All right. With your explanation, and me playing with it some more, I found out the following.

- The green rectangle does not move. It always stays in the second area, and serves to highlight the order code.

- The rectangle on the immediate left of that, gets a number assigned to it - in multiples of 10 - when you actually save on order.

- The slider arrows on the bottom, moves the entire upper rectangle row left and right (not just the green one). Presumably to see what has been entered, if the order requires more than 19 inputs.

 

Oups! You edited your post from what I last saw.

<laugh!>

Okay, we are both saying about the same thing. So looks like I've got this part figured out. Good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I think you have the general idea.

 

Another helpful hint, you can edit your orders if you wish under the Edit Orders button. Be cautious doing this as you again must exactly type in what you want in the field. This section is most useful for when you left an order out of a sequence. You can edit the order number (thats why they are numbered by 10s) so that it will fit in the sequence where you want it. If I really screw up the entry, I just delete the order in Edit Orders, reenter it and then go back to Edit Orders and renumber it. I try not to make this kind of error very often as it is clumsy but at least the option is there.

[hobknob]

Be sure and spell things correctly when using tech that isn't yours. The entry program is not at all smart and things tend to fail if you are off at all on the spelling.

 

[Krysia's Krusader]

Be sure and spell things correctly when using tech that isn't yours.  The entry program is not at all smart and things tend to fail if you are off at all on the spelling.

 

 

Well, talking about being correct...

 

- How do I enter large numbers into the input boxes? Suppose I want to enter; ninety nine million, nine hundred ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine. Do I do it like this; 99,999,999, or 99999999?

 

- I want to make sure that the build queu is cleared, as I want to enter my own items, with different numbers, and change the sequence in which they are built / constructed / assembled / produced. The rules say to do the following; EB, Clear All, Population Group (of the particular build queu in question). That I know for sure. However, the rules don't say what number to put in between "EB" and "Clear All"? Also, the turn entry program asks for one - as well as - a "Build Priority" and wether it should be "Tooled" or not. What is the correct procedure?

 

Thanks,

[ShadowKitsune]

Be sure and spell things correctly when using tech that isn't yours.  The entry program is not at all smart and things tend to fail if you are off at all on the spelling.

 

 

Well, talking about being correct...

 

- How do I enter large numbers into the input boxes? Suppose I want to enter; ninety nine million, nine hundred ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine. Do I do it like this; 99,999,999, or 99999999?

 

- I want to make sure that the build queu is cleared, as I want to enter my own items, with different numbers, and change the sequence in which they are built / constructed / assembled / produced. The rules say to do the following; EB, Clear All, Population Group (of the particular build queu in question). That I know for sure. However, the rules don't say what number to put in between "EB" and "Clear All"? Also, the turn entry program asks for one - as well as - a "Build Priority" and wether it should be "Tooled" or not. What is the correct procedure?

 

Thanks,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I do not use any separator between numbers, ergo ... 99999999 (no commas).

 

It does not matter what you put in the Quantity field or the Tooled field when you use the CLEAR ALL functionality of the Edit Build [EB] Order. Personally, I use zero (0) for the quantity and NO for the Tooled flag.

 

-SK

[ali-t-akua]

Be sure and spell things correctly when using tech that isn't yours.  The entry program is not at all smart and things tend to fail if you are off at all on the spelling.

 

 

Well, talking about being correct...

 

- How do I enter large numbers into the input boxes? Suppose I want to enter; ninety nine million, nine hundred ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine. Do I do it like this; 99,999,999, or 99999999?

 

- I want to make sure that the build queu is cleared, as I want to enter my own items, with different numbers, and change the sequence in which they are built / constructed / assembled / produced. The rules say to do the following; EB, Clear All, Population Group (of the particular build queu in question). That I know for sure. However, the rules don't say what number to put in between "EB" and "Clear All"? Also, the turn entry program asks for one - as well as - a "Build Priority" and wether it should be "Tooled" or not. What is the correct procedure?

 

Thanks,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

One thing to be careful of when you are typing large numbers. Make sure that you have the right number of digits. It is easy to type 999999 when you meant 9999999 or 99999. The entry program is sensitive about accurately entering information and you need to respect that.

[EternusIV]

Separators are a no-no for certain

[Krysia's Krusader]

Hey, thanks guys. That all helped greatly.

 

I screwed up onle one order. And that's because there's so many big numbers in this game. Most (actually nearly all) of my time with the order writing, was spent in the myriad amount of calculations.

[ShadowKitsune]

Hey, thanks guys. That all helped greatly.

 

I screwed up onle one order. And that's because there's so many big numbers in this game. Most (actually nearly all) of my time with the order writing, was spent in the myriad amount of calculations.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thus the reason behind SN:ROTE's nickname of "Spreadsheets in Space" as a lot of us use programs like MSExcel to do a lot of the calculations for us.

 

-SK

[Clan Elder 'Keen]

Hey, thanks guys. That all helped greatly.

 

I screwed up onle one order. And that's because there's so many big numbers in this game. Most (actually nearly all) of my time with the order writing, was spent in the myriad amount of calculations.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Thus the reason behind SN:ROTE's nickname of "Spreadsheets in Space" as a lot of us use programs like MSExcel to do a lot of the calculations for us.

 

-SK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I have gotten away from micro management and am now do everything in big batches. Trying to wring 100% efficiency from production was an interesting challenge for the first year or two but not so much anymore. Beside you learn pretty quickly what will or won't go to waste, so go ahead and make that 1mil fuel tankage.

[Krysia's Krusader]

Next...

 

How do I get rid of all the stuff in the "Force Battle Plan" section of my report?

I don't like all the time it takes to scroll through it every time I look at my results, on the way down to my "Installation" and "Research" reports.

 

I figured maybe with the NFBP order, but that's just to make clones of my already existing ones and make new ones - not what I want.