Turn one thoughts

[athonian]

we have to have cargo bays drone racks and fighter racks for exploration on the h-world?

[cestvel]

Cargo Bays for the normal stuff, fighter bays for fighter types, drone racks for drone types and

fuel tankage for the occional Fuel find (1 hit in 52 turn so far).

 

These are needed to collect items, not to find them, but you want to have the finds, they a

discarded if your fleet cannot load them.

 

To increase EXPL -hits add Short Range Sensors, Mag Grapples, Survey Landers, Science Labs.

 

Cestvel

[athonian]

you cant just store them on your h-world?

[hobknob]

Nope.

 

The fleet explores and finds and loads aboard the fleet. If you have no space then the stuff is tossed. If you don't have enough space then some of the stuff will be tossed.

 

You don't need jump drives on initial explorers sisnce they won't really ever have to leave the systems. It will take you along time to mine out a planet so just set them up and forget about them.

 

When you get higher AP fleets you will want to move them around, but a 2 AP fleet can explore for several years or more without moving. When you suspect a planet is played out just do an ORB on it and see what it says. You will get some sort of indication of how much exploration ahs been done at the end of the order.

 

For my self I think it is too costly order wise to have an XOC after every explore so I just build in enough cargo spaces to hold a couple of finds and then unload once at the end. Works for me.

 

Happy exploring

[ShadowKitsune]

Remember that not all of your 'Fleets' have ships in them.

[athonian]

ah k! thanx.

[Mechanica]

I'd modify the standing orders for the exploration fleets slightly.

 

I'd go

 

XEPL, Fleet Number

XOC, Fleet Number, Pop Number, ALL

 

repeat as needed

 

If you plan on colonizing I'd build a Colonial Transport with 50 Colonial Berthing and 100k cargo bays + a 500k cargo bay freighter as soon as I could. Then add more colonial liners when you can. I use hydro plants to power my colonies hence the 500k freighter to haul the initial con mats.

 

If you have two or more equally attractive colony worlds to choose from I'd go with any that offerred resources that you use and are not mined on your HW.