• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
It seems like a significant wait if the ELINT ship isn’t even laid down
Yup. Maybe two or three years, including retooling and construction.

But I was reluctant to interrupt the shipyard expansion that was already underway... doing so would have meant that all the time and minerals spent to date on the expansion would be wasted. I decided to just let it complete and then retool.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
Yeah... I think we'll take both RobbieAB's Spy class Passive Scout and BBWags' Active Scout (armed with RADAR probes) back to Lalande 21185, and we see if we can scan those two planets properly.

The probes can detect 50-ton objects at 4.2 million km. So popping one about one million km from the planet (well outside their PD range, but well within our own RADAR range) should give us a very nice view of anything on the planet's surface.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
Iche Bins' escort force (including the Mountain class Fleet Support Vessel that carries and supports the scout ships) is still under overhaul. We've only arrived back at Earth earlier this week.

We'll run the mission when Iche Bins is out of overhaul.
 
Seems like a plan :)

Another consideration here is that the other system is so full of enemy ships that I highly doubt we can safely sneak in an ELINT vessel and let it hang around a planet for days / months / years.

(No idea how fast that stuff works...)

So these two vessels make a lot more sense for that mission without an intelligence vessel anyway.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
Iche Bins is out of overhaul, and we are now loading the Spy and the Agent aboard the Mountain and heading back to Lalande 21185.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions:
sb-847.jpg


The Mountain is being used as a Tender for the espionage vessels.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
The Tankers are still in position at the Lacaille 9352 => Lalande 21185 jump point - I forgot about them - so they are right where they will be needed.

Iche Bins is on his way.
 
  • 2Like
  • 1Haha
Reactions:
December 13th, 2008.

sb-848.jpg


Iche Bins force arrives in the Lacaille 9352 star system and moves to join the Tankers at the jump point to Lalande 21185.

They will refuel and then the Spy and the Agent will both turn off their IFF transponders and assisted-jump through to the Goon-held system.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions:
sb-849.jpg


Refueling complete. The ESN Mount Everest will now launch the ESN Mata Hari and the ESN James Bond. They will not formate... they will operate somewhat dispersed, in the Naval equivalent of Skirmish Formation. The two Espionage ships will proceed (seperately!) to assisted-jump through to Lalande 21185.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions:
Check this out:

sb-850.jpg


We can sit on the jump point, outside the asteroid belt and nearly a billion kilometers from the enemy-held planet... and the range of our RADAR Probe not only covers the whole area of interest - both planets - it could even reach the FAR side of the asteroid belt.

Of course, that's the cruising range of the booster stage for deploying the satellite. Once deployed, the satellite's RADAR only reaches 4.2 million km.

Lets do exactly that... try to investigate the planet without even approaching it!
 
  • 3Like
Reactions:
It would take about two days for the Probe to run in from the outer system to the planet. Since orbital positions are re-calculated every five days, there's a 40% chance that the planet will dodge out of the way before our probe arrives.

So instead, we'll return to the jump point, as if we'd just transited into the system, and then we'll WAIT until the next five-day turn increment goes by, so that the planets are freshly moved into new positions. THEN we'll fire off the probes, one at each planet, and they'll spend two days running in to the targets... while the next five-day turn increment is still three days beyond that.
 
  • 1Like
  • 1
Reactions:
sb-851.jpg


Wut?

sb-852.jpg


Um... guys? Guys... that's ME. I'm not an alien.

sb-853.jpg


Please don't shoot.

sb-854.jpg


... it's those treacherous Terrans, led by that notorious scallywag, Blue Emu!



Hey... it looks like I've hit a minor bug. I've encountered myself. I wonder if I'm friendly?
 
  • 4Haha
  • 1Like
Reactions:
I'm gonna try to sort of sidle my way around the bug.

It won't let me unload that "alien" repair yard at the Naval base on the comet, so I'll drag it back to Earth and see if I can dump it back where I got it.

If not, I'll just destroy it (if I can). Or drop it into a Black Hole, or something.

In the mean time, maybe we'll have better luck with those RADAR probes at Lalande 21185.
 
  • 1Haha
  • 1Like
Reactions:
Anyway... while we're waiting to see if the game crashes...

Meanwhile, back in Lalande 21185, we will place a way-point one million km away from the innermost planet. That should be safely outside the range of any planetary point defense, while also being well inside the satellite's 4.2 million km RADAR range. This ought to work very well indeed.

sb-855.jpg


Then we launch the probe.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions:
We drag-and-drop to assign the RADAR probe to the Size-6 Box Launcher to the Fire Control, and then point it at way-point #3.

sb-856.jpg


In theory, the probe should spend a day or so cruising out to that way-point, and when it arrives the satellite should pop out and start doing the RADAR thing.

In theory.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions:
So far, so good...

sb-857.jpg
 
The probe reaches the designated way-point...

sb-858.jpg


... and the satellite deploys and activates, exactly as planned.

sb-859.jpg


It spots the immobilized Jerx ship... but sees nothing at all on the surface of the planet. Curious.

Three possible explanations occur to me:

1) We see nothing because there's nothing there. The planet is empty.
2) We see nothing because the enemy units are below the resolution of our RADAR. At this distance, that would be about 25 tons.
3) We see nothing because enemy units dug in on home ground are harder to spot than you might expect.

We'll fire the second probe at the other planet, but first we'll move out to the flank far enough that the probe doesn't pass near that immobilized Achernar.
 
  • 3Like
Reactions:
Hey... it looks like I've hit a minor bug. I've encountered myself. I wonder if I'm friendly?

LOL, that's awesome.
I guess Steve doesn't move around his shipyards too often.

Do you have a backup of the database file just in case this ends up corrupting the game?