Patrol Routes in Gravity Wells -

From a single-player perspective, I try to break my defensive 'fleet' up into "nodes" that have short transit times to "at risk" systems, and I also level up quickly on the inbound-fleet-detection combat research fairly early so I have more time to react. Then I park the node-fleets at the edge of the gravwell that minimizes the transit time to each of the planets that are within its area of coverage, which is at most two jumps range per node. It's rare that a fleet that's massive enough to take out a fairly well defended system quickly can materialize, although it's annoying when two or three of them gang up on your at once like they do in Hard mode.

I can't comment on MP and I bet it's a different story there, though, simply because of the increased urgency of the game.

-- Retro

P.S. Then I go out hunting with a larger, offensive fleet, and reposition my nodes accordingly. Usually, even a bunch of enemy AI's seem to concentrate on one or two planets, not a whole ream of them.

-- Retro

I'm not really having a problem defending per say, I just think it would be a neat feature and also add some life to the environment to see your ships 'doing something' when idle, not just parked in space having a sammich with their wingmates.

I'd have nothing against this just on the basis of making things a little more lively but as far as in-system patrol routes, it wouldn't increase your chances of intercepting an incoming fleet much, if at all.

Your ships are either in the right place or they aren't. Moving around doesn't really change that.

Interplanetary patrol routes, I'd kind of like to see but I could probably count on one hand the number of times that a patrol route in one of my games was actually stable long enough for a ship to travel back and forth across several systems more than once.

Yes but if I could have a patrol route set to move between two different phase lane entrances for instance in a gravity well I would be increasing my chances by 2X that I would be in the 'right place' at the 'right time'.

I envision simply plotting it like you would a movement. You can sort of do a patrol route now if you feel so inclined, but it's not repeatable. I use such a method when playing vasari to capture mines in 'free space' where there are pirate ships. I plot a giant circle again and again to allow my scout time to rebuild it's anti-matter so it can capture the mine and still stay ahead of the pirates and not get killed. Then I get the mine and exit the system.

Just one example of a good use for 'patrol routes'.

No you wouldn't. You're just as likely increasing the chances that you'll be in the wrong place when the enemy fleet shows up.

Ah, the ever clever argue for the sake of arguing.

Well played sir, well played.

A simple "I was wrong but I'd still like the feature" would suffice.

You asked for this feature partly because you expect it to have an effect on the odds of intercepting enemy fleets. I'm simply pointing out that it won't. There's really no need to get defensive here.

He was arguing for the sake of making sure you understood that, factually, being on patrol would not change the likelihood of you being in the right place at the right time. However, you could get lucky.

Ben

And I acceded that point, if you read all my posts above. But at least they would be 'doing something' and moving around still increases your chances of being in the right place at the right time over standing still. Granted you have an equal chance to be in the wrong place, but it's still better than doing nothing and sitting there.

How can you accede a point, and then immediately after state the contrary? If the chances of you being in the wrong place have not changed, then neither have the chances of you being in the right one.

Granted, intersystem patrol routes might make it a bit more difficult for your enemy to predict where you will be undefended, but (if they have a remote sensor set up) they can just stand by in an adjacent system until your patrol leaves. Even better for them, when you realize you've been attacked, you'll stop your patrol, send your ships back to that system and they can pick apart your freshly antimatter-depleted force. Most likely, your force will not only be depleted but completely starved of antimatter if they've been patrolling fast enough.

You know, with patrols you could do things like having a patrol between two planets.

While away working on another system your planet is attacked, as it's the next hop for your PATROL they can swing in there and start defending.

As for gravity well defense, sure there are counters to patrolling, but it would still add another level of strategy. You could time your jump while they are on the far side of the planet, or hit them when they are near where you enter the well.