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[Greenbane]

(...)you'd have to compute the orbit of every object in the sky in real time to know if one shifted to an orbit that would eventually hit you.

And you think that won't be possible in 100, hell, 50 years?

EDIT: You needn't monitor every object in the sky in realtime, though. Just those within a relatively tiny sphere around the detector.

what if I pick a rock outside of that tiny sphere? By the time you detect it, it could be moving so quickly that diverting it is impossible.

Regardless, I said this discussion is moot because its all amateur speculation with no basis in fact. We don't know what it would really be like.

It's mostly off-topic anyway.

Err... Hmm....

Even with my spiffy monitor, I can't reach the 1024 height needed. Are there any tools which extend my monitor vertically?

Version 5.42 has the Reduced Height Windows option, which reduces the minimum height requirement to 800.

[breadbocks]

Well, that's what I'm using right now, but fucking hell it's unwieldy. Is there no utility that's like 360 desktop, but vertical?

Ninja'd: Greenbane: Thank you. Let me try that...

[breadbocks]

Hmm... I still can't reach all the buttons on the System Map... Is there another menu I can have open with all those options on it, or am I just going to have to deal without?

[forsaken1111]

You did activate the reduced height windows option right?

[Greenbane]

Yes, it's not something that's on by default.

[Sirus]

Nah, just strap engines and a guidance computer onto a few big rocks in the asteroid belt, time them to hit around the same time and wait. No need for a massive ship or operation.

If that were possible...

a) It'd be very slow unless you used hundreds of (expensive) engines.
b) The enemy would have an ample window to intercept the lumbering rock with either missiles or sustained fire from energy weapons.
c) You also would need to get the massive engine cargo there somehow (not to mention install it all), which means...
--- 1) The cargo ships could be intercepted as well.
--- 2) The enemy would have a lot of time to disrupt your plan.

So I don't think it would be such a good idea unless you're hitting a frontier colony with minimal military presence. And even if it were the last colony of a largely defeated alien race, simply invading the planet would take far less time and expense. And probably be more effective across the board.

I know this is from the previous page, but this reminds me of a sci-fi book by David Weber called "The Shiva Option". Basically, the humans and their allies are fighting the Bugs, a hive-mind race that fits the typical horde mentality: fast, expendable ships that use kamikaze tactics basially by default. Normally, the humans use fighter craft armed with anti-matter missiles to bomb hive worlds into molten rock, though casualties are typically high thanks to orbital platforms.

At one point, the humans decide on a different tactic: attaching engines to several large rocks and hurling them towards the planet. Attaching the engines takes months, the asteroids are horribly slow (at first), and the Bugs repeatedly try to destroy or divert the rocks, forcing the allied fleet to defend them and taking massive casualties in the process.

While the asteroids worked (all but glassing the planet and destroying the orbital defenses in the process), it would have been faster and far cheaper to just bomb the planet like normal. The allies never try that tactic again.

What's interesting is that in many ways, "The Shiva Option" is harder sci-fi than Aurora. In system travel is slow, FTL can only be obtained using jump points that must be searched for, communications and sensors are limited by light speed, and ships must move thru a jump point one at a time or risk "intersecting". In fact, one of the main reasons I started playing Aurora is because it reminded me of this book.

</offtopic>

[breadbocks]

You did activate the reduced height windows option right?

Yeah, the box is checked, window is still huge.

[TwilightWalker]

Nah, just strap engines and a guidance computer onto a few big rocks in the asteroid belt, time them to hit around the same time and wait. No need for a massive ship or operation.

If that were possible...

a) It'd be very slow unless you used hundreds of (expensive) engines.
b) The enemy would have an ample window to intercept the lumbering rock with either missiles or sustained fire from energy weapons.
c) You also would need to get the massive engine cargo there somehow (not to mention install it all), which means...
--- 1) The cargo ships could be intercepted as well.
--- 2) The enemy would have a lot of time to disrupt your plan.

So I don't think it would be such a good idea unless you're hitting a frontier colony with minimal military presence. And even if it were the last colony of a largely defeated alien race, simply invading the planet would take far less time and expense. And probably be more effective across the board.

I know this is from the previous page, but this reminds me of a sci-fi book by David Weber called "The Shiva Option". Basically, the humans and their allies are fighting the Bugs, a hive-mind race that fits the typical horde mentality: fast, expendable ships that use kamikaze tactics basially by default. Normally, the humans use fighter craft armed with anti-matter missiles to bomb hive worlds into molten rock, though casualties are typically high thanks to orbital platforms.

At one point, the humans decide on a different tactic: attaching engines to several large rocks and hurling them towards the planet. Attaching the engines takes months, the asteroids are horribly slow (at first), and the Bugs repeatedly try to destroy or divert the rocks, forcing the allied fleet to defend them and taking massive casualties in the process.

While the asteroids worked (all but glassing the planet and destroying the orbital defenses in the process), it would have been faster and far cheaper to just bomb the planet like normal. The allies never try that tactic again.

What's interesting is that in many ways, "The Shiva Option" is harder sci-fi than Aurora. In system travel is slow, FTL can only be obtained using jump points that must be searched for, communications and sensors are limited by light speed, and ships must move thru a jump point one at a time or risk "intersecting". In fact, one of the main reasons I started playing Aurora is because it reminded me of this book.

</offtopic>

Ha...haha..hahahaha. This is hilarious, it's more on-topic than you think. The Shiva Option takes place in the 'Starfire' game setting. Aurora is an updated 'tool' used to play Starfire.

Edit: In Death Ground, prequel to The Shiva Option. Sound familiar?

[Narmio]

Kind of a shame that missles are soo inaccurate (unless you turn them into cluster missles) that they are only really effective at striking planets.

Wait, what? The first time you encounter a Precursor ship in Aurora - something that you can reasonably expect to have happen in the first ten or so systems you explore - you'll change your mind about missile accuracy.  I'm sorry, but that observation is not really compatible with fact. On what are you basing it?

[Neonivek]

The Wiki said that... in the beginner guide.

[Micro102]

Kind of a shame that missles are soo inaccurate (unless you turn them into cluster missles) that they are only really effective at striking planets.

Wait, what? The first time you encounter a Precursor ship in Aurora - something that you can reasonably expect to have happen in the first ten or so systems you explore - you'll change your mind about missile accuracy.  I'm sorry, but that observation is not really compatible with fact. On what are you basing it?

10 systems? I have scouted out over 12 so far and nothing

[Narmio]

The Wiki said that... in the beginner guide.

Where, exactly?  If it says that, it should be edited.  If it is worded in such a way as to make that a possible interpretation of what it says, it should be clarified.

In the early game, fighting opponents with a tech and possibly tonnage advantage, by far the most effective strategy is massed volleys of relatively small missiles. Missiles have roughly two orders of magnitude greater range than beams, and closing that distance whilst staying alive is tough even when you have superior drive technology to your opponents.  The reason for large volleys and small missiles is that active defences - counter-missiles and point-defence beam/kinetic weapons - are very effective in this game.  Sitting back and trading missile volleys with an opponent often becomes a game of `who runs out of counter-missiles first?'  Smaller missiles fired from reduced-size launchers are advantageous because their defences must intercept more in each wave, increasing the percentage that will get through.

Early-game beams are incredibly deadly in a jump-point-defence role, utterly wrecking enemies in the 15-45 seconds or so that they're blind and can't return fire. But in open space you have to be able to survive closing to effectively employ beams, and that's something that you really need to invest research into developing.  There's quite a number of approaches, though.  So if you've got the resources and you tech up for a while before doing any expanding, any number of different tactics are available to you. It's just that if you need to fight really early on, a saturation missile strike is probably your best bet.

EDIT:

10 systems? I have scouted out over 12 so far and nothing

It's a reasonable expectation, but no guarantee.  Assuming you've got them turned on, Precursors are...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

robotic guardians that are the last remnant of an ancient, advanced empire.

You find them...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

guarding random planets, often with alien ruins or a robotic listening post on them. They're quite technologically advanced and they love their missiles.

Typically my first encounter with them...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 involves a survey ship suddenly turning into a rapidly expanding cloud of gas.

[Micro102]

Yes I know what precursors are, I've been with this game for a while. Just never got around to playing past the first system. Too much of the 5 sec increment bug

[Neonivek]

Is it possible to create Chaff Drones? Or basically drones created to attract missle attention?

[quintin522]

Closet thing is a two stage drone loaded with a lot of small 0 warhead missiles so your enemy wastes AMMs on them