[X3LU] Mayhem 3.21b

[Hector0x]

Anyone run into a bug where you try to tell a ship to move to a position in a system, and then you try to use the keypad to move the cursor around, and nothing moves?

Once you're in the map, briefly tap any key to move the cursor. Then click on where you want the ship to go. The cursor will jump to this position. Click again and the ship will go there.

Also, for Satellite Monitoring, what does "Claim: Protectorate" mean for a system?

"Claim" can show any faction. If it does, this faction has activated a battlegroup which is currently trying to destroy all stations in this sector. If it succeeds before the claim runs out, the sector falls to the aggressor.

If a sector changes colors it will become a "Protectorate" and factions can't conquer it. The protectorate status runs out after a few hours. This is to prevent battles on the same frontlines over and over and that destroyed sectors get some time to rebuild to get more resilient against a counterattack. If the player destroys a station during this protection period he will get sanctioned by Terracorp. (You and the factions are basically like Districts from The Hunger Games and Terracorp is the Capitol and they are supervising the battle with shady rules)

[Hairless-Ape]

Anyone run into a bug where you try to tell a ship to move to a position in a system, and then you try to use the keypad to move the cursor around, and nothing moves? The cursor just sort of disappears.
I've got that happening in a fairly large system; one that has a pirate base about 180k off center. I'm guessing it has something to do with that but not sure. When I started the game I could position ships in the system, but it stopped letting me soon after I sent ships to attack the station, and now even if I restart computer and everything, it just won't let me position anything. Anyway, just reaching here to see if anyone else knows of this. As it is, I'm going to have to start a new game because of this.. sad.

Cursor tends to focus on first object in system. If that is the pirate base, then that's where it is.
Move your focus with the (normal) arrow keys so you are highlightning another object if available and press NumPad 5 to bring cursor to that object.

Doesn't work. This is only happening in this one system only. The normal arrow keys will cycle the cursor between various objects in the map, but the keypad keys don't do anything, where'as in every other system they work correctly and you can scroll the cursor to an exact position you want. I think it has something to do with the fact the system is so large. You can zoom all the way out and still not see that pirate base. Weird bug, probably in the base game. It was ok, until I sent all my ships after the base and then I was trying to move a ship around to a position and from that point on, no matter what I did, it just stopped working. I will just have to start a new game.

[Hairless-Ape]

"Claim" can show any faction. If it does, this faction has activated a battlegroup which is currently trying to destroy all stations in this sector. If it succeeds before the claim runs out, the sector falls to the aggressor.
If a sector changes colors it will become a "Protectorate" and factions can't conquer it. The protectorate status runs out after a few hours. This is to prevent battles on the same frontlines over and over and that destroyed sectors get some time to rebuild to get more resilient against a counterattack. If the player destroys a station during this protection period he will get sanctioned by Terracorp. (You and the factions are basically like Districts from The Hunger Games and Terracorp is the Capitol and they are supervising the battle with shady rules)

I keep reading this over and over but something's missing.
You say "If a sector changes colors", but you don't say how that happens, or what color or what the color means?
I think something is being assumed here that I should know, but I'm just not smart enough to figure it out (monkey brain you see).

Could you maybe just out line the sequence of events, and how the claim and color changes so I can get a better picture of what it means? I'd be grateful.

Thanks.

[Hector0x]

Sectors on your galaxy map are colored based on the owner.
Grey = no owner
White = Player (You)
Brown = Xenon
Blue = Argon
Green = Boron
Purple = Split
Orange = Paranid
Yellow = Teladi

How you usually change colors:
1) from grey to white: build a station in this sector
2) from any color which isn't grey to white: destroy all stations, then build a station
3) from any color to grey: destroy all stations in an unclaimed sector (see below)

How AI factions can change colors:
They build fleets called "Battlegroups". Ocasionally they randomly pick any sector which isn't a protectorate or which is owned by a faction they are allied with.
1) change from grey to their faction color: the battlegroup simply has to travel to the sector
2) change from any color which isn't grey to their faction color: the battlegroup has to destroy all stations first

When a Battlegroup decides to attack, the faction claims the target sector. During the claim no one other than the attacker gets the sector once the last station gets destroyed.

If you destroy a station in a sector which isn't claimed by anyone the sector gets claimed by you and no other AI Battlegroup can claim it. Once you destroy the last station, the sector becomes grey.

All claims runs out after some time. Battlegroups will return home if they didn't manage to destroy all stations in time. Which happens quite often.
After a change to a color other than grey, the sector becomes protected for some time (protectorate). AI battlegroups can't target protectorates and the player gets a large cash penalty if he destroys a station in a protectorate sector.

[azxcvbnm321]

What are the differences between Wings and having a Fleet? In which situations should I use one or the other?

Right now I'm at the stage where I'm taking out pirate and xenon stations and am having to fight a lot. I'm using a Fleet to attack the stations which seems better than a wing. For sector defense though, I'm not sure which is better. And since this is only 3rd game of X3, first with Mayhem, I'm also not sure of some of the settings, such as wingman, wingman for player, and so forth, when should I be using those? I watched the video by Darth Fiscus and know to set the Fleet commander settings so that follower ships don't chase. Are there other settings that I need to set for wings and fleets that are crucial? And I assume Defend Sector and Patrol Sector have the exact same effect? Thanks all.

[Betelgeuse97]

What are the differences between Wings and having a Fleet? In which situations should I use one or the other?

Right now I'm at the stage where I'm taking out pirate and xenon stations and am having to fight a lot. I'm using a Fleet to attack the stations which seems better than a wing. For sector defense though, I'm not sure which is better. And since this is only 3rd game of X3, first with Mayhem, I'm also not sure of some of the settings, such as wingman, wingman for player, and so forth, when should I be using those? I watched the video by Darth Fiscus and know to set the Fleet commander settings so that follower ships don't chase. Are there other settings that I need to set for wings and fleets that are crucial? And I assume Defend Sector and Patrol Sector have the exact same effect? Thanks all.

Wingman and wings were around since X2 and X3TC respectively. Both wings and fleets tried to help the player manage a large group of ships.

With a wing, you don't have a leader. You control all ships at once, and it's more complicated to control an individual ship. In a fleet, you have a leader and that leader is reassigned when it dies. You control the leader and its followers support that leader.

Fleet supersedes wings since fleets can be ordered to have all ships prioritize attacks or flee, and all of this is done in a single menu. For this reason, there's no reason to use wings.

EDIT: Corrections

[Hairless-Ape]

Is a Tug's Range limited to the jump range you set on it's outpost where it's home-based?

Not sure I understand the Auto-assign Traders/miners etc. Does the A.I. just randomly pick and unassigned ship of the correct type (and homebased at that outpost) and make it do that duty?

Can you sell Meat/Vegetables/Fish/Fruit ? We start with some, but if you don't need food, can you get rid of them?

My outpost Looter seems to be picking up a bunch of junk. Other than Ship components, I'm wondering where to sell it? Would this manually be sold at a trading station?


Regarding Logistics, I seem to be following a pattern for jobs where I have an export and an import job for each factory type, so the outpost pulls everything in, and dolls it all out. Seems like less control and Mayhem 2. It seems I can assign a hauler to a station directly and give it the "workers-Agent" command, but honestly I have no clue what that hauler would end up doing since there seems to be little control. Would it sell to NPC's even if I needed those resources myself? Would it buy from NPC's, even though I could supply those materials myself?


Thanks.

[Hector0x]

Is a Tug's Range limited to the jump range you set on it's outpost where it's home-based?

They should. They are a worker (it's a term for all automated civilian ships in Mayhem). All workers are supposed to respect this range limit. But i haven't used Tugs yet so you could be on a bug.

Not sure I understand the Auto-assign Traders/miners etc. Does the A.I. just randomly pick and unassigned ship of the correct type (and homebased at that outpost) and make it do that duty?

Yes, if the AI finds a ship which is able to do the job (encyclopedia has a list with all commands and their requirements) then it assign the ship to become Agent, Worker, or whatever you have set up for autoassign. So if you need a replacement trader you only have to order one for production with the right homebase. It will get this job automatically once it has been built.

Can you sell Meat/Vegetables/Fish/Fruit ? We start with some, but if you don't need food, can you get rid of them?

You can sell to trading stations and other NPC outposts which need the food. Trading stations will eventually run out of free cargo space for the food they are buying and NPC outposts are only willing to buy up to 8.333 units of the food they actually consume over time.
You will eventually have huge food stockpiles no matter what you do. The idea is to make you consider using the food for your outposts. But you will never be able to sell or get rid all food because any outpost produces double the amount it consumes. There is no way to prevent that all food storages are maxed out after a long period of playtime. Then they will only disappear when an outpost gets destroyed and a new one gets built.

My outpost Looter seems to be picking up a bunch of junk. Other than Ship components, I'm wondering where to sell it? Would this manually be sold at a trading station?

If it's a resource (Chemicals, Protein Paste) it can be sold to factories. If it's missles, lasers, or shields it can only be sold to certain trading stations (definitely Markus corp and Thuruk's). Selling a lot of random crap always seems to require a lot of micromanagement. You can recycle these goods in your outpost. You only get half the value but it's easy and saves you time.

Regarding Logistics, I seem to be following a pattern for jobs where I have an export and an import job for each factory type, so the outpost pulls everything in, and dolls it all out.

That is the default way. NPC Supply ships are doing the same thing for NPC outposts. I can only recommend to stick to this method. It makes it easier to manage your global storages and distribute stuff to where you need it. I tried different setups to prevent shipping intermediate products to the outpost first. Trust me, if you do this you will find yourself in micromanagement hell. It works up to half a dozen sectors. Then you stop playing for a week and have no idea what is going on after you come back

It seems I can assign a hauler to a station directly and give it the "workers-Agent" command, but honestly I have no clue what that hauler would end up doing since there seems to be little control.

The Agent would effectively have two jobs similar to an outpost Agent.
1) Import what the factory needs as soon as resource stock drops below import threshold (the default is 10% of maximum cargo capacity, can be adjusted in station parameters)
2) Export what the factory produces as soon as product stock reaches export threshold (default 40%)

The only difference to an outpost Agent is that the factory Agent can import and export to and from any of your stations (outposts and factories). This allows you to for example skip shipping microchips to an outpost because there is absolutely no need to have them in an outpost. Instead the Agent would ship them directly to your computer plant.
Factory Agents are usually a waste since an outpost Agent is often able to keep at least 5 factories running. A factory Agent will only keep his homebase factory running. In my opinion this is only ever worth it on far away mining stations which drain C-Rations and produce bulky Ore/Silicon very quickly. So they can keep an entire Agent busy all the time. But even then i don't use them. Too much hassle with X3's ugly interfaces. Outpost Agents and Job Presets can be used as one click solutions.

Would it sell to NPC's even if I needed those resources myself? Would it buy from NPC's, even though I could supply those materials myself?

No, an Agent can never buy or sell anything. The AI uses these ships too. For them they are called "Supply ..."

When an Agent loads or unloads something money will NEVER be transferred. He can only load or unload at stations you own.
When a Trader loads or unloads something money MUST be transferred. He can load or unload at your stations or at NPC stations.

[Betelgeuse97]

Can you sell Meat/Vegetables/Fish/Fruit ? We start with some, but if you don't need food, can you get rid of them?

You can sell to trading stations and other NPC outposts which need the food. Trading stations will eventually run out of free cargo space for the food they are buying and NPC outposts are only willing to buy up to 8.333 units of the food they actually consume over time.
You will eventually have huge food stockpiles no matter what you do. The idea is to make you consider using the food for your outposts. But you will never be able to sell or get rid all food because any outpost produces double the amount it consumes. There is no way to prevent that all food storages are maxed out after a long period of playtime. Then they will only disappear when an outpost gets destroyed and a new one gets built.

In a test I ran, I actually noticed that people consume the same amount that is produced. For example, outpost A has 50 people producing 100 meat per cycle. Outpost B has 50 people consuming meat per cycle. Outpost B will consume 100 meat per cycle, not 50.

[Hector0x]

In a test I ran, I actually noticed that people consume the same amount that is produced. For example, outpost A has 50 people producing 100 meat per cycle. Outpost B has 50 people consuming meat per cycle. Outpost B will consume 100 meat per cycle, not 50.

This shouldn't be. Could be a bug, but how long did you test it?

Food got these two lines in 9972-L044.xml:

<t id="144">2</t> <!-- Outpost product production factor per consumption cycle (* people). (default: 2) -->
<t id="9">1</t> <!-- Outpost resource consumption factor per consumption cycle (* people). (default: 1) -->

[sigurhel]

Hi!

I was under the impression from the help files that Boarding was more of an "infiltration" mechanic in M3. But shields still need to be 10% or lower, which is not giving one many targets in the mid-game.
So what's your boarding strategy?

Also stats on marines? Any thoughts?

[4square425]

1. There's an upgrade you can equip from colored crystals to reduce shields without firing weapons.

2. I set up an Outpost with both the marine training and sickbay perks as my base for boarding.

3. After I train the marines there, I stick them in highly survivable ships like M6s or even M7s as pilots and find some enemies, like pirates or a race I'm at war with. Have those ships destroy the enemies to get extra skill points for the marines.

4. I tend to train each one to be a specialist in a skill, then once they get to 100, pick a second skill.

5. When boarding itself, your biggest obstacle is time. When hacking through the decks, look for security offices that gives you a chance to reset transmissions. There's a post earlier in this thread that has the specifics (page 530). However, that allows you to reset the overall boarding timer. There's a similar one for resetting the sentinel patrols.

[Betelgeuse97]

In a test I ran, I actually noticed that people consume the same amount that is produced. For example, outpost A has 50 people producing 100 meat per cycle. Outpost B has 50 people consuming meat per cycle. Outpost B will consume 100 meat per cycle, not 50.

This shouldn't be. Could be a bug, but how long did you test it?

Food got these two lines in 9972-L044.xml:

<t id="144">2</t> <!-- Outpost product production factor per consumption cycle (* people). (default: 2) -->
<t id="9">1</t> <!-- Outpost resource consumption factor per consumption cycle (* people). (default: 1) -->

My bad. I ran another test and looks like they don't eat the same amount of food.

EDIT: Question about "xenon targeting signature." What is the range needed for one of your ships to detect this, and what exactly do xenon do when they arrive to that sector?

[Joubarbe]

"Xenon targeting signature" is just a lore way of telling you that Xenons are coming. It's not related to anything, it's just a warning you'll always receive, no matter where you are. There are two Xenon fleets: 1/ Small invasion fleets attack other ships and capture beacons (also stations if the player is too strong). 2/ Big invasion fleets attack stations (only on later stages of the plot).

Boarding tip: use EMP.

[sigurhel]

1. There's an upgrade you can equip from colored crystals to reduce shields without firing weapons.
...

Thanks for the tips, worked well!
What upgrade is this (1), I have the software signal thing, but that only reduces signal interception according to the lore.

[sigurhel]

...
Boarding tip: use EMP.

Ahh, ofc. Need to find a a good sector for that. Been a bit stingy on making outposts, still in early mid game.
Thanks!

[Hector0x]

Ahh, ofc. Need to find a a good sector for that.

There is a mobile EMP device you can install on your ships.

[sigurhel]

Ahh, ofc. Need to find a a good sector for that.

There is a mobile EMP device you can install on your ships.

Ahh it's ST class, need it on an TL. That's why I missed that. Thanks.

[azxcvbnm321]

People keep talking about the special equipment, like the one that reduces maintenance costs, but how do I get those? I also have colored crystals at my base, but have no way of using them, does all of that come later in the story? I'm currently at the point where I have to kill all Xenon stations.

[Sirrobert]

Well I'm finally going back to trying out Mayhem, and I'm already feeling lost on the first few hours.
One particularly frustrating tidbit is that manual trade seems MUCH harder now, because the AI actually has sufficient ships to do the work. When I finally do find a factory with a full inventory, some NPC trader swooped in and bought everything before my traders even got there.
I'm torn between doing combat missions to make some cash, or hopping into the fastest ships I have and explore the galaxy for spots to settle.

So I'm completely lost. What is a good path for the first hours?