Follow/chase logic

[pref]

I was wondering how to have a coordinated fleet without ships being able to follow each other. I don't see how can intercept, escort or fly in formation work without this properly.
Currently it seems the target's position is not refreshed often enough, which results in the follower ships revisiting earlier waypoints of the target if it has changed destinations while the follower tries to catch up.

Does 3.0 address this or is it planned for a later beta?
If it does not is there a way to implement this via scripting, or it needs engine level support?
I have a hard time figuring out what events this logic could hook on and if those exist at all - target travel drive on/off, starting execution of any script command that has a destination, and who knows what else.

I'd expect to have a follow/intercept command that reaches the target asap and either completes when target is in a certain range, or runs until cancelled from code with possibility to define interrupts.

Maybe it's just me but this makes me feel like playing an early access title when it comes to fleet control.

[TheInspector]

Are you asking how to get fleets to follow certain ships without explicitly using the follow command?

[fiby]

Are you asking how to get fleets to follow certain ships without explicitly using the follow command?

The issue I understand it to be is if you command ship 1 to attack/follow ship 2. Ship 1 travels to ships 2 location A. By the time ship 1 gets to location A, ship 2 is now at location B.

In this instances ship A has not alter its course and only alters the course when it’s gets to location A and the above sequence continues till they are close enough.

Note I have played since release so again would be interested myself if this function has improved.

[pref]

Yes, just as fiby says.

I started to think about this issue again when i tried to imagine how a response force could be implemented, with a global logic for each faction that watches over the whole space of the faction and utilizes the available forces assigned to it to actually defend and not just fly around aimlessly attacking random targets.

It's not that hard to get a priority list for possible targets and lend AI ships a somewhat sane looking behaviour at least.
But i have no idea how can i send a group of ships that attack together, can intercept a target even if it moves and so on.
Feels like a dead end with the current placeholder logic..

[Cretain]

I noticed yesterday that Xenon ships seem to be able to do just that. They were attacking a scout of mine who was on sattelite-placing duty and as the scout moved "south" the Xenon corrected their course while chasing the scout. At the same time I had some ships set to follow a destroyer in a neighbour system and they did only fly to the location of the destroyer...where it was when I issued the command(it was pretty far from that point when they reached it).