AI weakness/abuse (cheese or bug) with freighter vote

from Stardock Forums
I got the vote for "should freighters no longer be attacked by ships". The effect of this vote made freighters invulnerable in space. I immediately proceeded to build a nice fleet of freighters. Their bieng impossible to target makes them very useful shields. The ai doesn't seem to realize that, however, and will often do two silly things:
1) Leave a dreadnought or two by my freighter, looking like it wants to attack it, but forgetting it is not legal.
2) Let itself be surrounded by freighters. I had "captured" 3 dreadnoughts that way with 8 freighters. I then opened the can, and the ai immediately sent 4 more dreadnoughts into the trap. I put my freighter back on top, and thus locked 7 costly dreadnoughts with 8 puny cheap freighters...

I think either the event should be removed, or changed so that freighters get a big but not infinite defense, or the ai should learn how to use/counter it.
482 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
Or you could just not make 100's of frieghters in order to surround all the enemy ships. ;)

This is an incredibly lowe priority fix, that UP event has come up twice for me in 20 games, and in those games it does appear, only a handful of people would actually do this. :P
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Perhaps the key is for the Devs to try and limit it to trade route freighters - in other words, those that have reached their destination and become 'tiny'. That way the abuses couldn't happen. 'Free range' freighters would still be valid targets.
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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I haven't had this event yet (I want *more* events!) but could see the temptation to build a shield wall of them if I ever did.

Baerd's suggestion of limiting "imunity" to freighters already on a route makes a lot of sense.

It seems simple, effective, and difficult to abuse. Perhaps best of all it seems like it wouldn't require any major AI changes.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Don't know if it's possible, but making it so that you can 'pass through' enemy ships that you can't attack would work also.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I just thought of an intersting hypothetical situation in the game. Iv never gotten it myself, but I understand that there is an event that creates an ubber minor civ that pretty much kills everyone, I think the name started with a D. It would be funny if you can use this to block them . ;)