NanakoAC

Join Date 10/2012

We need the ability to designate a custom constructor for autodispatch

I don't know how amny of you guys are aware, but i've been using a neat little trick since galciv 2. For the constructors that i build most of the time, (to upgrade starbases with) i design a special constructor which is stripped down to nothing but a hull and construction module. Removing the engines and life support. I name this ship Upgrader

This lowers the cost significantly, by about 40-60% compared to the default one, and enables me to crank them out a turn or two faster, which is pretty critical

I'm loving the new starbase request/dispatch feature, but there seems to be a problem with it, in that the request button will only call a default constructor, with unnecessary life support. Situations where i can't reach a base i've already built are exceeedingly rare, life support is completely pointless and a waste of time and industry points.

If i delete/obsolete the default constructor design, the requesting feature breaks, and throws the error "You cannot build constructors at this time"

What i want it to do is to autobuild my upgrader ships when i click request, and not the default ones.

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What i want it to do is to autobuild my upgrader ships when i click request, and not the default ones.

I had the same observation. I also use a stripped constructor for local building and a long-range, fast constructor for resource starbases that may be a significant distance from my planets. Being able to select the constructor I want to build--and the shipyards I want to use when I use more than one--would really make this tool valuable.

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agreed.

I generally load my upgrader ships up with multiple construction modules once miniaturisation makes it possible, i've seen ships able to carry 3 construction points each which is pretty cool

for actually constructing starbases, i use a ship i name Pioneer, which has a single constructor, plus a good balance of lifesupport and engines.

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Agreed. The feature is useless for me right now. As previously stated, you rarely need a constructor with life support besides building at an isolated relic.

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androshalforc

Join Date 03/2007

+62

I was using constructors with 8 modules in my last game

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Bump. This feature is still missing in 6.1

The request constructor button calls a ship which is loaded down with pointless engines and support.

It needs to order the most efficient stripped down constructor. Which at the beginning is just a single constructor module. Later on, as andros describes, it can have multiple construction modules. But there's still no point in having anything BUT construction modules on it.

Either let us designate a constructor manually, or autodesign an efficient one.

Designation is better because i can think of at least one situation, (wartime with enem,y ships everywhere) where you might want a different sort of custom constructor. Like, one on a non-cargo hull with some weapons and defenses attached.

but mostly, just constructor modules pls.

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bump.

it would be sad to release without this, especially since the request constructor is one of the trumpeted features on the release announcement page. It's a worthless feature until this issue is sorted.

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eviator

Join Date 08/2014

+62

They've said they want to. They've also said "not at release".

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Franco fx

Join Date 04/2003

+59

I also want to be able to send custom ships, but it looks like we won't get it until later.

Meanwhile the system is not broken. In fact it works quite well. It just isn't as efficient as it could be.

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Also, there is no easy way to re-prioritize constructors sent out by the Request system. I've had to shut down my shipyards, cancel all of the constructor builds, resume, then go through all of my star bases and one by one re-request the constructors in the order I really wanted.

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I've had to just not use the request constructor feature at all. My starbases require so many modules to complete that only my custom designed constructor can keep up and yet I have to continuously build them and then hunt for the starbases which require them. Thankfully I only ever need two of those beasts now to fully upgrade a base from construction to maxed out, and that's with having one ship provide 46 construction points.

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While waiting for this feature to make it into the game, there is one thing you can do if you don't mind a little modding. Open up ShipBlueprintDefs.xml, find ConstructorBlueprint, and you can tweak the default constructor loadouts to suit your style.

I changed this:

<ShipBlueprint>
    <InternalName>ConstructorBlueprint</InternalName>
    <ShipHullType>Cargo</ShipHullType>
    <Role>Support</Role>
    <RequiredComponentType>ConstructionModule</RequiredComponentType>
    <ComponentType>LifeSupport</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>LifeSupport</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>InterstellarDrive</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>LifeSupport</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>LifeSupport</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>Sensor</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>InterstellarDrive</ComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>ConstructionModule</FillerComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>LifeSupport</FillerComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>LifeSupport</FillerComponentType>
</ShipBlueprint>

To this:

<ShipBlueprint>
    <InternalName>ConstructorBlueprint</InternalName>
    <ShipHullType>Cargo</ShipHullType>
    <Role>Support</Role>
    <RequiredComponentType>ConstructionModule</RequiredComponentType>
    <ComponentType>ConstructionModule</ComponentType>
    <ComponentType>InterstellarDrive</ComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>ConstructionModule</FillerComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>ConstructionModule</FillerComponentType>
    <FillerComponentType>ConstructionModule</FillerComponentType>
</ShipBlueprint>

Now I get a bunch of slow constructors with no life support or sensors, but filled (relatively speaking) with construction modules, hull capacity/tech dependent of course. You could delete the last InterstellarDrive as well, but I like having a little more speed on my builders.

By the way, this works for getting rid of superfluous sensors, etc., on the colony ships and freighters as well.

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Good work Sansloi37. If you're at it already could you create a dropdown menu with
already designed constructor variations? ^^

For me the whole building of starbases is somewhat tiresome and
very repetative.
- Build constructor -> move constructor -> click on build starbase
If you missclick you get a shipyard ^^.
-> (in early game) build ten more constructors -> move them
-> upgrade starbases etc.

An alternative approach to building starbases:

If I need a new starbase, it would be nice If I could just
order the whole thing from a nearby shipyard.
And predesigning the starbase in a extra design menu.
One could also bring more modules to move that thing faster.

For upgrading the shipyard I just select to deliver the module I need
from shipyard. Maybe even upgrading it automatically if the necessary
technology is researched.

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I suppose obsoleting the original constructor doesn't help?

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I agree I think the request constructor feature needs improved for drop down of constructor types available.

In the mean time my method is building 4 - 5 constructors and using the GO TO option at bottom to send them as a fleet from the menu list of starbase and shipyards available.

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Quoting shiva7663,

reply 13

I suppose obsoleting the original constructor doesn't help?

Yeah, this just breaks the button and makes it unusable.

Would definitely love to see this added in to make managing all those star bases a little easier.

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a0152570

Join Date 06/2014

+49

Quoting Kias,

reply 15

Yeah, this just breaks the button and makes it unusable.

Not exactly, it still works as designed If you have idle constructors of AYN type and the default has been delete OR if the closest shipyard is shut down it will call the closest constructor, (it also does this if any idle constructor is within 50 hex and closer that a ship yard)

I obsolete the default, design my own constructor, put it on auto build and auto send them to a rally point. Once i have several

available, i cycle through my starbases hitting request Con. and it summons one from the pile at rally point. If you use them all up you get the None Available pop up.

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Quoting a0152570,

reply 16

I obsolete the default, design my own constructor, put it on auto build and auto send them to a rally point. Once i have several

available, i cycle through my starbases hitting request Con. and it summons one from the pile at rally point. If you use them all up you get the None Available pop up.

I like this as a work around until we get to assign the constructor. I knew about it calling idle constructors, but I didn't think about using it with a rally point to help alleviate clicking through the starbases every turn. Thanks!

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a0152570

Join Date 06/2014

+49

Quoting Kias,

reply 17

most welcome, You do waste some turns depending on how big a pile you want but if you have 2 or 3 shipyards capable of 1/turn its not bad.

I just tried out Sansloi37's suggest mod. iT WORKS GREAT. If you want to use it i would highly recommend you do it in the mod directory.

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I just found this forum after having played GalCiv3 for only about a week. I haven't tried Sansloi37's mod yet, but I attempted a0152570's work around. What I discovered is that when I obsoleted the default constructor ship and then hit Request Constructor, my nearby Shipyard put "Basic Constructor" into the build queue. Basic Constructor is a Cargo frame with a single constructor module on it. This happened when I already had a custom constructor built. So the Custom Ship still flew to th base when I clicked Request Constructor, but another point was added to the request queue and the shipyard added a Basic Constructor to the build queue.

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My work around has been to infinitely queue the constructors I want in a shipyard(s) or simply build it ahead of time, and then use the request constructor function.

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Syrkres

Join Date 04/2005

+13

Ok looks like it's been 7 months since this thread was last touched (note Just recently purchased game) and before I go off and mod my first mod, has this been implemented? Or is there a Mod I can simply download?????

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aerez4546

Join Date 05/2007

+51

It has been fixed, you can set your own custom made constructors as the default constructor.

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Syrkres

Join Date 04/2005

+13

How do I do this, because I have designed custom constructors (in game) but not sure how to make the create/use those.

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Publius of NV

Join Date 08/2002

+191

For each starbase, bring up the starbase details and then click on the button in the lower right that says something about settings, then you get a menu where you can select (among other things) which constructor type to order. If there's a way to do it globally instead of starbase by starbase I'm not aware of it.

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erischild

Join Date 01/2012

+136

The Sponsor Settings screen offers the custom constructor options, as well as a couple others. The little gear to the right of that option makes it apply to all starbases.

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