beta5 en Fleets Movements
When coming to fleets movements in LegacyWorlds, two different kinds of "space" have to be considered:
  • normal space
  • hyperspace
Both types will be covered in the next parapgraphs.
Normal space can be considered as the "real world" space, where stars, planets and other stellar objects are located. It's the space in which system ships can travel with their sub-light engines. But moving from one stellar system to another with that kind of engines would take centuries and researchers in LegacyWorlds had to find other means to allow space exploration to be more practical. That's where hyperspace travel gets in.
The scientists in the LegacyWorlds universe soon realised space could also be apprehended on another plane that they called hyperspace. Hyperspace could be considered as another dimension, adjacent to the real one, where the distances between spatial bodies are significantly distorted. As a consequence, hyperspace travel is much faster than travel in normal space. The main drawbacks are that:
  • jumping between hyperspace and normal space used tremendous amounts of energy which implies some specialised engines to open hyperspace windows
  • the lay-out of hyperspace is fluctuating and impossible to cartography. As a consequence moving ships following a defined trajectory reach their destination without problem. But ships stationned in hyperspace can derive from their location and lose clear knowlegde of their position and get definitively lost, unless they have a static point of reference in the form of a hyperspace beacon
Movement computation is the process that allows to define the position of a moving fleet. The exact rules behind this computation include general rules that are valid for all ravel types and others depend on the type of space the fleets are moving in. Rules for all movements, normal space and hyperspace travel are the topics of the next two paragraphs.
All space travels are regulated according to those rules along with rules specific to the type of travel. These general rules are listed below:
  • Movement computation and current position of every moving fleets is calculated every minute. This allows for an almost real time effect of fleets movements
  • In case of a change in the destination of a fleet, the new trajectory is calculated using its current location as starting point
  • Fleets passing by a planet can't be spotted by its owner unless they get into orbit around the planet
  • Fleets' speed is influenced by the type of objects they pass by: nebulas and planetary remains reduce the speed of ships crossing their orbits
Normal space travel is regulated by the following rules:
  • Fleets always travel in normal space inside a given stellar system unless the fleet is hyperspace capable and an hyperspace stand-by delay has been set. In such a case the fleets travel in hyperspace but the travel time remains the same as for normal space travel
  • Between two stellar objects a fleet follows the most direct trajectory between the two
  • The fleet always crosses all the orbits between the two stellar objects (its origin nd its destination). As a consequence moving from the first orbit to the 6th takes much longer than from the first to the second
  • Travelling from one orbit to the orbit immediately next to it takes 12 min. The time to travel between two planets inside the same is then a multiple of 12, the multiplication factor depending on the number of orbits to cross
Hyperspace travel is regulated by the following rules:
  • When going beyond the limits of a stellar system or a nebula, a fleet has to travel through hyperspace. Fleets that aren't hyperspace capable can't go beyond the limits of a stellar system
  • When leaving a stellar system, a fleet has to cross all orbits between its starting point and the edges of the system before travelling to the next one
  • A fleet moving between two stellar systems follows the most direct path to the destination system
  • When entering its destination system a fleet crosses again the necessary orbits until it reaches its destination planet
  • Whatever the origin and destination orbits in the stellar system are the time to go from one system to another is always the same
  • Hyperspace travel speed can be increased through technologies. This topic is covered in the ship speed of the ships section of the manual
There are two different means to access the fleets' orders page:
  • On the individual page of each planet, planetary remains or nebula square, a Send Fleets link is available below the name of the stellar object. Clicking this link directs you to a specific page where you can select the fleets you want to send to that particular location and set up some parameters for the movement of the fleet
  • On the main fleet page, when at least one fleet is selected, a Change orders link is displayed in the bottom Actions section of the page. Clicking this link also directs you to the fleets' order change page
The page includes some actions links and three different sections:
  • New orders: to define the orders you want the selected fleets to perform
  • Selected fleets: this list displays all fleets selected to perform the action defined in the New orders section
  • Available fleets: this lists includes all fleets you can control (bet it yours or those of your off-line trusted allies) which could follow the orders
In this part of the page you can define three kinds of orders:
  • Destination: to choose where to send the fleet
  • Hyperspace stand-by orders: to get a fleet to stand-by in hyperspace
  • Fleet mode: to define the mode the fleet will be in upon arrival
Each type of order willl be detailed in the next paragraphs.
The Destination line first defines the fleet's destination if any has already been set. The destination is preset for instance for moving fleets or when you access the page from the Send Fleets link of an individual stellar object page.
To change the destination you have to click the Set destination link. You'll get directed to a new page describing current destination if any and providing a destination selection tool. This tool consists in a minimap and several means to change the system it is centered on:
  • Minimap: this minimap is centered on the system in which is located your first planet and displays one stellar system at a time. Arrows are diplayed around the minimap if the selected fleets are hyperspace capable or if you have hyperspace capable fleets in case no particular fleet is selected yet. Using the arrows around the map allows you to change the focus of the minimap and move around that system
  • Centre on coordinates: you can center the minimap on a particular stellar system based on its coordinates. To do you you have to select the relevant radio button and type the coordinates of the stellar system in the provided textfields. Clicking the Move button centers the map on this system
  • Centre on own/allied planet: you can also center the minimap on one of your own planets or one of your trusted allies' planets. To do so, select the relevant radio button and choose the planet you're interested in in the drop down list. Clicking the Move button centers the minimap on the system the planet is located in
  • Centre on planet: you can also center the minimap on an stellar body based on its name. In that case select the corresponding radio button and type in the name of the stellar object in the provided textfield. Clicking the Move button centers the minimap on the system the planet is located in
Once you have centered the minimap you have to choose the particular stellar object you want to send your fleet to by clicking its name in the minimap. You can now either validate you destination by clicking the Confirm button or cancel your changes by clicking the Cancel button.
Fleets around a stellar object can either:
  • orbit it in clear sight in normal space
  • stay in its neighbourhood in hyperspace
The hyperspace stand-by orders line first of all indicates current orders, that is to say for how long a fleet is supposed to stay in hyperspace without moving at its current location or at its destination.
A Set delay link allows you to define for how long the fleet should remain in hyperspace either at its current location or once it has reached its destination. Clicking the Set Delay link opens an alert box where you can type in the number of hour ticks the fleet should spend in hyperspace. For instance a delay of 1 means the fleet has to wait until the next hour tick and so on.
The fleet mode might be considered as the battle readiness of the fleet. It might also be interpreted as the intention of the fleet: hostile or friendly.
There are two different available modes for fleets in LegacyWorlds:
  • Defense: the fleet will defend the destination stellar object
  • Attack: the fleet will attack the destination stellar object, attempting to take it over if it's a planet
The mode in which the fleet is sent can be changed by using the provided drop down list. You just have to select between Defense and Attack in the list.
Keep in mind you can't send a fleet in attack mode to one of your own planets but no control is exerced on fleets sent to alliance planets or planets belonging to your trusted allies.
The mode the fleet will have upon arrival at its destination isn't necessarily the mode it was sent with. The rules behind this mode upon arrival topic is discussed more closely in this paragraph.
This part of the page presents the list of fleets that are selected to perfom the designed movement. It consists in a table describing each fleet using a colour code to represent fleets' ownership. Actions can also be performed on the list.
The table includes for each fleet:
  • Owner: name of the owner of the fleet
  • Name: name of the fleet
  • Haul: fill rate of the haul of capital ships carrying system ships. It's either N/A for system fleets or a percentage for fleets including capital ships. Be careful if the percentage isn't superior to 100%: in that case the fleet isn't hyperspace capable
  • Ships (G/F/C/B): fleet composition, including number of GA ships, Fighters, Cruisers and Battle Cruisers
  • Power: the power of the total fleet
  • Trajectory: this field presents the list of locations the fleets will go close by along its path to its destination. For stationnary fleets, the value is N/A. For moving fleets, the trajectory is represented with a drop down list describing current and future status and locations
The usual colour code is used in the list:
  • Green: for your own fleets
  • Blue: for fleets belonging to off-line players who have you as trusted allies and that you can currently control
The only possible action in the list is to remove a fleet. Removing a fleet means that it won't perform the orders as the other fleets in the list. Previous orders for the fleets removed from the list are executed.
In order to remove a fleet from the list you just have to click on its line.
This part of the page presents the list of fleets that are available for selection to perfom the designed movement. It consists in a table describing each fleet using a colour code to represent fleets' ownership. Actions can also be performed on the list.
The list of fleets depends on the set destination. For instance fleets that aren't hyperspace capable aren't displayed if the defined destination implies hyperspace travel.
The table includes for each fleet:
  • Owner: name of the owner of the fleet
  • Name: name of the fleet
  • Haul: fill rate of the haul of capital ships carrying system ships. It's either N/A for system fleets or a percentage for fleets including capital ships. Be careful if the percentage isn't superior to 100%: in that case the fleet isn't hyperspace capable
  • Ships (G/F/C/B): fleet composition, including number of GA ships, Fighters, Cruisers and Battle Cruisers
  • Power: the power of the total fleet
  • Current orders: the current status of the fleet (defending a planet, moving to a particular destination, attacking a planet and so on)
The usual colour code is used in the list:
  • Green: for your own fleets
  • Blue: for fleets belonging to off-line players who have you as trusted allies and that you can currently control
The only possible action in the list is to add a fleet from the available fleets list to the selected fleets list. Adding a fleet to the selected fleets list means that the fleet will follow the same orders as the other selected fleets.
In order to select a fleet you just have to click on its line.
Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made in the different sections of the page you have to validate your orders.
In order to validate your orders you have to click the Confirm link in the top right section of the page. Clicking the link actually sends the fleets and directs you back to the fleets page.
In the same area of the page a Cancel link erases your changes and directs you back to the fleets page.
Depending if you have set up an hyperspace stand-by delay or not two cases are possible:
  • With hyperspace delay: the fleet doesn't get out of hyperspace into normal space immediately and remains in hyperspace until the defined number of hours ticks have passed by. It then jumps into normal space and gets into orbit. Getting into orbit is a complicate process which consumes a lot of energy. As such it causes the fleet getting out of hyperspace to remain unavailable at least until the following hour tick
  • Without hyperspace delay: the fleet directly gets out of hyperspace if it reached the planet through hyperspace, or settles in orbit around the planet if it arrived via normal space. In any case, the process implies it remains unavailable at least until the next hour tick
The mode of a fleet getting in orbit around a planet depends on various factors:
  • In most cases: the fleet reaching orbit keeps the same mode as the one it was sent with
  • You already have fleets on the planet: if your different fleets don't have the same mode (some in attack and some in defense) the fleets get switched to the mode of the fleet with the highest power
  • Auto-attack mode: if the owner of the planet has you or your alliance in his enemies list whatever fleets you may send to any of his planets get automatically switched to attack mode
When a fleet reaches its destination (eventually getting out of hyperspace on it) and starts orbiting it, it remains unavailable for some time. Unavailability time depends on two cases:
  • Arrival in attack mode or on a planet whose owner has you in his enemy list (be it you as a player or as member of a given alliance): the fleet is unavailable until a Battle tick occurs
  • Other cases: the fleet is unavailable until next Hour tick