Guppies and Forward Bases

[MizInIA]

Well I love the Guppy concept and will welcome it in whatever form it ends up having.  :) 

And now for something completely different. thinking of the situation from a physical perspective  I guess I have a little different view of the consumables and deliverables. I see the Ore and AC as a volume or tank style commodity and the Energy and Packets as capacitor commodity. Because of that I would think it would be difficult to build a unit that could switch from tank storage to capacitor storage with the click of a button.

Also if your Guppy is carrying consumables shouldn't it have to be built at the remote location and a landing zone then set with a connection to the CN? After all when you are building the Guppy you are also building a storage pad? And that shouldn't be anymore or less movable than the storage pad for Bombers or Strafers. If the Pad is at the CN then I think the Guppy should have to sit and wait to load as ore is produced just like it has to sit and wait for packets to be consumed.

Now from a game play perspective I think Ore and Packets makes sense. I am good with only being able to transport them. I get the argument for also having AC. But the connections for making collectors and Reactors active seem to be different enough that Energy should be excluded from Guppy transport.

[UpperKEES]

And now for something completely different. thinking of the situation from a physical perspective  I guess I have a little different view of the consumables and deliverables. I see the Ore and AC as a volume or tank style commodity and the Energy and Packets as capacitor commodity. Because of that I would think it would be difficult to build a unit that could switch from tank storage to capacitor storage with the click of a button.

I always figured the 'button click' resembled switching the contents of the cargo bay. Batteries (or whatever capacitor is used to store packets) also take space....

Or maybe it uses an integrated cargo carrier.

[Grauniad]

Here is one issue with dual-purposing a Guppy. Suppose you set up an air bridge from point A to point B. The requirement is to carry energy from A to B and Ore back from B to A.

When the Guppy arrives at B, it is full of energy. Even assuming it can store a load of ore in its pad, when does it start the return journey to A? When it is empty of energy or when it is fully loaded with ore? These kinds of issues obfuscate the usefulness of the unit and hence it makes for a  less fun experience in game-play.

Edit. Clearly not everyone sees the issue. Assuming you need the Guppy to transport energy. If you now delay it with the ore load, it is less efficient in transferring energy, necessitating maybe a second guppy.  Now you might as well have one dedicated to each purpose.

[ShadowDragon7015]

It would normally load up once its previous load is gone or emptied.

[MizInIA]

I always figured the 'button click' resembled switching the contents of the cargo bay. Batteries (or whatever capacitor is used to store packets) also take space....

I agree with that from a game perspective I was just thinking of it from a physical real world perspective where making that switch would require a reconfiguration that would cost build packets.

It would normally load up once its previous load is gone or emptied.

How could it load up with Ore if the pad is full and there is still Packets left in the Guppy? the mines only use Packets when they are producing.

[Grauniad]

How could it load up with Ore if the pad is full and there is still Packets left in the Guppy? the mines only use Packets when they are producing.

Nice catch... :)

[UpperKEES]

How could it load up with Ore if the pad is full and there is still Packets left in the Guppy? the mines only use Packets when they are producing.

Nice catch... :)

Plus, how can there be space for ore when the (empty) batteries still need to be unloaded?

By the way, the mines don't use energy once built. They operate on solar energy, just like siphons. :)

[ShadowDragon7015]

 >:(The guppy would have taken the load with it so the pad would be empty. and only once it was empty could you switch what kind of load the guppy had.

[MizInIA]

By the way, the mines don't use energy once built. They operate on solar energy, just like siphons. :)

I hadn't noticed that watching the videos. I guess I have been paying attention to everything else and just assumed they functioned just like the mines in CW2. And you know what the say about assuming.  :)

I also still argue that a remote storage pad cannot just magically appear. it would need to be built. a landing zone can appear. (I know that is not the way it is currently working in the game)

[UpperKEES]

This is what makes them easy to operate while disconnected from the network; you only need 1 guppy. :)

[ShadowDragon7015]

So can we all agree that the guppies should have the ability to carry energy and ore?

[Grauniad]

You might still reasonably assume that there are some defensive units with maybe erratic energy requirements, such as a Beam to protect against spores.  I might even have a screenshot of such a setup...

I also still argue that a remote storage pad cannot just magically appear. it would need to be built. a landing zone can appear. (I know that is not the way it is currently working in the game)

If I understand you correctly, then you are quite right. The remote Guppy and pad are built using energy from the Guppy transferring energy to that location.

So can we all agree that the guppies should have the ability to carry energy and ore?

Well....  They can, just not at the same time. Beyond that there is no "we all agree" here.

[ShadowDragon7015]

That map looks fun. But why the 3 shields and not just the front two?

[blank]

Sprayers can use their collection field to use the same AC over and over. Without a network connection, they wouldn't be able to dispatch excess packets back to the CN's, so it makes less sense to use them disconnected.

With the sprayer ability change AC into ore an ore guppy could be used to recover the AC not used?

[MizInIA]

If I understand you correctly, then you are quite right. The remote Guppy and pad are built using energy from the Guppy transferring energy to that location.

yes i agree that is how I see the pad being built.

it could be argued that the storage pad should be a separate construction item from the Aerial units and then Guppies, Bombers or Strafers are built on top of the storage pad. but I think that is an argument saved for CW4