On/Off mex

[AF]

The level 1 metal extractor can be turned on and off, isnt this a bit pointless? It should always be turned on!! The switch should be removed

[Pxtl]

When you're really, really e-stalling, it makes sense to just select-all and turn off _everything_.

[YokoZar]

e-stalling should turn off all construction before it starts shutting down mexes though.

Maybe mexes should just have their energy cost removed entirely, I'm not quite sure it adds anything to the game.

[lurker]

I removed it from CA. 1 solar per 7 mexes does what exactly to add to the game?

[Niobium]

Maybe mexes should just have their energy cost removed entirely, I'm not quite sure it adds anything to the game.

+1, is nothing but an annoyance.

[Regret]

Clueless people are clueless.

Mex needing e means you have to actually watch out for e stalling as then you lose on metal income from mexes.

It's very logical, and adds depth to the game.

You don't have power = shit doesn't work.

[Nonoce]

That's one of the 1000 things that add up to give you the edge in ba if you care about them.

[==Troy==]

To be honest, E-stalling the mexes is fair, but the general queue for the resources should get a complete overhaul.

Energy "consumption" queue :
1) energy independent buildings/units (with an exception to antinuke)
2) Low-E (HLT/LLT/etc) consuming defensive buildings
3) mexes
4) High-E consumption building/units (including nuke)
5) Construction units
6) MetalMakers.


That way you dont have to spend your precious time on microing the nanos on-off. And sorry, passive nanos give away too much energy to metal makers and rest of not so improtant stuff.

Having to micro the 1000 inconsistencies in BA to get an edge over the enemy is similar to using the exploits to comnap. (yes, there is a widget for that, but you could do it with microing and a bit of luck too).

[Regret]

Having to micro the 1000 inconsistencies in BA to get an edge over the enemy is similar to using the exploits to comnap. (yes, there is a widget for that, but you could do it with microing and a bit of luck too).

You better be trolling.

[1v0ry_k1ng]

If it didnt have the ability to turn on and off, mex would be able to continue extracting metal during an e-stall, which is bad

/thread

[JohannesH]

Not having to micro the 1000 inconsistencies in BA to get an edge over the enemy is similar to not having to micro to comnap?

Also turning them off will make them not show on the metalmap, which can be useful

[lurker]

Mex needing e means you have to actually watch out for e stalling as then you lose on metal income from mexes.

In effect I have to give wait commands to my constructors when my energy reserves bottom out instead of things prioritizing by themselves. How does this add depth? Mexes take so little power that turning them off doesn't let anything else of note run, so it's less a matter of choices and more a mandatory button push.

But I think it would add notable depth if mexes took maybe 10 energy.

[bartvbl]

What would the gain be of removing it?
If you dont bother in the first place to be able to turn it on or off, and 1 or two people might use it now and then, then leave it.
Sure, you will save some bytes of compiled COB, but that's all. So I really can't see any reason for taking it out

[lurker]

An extra button hurts the UI.

You might turn mexes off accidentally.

[==Troy==]

Mex needing e means you have to actually watch out for e stalling as then you lose on metal income from mexes.

In effect I have to give wait commands to my constructors when my energy reserves bottom out instead of things prioritizing by themselves. How does this add depth? Mexes take so little power that turning them off doesn't let anything else of note run, so it's less a matter of choices and more a mandatory button push.

But I think it would add notable depth if mexes took maybe 10 energy.

Sorry for my previous statement, but in general I meant this ^.

And moho metal extractors take up 15 E, although with t2 E production it really is as tiny as the t1 mex.

BA is not the only mod which misses out a sane priority queue


Edit :

And ideally, tbh, it would be best if you could set up the queue yourself. I.E.

MMs : On at 80 and above %
Mexes : On at 5 and above %
Builders : On at 40 and above %

etc.

[Pxtl]

You could make a widget that would turn on/off/wait things in layers in the bottom 20% of the energy bar, and even let the notches be manual. For example, I never, ever, ever want my jammers to turn off. I would put the jammers below even the metal-extractors.

[YokoZar]

Clueless people are clueless.

Mex needing e means you have to actually watch out for e stalling as then you lose on metal income from mexes.

It's very logical, and adds depth to the game.

You don't have power = shit doesn't work.

This isn't depth, it's frustration. Yes, there's some skill in knowing the fine details about how dumb the game's built-in priorities are, and you can gain a small advantage by working around them (manually waiting a constructor or having an e-stall widget), but this is a huge distraction from what makes BA actually fun.

Also turning them off will make them not show on the metalmap, which can be useful

This is just an engine bug honestly. Metal map should respect line of sight.

[YokoZar]

While we're on the subject: metal extractors should turn off when a moho mine is built next to them.

This is something that's way too micro-management intensive for most players to do manually when they hit T2 since the game is way busier with more interesting decisions. But someone could easily write a widget, and then they'd have yet another advantage due to better widgets.

This issue goes away entirely if we remove the mex energy usage.

[TheFatController]

I support the energy cost for mex's as it means you need to properly manage your energy economy early on and can lose all important starting metal by not doing so.

The on/off button is required to disable mex's when you stall so this can't be removed.

Players are free to write or download a widget to manage this or block off commands should they wish.

[JohannesH]

Clueless people are clueless.

Mex needing e means you have to actually watch out for e stalling as then you lose on metal income from mexes.

It's very logical, and adds depth to the game.

You don't have power = shit doesn't work.

This isn't depth, it's frustration. Yes, there's some skill in knowing the fine details about how dumb the game's built-in priorities are, and you can gain a small advantage by working around them (manually waiting a constructor or having an e-stall widget), but this is a huge distraction from what makes BA actually fun.

Different people like different things in the game, and are good at different things. If you like econ management, it is arguably more fun to try and handle more complex econ. If you dont like econ management, playing CA is an option.

Also turning them off will make them not show on the metalmap, which can be useful

This is just an engine bug honestly. Metal map should respect line of sight.

It does...