The more sensors you have available in one place, the more of the sky you can scan simultaneously, and the more processing time you can devote to analysis of the data retrieved. To represent this, each sensor technology should have a Fleet Sensor Boost stat on it. How big the fleet boost to sensors is, and whether that boost improves with technology, should be a balance consideration. It just seems odd that I can put thirteen scout vessels in a fleet together and they see the same distance as one scout vessel.



I assemble huge scout fleets because of the flocking bonuses to movement that they get, but they should also be distributing their sensory tasks among the multitude of sensor arrays available in such an exploratory fleet.

Yes I agree, the bonus shouldn't be too big as additional sensors improve the actual computing not the real range and precision itself but some bonus would be realistic.

It could give more precision about the fleet you detect.

But it should be added with a rework of the detection system to allow levels of detection, counter detection, stealth... I don't know what else.

But if you have a bunch of ships that have all the same sensor range, how can that make them see farther? That's saying that if you had a fleet of ships in the ocean and they had the same sensors, their sensor range is somehow amplified. But it makes more sense that that data they get is more precise. Which could reveal the type of ships along with the number of ships. Maybe is there should be a command ship module type. Where it somehow can amplify the overall sensor range of your fleet by a certain percentage. Similar to a scout's long range sensors module.

Some kind of scalability is really needed so explorator fleets become a viable choice.

Something like;



With one scout ship you would know the rough position of an enemy fleet.

With two you can tell some of the designs of the ships and the position is more accurate.

With three you have an estimate of number per type, more accurate design knowledge and position is almost perfect.

etc.

MrDemonic wrote:
But if you have a bunch of ships that have all the same sensor range, how can that make them see farther? That's saying that if you had a fleet of ships in the ocean and they had the same sensors, their sensor range is somehow amplified. But it makes more sense that that data they get is more precise. Which could reveal the type of ships along with the number of ships. Maybe is there should be a command ship module type. Where it somehow can amplify the overall sensor range of your fleet by a certain percentage. Similar to a scout's long range sensors module.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but if you have a fleet of ships in the ocean and they have the same sensors, they CAN see much farther than if you only have one. Two things. First off, the longer you spend scanning a specific region, the more detail you can extract. Secondly, there are data collation techniques which require multiple scans of the same region and similarly produce more data. With modern data collation techniques, precision of data and distance of data reception are closely related. I don't expect that to be less true.



I want to call out that astronomers work with several-mile-wide arrays of sensors instead of big individual sensors. They're all identical sensors. Individually they all have the same (useless) resolution. However, when they're all pointing at the same thing, they can produce fantastic images. Astronomy is no longer about individual observatories. Even the major imaging satellites tend to be aimed in multiples.



The same principle applies here. With dedicated sensor suites multiple ships should be able to combine their efforts to see farther, be it by individual ships spending more time on smaller scans, or by multiple ships scanning the same regions and then collating the data. I'm not asking for a realistic or complicated effect. (I don't even know what a realistic effect would be, and it may be too late for a complicated one.) I just want some balanced nod to the concept.

You must take into account the composition of your fleet that has better sensors. Normally Dreadnaughts, Carriers and Capital ships have larger sensor sweep range. Whereas, scout range is limited. Not nessssarily giving bonuses as suggested

Ah well that's fair enough then, I know more or less nothing about scanning and so on. I was just thinking of it in a way that "how can something be better just because you have more of the same thing?"



But no, if that's actually how it works, then I don't see it as something that couldn't be put in. Would just have to be a limit on how far the amplified sensor range can go. Can't have one fleet scanning the whole galaxy huh? :P

I disagree with the increase of distances of scanning. This has to stay for the upgrade of the sensor you acquire with techs.

I agree with the level of informations receiving. But, it should be added with modules to counter sensors.



If they improve the sensors to be more realistic, they should improve whole the detection system and maybe include it with all what is spying, fleet, systems, techs, heroes, sabotage missions... All the stuff to really explore this field of the exchange, gathering of informations.

jetkar wrote:
You must take into account the composition of your fleet that has better sensors. Normally Dreadnaughts, Carriers and Capital ships have larger sensor sweep range. Whereas, scout range is limited. Not nessssarily giving bonuses as suggested

Corvettes have a tonnage discount for sensors. They're the only ship with a tonnage discount for sensors. They also have a tonnage discount for engines. Engines and sensors are the most important things you want on a scouting ship. Doesn't that imply they're the optimal size for scout vessels? If the largest sensor suite you would ever want to put on a ship already fits on the smallest ship, why would you use a larger ship as a sensor boat? It's not the size of the ship that matters, it's all in how you use it.



All ships currently have the same sensor sweep range if they have the same sensor suite. Stick a scout and a dreadnought with the same sensors together in an outpost. Now hangarize one of them. It doesn't matter which one you hangarize. The sensor radius will remain the same. I'm suggesting that it should shrink slightly with fewer eyes in the skies.

Platescale wrote:
Corvettes have a tonnage discount for sensors. They're the only ship with a tonnage discount for sensors. They also have a tonnage discount for engines. Engines and sensors are the most important things you want on a scouting ship. Doesn't that imply they're the optimal size for scout vessels? If the largest sensor suite you would ever want to put on a ship already fits on the smallest ship, why would you use a larger ship as a sensor boat? It's not the size of the ship that matters, it's all in how you use it.



All ships currently have the same sensor sweep range if they have the same sensor suite. Stick a scout and a dreadnought with the same sensors together in an outpost. Now hangarize one of them. It doesn't matter which one you hangarize. The sensor radius will remain the same. I'm suggesting that it should shrink slightly with fewer eyes in the skies.

This is arguable as in real navy every ship has its sensors on regardless for an idea watch a film called "Hunt for Red October" when the whole soviet navy (their search ships/subs were spaced out equally) were searching for the sub that was defecting with sensors sweeps that would enable them to see some one walking from Greenland to NY.

Rather giving the larger fleets a bonus that limits the need to scout their path, how about giving them better/ more detailed coverage within their sensor envelope. that the ships in the fleet would be able to network their sensor data together so a fleet of 5 ships would detect the enemy ships as normal, 10 would be able to determine the ships destination, 17 could determine the ships fittings etc...

Century wrote:
Rather giving the larger fleets a bonus that limits the need to scout their path, how about giving them better/ more detailed coverage within their sensor envelope. that the ships in the fleet would be able to network their sensor data together so a fleet of 5 ships would detect the enemy ships as normal, 10 would be able to determine the ships destination, 17 could determine the ships fittings etc...

You nailed it