Upgrade all?

Taniwha · September 8, 2003, 00:05

Is there an option to upgrade all units of a similiar type?

For example I usually end up with a few different flavours of formers in the end game, I'd like to upgrade all my 0-1-1 plain vanilla formers to 0-1-1 Super Fungicide Formers. However the only way it seems I can upgrade is to CTRL U on each unit when its their turn. SHIFT CTRL U seems to transfer the unit to another faction. Anything I've missed?

Of course what I'd really like to do is to upgrade all my 0-1-1 formers to my end game 0-1-3 Super Fungicide Formers, but because of the different chassis it isnt allowed for some reason.

Jamski · September 8, 2003, 03:27

Upgrade through the Unit workshop. Find the unit in the list, and click upgrade. This will upgrade all current units of that design. Some people consider this a cheat, as the upgraded units can still move that turn.

So neither CTRL-U or SHIFT-U, but just U

-Jam

Lazerus · September 8, 2003, 13:56

i want to know if theres any way to trigger that option that asks you if you want to upgrade all units, like when you get a new reactor or sometimes just a new type or armour and you get 6 or 7 upgrade options regarding all obsolete units ??

Mongoose · September 8, 2003, 14:13

I am not exactly sure...either or both of auto-design units and autoprune must be turned on.

Asmodean · September 8, 2003, 16:15

I always play with autodesign and autoprune on. And I get these messages, but only when introducing a new reactor type.

Asmodean

johndmuller · September 8, 2003, 18:04

Sometimes when I design a new unit, it will ask me when I finish the design of unit yyy, whether I want to change all new xxx's (a predecessor of yyy) to the new design yyy at no cost. This is like a part of the new-reactor routine, but only applies to this one unit. This can be rather handy, as it changes the builds or the other units without the retooling penalty, so if you had just discovered silksteel and had some plasma garrisons in progress, designing a silksteel garrison could let you switch all the plasma ones to silk.

I like this effect, but am not sure exactly what triggers it either. It might help to start the modification with the design for the unit you hope to be able to switch from and it might also/instead have something to do with whether or not the new unit will be a prototype, I don't know; I'm not even sure that there is a pattern, only that I hope to get it whenever I have some similar units already underway, especially if there is a major difference, like a change of reactor, involved.

BTW, I play with autodesign off (and auto prune on, I think), although I don't think it makes any difference here, especially not autoprune.

Azedalis · September 8, 2003, 23:00

Well I hate it that you can not upgrade from infantry to a rover. I always upgrade colony pods and formers to rovers as soon as possible. The extra movement means you can normally move to an square next to your starting spot and start to terraform the same turn.

The probem is you must rebuild you old terraformers to rovers if you want them. I always do it by disbanding the normal one when I am building the new one so that the minerals of the old helps build the new. Then if I can afford to buy it then...I do.

TimeTraveler · September 9, 2003, 00:30

I also try to get rover formers as soon as possible. In fact, I always research Doctrine: Mobility right before Centauri Ecology, just so that my very first formers are always rover formers. However, I never seem to order the production of rover colony pods.

Asmodean · September 9, 2003, 04:45

In my mind, rover colony pods are great for quick expansion. But they come at a cost. early in the game, they are just too expensive to be costefficient.

Asmodean

Taniwha · September 9, 2003, 22:46

Well thanks to Jamski all my formers are now upgraded

Alinestra Covelia · September 11, 2003, 12:35

I think whenever you get a new reactor tech (Fusion Power, Quantum Power, Singularity) then they give you an extensive series of pop up windows to ask you to upgrade all your reactors.

You can of course do this at any time through the unit design workshop. This also has the benefit of leaving your units with their remaining squares of movement.

However, as I've noted many times in the past to varying degrees of forum amusement, your air units will gain extra SQUARES of movement, but not extra TURNS. So if you've already moved your bombers over the sea and you upgrade to Fusion reactors, they'll get two more squares of movement... and then crash unceremoniously.

So be careful, and never make threats to your enemies the same turn you upgrade or you could end up looking very stupid.

Flubber · September 11, 2003, 13:00

Alinestra

The first time that happened to me, in single-player thankfully,I was totally bamboozled as to where my air force went LOL. I quickly rebuilt but the waste in mins and cash was considerable

I confess that I rarely use the upgrades through the pop-up window anymore. I usually prefer the design workship as there is almost always some variant on the game offered upgrades that I want to implement