AI Commands

[TonyEvans]

Orbit and Maintain Distance commands.

Really for ships like Balor that really shouldn't be colder than 15km.

[Arvel]

I'd like to see the ability to set up automated logistics for ammunition, etc. i.e. small fast trade ships automatically ferrying ammunition from your factories to your warships whenever they get below a certain threshold. I never could have used fleets of gauss-cannon armed Shrikes in X3 without the ability to automate their resupply.

I don't think I've seen anything with setting up Patrol routes yet either. Ships don't have jump drives, so actively patrolling regions you operate in for Xenon, pirates, etc. seems like it should be more important than in the past.

Disarming/disabling enemies would also be nice commands to have. Both for boarding, and because having your small ships strip surface elements off capital ships is often more helpful than plinking away at their hulls for negligible damage.

[hargn]

Instead of speaking about which commands will be provided, I'd prefer to tell how I want to give commands to my ships.

We can see that by using the map :

Ship Selection : select one ship by left-clicking on it on the map or in the list, select many ships by drawing a square in the map, add/remove one or many ships of the selection by using one of the previous selection method in combination with the Ctrl key.

Target Selection : by right-clicking on it. A contextual menu will open to select the order to apply on the selected target by our selected ships. Maybe we may be able to select may target by drawing a square on the map with the right button of the mouse, or selecting many targets with the right-click in combination with the Ctrl key. The order then apply to many targets (eg. Attack a group of ships).

Command Queue : That is a mandatory for me : while creating an order while maintaining pressed the Shift key, then the order is added to the ship (or selected ships) command queue.
It's the most usefull order feature that's missing in the X-series and that all real time games now implement.
I want to be able to tell my bombers to first launch their missiles, then attacks the remaining fighter, then return home. Or for a supply shuttle, to first supply my M7M, then my bombers, then my career, and at last return home. Then I give my order once during a battle and I do not need to worry about it : I can focus on the battle.

[Tenlar Scarflame]

Command Queue : That is a mandatory for me : while creating an order while maintaining pressed the Shift key, then the order is added to the ship (or selected ships) command queue.
It's the most usefull order feature that's missing in the X-series and that all real time games now implement.
I want to be able to tell my bombers to first launch their missiles, then attacks the remaining fighter, then return home. Or for a supply shuttle, to first supply my M7M, then my bombers, then my career, and at last return home. Then I give my order once during a battle and I do not need to worry about it : I can focus on the battle.

I like that. Takes a note from things like Supreme Commander and Planetary Annihilation.

I'd LOVE to see how the command interface for that would shake out, as well - a nice scrollable readout of each command, a link to the target of each command, maybe a % status of the current command... a little cancel button for each command, maybe even the ability to "insert" a command somewhere in the chain... loops... conditionals... you could go way down the rabbit hole with this idea if you really wanted to.