Drone/Missile/Seeker Modding

[Kana]

Starting this thread to avoid highjacking the patch thread.

Phoenix-D said:
The drones, onces fired, will have their own stratgies and this will determine how they pick their targets.

The hard part will figuring out how to make your ships not belch their entire missile load in one combat.

It seems that will be based on the launch times...if they are far enough spaced apart, you might save some drone. Except they cant be used to address immediate threats to the 'drone launching' ship, because the launch rates are basically on a timer.

Kana said:

Yeah but your going to have to maybe edit the strategies to work with these launchers, because they wont have a range component other than endurance/supply, and speed of the 'drone'. Unlike a normal 'seeker'. So basically you start combat, and automatically launch your 'drone' from you launcher, X amount of time later, another drone launches, doesnt matter who close or far a given target is.

Of coures this should all be in its own thread...

Phoenix-D said:
You don't even have to use drones as ammo. Check out vehicleunittypes.txt; you can add your own unit types.

As for generic drone launchers- just look at the existing one. Should be easy enough to figure out from there.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Can a �Drone Ammo� be created that Point Defense Cannons would ignore in combat? I don�t think giving the drone ammo site obscuration would work; don�t weapons ignore those things in tactical combat?

New thread? Sounds good but moving to the SE5 mod thread may have been better.

[Kana]

The PD component would have to leave the 'drone' out of its target choices.

[President_Elect_Shang]

1. Ok just read the posts in the patch thread. Now if you can�t control the launch my idea won�t work as a whole �Line of Launchers� but I can still use it as I did in SE4 as an external ordinance rack.

2. In SE4 you could control the launch of drones, so what happened in SE5? Is that all auto launched now? I noticed fighters launched themselves but isn�t there a control to stop the auto controls when combat starts?

3. I have seen that you can add your own type of vehicle to the VehicleUnitTypes.txt, the problem is modding in SE5 is so different I feel intimidated at each step and the learning curve is far more difficult than it was for SE4. I will take a look over this though.

4 Pheonix-D you said

The hard part will figuring out how to make your ships not belch their entire missile load in one combat.

Won�t the launch speed (aka reload rate) keep something like this from happening?

5. In regards to my last post lets say I make a new vehicle called �Ammo� is there any way to make the �Ammo� invisible to point defense? I have an idea based on number three above. Would SE allow me to create �Sprint Ammo� and �Standard Ammo� then build point defense to fire at only standard ammo. Then it would ignore sprint ammo correct? Or am I missing something here?

6. Assuming; and yes I know what assume means� Anyway assuming SE will let me to do number 5 is there a way I can control the distance which the �ammo� will travel before fizzling out and �self destructing�?

[Phoenix-D]

I was thinking of Strategic combat; you should be able to control launches in Tactical.

The launch speed will help with firing all the drones, yes.

To make a new vehicle type invisible to point defense, all you have to do is leave it out of the point-defense's targeting list. The point defense won't even be ABLE to shoot at anything that isn't in its list.

So, for example, your point defense list would read:
"Fighters, Seekers, Drones, Standard Ammo".

It would shoot at any of those but NOT at ships, Sprint-Mode Ammo, Sats, etc.

[President_Elect_Shang]

Ok I have found the �stock� drone launcher to use as a template. Now this is all in ability one:

1. Does the range formula have ANY effect on the component?

2. Amount 2 Formula appears to control the launching rate. Is this rate in ms as the descriptor says or was this a mistake/changed to bring them on-line? Put another way if I specify 4000 that would be a launch rate of 4000ms correct?

3. Amount 1 Formula says �Drone�. Using the above example of Sprint Ammo I would change the word �Drone� to my vehicle �Sprint Ammo� correct?

Last; before I get caught up and forget what little manners I have let me say thank you Pheonix-D, SJ, CPT Kwok, Ed Kolis, and Fyron. I teach and can understand how frustrating it gets from time to time answering questions that seem so obvious, for lack of a better word. Thank you and please hang with me, the learning curve is steep from my perspective but I will get better with time.

[AngleWyrm]

To clarify that last point, it's up to the weapon, not the target, what that weapon will shoot at.

[Phoenix-D]

1. I've never seen anything use it.
2. Dunno, it changed in the patch. Set it to 4000, load the game, and fire off some drones..see what happens.
3. Yes.,

[Kana]

President_Elect_Shang said:
6. Assuming; and yes I know what assume means� Anyway assuming SE will let me to do number 5 is there a way I can control the distance which the �ammo� will travel before fizzling out and �self destructing�?

If you are using 'drones' then they only way to control distance would be with the amount of supplies the 'drone' carries, and how much the propulsion uses and how quickly.

[Suicide Junkie]

2. In SE4 you could control the launch of drones
How?
Or do you mean sequential turn / tactical combat. (ick)