(TEST RELEASE)CustomLasersv0.21 WIP for 1.77trunk/may31,2012

[Svengali]

Just to remember - it's possible to check the playership via CCL_Strength and if it's beyond (or below) a threshold you can react... Personally I think it's the only option we OXPers have without starting a (stupid, unnecessary and contraproductive) OXP war - a pragmatic way .-)

[Duggan]

I agree Smivs, that Killit,WonderWorms,DarkRainbows,APRIL etc seriously tip the balance of the game in favour of the player and in that respect can remove the challenge and denigrate the gaming experience, There is also no fun in awarding oneself equipment they have not earned or paid for through trading.

What I am saying is... If you got an OXP installed that makes the game harder it might be useful to have OXPs that assist the player in meeting the increased demands of said OXPs...
The Alternative being(And one I am also very content with) to stay with the core trunk and simply use ambience and texture oxps to add to the experience.

However . It is evident from the OXP list that we are now in a your game, the way you like it situation. So if it is in fact open season, Why not have a Laser that cools at increased rates, maybe have an an Integer system like the lasers themselves . e.g. Pulse, Beam , Mining and Military Coolant that shave off percentages at which the things over heat and all for a price ,,, Just thinkin allowed of course.

P.S. I'm not overly fussed because I love the game anyway

[Smivs]

What I am saying is... If you got an OXP installed that makes the game harder it might be useful to have OXPs that assist the player in meeting the increased demands of said OXPs...

But surely OXPs that toughen up the opponents are to counter the improving skills of the player...they are to help the game keep up with the player, not overwhelm him. Anyone who can't cope with the OXPs they've installed has installed the wrong OXPs!

...why not have a Laser that cools at increased rates, maybe have an an Integer system like the lasers themselves . e.g. Pulse, Beam , Mining and Military Coolant that shave off percentages at which the things over heat and all for a price ,,, Just thinkin allowed of course.

P.S. I'm not overly fussed because I love the game anyway

We all do, that's why we care.

[CommonSenseOTB]

Why not have a Laser that cools at increased rates...

...or perhaps heats up at increased rates?

[Smivs]

Why not have a Laser that cools at increased rates...

...or perhaps heats up at increased rates?

Yes, I like that! The closer to a Maintenance Overhaul you are, the more your lasers overheat.

[Duggan]

Now your talkin!

.or perhaps heats up at increased rates?

Maybe Misfires, Blockages, Stoppages, Backfires..Imagine trying to shoot down a heavily armed Python only to have your Cannons Fizzle and Pop or cause damage, even blow ones own ship to pieces. Good uses for the Escape Pod and Fuel Injectors I think.

I know , I can be mercurial at times, but I am well persuaded that in some cases making the game more difficult can increase the immersion factor .

There are indeed many facets to the diamond that is Oolite.

[Wardy]

On the subject of "Cool things to do with lasers", how about an adjustable laser, with some sort of interface to increase/decrease the damage, traded off against increased/decreased heat generation and power consumption. Of course, such a laser would be more expensive, and if you pump up the damage too far it would overheat PDQ.

If you really want to cool your lasers (Impossible at the moment as I understand and not necesarily wanted anyway), you could have a small but expensive tank of Laser Coolant, good old liquid nitrogen or some such that you could "flush" over your laser's heat sinks in an emergency to take your heat level down partially, or even totally. I would not endorse a large capacity, maybe a single use only, and would expect refills to be to be pricey.

[Capt. Murphy]

To people panicking that some OXPer are all out to destroy game balance/spirit of Oolite may I extract a quote from CSOTB's first post.

The focus will be to create Elite type lasers from elite canon

Re multiple front player lasers at any one time - the OXP's are already out there, and changes to current trunk don't actually make much difference to the possibility of doing this or not. Some of the changes Thargoid is talking about is to make existing weapon OXP's better and more comprehensively coded. Personally I've got no problem with multiple front lasers on a player ship, but would prefer it only to be possible on player flyable ships where the NPC equivalent has multiple front lasers (the fact that this isn't the default is an immersion breaker for me).

I've got two 1.77 OXP's on the card's with regards to lasers. The first clearly is a negative balancer making it more difficult for the player. The second I think is pretty much balance neutral, but allows the player more options of how to play the game.

1) Existing lasers can be damaged in combat (but only when the temps are in the red). That'll give combateers something else to think about...

2) A switchable front laser mount - expensive, but can load say a mining and military laser and allow them to be swapped using N, shift N. They share the same cooling system so it's not a side door to laser cooling, and as a mechanical switching system there will be a delay of a few seconds with no laser at all, along with a very small chance of mechanical failure and a jammed front laser on each use.

[Thargoid]

Re multiple front player lasers at any one time - the OXP's are already out there, and changes to current trunk don't actually make much difference to the possibility of doing this or not. Some of the changes Thargoid is talking about is to make existing weapon OXP's better and more comprehensively coded. Personally I've got no problem with multiple front lasers on a player ship, but would prefer it only to be possible on player flyable ships where the NPC equivalent has multiple front lasers (the fact that this isn't the default is an immersion breaker for me).

It will also stop OXP weapons potentially breaking missions. We've had examples of people using them on things like the Constrictor, and then as they don't get the kill recognised as by them the mission fails. That particular one isn't too difficult to script-around, but a wider way of doing it "automagically" would be nicer to cover all bases.

And in 1.77 there should be more balance anyway for equipment and weaponry, as we can properly have them take up cargo space. Hence for example the APRIL will take up 5t, with its expansion taking up a further 5t and also others of my equipment like the Missile Machine will also start to take up space. If you don't have the room, you don't get to use them...

2) A switchable front laser mount - expensive, but can load say a mining and military laser and allow them to be swapped using N, shift N. They share the same cooling system so it's not a side door to laser cooling, and as a mechanical switching system there will be a delay of a few seconds with no laser at all, along with a very small chance of mechanical failure and a jammed front laser on each use.

I was also thinking of that one (almost word for word), so if you're already on it I'll leave it to you.

And as for ships using multiple lasers, for me it was actually balancing back again. It's always been odd to me that there are certain ships which if NPC have multiple lasers, but suddenly if the player gets one they lose all but one of them. That's immersion-breaking straight away.

[Smivs]

And as for ships using multiple lasers, for me it was actually balancing back again. It's always been odd to me that there are certain ships which if NPC have multiple lasers, but suddenly if the player gets one they lose all but one of them. That's immersion-breaking straight away.[/color]

Very un-balanced, which is why no ships in my Ooniverse have more than single lasers. Simples!

[Capt. Murphy]

2) A switchable front laser mount - expensive, but can load say a mining and military laser and allow them to be swapped using N, shift N. They share the same cooling system so it's not a side door to laser cooling, and as a mechanical switching system there will be a delay of a few seconds with no laser at all, along with a very small chance of mechanical failure and a jammed front laser on each use.

I was also thinking of that one (almost word for word), so if you're already on it I'll leave it to you.

I haven't started it yet and have got a fair few other fish on the fryer so if you want to crack on with that one feel free. It's not what CSOTB is planning (I checked with him).

[SandJ]

2) A switchable front laser mount - expensive, but can load say a mining and military laser and allow them to be swapped using N, shift N. They share the same cooling system so it's not a side door to laser cooling, and as a mechanical switching system there will be a delay of a few seconds with no laser at all, along with a very small chance of mechanical failure and a jammed front laser on each use.

I wouldn't care if the switch took a minute. Even as a "Apply / Remove the Mining Laser Conversion Lens Kit" it would be a very useful feature. (That way it is the same laser, merely fragmented into multiple parallel beams to function as a mining laser.)

Mind you' I'd have to learn how to do mining from the front instead of the starboard.

[CommonSenseOTB]

What's the script one would use to query if the player's ship can equip a laser in a specific mount for example the aft mount position? In other words to find out if lasers are even mountable in a specific mounting position.

[cim]

What's the script one would use to query if the player's ship can equip a laser in a specific mount for example the aft mount position? In other words to find out if lasers are even mountable in a specific mounting position.

Currently? Check if there's currently a laser there. If there is, lasers can be fitted there. If not, try adding a pulse laser. If there is now a pulse laser there, lasers can be fitted there (and remove the pulse laser). If there isn't, the ship doesn't have that mount. Give me a couple of days, and I'll add a way to view the weapon_facings parameter of shipyard.plist for player ships, since that method is excessively convoluted...

[CommonSenseOTB]

What's the script one would use to query if the player's ship can equip a laser in a specific mount for example the aft mount position? In other words to find out if lasers are even mountable in a specific mounting position.

Currently? Check if there's currently a laser there. If there is, lasers can be fitted there. If not, try adding a pulse laser. If there is now a pulse laser there, lasers can be fitted there (and remove the pulse laser). If there isn't, the ship doesn't have that mount. ...

That's what I was thinking.

...Give me a couple of days, and I'll add a way to view the weapon_facings parameter of shipyard.plist for player ships, since that method is excessively convoluted...

Thanks cim, you're the best! I can make do for a few more days, I'll just do some more "custom" laser designing and come back to that bit after.