Military Anti Scanner Countermeasures

[Tivva]

Anyone know how this works?
Just found it for sale on a Navy Constitution class ship....
Along with other things

I've searched the wiki but just drew a blank

[LittleBear]

I don't think the code to make it do anything for the player was ever done. You can't normally buy it. I think its a bug in the oxp that it allows you to buy somthing that is only desgined for NPCs. The Thargoid Laser has an entry but if you were to make it buyable it doesn't work on the player's ship as there's not any code to make it work for the player.

[Thargoid]

It does work, at least partially for the player too (I think you may be confusing the anti-scanner countermeasure (MASC'M) up with the Scanner Filtering LB).

The anti-scanner countermeasure makes NPC ships not appear on the scanner (as it's name suggests) and also they're impossible to missile-lock onto.

For the player it looks like his/her ship still appears on the scanner (at least you still get tracked and shot at by NPC ships lasers), but if you have it fitted you won't get any missiles fired at you (as the NPC ships can't target lock - that bit does work, it took me ages to work out why my missile test-ship I was using to get the anti-missile system working only worked with some of my save-game commanders ).

The Military Scanner Filtering is supposed to make ships equipped with the MASC'M re-appear on the scanner (it should cancel the effect of the MASC'M), but that part doesn't seem to work (NPC ships with the MASC'M are still scanner-invisible even if the player has the filter installed).

[Tivva]

Thanks for the quick answers guys.
Just wasted 75,000 credits then....

Best go back a save

[Thargoid]

Read my answer again. Is 75K credits a waste if you don't ever again get targetted by a missile?

[Eric Walch]

The Military Scanner Filtering is supposed to make ships equipped with the MASC'M re-appear on the scanner (it should cancel the effect of the MASC'M), but that part doesn't seem to work (NPC ships with the MASC'M are still scanner-invisible even if the player has the filter installed).

No, it does work. When you have the countermeasure, the ships show as grey blibs on your scanner. It is however a big bug when this item came for sale. It gives a great opportunity to write some very special missions. Currently it does not make sense a player could buy it and it even will spoil any sensible future use of it.

[Thargoid]

Ah, that's what those are. I was expecting the filter to just restore the hockey sticks back to normal. Now it's clear...

[Screet]

Thanks for the quick answers guys.
Just wasted 75,000 credits then....

Best go back a save

I don't think so, unless you do not want to have such an item, that probably is too powerful. I had that problem before installing the test version of Oolite nor the Addons....but I've definitely got the impression, that the MASC causes the problem to appear more frequently:

Ships become hostile and start heading for me...but then they turn yellow again or just do a fly-by without even firing their lasers. However, the other ships DO notice me - they just have quite some chance to stop doing so for some time, then notice me again.

Concerning the missiles, I did not notice that effect, but now that I've read about it, I can confirm that it works. Maybe that's even something too strong and a chance of the loss of target for missiles would be a better result?

Anyway...since I've now got a ship that has enough energy supply for ECM, it practically only changes things when facing a Condor - which do empty their missile reserves pretty soon anyway, so running from one, until the missiles blow up, and then heading back solves the thing for anyone without MASC. A Condor, that comes out of a fight typically already has all missiles depleted, anyway. That's why I suggest that those ships should fire much smaller salvos at single opponents.

Screet

[Commander McLane]

Anyway, these items were never meant to be buyable.

Personally I would consider their bare availability a bug, or probably more precisely, a pollution of the Oolite experience. Therefore I would never consider installing an OXP that causes this kind of pollution.

[Screet]

Anyway, these items were never meant to be buyable.

Personally I would consider their bare availability a bug, or probably more precisely, a pollution of the Oolite experience. Therefore I would never consider installing an OXP that causes this kind of pollution.

I wish I would still have the good photos of the cougar on the C64, but I've only got the very bad ones left The idea would be, to have that ship as another mil. prototype featuring this eq.

On C64 I even thought - for a brief amount of time, that I had some weird looking cargo container approaching...until there was a flash and "energy low" report

Anyway....that EQ would have to be better balanced if it should become avail. Yesterday I was even considering to install the "sell any eq" oxp in order to get rid of that thing, after I read what it does. At least, I'm really hunting pirates for fun...and they should have a bigger chance than they have now...typically, only Thargoids really pose some threat to me, but I can do evasives well enough in order to prevent them shooting through my shields.

Screet

[Tivva]

Thanks for the quick answers guys.
Just wasted 75,000 credits then....

I don't think so, unless you do not want to have such an item, that probably is too powerful. I had that problem before installing the test version of Oolite nor the Addons....but I've definitely got the impression, that the MASC causes the problem to appear more frequently:

Ships become hostile and start heading for me...but then they turn yellow again or just do a fly-by without even firing their lasers. However, the other ships DO notice me - they just have quite some chance to stop doing so for some time, then notice me again.

Concerning the missiles, I did not notice that effect, but now that I've read about it, I can confirm that it works. Maybe that's even something too strong and a chance of the loss of target for missiles would be a better result?

Anyway...since I've now got a ship that has enough energy supply for ECM, it practically only changes things when facing a Condor - which do empty their missile reserves pretty soon anyway, so running from one, until the missiles blow up, and then heading back solves the thing for anyone without MASC. A Condor, that comes out of a fight typically already has all missiles depleted, anyway. That's why I suggest that those ships should fire much smaller salvos at single opponents.

Screet

Doh, I must read replies properly....
I'll play test it to see how it works & report back
Off to find a condor to pick on

[Lestradae]

... a Condor - which do empty their missile reserves pretty soon anyway, so running from one, until the missiles blow up, and then heading back solves the thing for anyone without MASC. A Condor, that comes out of a fight typically already has all missiles depleted, anyway. That's why I suggest that those ships should fire much smaller salvos at single opponents.

The behaviour observed happens with Realistic Shipyards in. Problem is, as far as I know there is no way to specify how many missiles a ship releases on which ships.

The Condors and other very big carriers do what they do via having an enormous amount of missiles installed, but the game decides how many get launched and when.

If there is a way to specify this, anyone tell me, I agree that would be a nice feature to have - but I don't think it's oxp'able (yet).

[LittleBear]

Your can use fireMissile in an AI attack state to get it to realease a barrage, with fireMissile, fireMissile, fireMissile in a command losing off three for example. NPCs will fire off missiles themselves sometimes in performAttack generally, but will mostly use lasers or turrets if they can. The Condor is being sensible though. As it's turrets only have a range of 5km, loosing a volley of missiles is the only thing it can do to defend itself until it can close with its turrets. The AI is telling it to performAttack and fireing missiles is the only way it has to attack if the target is out of range of its turrets. You could use performIntercept with a 10 second update pause, desired range of 5km and speed set to 2.0 to make it close before attacking instead. Perhaps a D role so somtimes it will loose a missile barrage and somtimes injectors towards the target to bring its turrets to bear.

[Lestradae]

Thanks LittleBear, didn't know that, and have yet to understand Java script

The big navy flagships of Realistic Shipyards (the Condors, Juggernaut and Constitution) are intended to have some sort of rocket cannons on board that fire an enormous stream of missiles onto enemies. That they have a much bigger, if less fast weapons reach thereby is intended.

But perhaps I will have a look into AIs in the future anyways, and then your remarks will come in handy.



L

[Thargoid]

If you want some examples, look at the AIs in Second Wave. For thargoids the tharglets are actually special-role missiles, so for them fireMissile equates to launching a tharglet. Some of my variants now do that earlier and explicitly by command in their AIs.