Missile launch AI

[JazHaz]

I've been wondering if it is possible to improving the AI for missiles.

Specifically the way that when you attack a ship and it is carrying missiles, quite often the instant you make a laser hit they launch a missile. Instantly!

Hardly realistic! A human commander has to find and target the ship attacking and then launch the missile, a few seconds that should take.

So then I think that a way to do it would be to delay the launch of a missile with a random delay time?

What do you think?

[Thargoid]

They've obviously got Target Autolock installed

In my experience it's not that common for missile-armed NPC ships to fire when first hit with lasers, to be honest.

[Chrisfs]

I hadn't experienced that, though I have seen some missles take what seems like forever to hit a target.

[Kaks]

Weird, if anything I seem to have the opposite thought to JazHaz: sometimes NPCs seem to wait too long before firing their missiles...

[JazHaz]

Weird, if anything I seem to have the opposite thought to JazHaz: sometimes NPCs seem to wait too long before firing their missiles...

Strange!

Unless someone has fixed this in an OXP and not told anyone?! Perhaps in Random Hits or something. Only just installed that two mins ago!

[Thargoid]

Second Wave makes some of the Thargoids more prone to firing off their Thargons (which are launched as missiles). I can't think of any OXP which adjusts the trunk AI's though, other than Eric's periodic ones which are semi-testers for when they get rolled up into the next trunk version.

[ADCK]

Weird, the firing of missiles seems to be pretty random for me, perhaps one of the addons you're using is altering the default ai for missiles?

[Eric Walch]

Weird, the firing of missiles seems to be pretty random for me, perhaps one of the addons you're using is altering the default ai for missiles?

The chance of a NPC firing a missile is very strongly related to its energy. With full energy they are not likely to fire missiles on the first shot. (Unless they have a bit to many loaded)

[Diziet Sma]

I've been wondering if it is possible to improving the AI for missiles.

Specifically the way that when you attack a ship and it is carrying missiles, quite often the instant you make a laser hit they launch a missile. Instantly!

Hardly realistic! A human commander has to find and target the ship attacking and then launch the missile, a few seconds that should take.

So then I think that a way to do it would be to delay the launch of a missile with a random delay time?

What do you think?

Maybe they already had targeted a missile and were keeping it handy just in case.. From the behaviour I've seen, I consider it as if the pilot had pre-targeted me with a missile, and when things got too hot for him, he fired the missile in an attempt to divert me and give his shields a chance to build up.

For that matter, if I see a ship that seems suspicious, but isn't currently a threat, I'll often put a missile lock on him as a precaution. That way, if he later shows an antisocial attitude, it saves precious seconds in the heat of battle.