Oolite Bulletins

Well, I'm investigating the possibility of buying and mounting these new energy bombs / quirium cascade mines in place of regular missiles. That way they can be added alongside the traditional energy-bomb and triggered by pressing 'm' when a mounted bomb is selected.

EDIT: Picture of cascading explosions - note the scanner display in the full picture (click).

Cool.


(And I'm sure I asked this before, but what's with the 7 (seven) energy banks?!)

I'm assuming you mean that missiles would still be present in the game but that mines could replace missiles in the available pylons. Sounds dangerous... so I could accidentally fire off a mine instead of a missile? It's a neat idea though, especially for ships with a small number of pylons... gives them options.

For what it's worth the original Energy Bombs would be really annoying in a multiplayer version of Oolite OR if AI ships had them. They get my vote for total replacement (or should that be total destruction?)... unless, an Original Game vs Extended Features option does become available in game (in which case, naturally they'd be available in the original game model).

[double edit]
You changed your post on me!! (that means you, Aegidian!)

Also, I was just thinking along the lines of accidentally firing off a weapon and remembered Pulp Fiction... "I think I shot Marvin in the face". Something completely irrelevant but humourous none-the-less.
[\double edit]

Darkbee wrote:

I'm assuming you mean that missiles would still be present in the game but that mines could replace missiles in the available pylons. Sounds dangerous... so I could accidentally fire off a mine instead of a missile?

Yes, that's it, though there'd probably be a visual (and audible) reminder of what's on the selected pylon.

Mad Dan Eccles wrote:

(And I'm sure I asked this before, but what's with the 7 (seven) energy banks?!)

Flying a Wolf Mark II for these tests. Loadsa energy!

In the original game, energy bombs were necessary because the enemies were much more dangerous. I suspect it's because they all had captured lethal-thargoid style omnidirectional lasers or at least fudged the aiming and also because space was *thick* with pirates and if you didn't deal with them quickly another group would appear on the scanner, and another group...

I know that when hyperspacing into a multi-gov system, the *first* thing I did was go to the short-range map and set my escape route (fuel permitting). Hyperspace, energy bomb, galactic hyperspace - sometimes I'd need to use all three just to survive, and sometimes it just wasn't enough. So, yeah, the energy bomb was a one-shot panic-button which very often only gave you a short respite.

Certain features of Oolite, for example the fixed number of pirates set up at system initialisation, mean the panic button isn't needed nearly as often.

How about this:

Make the Energy-Bomb explosion much faster, let's say 0.6LS or so. You'd have to use your Fuel Injection to be fast enough to make it away save. And if you're not fast enough, the damage done to your ship should depend on your ships relative speed to the way the cloud of destruction expands - flying away from it won't destroy you, even if the explosion is faster than you and catches up. If you head towards the center - byebye... (I hope anybody get's my idea, talking about all this SciFi-stuff is far beyond my active english... )

Pocki

aegidian wrote:

Flying a Wolf Mark II for these tests. Loadsa energy!

Ah, righto. I was wondering if something had gone horribly, terribly wrong with mah instahl.

Actually it could be fun to have these weakened energy bombs take up space as cargo, be ejected like cargo, and appear on the scanner as cargo, at least for a few seconds.

And then they go into countdown mode...

"I'm a thirty-second bomb! I'm a thirty-second bomb! Twenty-nine...Twenty-eight..." (Starship troopers, R.A.H.)

[/quote]

Lazygun wrote:

And then they go into countdown mode...

"I'm a thirty-second bomb! I'm a thirty-second bomb! Twenty-nine...Twenty-eight..." (Starship troopers, R.A.H.)

Maybe we could argue with them and try to convince them not to explode yet...

Star Gazer wrote:

Maybe we could argue with them and try to convince them not to explode yet...

"Bomb, how do you know you aren't just a computer simulation?"

Lots of interesting ideas!!

I kinda like the SW EPII asteriod field idea, kinda like a timed mine which is dropped from the cargo bay. Not sure if it should replace the current EB tho, seems more appropriate as an additional weapon.

How about EMP´s?

With the clear and visible danger of strafing far away from the purist concept of the Elite game, an EMP bomb could render all close by vessels out of control for somthing like 5-10 seconds, just long enough to catch your breath and build up some shields...or run away...

that scanner blast representation above is gorgeous. Quirium Cascade Mines, are they?

the new bomb seems like it will be a fun tool that one can frequently use with clean conscience, unlike the old one. (Darkbee likened it to a cheat feature, and I couldn't agree more..)

slipping them into the pylons for potential posession of several is a very cool thought. still curious about detonation timing and how talkative they will be .

Murgh wrote:

...still curious about detonation timing and how talkative they will be .

...they could even 'lie'... ...'I'm a thirty second 100Mton nuclear device, 29 seconds, and counting, 28 seconds, 27 seconds....BANG!!'

". . . I lied"

Lol!

How about manually triggered detonation?