Vipers and escape pods

[Cody]

A few days ago I came across a lone GalCop Viper jousting with a lone fugitive - it looked like quite a tussle. Despite being an offender myself at the time, I hastened to assist the cop, but before I could intervene, the Viper blew. Somewhat surprised at this outcome, I splashed the fugitive - and wondered, not for the first time, why Vipers don't have escape pods?

[quatermass]

Cost? During WW1 the powers that be decreed that RFC aircrew were not allowed parachutes as that would encourage pilots to abandon their aircraft. Perhaps the senior cops have the same mindset.

[Thargoid]

Or most police pilots are so sure of themselves and their skills that they believe they would never need such a cowardly device?

[cim]

The main time an escape pod would be needed by police is in combat with a superior pirate force. Pirates have lasers - and worse, they have scoops.

Still, you'd expect some of them to risk it sometimes anyway, if they could.

[Shipbuilder]

Perhaps it is to do with the design of the actual police viper craft itself.

For example the range of equipment incorporated into the police vipers may make it impossible to incorporate a escape pod.

[Eric Walch]

Pirates have lasers - and worse, they have scoops.

Yes, but pirates also like to earn money. And according to the code for characters:

Code: Select all

	else if ([role isEqual:@"police"])
	{
		[self setLegalStatus:0];	// clean
		[self setInsuranceCredits:125];
		specialSetUpDone = YES;
	}

Meaning that pirates always would earn money in returning the pilots. At least there is a discrepancy here, by giving police pilots an insurance and no escape pod.

[Cody]

At least there is a discrepancy here, by giving police pilots an insurance and no escape pod.

Exactly that!

[Eric Walch]

There are more features that are started once but never finished fully. e.g. the scanning routine for loot has the habit that ships of scan_class polite only see loot with slaves in them. A nice idea that must already been added by aegidian. Only strange that vipers never have scoops in the first place.

I did make a AI change here, in 1.75, that police/hunters do start scanning for loot after a fight. Hunters do now also scoop cargo. And vipers would start rescuing/arresting pilots after a fight if they would be given scoops.

[cim]

Another reason not to have escape pods: if the pilot ejects, there's a chance the pirates will be able to capture the ship. A captured Viper would be considerably better than the average light pirate fighter; a captured Interceptor would outclass absolutely anything else on the spacelanes. Too risky.

Perhaps ships with CLASS_POLICE should self destruct shortly after pilot ejection?

I did make a AI change here, in 1.75, that police/hunters do start scanning for loot after a fight. Hunters do now also scoop cargo. And vipers would start rescuing/arresting pilots after a fight if they would be given scoops.

I have seen OXP police ships do just that. (And presumably some OXP police ships have escape pods, too, though I don't recall ever seeing one)

Giving a Viper/Interceptor a scoop wouldn't help much, though, since they don't have any cargo hold.

[Cody]

Perhaps ships with CLASS_POLICE should self destruct shortly after pilot ejection?

Great idea!

[CommonSenseOTB]

Perhaps ships with CLASS_POLICE should self destruct shortly after pilot ejection?

Seems better as the perogative of oxps.

[DaddyHoggy]

There are more features that are started once but never finished fully. e.g. the scanning routine for loot has the habit that ships of scan_class polite only see loot with slaves in them. A nice idea that must already been added by aegidian. Only strange that vipers never have scoops in the first place.

I did make a AI change here, in 1.75, that police/hunters do start scanning for loot after a fight. Hunters do now also scoop cargo. And vipers would start rescuing/arresting pilots after a fight if they would be given scoops.

Sounds like there's a need for a special Viper conversion? The Pooper Scooper? Reduced top speed, less energy banks (including weakened structural integrity) so that the free space could be used to fit a scoop and a few TCs of cargo space.

Normal vipers, on detecting slaves, call for a Pooper Scooper (...To clean up the mess left behind by others...)

[Rese249er]

Hmm... Sounds like an under-the-hood tweak OXP. I think I'll start poking around the Viper files...

[Cody]

Disagree - I think it's something for the core game!

[Rese249er]

Oh, I agree with you. I figure why not make it so until it is part of core?