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Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:51 pm
by 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?
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 8:39 pm
by 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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 8:59 pm
by Thargoid
Or most police pilots are so sure of themselves and their skills that they believe they would never need such a cowardly device?
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:13 pm
by 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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:19 pm
by 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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:23 pm
by Eric Walch
cim wrote: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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:33 pm
by Cody
Eric Walch wrote: At least there is a discrepancy here, by giving police pilots an insurance and no escape pod.
Exactly that!
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:31 am
by 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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:50 am
by 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?
Eric Walch wrote: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.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:10 am
by Cody
cim wrote:Perhaps ships with CLASS_POLICE should self destruct shortly after pilot ejection?
Great idea!
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:24 pm
by CommonSenseOTB
cim wrote:Perhaps ships with CLASS_POLICE should self destruct shortly after pilot ejection?
Seems better as the perogative of oxps.
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:35 pm
by DaddyHoggy
Eric Walch wrote: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...)
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:45 pm
by Rese249er
Hmm... Sounds like an under-the-hood tweak OXP. I think I'll start poking around the Viper files...
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:50 pm
by Cody
Disagree - I think it's something for the core game!
Re: Vipers and escape pods
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:59 pm
by Rese249er
Oh, I agree with you. I figure why not make it so until it is part of core?