Oolite Bulletins

Do we need a better way of telling NPCs how to use (and how not to use) unusual items of pylon-mounted and other equipment?

I ask because I've just made a pylon-mounted rocket projectile pod, and although it works for the player I doubt NPCs would know how to aim them (or even that they need aiming). I can probably override bits of AI or ship script to let NPCs use the RPs, but it will be messy and difficult.

Several related issues here:
-Lack of 'instinctive' aiming behaviour for ballistic weapons in NPCs
-inability to tell NPCs to treat, for instance, a '_MISSILE' as if it was a ballistic weapon, or even an expendable X-ray laser which they would already 'instinctively' know how to aim.
-inability to tell NPCs in which behaviours or AI modes they should (or, equally important, shouldn't) consider using an item in. Changing this might also make it much easier to let NPCs use 'primeable' player equipment of many kinds.

Ngalo wrote:

...although it works for the player I doubt NPCs would know how to aim them (or even that they need aiming).

Well, NPCs don't 'aim' normal missiles. Just like you do, they target the 'victim' and the missile does the rest. Or are you talking 'dumb' weapons here - you mention ballistics but of course there is no gravity in space so are you looking at something which just does a straight line after launch?

Sorry if the above post was unclear. 'Dumb' weaponry is exactly what I'm talking about, although the point would apply to anything which needs different usage to a standard missile or mine, for instance the pylon-mounted fuel tank or a missile which could only track targets in a limited forward cone.
As I said, I think I can teach NPCs how to use such weapons, but it will involve intrusively overriding ship-script event handlers (or even bits of the AI library) and probably removing & re-awarding the weapon to prevent it being fired like a guided missile. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a simpler way of doing things?

Smivs wrote:

but of course there is no gravity in space

But of course there's gravity in space.. otherwise, the ISS couldn't orbit the earth, and the earth couldn't orbit the sun. Everything would just fly off in straight lines.

Everything in space is falling -being pulled by gravity- towards something else. It's just that those objects are moving tangentially so fast in relation to the particular something else, that they never actually reach the object they're falling towards. They just fall, forever. That's why it's also called "in free fall".

To borrow a line from THHGTTG, the ISS is throwing itself at the ground, and missing.

Diziet Sma wrote:

Everything in space is falling

Yet, oddly enough, the universe is expanding.
Good to see you on the board again Dizzie.

Stormrider wrote:

Good to see you on the board again Dizzie.

Seconded. Welcome back

Thanks guys.. good to be back.

Stormrider wrote:

Diziet Sma wrote:

Everything in space is falling

Yet, oddly enough, the universe is expanding.

Well, that's what happens when your tangential speed exceeds the ability of the local gravity field to keep a grip on you.. you step out/up into the realm of the next bigger gravitational field.

Thus we see the progression of a weapons-related post, to a scientific-post. ;P


I for one would like to see dumb-fire weapons, even if NPC's couldn't use them. It's like when I inject towards a pirate, dropping cargo bins, then pulling up. Ineffective, but funny. Now if you did that, but with explosives attached.... everything is better with explosives.

Cmdr. Aiden Henessy wrote:

inject towards a pirate, dropping cargo bins, then pulling up.

Try [wiki]Q-Bomb[/wiki]. [wiki]Railgun[/wiki] is another dumb-type weapon.