Auton Overhaul (Alpha Release)

[Song]

This mod reworks vanilla autons for a better experience in Corporate Command. It requires 1.3B1 and Corporate Command. It is provided in an as-is fashion for the purposes of testing and feedback. Please give feedback so that I can continue improving autons and the auton bay.

In this version: Auton tweaks, two new layouts for the constellation.
Not in this version: Changes to the auton bay. I need a translisper for that.

Xelerus link: HERE

Ship/Auton Specifications: SAO Alpha 1


Autons

Autosentinel

Level: 3
Price: 1200cr

Armor: Heavy Ceramic
Shield: Laser Deflector
Weapon: EI laser cannon

Armor limit: 2.5 tonnes
Device Limit: 2
Power limit: 3MW

Other: Dramatically improved from the vanilla version, the autosentinel is a very powerful tool for the early game when customised. While the low armor and energy limits ultimately restrict its use, it can still be useful against swarms later on when fitted with weapons such as the TK10, Moskva 11, Valjor-series lasers and the omnidirectional laser cannon.

310A Aegis

Level: 4
Price: 2,500cr

Armor: Plasteel plate
Shield: Hull ioniser
Weapon: EI laser cannon + Longreach Autocannon (point defense + general terror)

Armor limit: 4 tonnes
Device Limit: 2 (even thought it's got three devices as standard, the bugs with device removal allow you to swap the weapon and shield just fine)
Power limit: 7.5MW

Other: The Aegis trades armor capacity and reactor strength for the ability to shoot down incoming missiles. Be aware that the buggy point-defense code in vanilla means that this can cause issues with collateral damage. Keep away from Black Market stations if you expect a fight (actually, this advice is good for ALL autons). Future versions may use a custom point defense system to prevent issues in future. While limited in weapons strength, it can still install turbolasers and similar weapons.

300D Defender

Level: 4
Price: 2,500cr

Armor: Plasteel plate
Shield: Hull ioniser
Weapon: Turbolaser

Armor limit: 5 tonnes
Device Limit: 2
Power limit: 10MW

Other: The workhorse of the auton world. While limited to 10MW, this auton can fit some reasonably decent weapons such as the omni-turbolaser and Muon gun. It can also carry quite heavy armor. This auton is the most common model you'll find in auton dealers when running Alpha 1. While you can do better, it's hard to go wrong with the purchase of a 300D.

330M Mule

Level: 4
Price: 2,500cr

Armor: Plasteel plate
Shield: Hull ioniser
Weapon: N/A

Armor limit: 3 tonnes
Device Limit: 3 (non-weapons only)
Power limit: 10MW

Other: The auton everyone loves to hate. 75 ton cargo hold, and painfully stupid AI. Now made slightly better by the addition of extra slots and a bit more speed. What can you do with these slots?......I actually don't know. Testing this has slipped me by and I'm just pushing it out with the rest of the update. But you *might* be able to fit a cargo hold to it if things work out right. Might.

460M SuperMule

Level: 5
Price: 5000cr

Armor: Heavy plasteel plate
Shield: Hull ioniser
Weapon: ICX point defense unit

Armor limit: 5 tonnes
Device Limit: 3 (non-weapons only)
Power limit: 15mw

Other: When regular Mules let you down, call on SuperMule! Comes fitted with point defense and a 100 tonne cargo hold!

.....I haven't actually tested this because it hasn't shown up in my trial games yet. See if you can find it...and if you do, report all the wonderful bugs that will almost certainly crop up with it.

1M Battle Auton

Level: 5
Price: 5,000cr

Armor: Light Blast Plate
Shield: Monopole deflector
Weapon: Particle beam

Armor limit: 5 tonnes
Device Limit: 2
Power limit: 15MW

Other: Despite starting out with a worse weapon than the 300D and having the same maximum armor load, the 1M has greater potential for expansion, with an extra 5MW to play with. This allows installation of slightly more powerful weapons such as the PK25 Morningstar (note: Use of PK25 may lead to extreme collateral damage), and more useful shields. As in vanilla, the 1M comes with an often-overlooked self-destruct mechanism: Simply order a 1M to attack itself and it will detonate after a short period. The strength of the explosion has been somewhat buffed, and may be slightly overpowered in Alpha 1.

1M/i Battle Auton

Level: 6
Price: 7,500cr

Armor: Light blast plate
Shield: Monopole deflector
Weapon: EMP cannon

Armor limit: 5 tonnes
Device Limit: 2
Power limit: 20MW

Other: The high-end auton for the discerning customer. The 1M/i sports a larger reactor orginally designed to power multiple weapons systems. With the removal of multi-weapon support it now allows the installation of the most powerful weapons and shields of any auton.....although any change in weapon will remove the non-lethal EMP weapon.

Ships

Constellation-B

Setup: Exactly the same as a regular conny, but with 3 autosentinels instead of a 300D as your starting cargo. Also fewer credits, because those autons are worth more.
Notes: Just for testing the starting setup, this isn't designed to be anything really new.


Constellation-C

Setup: Higher speed than regular constellation + starts with tritium upgrade. Starts with solar armor and S55 deflector. Also starts with two autosentinels and a 1M/i. This would ordinarily be rather overpowered, and indeed it still is....however you do not have the ability to install weapons on this ship. You will have to rely on autons and your wits and skills to survive. The difficulty curve for this ship is likely to be exponential as you progress.


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The auton overhaul is my return to modding after quite some time away from the scene. It is designed to make autons a viable playchoice until such time that future patches to the vanilla game (and CC) make this purpose obsolete. It's also designed so I can mess around with pacifist conduct again. Enjoy.

[Song]

So far 11 people have downloaded the alpha. I'd greatly appreciate it if they'd give me a PM or a reply with their general thoughts on my work so far.

[FourFire]

Still testing...

[AssumedPseudonym]

 Not so much an update or testing as a need to say this: *Ahem.* Holy kack the -C is fun! ^.^
 That said, so far I’m running with an unmodified 1M and a pair of 1M/i’s, eight 300D’s (one with a Dual Recoilless Cannon and a Class II, another with an Omniturbo, and one with an Urak Mass Driver just for grits and shins, but the rest unmodified), and seven Autosentinels (one with a Class I and all of them with weapons including Tridents, a Bolide, an Omnilaser, a Dual Laser Cannon, a Moskva 11, and a Mining Laser, and a few with Light Orichalc. Mostly I’m just QB’ing them anytime I get an enemy station on the scanner, though I do also sic them on Nomads with extreme prejudice. I have no idea how well this is going to go, but so far I’ve only lost one 300D in a run against a Charon Stronghold with a Frigate patrolling around it. I’ve also got a Patcher Arm on the -C, itself, which helps lots — especially since, even without weapons, I tend to get in a lot closer to the action than I have any business getting. Old habits, I guess. ¬.¬;

[Song]

Good so far. I'm planning to tone-down the -C a bit in later updates since the solar armor is a bit too strong for the early-game. I'll probably still have a solar panel on it though.

I'm taking a break from modding to work on my coursework. In a week, possibly two, I should be able to get back to work on this.