Shrike's Ultimate Overhaul (DEV)

[Song]

Since I see we have a shiny new forum section for these, I'll go ahead and make my development thread for SW&A.

Shrike's Weapons & Automatons

Acronym/Shortened Name:SW&A

Concept: To expand player choice in the game without changing the basic structure of the game too much. This is to be done via new niche weapons, devices and items, along with over-writes to existing vanilla content to address existing issues in the game.

Contents Aimed for: Minimum of 3,000 lines of code (predicted). Up to 10-15 new weapons, using new or newish concepts to make gameplay more interesting and less linear. New line of "Autoturrets", designed for point-defense of anywhere you choose to place them, ranging from light, cheap cra-...uh....BUDGET models, through to the top-of-the-line models mounting guns that allow them to take on most gunships, and some heavier ships.



Expected Release:June-October 2011. The schedule is highly flexible at present.

Screenshots



The Messenger V antimatter missile grazing a swarm of sandstorms.



The RZ-80 thermonuclear gunpod (early version) rips through said swarm a few seconds later.


Anything I consider interesting enough to spam the forums with will be added to this thread.

[ThePrivateer]

I'm looking forward to this mod, it seems quite promising and so far sounds like it will offer a nice slice of new weaponry.

I'm most interested in seeing the little autoturret things...I like the sound of deploying an autoturret, then my barricades and sitting tight while watching my enemies get shredded around me..

[Aury]

hehe, I like the look of the messanger, given I love to abuse particle comets in my projectiles

Anyways, good work ^^
George is adding ship-targeting as an option for ICX devices in 1.05 so it means you won't need to bother with the clunky targeting scripts that somebody (digdug?) drew up a while back.

[Song]

Hmm. I wasn't thinking auto-turrets as in "goes on your ship", I was thinking more "stationary gun platform". However if 1.05 comes out before SW&A does, I'll probably rename auto-turrets, and add actual "goes on ship" autocannons.

EDIT: hey, actually, a dual-function ICX-style device would be cool. A point-defense gun that can take on both missiles *and* small craft. Unlikely to be possible for a while though....

[Aury]

I think it should be possible... I'll ask george. But I think that the target field was designed to take multiple types; its just that only one type is actually valid atm >.>

[Song]

I think it should be possible... I'll ask george. But I think that the target field was designed to take multiple types; its just that only one type is actually valid atm >.>

Hmm. This would make for a highly useful (albiet very heavy) set of devices for CSCs and the like....

[Song]

Thanks to prophet, who kindly provided a crude platform, development work on the Mod.1 Lamprey missile and the launcher that fires it has begun. Very, very slowly....I've got a lot to learn.

To recap from the other thread I made back when this was just a concept:

Lampreys are missiles that just attach to the target, rather than trying to detonate on proximity (which nearly ALL projectiles in transcendence would do in reality, even if *in the game* they need to hit the graphic). Once attached, they can do any number of things. The Mod.1 will wait a while, then blow up (10 seconds actual...which if I remember right is about 50-60 seconds of gametime), the planned Mod.2 will require a detonation signal sent from either a device, or the launcher itself, and the Mod. 3 & 4 concepts do interesting and highly evil things to the ship over time.

No screenies, it's still lines of partially assembled code right now.

[Ttech]

Thanks to prophet, who kindly provided a crude platform, development work on the Mod.1 Lamprey missile and the launcher that fires it has begun. Very, very slowly....I've got a lot to learn.

To recap from the other thread I made back when this was just a concept:

Lampreys are missiles that just attach to the target, rather than trying to detonate on proximity (which nearly ALL projectiles in transcendence would do in reality, even if *in the game* they need to hit the graphic). Once attached, they can do any number of things. The Mod.1 will wait a while, then blow up (10 seconds actual...which if I remember right is about 50-60 seconds of gametime), the planned Mod.2 will require a detonation signal sent from either a device, or the launcher itself, and the Mod. 3 & 4 concepts do interesting and highly evil things to the ship over time.

No screenies, it's still lines of partially assembled code right now.

So its a fire cracker currently

[Drako Slyith]

So its a fire cracker currently

Just gave me an idea for a mod: you turn ships into fire crackers which then explode and turn other ships into fire crackers.

[Ttech]

So its a fire cracker currently

Just gave me an idea for a mod: you turn ships into fire crackers which then explode and turn other ships into fire crackers.

oh... no... Please. I beg of you.

[Song]

So its a fire cracker currently

Just gave me an idea for a mod: you turn ships into fire crackers which then explode and turn other ships into fire crackers.

You're referring to a "grey goo" style Armageddon device. It's entirely possible, and there was once a plan for a T mod that used it (called "Metal Swarm" or something like that). The problem is, those tend to kill computers.

[Drako Slyith]

yeah, I had a similar problem when I made a ship have four of itself as an escort. It just had one of those circles of infinite ships at every angle.

[Ttech]

I'd +1 metal swarm, as it sounds like a bad movie on SyFy.

[Song]

I am considering "metal swarm" for future projects......maybe someday I'll do an adventure extension?

Anyway.

The Mod.1 Lamprey is currently broken, but *partly* functional....work on it continues.

[Song]

I'm currently starting to retest the 'Australis' weapons system...which is currently fairly simple, a hardish to use laser weapon inferior tp its equivalent (the bushido X-ray laser) which, on being coupled with an installable device, makes a really decent weapon, which can then be boosted well past the damage/second of the X-ray laser with full boosts, although it remains not the easiest weapon to use, being a 3-shot burst weapon with not overly good rate of fire. In addition, the SZ/RZ gunpods are probably going to Makayev in terms of branding, as it sorta makes sense....The RZ-80 seems nicely balanced (worse than the thermo cannon in terms of DPS, more convenient to use, higher ROF, and the magazine system) although I need to work some more on the SZs....which should end up as an Akan alternative. I'm also considering making a low-level Makayev or NAMI weapon out of an old project of mine....

Lamprey is currently working in terms of killing things, but needs a new timer system....so it's effectively broken in every other way. However the missile itself has some really nice characteristics and, with a LOT of balance work, could end up as a nice and quirky weapon.

Azriel/messenger-missiles is on hold while I rethink 2-3 of the missiles, and decide on new names for the missiles. This will probably ultimately improve the launcher, making it less like a gimmicky NAMI-only-better system, and more into a "good and unique in its own right" category.

I'm also considering doing an update/upgrade to SM&M later in the year, reworking the Missiles section with skills I've developed working on SW&A...it'd be called SM&M Plus, and is currently totally theoretical.

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