Shrike's Mines & Missiles ++

A place to discuss mods in development and concepts for new mods.
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JohnBWatson
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TheLoneWolf wrote:The closest I found is the PK25 and Ion9. But with straight or particled shots, thats not what I want. Thing lazer array. But without that already destined angle. Have you guys ever played Star Wars Battlefronts 2? Remember the shotguns the engineers have? With their particles flying into random acute angles everytime?
Yeah, something like that would be cool.
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TheLoneWolf wrote:The closest I found is the PK25 and Ion9. But with straight or particled shots, thats not what I want. Thing lazer array. But without that already destined angle. Have you guys ever played Star Wars Battlefronts 2? Remember the shotguns the engineers have? With their particles flying into random acute angles everytime?
Have you looked at the code for the Urak mass driver? It shoots at random angles in a cone in front of the ship. If it had lower damage and more shots/second, it'd be a bit like a shotgun. Maybe it could have 30 shots/second with a cooldown timer.
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Song
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Making 'shotgun' style weapons is currently quite tedious due to limitations in configuration code. But I do have a few in the pipeline, plus one in the mod already.


Right now though, I'm working on two things:

1. The 'Tsar' launcher from Makayev. It's currently very WIP, mostly placeholders. But it's a very powerful blast launcher with very heavy rockets.
2. Rebalancing the Lombard outcasts. In particular, the drake-class advanced missileship. I'm removing their chance for M4s and M5's.

....because, yeah. Turns out that with a fairly "eh" endgame setup (diamond lattice + plasma shield) a lucky roll can one-shot the player with an M5. And an M2 will kill you in about 3-4 direct hits. And while I do like reminding the player that they are ultimately not flying a battleship (unless you've modded one in), that's a little excessive. So M1's (which are pretty weedy, honestly) and M2's (which in SM&M++ are definitely not) it is.

Generally speaking, the best tactic for handling the advanced Drake is to either snipe it from long range (preferably with a high-damage missile like the Tsar or the M2, both of which can one-shot it with a good hit on the side of the Drake), or to close in and attack it normally, making sure to shoot down the incoming missiles before they hit you. The former is obviously better. It's pretty fragile as late-game enemies with internals go.

...ultimately I want the Drakes to discourage getting too close (once I turn off their friendy-fire, which is currently an issue), while the lighter craft punish you for sniping at range. Obviously the AI isn't up to that, but I'll see how close it gets.

I've also added a dual version of the tritium cannon, because why not? There's a huge lack of dual weapons after level 5 or so.
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Song
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Another day, another set of weapons. I've....more or less....finalised the Tsar launcher. Had some issues with pluralisation of the item name, so I need to fix that.....and the main projectile graphic has some issues (because it's using very old placeholder codes). But it's an extremely powerful weapon that's fairly hard to use, which is what I was aiming for.

Rather than jump to the next launcher, I'm now adding to the Bushido energy weapons lineup. So far my to-do list is looking like this:

- Tanto neutron blaster (Level 6): a compact version of the Shuriken. It's identical except for the configuration, and the fact that it's an auxiliary linked-fire weapon. [almost completed]
(note: combining two Tanto's with a Shuriken lets you fire 30 shots per second, 45 if you optimize the shuriken. I don't recommend this because the overlapping audio is actually quite uncomfortable)
- Wakizashi starcannon (level 7): a less powerful varient of the Katana starcannon. Also a sidemounted weapon. [In progress]
- As-yet-unnamed positron weapon (level 8 or 9): A high-ROF, low damage positron weapon for endgame use.
- Dual version of the above (level 9 or 10).

While I've added a fair few plasma weapons to the game, there's still rather a lack of positron weapons. In vanilla SOTP, there are a total of two guns. This goes up to...3 or 4....with the expansions. But between that and the rather ugly default effects in 1.7....I think I'll be spending quite some time on them.
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TheLoneWolf
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I just sorta solved the shotgun with Diga. Using angular config for each shot, I can get an almost random shotgun.

Aaannnddd I used it to counter the unavailability of spread10 (and even spread50)
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Song
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New update from my dev builds, new guns:


-side-mounted Dobson projector. Good luck finding one, as it's a very rare item. Less accurate (!) than a regular Dobson projector, with the same very-high ammunition consumption.

-Tanto is now completed, more or less. I think I'll drop it down to the same level as the Shuriken and nerf it a little though.

-Wakizashi has been changed to a level 6 primary weapon, rather than a secondary. Not really balanced yet. I am planning a side-mounted version of this (no side-mounted Katana, sorry)

-Ion flame cannon has been reworked to use a particlecloud:

Image
(Effects still WIP)

-Bushido positron cannon is now in the game and functioning as-intended:

Image

-Added a level 9 omnidirectional varient of the above.

-Added Parker P58 omnidirectional plasma cannon at level 9. Combined with the bushido positron weaponry, it gives top-tier damage types to EI500 pilots in a far more convenient package. If you can find one, that is.

-Rebalanced the first of the Tsar missiles, the Nicholas. It's now more or less up to par. I'll be adding....probably two more missiles...to the lineup for that launcher. It will never be as good as a NAMI heavy though.



I'm currently debating what to add next in terms of positron weaponry. There definitely won't be a side-mounted version of the Bushido gun, because that weapon can be boosted by the (relatively cheap) Bushido weapon enhancer, which gives it an easy +75% bonus....which for a positron weapon is really good, especially since this one's not a bad gun by itself.
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TheLoneWolf
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Does SM&M++ happen 15yr after the events of D&O TSoP?
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Song
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TheLoneWolf wrote:Does SM&M++ happen 15yr after the events of D&O TSoP?
No. It's a content pack, so everything is concurrent. It just fills in gaps in lategame content.
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I've started some expermental work on the Ares Lightning turret. In vanilla, it's a bit of a badly designed gun: you can very easily avoid it entirely, but if you don't it hurts. A lot. While I don't think I'll be able to "fix" this, it's a useful testbed for changes.

Thus far I've found that inaccuracy does help alleviate this issue, but requires a significant damage buff. This then renders the gun useless at long range, and very powerful at short range. Again, this is useless for the ALT (as Ares don't fire their howitzers at long range) but for my own guns this has been quite an interesting finding.


EDIT: Actually, I think I've got it now. Larger bursts, significant inaccuracy but small radius fragments to ensure splash damage. It does penalise short-range combat though, which is annoying. Ah well.


In actual gun progress, I added a level 9 thermonuclear weapon to the NAMI lineup. the XK650 'Petard' is basically a very large PK25. It's.....alright. Not going to win prizes, but it's useful for some things. I may lower the level later on.

Soon I'm going to need to (again) revise the Bushido lineup. An experiment with mixing damaging and EMP fragments has meant that I now have the perfect high-level projectile....but no room for it. So the lineup is getting altered a bit. This 'new' projectile (actually a redesigned EMP bolt) will replace the existing EMP bolt, and also have a high-level bombardment weapon designed around it.
Given the low rate of fire on the gun that uses it primarily, this thing will be absolutely insane in terms of raw DPS when used on the Bushido Energy Launcher....but it's not going to be practical to use it like that all the time.

To make room for it, I'm going to have the new weapon replace the Odachi as the high-level ion bombardment weapon. Instead, that will drop down to "just" being a heavier version of the Katana.

Edit2: Also I've made some buffs to the Mark II, IV and VI howitzers and given them a two-slot requirement as an experiment. They're now aimed at being EI500 guns, since the weapon handling is still pretty poor.
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Finally got my bushido weapons sorted out, mostly. The current lineup is:

Level 3: Bushido Laser blaster
Level 4: Omnidirectional bushido laser cannon (omni)
Level 4: X-ray laser cannon (single version)
Level 5: dual X-ray laser cannon (dual version, renamed from Vanilla)
[REMOVED: Omni particle cannon (moved to EI)]
Level 5: B.Ex.9 gatling laser turret (omni, will become a unique item when there's support for that)
Level 5: Yumi particle cannon + ammunition
Level 5: Shuriken Neutron Blaster (changed effect, nothing else)
Level 6: Tanto neutron blaster (Military, side-mounted auxiliary)
Level 6: Wakizashi starcannon (Military)
Level 6: Bushido Energy Launcher (Fires ammunition from Yumi, Nandao bolt cannon, Kunikuzushi, B.Ex.55. Generally does less damage and has reduced range, but higher ROF than the main guns)
Level 7: Kunitomo cannon (stealthy, low ROF thermo cannon)
Level 7: Katana starcannon (unchanged)
Level 7: Hanzo blaster (unchanged)
[REMOVED: Thermo cannon (moved to EI) ]
Level 8: Odachi starcannon
Level 8: As-yet-unnamed positron cannon
Level 8: Ion flame cannon (reworked from original)
Level 9: Omnidirectional positron cannon
Level 9: Kunikuzushi bolt cannon + ammunition (ion howitzer, weak against heavy armor but brutal against lighter targets. Rare ammunition which performs poorly when fired from the BEL)
[REMOVED: Omni thermo cannon (moved to EI)
Level 10: B.Ex.55 ammunition for BEL. High damage positron. No gun to accompany it: the backstory is that the gun is still in development but the ammunition is ready to be sold for military use with the BEL.


The bushido enhancer is currently a bit too powerful, so I'm considering nerfing it a little. Some of these weapons really shouldn't be able to get an easy +75%.

--------------------

The new ones from the last day or so are the Kunitomo, which is a stealthy thermo cannon that's...probably going to be an NPC-only weapon although it does use ammunition more efficiently than a regular thermo cannon. The other one is the Kunikazushi, which is a mixed-damage weapon. On impact you get a radius fragment doing EMP and blind damage (device disrupt if you're using it in the proper gun and not the BEL), and a cloud of particles doing fairly low but consistant damage (this currently exploits an as-yet-undescribed bug in particlecloud damage that I need to get around to chasing down and ticketing. As a result, it shows as doing "7.5" damage. It really doesn't). Against heavy armor (the phobos, basically) this is almost useless, but lighter targets can easily be shredded. The balancing factor is terrible performance in the BEL, canHitSource, low rate of fire, and fairly rare and expensive ammunition. It's a weapon that wasn't built much before Bushido moved to positron weaponry...and it shows. Still, it's quite powerful with care, and it's a valuable weapon for NPCs since most players will take damage from it, one way or another.

I'm considering adding a few level 2 and 3 weapons into the mix, but I'm not sure just yet. All in all though, Bushido is pretty much done, and in moving stuff out of the company I've also added a little to EI that I can work on later.

====================================

Speaking of EI, I need to heavily nerf the particle convergence cannon. It's not that bad on paper, but in the field it's an absolute nightmare if fired at the right place and at the optimal range. I think my solution is going to be dropping that range (again). Alternatively I can make it an NPC weapon and throw it at the player.
To be fair, raid platforms are fragile against *most* level 7 weapons, especially a short-range, high DPS weapon. This thing is still a bit excessive though.
To be fair, raid platforms are fragile against *most* level 7 weapons, especially a short-range, high DPS weapon. This thing is still a bit excessive though.
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Song
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Starting to work on EI now. They've got a pretty good lineup in vanilla, but I'm now giving them some proper launchers. Their base launcher, the EI pod launcher, is nothing like its namesake from Frontier 0.5, but is a reasonable low-level launcher. It doesn't do much damage, but it's consistant, tracking, and auto-targeting.
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EI pod launcher is now in the game and functioning rather well. It's a short-range, fairly low DPS and very low damage-per-shot weapon that works well for clearing light gunships like the corsair. Currently there's only two pods on offer, that will increase soon.



In a bid to make sure that it's an easy launcher to get hold of and use, I'm starting work on an early-game enemy faction. 'AXTIR' is an extremely xenophobic terrorist organisation, similar to the sapiens only without the love for radiation weapons.....or, indeed, the budget. They hate more people than the sapiens as well, so they have to make do with what they can build themselves or loot off easy targets since not many people will trade with them. They fly modified IAVs with pretentious names and faction-specific steel armor. Nothing special, mind. Right now their ships are rather weedy. I'll be buffing them a little, but these aren't going to be too hard to deal with.
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First version of the AXTIR spawn is in the game now and working....reasonably well. They're still rather weedy but that's kind of the idea:

-The basic ship in service is the Jager-class IAV. This is basically a slight modification on the light IAV. It mounts the EI pod launcher and is actually fairly dangerous in numbers. By itself though, it's fairly easy to knock out. AXTIR's steel armor is good for level 1....but it's still only level 1 armor.

-The other vessel they have is the Panther-class IAV. This is, again, a modification of an IAV. This time it's the medium IAV. It mounts a Szell SZ-70 (and I have some not-in-the-game backstory as to why it's got that gun which may need some changes to how some of the V&S gear works), and may eventually gain some other gear as well. It has enhanced frontal armor, but is still pretty flimsy. At the moment it's a bit lacking in punch, but I'm working on that.

-I'm still working on an altered version of the heavy IAV. That'll probably be reserved for bigger stations

-AXTIR Enclaves show up in the earlier systems. They're basically container slums. They're guarded by tenhove sentinels (for now) and a selection of AXTIR vessels (Jagers and Panthers, for now)


-AXTIR are extremely aggressive. If there's a station in the system you'll probably know it before you see it, from the encounters it sends out.
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JohnBWatson
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Reminds me a bit of your theory on the Centauri - live action role players who got a bit too into character. From the names, maybe they were playing HYDRA.

Also, aren't Tenhoves called TA3's now? I liked the old name better too, I'll admit.
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Song
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JohnBWatson wrote:Reminds me a bit of your theory on the Centauri - live action role players who got a bit too into character. From the names, maybe they were playing HYDRA.

Also, aren't Tenhoves called TA3's now? I liked the old name better too, I'll admit.

You're not that far off. For these guys, think a cross between a neonazi group and a religious cult ('AXTIR' is an acronym, but I'm keeping what it means secret in case I do any missions based around these guys). They're bumbling in many ways, but they're still genuinely dangerous. Against a specialised gunship (or a large freighter like an EI7000 or Antares V) their IAVs don't stand much chance. But against lightly-shielded targets their guns and pod-launchers can deal a significant amount of damage.

And yes, tenhoves have a model name now. They've still got the same manufacturer (Tenhove) though, I think.
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