Rifter and Mining Barge Concept Idea

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Peter
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So I've been thinking about what playerships I could make. I don't want to create something boring and mundane, just another fighter of freighter. I want to create something unique and interesting. So I've been thinking, and so far I've come up with two ideas. I'm posting them here to see if anyone can give me any advice in making them or if anyone has any better/improved ideas.

The Rifter
The rifter would be a small fighter type ship. For reference, think of the wolven. However, it would have something like a transpace jumpdrive, only for a small distance (3/4 of a screen, maybe) and it wouldn't take as long to do the jump. This would be mounted in a launcher slot for ease of access, and would give the ship unique dodging abilities. To keep it balanced, I might make it that all installed shields are half as powerful as default.

The Mining Barge
This would be a big and slow barge. For reference, think of the Antares. It would be unique, as it would come with an omnidirectional mining weapon. It would also have a special targeting rom, which allows it to target asteroids. I'm not sure if this is possible, but after I've looked at the source code I'll attempt to think of a way, which will probably involve rewriting the code of the asteroids.

So these are my two ideas. What do you guys think?
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
gunship256
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There's some code that allows point-defense devices to target asteroids, though I'm not sure how it could be modified for other purposes. Here's a link to the Mining Rework thread:

https://forums.kronosaur.com/viewtopic. ... a&start=60
Peter
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Thank you Gunship! That was very helpful! I'll see if I can get my plans working :)
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
gunship256
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Peter wrote:Thank you Gunship! That was very helpful! I'll see if I can get my plans working :)
Glad to help! I think your idea of a ship with a built-in jumpdrive would add something unique to the game. If you can get targeting to work for mining in some unique way, for example, if the targeting provided information about asteroids without having to shoot at them, that would be pretty interesting too.
Peter
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I got the Rifter to work, but didn't like the results. I'm pretty sure the time each jump takes is hardcoded, and it takes too long for close range combat and doesn't feel right. I think I'm out of luck :/

So I'm shelving the idea of the rifter for later if I realize there is another way to do it :c

But as for the mining barge... I'll be making that :)
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
relanat
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The mini jumpdrive sounds great. I'm well out of my coding knowledge depth here, but rather than use the jumprive code it may be possible to move the ship using objSetPos or some other function. I can't help you with code and it may not even work but who knows!

And for the mining barge, PM has a mod called NamedOre http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1067 which might help with working out what ore is in asteroids. And search xelerus for ore scanning mods. There's a few of them.
Stupid code. Do what I want, not what I typed in!
gunship256
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There are three instances of objSetPos in the 1.7 vanilla code:

Corporate cruiser Rigel mission (BattleArena.xml, line 2572)

Code: Select all

			<OrderClearArena>
				(block (
					(arenaObj (sysFindObject gSource "TN +battleArenaMaximus;"))
					)
					
					(if (ls (objGetDistance gSource arenaObj) 80)
						(block Nil
							(objSetPos gSource (sysVectorPolarOffset arenaObj 270 80))
							
							(shpCancelOrders gSource)
							(shpOrder gSource 'gate)
							)
						)
					)
			</OrderClearArena>
Quarantine (Heretic.xml, line 5491)

Code: Select all

			<OnObjUpdate>
				(block (thePos theAngle theRadius)
					(setq thePos (objGetPos aObj))
					(setq theRadius (sysVectorDistance thePos))
					(if (and (gr theRadius QUARANTINE_RADIUS)	(not (herStatus 'quarantineLifted)))
						(block Nil
							(setq theAngle (sysVectorAngle thePos))
							(objSetPos aObj (sysVectorPolarOffset Nil (add theAngle 180) (subtract QUARANTINE_RADIUS 10)))
							)
						)
					)
			</OnObjUpdate>
Ship changing (RPGShipBroker.xml, line 178) Not implemented in vanilla yet?

Code: Select all

							;	Position the new ship near a docking port
							
							(setq portPos
								(@	(random
										(filter (objGetProperty gSource 'dockingPorts) portDesc
											(= (@ portDesc 'status) 'empty)
											)
										)
									'pos
									)
								)
							(if portPos
								(objSetPos selObj portPos)
								)
Peter
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Interesting. I edited the transpace jumpdrive code to get this for my rifter:

Code: Select all

(block (newPos)
						(setq newPos (sysVectorPolarOffset gSource (shpGetDirection gSource) 50))
						(objJumpTo gSource newPos)
						)
However maybe using one of the examples you provided would be a good idea...
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
gunship256
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You may have already looked the function up on Xelerus, but here's the page in case you haven't:

http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=functions&function=333

The example given there seems pretty relevant: instantly moving an object a given distance in the direction the playership is pointing.

In this case, you could probably change gPlayerShip to gSource so that your device functions properly in case you want to install it on ships other than the playership.
Peter
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Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 1:11 am
Location: New Zealand

You may have already looked the function up on Xelerus, but here's the page in case you haven't:

http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=functions&function=333

The example given there seems pretty relevant: instantly moving an object a given distance in the direction the playership is pointing.
Ah, I hadn't looked into that. Thanks! I guess this means that my idea for the rifter is coming off the shelf and back into development :)
In this case, you could probably change gPlayerShip to gSource so that your device functions properly in case you want to install it on ships other than the playership.
Not really necessary in my case, but I guess I'll change it in case people are playing with mods which randomize enemy equipment (I know my friend found a mod like that off xelerus, can't remember its name off the top of my head)
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
gunship256
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Location: repairing armor

Possibly this one?

AE - Starting Gear Randomizer
http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1441

Salvager Nomads will install intact weapons and shields they find if the items are higher-level than what they already have installed. It would be pretty funny and possibly annoying if they could instantly jump from one place to another. It would definitely be broken if a Salvager jumped in the direction the playership was facing instead of the direction its own ship was facing.

Could the jumping be modeled off of a capacitor weapon like the Ares Lightning Turret? That would provide an already coded solution to the problem of only allowing jumps at pre-defined intervals.

NPCs could display a message if they jump so that players unfamiliar with the mod would understand what's happening. I haven't tested the code below, but something like this:

Code: Select all

(if (not (eq gSource gPlayerShip))
    (objSendMessage gSource gPlayerShip "Now you see me, now you don't")
    )
Peter
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Posts: 91
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 1:11 am
Location: New Zealand

Possibly this one?

AE - Starting Gear Randomizer
http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1441
Nah, it's one which randomizes the gear of all enemies you find.

I'm not really interesting in getting it, but if you are I can ask him what it is. The only thing is that he isn't on skype often so I might have to wait till I next see him in person.
Could the jumping be modeled off of a capacitor weapon like the Ares Lightning Turret? That would provide an already coded solution to the problem of only allowing jumps at pre-defined intervals.
I believe so. In that case it would have to be coded so that the weapon can only fire when the charge is full, and the charge takes a while to full up. That wouldn't be too difficult to do, just balancing numbers really.
NPCs could display a message if they jump so that players unfamiliar with the mod would understand what's happening. I haven't tested the code below, but something like this:
I feel the urge to make enemies which do this now :) Do you happen to play league of legends by any chance? Because 'now you see me, now you don't' is what a character called shaco is famous for saying.
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
gunship256
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Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:41 pm
Location: repairing armor

Peter wrote:Nah, it's one which randomizes the gear of all enemies you find.

I'm not really interesting in getting it, but if you are I can ask him what it is. The only thing is that he isn't on skype often so I might have to wait till I next see him in person.
Please do if it's not too much trouble. I'm not interested in playing it as much as I'd like to look through the code.

I remember seeing a mod like this on Xelerus, but it looked like it hadn't been updated in a while. I don't usually download mods that have been abandoned for more than a couple of years, but this one sounds like it has some interesting ideas. I'd like to see, for example, if the author was able to do what he did without overwriting all of the enemy ships in the game, and whether he found an elegant solution that I can learn from.
I feel the urge to make enemies which do this now :) Do you happen to play league of legends by any chance? Because 'now you see me, now you don't' is what a character called shaco is famous for saying.
I don't, but it's something that popped into my head for some reason. I'd be interested in watching enemies appear and disappear too, and if you can find a way to make some interesting effects so that it's not just a pop-in-and-out look, I'd like to look at how you came up with the solution.
Peter
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Please do if it's not too much trouble. I'm not interested in playing it as much as I'd like to look through the code.
Ok, I'll ask my friend and tell you as soon as he replies. It might be a while though... :?
I don't, but it's something that popped into my head for some reason. I'd be interested in watching enemies appear and disappear too, and if you can find a way to make some interesting effects so that it's not just a pop-in-and-out look, I'd like to look at how you came up with the solution.
I believe it is possible to 'summon' an effect. At this point I'm thinking the way I'll do it is by having the <Event> which teleports you, also summon an effect before and after you teleport. If summoning an effect isn't possible, I'll use an explosion or a custom graphic, I know there will be some way to do it :)
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
Peter
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Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 1:11 am
Location: New Zealand

My friend responded surprisingly quickly.

The mod he uses was made by digdug, and is called 'Weapons extended 5'

Here is the xelerus link:
http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=1155

:D
My dream is to one day discover that someone who plays transcendence lives near me and goes to my school. Then I can finally have a friend.
---
Why must I keep running into that wall, impossibility?
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