Ship types and AI

[Betelgeuse]

In irc we where talking about what types of ships there can be and what we would like ships in general to act like.

some ship types

pirate looter ship, that loots cargo containers that are close and takes it back to base
dive bomber ship, a ship that dives in close and unloads lots of weapons at point blank range then runs away
traveler, a ship that goes gate to gate
wall commander, lines up ships and tells them to all fire in the same directions
station destroyer
wreck looter, loot one wreck/station then gates out
mine ships, that mine ahead of you or around stations
neutral leech ships that follow around more destructive ships and loot wrecks

for general actions that would be nice to see

if a ship has healing/enhancement item use it
ships that attempt to defend each other by getting between the damaged one and the target so the damaged one can repair
ship groups that coordinate firing
ship groups that try to make formations

Any others that you would like to see or any comments on these?

[Arisaya]

well, i've added in commonwealth fleet patrols as well as freighters who simply go from one gate to another...

[bluesaberist]

I was thinking maybe a kamakazi type ship. It would do suicide runs and then blow the reactor with a big plasma explosion.

Swarming ships that try to block all of your weapons, and keep apearring out of nowhere.

For general actions:

Ships that do missions, and that could sometimes ask you to help them.

Traders that will do under-the-table buying and selling.

Repair crew ships that will repair you ship when you dock with them. There could even be repair ships for different factions. Maybe an Ares one that you have to destroy, a sisters one that does repair jobs for cheap, parts traders that will take items for pay, etc, etc. (These could take up an entire .xml file)

That's all I could think of off the top of my head, but maybe I can come up with some (or many ) more later.

[(name here)]

Formations already exist, but only point juno uses them enough to be noticeable. same with coordinated firing.

[digdug]

lone trader ship: enters in the system, send helo msg to everybody and stops for a few ticks, then travel to the other stargate and gate out.

battle in the middle of the system: from time to time 2 sovereigns spawns a number of ships from the 2 stargates, and they encounter in the middle of the systems and start battling, the survivors gate out. (some systems are just too empty)

station builders: just like bobby luminous conquest mod, but for all sovereigns ?


about AI, i would like a ship to switch missiles type (if available and if launcher installed) from time to time, during combat.
Or simply use any consumable available in the cargo that can give the AI some advantage.

I would like AI ships to run away to their station if, let's say 50% of the wandering group is destroyed. It's highly unrealistic that a pilot, after seeing all the other companions destroyed will try to face the playership without reinforcements.

[Arisaya]

battle in the middle of the system: from time to time 2 sovereigns spawns a number of ships from the 2 stargates, and they encounter in the middle of the systems and start battling, the survivors gate out. (some systems are just too empty)

havn't done this directly, but i have gotten my various patrolling enemies and allies to fight eachother. Though whenever the commonwealth gets an aquila cruiser they usually win, though it's a rare occurence

[F50]

you haven't given the Ares the Phobos?

[Arisaya]

you haven't given the Ares the Phobos?

Yeah, i have, but the chances of getting a phobos AND an aquila at the same time in the same location are virtually nil.