Make all non-omni Weapons have a 18 degree swivel

[Blitz]

Now we all hate non-omni weapons cause its so hard to aim them and there have been many requests to increase the number of sprites per ship. Another easier way to do this would be to give all non-omnidirectional weapons a 18 degree swivel radius (since each sprite is 18 degrees apart). The swivel radius of the dwarg weapon could simply be increased to keep it special.

[Yugi]

It's only hard to aim them if you're using a slow ship such as the freighter - it's very easy to aim when using the wolfen.
I do think some omni weapons should have their omni-ability decreased.

[goat not sheep]

Very true. All you require is skill. Unless you are usuing a slow command ship /freighter fighting hornet battlepods...it'll take a long time killing em.

[OddBob]

I do not use omni weapons, I don't like them. What if there is a Tundra class behind five corsairs? Firing directly at it will just cause my 18 degree swivel gun to fire at the closer corsairs, who pose no threat. I like to shoot where I aim.

Side thrusters fix the 'turning problem'.

[Blitz]

It's only hard to aim them if you're using a slow ship such as the freighter - it's very easy to aim when using the wolfen.

Very true. All you require is skill. Unless you are usuing a slow command ship /freighter fighting hornet battlepods...it'll take a long time killing em.

Hmmm.... I dunno about that. I'm complaining because I'm a Wolfen Player myself and don't like the EI500 because its so slow. True, it is RELATIVELY mush easier to aim with the Wolfen but the problem arises while trying to hit tiny enemies or those at the edges of the screen. Take those Centauri Raiders or those battlepods. I can kill them much faster with the freighter's omni laser cannon. And the Omni Laser cannon is weaker than the Laser cannon, let alone the Dual Laser Cannon. And the other problem is that I can't use the weapon's range effectively anymore. For eg. Urak outposts can be a bit tricky early on. With a basic freighter, I can simply target one of the ships at the max range 60 and then fly away as soon as they start to give chase. This way, I manage to destroy most or all the ships before they even come close to start firing. This tactic is a lot more effective once you get an omni particle cannon as they have a max range of 120. Now I its hard to snipe with the non-Omnis this way because there aren't enough sprites.

I do not use omni weapons, I don't like them. What if there is a Tundra class behind five corsairs? Firing directly at it will just cause my 18 degree swivel gun to fire at the closer corsairs, who pose no threat. I like to shoot where I aim.

Side thrusters fix the 'turning problem'.

You've got a point there but then how often does that kind of situation arise?
In anycase the side thrusters seem like a good idea. Throw in some reverse thrusters and we can have a type of FPS control. It sure would be fun to be reverse thrusting away with my front guns blazing...

I've gotta ask. Since there are so many programs out there which can rotate pics, isn't it somehow possible to write a simple one and the incorporate it into the game engine so you woudn't have to bother with creating so many sprites. I really wouldn't know cause I really don't know much about programming. Okay, that would mean a major change in the game engine but that oughta make everything a lot simpler. And I'm sure George would be able to do it if he had a mind to -- I read somewhere that the xml code was homegrown.

[OddBob]

You've got a point there but then how often does that kind of situation arise?

Often. Anytime whatever I want to shoot is behind something I don't, which is generally everytime I'm facing more than one enemy, also when I'm fighting a station. Just because all the ships onscreen are identical doesn't mean that I want to spread my shots around at random.

Rotating the sprites would kill the lighting, among other things. Shadows would appear to jump every time you turned more than 18 degrees.

[Blitz]

Often. Anytime whatever I want to shoot is behind something I don't, which is generally everytime I'm facing more than one enemy, also when I'm fighting a station. Just because all the ships onscreen are identical doesn't mean that I want to spread my shots around at random.

I just understood why I never had that kind of problem before. That's what targeting is for. Now that I think of it, in that kind of situation, I'd rather use an Omni weapon and target the Tundra rather than trying to aim the Tundra on my own. I do that all the time when assaulting stations - at any range.

Rotating the sprites would kill the lighting, among other things. Shadows would appear to jump every time you turned more than 18 degrees.

How exactly do you create the sprites anyway? Do you actually draw each of them separately?

[OddBob]

I just understood why I never had that kind of problem before. That's what targeting is for. Now that I think of it, in that kind of situation, I'd rather use an Omni weapon and target the Tundra rather than trying to aim the Tundra on my own. I do that all the time when assaulting stations - at any range.

1. Targeting ROMs often don't show up until almost at St K's or beyond.

2. Try and target the Tundra amidst twenty Sandstorms. By the time you're done pressing "T" 19 times, you're dead. I can visually acquire the target and point my ship at it faster than any targeting system. Even if there was a "target nearest", "Target farthest" "target slowest" "target as many criteria as we have buttons for" it still FORCES you to use it.

How exactly do you create the sprites anyway? Do you actually draw each of them separately?

The sprites are renders of 3d models.

[Blitz]

1. Targeting ROMs often don't show up until almost at St K's or beyond.

Really? I dunno. I never really noticed. I always seem to find one early on. I'll check the code. Anyway it really is not difficult to get to St K's without it except maybe at the fortress.

2. Try and target the Tundra amidst twenty Sandstorms. By the time you're done pressing "T" 19 times, you're dead. I can visually acquire the target and point my ship at it faster than any targeting system. Even if there was a "target nearest", "Target farthest" "target slowest" "target as many criteria as we have buttons for" it still FORCES you to use it.

All right. This one's major. Mouse targeting should solve this problem nicely though.

The sprites are renders of 3d models.

Then, since the computer generates these from a base model, it should be possible to put in the base model and incorporate a program into the game and have it generate images of the ship at every angle.

[Karl]

It's only hard to aim them if you're using a slow ship such as the freighter - it's very easy to aim when using the wolfen.

...All you require is skill.

Please spare us the "I'm so skilled, I can aim anyway" argument. That's total bullshit. It doesn't matter how much "skill" you have, it's physically impossible in the game to aim properly.

Try shooting at a small ship flying in a circle along the edge of the screen. Even if you have pefect aim, maybe one in three shots will actually hit the ship. That's a problem with the game engine and it needs to be fixed one way or the other.

Giving non-omni weapons an 18 degree arc is one way to deal with this. Suddenly, it becomes possible to hit that circling ship with every shot, 100% accuracy. (And it still requires aiming skill to do this, unlike omniweapons.)

Now, this isn't a perfect solution: as ObbBob pointed out, sometimes that mini-swivel gun will target something else in that 18 degree radius. But that other target will be an enemy anyway, so it's not that big a drawback, and a heck of a lot better then the situation is right now.

The good thing about this is that it's one thing that can be modded right now. In fact, I've already started to do this in my weapon mods.

[Sponge]

I think an easier fix would be to double the amount of facings. Other than it taking up more space on your hard drive, I don't see any major problems.

To clarify Oddbob's post a little, you make the model once, and apply a light source at a certain location above the ship. You then rotate the ship using the modeling program. With the light source not moving, it will always hit the same angle of the ship. Personally, I think it would be a lot cooler, and easier to create new playership models, if the light reflection was created automatically by the game engine based on the ship's position relative to the sun in the system.

[Karl]

I agree that a better fix would be increasing the number of facings. The nice thing about this workaround, though (and it's really more of a workaround then a fix) is that it can be modded right now.

[Blitz]

The good thing about this is that it's one thing that can be modded right now. In fact, I've already started to do this in my weapon mods.

Excellent. Wish somebody has enough time to make a mod overriding all the ingame weapons. Then we can see if it really makes the game better.

I agree that a better fix would be increasing the number of facings. The nice thing about this workaround, though (and it's really more of a workaround then a fix) is that it can be modded right now.

No doubt about that. I wanted it to be a workaround rather than a fix. Personally, I agree that increasing the number of facings would be a much better idea but that'll have to wait till the next version and that seems to be taking a while .

[OddBob]

Now, this isn't a perfect solution: as ObbBob pointed out, sometimes that mini-swivel gun will target something else in that 18 degree radius. But that other target will be an enemy anyway, so it's not that big a drawback, and a heck of a lot better then the situation is right now.

I really strongly do not like this, it would render the game completely unplayable for me, for the reason already stated (yes, they are all enemies, but only one has it's fast regenerating shield down to 5%.
Or perhaps five corsairs can overwhelm my shield but four cannot. So I concentrate on the fifth, and just as I'm about to deliver the final blow as my shield is at 5HP, I shoot his buddy instead.)

I can't stand the current swivel gun, it's hard to know where you're ship is pointed. I spend most of your time not looking at my ship, but looking at my target. When I fire in a straight line, my mind automatically follows the shot back and I know where my ships is pointed. But with the swivel, I always am a little off in my estimate. It doesn't matter so much with omniweapons, because if you have one, you just fly in as tight a circle as you can and hold the fire button (or you instead look at your ship, concentrate on defensive manuevers and ignore the enemy) It doesn't matter at all which way you're pointed.

Also, circling ships aren't the problem. They're always passing in front of your firing arc. The problem is pursuing ships: since they have about the same velocity as you, they can remain in the blind zone indefinitely.

Then, since the computer generates these from a base model, it should be possible to put in the base model and incorporate a program into the game and have it generate images of the ship at every angle.

That's what we call a 3d game engine.

[Burzmali]

Why do so many people want Transcendence turned into a flash shooter? Mouse aim, full turning, both of those would give the player an advantage that couldn't be given to the AI.