Toggling shields cancels the wait time on shields-down

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hookoa
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1.0RC7

If your shields are knocked out, they normally take ~8 seconds or so before they start to recharge.

If you disable and immediately enable shields "B"---> shield[enter] "B--->shield[enter]
your shields will begin recharging immediately.

It's not game breaking, but doesn't flow with game logic. It can also be helpful once you're up to top speed and running from base guards. The shield can take a few extra hits after failing.

It could probably be fixed with a timer that wont let shields recharge after being knocked out.
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SparcMan
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It makes perfect sense to me. It's the equivalent of forcing your shields to "reboot" as opposed to trying to automatically recover from a crash. It's also a nuisance enough that it seems like a good counter to the shieldsdown attack.
schilcote
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Yeah, it makes sense to me too. Assuming the reason shields have a delay when taken down is that the fields are destabilized and need to be realigned to actually shield anything, cutting power and then turning them back on should work. Anyway, if your shields go back up to 1, they're going to go back down anyway until you get out of the situation you're in...
[schilcote] It doesn't have to be good, it just has to not be "wow is that the only thing you could think of" bad
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hookoa
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If I were a shield manufacturer, I'd get a leg up on the competition by adding one small bit of code into the shield unit's processor:

if(shieldStrength = 0)
{
powerOff
powerOn
}

It'd be great when running from a Sung fortress or ranx outpost when that little extra bit of shield, (usually 8-12hp) can block that one beam pot shot from a pursuing wind slaver, or that one akan round that manages to hit ever y second or two as you are running away.
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Atarlost
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hookoa wrote:If I were a shield manufacturer, I'd get a leg up on the competition by adding one small bit of code into the shield unit's processor:

if(shieldStrength = 0)
{
powerOff
powerOn
}

It'd be great when running from a Sung fortress or ranx outpost when that little extra bit of shield, (usually 8-12hp) can block that one beam pot shot from a pursuing wind slaver, or that one akan round that manages to hit ever y second or two as you are running away.
That they don't is proof that it's not supposed to be possible.
schilcote
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Yeah, it makes sense but it just doesn't fit with the game...
[schilcote] It doesn't have to be good, it just has to not be "wow is that the only thing you could think of" bad
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Atarlost
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Repeat after me: "It's a bug that is not easily fixed and I am a horrible person for exploiting it."
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Psycholis
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because bug exploitation isn't a part of every game. not everyone's play style is your play style.
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Song
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Atarlost wrote:Repeat after me: "It's a bug that is not easily fixed and I am a horrible person for exploiting it."
Yes sir!
It's a bug that is not easily fixed and I am a horrible person for exploiting it.....but I will do so anyway solely BECAUSE I am a horrible exploitatatative person!

And it's also an old bug....IIRC, people were talking about it when I first looked at the forum, months before joining. Which was kinda mid-0.99c days.
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SparcMan
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hookoa wrote:If I were a shield manufacturer, I'd get a leg up on the competition by adding one small bit of code into the shield unit's processor:

if(shieldStrength = 0)
{
powerOff
powerOn
}
Except that it's the shield processor that needs to be rebooted (in this context). Now, that doesn't mean such code couldn't be added to the ship's computer (perhaps in the form of a ROM upgrade that decreases shieldsdown duration)
I understand that such an effect was probably unintended, but I see no reason to remove it.
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Atarlost
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One reason to remove it is that it removes an important balancing tool from shield construction.
schilcote
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Atarlost wrote:One reason to remove it is that it removes an important balancing tool from shield construction.
Image
[schilcote] It doesn't have to be good, it just has to not be "wow is that the only thing you could think of" bad
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hookoa
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Fair enough. It doesn't hinder gameplay and it does take time away from maneuvering to reset shields.

I think the one shield that it provides an unfair advantage to, which also isn't usable yet in the game, is the Lazarus shield generator.

If it is implemented as a usable shield post-Heretic (bigger reactors), then it would change the usage of that shield. The big failure of the Lazarus is that it can give you a sense of invulnerability which is a bad thing when it fails for 8-10 seconds. When a Lazarus is knocked out, it's usually because of an unlucky volley that catches you all at the same time. That lets enemies pick away at your armor while your shields reboot. If you can reset them, then it would be very hard for enemies to get any damage in, as normally, the Lazarus can out-recharge enemy damage.

The Lazarus could be the Invincible class shield generator of the Post-Heretic game. Only difference is that rebooting the Invincible earns you more down time as enemies knock it out again.



On a side note, it's funny that a ship with titanium plate and a laz shield will die when sitting on an exploding station, but a ship with the same plate and a Mammoth 25 will laugh it off.
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I have an idea. When enabling/disabling devices, there should be a slight delay (1/2 of a second, which is a pretty big delay when it comes to combat) during which you can't operate your ship (the player is supposedly running over to another control panel to switch his device on). Not only would it "fix" this, it would also add a slight disadvantage to keeping your weapons turned off all the time so that they don't consume fuel (power usage is another "powerful balancing tool").
[schilcote] It doesn't have to be good, it just has to not be "wow is that the only thing you could think of" bad
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Atarlost
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Standby power requirements are a balancing tool we don't have. When we can set standby power independently of firing power only then would a penalty for enabling or disabling devices be helpful for weapons.
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