[Angelus]

Is there a way to make the flak fire spread over the area?

I'm thinking about this: after the flak has been fired, the shot is supposed to spread/ fall apart in multiple smaller shots, which will explode if any of 'em is in range to the target.

I've tried different flags in addition to flak, namely "shots" - crashed the game, "swarm" - didn't do anything noticeable, "child" - also didn't do anything.

I've also played around with range and velocity values, and the result was a step in the right direction, but it would be really cool to have the flak barrage "spread" more over the battlefield.

So, any suggestions?

btw, i'm using the default 3.6.9 build, tried also various 3.6.10 builds, but with no effect.

[blowfish]

You could try using $Shots: combined with $FOF: (field of fire) to make them spread over an area.  Afraid they will all explode once they reach a certain distance though.

[dragonsniper]

Couldn't you change +weapon Range?

[Retsof]

You could make a dumbfire secondary with the "child" flag.  Don't know how to make it explode when it's a certian distance from the target though.

[Angelus]

You could try using $Shots: combined with $FOF: (field of fire) to make them spread over an area.  Afraid they will all explode once they reach a certain distance though.

thank ya guys, i've tried blowfish's suggestion and it's PERFECT!

I need to play around with the values ( lifetime, velocity, range ), it seems i put to many shots in

Thx again!!!


Not really Flak related, but...

I tested it on my turret test ship, the grueling Cube of Doom^TM It also makes a nice effect if used with a different explosion effect, looks like a sun/ lava planetoid with a liquid surface. It also kills your framerate, in the second test with a insane $shots value and fire rate, the framerate dropped from 90fps to 8-10fps.

[Hellstryker]

You could try using $Shots: combined with $FOF: (field of fire) to make them spread over an area.  Afraid they will all explode once they reach a certain distance though.

thank ya guys, i've tried blowfish's suggestion and it's PERFECT!

I need to play around with the values ( lifetime, velocity, range ), it seems i put to many shots in

Thx again!!!


Not really Flak related, but...

I tested it on my turret test ship, the grueling Cube of Doom^TM It also makes a nice effect if used with a different explosion effect, looks like a sun/ lava planetoid with a liquid surface. It also kills your framerate, in the second test with a insane $shots value and fire rate, the framerate dropped from 90fps to 8-10fps.

Mind posting the table entry? I want to experiment with it.

[Angelus]

Mind posting the table entry? I want to experiment with it.

Ok, here it is, but be careful with that, it really kills the framerate, and i'm not responsible for anything that might happen with your PC, use at your own risk! 

I post here also my system specs, so you can compare them with yours and adjust the values in the table BEFORE launching the game.

Pentium Xeon 2.4GHz
1GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 2600XT 512DDR3

Code: [Select]


$Name: Area Flak
$Model File: hornet.pof ;; flak weapons are invisible until
they hit or explode, so this doesn't really matter
$Mass: 1.0
$Velocity: 750.0 ;; really fast - like AA fire
$Fire Wait: 0.01 ;;
$Damage: 1
$Blast Force:              70.0
$Inner Radius:            70.0                                    ;; radius at which damage is full
$Outer Radius:            90.0                                    ;; max radius for attenuated damage
$Shockwave Speed:          0.0                                   
$Armor Factor: 1.0
$Shield Factor: 1.0
$Subsystem Factor: 0.4
$Lifetime: 15.0
$Energy Consumed: 0.0
$Cargo Size: 1.0
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 116
$ImpactSnd: 117
+Weapon Range: 14000 ;; Limit to range at which weapon will actively
target object
$Flags: ( "Big Ship" "Flak" "particle spew" )
$Icon: iconmissile06
$Anim: LoadMissile04
$Impact Explosion: exp20
$Impact Explosion Radius: 100.0
$FOF:         40
$Shots: 60


For a spherical "effect", you'll need a ship that has turrets on all sides, AND make sure the enemy wings attack from all sides. My Cube of Doom^TM has 12 turrets on each side and was attacked by the awesome Brick of Destruction^TM ( the total polycount of all ships - at the same time in mission is around 1500 ).
I guess every (low poly) ship will work, but ya have to edit the table to turn secondaries into primaries.


With the table posted above i had 4 FPS, at high detail, Flak explosion effect, and i was 45000km away from the "action".

[Flaming_Sword]

I did some experiments along these lines a few months ago. It did not turn out well.

Essentially you end up killing your framerate with huge amounts of fire (high $shots), or you end up with flak cannons that are largely ineffective because of the high $fof (though it did look very pretty ). The other thing you could do is have the inner and outer radii ridiculously large, but that tends to look horrible if you scale up your $Impact Explosion Radius and in any case will cause problems in missions with collateral damage to friendly ships.

If you could figure out how to make an invisible weapon that would cover the same area with the same projectile speed and detonate at the same time, yet hit some of the targets to do the actual damage, you might be onto something...

[Angelus]

The lava planet/ sun effect was by accident, more or less.
When i tried blowfish's suggestion i thought i try it with a high value and see if that works, and adjust from there.
I was so surprised by the result, that i didn't think of making screenshots.
It turned out, the effect i wanted needs only 2 shots.

If i find some time, i'll try to make a low res flak effect with lods, and see if i can create a Lavaplanet/ sun thingy at a halfway playable frame rate, but i doubt that the result is worth the effort.

[Hellstryker]

Mind posting the table entry? I want to experiment with it.

Ok, here it is, but be careful with that, it really kills the framerate, and i'm not responsible for anything that might happen with your PC, use at your own risk! 

I post here also my system specs, so you can compare them with yours and adjust the values in the table BEFORE launching the game.

Pentium Xeon 2.4GHz
1GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 2600XT 512DDR3

AMD Athlon X2 4200+
2GB RAM
8800 GTS 512 MB (G92 core)

I'm pretty damn sure I can handle it

[Angelus]

Nice system specs!

In that case would be cool to see ( screenshot )what that would look like with a higher number of shots and a slightly larger FOF, say $Shots 150 and FOF 45 - 50. 

That's actually not an request, i thought i just mention it, 'cause i'm really interested and you are probably adjusting the values anyway to your system specs and...and...<runs out of arguments>

...i stop here.

[Hellstryker]

Nice system specs!

In that case would be cool to see ( screenshot )what that would look like with a higher number of shots and a slightly larger FOF, say $Shots 150 and FOF 45 - 50. 

That's actually not an request, i thought i just mention it, 'cause i'm really interested and you are probably adjusting the values anyway to your system specs and...and...<runs out of arguments>

...i stop here.

Not for awhile, i'm afraid. Maybe i'll get around to it in a day or two. I'll post a screenshot when I do, though

[boewolf]

Nice system specs!

In that case would be cool to see ( screenshot )what that would look like with a higher number of shots and a slightly larger FOF, say $Shots 150 and FOF 45 - 50. 

That's actually not an request, i thought i just mention it, 'cause i'm really interested and you are probably adjusting the values anyway to your system specs and...and...<runs out of arguments>

...i stop here.

Not for awhile, i'm afraid. Maybe i'll get around to it in a day or two. I'll post a screenshot when I do, though

Imagines something like the flak field from Battlestar Galactica.

[Hellstryker]

Nice system specs!

In that case would be cool to see ( screenshot )what that would look like with a higher number of shots and a slightly larger FOF, say $Shots 150 and FOF 45 - 50. 

That's actually not an request, i thought i just mention it, 'cause i'm really interested and you are probably adjusting the values anyway to your system specs and...and...<runs out of arguments>

...i stop here.

Not for awhile, i'm afraid. Maybe i'll get around to it in a day or two. I'll post a screenshot when I do, though

Imagines something like the flak field from Battlestar Galactica.

That's what I'm aiming for.

[boewolf]

Such a thing would make the good old Orion a much more difficult to kill...  Let along the GTI's. 

[Angelus]

Nice system specs!

In that case would be cool to see ( screenshot )what that would look like with a higher number of shots and a slightly larger FOF, say $Shots 150 and FOF 45 - 50. 

That's actually not an request, i thought i just mention it, 'cause i'm really interested and you are probably adjusting the values anyway to your system specs and...and...<runs out of arguments>

...i stop here.

Not for awhile, i'm afraid. Maybe i'll get around to it in a day or two. I'll post a screenshot when I do, though

Imagines something like the flak field from Battlestar Galactica.

Well, that's what i wanted it.

For a realistic BSG style flak barrage you need a MUCH slower fire rate and MUCH less shots.
It's frakkin' awesome to fly with a Heavy Raider through Pegasus or Galactica's flak barrier. 

Such a thing would make the good old Orion a much more difficult to kill...  Let along the GTI's. 

Yep, it would make every ship a lot harder to kill, at least those ships who have more then 6 ( 2 top, 2 bottom and one to port and starboard) primaries set to Flak.

[lefkos]

argh it doesnt work for me!
it this possible because i only use the retail (atm) version?

[Scooby_Doo]

Another pseudo-flak weapon

Code: [Select]

;----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Energy Flak
; Turret HP: 850
$Name: Energy Flak
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0.2
$Velocity: 300.0
$Fire Wait: .125

$Damage: 60
$Damage Type: Fighter
$Detonation Range: 2000

$Blast Force:              0.1
$Inner Radius: 50.0
$Outer Radius: 100.0
$Shockwave Speed: 600.0

$Armor Factor: 1.0
$Shield Factor: 1.0
$Subsystem Factor: 0.2

$Lifetime: 15

$Energy Consumed: 0.0
$Cargo Size: 1.0
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 84
$ImpactSnd: 109
+Weapon Range: 40000

$Flags: ("Big Ship" "Flak" "particle spew")
$Icon: iconmissile06
$Anim: LoadMissile04
$Impact Explosion: Exp20
$Impact Explosion Radius: 25.0
$Muzzleflash: mflash_small
$FOF: 5



[blowfish]

argh it doesnt work for me!
it this possible because i only use the retail (atm) version?

That would likely be the problem ... why are you using retail anyway?

[Black Wolf]

argh it doesnt work for me!
it this possible because i only use the retail (atm) version?

Yes. The modifications made to the ships.tbl that make this work are SCP additions. If you're using retail because of restrictions on system spaecs though, never fear, since you can use FSO with just a build (3.6.9 is a safe bet) the launcher, and the core media vp. These will let you use the new features of FSO without using all the hardware intensive graphical improvements