[Sesquipedalian]

Originally posted by JC Denton
Something to glitz the beams:  texture panning.  And have a value in the tables under each beam segment that controls how fast it pans, 0 being no panning.  If the pan entry isn't there, assume that the segment doesn't pan.

Already done.  Do a search for beam texture tiling and translation.

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by GT-Keravnos
--> Imagine an alternate scenario, now. Something like: "Missile launch, Eta Centauri direction", Then I would turn starnames on, find the launch position, and direct myself to them.

This is a terrible, terrible, terrible suggestion. What you propose ignores the spiffy targetting computer we already have, with a half-dozen targetting commands, an escort list, a radar, and pointers toward launched missiles. If you can't get your bearings with all that, there's no helping you.

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Sesquipedalian
Already done.  Do a search for beam texture tiling and translation.

I think he meant in-game texture movement - like if you have a typical wavy texture for a beam, you'd see the waves progressing along the length of the beam cylinder to the target.

EDIT: Or is that what "translation" refers to?

[Sesquipedalian]

Yes it is, Sandy.  Here, try this out to see what I mean.



Edit: Oh heck, here's a quick run-down on the Bobbaou's enhancements to the beam texture code:

Example table entry text:

Code: [Select]

$Section:
+Width: 55.0
+Texture: lucybeam
+RGBA Inner: 160 160 0 255
+RGBA Outer: 60 60 0 10
+Flicker: 0.3
+Zadd: 3.0
[b]+Tile Factor: 5.0 0
+Translation: -5.0[/b]
$Section:
+Width: 65.0
+Texture: lucybeam
+RGBA Inner: 255 0 0 255
+RGBA Outer: 60 0 0 10
+Flicker: 0.1
+Zadd: 2.0
[b]+Tile Factor: 10.0 1
+Translation: -3.0[/b]The bold sections are the relevant ones.  

+Tile factor determines how many times a texture is repeated down the length of the beam.  There are two values entered for this token.  The first value indicates the number of repetitions, and can take any positive numeric value.  The second indicates the type of tiling used, and takes only a 0 or a 1.  So in the first example section above we see 5.0 as the first value, and 1 as the second value.

What is the difference between 0 and 1, you ask?  A 0 type section will squeeze x number of texture repetitions into the length of the beam, regardless the length of the beam, where x is the first value given for the token (e.g. 5.0).  (A +Tile Factor of 1.0 0 will look that same as the standard FS2 beams.) A 1 type beam section will given each texture repetition a fixed length, and simply use as many or as few repetitions as it takes to make the beam be as long as it needs to be.  In this case, the first value given to the token (e.g. 10.0) merely represents the factor by which the default size of the texture will be stretched when rendered in-game.

+Translation is even easier to explain.  The larger the number, the faster the texture moves along the beam.  Negative values move from the source turret toward the target (so it looks like the beam is flowing out from the turret); positive values move from the target toward the turret.  

Both these tokens are optional, but I think +Tile Factor has to be present before one can use +Translation (but not vice versa).

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Sesquipedalian
Yes it is, Sandy.  Here, try this out to see what I mean.

Heh - you keep on pimping that image. I've seen it before, but it's kinda difficult to tell from a still shot that a beam texture is moving along the beam's length.

Edit: Oh heck, here's a quick run-down on the Bobbaou's enhancements to the beam texture code:

{ETC ETC}

Oh. Coolness.

Death Star superlaser, here we come, eh?

[Sesquipedalian]

Well, the idea is more the download link at the page bottom than the image...

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by Killfrenzy
if you're doing a complicated mission, you don't want to choreograph every single salvo.

So don't. Creating a wing of one, with a high wave #, will cause one torpedo to be launched at a time. All very orderly. What's the problem?

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
So don't. Creating a wing of one, with a high wave #, will cause one torpedo to be launched at a time. All very orderly. What's the problem?

Very orderly, yeah - for a single target. What about wanting to bombard any other ships - or maybe even include a bit of flexibility in the mission and not depend on everything being pre-scripted?

[LtNarol]

Originally posted by Sandwich
Very orderly, yeah - for a single target. What about wanting to bombard any other ships - or maybe even include a bit of flexibility in the mission and not depend on everything being pre-scripted?

All this calls for is a turret with a very narrow firing arc which fires large missiles.  No need for "torpedoes", they're just big missiles anyway -in FS2 atleast.  If you have a problem with the thing aiming, which I never have had with the Eris (which has 2 torpedo tubes by the way), give the ship a primary bank and create a weapon for it which appears invisible and does no or an insignificant amount of damage.  All set.

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by Sandwich
Very orderly, yeah - for a single target. What about wanting to bombard any other ships

Then set the Initial Orders to "Attack Any Ship".

or maybe even include a bit of flexibility in the mission and not depend on everything being pre-scripted?

That's when you'd... write more code.

Geez, do I have to do all the thinking for you guys?

[KARMA]

personally i'd like shields for capitalships, different damage systems for capships, possibly editable FOV, missiondata saved somewhere (pilot files? elsewhere?) ready to be used with specific sexps (and i mean that you will be able to recover any kind of saved data from any mission in any moment of the campaign),  hyperspace jumps between systems inside the same mission: just an hyperspacejump effect between two missions connected by a something like a red alert, but it will work better i think saving full mission data -like i suggested before-,for example to let you visit the same system more times without using too many sexps, this may be expanded in the future with the result of being free to move from system to system like in Tachyon

[KARMA]

..double post

[Galemp]

Here's a nice thought. In hi-res mode, scale up the sizes of the CB Anims so they fill their box, instead of being stuck in a little window.

[Killfrenzy]

Originally posted by LtNarol
All this calls for is a turret with a very narrow firing arc which fires large missiles.  No need for "torpedoes", they're just big missiles anyway -in FS2 atleast.  If you have a problem with the thing aiming, which I never have had with the Eris (which has 2 torpedo tubes by the way), give the ship a primary bank and create a weapon for it which appears invisible and does no or an insignificant amount of damage.  All set.

Have you still got that ship? Can I borrow it?

ZB, you're missing the point. Take an escort warship (like a destroyer or frigate) which is armed with torpedoes. They'll be fast ships - for their size - which would dart around the larger ships and lob some torpedoes into their unprotected vitals. The problem with your suggestion is that they're coming out at regular intervals even when there are no ships at the end.

And too much scripting is a PAIN IN THE ASS. You try doing a campaign with about 30-40 missions where for every single ship armed with torpedoes you'd have to script every torpedo!

Play Battlefleet Gothic and see how torpedoes work in that. THAT's what I'm getting at!

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by Killfrenzy
Take an escort warship (like a destroyer or frigate) which is armed with torpedoes. They'll be fast ships - for their size - which would dart around the larger ships and lob some torpedoes into their unprotected vitals.

This by itself would require very tight scripting.

The problem with your suggestion is that they're coming out at regular intervals even when there are no ships at the end.

No, there would only be one torpedo (per launching ship) at a time. That's how Waves work, remember? And I'm pretty sure you could set an arrival cue to shut them off entirely with a single global variable.

And too much scripting is a PAIN IN THE ASS.

Bah. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Sounds like what you're wanting is a standard FS2 torpedo anyway.

[CP5670]

Any plans to put in something like that hitpoint override setting I mentioned around here? It would really come in handy for us mission designers and probably wouldn't take all that much work to implement either.

[deep_eyes]

Originally posted by Killfrenzy
Something that could be super cool:

TORPEDOES!!!!

As in, missiles launced from capships that home in on other capships.

Think 'Starlancer' and you'll get what I mean. This would open up a whole variety of new engagements, and would fill in the only remaining hole in capship armaments.

the reality of torpedos are always getting downplayed and hated on cause some peeps dont feel the need, i mean the Helios for example is meant to be a torpedo, but like cap ships, like submarines, use in other space games besides beams, torpedos of some sort. closest thing to those were the bootleg morters from the cruisers, and those just sucked. i one time took the helios torpedo itself, and made it for a deimos corvette, had to tweak the table itself to get the desired effect, faster movement, including AI, dodging abilities (experimental, failed-maybe sourceable?), but all in all it got the job done.

but lastly is the damage issue. if u got capital ships duking it out with torpedos, then it is safe to assume that these torpedos, have very heavy payloads, and would be fired out of beam turret like apatures, or the 3 pronged heavy turrets on an orion. ont he deimos i planted 2 torpedo launchers in the front nose of the corvette, and 2 in the back, and 2 on each side, well balanced torpedo coverage no?

in reality the torpedo issue is a matter of making maybe a slimmer, but longer POF model, or a longer helios, faster, with a long stream like missile trail and a HEAVY ASS PAYLOAD.

[Stunaep]

And the ultimate thing: Torpedos don't look half as cool as beam cannons.

[Goober5000]

Bleh, capship torpedoes are already possible.  Think the Fusion Mortar on the Fenris.

[Komet]

- Merging with Komet's MOD, including flash effects, addotional particle effects
- Additonal language support, including Japanese chars and central-european chars.

Only one EXE file it supports multiple languages is very cool:cool: