[DarthWang]

I have a pretty interesting idea, but I'm wondering if it will work, and if anyone has ever tryed anything like it before.

I'm thinking about making a mission with a planetary bombardment, my idea is to have a huge background pic of a planet in the mission and have some capships move toward it with waypoints, and then stop and use their beams to fire on a few, small, sensor - invisible targets so it looks like they're attacking the planet itself. I would also make the targets invulnerable so the bombardment would keep up as long as I wanted it.

[karajorma]

The idea isn't new but I don't ever remember seeing it actually being done in a mission.

[aldo_14]

I have a feeling the inverse may have been done (beam from a planet), though; I'm sure it's one of the POTDs on the mainpage.

I'd suggest looking at having a big flat plane with an alpha mapped planet texture (rather than a bg image; I think TBP use this method), and adding subsystems to it which can act as the beam targets.  IMO that might be useful in order to avoid any problems with perspective.

EDIT; http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~freespace/hlp/item_show.php?itm=200

[pyro-manic]

I remember playing a campaign which uses this. I think it might have been Boomerang. A Moloch bombards bunkers on a planet, and you have to destroy the turrets before it can finish the job.

[Slanker_MT]

Are you sure? I haven't played Boomerand for ages, but I reckon that it had a tactical jump from a Moloch.. not sure about the bombardement, though.

[Roanoke]

Getter Robo G mentioned he used do a similar trick a while ago, IIRC.

[Unknown Target]

Why don't you just make the planet a model and have the ships actually attack it? Unless you were going for a no-mods approach.

[pyro-manic]

Originally posted by Slanker_MT
Are you sure? I haven't played Boomerand for ages, but I reckon that it had a tactical jump from a Moloch.. not sure about the bombardement, though.

Hummm. You might be right. All I remember was it was short, and involved a Moloch. Boomerang is the one with the tactical jump, though...

[Blaise Russel]

General idea of 'faking' beam attacks has been around for yonks, be it for orbital bombardment, planetary cannons or even just missing an enemy capital ship at long range (c.f. Derelict).

I definitely know STLO has the Lucifer raining beamage down on Vasuda Prime.

[Grunt]

Originally posted by DarthWang
...idea is to have a huge background pic of a planet in the mission and have some capships move toward it with waypoints, and then stop and use their beams to fire on a few, small, sensor - invisible targets so it looks like they're attacking the planet itself. ...

Exactly the opposite is done in TCP - Chapter One last mission:

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,32543.0.html

Planetary guns firing on ships from the surface.
It should work well with a background image as you described.

[NGTM-1R]

Originally posted by pyro-manic
I remember playing a campaign which uses this. I think it might have been Boomerang. A Moloch bombards bunkers on a planet, and you have to destroy the turrets before it can finish the job.

That's Technological Superiority, I think.

[Flaser]

If I recall there was a planetary canon in one of the Lightning Marshall episodes too.

[Mongoose]

I know I've also seen this done in a campaign, although I can't for the life of me remember which one.

[RED DIAMOND]

While it has been done before, it matters not, as long as it fits into your mission or campaign. A new feature or trick that was groundbreaking when it was first introduced can be reused in ways that are just as creative as the original time it was used. Even if it is a straight rehash it can still be effective if used properly.

[DarthWang]

I was just wondering if anyone had done it before because they might have tips.

[Roanoke]

Originally posted by ngtm1r


That's Technological Superiority, I think.

was

I still think that's an ace name for a campaign

[DarthWang]

I just made a mission like this, I'm pretty much finished with it I just have to do the briefing now.

You have to stop a Ravana before it reaches position and attacks the planet, and if it gets off too many shots you lose the mission. You have to destroy it or disable it before it gets in range or destroy its beams.

[Jetmech Jr.]

Are you sure it was Tech Sup? I Thought it was the Aeos Affair that had the Moloch Bombardment.

In regards to the thread, yes, it's been done before. Not often, though.

[NGTM-1R]

Very sure. I recall that mission quite well. The Shivans were going a little whacky, and for the first time in their history with the GTA/PVN/GTVA sent in ground troops. In relatively open terran, a Vasudan marine unit found them easy pickings.

[aldo_14]

I find the phrase 'Vasudan marine' a bit odd, what with the whole born on a desert planet thing.