[Angelus]

Hi there,

I’d like to request a couple of flags and SEXPs.
I’m not sure what’s possible and what not, and I already removed half of the stuff I wanted to request since most is either already implemented or  atm not possible.
The names for the flags and SEXPs are just suggestions

 
SEXP and Flag requests:


“stealth missile  (optional - value ( seconds ))“:                weapons flag
            Makes the missile/ bomb invisible to radar only for both, the player(s) and AI, bombs are not                  
            targetable with this flag;
            If a value is set it will make the the missile appear on radar after the entered time has past,
             No value means that the missile is invisible to radar permanently
           Or to put it simple: the AI ignores the stealth-flagged missiles, regardless how many you throw on them.

           This is Zacams version, makes more sense:
           $Stealth: (Y/N) [optional] +Timeout: "value" it is in stealth, 0 is always stealth

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

 “arc -value”:                         weapons flag
           Forces the fires missiles to approach the target in a predefined arc  instead of a straight line


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          

 “reverse”:                             ship flag and SEXP
           Cap-ship only; allows cap-ships to fly reverse when the SEXP is called

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



$ Alt-speed:        value            ship entry and SEXP
            If the ship has more then one engine / engine subsystem
            When one or more ( not all ) of the engines  are destroyed, or if the SEXP is set, it gets slower to the Value entered in the table

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$Glide-when-disabled:               YES/ NO                  ship entry
           Fighter sized and cap-ships
          If set, would force the disabled ( engines wise ) cap-ship to maintain last heading
          ( adding a slight rotation x,y,z would be a nice touch )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


$Free-flight-speed:            value                                         weapon entry
              Sets the speed of a missile in Free-flight-mode ( value = percentage of default speed )    
             To be used in conjunction with the $Free-flight-time: entry


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$Max-Flak-Friendly-fire-own-damage:          YES/ NO        AI profiles entry
            Probably usefull for Diaspora
           If NO, prevents that damage from the own flak turrets is applied to the ship that fired
            The flak weapon   ( not the damage that the player receives from flying into a friendly flak
             Screen or other friendly craft nearby )


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


$Max-Flak-friendly-fire-damage:           value-percent     AI profiles entry
             Scales the amount of damage the player receives from friendly flak


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            

$Drone:                                                                             weapons table    
             $POF Target File:   Fighter01.pof    ( or any other )
            (dumbfire)
             When set, makes the missile/ bomb a Drone, which appears in the targetbox as the in the
             Table defined ship, doesn’t explode after lifetime expires


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"miss-factor-secondarys - value ( percent )" weapons table
               secondarys only
               if set, makes missiles miss their target ( similar to Beam-miss )


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that the AI is able to use Glide, Strafe and Circle, I’d like to request  SEXPs that forces the AI
To perform those maneuvers whenever the SEXPs are called.
From the three mentioned, Glide is ( for me at least ) the most important one.

during the chat in the irc scp chat already rejected.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Request regarding the Asteroidfield editor:

Would it be possible to change it, so that, if checked in FRED, the default Asteroidfield
Is split in 2 ( possible 4 parts ) which can be set at 2 ( 4 ) different locations in FRED, without
Increasing the max total  number of asteroids in mission ( 512 stays the max number, regardless how many fields are set ).
There were some confusion, so to clarify:
           1 Asteroidfield  = 512 Rocks
           2 Asteroidfields = 2* 256 Rocks a.s.o.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addition to $Impact Explosion:  to allow the usage for multiple explosion animations ( defined in
Weapon_expl.tbl ), which would add a bit of difference to flak weapon explosions.
If possible, with an additional flag in the weapons table that defines alternate explosions to one weapon.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Animation triggers:
When Keypressed : ( to open or close flaps on wings or similar stuff, could be used to open and close the s-foils on models like the X-Wing )
When overclocked:  ( <--engines, when a certain overclocking setting is set by the player the animation triggers – could be used to open and close additional vents on fighter engines )

Several Coders from the SCP already commented on most of the stuff ( and i'm happy that some of it MIGHT get in , additional feedback would be nice, though.  

Thx for your time

Angelus



P.S.       Excuse my poor English
P.P.S.   ignore the awful grammar

[zookeeper]

$Free-flight-speed:            value                                         weapon entry
              Sets the speed of a missile in Free-flight-mode ( value = percentage of default speed )    
             To be used in conjunction with the $Free-flight-time: entry

We could really use this in FotG too.

[Spoon]

I see several ones here that I think could be interesting.

arc -value for example, combine it with the "untargeted heat seeker" flag and make it fire in a swarm and we would be one step closer to the Itano circus.

[Dragon]

$Free-flight-speed:            value                                         weapon entry
              Sets the speed of a missile in Free-flight-mode ( value = percentage of default speed )    
             To be used in conjunction with the $Free-flight-time: entry

We could really use this in FotG too.

I'd also like it to set the speed of "normal" free flight, so you can make an aspect missile which flies equally fast when dumbfired.

[Nuke]

$Glide-when-disabled:               YES/ NO                  ship entry
           Fighter sized and cap-ships
          If set, would force the disabled ( engines wise ) cap-ship to maintain last heading
          ( adding a slight rotation x,y,z would be a nice touch )

i like this one

also do one called $Glide_always: y/n, it would force a ship to glide regardless of user input.

Additional Animation triggers:
When Keypressed : ( to open or close flaps on wings or similar stuff, could be used to open and close the s-foils on models like the X-Wing )
When overclocked:  ( <--engines, when a certain overclocking setting is set by the player the animation triggers – could be used to open and close additional vents on fighter engines )

id advise against keypress. instead use the name of a bindable command (then allow the addition/alteration of available commands via external table). input abstraction should be done by the engine. then you could add a "Toggle S-foils" command to the list of possible binds in the control configuration, and then use an oncommand trigger and somwhere include the command name. this makes the whole concept of adding custom commands to a mod more user friendly. if the state of the command is available to scripting or the events system, then other behavior could be associated with that keypress, like locking your weapons when the sfoils are closed.

i like when overclocked, maybe also one for when glide is enabled.

[Dragon]

$Glide-when-disabled:               YES/ NO                  ship entry
           Fighter sized and cap-ships
          If set, would force the disabled ( engines wise ) cap-ship to maintain last heading
          ( adding a slight rotation x,y,z would be a nice touch )

i like this one

also do one called $Glide_always: y/n, it would force a ship to glide regardless of user input.

If we get this, can you script slide velocity gauges, Nuke?
Because it would practically allow introducing a fully newtonian flight model.

Additional Animation triggers:
When Keypressed : ( to open or close flaps on wings or similar stuff, could be used to open and close the s-foils on models like the X-Wing )
When overclocked:  ( <--engines, when a certain overclocking setting is set by the player the animation triggers – could be used to open and close additional vents on fighter engines )

id advise against keypress. instead use the name of a bindable command (then allow the addition/alteration of available commands via external table). input abstraction should be done by the engine. then you could add a "Toggle S-foils" command to the list of possible binds in the control configuration, and then use an oncommand trigger and somwhere include the command name. this makes the whole concept of adding custom commands to a mod more user friendly. if the state of the command is available to scripting or the events system, then other behavior could be associated with that keypress, like locking your weapons when the sfoils are closed.

i like when overclocked, maybe also one for when glide is enabled.

Also, I'd like to be able to trigger animaitons on turning and changing throttle, as it would allow variable geometry wings on aircraft, not to mention moving airlerons, rudder and elevators.

[Nuke]

$Glide-when-disabled:               YES/ NO                  ship entry
           Fighter sized and cap-ships
          If set, would force the disabled ( engines wise ) cap-ship to maintain last heading
          ( adding a slight rotation x,y,z would be a nice touch )

i like this one

also do one called $Glide_always: y/n, it would force a ship to glide regardless of user input.

If we get this, can you script slide velocity gauges, Nuke?
Because it would practically allow introducing a fully newtonian flight model.

all the data is available in the ships velocity vector. and fully newtonian flight models have already been scripted. i tend to favor a prograde reticle though, essentially crosshair indicating direction of motion and a number indicating how fast.

Additional Animation triggers:
When Keypressed : ( to open or close flaps on wings or similar stuff, could be used to open and close the s-foils on models like the X-Wing )
When overclocked:  ( <--engines, when a certain overclocking setting is set by the player the animation triggers – could be used to open and close additional vents on fighter engines )

id advise against keypress. instead use the name of a bindable command (then allow the addition/alteration of available commands via external table). input abstraction should be done by the engine. then you could add a "Toggle S-foils" command to the list of possible binds in the control configuration, and then use an oncommand trigger and somwhere include the command name. this makes the whole concept of adding custom commands to a mod more user friendly. if the state of the command is available to scripting or the events system, then other behavior could be associated with that keypress, like locking your weapons when the sfoils are closed.

i like when overclocked, maybe also one for when glide is enabled.

Also, I'd like to be able to trigger animaitons on turning and changing throttle, as it would allow variable geometry wings on aircraft, not to mention moving airlerons, rudder and elevators.

when the animation system was still being worked on, the idea for a linked type animation was floating around. this would be an animation linked to some value, like the axis position or some other ranged value, the animation would just represent that value with some kinda offset and scaling considerations. i looked at the code for this, but got scared and just scripted the feature from scratch.

[Reprobator]

I support all of them 
especially the glode when disabled and the arc !

[Dragon]

all the data is available in the ships velocity vector. and fully newtonian flight models have already been scripted. i tend to favor a prograde reticle though, essentially crosshair indicating direction of motion and a number indicating how fast.

The problem with velocity reticle is the fact that if you're flying in a direction even slightly opposite to the one you're facing, it becomes invisible, not to mention it's difficult to read and keep track of all the time. Also, it doesn't display the precise value in each direction, which may be a problem in some situations.

[Nighteyes]

Addition to $Impact Explosion:  to allow the usage for multiple explosion animations ( defined in
Weapon_expl.tbl ), which would add a bit of difference to flak weapon explosions.
If possible, with an additional flag in the weapons table that defines alternate explosions to one weapon.

this one I particularly like and hope will get in, also seem relativly simple to implement

[Lucika]

Wasn't it requested before that the number of max. asteroids should be improved? Any progress/rejection on that?

[Aardwolf]

Wasn't it requested before that the number of max. asteroids should be improved? Any progress/rejection on that?

It has been! It used to be 256, now it's 512!

[Herra Tohtori]

all the data is available in the ships velocity vector. and fully newtonian flight models have already been scripted. i tend to favor a prograde reticle though, essentially crosshair indicating direction of motion and a number indicating how fast.

The problem with velocity reticle is the fact that if you're flying in a direction even slightly opposite to the one you're facing, it becomes invisible, not to mention it's difficult to read and keep track of all the time. Also, it doesn't display the precise value in each direction, which may be a problem in some situations.

You can just as easily make a retrograde reticle for opposite view, and if it's outside the field of view you could have an indicator pointing to the direction of the prograde indicator along with the number next to it. Similar to the targeted ship indicator in a way.

Here's an interesting request that just popped in my mind: In newtonian or sem-newtonian flight mode, the ability to change reference frame to the target's reference frame at the moment, so that when velocity and heading is matched with the target, velocity indicators show zero as well. This would be extremely useful in cases like landing to hangar bays of, say, Galactica or Karuna, or even more so with more accurate docking maneuvers if such things ever are made controllable by player (for example sexp-enabled autodock when player ship is positioned just at the right place, with just the right heading and velocity, within error bars that would depend the required accuracy).

If position would not match, result would be a collision. If heading is wrong, same thing. If speed is too low relative to docking clamps, capture might not happen; if too high it could damage the docking equipment. I just have no idea how accurately FS2_Open handles things like location and velocity vectors...

Anyway, ability to change the reference frame from global (traditional battle area coordinates) to local reference frame (speed relative to a ship moving at constant speed and heading) would probably be a godsend for combat landing instrumentation in Diaspora.

[Aardwolf]

all the data is available in the ships velocity vector. and fully newtonian flight models have already been scripted. i tend to favor a prograde reticle though, essentially crosshair indicating direction of motion and a number indicating how fast.

The problem with velocity reticle is the fact that if you're flying in a direction even slightly opposite to the one you're facing, it becomes invisible, not to mention it's difficult to read and keep track of all the time. Also, it doesn't display the precise value in each direction, which may be a problem in some situations.

You can just as easily make a retrograde reticle for opposite view, and if it's outside the field of view you could have an indicator pointing to the direction of the prograde indicator along with the number next to it. Similar to the targeted ship indicator in a way.

Here's an interesting request that just popped in my mind: In newtonian or sem-newtonian flight mode, the ability to change reference frame to the target's reference frame at the moment, so that when velocity and heading is matched with the target, velocity indicators show zero as well. This would be extremely useful in cases like landing to hangar bays of, say, Galactica or Karuna, or even more so with more accurate docking maneuvers if such things ever are made controllable by player (for example sexp-enabled autodock when player ship is positioned just at the right place, with just the right heading and velocity, within error bars that would depend the required accuracy).

If position would not match, result would be a collision. If heading is wrong, same thing. If speed is too low relative to docking clamps, capture might not happen; if too high it could damage the docking equipment. I just have no idea how accurately FS2_Open handles things like location and velocity vectors...

Anyway, ability to change the reference frame from global (traditional battle area coordinates) to local reference frame (speed relative to a ship moving at constant speed and heading) would probably be a godsend for combat landing instrumentation in Diaspora.

Some reason I doubt FSO will support "true" Newtonian relativity any time soon...

But it would be pretty neat to finally disprove the "Newtonian relativity and fun don't belong in the same sentence" notion.

[karajorma]

Anyway, ability to change the reference frame from global (traditional battle area coordinates) to local reference frame (speed relative to a ship moving at constant speed and heading) would probably be a godsend for combat landing instrumentation in Diaspora.

Except that we're not using Newtonian physics in the game and if you decide to land in glide mode then it's your own funeral.

But I do agree it would be a nice feature.

[Nuke]

all the data is available in the ships velocity vector. and fully newtonian flight models have already been scripted. i tend to favor a prograde reticle though, essentially crosshair indicating direction of motion and a number indicating how fast.

The problem with velocity reticle is the fact that if you're flying in a direction even slightly opposite to the one you're facing, it becomes invisible, not to mention it's difficult to read and keep track of all the time. Also, it doesn't display the precise value in each direction, which may be a problem in some situations.

You can just as easily make a retrograde reticle for opposite view, and if it's outside the field of view you could have an indicator pointing to the direction of the prograde indicator along with the number next to it. Similar to the targeted ship indicator in a way.

Here's an interesting request that just popped in my mind: In newtonian or sem-newtonian flight mode, the ability to change reference frame to the target's reference frame at the moment, so that when velocity and heading is matched with the target, velocity indicators show zero as well. This would be extremely useful in cases like landing to hangar bays of, say, Galactica or Karuna, or even more so with more accurate docking maneuvers if such things ever are made controllable by player (for example sexp-enabled autodock when player ship is positioned just at the right place, with just the right heading and velocity, within error bars that would depend the required accuracy).

If position would not match, result would be a collision. If heading is wrong, same thing. If speed is too low relative to docking clamps, capture might not happen; if too high it could damage the docking equipment. I just have no idea how accurately FS2_Open handles things like location and velocity vectors...

Anyway, ability to change the reference frame from global (traditional battle area coordinates) to local reference frame (speed relative to a ship moving at constant speed and heading) would probably be a godsend for combat landing instrumentation in Diaspora.

i tried to code an intercept gauge for plotting an intercept trajectory so that its fairly easy to fire burns to get to the target. the gauge didnt work to well. the prograde gauge works fine though, but i never got around to designing a retrograde gauge or freespace style direction finders. those would definately be handy. i did to a vector indicator which is essentially a 3d model of an arrow and i generate an orientation matrix based on the direction of the forward vector (and its magnitude as well is indicated neumerically) and apply that to the model, rendering it to the hud. it kinda works. frame of reference is another thing im starting to consider. especially in terms of combat. knowing speed in regaurds to the target, but landing is also something i want to to.

i figure the best way to land in space is to use magnetic wheels. essentially a large coil with a tire on it. magnets come on line when the landing gear detect the shock of landing. once fixed to the metal landing deck you could taxi into the hanger, even under zero g. once in the hanger more permanent clamps may be used and the magnets disengaged. docking in space is fairly difficult and doing a perfect dock with a set of small clamps under combat situations seems like it would be too difficult to be sane. galactica style landing bays make more sense because you can land hot if you need to. since galactica has artificial gravity, skids work fine once under its influence, though i think it would make the fighters hard to move around once on deck. of course galactica is huge and doesnt really manuver or change speed all that quickly. landing on a small fast carrier which is capable of combat manuvers, magnetic wheels are the perfect way to go.

[Sushi]

Shouldn't feature suggestions all get filed on mantis? That way, they don't get lost, and people can have easier per-issue discussions.

(Mantis registration works these days, right?)

[karajorma]

Feature requests don't go onto Mantis unless a coder says he's going to work on something and asks for it. Otherwise Mantis would quickly fill up with impractical and never to be realised feature suggestions.

[chief1983]

Yeah if someone 'adopts' a feature, throw it in mantis for further tracking since it'll be easier to find probably than digging for a forum thread.

[Nuke]

i think its better that a feature get discussed first. people may come up with a better implementation that you didnt think of. you can also see how popular the idea is with modders who may actually use it.