[Pegasus V]

I've done some modding and I have converting the ole Gas Miner into an asteroid mining vessel. I've created a special low damage beam that the miner fires at the asteroid to extract the various resourses.

I think it looks really cool, plus it gives the environment more of a buzz.

I created a custom mission where a miner ship was mining an asteroid, when the asteroid is destroyed (it explodes, but it's actually a violent implosion where the remaining material can't hold itself together on its own gravity), well just before the explosion the cargo of ore is transferred to the miner. Then it is destroyed, the miner travels to the Asteriod Processing Plant (Chara station). After 15 seconds while docked, the cargo is transferred from the miner to the station and it then undocks. A while later, a cargo container appears (no warp effect) on a platform on the station and the cargo on the station is of course transferred to the container. A transport vessel comes along, picks it up and delivers it to a platform on the Ore Refinery (Cairo Station). The container then disappears (no warp effect) after a little while. A short time later a new container is produced on the platform another transport warps in and takes it away (probably to some construction yards).

Get four miners at a time and watch the buzz happening. It creates a good atmosphere while you do some fighting.

[vadar_1]

with the exception that while your twisting and turning, dodging shivan laser fire while trying to shake off that missile, all while trying to take down a SF dragon... your not going to notice the background.

But still a cool idea.

edit: oya, astroids wouldn't explode, they would just drift apart, theres nothing that could make them "explode". Its just a rock!

[Black Wolf]

Ugh...It's a cool idea, but that complicated sequence of events would take a lot of sexping. Does the process repeat continually, or does it only happen once?

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Black Wolf
Ugh...It's a cool idea, but that complicated sequence of events would take a lot of sexping. Does the process repeat continually, or does it only happen once?

Well, one problem I'm having with this whole mod is that the miner won't attack the asteroid or at least not with it's mining beam... I can't work out why. I've changed the flag of the asteroid to cruiser and also capital, but it still won't work. The only way I can get the miner to fire upon the asteroid is by using the fire-beam sexp. It can get a bit ugly then with the sexps. But I'll work a way around it sooner or later... Any ideas?

You don't really notice it while your in combat. You do notice the miners using their mining beams, but not of the rest. However, if the mission objectives were for you to protect the fleet long enough for the mining operation to collect enough materials, then you'd notice it a bit more.

The point is:
[list=A]

• The miners now have a function in the game.
• It makes it look like something is going on apart from you just fighting.

[Black Wolf]

One way, maybe, is if you locked all the turrets except the mining beam, then made the asteroid hostile, that may work. If you then put the asteroids all on protect and beam protect, then un beam protected them as you wanted the asteroid miner to destoy them, you could stop friendly fighters from attacking them. Though you may have to change the flag of the miner to something else, maybe cruiser, so it'll act more offensively.

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Black Wolf
One way, maybe, is if you locked all the turrets except the mining beam, then made the asteroid hostile, that may work. If you then put the asteroids all on protect and beam protect, then un beam protected them as you wanted the asteroid miner to destoy them, you could stop friendly fighters from attacking them. Though you may have to change the flag of the miner to something else, maybe cruiser, so it'll act more offensively.

Thanks for your suggestion. However, I've already tried each of these tactics, but it still doesn't work. I've even renamed the asteroid in the ships.tbl and also changed the asteroid01 model to the ast-01 model (whatever the name is, I'm not sure that's correct). It doesn't make sence. The miner will just keep circling around the asteroid, but not firing.

[Black Wolf]

Try replacing the gas miner with something else (say a fenris) but try and keep the weapons as similar as possible). Then, put the Zaphyrus back in and change the asteroid to a disabled fighter, or freighter or something. It mightn't solve your problem, but it'd at least tell you if the problem was with the sexps, the attacker or the attacked.

If you can't figure something out after running those, well, I'm stumped:confused: .

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Black Wolf
Try replacing the gas miner with something else (say a fenris) but try and keep the weapons as similar as possible). Then, put the Zaphyrus back in and change the asteroid to a disabled fighter, or freighter or something. It mightn't solve your problem, but it'd at least tell you if the problem was with the sexps, the attacker or the attacked.

Good idea Black Wolf. Thanks. I'll try that tonight.

[Kitsune]

Actually, circling around is how most capships fight each other.

You should instead try to rename the ship as a bomber or a freighter instead to see how it handles.  (We all know bombers and fighters will stand there and shoot away at a target, which is what would be needed for the miner to target with a beam weapon that is situated in front...)

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Kitsune
Actually, circling around is how most capships fight each other.

You should instead try to rename the ship as a bomber or a freighter instead to see how it handles.  (We all know bombers and fighters will stand there and shoot away at a target, which is what would be needed for the miner to target with a beam weapon that is situated in front...)

I could try this, but from memory, FS2 crashes because the ship doesn't have any secondaries.

[Redfang]

I actually like the idea. It's a bit complicated, though, and would need a lot of SEXPs. Maybe those gas miners really are so advanced that they don't need to dock, but they mine with beams.
 
I guess this needs some source code changes to make this actually work; turrets don't target asteroids. They should, in my opinion.

Originally posted by vadar_1
with the exception that while your twisting and turning, dodging shivan laser fire while trying to shake off that missile, all while trying to take down a SF dragon... your not going to notice the background.

 
Well I do, I sometimes don't even fight, just watch what happening.
 

Originally posted by Pegasus V
The miners now have a function in the game.

 
Well, they had already, but that mining would be better. They originally collect gas from nebula.
 
Edit: Fixed something...

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Redfang
Well, they had already, but that mining would be better. They originally collect gas from nebula.

But did it impact gameplay? Does anything fill up? I never noticed that. If it did, then I just wasted my time meezathinks.

[Redfang]

Originally posted by Pegasus V


But did it impact gameplay? Does anything fill up? I never noticed that. If it did, then I just wasted my time meezathinks.

 
No, but how will you make these to fill?
 
Also, those asteroids shouldn't explode... as said already.
 
But good luck in that MOD, it might be hard to do but would be nice, but to actually make it good it needs some source coding.

[StratComm]

If you've been editing the asteroid in ships.tbl, you are probably wasting your time.  That thing is there mainly to give a pof for when you click on the asteroid icon in briefing.  Non-beam turrets will target asteroids if they are part of an asteroid field, especially an active field, but beams have special rules concerning their use.  You may instead try a copy/modification of the targeting laser and give that to the miner rather than all this AI adjustment you're using.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Redfang

Also, those asteroids shouldn't explode... as said already.
 

 I believe that asteroids can contain gas pockets. If the beam drilled down into one of those you could certainly cause an explosion. Not all asteroids have them of course so you couldn`t have this happening with all the asteroids. Of course an asteroid unexpectedly blowing up and damaging the miner makes for a great plot twist.

You could also claim that the miner is in fact working on small comets instead. The heat of a beam would cause explosive outgassing which if deep enough inside the comet could cause it to break apart. Of course the problem here is what on earth are they mining comets for?

[vyper]

Nice idea.
On the subject of exploding asteroids - why not just change the .tbl for it? (asteroids.tbl I think).

[Black Wolf]

Hey, Pegasus, sorry for being entirely OT, but I just read through your massively long Location thing.

I'm from Northam, about 100 kms east of you, ever heard of it?

[Pegasus V]

Originally posted by Black Wolf
Hey, Pegasus, sorry for being entirely OT, but I just read through your massively long Location thing.

I'm from Northam, about 100 kms east of you, ever heard of it?

Yeah, my fiance`'s brother used to work there (he's a cop). It's good to know there are resident FS fans in WA. Crap weather at the moment, hey?


Asteroid Explosion thing: The only reason that I was making an excuse for the asteroid exploding is that you can't stop it from exploding once it's structural integrity has reached 0 in FreeSpace. I suppose I could change the departure cue for the asteroid with a no-warp-effect so that it disappears.:

when
   =
     hits-left
     Ore Asteroid
     1
     0 (delay)

So the gas miners don't actually have a function in the FreeSpace game then? What's the gas miner flag for?

[StratComm]

I could be wrong, as I have never understood those flags 100%, but I think it defines "gas miner" AI and player command lists (if applicable).  No dock routines, no attack vectors, nothing except "sit in place and shoot at fighters in range with my 2 pea shooters".  FRED also uses that flag (I think) to define ship classes for briefing animations.

[Black Wolf]

Yeah, the primary use is for Briefings, as the gas miner flag is probably identical to freighter, transport etc, just with a different icon.

And yeah, the weather i poor. But the more rain we have, the more full the river will be for the Descent next month.