[Galemp]

For your consideration, I've taken an old and moldy mod, dusted it off, and given it some new toys and friends to play with them.

GTB Surt by Aldo

• Updated high-poly mesh with cockpit
• New UVs to consolidate textures into one map
• Shine and normal maps

GTB Hera by the Earth Defense team

• Minor tweaks to use the new Railgun system

GVB Imset by Woomeister

• Completely new mesh and textures

GVB Menhit by Sesquipedalian

• Completely new mesh and textures

SB Taurvi by the MediaVPs team

• Modified mesh to use the new Railgun system

Railguns by Galemp

• New models and interface art
• Four types: Sickle, Scimitar, Scythe, and Shivan

Also comes with a demo mission in the tech room.

GET IT ON KNOSSOS NOW

Happy Christmas!

[Galemp]

Known issues:

• AI is really bad at using Railguns effectively. Maybe this is addressed in one of the AIs floating around here.
• Weapon-select interface art isn't generated automatically unless the command line flag is on. Then you can't see my spiffy selection icons.
• External models for secondary weapons don't spin like primary models do, and vanish when you're out of ammo.
• External models don't show up in the tech room.

Maybe this package will inspire a coder to address these.

[Nightmare]

Oh that's a sweet surprise! Along with the other neat things, just today I took a look at the old Surt for the first time after several months and thought "it'd be awesome if somebody could make a version with a couple more polies" - and a couple hours later I already got one.

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas you too!
(Even though it's still 2 days)

[Nyctaeus]

Updated Surt is indeed a welcome surprise. After release of Hera, I throught this thing will forever be forgotten and rest on the graveyard of old and abandoned models. Awesome release !

[Galemp]

Does that mean Inferno is going to straighten out their nomenclature?

[General Battuta]

Wut

[Nightmare]

I think the Hera (ED) is listed as Surt because there's another Hera in INFA.

[Colonol Dekker]

Do these work like homeworld corvettes now?

[QuakeIV]

My only criticism is the railguns dont seem to be very good.

[Nightmare]

You mean the weapon models, right? Those have indeed some space for improvement; they are IIRC the same ones that came with the original release by Aldo in 200X... I have a smoothed version of them with better placement of the thrusters... but it should probably be replaced entirely.

[Galemp]

QuakeIV: I've tried to balance them against the Cyclops and Helios in terms of damage output per second. I know they feel underpowered for what they are, but they really aren't, compared to other weapons.

You mean the weapon models, right? Those have indeed some space for improvement; they are IIRC the same ones that came with the original release by Aldo in 200X... I have a smoothed version of them with better placement of the thrusters... but it should probably be replaced entirely.

I... don't understand what you're talking about here.

[Nightmare]

mis-rail1-4.pof, the ones used for the weapon effect are the same ones as during the initial release of the Surt weren't particular good-looking when I used it last time (which was quite a long time ago, actually).

[Galemp]

Oh those. Yeah, you literally never see them so I don't care. They're travelling 1500 m/s and are tiny. I would have just used a primary blob and bitmap, but decided to add a glowpoint instead.

[Nightmare]

Probably came from an old experiment were they were slower, my bad.

[Colonol Dekker]

I've not had a chance to try this yet.  Any footage? 

[Galemp]

No footage but there is a demo mission in the tech room, just a simple cruiser duel. Here's P3Ds of the Vasudan bombers.

[Goober5000]

Finally got around to playing this.  Nice work!  Made me feel like I was flying an A-10.

I really liked the type 1 and type 2 railguns, but the type 3 seemed wrong.  Probably because I was expecting a rumbling DAKKA and instead got a pew pew pew.  Also the shudder effect managed to land in the uncanny valley for some reason.

Do you have numbers on damage-per-second and damage capacity per bank?  I'd like to compare these to the existing bombs and missiles.

[Nightmare]

Just one note- the Vasudan testing mission that comes along with the knossos package is still for multiplayer.

[Galemp]

Just one note- the Vasudan testing mission that comes along with the knossos package is still for multiplayer.

Yeah, I meant to convert that to SP along the lines of the Terran mission but got worn out and decided not to bother, that the Terran version was good enough.

I really liked the type 1 and type 2 railguns, but the type 3 seemed wrong.  Probably because I was expecting a rumbling DAKKA and instead got a pew pew pew.  Also the shudder effect managed to land in the uncanny valley for some reason.

New SFX would be very welcome.

Do you have numbers on damage-per-second and damage capacity per bank?  I'd like to compare these to the existing bombs and missiles.

This has been gone over in the SA internal thread but here's my notes as of 2/25. I can't guarantee these are the stats in the version on Knossos.

Code: [Select]

; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Railguns
;
; Type 1 Railgun is statistically identical to five classic Maxim gunpoints, but has the Huge flag and can kill capital ships.
; Type 2 Railgun is supposed to deal as much damage as a Cyclops in the amount of time it takes to attain aspect lock and fire the weapon, i.e. the amount of time you need to fly in a straight line toward your target.
; Type 3 Railgun is like Type 2 but with Helios levels of damage.
$Name: T1 Sickle
+Title: GTR-1 Sickle
+Description: ;Same stats as 5xMaxim but is Huge and can kill capships
Armor Piercing
Moderate Hull Damage
High Subsystem Damage
$end_multi_text
+Tech Title: GTR-1 Sickle
+Tech Anim: Tech_GTM_MX-6_Tempest
+Tech Description:
The original Maxim gun proved highly popular by pilots and tacticians for its incredible range, pinpoint accuracy, and extreme damage. The caliber of the weapon proved too much for fighters to handle, with weapon recoil shaking the smaller craft to pieces and causing severe maintenance issues. Unwilling to strip down and rebuild entire wings of fighters after every mission, an entirely new weapons system was commissioned around the concept of sustained high-velocity long-ranged cannon fire. Codenamed Sickle, Type 1 railgun shells are designed with the same ultra-dense depleted uranium armor-piercing capability, and are highly effective against insulated subsystems. These shells can only be fired from dedicated bombers developed specifically for the railgun technology.
$end_multi_text
$Tech model: gun-rail1-tech.pof
$Model File: mis-rail1.pof
$External Model File: gun-rail1.pof
$Submodel Rotation Speed: 5.0
$Submodel Rotation Acceleration: 6
$Mass: 0.08 ;Maxim 0.08
$Velocity: 1800.0 ;Maxim 1800
$Fire Wait: 0.2 ;Maxim 0.15
$Damage: 70 ;Maxim 20
$Blast Force: 0.0
$Inner Radius: 0.0  ;Armor piercing, so impact only
$Outer Radius: 0.0 
$Shockwave Speed: 0 
$Armor Factor: 1.0 ;Maxim 0.8, so 16 ea. or 106.7 dps
$Shield Factor: 0.15 ;Maxim 0.2 equal to 26.675
$Subsystem Factor: 0.85 ;Maxim 1.0 at 133.3 dps, this weapon 160 DPS, better than Maxim or Trebuchet (140)
$Lifetime: 1.5 ;Maxim 1.5
$Energy Consumed: 0.0
$Cargo Size: 0.3
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 81
$ImpactSnd: 85
$FlyBySnd: -1
$Rearm Rate: 15
$Flags: ("shudder" "player allowed" "huge" "external model launcher")
$Trail:
+Start Width: 0.1
+End Width: 0.2
+Start Alpha: 1.0
+End Alpha: 0.0
+Max Life: 0.3 
+Bitmap: trail_white
$Icon: icon_rail1
; $Anim: gun-rail1-tech
$Impact Explosion: ExpMissileHit1
$Impact Explosion Radius: 2.0

$Name: T2 Scimitar
+Title: GTR-2 Scimitar
+Description: ;Has a blast which deals double damage, fires a bit slower
Explosive Shells
High Hull Damage
Moderate Subsystem Damage
$end_multi_text
+Tech Title: GTM MX-6 Tempest
+Tech Anim: Tech_GTM_MX-6_Tempest
+Tech Description:
Type 2 railgun shells, codenamed Scimitar, are packed with conventional explosives to shatter warship hulls of any type. Simulations predict the average Scimitar strafing run to be almost twice as effective as the Maxim gun against armor, with sustained fire dealing equivalent damage-over-time as the Cyclops torpedo. Unlike conventional bombs, dumbfired railgun shells are immune to electromagnetic countermeasures and interception. Armor-piercing Type 1 shells excel at subsystem disruption, but are outclassed by explosive Type 2 shells in raw power.
$end_multi_text
$Tech model: gun-rail2-tech.pof
$Model File: mis-rail2.pof
$External Model File: gun-rail2.pof
$Submodel Rotation Speed: 5.0
$Submodel Rotation Acceleration: 6
$Mass: 0.1 ;Maxim 0.08
$Velocity: 1800.0 ;Maxim 1800
$Fire Wait: 0.25 ;Maxim 0.15, so damage 1.33x maxim
$Damage: 50 ;Maxim 20, w/blast effectively 40
$Blast Force: 0.0
$Inner Radius: 8.0 
$Outer Radius: 10.0 
$Shockwave Speed: 0 
$Armor Factor: 1.0 ;Maxim 106.7 DPS, this gun 200 DPS (inc. blast) equal to Cyclops 2000 damage w/ firewait of 20
$Shield Factor: 0.15 ;30 DPS inc. blast, slightly more than Maxim
$Subsystem Factor: 0.5 ;Maxim 133.3 DPS, this gun 100 DPS (inc. blast)
$Lifetime: 1.5 ;Maxim 1.5
$Energy Consumed: 0.0
$Cargo Size: 0.375
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 81
$ImpactSnd: 85
$FlyBySnd: -1
$Rearm Rate: 12
$Flags: ("shudder" "player allowed" "huge" "external model launcher")
$Trail:
+Start Width: 0.1
+End Width: 0.2
+Start Alpha: 1.0
+End Alpha: 0.0
+Max Life: 0.3 
+Bitmap: trail_yellow
$Icon: icon_rail2
; $Anim: gun-rail2-tech
$Impact Explosion: ExpMissileHit1
$Impact Explosion Radius: 10.0

$Name: T3 Scythe
+Title: GTR-3 Scythe
+Description:
Antimatter Shells
High Hull Damage
High Subsystem Damage
$end_multi_text
+Tech Title: GTR-3 Scythe
+Tech Anim: Tech_GTM_MX-6_Tempest
+Tech Description:
The experimental Type 3 railgun shell, codenamed Scythe, is a microscopic pellet of antimatter suspended in a magnetic containment field. The cataclysmic annihilation of matter and antimatter makes the shells equally devastating against hulls and subsystems, but tends to wash over shields.
$end_multi_text
$Tech model: gun-rail3-tech.pof
$Selection Effect: FS1
$Model File: mis-rail3.pof
$External Model File: gun-rail3.pof
$Submodel Rotation Speed: 5.0
$Submodel Rotation Acceleration: 6
$Mass: 0.16 ;Maxim 0.08
$Velocity: 1500.0 ;Maxim 1800
$Fire Wait: 0.3 ;Maxim 0.15, this weapon 4.0 s/s
$Damage: 60 ;Helios deals 226.67 hull DPS not including blast.
$Blast Force: 0.2
$Inner Radius: 10.0 
$Outer Radius: 20.0 
$Shockwave Speed: 100 
$Armor Factor: 1.0 ;225 DPS just under Helios 226.67
$Shield Factor: 0.02 ;25 DPS w/blast, slightly less than Maxim
$Subsystem Factor: 0.75 ;191.25 DPS just under Helios 192.67
$Lifetime: 1.25 ;Range of 1875, Helios is 1950
$Energy Consumed: 0.0
$Cargo Size: 0.45
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 81
$ImpactSnd: 88
$FlyBySnd: -1
$Rearm Rate: 10
$Flags: ("shudder" "player allowed" "huge" "external model launcher")
$Trail:
+Start Width: 0.1
+End Width: 0.2
+Start Alpha: 1.0
+End Alpha: 0.0
+Max Life: 0.3 
+Bitmap: trail_teal
$Icon: icon_rail3
; $Anim: gun-rail3-tech
$Impact Explosion: ExpMissileHit1
$Impact Explosion Radius: 3.0


[General Battuta]

For your damage equivalence calc, did you remember that all bombs do double their tabled damage due to shockwaves? I see the larger railguns do have shockwaves too (...right? that's how splash damage but 0 defined shockwave speed works? maybe?) so maybe you balanced it that way on purpose.