Using the fighter process to launch working repair ships

posted on November 5th, 2011, 10:06 pm

I've found several posts in the ideas section about having repair drones in the game.  Whether it would work in FO as it is or not, it would be a great option for modding purposes, I think (it would be a nice option for a Babylon 5 mod, for example).

I've tried replacing the Avalon's fighter with Newtons and fudging the various class labels and ai processes, but I can't get the repair ships to behave as fighters (remain with the launch craft) and also repair anything that comes in range.  Is this currently possible?

posted on November 5th, 2011, 10:54 pm

It use to be.  

What I would do, is have the ship launch actual fighters that looked like your repair ships, and then have them auto replace into your repair ships 2 seconds later, with the mantainorders line in place.  It works with my fighters, so maybe it will work with the repair ships?

In theory, the AI will use the repair drones as they normally would, but with the default order to guard and follow the carrier.

posted on November 6th, 2011, 5:25 pm

To my knowledge the behavior to circle around and follow the carrier is linked to the classlabel (Fighter) and the repair process is linked to the RepairShip classlabel. As a result you cannot get automatic Newtons to repair using a repair beam (could obviously do it with some other weapons).

What Adm. Zaxxon is referring to I believe is that you used to be able to order Fighters to do other stuff and not just patrol, but as far as I know, this particular case was never possible.

Maintainorders does not remember these more complex lines I'm afraid.

posted on November 6th, 2011, 6:27 pm

To my knowledge the behavior to circle around and follow the carrier is linked to the classlabel (Fighter) and the repair process is linked to the RepairShip classlabel. As a result you cannot get automatic Newtons to repair using a repair beam (could obviously do it with some other weapons).

What Adm. Zaxxon is referring to I believe is that you used to be able to order Fighters to do other stuff and not just patrol, but as far as I know, this particular case was never possible.

Maintainorders does not remember these more complex lines I'm afraid.

Actually, the classlabel does default the physics to 0 backwards acceleration, but you can give the circeling pattern to any ship.  I am fairly certain that, if the repair ships will repair with the ignoreuserinterface line set to 1, doing the way I suggested will force them to keep flying around their parent ship.  Indeed, the process I suggest can be used to make fighters become controllable, but the fighters change class label and become a completely different ship, so I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work for the repair ship, IF the ai can actually utilize a repair ship.  The command to guard the carrier ship appears to be transferable.

posted on November 6th, 2011, 6:58 pm

Feel free to post the ODFs as proof of concept . Unless I'm doing something wrong, when I tested it I could not get it to work. Remember that Craft ai process is similar enough to the FighterProcess that not much behavior will change.

posted on November 7th, 2011, 12:47 am

I have not actually done it, I was merely saying it was worth trying.   If the repair ships will not repair with the ignoreinterface line, then it would not work at all, but if it did it was possible the guard order would transfer to them.  You must also give them physics with backwards acceleration set to 0