Map Objects, Part 1

posted on March 24th, 2012, 6:17 pm

Woo-hoe  Bumper cars FO style.

[godsvoice]

posted on March 24th, 2012, 6:26 pm

Last edited by godsvoice on March 25th, 2012, 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

For the 'derelict satellite', I think it would be more interesting gameplay wise if it was a npc station like an old cardassian spy station, among other things, perhaps it gives the ability to build the hutet class, tonga, and keldon class as seen in dominion wars. Tonga being the same as the... brinok class in A2?

(I know this is a satellite, not a yard station, but I meant otherwise in general...)

Stations could be created that give particular benefit to certain factions. Cardassian favours Dominion, Reman stations developed during dominion wars perhaps benefit romulans. Etc. Suitable candidates I'm sure exist for the others.

Edit: If map makers were interested, particular maps 1v1 could be created where a faction had 'home turf'. The home faction had a station that benefitted it primarily, although it could be used by all. Give a one starting point a clear home faction position 'i.e. this home starting point is meant to be used by dominion. Then give the other starting point characteristics that benefit another faction. I know it would be more limited, but then give the other faction something like a closer expansion or anything. er, i mean maybe this isn't described perfectly. But just, something like a defender faction, and an invader faction. Give the map a theme, storyline etc. The neutral zone etc. There is point guard romulan station to built oddly close. So it is a map designed for fed vS ROM. with some interesting features for each.

posted on March 25th, 2012, 8:17 am

Well, Doms post says those map things here are rather small gimmicks than real NPC races like you suggest godsvoice. Furthermore I don't want to see other Cardassian ships in FO than Galor, Hideki and Keldon.

posted on March 25th, 2012, 2:30 pm

It does not destroy vessels that are within its area at the moment, merely bumping them out of the way .

do ships get stuck inside the blocking trigger sometimes(?)

posted on March 25th, 2012, 2:56 pm

do ships get stuck inside the blocking trigger sometimes(?)

Let's hope not. Ships stuck in asteroid fields are annoying.

posted on March 25th, 2012, 3:35 pm

Well, Doms post says those map things here are rather small gimmicks than real NPC races like you suggest godsvoice. Furthermore I don't want to see other Cardassian ships in FO than Galor, Hideki and Keldon.

I realize it is a small, gimmick like, feature but I just meant why make it some old abandoned Romulan satellite.

Considering that with the rise and fall of other races like the Cardassians and Remans, there are bound to be left over structures.

The ships were just taking it further, people have suggested abandoned stations before, or ships for hire by mercenaries. I think the most interesting ships of the cardassians are tonga, hutet, and keldon. Galor I don't mind. But all the main cardassian ships look almost identical. But either way. I'd be happy even just to get them through map editor.

posted on March 25th, 2012, 6:45 pm

Just had another idea for the moons.  Someone earlier in this post mentioned it may be smarter to set up a mining station on a moon rather than have to blast it apart (which stands to reason may damage the goodies inside)  I agree and here are my thoughts (note, some of this may not be possible):
Create a moon which behaves in-game more like the planets from stock A2.
One would have to put the mining station on it similar to the old orbital mining stations.  (hopefully the station does not have to orbit, but could be built on the moon)
Mining/cargo ships could pick up the ore and deliver them back to your base for processing.  Or it could be made so that the resources go straight to your resource pool like the old orbital stations did, either way would be cool.

posted on March 25th, 2012, 7:02 pm

interesting ideas.

there could be two type of expansions then.

one classical side of mining, the other more like ore drilling with the orbital like mining.

the classical side of it should be faster rate, so it is the better version of mining. but sometimes it might be more convenient to set up the orbital drilling, before a military fleet can be brought in. this has slower rate, but much cheaper.

however, you can still convert to normal mining if you blow up the rock mass covering the moon.

orbital mining could even destroy the rock mass at a very slow rate, say 1% per round of drilling. so if your orbital mine was constantly drilling, after 100 full loads, it would break through the rock mass enough to switch back to full mining.

[Jhook]

posted on March 26th, 2012, 8:17 pm

Last edited by Jhook on March 26th, 2012, 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Great stuff!!!!

It is time to move towards a very different type of interactions with map objects. 

First, the moon ideas are good, but I envision them as moving objects.  Slow moving objects that slowly orbit the planet, or other asteroid fields that are also in motion.  Setting up a base on one sounds good, but you would still need to transport the goodies back to a refinery.  Plus, the moon shrinks in size during mining.  Another good feature might be to have the moon (perhaps certain moons) break apart or even explode when depleted.

I love the adopted object effect ideas.  You can find abandon stations or other objects that can lend a had with certain ships capabilities.  Another idea to consider is a single or group of derelict ships from a long ago (or not too long ago) battle.  Say, you can tractor these hulks back to a construction facility to be deconstructed, or even back to a research facility to gain a small ability increase.  The possibilities are endless with this.  Many derelict ships can offer different abilities or upgrades.  Even a derelict or station of a new race with higher tech could even be introduced. 

Map objects need to be more flexible.  Have more things to work with them.  Even allow for new tech to spring up.

posted on March 27th, 2012, 7:14 am

Waaaaiiiit a minute...

Calling back to a thread which happened years ago now (crates, if anyone's wondering), are we going to see these implemented as randomized objects, or "crates" as they were called in the thread, or will they be entirely separate?

I for one would love to see crates finally implemented Looking forward to the next release!

[ewm90]

posted on March 27th, 2012, 4:16 pm

Last edited by ewm90 on March 27th, 2012, 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

So these were a bunch of ideas we had which are - more or less - already possible in the next version. Do you have suggestions, ideas or comments on how to improve the environment in Fleet Operations further?

I would like to see space monsters and worm holes that go back or forwards in time, witch can be used to pull old/future ships in to the present.

As seen on a episode of voyager where there discover a wormhole to Romulan space in the past and then on a episode of ENT where a TNG ship was pulled from the future.

Terrain and map objects are critical elements of a good strategy game. Thus it should come as no surprise that for the past few years, Fleet Operations has expanded its background coding in order to enable many concepts that were previously considered impossible. While the next patch is not focused on map goodies, because of all the work required for the introduction of the faction redoes, we are already planning toward a large scale environment redo somewhere down the road. We are looking for your input, ideas or thoughts about what we have in mind! Tell us what you think!

For our first discussion on map objects, we would like to bring up the idea of neutral buildings and certain miscellaneous terrain features. These are subjects that should be familiar topics of debate on the forums, and are much simpler to introduce than a non-playable faction or dynamic events which we can discuss at a later point.

[align=center]Concept #1[/align]

Our first patient will be the simple, yet convenient “Abandoned Satellite”.

This craft – perhaps a relic of a forgotten border, or just a Romulan mistake in robotics – was equipped with advanced sensors. Yet for some reason its technology remains accessible to certain specialized craft of every faction, granting them the capability to boost their own field of view many times over.

Scouts and Support Vessels may thus park themselves close by to see great distances. If these craft leave the vicinity of the Abandoned Satellite, their much diminished line of sight will return. Craft must remain decloaked and at full power (no Grey Mode!) to allow this special piece of equipment to integrate successfully.




[align=center]Concept #2[/align]

The second is the inglorious “Encapsulated Tritanium / Dilithium Moon”. Embedded deep within this asteroid lies a treasure trove of mineral or metallic wealth, but you’ll first have to set disruptors to “kill” to get at it.

The second concept was designed to create temporarily inaccessible expansions. As you might anticipate, this creates strategic possibilities, whereby a player must send a number of military units to shoot some space rocks – thus creating the possibility that those warships won’t be out defending against a hostile force (use your scouts, people!). If you are harassing an opponent extensively, you might in fact prevent him or her from gaining access to a new lucrative expansion – or at the same time deny yourself the ability to expand due to your wanton military activity.

Consequently, this feature acts as a bottleneck on the rate at which a player’s map control expands, even without considering military tactics. Sending just a constructor out to a nearby very strategic expansion may no longer be possible depending on the map maker’s whims!




[align=center]Concept #3[/align]

In comes the startling Timed Blocker. This feature can be placed in discontinuities of a normal asteroid belt and used to create temporary openings (and closings).

The Timed Blocker acts as an asteroid which blocks passage in that region for a random amount of time, whereupon the asteroid ups and vanishes. Your long range sensors will receive a map message and ping, notifying you that the blocker has disappeared.

This allows a map maker to create long asteroid belts with the possibility for well-timed harassment. It can of course also be used to generate badlands, where blocking triggers might suddenly pop up, cutting off your escape, or dividing your fleet in two. Since you don’t know when the block will reappear, you must carefully consider the consequences of your possibly feckless actions.




[align=center]Concept #4[/align]

The last - and least developed - concept is that of a space hulk. This type of neutral structure contains old transceivers, military equipment, and generates some strange subspace fluctuations that may affect nearby vessels in predictable, yet unusual ways.

Note that due to the spatial fluctuations it is impossible to build in a wide radius around this structure – thus making it impossible to truly claim this structure for your own side.

The first ability of this station is to give any of your units the ability to reroute their sensors through the transceiver of the hulk and allow them to contact their native empire to dispatch a construction vessel. This vessel doesn’t come cheap (or often) however, and you can expect to pay handsomely for it. As a result it can be used as a last ditch attempt to rebuild your empire, when all you have left is a handful of units and all those unspent resources.

Additional effects that are being considered are based on a unit’s technology level as well as its profile:

For instance, a few offensive ships in the vicinity might gain a temporary boost in their top speed.

Likewise, several defensive units might gain an occasional shield boost. Support ships will regain some energy.

However, all these nifty bonuses require sacrifices too. The station’s machinery is badly damaged, and those subspace fluctuations we talked about have a tendency to cause issues with nearby vessels. Expect that you have to use supplies at a regular rate while staying in the vicinity of such a space hulk.



So these were a bunch of ideas we had which are - more or less - already possible in the next version. Do you have suggestions, ideas or comments on how to improve the environment in Fleet Operations further?

posted on March 28th, 2012, 2:25 am

Coding Question. Dominus, How is the timed blocker implemented? Can it be cloned and reapplied to any static  map objects?

posted on March 28th, 2012, 2:54 am

As a variation of the objects that move, how about space that drifts? An area of space that moves in a direction slowly pulling all ships and structures (and map objects?) in that direction. Think of it like a river.

Additionally, structures can be built on the area of drift, resulting in moving structures. A map maker could put starting points on drift that slowly drift towards or away from each other.

Speed, direction and shape of the drift area could all be controlled by the map maker. A drift lane could have different speeds at different places (could link them up like blocking triggers, each with their own attributes). Drift areas could be configured (by map maker) to affect only some sets of objects (ships, stations and/or map objects and/or other).

posted on March 28th, 2012, 2:58 am

@Styer Crisis:

Currently it's done by the following method (though this is not set in stone):

BlockerTrigger-Craft has blocker-timer replaceWeapon.
  -blocker-timer replaceWeapon replaces BlockerTrigger-Craft
       -blocker-timer replaceWeapon has X number of Blocker-Craft it replaces into.
              -Each of these Blocker-Craft have a replaceweapon to replace back into a BlockerTrigger-Craft

Due to needing to carry a replaceWeapon, I suspect this can only be used with UtritiumBall GameObjects, as well as all Craft (aside from Planets). I have not tested weapons thoroughly with other GameObjects (such as with extraWeapons), but don't believe that they can use them.

[Ensign Expendable]

posted on March 28th, 2012, 9:11 am

Last edited by Ensign Expendable on March 28th, 2012, 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

It does not destroy vessels that are within its area at the moment, merely bumping them out of the way .

Is it possible to let the asteroids be able to do both bump and kaboom?

edit: At some point I think it may be a useful thing to add to map missions.