A Proposal For An Informative Turret Naming Standard

[wizerdwolf]

Before you embark on reading this somewhat of a wall-of-text, I'd like to say I'd VERY MUCH appreciate
feedback on this idea, as I want this to be useful a system as possible to allow people to more easily
incorporate preexisting turret designs into new ships, or to refit new turrets into old ships. The idea is that
turret makers could design a turret and name it according to this proposal, and the end user could easily
figure out if it would fit a given ship, and if it would suit the intended purpose.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TuFiN - pronounced like "tough-in" - Turret Fitment Name

What is this?
A proposed method for uniquely and informatively naming turret designs.

But why?
I was finding my previous method of naming turrets rather uninformative. I especially wanted information in
the name that would tell me whether or not an existing turret would fit on a ship, or if a new design would
need to be created, as well as tell me what kind of weaponry it possessed.

Format:
MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID

Example:
WTF-PIA-11.17.16-CCO-A-1

MID:
Manufacturer ID (for example: WTF for WizTech Fleetworks))

TMP:
TMP = Type, Mount, Power

Types:

Spoiler: Types Explanation.

B - Ball
Exactly what it sounds like, a turret design based off a ball in a socket.

P - Panel
Generally a flat turret that has a "panel" shapped barrel section that lifts out.
Sometimes this can be derived from a ball design by cutting the ball in half.

X - Box
Generally a turret design more resembling traditional naval guns where there is
a box that the barrel protrudes from. Sometimes this can also be derived from
a ball design by having the ball encompased by a surface box instead of an inset
socket. While a box turret can be inset, it is most usefully applied when some
degree of self-powering is desired, but the turret must be surface mounted.

N - None of the above.
A catch all for a turret design not accounted for.

Mount:

Spoiler: Mount Explanation

I - Inset
Whenever the turret is mounted inside of the ship instead of on the surface, usually
to allow for a large cylinder shapped base to supply power and sometimes shields
to a turret while maintaining a smaller external profile.

S - SMT (Surface Mount Turret)
While going out of style, this is still a very common design due to ease of design
and installation, requiring no circules to be calculated in the hull to allow for
rotation, and no internal space sacrificed, which would detract from ship systems
or interiors. While this design is becoming less common for primary naval guns,
it is and will likely remain the preffered option for anti-missile turrets.

Power

Spoiler: Power Explanation

A - Active
This denotes a turret that generates all of its own power. This design is becoming
increasingly popular as it makes power management easier.

S - Semi-active
This denotes a turret that generates some portion of its own power. While sometimes
used due to lack of space for inset turrets, or improper design, this design is
probably less favored than the other two due to potential low power issues.

P - Passive
This denotes a turret that requires all of its power from the main ship. While
becoming less popular for primary naval guns, this option is still a feasable way of
minimizing the footprint of anti-missile turrets, as they use very little power.

Size:

Spoiler: Size Explanation

There are a couple different formats, depending on the mounting type.

Inset:
S1.S2.S3.S4
--OR--
S1.S2.S3.S4.S5

Where:
S1 - Inset Diameter
The diameter of the (presumably cylindrical) base inset into the hole. The hole
in the hull must be wider than this (usually by +2 diameter) in order for the
turret to be able to rotate.

S2 - Surface Diameter
The diameter of the surface mount of the turret, especially immediately above the
hole in the ship's hull (and not including the barrel, if it extends further).
This is mainly needed to ensure that the hole in the hull will not be visible.

S3 - Inset Hight
The hight of the turret from docker to the block level with the surface hull.
This is used to calculate how deep the turret rail needs to be.

S4 - Surface Hight
The hight of the part of the turret on the outside of the ship, i.e. the first block
outside the hull to the very top of the turret.

S5 - Barrel Sweep Diameter (optional)
Not required, but useful when the barrel extends past S2, this is the diameter of
the circle created by the tip of the barrel when the turret is rotated 360'.
You will likely have to use a small bit of geometry to calculate this.
(If people want, I can create a graphic and provide a formula for calculating
this when I have free time.)

SMT:
S1.S2

Where:
S1 - Same as Inset S4
S2 - Same as Inset S5, except required (due to no other useful diameter measurements)

Weapons:

Spoiler: Weapons Explanation

This is where the information needed for actually fitting a turret ends, and where the fun begins.

PST:
I'm sure everyone already knows how weapon combos work, so I won't bother to explain further
than to say that P = Primary, S = Secondary, and T = Tertiary. Additionally, S and T can be
followed immediately and optionally by a number representing the ratio of S/P or T/P in the
form of a percentage. It is recommended to omit the number if the percentage is 100%.

Primary/Secondary:
C - Cannon
M - Missile
B - Beam
P - Pulse

Tertiary:
E - EMP
X - Explosive
I - Ion
O - Overdrive
R - Piercing
U - Punch-Through
H - Push
L - Pull
S - Stop

Features:

Spoiler: Features Explanation

There is no set order or limit to how many characters can be here, as this section is used to describe optional
features the designer may choose to include, and will possibly be expanded as new ideas are proposed.

A - AI Toggleable
Simply indicates that a wireless block is connected to the AI module to allow logic toggling. This is
useful if you want the turret to aim at your designated target, but also want to be able to "target"
something without the risk of your turrets deciding to open fire.

L - Targetting Laser
Indicates that a 0 damage weapon is present so that the AI can still aim the turret, even without a
true weapon available. Generally created by pairing a primary, such as a Beam, !00% with a no-damage
tertiary, such as Stop. Very useful if you want the actual weapon of a turret to be logic-driven.

M - Manual firing
Indicates that a wireless block is provided and required for operation of the weapon on the turret.
This could be useful if you have a superweapon on a turret that would cripple your ship if an AI
were to fire it when you weren't ready... Is STRONGLY recommended to couple this feature with A and L

UID:
Unique ID
This is a number just used to uniquely identify a turret that meets all the same specifications otherwise.
Generally this number is just iterated, as there's no reason to jump over numbers.

 

[rradt2001]

That's a nice idea! It'd make identifying turrets easier. (I think, it's been awhile since I last played)

 

[StormWing0]

Had a similar discussion about the naming conventions of the Isanths a while back: Isanth Naming conventions for effects and supports? Figured it might help generate more ideas.

 

[kulbolen]

cool idea that i would never use

 

[wizerdwolf]

That's a nice idea! It'd make identifying turrets easier. (I think, it's been awhile since I last played)

Thanks! My brain honestly does a shit job linking names with things, so having a descriptive name that will allow me to figure out which turret I need I find very useful. Honestly, if I could make turret sizes more standardized, I could shorten the code, but that won't happen. XD
[doublepost=1503960337,1503960213][/doublepost]

Had a similar discussion about the naming conventions of the Isanths a while back: Isanth Naming conventions for effects and supports? Figured it might help generate more ideas.

Thanks, I'll need to take a read through that!
[doublepost=1503960390][/doublepost]

cool idea that i would never use

That's fine, never would figure all, and probably not even most, would. I did think it'd be neat if I could make it as common as, say, USD on ships since it'd make sharing turret designs and fitting them onto ships much much easier.

 

[Valck]

"cool idea that i..."
...would like to see refined a bit more.
Of course there are people that think it's ridiculous, or restricting their creative freedom, or simply too tedious to look up, but I definitely like the idea, and I think it can also be a creative challenge to design ships and turrets with interchangeability in mind.


First and foremost, I came here looking for existing standardization efforts regarding turret well dimensions. This is actually the central incentive for having a standard at all in my opinion.

Therefore, I would prefer to have this standard split into two separate 'documents' if you will: one exclusively for the dimensions of the cutout required, and another for the turrets themselves designed to fit into the sockets described in the first. That way, Community Content builds could simply be tagged with something consistent, regardless of whether they are actual turrets, or ships and stations that offer such mount sizes.
For that matter, I think a TLA fits that purpose better. Let me throw SBS - Standard Barbette Size, TMD - Turret Mount Dimension, or STM - Standard Turret Mount into the discussion. Maybe even a split into two tags for radius/diameter and depth, respectively.

For practicality, I wonder if radius and depth would be a better choice for dimensions, simply because that's what seems to be the obvious choice with the build size selection in advanced build mode when using symmetry planes. On the other hand, that may be overly abstract.


The main question however is, are there already any commonly used dimensions, or discernible size ranges?

Obviously, there's the ubiquitous surface turret as having the smallest possible mount, a 1x1x1 hole filled with a Rail Turret block. But how is it for more substantial turrets? What is the lower size limit where inset turrets start becoming useful, if any? What would be useful size grades - does it make sense to have Radius5,Depth4 next to R5,D3 and R6,D5, or are progressions in steps of maybe five more practical?
I'm thinking mainly of how content could be tagged and found. If every possible turret size was allowable, there'd be thousands of tags that are maybe close to what I'd be looking for, but I wouldn't be able to actually find them in a simple way. On the other hand, if size steps were too far apart, everybody would simply continue to design custom turrets and label them in whichever way they fancy.

 

[wizerdwolf]

"cool idea that i..."
...would like to see refined a bit more.
Of course there are people that think it's ridiculous, or restricting their creative freedom, or simply too tedious to look up, but I definitely like the idea, and I think it can also be a creative challenge to design ships and turrets with interchangeability in mind.


First and foremost, I came here looking for existing standardization efforts regarding turret well dimensions. This is actually the central incentive for having a standard at all in my opinion.

Therefore, I would prefer to have this standard split into two separate 'documents' if you will: one exclusively for the dimensions of the cutout required, and another for the turrets themselves designed to fit into the sockets described in the first. That way, Community Content builds could simply be tagged with something consistent, regardless of whether they are actual turrets, or ships and stations that offer such mount sizes.
For that matter, I think a TLA fits that purpose better. Let me throw SBS - Standard Barbette Size, TMD - Turret Mount Dimension, or STM - Standard Turret Mount into the discussion. Maybe even a split into two tags for radius/diameter and depth, respectively.

For practicality, I wonder if radius and depth would be a better choice for dimensions, simply because that's what seems to be the obvious choice with the build size selection in advanced build mode when using symmetry planes. On the other hand, that may be overly abstract.


The main question however is, are there already any commonly used dimensions, or discernible size ranges?

Obviously, there's the ubiquitous surface turret as having the smallest possible mount, a 1x1x1 hole filled with a Rail Turret block. But how is it for more substantial turrets? What is the lower size limit where inset turrets start becoming useful, if any? What would be useful size grades - does it make sense to have Radius5,Depth4 next to R5,D3 and R6,D5, or are progressions in steps of maybe five more practical?
I'm thinking mainly of how content could be tagged and found. If every possible turret size was allowable, there'd be thousands of tags that are maybe close to what I'd be looking for, but I wouldn't be able to actually find them in a simple way. On the other hand, if size steps were too far apart, everybody would simply continue to design custom turrets and label them in whichever way they fancy.

Oh, I STRONGLY agree this needs refinement. I agree, it definitely looks like something I'd be hesitant to use in its current state with all the referencing it would require. I was probably a bit too ambitious trying to cram in so much info, and it would probably be best to restrict this to dimensions and have the functionality info separate.

I'm unsure if anyone else has made any standardization efforts, and that's part of the reason I proposed such a system as this. Well, a fair bit is because I tend to make a new set of turrets for each ship I build, and I think it would be healthy for me to start reusing and standardizing my own builds XD It would save time, and allow me to be more productive.

I don't see any necessity in specing the sockets seperate from the turret size itself... essentially, you just want the radius to be twice as big for the socket versus the turret base. Due to how this is limited, you know that any socket such that r_socket >= r_base +2 should work, provided the depths match.

As for the acronym, I tend to like phonetically pronounceable acronyms, thus why I defined a pronunciation. This entire thing is up for debate and revision though, so I am plenty willing to consider alterations and alternatives.

I originally speced this out for diameter instead of radius so that I could more easily make precise calculations about what non-circular objects would be able to correctly rotate in a circular socket without having to fuss about how to properly split the axis block. It's really not such a big deal regardless, and given that the advanced build tools DO take radius as a parameter, it might be worth using it instead.

A quick note on the surface-mount turret example, I do not consider the rail turret block part of the measured depth; I only include everything attached to it. If you were to specify the inset turret dimensions for a surface mount, you'd end up with an inset depth of 0 and an undefined diameter. Otherwise, I am unaware of any form of standard sizes... it probably varies from builder to builder. As I stated before, I've had a habit of building new turrets to each ship, so the turrets are designed to (aesthetically) fit the ship I need them on. This results in turret sizes that aren't necessarily the most powerful or efficient, though I don't build solely for combat effectiveness. When it comes to standardization, maybe we could define size ranges? There would still be different combinations of RxD in each range, BUT you could choose between turret sizes that are close enough together to not really hurt to modify your ships design to accommodate a slightly smaller or larger turret?

 

[yoyo2901]

i like it but its also very complicated.. im pretty sure i would need to get back to this thread over and over again to see what it is again. its very useful in combat if you know what type of turrets your shooting at (if you remember the codes). also gives a more professional look then just 'AM-1-2' (Anti missile turret 1 part 2) which i use most of the time. also if it gets used both party's need to use it in combat. otherwise it would give the opponent a small adventage if he doesnt use the codes.

 

[Edymnion]

I generally name my turret blueprints with what they are in them.

For example, I might have XX_Turret_MCO_Medium as a blueprint name (where the XX is a prefix that indicates what style I built them in). So that way all of my blueprints line up with the material for a given style together, then grouped by role (turret, miner, fighter, etc), then by type (in this case, MCO would indicate Missile/Cannon/Overdrive), and then by size. I would also have say XX_Turret_PDT for Point Defense Turret (anti-missile 1/1 cannon/cannon).

 

[wizerdwolf]

i like it but its also very complicated.. im pretty sure i would need to get back to this thread over and over again to see what it is again. its very useful in combat if you know what type of turrets your shooting at (if you remember the codes). also gives a more professional look then just 'AM-1-2' (Anti missile turret 1 part 2) which i use most of the time. also if it gets used both party's need to use it in combat. otherwise it would give the opponent a small adventage if he doesnt use the codes.

Agreed about the complexity... Given this code was originally intended to help determine what size socket is needed, I may need to strip it down to those basics for it to be usable. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestions about how to revise it!!
[doublepost=1507928141,1507927990][/doublepost]

I generally name my turret blueprints with what they are in them.

For example, I might have XX_Turret_MCO_Medium as a blueprint name (where the XX is a prefix that indicates what style I built them in). So that way all of my blueprints line up with the material for a given style together, then grouped by role (turret, miner, fighter, etc), then by type (in this case, MCO would indicate Missile/Cannon/Overdrive), and then by size. I would also have say XX_Turret_PDT for Point Defense Turret (anti-missile 1/1 cannon/cannon).

It's not a bad system, but I'm unsure it fulfills the main intent for this system, that is, indicating what size space is needed to fit a turret.

 

[Non]

i might use something like this, but you need to account for turrets with more than one weapon type and you need an mount identifier for free floating turrets

 

[wizerdwolf]

i might use something like this, but you need to account for turrets with more than one weapon type and you need an mount identifier for free floating turrets

If you'd like to account for multiple weapons, the relevent section could probably be duplicated. As for a free floating turret... the quantity of fitment variables greatly increases, and I may not be able to adequatly account for that. Honestly, I may just strip this system down to just fitment, and let makers specify weapons and features seperately.

 

[Scratchmort]

Going to chip in with my newbie perspective here, I personally really like the idea, and it's definitely one I'd adopt once it's been finalised!

I'll do what I can to give a little feedback and hopefully help you flesh out this idea a bit!

My first thought is that 'WTF-PIA-11.17.16-CCO-A-1' might be a bit complex for players to get the information they want at a quick glance. That being said, that example looks very much like a serial number to me, and could possibly work as such!

So, I'll try and give you a vague idea of how that naming convention could work as a 'serial number':

Spoiler: Vague Idea

Maybe you can consider having a simplified version of your example as the main name for the turret, but have your 'MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID' example as a serial number that goes in the turret's description, or after the 'main' name, or wherever it would best fit.

I'll try and give a comparison to how this idea might work based on when I used to work in a vintage guitar shop (sorry- best comparison I can think of )

I'll spoiler it cause it's pretty lengthy, and I'll leave a TL/DR version below the spoiler.

Spoiler: Guitar Serial Comparison

Guitars on the shop floor would have a 'ticket' (basically a price tag) that had the guitar's most basic info. Lets say our hypothetical guitar is a 2014 Gibson Les Paul. The ticket would display '14 Gibson LP. What if we want to know a bit more about the specific guitar though?

Well, the guitar's serial number can be found on the back of the headstock, and will give us a lot more info on the specific guitar. The serial reads '100840548'. Definitely more complicated than '14 Gibson LP, but it also holds a lot more information.

The 1st and 5th digit of the serial number give you the year the guitar was made. So, 100840548 = 14, or 2014. We got that much from the reference ticket. the 2nd, 3rd and 4th digits reference the month and date the guitar was made according to the Julian Date system. So, 00 represents January, 01 represents February, 001 represents the 1st of January, so on, so forth.

Now then, let's look at our serial number again, now that we know how to identify the month and day...100840548. Now we know that the guitar was made on the 8th of January 2014.

The 6th digit indicates the batch. 0 represents the 1st batch made, 1 represents the 2nd batch, so on. So, looking at the serial again... 100840548 now tells us that the guitar was made on 8 January and was made in the first batch of 2014 model Les Pauls.

The 7th, 8th and 9th digits indicate the rolling production number. So, Les Paul 100840548 is the 548th guitar produced in batch 1 of the 2014 series.

Now that we know the serial number system, we can look at the guitar and identify that it is the 548th guitar in the first series of 2014 model Les Pauls, and was built on the 8th of January 2014.

Now, that's a lot more information than just ' '14 Les Paul'!! We can find a 2014 Les Paul pretty easy with something like '14 Gibson LP, but if we want to know the specifics of the guitar, we'd be able to through the serial number system, 100840548.

But, how does this even relate to this turret naming convention?

Well, as a very basic example, let's say that we had a simplified name for the turret. Strip the MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID idea down to, maybe, MID-Size (Excluding the barrel sweep diameter to further simplify it).

So, I'll use one of my turrets as an example. I would name my turret SFO-9.4.14. Someone comes along and sees my design and thinks "oh, okay! So the inset diameter is 9, it extends 4 blocks into the hull and its surface height is 14 blocks. Sweet, that'll fit my mounts!"

From here, the player knows that the turret will fit. But maybe our player wants a more in-depth idea of the turret's properties. That's where the MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID Serial Number comes in! Looking at the turret's serial number, the player gets all the info needed.

So the title of my turret is SFO-9.4.14, and its serial number would be SFO-BIP-9.4.14-CBX-A-1.

Essentially, SFO-9.4.14 is equivalent to '14 Gibson LP. You understand exactly what it means at a glance.

SFO-BIP-9.4.14-CBX-A-1 is equivalent to 100840548. Once you learn the serial number system, you can get all the info you need from it.

There are two reasons I'm suggesting the basic name / serial number naming system.

1) Players that may not know / remember the 'long' naming system can still identify turrets that will at least fit into their builds.

2) Players that do know the long system can quickly sort out which turrets may be right for them, and refer to the 'serial number' to decide which one they choose.

Anyway, sorry for the length of this idea! Hopefully there's something you can use in this big ol' wall of text, but, if not, at least you got a free lesson in Gibson guitar identification

TL/DR:

Consider having a shortened / simplified version of MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID that will give players the very basic info (such as the size dimensions) at a quick glance, so that they can then look at the 'longer' version to get all the info if they want to know more.

Secondly, I may just not quite understand the generally-known definition of ball / box turrets, but my turret designs typically have a ball encased inside a naval-style 'box' partial casing. Would that make it a 'B', a 'X' or an 'N' in the naming system? (Or a BX? )

Here's a pic:

Spoiler: Turret

Maybe consider a couple more specific combinations of B, P and X if applicable...that is, if I'm understanding the system correctly, which I'm probably not tbh lol!

Anyway, that's just my input, useless as it may be I'll let you know if I think of anything else that might be useful!

 

[DrTarDIS]

personaly, i use something like _role_weapon_weight_note for most turrets.

eg
_af_cb_920_rainbow for anti-fighter cannon-beam massing 920units with a rainbow of some sort(probably projectile colors)
_am_cc_5 for a generic anti-missile cannon-cannon massing 5 units
_ac_mpx_2k_r900 for an anti-capitol missile-pulse-explosive massing 2000 with an empty 900m radius around it's docker

 

[wizerdwolf]

Going to chip in with my newbie perspective here, I personally really like the idea, and it's definitely one I'd adopt once it's been finalised!

I'll do what I can to give a little feedback and hopefully help you flesh out this idea a bit!

My first thought is that 'WTF-PIA-11.17.16-CCO-A-1' might be a bit complex for players to get the information they want at a quick glance. That being said, that example looks very much like a serial number to me, and could possibly work as such!

So, I'll try and give you a vague idea of how that naming convention could work as a 'serial number':

Spoiler: Vague Idea

Maybe you can consider having a simplified version of your example as the main name for the turret, but have your 'MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID' example as a serial number that goes in the turret's description, or after the 'main' name, or wherever it would best fit.

I'll try and give a comparison to how this idea might work based on when I used to work in a vintage guitar shop (sorry- best comparison I can think of )

I'll spoiler it cause it's pretty lengthy, and I'll leave a TL/DR version below the spoiler.

Spoiler: Guitar Serial Comparison

Guitars on the shop floor would have a 'ticket' (basically a price tag) that had the guitar's most basic info. Lets say our hypothetical guitar is a 2014 Gibson Les Paul. The ticket would display '14 Gibson LP. What if we want to know a bit more about the specific guitar though?

Well, the guitar's serial number can be found on the back of the headstock, and will give us a lot more info on the specific guitar. The serial reads '100840548'. Definitely more complicated than '14 Gibson LP, but it also holds a lot more information.

The 1st and 5th digit of the serial number give you the year the guitar was made. So, 100840548 = 14, or 2014. We got that much from the reference ticket. the 2nd, 3rd and 4th digits reference the month and date the guitar was made according to the Julian Date system. So, 00 represents January, 01 represents February, 001 represents the 1st of January, so on, so forth.

Now then, let's look at our serial number again, now that we know how to identify the month and day...100840548. Now we know that the guitar was made on the 8th of January 2014.

The 6th digit indicates the batch. 0 represents the 1st batch made, 1 represents the 2nd batch, so on. So, looking at the serial again... 100840548 now tells us that the guitar was made on 8 January and was made in the first batch of 2014 model Les Pauls.

The 7th, 8th and 9th digits indicate the rolling production number. So, Les Paul 100840548 is the 548th guitar produced in batch 1 of the 2014 series.

Now that we know the serial number system, we can look at the guitar and identify that it is the 548th guitar in the first series of 2014 model Les Pauls, and was built on the 8th of January 2014.

Now, that's a lot more information than just ' '14 Les Paul'!! We can find a 2014 Les Paul pretty easy with something like '14 Gibson LP, but if we want to know the specifics of the guitar, we'd be able to through the serial number system, 100840548.

But, how does this even relate to this turret naming convention?

Well, as a very basic example, let's say that we had a simplified name for the turret. Strip the MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID idea down to, maybe, MID-Size (Excluding the barrel sweep diameter to further simplify it).

So, I'll use one of my turrets as an example. I would name my turret SFO-9.4.14. Someone comes along and sees my design and thinks "oh, okay! So the inset diameter is 9, it extends 4 blocks into the hull and its surface height is 14 blocks. Sweet, that'll fit my mounts!"

From here, the player knows that the turret will fit. But maybe our player wants a more in-depth idea of the turret's properties. That's where the MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID Serial Number comes in! Looking at the turret's serial number, the player gets all the info needed.

So the title of my turret is SFO-9.4.14, and its serial number would be SFO-BIP-9.4.14-CBX-A-1.

Essentially, SFO-9.4.14 is equivalent to '14 Gibson LP. You understand exactly what it means at a glance.

SFO-BIP-9.4.14-CBX-A-1 is equivalent to 100840548. Once you learn the serial number system, you can get all the info you need from it.

There are two reasons I'm suggesting the basic name / serial number naming system.

1) Players that may not know / remember the 'long' naming system can still identify turrets that will at least fit into their builds.

2) Players that do know the long system can quickly sort out which turrets may be right for them, and refer to the 'serial number' to decide which one they choose.

Anyway, sorry for the length of this idea! Hopefully there's something you can use in this big ol' wall of text, but, if not, at least you got a free lesson in Gibson guitar identification

TL/DR:

Consider having a shortened / simplified version of MID-TMP-Size-Weapons-Features-UID that will give players the very basic info (such as the size dimensions) at a quick glance, so that they can then look at the 'longer' version to get all the info if they want to know more.

Secondly, I may just not quite understand the generally-known definition of ball / box turrets, but my turret designs typically have a ball encased inside a naval-style 'box' partial casing. Would that make it a 'B', a 'X' or an 'N' in the naming system? (Or a BX? )

Here's a pic:

Spoiler: Turret

View attachment 45526

Maybe consider a couple more specific combinations of B, P and X if applicable...that is, if I'm understanding the system correctly, which I'm probably not tbh lol!

Anyway, that's just my input, useless as it may be I'll let you know if I think of anything else that might be useful!

As i've stated in a couple responses now, I will probably strip this down to just dimensions (and may revise how that part works) to make it less confusing and to require less referencing. this is not intended to work like a serial number per se, and its primary function is for figuring out what turret can fit in what spot. I'd have to scroll back up to check what your example would count as, but I think it would be box. I'll probably remove that section, though.
[doublepost=1507963327,1507963259][/doublepost]

personaly, i use something like _role_weapon_weight_note for most turrets.

eg
_af_cb_920_rainbow for anti-fighter cannon-beam massing 920units with a rainbow of some sort(probably projectile colors)
_am_cc_5 for a generic anti-missile cannon-cannon massing 5 units
_ac_mpx_2k_r900 for an anti-capitol missile-pulse-explosive massing 2000 with an empty 900m radius around it's docker

if you don't mind my asking, why specify mass instead of dimensions there?

 

[DrTarDIS]

As i've stated in a couple responses now, I will probably strip this down to just dimensions (and may revise how that part works) to make it less confusing and to require less referencing. this is not intended to work like a serial number per se, and its primary function is for figuring out what turret can fit in what spot. I'd have to scroll back up to check what your example would count as, but I think it would be box. I'll probably remove that section, though.
[doublepost=1507963327,1507963259][/doublepost]
if you don't mind my asking, why specify mass instead of dimensions there?

enhancer requirements.

 

[wizerdwolf]

enhancer requirements.

Aah, that's a good reason!