AI controlled phasers without turrets?

[alterintel]

Star Trek ships don't have turrets. And if I put decent size turrets that could handle pirate fighters, it totally takes away from the look of the ship. Would it be possible to attach AI blocks to my main weapons on the mother ship, and have them target and fire at enemy fighters? Of course the weapon arc would have to be limited because the weapons don't move.

Thoughts?

 

[shadowulf]

It is not possible currently, however, I'd reccomend creating turrets that complement your ships shape, and with rails being docking now you can integrate these turrets into the hull. For example, one of my future projects will have single axis turrets integrated into the wings. Second, logic systems trigger weapons that don't move, so that could increase your weapons fired without you firing them manually. That being said, however, it would be interesting to see internal weapons AI controlled.

 

[Valiant70]

On larger ships, such a system would be too powerful. The smaller ships in the Star Trek universe have the same problem smaller Starmade ships have. They just get creamed too easily. That's realistic, but annoying in a game. Cones of fire are too large already, making it impossible for small, fast ships to strafe out of a larger ship's line of fire.

That said, it sounds cool in a way, and I think it's actually possible right now. With the current wide angle of fire, you might be able to just put a non-moving turret flush with the hull of your ship. Unless your lighting is particularly bad, it should look fine. The downside is that you need more phaser banks than turrets to cover the same area. The advantage is that there's always something pointing in each direction.

I think the best solution is a configurable cone of fire from the muzzle of a weapon. Most servers will probably use a small one for balance reasons, while Trekkie servers would crank that thing wide open so AI-controlled phaser banks can fire 180 degrees or so.

 

[jayman38]

Star Trek ships don't have turrets. And if I put decent size turrets that could handle pirate fighters, it totally takes away from the look of the ship. Would it be possible to attach AI blocks to my main weapons on the mother ship, and have them target and fire at enemy fighters? Of course the weapon arc would have to be limited because the weapons don't move.

Thoughts?

Don't let the Next Generation or those smooth hulls fool you. They needed to invent technomagic "phaser arrays" to keep TV budgets under control, and the high-money movies show turrets that apparently pop up from underneath hull plates. Behold: