Improvements to the AI Module: Fire Control

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    Simply just some reasoned suggestions to improve AI fired weaponry groups and add more flexibility.
    With the weapon update around the corner, this seemed like a prime time to make some other minor weaponry related improvements.
    The goal of this suggestion is to reduce the entity count required due to 1 AI Module per, and add more options per module while making it a fun system to play around.





    In this example we have a single entity with 3 fixed weapon groups. The player can fire the forward weapons, while 1 AI controls the Right fixed weapons, and one AI controls the Left fixed weapons.

    Currently either the AI has full control or the player has full control over them. You cannot change this without adding on more entities.
    With Fire Control: Various Weapon groups can be set under control of various AI or the player. You could even have multiple AIs set up and move them between your weapon groups via the press of a button.



    What do you guys think? Would something along these lines be a welcome addition following the weapons update?

    Some closing thoughts:
    -Far less entities are required for ships with large weapon arrays. (Thus less lag, better performance).
    -AI should have processors to calculate vectors and firing solutions. These don't need to be big, but if they get shot out the AI will no longer be-able to control them and the weapons will deactivate (until a new AI is assigned). There could be a message pop up for this (potientialy a new HUD display is added which provides a feed of whats happening to your ship. E.g <<AI X destroyed, Weapons X offline>> so you can keep track of whats happening and do damage control to keep your ship fighting.
    -Can be used in a variety of situations, including turrets. Now the AI would actualy have a brain, rather than a single block that can be shot out.
    -Draws inspiration from Battleships with large rows of machinery dedicated to providing and calculating a firing solution for the connected guns.
     
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    The AI in general needs a complete overhaul but whether this will slot into the weapons update or not is anyone's guess. However, I agree that the two are not exclusive to each other.

    As I suggested in the Q&A thread, having the ability to target specific systems or give some kind of priority to targets would help to make battles a more tactical affair rather than who brought the biggest stick.

    This idea falls in this category as you are able to define roles to your ships weapons. When attacking a station for example, some weapons could be set to attack the station structure, some to target the turrets and some to target enemy fighters.

    AMS turrets could benefit from a target priority setting. So, if the enemy doesn't bring missiles to the fight they will direct their firepower towards enemy ships for example.

    Thinking about it though, I guess that this idea will probably fall under crew. You could assign a crew member to operate portside weapons and then give this person basic instructions much like this.
     
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    Combine this system with 45, 180 and 270 degree weapon emitters with some drawbacks for increased arc and we'd never have to deal with turret issues ever again.
     
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    Crimson-Artist

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    we definitely need some new AI improvements but since docked entities will no longer fly off their host entity when the rail they were docked to gets destroyed I'm not sure how useful this will be.
     
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    we definitely need some new AI improvements but since docked entities will no longer fly off their host entity when the rail they were docked to gets destroyed I'm not sure how useful this will be.
    Where did you see this?
     
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    Where did you see this?
    Read the News posts^^
    Although because the devs were ****** in the head for a bit they stopped posting on the offcial News Forum. They missed a couple of updates, including the changes to docked entities.
     

    Crimson-Artist

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    Where did you see this?
    It was part of the News post announcing the power 2.0 update near the bottom talking about the weapon update.

    Docks and Physics
    Docks have always been a performance problem, especially with internal docked structures coming loose if its rail was destroyed.

    Entities will not undock anymore if their rail docker, or the rail it is docked to, is destroyed.

    Instead, that entity simply does not get power inherited anymore or at least get penalties to it, preferably something that scales more dynamic.

    You can still undock those entities manually ,as the hotbar undocking is global and still usable. The entities who lost their rail, will also have it displayed in their name and have a different signature colour, so it should be easy to find them after a battle.
     
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