Inter Ship Remote

[MacThule]

Suggestion: Inter-Ship Remote logic block.

The current "Inner Ship Remote" is an Intra Ship Remote and is fantastic, but I think we really need an "Outer Ship Remote" for sending Inter-Ship commands (ie commands between docked entities and nearby ships you control). Especially now with fleets and with Bobbies responding to logic it would be great to be able to build a command ship that had that level of control over the actions of fleet members.


Examples:
-Launching specific fighter groups on the carrier in a nearby fleet
-Activating high-tech turrets and other engineering on a nearby capital ship you aren't occupying
-Initiating a self-destruct sequence on nearby ships or stations
-Opening a bay door on a station or mothership to let your shuttle in when returning from a mission


It seems like an easy step to implement, so I'm guessing the only reason we don't have one is that the resulting engineering could be unpredictably hard to balance.

EDIT: clarified suggestion based on feedback.

 

[Lerith]

Intra =/= Inter
Sure. Sounds lovely. I can Imagine me making a sniper firing squad, Or something to that effect. But, Hard to balance? I believe if anything, It would apply a new field for starmade players to veteran, Like a much more efficient general / strategist making effective battle planning something else a faction can lord over another.

 

[MacThule]

Intra =/= Inter

Did I come off as using them interchangeably? Apologies - poor composition on my part.

We have an intra ship remote (confusingly named "inner ship remote"). My suggestion is for addition of an inter ship remote. This is why both appear in my OP.

It would apply a new field for starmade players to veteran, Like a much more efficient general / strategist making effective battle planning something else a faction can lord over another.

Exactly.

I can think of a few on-board functions I'd like to be able to control remotely on nearby fleet ships if I had a good enough pilot for my battleship or carrier to allow me to at least partly focus on directing fleet and turret activities to optimize effectiveness.

 

[jayman38]

The OP looks more like a general comment than a suggestion. It could use some more detail. (Suggested range, linking requirements, etc.)

Add non-combat usages to improve likelihood of implementation. (E.g. Have my ship, which is ready to dock, able to send a remote signal to open the space station doors when in the same sector.)

 

[lupoCani]

Is the inter-ship remote not the wireless logic block already?

 

[Deleted member 678402]

um, the wireless logic block does exactly this.

 

[Lone_Puppy]

Is the inter-ship remote not the wireless logic block already?

Exactly what I was thinking.

MacThule, are you wanting something that can operate outside the limits of a sector? The wireless logic block would provide you exactly what you want within the same sector.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

Is the inter-ship remote not the wireless logic block already?

Yeah. It's the wireless.

It's best if OP learns to use the wireless block. You can pull off all kinds of cool stuff with it including what's in the original suggestion.

 

[DevajC]

Yeah. It's the wireless.

It's best if OP learns to use the wireless block. You can pull off all kinds of cool stuff with it including what's in the original suggestion.

I dont think wireless logic can deploy specific groups of fighters/bring them back and activate/deactivate specific turrets. Correct me if im wrong. This feature would be amazing though I would love to be a space commander instead of just constantly flying a ship!

 

[lupoCani]

Well, you can activate specific turrets, now that AI takes logic input. Not so for fighter recall, though.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

I dont think wireless logic can deploy specific groups of fighters/bring them back and activate/deactivate specific turrets. Correct me if im wrong. This feature would be amazing though I would love to be a space commander instead of just constantly flying a ship!

- You can actually launch different fighter groups (on different ships) using wireless logic. I was experimenting with this before the power rework was announced. With or without logic, the fleet command "carrier recall" is the only way to automatically reclaim fighters on any ship; including your own".

- All my ships fitted with turrets and/or modular weapons are set up in a way can track an enemy but NOT fire until I "turn the safeties off". I could also activate one, multiple or all turrets depending on my logic setup.

Early tests with this setup were promising but I have not yet tested the maximum range of the wireless block. I think what we're looking for is better fleet commands rather than reinventing ship to ship logic.

 

[DevajC]

- You can actually launch different fighter groups (on different ships) using wireless logic. I was experimenting with this before the power rework was announced. With or without logic, the fleet command "carrier recall" is the only way to automatically reclaim fighters on any ship; including your own".

- All my ships fitted with turrets and/or modular weapons are set up in a way can track an enemy but NOT fire until I "turn the safeties off". I could also activate one, multiple or all turrets depending on my logic setup.

Early tests with this setup were promising but I have not yet tested the maximum range of the wireless block. I think what we're looking for is better fleet commands rather than reinventing ship to ship logic.

How do you do both of these things?? Show me your magic

 

[StormWing0]

Inner Ship Remote + Wireless Block = Inter Ship Remote.

Now as for the carrier logic for deploying fleets from several carriers nearby that's easy to do if the main carrier is the one sending the signals. Been working on it for a while but can't do much until they fix mining fleets and how fleets try to re-dock to the main ships. >.>

 

[Lord_Greyscale]

We have an intra ship remote (confusingly named "inner ship remote").

Just chiming in to say that YES, we do need a proper remote for out-of-ship actions.

And that the existing name is not confusing at all, once you remember the opposite word from Inner: ... Outer.

As in, the Inner-Ship remote controls things Inside the ship, and the Outer-Ship remote would control crap outside the ship in which the remote is located.

Effectively, you want a Wireless logic block, that can be used from the hotbar.
If I remember right, you need 3 blocks on the parent to actually "talk" to some other entity's logic.
The inner-ship remote, an activator as a middleman, and the wireless.
Because for some god-forsaken reason, the inner-ship remote can only activate buttons and activators, instead of working as an activator.


I do too, and so I like.

 

[StormWing0]

Just chiming in to say that YES, we do need a proper remote for out-of-ship actions.

And that the existing name is not confusing at all, once you remember the opposite word from Inner: ... Outer.

As in, the Inner-Ship remote controls things Inside the ship, and the Outer-Ship remote would control crap outside the ship in which the remote is located.

Effectively, you want a Wireless logic block, that can be used from the hotbar.
If I remember right, you need 3 blocks on the parent to actually "talk" to some other entity's logic.
The inner-ship remote, an activator as a middleman, and the wireless.
Because for some god-forsaken reason, the inner-ship remote can only activate buttons and activators, instead of working as an activator.


I do too, and so I like.

Nope only two blocks are needed, Inner-Ship Remote + Wireless on the sending player controlled entity and a receiver wireless on the one getting the signal. Now if you're sending to whole fleets it could be a problem since the wireless block doesn't have a multi-targeting feature yet. >.>

Unless there's a bug at the moment causing the remote to not like other logic blocks.

 

[Dr. Whammy]

How do you do both of these things?? Show me your magic

On your command ship/main carrier: You can setup a logic button for each fighter to make it launch. Mine typically consist of an Inner-ship remote that connects to an activation module. That activation module changes the rails to launch the fighter then changes the rails from undocking/launch mode back to landing/docking mode. This way, one push of the remote creates a system that toggles between launch and retrieve.

To set this up,
- Build your ship with all your rails leading in the direction of the RAIL BASIC that holds your fighter. This should be the original launch point of the fighter.
- Start with an ACT (activation module) and a REMOTE. Slave them to each other. The ACT should connect to the RAIL BASIC that holds your fighter to send it along its launch path and out toward Shootout rails.
- Select the ACT by pressing the "C" key then slave a NOT signal to it using the "V" key on the NOT.
- Using the C - V select slave method, slave a DELAY to the NOT.
- Create a sequential chain of DELAYs by slaving a 2nd DELAY to the 1st, slaving a 3rd to the 2nd, a 4th to the 3rd and so on. Each DELAY adds a half of a second to your logic chain before resetting it back to normal.
Slave a BUTTON to your last DELAY in the chain then slave the original ACT to this button.

The result: You get a one-push system in which you press the REMOTE which causes the ACT to launch the fighter, while simultaneously triggering a chain of DELAYS, after which the BUTTON resets the original ACT and your REMOTE. All you have to do is use the "Carrier Recall command and the fighter will return.


For Multiple fighters: Repeat the above process for every fighter launch point and you will end up with a remote for each fighter. You can set a remote to launch a whole squadron by slaving it to one of the single launch remotes from the above process then slaving that remote back to it. Then you end up with a group-launch remote that reverts all launch rails back to landing mode. Once again, carrier recall is used to dock those fighters back to your carrier.

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For multiple carriers: This example assumes you've setup your launch/land logic correctly on all carriers and you are letting the logic on each individual ship control launching and docking. For this example, you will pilot the "Enterprise" and you're in a carrier battle group with carriers; "Washington" and "Jefferson". You want the ability to launch your fighters, either Washington's or Jefferson's fighters or ALL fighters from all three ships.

To set up launching from a second carrier:
- Before you do anything else, make sure that each carrier is in its own fleet and is set to bet the flagship. This is a limitation of the current fleet command system.
- On the Enterprise; place a REMOTE and a WIRELESS signal on the carrier you're flying and slave them to each other. You can name your REMOTE "Washington".
- Go to the Washington then place a WIRELESS. Slave it to the Washington's REMOTE that launches ALL of its fighters, then slave that REMOTE back to the WIRELESS you just placed. Link the WIRELESS blocks between Enterprise and Washington.

The result; When you activate the "Washington" remote, from Enterprise, the Washington will launch its fighters then return its rails to landing mode. Use carrier recall on Washington's fleet to dock its fighters. Follow these steps to do the same with Jefferson.

To set up an all out fighter swarm where ALL fighters scramble from ALL carriers:
- Follow the instructions for multiple carriers then, on the Enterprise create a REMOTE. Create one WIRELESS signal for every carrier in your armada. Slave them all to the REMOTE and slave the REMOTE to each of them. The remote should active all the new wireless blocks.
- On Washington: Place a new WIRELESS block. Slave it to Washington's REMOTE then slave the REMOTE back to the WIRELESS you just placed.
- Do the exact same thing to Jefferson and every other carrier you add after that.

The result; You'll end up with each carrier being the flagship of its own fleet; capable of launching its own fighters via logic installed on your ship then retrieving them using the fleet command "Carrier recall" on each carrier. You can launch from one carrier at a time or launch everything at once depending on how in depth you want to get.

Caveat: This whole process can get kinda tricky and gets increasingly logic-heavy with each carrier you add, so it's crucial that you keep your REMOTE and WIRELESS connections organized. Naming is every bit as important as location and slaving to avoid sending your WIRELESS signals to the wrong ships. My tests went fine but this process WILL require experimentation on your part, since sector sizes (and possibly wireless range) may differ on each PC/server. You may find that a ship that is visually close to you may not respond to your launch commands due to sector differences and range limitations.

Good luck

EDIT: You should make extensive use of the hotbar so you can cycle through the remotes controlling your different launch options like weapons.

 

[Star-Boy]

You can do all this with the wireless logic blocks.