- Joined
- Jun 7, 2013
- Messages
- 403
- Reaction score
- 67
Living world: NPC Ship designation and role settings, AI
This feature may be somewhat ahead of the time, given the degree of development but it actually could be implemented already and some basic version of it would be requiring only a bit more code for blueprint categorization. The AI part itself after the categorization is made would probably need more work if ships are actually to behave well, but that could come with time.
Currently, ownership and rights can be set for the different factions, but the game still chooses ships haphazardly when it comes to NPC ones, especially when there are civilian ships added for the sake of the immersion. It may lead to pirates 'attacking' with single support ships and traders asking cargo freighters for defense.
I'd like to request implementation of context menu that would allow easy access to set not only which faction has access rights to some blueprint, but also what is the role of the ship. Just a few simple ones would fit almost every niche:
Attack:
Defense:
Salvage:
Maintenance:
Civilian vessels:
Additionally, in regards to settings, I'd appreciate being able to actually set on the turret which factions it is to shoot at by default even when not itself disturbed and target factions are not hostiles. And I'd like to request turret AI being settable also from ship's control/core as long as the turret is attached.
I think that would be enough to - more or less - fit all ship design needs and a great groundwork for whatever worlds, factions and other creations players would attempt to make.
Fun fact: I already have blueprints for ships for every category from the listed, sometimes even with some differences depending on faction (differently painted attack drones for traders and pirates etc) waiting patiently for the day - even if it's far away from now - when Starmade's world will become a bit more alive. As well as serving as cannon fodder to shoot at when I test other designs.
This feature may be somewhat ahead of the time, given the degree of development but it actually could be implemented already and some basic version of it would be requiring only a bit more code for blueprint categorization. The AI part itself after the categorization is made would probably need more work if ships are actually to behave well, but that could come with time.
Currently, ownership and rights can be set for the different factions, but the game still chooses ships haphazardly when it comes to NPC ones, especially when there are civilian ships added for the sake of the immersion. It may lead to pirates 'attacking' with single support ships and traders asking cargo freighters for defense.
I'd like to request implementation of context menu that would allow easy access to set not only which faction has access rights to some blueprint, but also what is the role of the ship. Just a few simple ones would fit almost every niche:
Attack:
- Ships that actually are to target the enemy and may be fast enough to attempt to pursue him. For example roaming pirate fleets (no more slow, slow barges getting mixed into pirate raid parties), escort ships.
- Some sort of weapon controls module (AMC, missiles) together with corresponding launchers/emitters required.
Defense:
- Ships that don't need to be overly fast as much as they are to pack a punch for the sake of holding certain location. Currently, those would be shop defenders (speaking of which it would be nice if there'd be token security already by the shop for quick reaction to any hostilities).
- Some sort of weapon controls module (AMC, missiles) together with corresponding launchers/emitters required.
Salvage:
- Generic ship except AI knows to not try to send them into battle but fluff-wise spawn some from time to time near neutral space station, some leftover wrecks, maybe some mined asteroid (maybe one day we'll have mining platforms with asteroids being part of them? They could be fluffily mined - as in, without ship actually getting any resources when shooting a beam - for the sake of looks).
- Could be also actually working salvagers if in the future there will be NPC naval battles or as scavengers spawning, then checking leftovers from player skirmishes in more populated regions of space, scavenging and flying to shops/station docks where they'd despawn.
- Run away for a short bit if fired upon, then return to their tasks.
- Salvager controls module and beam emitters required to set this class.
Maintenance:
- Generic ships which instead of being used for battle, may spawn near station and tend to it's damage as well as the damage of allied ships. Possibly, through a bit of cheating they would restore - very slowly - blocks of the station that were totally destroyed (and only of the station) - but only if the attackers are far away (1000m?) or neutralized.
- Run away for a short bit if fired upon, then return to their tasks.
- Astrotech controls module and beam emitters required to set this class.
Civilian vessels:
- Those ships just travel from neutral or friendly station to other neutral or friendly stations, possibly docking with every one of them for a minute if possible (they're of size fitting for the docking) and hanging around for as long if not.
- Cargo freighters, shuttles, transporters, research ships - all of those fit the category
- Run away to the nearest friendly station if attacked, also high possibility of spawning bunch of that station's faction attack ships to pursue the attackers.
- After reaching certain threshold of worth (calculated by determining ship's price and combinging it with possible cargo worth it may have) it spawns being escorted by token amount of smaller attack ships (I realize escorting may be tricky, probably those would be just ships that choose the same station to fly to as the vessel they escort, except that if they get far away they get back to within certain distance boundaries from the escorted - they also act the same when attacking a target which would be shared among all of them, even if only one ship of the group is fired upon). Escorting ships respawn near the escorted vessel if said vessel reaches/docks with the station and also safely departs.
- Would be nice to have another NPC faction - civilians - for those guys, so they could have 'police' ships used for battle and not rely on other faction's vessels.
Additionally, in regards to settings, I'd appreciate being able to actually set on the turret which factions it is to shoot at by default even when not itself disturbed and target factions are not hostiles. And I'd like to request turret AI being settable also from ship's control/core as long as the turret is attached.
I think that would be enough to - more or less - fit all ship design needs and a great groundwork for whatever worlds, factions and other creations players would attempt to make.
Fun fact: I already have blueprints for ships for every category from the listed, sometimes even with some differences depending on faction (differently painted attack drones for traders and pirates etc) waiting patiently for the day - even if it's far away from now - when Starmade's world will become a bit more alive. As well as serving as cannon fodder to shoot at when I test other designs.
