First, sorry if this has popped up before.
Second. Sorry if my inexperience in coding has me believing this is easier than it looks.
Third: The point of this thread
In my experience so far with the AI system in game, drones seem to be rather basic in utility and in that case mostly useless except in huge numbers. The proposition here is that we add a few systems that would maybe take up one mothership system and sync with the bobbies.
Second. Sorry if my inexperience in coding has me believing this is easier than it looks.
Third: The point of this thread
In my experience so far with the AI system in game, drones seem to be rather basic in utility and in that case mostly useless except in huge numbers. The proposition here is that we add a few systems that would maybe take up one mothership system and sync with the bobbies.
Additions:
- Strike Team ID/Rank
This would be a system with which the Bobbies would identify themselves and others whom they would be working with. The rank part would let the Bobby know if he was supposed to lead the pack or not. Higher ranked Bobbies would make non-essential decisions such as primary target for their fire group while hopefully taking into account size of targets/possible re-enforcements.- Flight Lead = Leads the horde, gives directives to next rank
- Fire Group Lead = decides which directive is most important and gives the order to their specific fire group.
- Pilot = The grunts who follow the orders.
- Fire Group Setting
This is where you would set the role of a Bobby. !Multiple Bobby roles may be in one Strike Team! Example roles would be something like- Interceptor: Targets enemies under X weight. Would be used as an escort type drone.
- Attacker: Targets enemies between X weight and Y weight. Also targets turrets.
- Bomber: Assaults the primary ship/station on which turrets may be docked. Attacks strictly above X weight unless otherwise directed to.
- Miner/Salvage: Non Combatant that would target asteroids or uninhabited planets, or destroyed vessels in the case of Salvage.
- Medic: Semi-Combatant as it would be in a combat zone but not attacking of its own accord. Would be using repair and recharge systems.
- Recon: (I'm not sure if the scan system would let this work) Non offensive combatant [fights in defense only]. Its goal is to scan an area in advance for a main fleet. It would then return with the scan results.
- Turret Preference Settings
Technically this exists in our current turrets the settings being to shoot whatever, at missiles, or at the target of the main vessel. Ideally the options available here in this version would be; Capital (Above Y weight), ASC (Anti-Strike Craft, targets enemy drones specifically or under X weight), AM (Anti-Missile), 'Other' (for dealing with ships that don't fit the Capital or Strike Craft designation
Strike Team:
In a strike team the Bobbies would work cooperatively in an attempt to mimic the teamwork of a real world fighter squadron. Realistically the Bobbies would have great difficulties trying to get all the details of squad warfare down so they work with a few things; Target Designation, Allied Conditions/Combat Worthyness, and "Who needs help". Under this the primary target would be declared to the bobbies by a player in the carrier. Flight Lead would take into account the ships around the enemy ship and tell the Fire Group Leads what needs to be dead first. They would in turn give lists of targets to the Pilots in their fire group.
EXAMPLE: the Player directs their swarm at an enemy carrier. Flight Lead Bobby checks the entity listing around the target and finds drones, turrets, and a few escort ships that don't fit the Capital class. He directs his interceptor lead to mark the drones for the pilots, while telling the Attacker lead to mark turrets and medium escorts for the attackers and so on. The Pilots of the interceptor type ships then decide who to go after based on threat to (in this order), the carrier first, flight lead second, attackers/bombers third, other allies forth. Attacker pilots would follow, Med. Escorts, Turrets, Lrg. Targets. Bombers would only be told to go after Capital ships or Player Targets, attacking anything smaller only if there is nothing else left.
Take Off/Landing:
The biggest issue I have with designing a good, focused carrier is that internal hangars (and docking in general) don't work with our current drones. Upon receiving the order however with this system, Bobbies would follow invisible beacons that would be built into the carrier to guide them. The beacons on take off would lead the Bobbies out of the hangars (where they would wait for the rest of the strike team in an orbital flight path around the carrier, UNLESS, the take off was a scramble order in which case the drones targeting is as it is under our current system until flight leads take off and mark targets.) On landing orders, the Beacons would guide the Bobbies back into hangars and to empty docking pads. Docking pads would inform the beacon system that they were in use by logic. If the Carrier is moving too fast for the drones to be able to effectively land or take off (IE if the carrier as at 80% of server's max speed or higher), the drones cancel the order and a message requesting the carrier to slow down is displayed to the player. (this is to prevent ugly crashes in the hangars)
In a strike team the Bobbies would work cooperatively in an attempt to mimic the teamwork of a real world fighter squadron. Realistically the Bobbies would have great difficulties trying to get all the details of squad warfare down so they work with a few things; Target Designation, Allied Conditions/Combat Worthyness, and "Who needs help". Under this the primary target would be declared to the bobbies by a player in the carrier. Flight Lead would take into account the ships around the enemy ship and tell the Fire Group Leads what needs to be dead first. They would in turn give lists of targets to the Pilots in their fire group.
EXAMPLE: the Player directs their swarm at an enemy carrier. Flight Lead Bobby checks the entity listing around the target and finds drones, turrets, and a few escort ships that don't fit the Capital class. He directs his interceptor lead to mark the drones for the pilots, while telling the Attacker lead to mark turrets and medium escorts for the attackers and so on. The Pilots of the interceptor type ships then decide who to go after based on threat to (in this order), the carrier first, flight lead second, attackers/bombers third, other allies forth. Attacker pilots would follow, Med. Escorts, Turrets, Lrg. Targets. Bombers would only be told to go after Capital ships or Player Targets, attacking anything smaller only if there is nothing else left.
Take Off/Landing:
The biggest issue I have with designing a good, focused carrier is that internal hangars (and docking in general) don't work with our current drones. Upon receiving the order however with this system, Bobbies would follow invisible beacons that would be built into the carrier to guide them. The beacons on take off would lead the Bobbies out of the hangars (where they would wait for the rest of the strike team in an orbital flight path around the carrier, UNLESS, the take off was a scramble order in which case the drones targeting is as it is under our current system until flight leads take off and mark targets.) On landing orders, the Beacons would guide the Bobbies back into hangars and to empty docking pads. Docking pads would inform the beacon system that they were in use by logic. If the Carrier is moving too fast for the drones to be able to effectively land or take off (IE if the carrier as at 80% of server's max speed or higher), the drones cancel the order and a message requesting the carrier to slow down is displayed to the player. (this is to prevent ugly crashes in the hangars)
Guidance Beacons
Invisible blocks that would be placed while building the carrier. They would not be destroyable and would be an infinite resource from the advanced build system. They as their name suggests, guide the bobbies in for landings and take offs.
Drone Director
The Drone Director would act as a weapon computer requiring only to have a Strike Team assigned to it. The Strike Team could then be ordered to attack certain targets via "firing" at the desired enemy craft, or be called in for landing/take off/scramble using an alternate fire to switch between the modes
Invisible blocks that would be placed while building the carrier. They would not be destroyable and would be an infinite resource from the advanced build system. They as their name suggests, guide the bobbies in for landings and take offs.
Drone Director
The Drone Director would act as a weapon computer requiring only to have a Strike Team assigned to it. The Strike Team could then be ordered to attack certain targets via "firing" at the desired enemy craft, or be called in for landing/take off/scramble using an alternate fire to switch between the modes
- "Land" which would direct the drones to dock,
- "Take off" which would launch the drones out into a holding pattern until the whole strike team is launched, at which point they engage,
- "Scramble" which would rush the drones out into automatic engagement
