Implemented Weapon, Shield, and Effect config server-side

[Cheapskate]

One of the things I know I'd be most interested to see [just below AI fleet controls] is server-side config to manipulate weapons, ships, and effect modules.

I've noticed that there's been a lot of tweaking going on within StarMade. Cannons nerfed, cannons un-nerfed, weapon effects, missiles nerfed, missiles un-nerfed, etc. This got me thinking, why not allow server owners to configure their own weapons, shields, and effects? Sci-fi is such a broad spectrum with so many variants that it's hard to bring everything under a single system.
Personally, I come from the SNES/arcade shooter era where it's one-shot kill or be killed with fighters [Strike Gunner STG, for example]. In earlier versions of StarMade, I had a good time taking out other fighters and ships that were a bit larger than I was. However, recent developments has made that impossible. Destroying enemy ships with a ship of equal tonnage takes quite a while in most cases. ships of higher tonnage is practically impossible.
With server-side weapon, shield, effect, ect config, Admins and single-players coming from every sci-fi background can tune their game play experience to their own favorite sci-fi universes, whether it be Star Trek, Star Wars, Gundam, Firefly, StarGate, etc.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Megacrafter127]

edit the BlockBehaviourConfig.xml in the "data/config" folder accordingly.
Unless this is about expanding what is already possible by editing that file.

 

[Ixalite]

This already exists! Server operators can alter the server-side "Block config" and "Block Behavior config" files.

These are not easy to use, but by no means impossible. Server owners can alter not only the performance of individual weapons, but weapons combinations as well.

Someday, in the future, I may re-launch the old RP server I used to run. I have been keeping up with the game's growth, but I don't think it has the features I want quite yet. (mostly I want better AI). As to one-shot killing, SNES style, I don't think I would stand for that style of modification; However what I have built on my personal test machine is a "Role Based" ship balance system. With weapons breaking down into "Small, Medium, Large, and Captial" designations, their damage and power performance will be balanced to fit their roles. You could expect to instantly kill a small ship with a capital class weapon, assuming you could hit it.

Things to look for if you like my ideas:
1. Bombers as an effective strategy (PLURAL BOMBERS)
2. Armor blocks as an effective defense against all but highest tier weapons.
3. Boarding.
4. Power based attack as effective strategy.
5. Docked power supplies.
6. complicated logic systems.

Things NOT to look for:
1. Huge arrays of weapon blocks.
2. Shields as only defensive strategy.
3. Easy Solo Pirate hunting.
4. Common, reparable space stations. (I plan to flood the space stations folder with chunks of wreckage or asteroids unless we get some control over station spawn frequency)

 

[Planr]

You can already do this in the block config file OP. Although I do not recommend it because it tends to break ships if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[Cheapskate]

Wow guys, thanks for the intuitive and dang near instant replies. I didn't know about the block config file!

This already exists! Server operators can alter the server-side "Block config" and "Block Behavior config" files.

These are not easy to use, but by no means impossible. Server owners can alter not only the performance of individual weapons, but weapons combinations as well.

Someday, in the future, I may re-launch the old RP server I used to run. I have been keeping up with the game's growth, but I don't think it has the features I want quite yet. (mostly I want better AI). As to one-shot killing, SNES style, I don't think I would stand for that style of modification; However what I have built on my personal test machine is a "Role Based" ship balance system. With weapons breaking down into "Small, Medium, Large, and Captial" designations, their damage and power performance will be balanced to fit their roles. You could expect to instantly kill a small ship with a capital class weapon, assuming you could hit it.

Things to look for if you like my ideas:
1. Bombers as an effective strategy (PLURAL BOMBERS)
2. Armor blocks as an effective defense against all but highest tier weapons.
3. Boarding.
4. Power based attack as effective strategy.
5. Docked power supplies.
6. complicated logic systems.

Things NOT to look for:
1. Huge arrays of weapon blocks.
2. Shields as only defensive strategy.
3. Easy Solo Pirate hunting.
4. Common, reparable space stations. (I plan to flood the space stations folder with chunks of wreckage or asteroids unless we get some control over station spawn frequency)

If you can control performance, one-hit kills aren't really out of the question [though, my own personal one-hit kill style is mostly for myself on my single player maps, and not for servers. It was just an example, though].

What kinds of things can you change via the block config? I was mostly thinking of a weapon's piercing/radius [cannons, missiles, etc], shield strength and power drain, hull strength, and weapon power drain and rate of fire.

 

[Ixalite]

The config files allow for NEARLY full control over all settings. Last I checked there were issues with beams doing damage per tick vs damage per second. While you CAN impose effectiveness curves (1 block does 1 damage, 5 blocks do 4 damage, 10 blocks do 7 damage sort of thing) or set a flat rate of damage (Every missile no matter what size does exactly 100 damage) these require some trial and error. You can add effects to happen automatically, and you can adjust power usage. You can fully (but confusingly) adjust power generation and storage, as well as shield generation and storage.

 

[Cheapskate]

The config files allow for NEARLY full control over all settings. Last I checked there were issues with beams doing damage per tick vs damage per second. While you CAN impose effectiveness curves (1 block does 1 damage, 5 blocks do 4 damage, 10 blocks do 7 damage sort of thing) or set a flat rate of damage (Every missile no matter what size does exactly 100 damage) these require some trial and error. You can add effects to happen automatically, and you can adjust power usage. You can fully (but confusingly) adjust power generation and storage, as well as shield generation and storage.

Neat! Is there some kind of program or tutorial out there that can help me edit these files? I opened BlockBehaviors in open office but to no avail.

 

[kiraen]

It's xml, any basic text editor should work.
Notepad, wordpad, I like notepad++, but there are others.
Anything that doesn't save formatting, I think.

 

[Valck]

edit the BlockBehaviourConfig.xml in the "data/config" folder accordingly.
Unless this is about expanding what is already possible by editing that file.

Is there a safe way to persist the modifications over game updates?
AFAICT almost all the config .XMLs get overwritten on every update, and having to manually edit more than just one or two changes, and factoring in any new or modified entries, is tedious and most of all, error prone.

 

[Megacrafter127]

Look inside the CustomBlockConfig folder for that possibility regarding the BlockConfig.xml
Sadly, this does not exist for the BlockBehaviourConfig.xml yet.

 

[Valck]

Look inside the CustomBlockConfig folder for that possibility regarding the BlockConfig.xml
Sadly, this does not exist for the BlockBehaviourConfig.xml yet.

Thank you. This is very much what I found so far, too.