Ground Vehicle Development

[wdboyd]

Salutations,

Below is the status of AI controlled Heavy Hover Tank .def that I have developed.

The craft will remain along the ground. The AI CONTROLLED vehicles will NOT follow any assigned nav points.

A Player controlled craft will follow nav points utilizing auto nav.

The AI controlled craft will proceed in a straight line along its originally assigned direction.

SHIP

name: Ravage
display_name: Ravage
class: LCA
abrv: HHT // Heavy Hover Tank

detail_0: "Ravage.mag"
feature_0: 100
detail_1: "Ravage.mag"
feature_1: 100

mass: 95
integrity: 25e3
vlimit: 150
scale: 0.80
acs: 1

roll_drag: 95 // Very slight tilt on turning. Good effect. If none wanted, set to 100

pitch_drag: 4e2 // Keeps AI controlled HHT on the ground. Good.

yaw_drag: 4 // Kept... craft tended to climb a bit without it.

avoid_fighter: 7 // Left in due to not knowing effect it may have versus enemy air

chase: (0, -900, 300)
bridge: (00, 80, 8)

power: {
type: Fusion,
max_output: 60,

loc: (0, 20, -25),
size: 32,
hull_factor: 1.0
}

drive: {
type: Plasma, // To be made invisible in final version
thrust: 45,
scale: 0.5,
port: (00, 35, -115),

loc: (0, 30, -45),
size: 16,
hull_factor: 1.0
}

The remainder is standard LCA equpment.

I pose the question--- Is there a method to assign the AI craft to auto nav. That may solve the non navpoint following problem. Any help or insight would be appreciated. If not... we will just have to work with AI ground vehicles that only go in a straight line.

_________________

[Incendiary Lemon]

Very cool... definetly want to see that ingame [:)]

[wdboyd]

Hi,

It will be part of my upcoming static campaign update. [;)]

I had intended to have a ground assault in my recent update but I still had to work out some problems the the AI actions.

I've basically fixed that now. Boy, if I could get them to follow nav routes along the ground it would be perfect. [:D]

The one above is actually a Cartel Heavy Hover Tank... below is the Brotherhood HHT.

[wdboyd]

If ANYONE can acheive keeping a AI CONTROLLED craft along that ground AND have it follow nav routes... please share your breakthrough. [;)]

I desire to know due to my possible decision to have my upcoming hover tanks turrets movable. If the AI craft can't follow nav routes I am leaning towards creating rotating turrets for them. The downside to that is the graphic images of the HHT, outside of the acutual game, will not display the turret at all. It's a trade-off I supose.

Any brilliant solutions out there? Huummm? [:)]

[Sullrazor]

[X(] Woa, that's awesome! I was trying to figure out how to make ground vehicles...and you got it right there! Cool..[&o]

[wdboyd]

Salutations,

Begining work on a initial ground assualt mission for my static campaign.

Still setting up and playtesting my heavy hover tanks. [;)]

Looks like things might be heating up at the Tantalus mining facility. Can the Cartel ground forces hold out. Will their Task Force be able to send air reenforcements in time?

Stay tuned... same galactic time... same galactic station. [:'(]

[CnnfdrTerris]

sweet, now something to shoot at rather than AA, SAMs, and buildings. Should be interesting to watch the tanks slug it out with each other as well!

[wdboyd]

ORIGINAL: CnnfdrTerris

Should be interesting to watch the tanks slug it out with each other as well!

Unfortunately, such AI controlled ground craft don't or won't follow assigned nav routes. The simply drive straight ahead on their original assigned heading. Not firing, turning or anything else. [:(]

All I initially wanted to acheive were moving ground targets. Success. [:'(]

A good side effect of my efforts, is that a player controlled hover tank is possible. Currently a player versus player HT battles could be acheived. Or a player versus AI controlled HTs, albeit ai controlled with little capabilty other than movement.

I am continuing to experiment with my hover tank creation(s). I may discover how to remedy some of curret limitation(s).

1. We can have moveable ground targets. [:)]

2. We can drive and fight in fully capable ground vehicles. [:)]

Hey, that's a little progress.

We have to remember that Starshatter is primarily a Space ship tactical simulation. We modders are attempting to get it do what it actually wasn't created to simulate. Well, you know us modders. If it can be done.... we'll do it. At least we'll try. [:D]

PS Any help in solving these limitations by anyone would be appreciated. [;)]

[MQG]

That's what modders do. I have a dozen ground vehicles that will be used in the Star Wars mod. I think this great info...

[wdboyd]

Hi MQG,

Yes it is progress. I just want M O R E. M O R E. M O R E.... game capability. (sinister laugh). [:D]

I think the LCA hard coding is interfering with the AI following assigned nav routes. A games normal LCA seems to always attempt to gain altitude, (not crash) when it gets to a low altitude. [:)]

With my setting their altitude as zero(0) they are aparently constantly attempting to gain altitude but the .def limitation prvent them from doing so. Therein, I think, lies the dilema of the non nav point follown AI. [:(]

I've noticed that if the Hover Tank is set close enough to a target and is assigned a STRIKE versus that particular target... it will take TWO and only two shots at it and then begin farting around like normal. And even those two shot are limited by the line of fire. The tanks guns have to be almost head on to the target. [8|]

Also when assigned to a strike nav... the AI craft will come to a halt once its target has been destroyed.

Oh well, I've about run out of experiments to check out. I will simply have to use things the way they are. I'll probably keep trying though. [:D]

[Dragonlead]

wdboyd,

I think the reason your AI HT won't follow nav points is because any nav points assigned in the mission creator are going to have an altitude already assigned to them (but that you can't modify). You might need to set it up, then go back into the mission folder and check the nav coordinates and see if you can't set the Z value to 0. Have you already tried this?

V/R

[wdboyd]

Been there, done that.

The altitude value has been set to zero(0) just like buildings.

The hover tanks will perform at a higher altitude too ... 10-20 meters too. [;)]

I think I will set up a test at a much higher altitude with nav routes. If the craft follows the route then I will be right in my hard coded LCA theory. [:)]

[wdboyd]

Well, that idea is weakened.

I tested a mission at 10000 and the AI followed the route. This strengthen my contention that the problem is the low altitude with the LCA.

It has to be tied to setting the ship to NAV and or AUTO NAV.

[wdboyd]

Salutations,

OK... here is the situation. 3000 meters and above the AI controlled Hover Craft will follow assigned Nav Routes at that altitude.

At 2000 meters and below the AI controlled Hover Craft will NOT. [:)]