Help with DEF parameters

[Kuokkanen]

What exactly does self_aiming ?

Damage of the shot seem to be reduced over distance. Is there parameter which allows shot to do maximum damage at maximum distance?

I assume parameter hull_factor: 0.6 mean that subsystem has 60% hitpoints of the ship. Is this correct? If it isn't, what is HP of the subsystem?

What effects have shield parameters type: 1, type: 2 and shield_factor when shield_capacitor: true ?

Is it possible make starship start mission with full loaded shield (very slow recharge rate)?

[TheDeadlyShoe]

well...didnt we have this thread already?

hull factor..does it really matter? just fiddle with it until it seems right.

What effects have shield parameters type: 1, type: 2 and shield_factor when shield_capacitor: true ?

have you tried it? what results?

I will cut n paste from the previous thread..

Mehrunes:
Shield_factor is multiplied by damage to determine how much damage passes on to the hull. So a value of 1 (or higher, although it's clamped at 1) means the shield doesn't absorb any damage at all at full power.

So the obvious answer is that shield factor does zilch with a capacitor shield. Type is I think an outdated parameter, as i recall it differentiated between the weak freighter shields and the military shields. (basically...shield factor)

Self aiming... what kind of weapon are you using it on? for the most part you just leave it at true, unless you're defining a Primary weapon which is supposed to be skill based, like a fighter's main guns. It causes the AI to futz with your aim in order to score a hit. Example: X-Lasers on a Destroy are self aiming, so even though you arnt pointing directly at someone theyll adjust and hit. Altho beam weapons might do that anyway. *shrug*

However, the bolt guns on a Stormhawk are not, and require manual lineups to hit.

That's how I understand/use it. I mostly fiddle with capital ships, tho...

[Kuokkanen]

I have bulk freighter which integrity is 30000. I attack with TIE Fighter's 2 laser cannons which makes total 200 points of damage (100 per cannon). I hit fire eight times and freighter is destroyed. That is 16 laser hits to hull and max of 1600 damage (effectiveness of the shot is reduced over distance). Why freighter blows up so early?

Freighter has also shield but it recharges very slowly so we can assume it has no effect. Is there any way to start mission with full shield?

Also some more reasonable answers to my 1st post. TheDeadlyShoe doesn't seem to know anything he is talking about.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Don't be an ass. I can't help you if you arn't willing to listen.

As for your TIE cannons- Damage is multiplied by the Charge the gun is fired with. (This is why Minimum Charge is included). This can often cause guns to do more damage than expected....

[Mehrunes]

ORIGINAL: TheDeadlyShoe

As for your TIE cannons- Damage is multiplied by the Charge the gun is fired with. (This is why Minimum Charge is included). This can often cause guns to do more damage than expected....

Damage is equal to (Damage*Charge*Lifetime)*(1.0 - (Time in flight/Lifetime)) for bolt weapons to be precise.

I assume parameter hull_factor: 0.6 mean that subsystem has 60% hitpoints of the ship. Is this correct? If it isn't, what is HP of the subsystem?

Subsystems don't have hitpoints in the general sense. Damage is multiplied by hull_factor and the result is applied somehow to the subsystem's components. You'll have to ask milo for a more specific answer.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Mehrunes

You'll have to ask milo for a more specific answer.

Since it looks like he don't read this sub-forum, I e-mail him.

[John DiCamillo]

What exactly does self_aiming ?

Self aiming weapons can aim themselves at their targets. If self_aiming is set to false, the weapon can only fire straight ahead. It is usually better to set self_aiming to true and just use smaller aim basket parameters to simulate fixed weapons.

Almost all of the built-in weapons in Starshatter have self_aiming set to true, even the fighter guns. The only exceptions are the Rocket and Recon pods, which have self-aiming set to false. The reason for this is because those weapons have turrets - the rocket launcher and the recon pod are both implemented using turret models - that should be fixed to their hardpoints. You don't want the fighter's rocket launcher gimbaling around as it tracks the target, so the weapon is designed with self-aiming set to false, even though the rockets themselves are guided.

In other words, self aiming refers to whether or not the weapon launcher (i.e. the gun barrel or missile launch rail) can be slewed towards the selected target.

Damage of the shot seem to be reduced over distance. Is there parameter which allows shot to do maximum damage at maximum distance?

No, there isn't. That's just the way all primary energy weapons work in Starshatter.

I assume parameter hull_factor: 0.6 mean that subsystem has 60% hitpoints of the ship. Is this correct? If it isn't, what is HP of the subsystem?

All systems have 100 hit points. The hull factor parameter describes how much hull plating is protecting the system. If the hull factor is set to 0.6, then 60% of the damage is applied to the hull integrity and 40% of the damage is applied against the 100 hit points for the system.

What effects have shield parameters type: 1, type: 2 and shield_factor when shield_capacitor: true ?

None specifically. The shield type parameter is just a shortcut for setting power and shield factor parameters to common values. The shield factor parameter works the same whether the shields are capacitor or continuous power.

Is it possible make starship start mission with full loaded shield (very slow recharge rate)?

No.

[Mehrunes]

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

All systems have 100 hit points. The hull factor parameter describes how much hull plating is protecting the system. If the hull factor is set to 0.6, then 60% of the damage is applied to the hull integrity and 40% of the damage is applied against the 100 hit points for the system.

Now you've gone and confused things. [:-][:'(]

Is the damage simply split up evenly if a hit falls within 2 or more subsystem radii? How do components play into this? Are they damaged randomly at certain specific subsystem health levels, and does repairing them restore that lost health?

[Kuokkanen]

Was about time to get some good replies
Thank you milo

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

What exactly does self_aiming ?

Self aiming weapons can aim themselves at their targets. If self_aiming is set to false, the weapon can only fire straight ahead.

But...

milo! self_aiming: false still doesn't work. My laser cannons fire around like parameter would be true. Are you going to fix that?

I'm not planning on making any changes to the weapon code, no. I use self_aiming: false for several weapons in the game and it does what I need it to do. Is there some reason why setting aim_az_max and aim_el_max to 1e-6 is a huge problem?

[&:]

No, there isn't. That's just the way all primary energy weapons work in Starshatter.

Any workaround of this? Can I script weapon to be something else? Like kinetic weapon with laser graphic and unlimited supply?

Is it possible make starship start mission with full loaded shield (very slow recharge rate)?

No.

[:@]
So escort mission probably start that way freighter sit still first 10 minutes recharging shield and in strike mission target freighter need be far away... [>:]

Mehrune's description about damage is making me headache! Or then it is reminding need of sleep. I try figure it out some day. Any hints how to make it easier? charge: 1 maybe?

How about engine shover?

[John DiCamillo]

Is the damage simply split up evenly if a hit falls within 2 or more subsystem radii?

No, only the closest system takes damage.

How do components play into this? Are they damaged randomly at certain specific subsystem health levels, and does repairing them restore that lost health?

Actually, it's more complex than that. Are you sure you want the full details?

First of all, if the system is powered off, it only takes 10% of the damage that would normally be applied. The other 90% is simply discarded, it is not sent back to the hull armor or any other system.

Second, different types of weapons may have different damage effects. Power draining weapons do not cause component damage to any system, but they temporarily drain power from every ship system on the target, regardless of range and hull protection. EMP weapons cause power upsets, and will damage the closest power-critical system (usually a computer of some sort) even if the hit is outside of the system's radius.

For normal damage, if the damage level to be applied to the selected system is less than fifty points, all of it is applied to a single component selected at random. If the damage is more than fifty points, it is divided in half and applied equally to two components selected at random.

Now, earlier I wrote that all systems have 100 hit points. That is really an oversimplification. Systems don't have hit points at all, they have functional statuses for availablility, safety, and stability. Each of these statuses are expressed as percentages from an ideal rating of 100 percent.

Systems are made of components, each of which also has an availability that is expressed as a percentage from 0 (destroyed) to 100 (nominal). Each component contributes to the overall functionality of the system in different ways. Some components are primarily for safety (e.g. Radiation Shielding) while others are for stability (e.g. Power Regulator). Still other components may contribute in more than one way (e.g. the Plasma Impeller in a Plasma Drive contributes both to efficiency and stability of the system).

When a component is damaged or repaired, the functional level of the system is re-calculated in each of these three areas by multiplying together the availability of all of the components that affect the system in a certain way. If a system has four components that contribute to safety, and one of those components is damage to 50% availability, then the overall safety level of the system is (1 * 1 * 1 * 0.5) = 50%. If two such components are damaged to the same extent, the safety level of the system will drop to 25%.

The red/yellow/green colors on the caution and warning panel show the overall availability of the system. If the radiation shield on the fusion reactor has been damaged, the availability of the system will still display as 100% - at least for a while. Because the radiation shield is a safety component, the maximum safe operating level of the system will go down when it is damaged. If you continue to run the reactor at 100% power, it will eventually damage itself due to the radiation leaks. Likewise, if a power supply becomes unstable, it will cause power spike damage to any computer system attached to it.

When you repair a component using the engineering screen, or when the ship's engineer repairs it automatically, the availability of the component goes up according to the type of repair performed. If the component is replaced from spares, it is restored to like new functionality. If no spare part is available, the component can be repaired and reinstalled. Repairing a component will restore up to fifty percent of its functionality. However, if the component was severely damaged, attempting to repair it will lower the overall safety and reliability of the system by five percent each time.

[John DiCamillo]

No, there isn't. That's just the way all primary energy weapons work in Starshatter.

Any workaround of this? Can I script weapon to be something else? Like kinetic weapon with laser graphic and unlimited supply?

That will also tie the weapon to the secondary fire button instead of the gun trigger. You may be better off just increasing the damage and weapon lifetime to compensate for the decay over time.

So escort mission probably start that way freighter sit still first 10 minutes recharging shield and in strike mission target freighter need be far away...

Why so long? Most of the in-game ships can go from zero to full shields in about ten seconds.

How about engine shover?

Sorry, I don't copy. What's an "engine shover?"

[Deadmannumberone]

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

So escort mission probably start that way freighter sit still first 10 minutes recharging shield and in strike mission target freighter need be far away...

Why so long? Most of the in-game ships can go from zero to full shields in about ten seconds.

He needs it for the Star Wars mod. Bulk freighters have shields that take several minutes to reach full charge.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

However, if the component was severely damaged, attempting to repair it will lower the overall safety and reliability of the system by five percent each time.

Hmm! That's important. Make sure is in manual.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Deadmannumberone

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

So escort mission probably start that way freighter sit still first 10 minutes recharging shield and in strike mission target freighter need be far away...

Why so long? Most of the in-game ships can go from zero to full shields in about ten seconds.

He needs it for the Star Wars mod. Bulk freighters have shields that take several minutes to reach full charge.

Point! Freighters are supposed to be vulnerable for fighters. If freighter's shield recharges faster than fighter's guns...

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

Sorry, I don't copy. What's an "engine shover?"

Didn't I explain this in e-mail? When fighter is near starship's engine ports, thrust of the engines damage fighter (shield) and makes controlling instable (shaking effect). This is in few games, like X-Wing Alliance and Freespace 2.

I still don't understand behaviour of self_aiming: false[/quote] [&:]

[Mehrunes]

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

Are you sure you want the full details?

Yes! Thank you. [:)]

[John DiCamillo]

Point! Freighters are supposed to be vulnerable for fighters. If freighter's shield recharges faster than fighter's guns...

There's a lot of room between ten seconds and ten minutes. I think you can find a balance that will allow freighters to be vulnerable without unduly compromising the mission design. Perhaps the shields take thirty seconds to recharge, or sixty. There is also a parameter that controls how the shield factor drops off as the capacitor is drained. I don't have the source code here and I can't remember it off the top of my head, but somebody asked me to put it in there a couple of months ago...

When fighter is near starship's engine ports, thrust of the engines damage fighter (shield) and makes controlling instable (shaking effect). This is in few games, like X-Wing Alliance and Freespace 2.

Ah, I see. No, there's no engine wash in the game, and I can't think of a really good work around for it either. I suppose you could create an "engine wash" weapon that fired invisible energy bolts out the back of the ship, but that would only kind of work if the player was never in control of the starship...

[TheDeadlyShoe]

I still don't understand behaviour of self_aiming: false

As I understand from how Milo has explained it just above- self_aiming: false makes it so that turrets dont turn to face their targets.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: TheDeadlyShoe

I still don't understand behaviour of self_aiming: false

As I understand from how Milo has explained it just above- self_aiming: false makes it so that turrets dont turn to face their targets.

He has also explained this:

milo! self_aiming: false still doesn't work. My laser cannons fire around like parameter would be true. Are you going to fix that?

I'm not planning on making any changes to the weapon code, no. I use self_aiming: false for several weapons in the game and it does what I need it to do. Is there some reason why setting aim_az_max and aim_el_max to 1e-6 is a huge problem?

That mean I don't see any difference between true and false but milo says self_aiming: false does what he want it to do - what ever it is. I have done my best to find out what it is by interrogating him. So far no result. [:@]

[John DiCamillo]

Setting self_aiming to false makes it so turrets don't turn to face their targets.

[Lord QDaan]

Gyah! We're dense. Self_Aiming does not effect the aiming of the weapon in any way that I can see! It only effects whether the turret model will face the target. Try it yourself, it works. So you can have a turret that doesn't move, but still fires off-center.