Author Topic: Crusade - Comments Thread  (Read 44247 times)

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Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #60 on: August 16, 2019, 02:28:05 PM »
Wait, launchers set to AMM duty currently don't cycle to empty but instead load instantly or shoot from the magazine?

That's really broken.

They were flagged for reload, but I forgot to break the cycle of checking each hostile salvo once they chose a target, so they fired at all of them :)

Apart from the defence of the bomber strike in Procyon, it hasn't affected the campaign. I have seen similarly large bugs in other areas as well over the last few months - this is why I am running test campaigns.
 

Offline Bremen

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #61 on: August 24, 2019, 06:18:30 PM »
Looks like we're going to finally see some ground combat with the new system. I'm looking forward to it!
 

Offline Zincat

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #62 on: August 25, 2019, 05:12:21 AM »
Looks like we're going to finally see some ground combat with the new system. I'm looking forward to it!

What Bremen said. Really looking forward to it.

All in all, I'm rather impressed by the AI's actions. The fact it really changed plans during the battle as its ships were destroyed is quite nice. It was not succesful.... but it is very appealing to see. I really look forward to more balanced engagements :)

I would even suggest, if necessary, to force the generation of a large NPR nearby :P While these engagements are very promising, I feel that I want to see what a NPR is doing, possibly for some time.


If there is one complaint I would voice Steve.... You have explored a LOT of systems by now, right? I have not kept track, but maybe 80+ systems? I'm quite perplexed by the lack of the swarm and the new spoiler race. I mean, maybe it was just me, but it seemed that the swarm was rather common in VB Aurora. Did something change, or were you simply unlucky? Personally, I like my galaxy to be rather "full" of threats
« Last Edit: August 25, 2019, 05:22:19 AM by Zincat »
 

Offline Jovus

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #63 on: August 25, 2019, 05:33:27 AM »
If there is one complaint I would voice Steve.... You have explored a LOT of systems by now, right? I have not kept track, but maybe 80+ systems? I'm quite perplexed by the lack of the swarm and the new spoiler race. I mean, maybe it was just me, but it seemed that the swarm was rather common in VB Aurora. Did something change, or were you simply unlucky? Personally, I like my galaxy to be rather "full" of threats

This made me realize that it would be very cool if there were some options to tweak non-NPR threat generation. Maybe you want to see them at every turn, or maybe you want a mostly empty galaxy.
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #64 on: August 25, 2019, 06:30:41 AM »
Looks like we're going to finally see some ground combat with the new system. I'm looking forward to it!

What Bremen said. Really looking forward to it.

All in all, I'm rather impressed by the AI's actions. The fact it really changed plans during the battle as its ships were destroyed is quite nice. It was not succesful.... but it is very appealing to see. I really look forward to more balanced engagements :)

I would even suggest, if necessary, to force the generation of a large NPR nearby :P While these engagements are very promising, I feel that I want to see what a NPR is doing, possibly for some time.


If there is one complaint I would voice Steve.... You have explored a LOT of systems by now, right? I have not kept track, but maybe 80+ systems? I'm quite perplexed by the lack of the swarm and the new spoiler race. I mean, maybe it was just me, but it seemed that the swarm was rather common in VB Aurora. Did something change, or were you simply unlucky? Personally, I like my galaxy to be rather "full" of threats

The AI was seriously outgunned during the battle as I had about a 3-1 tonnage advantage. I think it was going to lose regardless, but it certainly made it more difficult for me than a similar situation in VB6 :) 

Spoilers ahead for the Swarm...

There are some differences in swarm generation. For VB6, there is a 1 in 40 chance that the Swarm will appear in any given system. In C#, that chance is 1 in 30 for eligible systems. An eligible system is determined by having one or more system bodies with a 'Swarm Mining Score' of 4 or more. That mining score is determined for a system body using the following rules:

1) Sum all accessibilities for mineral deposits over 1000 tons.
2) Use double accessibility for Duranium
3) Use double accessibility for a deposit over 1m tons.
4) Use 1.5x accessibility for a deposit over 100k tons.
5) Use 1.25x accessibility for a deposit over 10k tons.

As you can see, that isn't too difficult to achieve and it provides the swarm with a base of mining operations. However, given that requirement and the 1 in 30 chance, the swarm is going to appear less often than in VB6. Also, there is a reduction in the chance of generating spoilers and NPRs in the first few systems you explore. The random roll has been made many times but hasn't hit yet. I could lower that chance a little to make the swarm appear more frequently, but the Swarm is a much greater threat in C# and not all its new capabilities were demonstrated in the last AAR. Also, each Swarm generated is a separate 'race', so you can have multiple Swarms with different capabilities. Swarms generated later in the game will generally be more capable than those generated early.


I have explored 100 systems so far. There are two NPRs in the game and they have explored about 60 between them. C# allows you to control the min and max distance (in LY) from Sol at which NPRs are generated, so you can create games where you meet very quickly or allow a lot of time to build up. In this case I generated them relatively far out so they would be well-developed

Spoilers for Rakhas...

Rakhas require certain conditions for them to be generated. Surface temp between -50C and +70C, gravity between 0.08G and 2.9G, at least 10% hydro extent and at least 0.03 oxygen. If all these conditions are met, there is a random roll from 1-8 to see if they appear. If that roll is less than the sum of mineral accessibility, with Duranium doubled, the Rakhas are generated. They won't be that common, but they will tend to be on desirable worlds. Otherwise, they could just be ignored.
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #65 on: August 25, 2019, 06:31:33 AM »
If there is one complaint I would voice Steve.... You have explored a LOT of systems by now, right? I have not kept track, but maybe 80+ systems? I'm quite perplexed by the lack of the swarm and the new spoiler race. I mean, maybe it was just me, but it seemed that the swarm was rather common in VB Aurora. Did something change, or were you simply unlucky? Personally, I like my galaxy to be rather "full" of threats

This made me realize that it would be very cool if there were some options to tweak non-NPR threat generation. Maybe you want to see them at every turn, or maybe you want a mostly empty galaxy.

Yes, it would be easy to add a modifier for swarm and Rakhas generation.
 
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Offline Zincat

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #66 on: August 25, 2019, 06:57:56 AM »
A lot of information about the spoilers :). Snipped for legibility

Thanks for the detailed explanation on swarm and rakhas Steve. I can understand better now why we have not seen either of those.

I do have to agree with Jovus though. It would be great if we could set a modifier for spoiler generation, to make them either more common or rarer. Really hoping you will allow us to do it, as it would be great for RP.  :P
« Last Edit: August 25, 2019, 07:01:09 AM by Zincat »
 

Offline Jovus

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #67 on: August 25, 2019, 09:16:13 AM »
I imagine simplest to understand from a user perspective without, hopefully, taking too much extra effort, would be a simple scalar multiplier applied to the target number (for roll-under) or the roll (for roll-over). This wouldn't change anything about any requirements for generation, which would be a good thing.
 

Offline chrislocke2000

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #68 on: August 26, 2019, 04:55:16 AM »
It’s a shame the npr decided to open fire at maximum range with its sto weapons in that last encounter. I assume if they had waited until the player fleet had started to bombard the planet or until they were at point blank range they could have inflicted a lot more damage on the fleet? Does the AI have. Concept of concealment?
 

Offline Bughunter

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #69 on: August 26, 2019, 05:13:56 AM »
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This time the bombers re-allocated the remaining thirteen torpedoes to functioning launchers and sent a small second torpedo wave in the wake of the first

With a launcher reload time of 79 minutes, should this really be possible? Unless the second wave was 79 minutes behind.
 
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Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #70 on: August 26, 2019, 05:24:10 AM »
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This time the bombers re-allocated the remaining thirteen torpedoes to functioning launchers and sent a small second torpedo wave in the wake of the first

With a launcher reload time of 79 minutes, should this really be possible? Unless the second wave was 79 minutes behind.

No it shouldn't. Good spot.
 

Offline punchkid

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #71 on: August 27, 2019, 03:13:50 AM »
The new spoilers sound really cool.  I love that they are more likely to appear in desirable systems.
Can't wait to see you bump into some of them.
 

Offline AlStar

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #72 on: August 28, 2019, 10:15:54 AM »
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To their surprise, the defenders, numbering approximately one hundred and sixty, were robotic with an almost skeletal, metallic appearance.  The robotic crew was plainly not designed for combat and had only minimal weapons.  Despite fierce resistance they were no match for the Imperial space marines and the vessel was taken in two minutes of intense combat.
Interesting that they're actually 'manned' ships with a crew of robots sitting at the stations; I'd always imagined Precursor ships as solid slabs of metal and circuitry. 
 

Offline Steve Walmsley (OP)

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #73 on: August 28, 2019, 10:18:57 AM »
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To their surprise, the defenders, numbering approximately one hundred and sixty, were robotic with an almost skeletal, metallic appearance.  The robotic crew was plainly not designed for combat and had only minimal weapons.  Despite fierce resistance they were no match for the Imperial space marines and the vessel was taken in two minutes of intense combat.
Interesting that they're actually 'manned' ships with a crew of robots sitting at the stations; I'd always imagined Precursor ships as solid slabs of metal and circuitry.

I came up with that at the moment the marines boarded and I thought "Hmm, who are they going to fight?" :)
 

Offline Hazard

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Re: Crusade - Comments Thread
« Reply #74 on: August 28, 2019, 10:41:07 AM »
Not humanoid robots I'd expect, although there would definitely be a need for robots capable of accessing components for maintenance purposes. You don't generally see solid slabs of anything unless it's not intended to be maintained except at the surface or at a massive maintenance facility that can take said solid slab apart.

Kinda difficult when you are dealing with things like laser batteries which very reliably break down as they get fired. It'd mean the weight of your fire will decrease over time as components break down and you have no way to make repairs.


So... not humanoid robots. Arthropod like robots that look like centipedes in their articulation are likely, carrying a variety of tools and supported by other robots with a potentially different shape that do most of the replacement part lugging is what I'd expect.