1 Topic by Guns nButter (edited by Guns nButter 2011-05-27 20:26:25)

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Topic: Deploying Bots

Bots with a deploy feature. 2 examples:


Mobile Deployable Deep Core Strip Mining Platform

Destructive - Only usable on Beta islands. Could have a visual effect spread from it as it operates.
Piloted - Requires a very heavily skilled industrial agent to pilot it. I'm thinking Industrial Bot 10, and then a new Advanced Industrial skill that actually affects it (like basic robotics etc).
Extremely slow - I'm thinking 5 kph maximum
Deploys - Once you reach the place you want to mine, you deploy the platform and it becomes stationary.
Terrain issues - Should only be able to deploy on a spot that is within 10 degrees of perfectly flat. I'm thinking it has a base traverse angle that is slightly worse than a heavy mech.

When it deploys, either make it an accessible container, or have it deploy a permanent field container next to it. Anyone is capable of accessing this container, so it has to be guarded.

All of the harvested minerals get vented into the field container and can be picked up by those good old Sequers and Lithuses that the corp is bound to have.



Mobile Deployable Missile Battery

Slow - 10 kph maximum
Piloted - DPS determined by pilot's extensions
Deploys - stationary after it deploys. This should take quite a long time, perhaps as long as several minutes. Should take a relatively short time to undeploy, maybe 30 seconds or so.

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Re: Deploying Bots

I like the ideas, just a few comments on game mechanics.

Currently, there are no bots with 'baked in' abilities. Everything is modularized with Bonus's applied to make some modules more attractive. So, for instance instead of having a built-in shield, it would have a bonus to accumulator and either absorbtion ratio or size.

The modularized nature also lets players upgrade, which helps us producers, to tiered items.

Things that are bot specific, like acc, reactor, weight, cargo, are all good things to address for creating new roles.

Not that 'new' game mechanics are bad, just that actually getting new bots into the game is hard enough without the devs needing to write whole new code to support them. For instance, I really like the idea there about ore automatically going into a container, there's no existing mechanic for that, but adding it could benefit all types of farming.

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Re: Deploying Bots

Hmm... just rethought the strip mining platform actually. I'll edit my original post, but the changes are here:

Instead of auto mining the entire tile, the following exists instead:
8 Industrial slots (designed for medium lasers)
Extension bonuses while deployed:
7.5% bonus to cycle time per level
20% bonus to minerals harvested per level
100% bonus to mining laser optimal range per level
10% bonus to shield absorption ratio per level
10% bonus to range of tile-based scanner charges per level



And now that I think of it, I rethought the anti-air battery too.
Deployable Missile Battery
4 Missile Slots
Enough grid and cpu to fit medium-type missiles
Extension bonuses:
When deployed, gains the following:
20% bonus to optimal range of missiles per level
20% bonus to targeting range per level
20% bonus to targeting speed per level
20% bonus to damage of missile launchers per level

4 Reply by Snowstyle (edited by Snowstyle 2011-05-27 20:15:16)

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Re: Deploying Bots

Guns nButter wrote:

And now that I think of it, I rethought the anti-air battery too.
Deployable Missile Battery
4 Missile Slots
Enough grid and cpu to fit medium-type missiles
Extension bonuses:
When deployed, gains the following:
20% bonus to optimal range of missiles per level
20% bonus to targeting range per level
20% bonus to targeting speed per level
20% bonus to damage of missile launchers per level

Well I'm glad you realized that anti-air in this current game would be stupid and useless. But maybe you should ditch the missile idea as well and move towards a simple weapons platform, otherwise this becomes only usable by Pelistal pilots.

Edit: Also how are people supposed to pilot these things if they are deployed without the use of stations, current game mechanics don't allow us to leave our bots in the field.

Edit: Troll removed - DEV Calvin
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Re: Deploying Bots

When you say 'deploy', is that permanant, or does it just become immobile for a fixed amount of time? If it's permanent, then it couldn't be a 'bot' since once deploy'ed you would be 'stuck' there until it was destroyed.

If its' a fixed time, then there's an issue with 'why' does it need to 'deploy' to get the bonus. Typically the thought is 'deployed' items are more vulnerable hence get an additional bonus. In a case like the miner however, just being a large slow platform is probably enough to justify large bonus's, without need to add in a 'deploy' mechanism. The same is true with the missle battery, however you could make it fairly 'fast' but add in that it is unable to move while in combat to reinforce that it has to be used while stationary.

6 Reply by Guns nButter (edited by Guns nButter 2011-05-27 20:25:25)

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Re: Deploying Bots

immobile until you undeploy. You're right that the strip miner platform doesn't really need it because it's so slow to begin with. The missile battery would indeed be pretty fast by comparison, but takes about 30 seconds to deploy or undeploy.

@ snowstyle - I copied and pasted this from the "permanent structures" thread. the anti-air part was supposed to be a way to counter NPC supply drops. but you're right, there would indeed be multiple types of weapon platforms. One for missiles, one for magnetic weapons, one for lasers, and one for firearms. Also, these are MOBILE platforms that would simply become stationary when desired in order to enter combat.

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Re: Deploying Bots

it was already discussed, and im fully agreed that semi-stationary bots will be useful. they can have even more roles - repair station, shield cover, recharge, etc.

Have a productive day, Runner
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Re: Deploying Bots

There are a lot of balancing questions around bots that change stats. The concept of being deployed just seems to overcomplicate and confuse what it means to be a bot, POS, or deployed item.

The idea of bots with more specific bonus's and possibly body slots that only support 1 type of module, like missle slots are good though.