Space bombs

dang AI just wont drop the bombs!!!!

Ok I've been tryin to get this one right for a while now. Heres the layout: Built a bomb, and an outfit. It works, I can buy 'em, sell 'em, use 'em. Then I put the bomb on an AI ship. Well, the dang AI just wont drop the bombs!!!!

What the hector is goin on here?!?!?!

I don't think the AI is scripted to use freefall weapons. It may be possible to get them use said weapons if you use submunitions, but that would bring about some serious limitations.

I'll second Archon. Try making the bomb submunition into a dummy weapon. Whatever range you give the sub should be the range at which the AI sets you up the bomb.

QUOTE (Archon @ Sep 30 2009, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think the AI is scripted to use freefall weapons.

Would it be possible to change that??

No.

If the AI doesn't use them because it thinks the target is out of range (count * speed/100) then you can have it sub into an invisible non-damaging weapon to fool it. Or because free-fall bombs are fixed at 80% of ship speed, you can probably enter a fast number for speed and it won't change the weapon but may change AI behavior.

If the AI is scripted not to use them (no matter the range tricks) then you can use unguided projectiles of speed 0, which act very much like free-fall bombs. (They don't turn into the "wind" and are at 100% ship speed.) IF you go this route, you will definitely have to sub into another weapon to fool the AI range.

Subbing a unguided projectile into a bomb will not work right, as the ships speed is not retained.

First on the list, thank you all for your replies, they were all helpful. I managed to get the AI to use the bombs as an unguided projectile, speed 0. It does roughly the same as a freefall bomb, so I'm happy. Now if I could just get the AI to turn away I would have a bomber and not a kamikaze.

Also I was curious about the range issue that Desprez mentioned because I didn't find anything about range when I created the weapon. If I wanted to change range, where should I look?? Im using EVNEW to edit.

One more thing about range; does that affect when the AI will drop the bomb? The problem I see now is AI dropping bombs right on the target instead of in front. For example, attacking thunderheads will fire missiles on approach to target, yet wont drop the bombs on approach.

This post has been edited by EV4EVER : 01 October 2009 - 02:02 AM

You need to make the bomb submunition into a weapon with range equal to the range at which you want the AI to fire. The submunition need not cause any damage, nor even be visible. Speed 10000, Count 1 will make the AI fire from 100 pixels away (Range = Speed * Count / 100).

Try using negative speed on the unguided weapon. That should make it "fall off the back" of the ship firing it, if memory serves. Nothing too fast, just -200 or so.

If you're tired of your AI kamikaze-ing, you could check the "blast doesn't hurt player" flag (it actually means "blast doesn't hurt firing ship"). Furthermore, if you still wanted the player to have to turn away after dropping the weapon, you could make two versions; the AI version wouldn't hurt the firing ship, and the player version would. Essentially, you'd just protect the AI from its own stupidity.

Heeeeerrreeessss Johnny..Alright folks I went the submunition route, didn't go the way I planned. Came back to the unguided projectile, played with it some more, ended up with speed -300, proximity delay 20, recoil 300. So far so good, the AI releases the bomb, bomb "freefalls" at about half speed, ship gets thrown back by the recoil, and tah dah, no more kamikaze!

Thank you for all the great ideas!!

The problem with using negative speed, is that the bomb will go backwards if the ship is flying slower than the weapon speed.

QUOTE (Desprez @ Oct 1 2009, 08:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem with part about using negative speed that protects the AI from its own stupidity , is that the bomb will go backwards if the ship is flying slower than the weapon speed.

Fixed.

I'm with Qaanol in terms of this not really being a problem, given that the "80% ship's speed" of freefall bombs doesn't really make sense anyways in a frictionless scenario.

Alternately, you could give the weapon a slight forward speed. The bomb will get some separation from the launching craft, to prevent suicide, but still feels mostly like a free-fall weapon and you don't have to worry about it ever going backwards. (And really, it's not to smart when the AI fires bombs in the opposite direction of the enemy.)
Also, using some forward speed also allows you to use the 'prefer standoff attacks flag', another way to prevent suicide ships.

But there are (at least) two schools of thought regarding unpowered bombs.

1. You use your own velocity to give the bomb its momentum.
2. You simply eject big explosives towards the direction of hostile ships.

The latter can be constructed by using an unguided turret. Have it sub into a slow guided weapon with 0 turning, and you can also give targets a chance to shoot the bombs as they approach.

This post has been edited by Desprez : 02 October 2009 - 09:13 AM

I guess the negative speed sounds like the bomb would go backwards, and it does when launched at full stop, although its more of a slow float backwards. I also would think that slow AI ships would have the reverse launch problem too. However to get around this I placed the bomb on a thunderhead with accel. and speed similar to the rebel thunderhead. The AI seems pretty successful at launching the bomb while at full speed, only to be thrown backwards by the recoil. I haven't yet seen the AI launch while stopped, usually they launch within medium blaster range or so. The AI is about 70% successful against large targets, slow moving targets, stationary targets, fleets, and I would guess planets too though I haven't seen it.

I'm gonna keep experimenting, maybe I could come up with a guided bomb or something, that would definitely improve the AI hit ratio.

Just popped into the noggin; cluster bombs, probably easier than a guided bomb.

This post has been edited by EV4EVER : 03 October 2009 - 04:46 AM