npc fuel regeneration anomaly

same

Hello all. I've done some searching and found nothing on this topic in the beginning of the searches. I dont really want to search through over 1000 topics that came up. This is a question I posted on evn web board. No one had an answer and recommended posting here.

I've noticed that npc ships that use fuel-sucking weapons sometimes don't seem to recharge their fuel properly once they've run out. This makes it so that once the ai runs out of fuel (if they dont regenerate properly), they're practically harmless, even if they have a recharge rate of 1. It also means that escorts that use fuel sucking weapons are rendered practically harmless once they run out of fuel until they land (no long stints for them). I've also added fuel recharging outfits to the ships in case that made any difference for the npc (it also made more sense to have fuel recharge outfits on ships that suck fuel).
Does anyone know how to fix this bug? I know i could just make special ships that only npcs can fly that have weapons that dont suck fuel, but i'd like to have proper working fuel-sucking weapons and fuel recharge for npcs if possible. Plus if the player captures that ship, then they have this special non-fuel sucking weapon.

I have nova 1.1.0 for mac and have moded nova using novatools-resedit and missioncomputer.

Here are some of the modifications that would be different from the original EVN that relate to this topic (I havent actually played without my plug since 1.0.6 or so): the manticore has 4 ion cannons, ion cannons are set to fire simultaneously so that multiple weapons actually do appropriate dmg, it has a fission reactor, and has various ai-only fuel regen levels (that I've played with below).

Here is what I've observed in game so far with different fuel regen mods:
1 - ship 146 (manticore; original) ai-only fuel regen 5: I watched my escort manticore fire it's ion cannons for a number of seconds (5-10) straight until it seemed to run out of fuel. After it runs out of fuel it fires a much weaker, flickering ion beam. After two minute of no firing (the appropriate amount of time for a level 5 fuel recharge to recharge 700 units of fuel) my escort would be able to fire a full strength beam for 5 straight seconds again.

2 - ship 146 (manticore; original) ai-only fuel regen 5: a hostile pirate npc manticore fired its ion cannon for around the same amount of time until it ran out of fuel. It then would fire the weak flickering beam. I waited for two minutes out of range of the manticore. When i was in range again, it hadn't regenerated any fuel and still fired the weak beam.

3 - ship 146 (manticore; original) ai-only fuel regen 4: now the npc seemed to regenerate properly but would consistently try to run away by leaving the system (even when it had fuel to spare). I had to keep it in the system with a tractor beam i made to test it. Npc's apparently can always hyper out even with no fuel.

4 - ship 146 (manticore; original) fuel regen 0: the hostile npc would fire until its fuel was drained, then try to hyper out. I kept it there with a tractor beam. After a few minutes, it seemed to have regenerated a good amount of fuel for firing. Strange. My escort manticore could only fire the weak beam after expending its fuel.

5 - ship 229 (manticore; hvy weapons) ai-only fuel regen 4: this manticore seemed to fire properly and regenerate properly and would not try to flee for no reason. Presumably having other non-fuel weapons to use kept the manticore from trying to flee for strange reasons.

PS. Another bug I've noticed recently is that sometimes random ships will fly non-stop in some random direction alone without ever hyperspacing out for no apparent reason. Others will sit in the system without moving for no apparent reason (no mission related reasons, they aren't one of the refuel traders either). Sometimes attacking them will snap them out of it. Any news on that bug?

Thank you indeed!

Didn't I see this somewhere else with replies to it, too? Odd...

Anyway, I've seen no such default, however I do remember your detailed explanations of testing and how Manticores were having trouble. We also talked about how the AI apparently doesn't use energy when using afterburners. This ringing any bells with anyone?

It's possible there is a problem with AI fuel usage. Can one of the people who coded EVN offer some input? I don't know if any of them are here, but if they are, please?

This post has been edited by darthkev : 14 January 2010 - 02:04 AM