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The Drone Strike Package (for everything drone! Version 0.2)


Max_Caine

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This works with: Community Edition 0.28

This mod has come about as the result of a plea by TacticalDragon, so thank him for his tireless work in prodding me to get off my butt. Before the inital release of Xenonauts, I was playing v22 and was unhappy by the sparseness of many of the secondary races, especially drones. Light drones appear very briefly and you may never see medium of heavy drones at all! I spent some time fiddling about with the contents of ufos to add drones both to bolster the presence of drones generally, and to also make drones a "continuity race", something which you'd see across all species. At the same time I was on a UFO binge and I thought "hey! why not drone aircraft for the humans as well!". I got so far then the project sat in the digital equivalent of a dusty drawer until now.

Drone Strike introduces more drones into the mix. Drones appear as early as scouts. Medium drones make more of an active apperance when you get to Landing Ships and when I'm done, Heavy Drones will appear on both Carriers and Battleships. The drone numbers have been tailored according to the primary race. Androns have the most drones, Caesans a medium number and Sebillians the least. You'll never face more than six drones (because the maps have room for just six in general and I'm not yet ready to alter 50+ maps!), but the threat-mix has been shaken up.

Drone Strike also introduces everything drone. You get special Drone Analysis, like this:

droneanalysis_zpsd9e87ea4.png

You also get special drone aircraft, like this:

highwaymanpeek_zps846c8471.png

All drone aircraft have specific traits.Their primary trait is they are very long-ranged. All drone aircraft can remain airbourne for very long periods of time. This actually reflects proposed use of drone aircraft for future wars, where drones can maintain a battlefield presence long after human pilots have to return to the carrier or airbase because their pilot cannot take any more flying.

The drone recon has a large-ish radar, and a high detection rate but is slow and easy to shoot down. Active participants in the forums will inevitably draw parallels with dskzz's Awacs mod. Since I've started this mod again, I've been careful to make the drone recon a compliment to the Awacs. It has a much shorter radar range, must be manufactured, needs alenium and is part of a research chain. On the plus side it has a longer total range, is cheaper to manufacture than an Awacs is to buy, has a higher detection rate and is cheaper to maintain, so it is a mirror of the Awacs and reflects the cost-saving strategies of today which put drone recon aircraft into the air. Basically, drones are cheaper than Awacs, even if they aren't as good.

The drone interceptors are fast, have a long loiter time but have a restricted (and often awkward) weapon set, are not as agile and cannot dodge. They aren't supposed to be better than human interceptors. They're what you send up to catch UFOs when you can't build bases and stock it with "proper" interceptors. Their intentions is as a compliment to human interceptors.

The title of this mod is "all things drone". I'm going to apply the drone principle to everything in the game. Currently I'm working on a drone-assisted smart rifle.

Smart_Rifle_hi-res-1_zps1c1ef48f.jpg

I want to make a drone-served heavy weapon, a drone-assisted grenade, an auto-doc - if it can be drone-ified, I want to drone it.

ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT WARNING!

This project is under active development.

The mod is now considered a "complete" mod, and is available to download from the downloader.

Edited by Max_Caine
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I only need to say WAO more than I imagine.

Artwork is accurate and very suited to the game style, the air Drones is a total NEW concept in the game. I Applaud your work max, this is totally surprising and unexpected.

Bravo! Max, Bravo!

Specially this fit GREAT with and modification that Im planing to XNT mod!

Ready to download and test on vanilla, I will write my review soon!

Sorry if I insist too much, but when I see the result you can only wait that I wil become your pain in the a!"# :cool:

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Double post because this is for sD

List of things changed:

Please note with the exception of strings.xml, all new entries are at the start of the file. This makes it easy for me to edit.

aircrafts.xml

There are three new Excel entries, and if I remember correctly they should automatically be added without any changes required.

aircraftweapons.xml

New entry - the Prism Cannon. This is a new addition, it does not replace anything.

   <Row>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">AV.PRISMCANNON</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Cannon</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">10</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">5000</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">0.1</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">80</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">20</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Auto</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">0</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">weapons/airplane/scatterlaser_cannon</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">50000</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">1</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">aircraft/aircombat/bullet</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Bullet</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Laser</Data></Cell>   <Cell ss:Index="17"><Data ss:Type="String">aircraft/aircombat/weapons/cannon_laser</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Yes</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">No</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">3</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">1200</Data></Cell>   <Cell><Data ss:Type="Number">1200</Data></Cell>  </Row>

items.xml

Three new entries, same as aircrafts.xml

manufactures.xml

See items.xml and aircrafts.xml

researches.xml

Four new entries, but Excel just like the others.

strings.xml

The entries in strings.xml have been spaced out across the file. All aircraft entries are next to other aircraft entries. The new powerplant entries are next to the other powerplant entries. But this is Excel, so it shouldn't matter.

xenopedia.xml

Four entries, the same as researches.xml.

Edited by Max_Caine
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Here ya go Max!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/82304502/Xenonauts/Attack%20of%20the%20Drones.zip

Check over it to see if I missed anything, especially in the strings.xml.

Also, I was a bit annoyed at the air combat images, personally I don't think they gel with the vanilla ones. I'm not good enough to make it completely like the vanilla ones, but I decided a flat green was better than green-tinted images. Here's what some of them looked:

privateer100.pnghighwayman70.png

I also have made the 10-30-50-70-90 versions. Here's the link to the alternate images:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/82304502/Xenonauts/AotD%20Alternate%20Aircombat%20Images.zip

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Nice work Max.

Are you looking at creating any other drone aircraft at the moment?

I was thinking what we are missing is a very long range but slow set of drones specifically designed as close dropship support craft.

They would be pretty rubbish as interceptors but good for covering that hole people keep complaining about where they cannot escort their troops past the relatively short interceptor range.

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TD

I'm trying out a number of concepts for the smart rifle to see what best suits it. A drone-assisted aim could make it ultra precise, or assist with reaction, make it cheaper to fire shots or even do a different damage type (incendiary, for example) to reflect additional targetting information. When I write it for CE, I'll be able to do even more - I'm thinking the CE version will do AP damage, to represent its ability to highlight and lock-onto weak points. Whatever it'll be, I'm going to set the isHeavy flag, to represent that the drone assist is only helpful if you stay still!

Regarding the Lamplighter. I'm not going to give it a cannon or any other weapon for both thematic and gameplay reasons. From a thematic standpoint, the Lamplighter represents the first in a class of aircraft which is completely autonomous. There's no-one at he controls like there are with today's UAVs. It's half experimental and there are significant issues with making it be able to attack targets. So like the first "true" UAVs (not the previous remote-controlled bombs), the Lamplighter is a survielance aircraft because a drone has infinite patience and doesn#t miss anything its sensors detect.

From a gameplay point of view, the Lamplighter won't be getting a weapons because a) the stats of the aircraft make it a very poor fighter and b) because of the way the AI works. The AI will always press the attack (ironically, the AI could run away but too many people complained about UFOs running away!), which means you have two options - run or fight. You can't scare the AI into running with a show of force, so if you choose to fight you are locked in combat until one side wins (this is different for captial ships, given the way torpedoes work). That means if your aircraft doesn't have the weapons or the stats to win a combat, then it will always loose if it chooses to fight. So there's no point in giving an aircraft anything other than sufficient weapons to win, because if it doesn't, then it will always loose. For those reasons and others, I am not going to give the Lamplighter weapons.

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Gauddlike

I think the Highwayman would suit that role. It has a massively long range - longer than the Valkyrie. I could do a close-support role, but it would have to be very distinct from the Highwayman. I could imagine it up-gunned considerably, to perhaps pre-v18 Foxtrot levels, or make a new kind of missile or weapon specifically for it, jusst like I did with the Privateer. Other than that I'm struggling to think how I could make it different to the Highwayman.

Edited by Max_Caine
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That is a difficulty, I understand.

To make them different in meaningful ways I was thinking of three things that go against the trend of most other aircraft.

I was thinking they could be very slow.

The top speed needs to match the equivalent tier dropship at most really, meaning they would be unlikely to ever catch anything by themselves so would be unsuited to the role of an interceptor.

They could even be slower, trading off dropship speed for greater protection.

They would need to be more powerful than a standard interceptor against fighters because if they are part of a squadron with a dropship they have to be able to fight 2v3 against air superiority missions with some chance of success.

They do not necessarily need to be able to face off against enemy capital ships at all though so can have weapons purely set up to pick off enemy fighters.

They would also likely need to be pretty tough to take a beating rather than relying on evading damage as most aircraft do.

More of a floating fortress than a fast strike aircraft.

I think this could set them apart from the faster, more offensively focused drones like the highwayman and privateer.

With the massive range of the other drones I am not certain the close defence role would be essential but it would be easier than micro managing other squadrons to do the same job.

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Having read it I'm convinced, but I'm think it's highly unlikely an average player would put aside 2 hangars for a special-purpose close-protection drone, seeing as the first and possibly only team a player would manage starts in a crowded base. If I was going to do it, it'd be with the presumption that a player may build and manage one drone acting as close protection for one dropship. I could prototype up some ideas. The name would be... something after a dog? Mastiff, Terrier and Bulldog all spring to mind, or it could be named after a traditional guardian, such as Shepard or Watchman. Any thoughts yourself?

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Maybe better make dropship (variations) with "inbuild" escort drones? That way you get escort thats always escorting with no loss of hangar but increased operating costs.

Hmm has idea about 2x2 hangar being mentioned ? (I tried that and it works.You can make hangar building on/in which you can place 2 plane at once).There is just to many posts to read and I feel lazy today so I am sorry if this has be purposed already.

Edit:Actually making hangar 2x2 wouldn't solve suggestion above.So what I wrote is kind of obsolete.

Edited by Sentelin
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It would be nice if you could set how much space an aircraft took in a hangar.

Having two drones, or even two plus dropship in a single hangar would be good.

Hmm naming isn't my strong point...

It could be a good way to bring the Testudo name back into the game if there was only one drone type.

The watchdog type names are a bit more easily recognised so would likely work better I reckon.

Guardian or Watchman is a bit too close to Sentinel for my liking.

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I don't mean just putting multiple aircraft in one hangar, I was speaking more about different aircraft taking different amounts of space.

Drones are small so could have a single hangar for a full squadron while a full sized high tier interceptor needs a hangar to itself etc etc.

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Is this possible to trick the game and launch 3 drones as a single aircraft? I mean you build them in 3, they fit into a hangar as 3 and you launch all 3 with one click but they count as one aircraft unit until they engage and become 3 separate units during the fight (hope it makes sense).

As for the ultimate fighter drone, I have a candidate: Ghostfighter.gif

macrossfrontiermechanic.jpg

Taken from Macross Frontier series.

Edited by Kiel
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The closest you could get to that idea is if you made an interceptor that just looked like 3 drones in formation I reckon.

I considered it but it doesn't really add much under the current system.

I kind of deflected the thread into a new trajectory sorry Max.

I only really posted to say well done so let's just stick to that ;)

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