[MOD TC/AP] Combat Mod 4 - v4.16 17/06/13 - AP 3.0 Compatibility

[Mad_CatMk2]

Edit: whoops wrong thread i was reading, my bad.

[paulwheeler]

I'm after opinions on the IonD:

As we all know its pretty bugged in vanilla. It has a large fps hit, the graphic does not always display and its instant death for any missiles in the area. The zig-zag animation of the bullet seems to be hard coded so there's not much I can do to fix it.

I propose conversion of the weapon into a more standard bullet type. I've come up with a fairly nice graphic which looks like an electrical energy bolt. It will be a fast firing weapon and do no hull damage at all - only shield damage.

What do you all think?

[Advent1s]

A miniature Ion cannon?

[mr.WHO]

I think it's a good idea. Right now I don't use IonD at all. With this change it might be usable again.

[paulwheeler]

Although, I think I liked the old ship explosion sounds better... These ones sound a bit muffled. Sorry! The rest is great though.

I've not finished with this yet. The final explosion on the old sound was muffled. I have removed the intervening explosions to shorten the sound to time it with the visual effect, which were a bit brighter. I will try and mix one of these back in with the final explosion to gain a bit of brightness back. Otherwise I may be able to do something with EQ.

Don't worry - it'll be great when its done.

[Mizuchi]

A miniature Ion cannon?

I mini-Ion Cannon for fighters would be a fairly nifty weapon. You'd actually be able to bring a TM to bording operations and have specialized fighters designed solely to keep the target ship's shields down (hopefully without smearing themselves across the hull in the process).

One of the issues I've noticed with capital ships when you assign them to keep another ship's shields down is that sometimes the turrets will stop firing if they're in danger of hitting a station or if they become obscured by another ship or asteroid...

...which then gives the target time to gets its shields back up, and frazzles all your marines in the process.

So yeah, I'm pro-Fighter-based Ion Cannons.

(And let's face it: drones are terrible at this role.)

The only issue with balance I can think of would be if you stocked a carrier full of fighters with mini-Ion Cannons.

Although, to be fair, if you spend all the time and money needed to do that, you pretty much deserve to be able to unleash them all on an unsuspecting universe.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

I'm after opinions on the IonD:
... and its instant death for any missiles in the area. The zig-zag animation of the bullet seems to be hard coded so there's not much I can do to fix it.
...
What do you all think?

I would say that there is nothing wrong with the IonD on the quoted items, that is the way it has always been. The idea of removing the hull damage sounds like an idea, though I am not sure how it will affect it's effectiveness as a weapon for capturing ships.

BTW The instant death for missiles is a consequence of it's zig-zag feature, eliminating the hull damage will not stop it.

[paulwheeler]

that's why I want to convert it to a standard bullet and clear the "zig-zag" flag.

For me the main issue is the massive fps hit and the fact that any more than one firing at once and the graphics get corrupted. The only fix is to convert it to a standard weapon and clear the zigzag flag. This should also fix the missile death issue as well.

[Osiris454]

Works for me. I can't really watch large battles anymore because even if 1 or 2 fighters use IonD's my FPS goes to crap.

[HotSake]

I'll be sad to lose its unique role in the universe, but I guess it's a positive tradeoff considering its other issues. I do wonder if there's a way to solve the FPS hit while leaving the chaining effect intact. Have you tried different bullets or hit effects?

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

that's why I want to convert it to a standard bullet and clear the "zig-zag" flag.

For me the main issue is the massive fps hit and the fact that any more than one firing at once and the graphics get corrupted. The only fix is to convert it to a standard weapon and clear the zigzag flag. This should also fix the missile death issue as well.

If you do that then space fly collecting may become impossible, I am not sure if it is dependent on it being a zig-zag.

A better option maybe to create an additional alternate weapon, and keep the IonD around as-is.

[Osiris454]

that's why I want to convert it to a standard bullet and clear the "zig-zag" flag.

For me the main issue is the massive fps hit and the fact that any more than one firing at once and the graphics get corrupted. The only fix is to convert it to a standard weapon and clear the zigzag flag. This should also fix the missile death issue as well.

If you do that then space fly collecting may become impossible, I am not sure if it is dependent on it being a zig-zag.

A better option maybe to create an additional alternate weapon, and keep the IonD around as-is.

You collect SpaceFly's with the IonD?
Those little bastards hit my ship all the time when I'm standing still. I'm sure that I would'nt need a weapon to collect them.

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

You collect SpaceFly's with the IonD?
Those little bastards hit my ship all the time when I'm standing still. I'm sure that I would'nt need a weapon to collect them.

IonD is used to stun them so you can then collect them (has been the case since at least X2).

[Mizuchi]

You collect SpaceFly's with the IonD?

You collect Space-Flies?

[Osiris454]

You collect SpaceFly's with the IonD?

You collect Space-Flies?

No. No, of course not........

[builder680]

Never even seen a space fly... let alone tried to collect one.

[Osiris454]

Never even seen a space fly... let alone tried to collect one.

Go to a sector and stand still in your ship. After a while (usually about a minute or 2) you should see small orange 'things' flying around your ship. Those are the SpaceFlies. They even make noise when flying around if you listen closly, and you can even see tiny wings if you focus. They also make a noise when one of them spatters itself all over your ship.

The bigger the ship, the better. They seem to be attracted to large objects with substantial power output. My Cerberus is a sure-fire magnet for the things.

[builder680]

Never even seen a space fly... let alone tried to collect one.

Go to a sector and stand still in your ship. After a while (usually about a minute or 2) you should see small orange 'things' flying around your ship. Those are the SpaceFlies. They even make noise when flying around if you listen closly, and you can even see tiny wings if you focus. They also make a noise when one of them spatters itself all over your ship.

The bigger the ship, the better. They seem to be attracted to large objects with substantial power output. My Cerberus is a sure-fire magnet for the things.

Sounds like you're sending me on a snipe hunt! I"ll check it out though next time I load up X3.

Are they next to the vanilla UFO base by chance? If so I'll just check over by it.

[Osiris454]

Never even seen a space fly... let alone tried to collect one.

Go to a sector and stand still in your ship. After a while (usually about a minute or 2) you should see small orange 'things' flying around your ship. Those are the SpaceFlies. They even make noise when flying around if you listen closly, and you can even see tiny wings if you focus. They also make a noise when one of them spatters itself all over your ship.

The bigger the ship, the better. They seem to be attracted to large objects with substantial power output. My Cerberus is a sure-fire magnet for the things.

Sounds like you're sending me on a snipe hunt! I"ll check it out though next time I load up X3.

Are they next to the vanilla UFO base by chance? If so I'll just check over by it.

Vanilla UFO base?

I get them anywhere. Mostly in the Pirate sectors and sometimes in the Terran sectors. They are very small, so you will need to be on the lookout. Oh, they also travel in swarms. They won't show up if your moving. Standing still is a good way to attract them.

I've even gotten out of my ship and floated around in my spacesuit to watch them.

[builder680]

I was kidding about UFO. I'm about to go look for flies now!