Forums » Suggestions
Sensor mine
A 'mine' that does not explode on proximity but instead reports on any ships entering or leaving the sector to the person who deployed the mine.
Mmm, WH stalking goodness.
Good idea.
Been suggested before.
Please implement? With safeguards like a timeout, large radar signature, severely limited capacity, high price.
Oh, and weight.
Been suggested before.
Please implement? With safeguards like a timeout, large radar signature, severely limited capacity, high price.
Oh, and weight.
No problem. The only limitation is that the mine disappears as soon as you log out or leave the sector. Other than that it shouldn't be a problem.
or leave the sector
Yeah, about that part... no.
Yeah, about that part... no.
A player-dropped item that persists when a sector shuts down (likely, if they leave the sector) has some technical caveats. It possible, but it would require a new type of construct, would have to be written to the DB with its expire time and so on, checked on sector startup. Plus we'd have to prune them elegantly so we didn't have a lot of excessive pirate-sensor-relay crap hanging around (whether in data or in the game). Not saying "no", just relating some developmental issues.
Keeping it in the sector only when the player is present would be simpler, but obviously a lot less useful. This would probably be a good construct for a lot of future stuff (like fog reefs), but would have to be heavily offset by limitations to keep it from being excessively overused.
Along the same lines, I'm looking at allowing players to "befriend" NPC convoys and the like, potentially getting "reports" from them when they see other people, and such.
Keeping it in the sector only when the player is present would be simpler, but obviously a lot less useful. This would probably be a good construct for a lot of future stuff (like fog reefs), but would have to be heavily offset by limitations to keep it from being excessively overused.
Along the same lines, I'm looking at allowing players to "befriend" NPC convoys and the like, potentially getting "reports" from them when they see other people, and such.
can we get a flak mine?
kinda like the banana in worms2.
damn i miss that game.
edit: actually make it a bit less overpowered but you get the idea.
kinda like the banana in worms2.
damn i miss that game.
edit: actually make it a bit less overpowered but you get the idea.
inc:
a) why keep a timer running or do any pruning while the sector is shut down? just store the expiration with the sector, and don't bother to prune it till it starts back up.
b) what mechanism do you currently use for cargo? And why is this not the same?
a) why keep a timer running or do any pruning while the sector is shut down? just store the expiration with the sector, and don't bother to prune it till it starts back up.
b) what mechanism do you currently use for cargo? And why is this not the same?
If it makes implementation easier I'd be happy to have scanning cargo widgets... it'd be a little weird though.
OK, another suggestion then: mines that "detonate" on impact, and the detonation effect is restocking the ammo supply of any weapon (other than resupply weapon) of a ship that runs into it.
EMS would really love it.
OK, another suggestion then: mines that "detonate" on impact, and the detonation effect is restocking the ammo supply of any weapon (other than resupply weapon) of a ship that runs into it.
EMS would really love it.
OK, another suggestion then: mines that "detonate" on impact, and the detonation effect is restocking the ammo supply of any weapon (other than resupply weapon) of a ship that runs into it.
That is completely irrelevant to the current discussion. Make a new thread or something.
On a more on-topic note:
I like the idea of a sensor beacon, though it would honestly make a lot more sense if they lasted for something like 24 hours rather than a few minutes. However, they should be visible on radar and easily destructible. The same mechanics that would have to be implemented in order to make this happen could be useful for other new toys as well. Persistent player-dropped entities are a good thing.
That is completely irrelevant to the current discussion. Make a new thread or something.
On a more on-topic note:
I like the idea of a sensor beacon, though it would honestly make a lot more sense if they lasted for something like 24 hours rather than a few minutes. However, they should be visible on radar and easily destructible. The same mechanics that would have to be implemented in order to make this happen could be useful for other new toys as well. Persistent player-dropped entities are a good thing.
Roda: Well, I didn't imply it would have to be pruned while offline. Sector startup would be the logical time. There would be no "timer running", but there would be a timestamp on the item in the database, to determine if the item should be expired when the sector runs (ie, if the item lasts for X hours, see if it's past expiration during startup). None of it is a huge deal, just a bit more data to keep an eye on, and requiring a little implementation thought.
The cargo is not persistent. As soon as a sector shuts down, it's gone. The only times when you may see it stick around for its full time-out length (15 minutes?) is when other people pass through the sector enough to keep it "live". Cargo not being persistent is sort of an inherent cleanup mechanism, since big bot battles and things and generate a lot of dropped items.
Ladon: Yes, it would be a mechanic with potential value for other applications.
The cargo is not persistent. As soon as a sector shuts down, it's gone. The only times when you may see it stick around for its full time-out length (15 minutes?) is when other people pass through the sector enough to keep it "live". Cargo not being persistent is sort of an inherent cleanup mechanism, since big bot battles and things and generate a lot of dropped items.
Ladon: Yes, it would be a mechanic with potential value for other applications.
I enjoy this idea. I could monitor my roid field and still remain on patrol.
inc: What about a sensor mine that did not have to survive sector shutdown? i.e. The sector would have to be refreshed by traffic or the sensor would be lost.
How long will a sector live without traffic?
How long will a sector live without traffic?
A couple of minutes. I don't remember what the timeout is right now, but it's less than 5 minutes. Maybe 2?
An in sector sensor mine placed outside a roid field thanks to the new update would pose might helpful to a pirate hiding behind a roid waiting for targets...
I love this idea. Stamp of Approval™.
Ive finally gotten a chance to play with this occlusion stuff now that I am back and I love it.
Many times I strafe behind roids and jump out and blow someone up and it is fun as anything.
Anyways I think this would be an incredibly useful item not only for occlusion hunting or sector monitoring but also to suck up some cash
100k for a sensor mine that only remains in the sector while you are in it
200k for a sensor mine that remains despite your location
I'd love to be able to monitor my roid field from afar.
Many times I strafe behind roids and jump out and blow someone up and it is fun as anything.
Anyways I think this would be an incredibly useful item not only for occlusion hunting or sector monitoring but also to suck up some cash
100k for a sensor mine that only remains in the sector while you are in it
200k for a sensor mine that remains despite your location
I'd love to be able to monitor my roid field from afar.
I don't see why a timeout is necessary, just make it so a player can only deploy so many at any given time (between 2-4 maybe?), and exceeding this limit causes the first one to expire, etc. In this case, I think it would also be necessary to make it so the player only receives updates from the mine while they have the addon that deployed it armed, effectively giving them one less weapon to fight with. They should expire on logout, of course.
It would be interesting to have it appear white on the radar to blend in with asteroids, though it would stand out in an empty sector. I also propose making it not targetable to prevent abuse finding them with plug-ins like cargolist that cycle through all targets. Still, they would need some means to be detected by players actively looking for them, so I'd suggest having them emit a buzzing sound that can be heard within 1000m or maybe less (Ok, so I know sound doesn't travel through space, but I'm sure there could be some technical explanation like it causes audible interference with the radars of nearby ships -- besides, it works with the neon signs outside stations :P)
Other ideas:
*NPCs should not destroy them like normal mines (well maybe if they happen to pass close to it on their own or if the mine is in a NFZ).
*Radar range of the mine should be reduced in storm/fog sectors.
*The mine's radar should be affected by roid occlusion (i.e. not detect players blocked by roids). This way hiding the mine in a roid field is safer to avoid detection but limits its usefulness.
*You shouldn't receive updates from the mine while docked at a station (to prevent exploit by scripted bot players transmitting info to teammates).
It would be interesting to have it appear white on the radar to blend in with asteroids, though it would stand out in an empty sector. I also propose making it not targetable to prevent abuse finding them with plug-ins like cargolist that cycle through all targets. Still, they would need some means to be detected by players actively looking for them, so I'd suggest having them emit a buzzing sound that can be heard within 1000m or maybe less (Ok, so I know sound doesn't travel through space, but I'm sure there could be some technical explanation like it causes audible interference with the radars of nearby ships -- besides, it works with the neon signs outside stations :P)
Other ideas:
*NPCs should not destroy them like normal mines (well maybe if they happen to pass close to it on their own or if the mine is in a NFZ).
*Radar range of the mine should be reduced in storm/fog sectors.
*The mine's radar should be affected by roid occlusion (i.e. not detect players blocked by roids). This way hiding the mine in a roid field is safer to avoid detection but limits its usefulness.
*You shouldn't receive updates from the mine while docked at a station (to prevent exploit by scripted bot players transmitting info to teammates).
For the record, I'd be cool with a sensor mine even if the mine did not survive sector shutdown. What we need is some way for a player to ambush another player using roid occlusion (that doesn't require someone else baiting the other player). It's currently too hard to ambush a player by staying on the other side of a roid until that player is close enough to kill... as since the ambusher can't see the person he is ambushing either... you all get the idea.
Anything that can give one side in a fight more information than the other side (with necessary balance of course) I'm all for.
Of course, a sensor mine that does survive sector shutdown would be all kinds of cool, but I don't think that such a thing needs to be a priority.
Anything that can give one side in a fight more information than the other side (with necessary balance of course) I'm all for.
Of course, a sensor mine that does survive sector shutdown would be all kinds of cool, but I don't think that such a thing needs to be a priority.
As the only member of the CrazySpence Nation and CBG i'd like to be able to deploy sensor mines in both gateways to the Kingdom of Philtopia so I can sit ready in an empty sector ready to pounce on trespassers