Discovery Feature Survey - No.2

[Robert.Fitzgerald]

1) In what ships did you observe texture replacement bugs? What other ships are bugged and should be replaced?
Some ships have bad texturing, but I don't know what the texture replacement bug actually is...
Bugged ships: Arwing, Civilian Bomber, Odin, Loki
Arwing: you can't see the weapon fire, and neither can the enemy. Also, the CD often bugs up and doesn't fire when you click fire.Also, there are troubles with weapons not showing on a cargo scan and invisible projectiles.
Civilian Bomber: has similar troubles with the Arwing, with weapons not showing on a cargo scan and invisible projectiles. There is another bug I believe with it, which involves a model swap between the Roc shape and the Bumblebee... The following pictures show a Civilian Bomber with a Bumblebee Model:




Odin and Loki both share bugs regarding weapons not appearing on scans (cargo and HUD scan) and the models actually switch when both are in proximity. In combat, you might see an Odin on your screen, but in fact it's a Loki with Loki weapons. It's quite confusing, and unfair to opponents.

2) What do you think about codename weapon balance? How should location of codename wrecks change in the next release?

The vanilla codenames are trashy, energy/damage wise while the newer codenames have much better efficiency and overall usefulness. Some new ones also look a lot better.
The Solaris should really be brought up to 5.0 refire, to make it unique. Also, could some codenames have shield-damage effects applied to them (Particle, Tachyon, Neutron etc). It'd add to the variety, and maybe allow for factionised weaponry.

I'd like some system in place to prevent people camping the wrecks, as I find the whole business of arms dealing quite OORP and encouraging OORP equipment choices. Perhaps the weapons could be found on guard bases, instead? For a massive fee, you could "trial" the experimental weapon. Factionised codenames, or maybe just remove them. If they are kept, I'd love for some sort of energy overload/self-damage system, as the weapons are supposed to be experimental and dangerous, but that is probably impossible to code so ignore it.

3) What ships require a hitbox change?
Many suggestions are in the Hitbox thread.
Stinger needs a better designed hitbox, preferably custom, as its forward-facing wings aren't covered currently.
Taiidan ships need a better hitbox, preferably custom. The Taiidan Bomber uses a Defender hitbox, and it doesn't fit at all. The Taiidan HF's hitbox is also much larger than the ship itself. The Greyhound also has a weird hitbox.




4) What is your attitude to possible integration of all Vanilla ship components into the hull root? This means that Vanilla ships will have only one component, like all new ships, and will take same splash/missile damage.
I believe this will result in a lot of balance issues, as the Vanilla Ships are widely regarded as great to fly, but vulnerable to "one-shots". I like the fact Titans and Sabres are vulnerable, as it's very realistic for a mine to one hit a ship or a torpedo to take 1-2 fighters out at once.
Also, it's a nice effect to have your components blow off. It looks great on fighters, for example: a mini razor strips your wing off during a joust.
However, is it easy to code the hull-root change?

5) How the ship hit points should be rebalanced if all components of Vanilla ships will be integrated into one (so the original ships would have only one component, like all new ships)?
The whole stats including turning, powerplant and overall agility/basic hull would have to be changed. Armour upgrades won't be as useful, and missiles will be neglected once more. Vanilla ships would probably have to lose hull points, as they are more "resistant" now.
About capital ships, removing the Components is probably a great idea, as it removes the possibility of Nova Torpedo abuse (one ship takes down the shields, the bomber with novas instant-kills the vanilla capital).

6) What do you think about complete disabling of NPC shield and hull repairs? Decrease of NPC ship strength will be compensated with better shields and reinforced hull where necessary.
Is it possible to code for NPCs to use nanobots only? The major trouble I believe with NPCs and their bot/bat usage is the "single-battery" technique. As the freelancer engine requires the shields to be depleted before hull damage can occur, the NPCs tediously regenerate one shield battery at a time. It really is a pain, especially for bombers and capital ships.


7) Which areas of Sirius have too many NPCs? Specify exact locations you are observing in the current mod version.
Delta I believe is a really laggy system, at least on my connection. You can be flying along, about to reach a mission, and tons of npc patrols converge on your position. I've had battles (losses in fact) where swarms of Anubises and Titans have lagged up the connection so much, so I lose from phantom-hull damage (hull damage when you can't see gunfire).
The specific location of the NPC concentrations are in the centre of the system, the area surrounded by the Freeport 11 and fields, the Trio of Suns and Yaren base. There are lots of patrols there, and it gets really laggy at times.

8) Consequences of which RP event you consider worth including into the next mod version? What should be included? Name only ONE event.
Molly Independence, definately. Two separate molly factions would be great, the "lawful" mollies of Dublin and Londonderry, and the "unlawful" terrorist mollies of Newcastle.

9) What do you think about removing Campaign SP compatibility from Discovery (not Open SP compatibility)?
Personally, I think it is a good idea to remove Campaign Single player from Discovery, as it's contradictory and restricts the development of necessary systems (Alaska, Tau 31, New York etc.). Open SP is fine, as it's a great testing ground for modders, bored players and more.
Without the campaign to restrict the mod, it'd allow for systems and new features to be implemented which suit the discovery universe, not the original freelancer world.

10) What is your attitude to possible inflation of credit cards that would prevent cheating with those?
Cheating with Credit Cards? I don't know about this, so I can't really comment. All I see Credit Cards used for are transfers and the very occasional RP.

11) What if all/most armour upgrades are removed and replaced with special expensive money-saving item (similar to credit cards, but without the risk of losing it)?
I don't exactly get what you mean here, do you mean that the armour upgrade itself will be replaced with a cargo item?

12) What should be done about Nova cannon and other bomber weaponry?
I would love for the Factionised Supernova proposal by Clayph to be implemented, as it allows all factions on the server the ability to use vital anti-capital weaponry, without the tedious (and OORP) purchase of the Supernova Anti-matter Cannon.
To make sure capitals aren't too bad off with supernova in existence, I would suggest a slight increase in the shield values of cruisers and battleships. Battleships should be able to survive for a while, however not doing much damage to bombers. The increased survivability will allow them to "tank" the bombers, while the fighter support arrives. Cruisers and Battleships should not be taking on bombers alone. Cruisers should be a mixture of the battleship's survivability and the gunboat's manouverability/killing power.

Mini Razors are mostly a Very Heavy Fighter/Light bomber weapon, designed against fighters, bombers and gunboats. They are practically useless against any other ship.

Infernos are good in lots of situations, and should be pushed to be Outcast and friends only (no freelancers and mercenaries, unless they had the Outcast npc tag). The corsairs should get something in return, perhaps an upgraded Colada or a class 10 salamanca?

13) How would you suggest to balance the missiles for fighters, gunboats, cruisers, and battleships? Note that refire rates for most missiles will be lowered anyway, since missiles are known to be a source of server lag (multiple moving objects).

Missiles on Battleships and Cruisers aren't really that powerful, as they don't have the quick burst of speed to make them useful against fighters or bombers. Gunboat Missiles however, are extremely powerful. Gunboats can quickly thruster around like a fighter or a bomber (the BH GS is as agile as the Barghest) and fire the missiles in a jousting situation. Refire rate changes would be great for capital ship missiles, possibly a energy change is needed also.

Fighters missiles are not common, as a lot of people don't know how or when to use them. They are really only useful against vanilla fighters, however they can be used against components on Bombers and other ships. A possible change would be the reduction in ammo cost, to encourage the usage of fighter missiles.

14) What new IDs would you suggest to add? What ID changes you consider necessary?
I agree with many of the points raised in Kuraine's ID proposal, especially the ones about the BHG and the new, easy to read (and comprehend) format.

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