A Hard Lesson gets an Idea

[Sundansyr]

After having something happen several times in game I am wondering if it can actually be made useful.

With the P&N mod I was taking missions that targeted some ship or another, and that ship usually had fighter escorts. Those fighters had a very very bad habit of ramming me during the fight... and causing substantial damage if not crippling my little destroyer entirely.

Can the AI be modded to make that a function of specific fighters, turning them into drones? The sole function being to ram their target? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Exan]

Why do that when the game engine already handles fighters with such a fashion? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

No seriously, I have no idea if it can be done. I have little understanding on how to modify the A.I. System maps, quadrant map and the ship files are more my speciality.

[Phoenix-D]

I've tried forcing the AI to ram via AI scripts. Every time I tried what they did was stop around 14ls away from the target..

[Sundansyr]

Phoenix-D said:
I've tried forcing the AI to ram via AI scripts. Every time I tried what they did was stop around 14ls away from the target..



Did you take the weapons off the drones or give them a weapon with a '0' range?
I've not tried to do anything with the game AI, since I'm no programmer, so it may be something else entirely.

What they are always doing when they hit me is fighter loops, very tight and generally in sync with each other. Although sometimes I've seen them ram each other... *evil laugh*

It's strange, though, that it's downright difficult to get a full sized ship to run into me. They're even generally good about avoiding asteroids and planets... until they start doing those circular patterns that they get stuck in so easily (AI glitch?). When they start doing loops near asteroids generally I usually net a good bit of salvage in short order.

[Phoenix-D]

The circular patterns are a pre-programmed behavior that you can change if you like; its in AI_Scripts.txt.

As a side note, that file isn't exactly complicated. Not any more so than any of the other files anyway. If you really want to see a lot of ramming, try cranking up the game speed..

[Longinus]

Maybe you can replace the AI scrit with the one that makes fighter return to carriers, minus the docking part.

[Phoenix-D]

That AI script isn't open to modding unfortunately.