LOL - OK guys, here are a couple of prototype scripts to play with (Met_ED5FleetWarp.scr and Met_ED5PlayerWarp.scr) along with a single-player campaign file if you want to check them out in SP as a Klinky.
http://www3.telus.net/NuclearWessels/sfc/downloads/EDWarpPatrols.exeHere's how things work:
The Map - The map is roughly 2500x2500, so takes about 40 minutes to cross at speed 31 with game speed at 8.
(Note the warp 7 feature below lets you cross the map in about 4 minutes.) - Players start out roughly in the center of the map, with a LOT of empty space around them.
- Closer to the sides of the map, you'll find various randomly generated terrain features, including a sun in one area, planets and a moon in another, an asteroid field in another, with each of these areas seperated by a LOT of empty space.
Disengagement - At the moment disengagement is just by map edge, but the warp options included makes it nearly equivalent to disengagement by acceleration (see below).
Warp OptionsYou can travel around the map at regular combat speeds (up to 31), or at non-combat speeds of warp 5 (speed 125) or warp 7 (speed 343). (IIRC, the SFB/Warp speed conversions were warp N = speed N
3.)
For this "proof of concept" mission, I'm using green/yellow/red alert to switch you between warp 7, 5, and regular combat speeds.
- If you're travelling at speed 27 or higher, hit yellow alert to jump to warp 5 (spd 125).
It will take roughly a turn to make the jump, so you'll be travelling at yellow alert at speed 27 for 30 seconds or so before the jump kicks in. - Once you've made the jump to warp 5, you can make the jump to warp 7 (spd 343) by going to green alert.
Once again, it will take roughly 30 seconds to kick in, during which time you'll be flying without shields.
NOTE: your ship will turn like a pig at warp 7, so make sure you pick an appropriate view to give you a good look in front of you before you jump -- asteroids, suns etc are visible even at a distance of 2500 if you're in F2 or whatever, but the overhead view won't zoom out far enough to see them!
- To drop down in speed, hit yellow alert (to drop from 7 to 5) or red alert (to drop to combat speeds).
Dropping speed shouldn't take more than a couple of seconds.DisclaimerI'm not
at all sure how practical the warping will turn out to be in terms of gameplay, but have a play with it and see what you think!
If we want to use the higher warps for disengagement only, then I can simply chop out the bits that let you drop back down to combat speeds, so once you jump to warp you're on you're way off the map.
At the moment, you have to be able to hit and maintain warp 3 (spd 27) to jump to higher warp speeds. This means slower ships (e.g. the R-WE) are unable to use the warp features. It also means that if your engines have taken more than a few hits then your ship probably can't either. We may want a better system, but this was an easy one to put together for the prototype scripts.
Needless to say, all the numbers (delay times, travel speeds, etc) are pretty arbitrary, so feel free to suggest something that makes more sense!
dave
Topic: Big maps and SFB style disengagement rules? (Read 39938 times)