Topic: D2 Admins and Scripters - A Note On Monitors:

[Corbomite]

Ok first off , thanks to FireSoul and Capt. Jeff for all the work on the SFB-like shiplists. New toys are always fun to have and these come from the original source material for the game, so CHEESE FOR EVERYONE!!!  

Now, about those monitors. They should not be in the shipyards for general consumption. Montiors played a very specific role in SFB and no one in their right mind would even buy one on the D2. This is a quote from the SFB material on them:

Quote:
(R1.22A) GENERAL: Montiors were designed as self-portable defensive bases. They have dreadnought firepower (enough to defeat any single opponent), but are very slow. Whenever a system was threatened, a starship was dispatched to provide protection. If the threat persisted, a monitior was assigned, freeing the starship for duty else where. If the threat vanished or defenses were built, the monitor was reassigned.

And a snippet from

Quote:
(R1.22B) MANEUVER LIMITATIONS: ...Monitors cannot be assigned by players as convoy escorts. This did happen rarely, however, and a published senario might portray such an event.
A monitor could almost never be used to attack an enemy base. It would take so long to reach the base (due to it's slow speed) that the enemy would be able to move reinforcements to the base and defeat the attack.

I think monitors should be used by the scripters to make some more interesting missions and maybe spice up some of the one's we already have, but not be available to the players (unless called for in the script). Some suggestions are:

1) Use them to guard the LP in the Data Recovery mission. I know from NW Agent Recovery version of the mission that ships can be made to stay in the vicinity of he LP and not engage until a ship gets near them, i.e. they don't go out to meet the enemy as it were. As slow as monitors are, it would be stupid anyway.

2) Write a mission where they are placed to guard a Science Station (SBS), a Base Station (BS) (we all know they are wimpy anyway) or a BATS/SB under construction. Just the BATS/SB would be the "under constuction" theme, SBS abd BS would have them permantly there for extra firepower. Again, program them to stay in the vicinity of the base during the mission. They would be in addition to any ships generated to defend the installation (the one's that go out to die horribly by our hand).

3) They could be added to the Scan Planet mission that NW wrote as the ship that is the "hostile" and have it orbit the planet intead of having a ship "in the vicinity we have to deal with too". I'm not saying all the time, it might be a random generated thing: sometimes the ship, sometimes the monitor.

4) They could be added (again randomly) to any of the Planet or Base Assault (on either side, but on the defending side mostly) scripts just for some spice.

5) A special Convoy Raid/ Escort mission could be written to include one. It would be rare as the quote above states. In the escort one, you would be assigned to pilot the monitor much like in NW Training mission.

6) In OP they could be placed in the Asteroid Base Assault/ Defense missions as per above for the other Assault/Defense scripts.

7) They could be added to the Shipyard Assault/Defense (on either side, but on the defending side mostly) scripts just for some spice.

8) Anywhere else you talented mission writers can place them as long as it seems reasonable that there would be one around.

Feel free to add your ideas to the list. Hopefully we can find a cool use for them without them clogging up the shipyards and keeping ships we want out of the list.

Thank you for reading this.



     

[FireSoul]

Quote:
Ok first off , thanks to FireSoul and Capt. Jeff for all the work on the SFB-like shiplists. New toys are always fun to have and these come from the original source material for the game, so CHEESE FOR EVERYONE!!!  

Now, about those monitors. They should not be in the shipyards for general consumtion. Montiors played a very specific role in SFB and no one in their right mind would even buy one on the D2. This is a quote from the SFB material on them:

Quote:
(R1.22A) GENERAL: Montiors were designed as self-portable defensive bases. They have dreadnought firepower (enough to defeat any single opponent), but are very slow. Whenever a system was threatened, a starship was dispatched to provide protection. If the threat persisted, a monitior was assigned, freeing the starship for duty else where. If the threat vanished or defenses were built, the monitor was reassigned.

Wasn't me! Mine as set as "SPECIAL". .. there in case someone feels like creating a scenario involving them...
.. and for standard multiplayer play if they feel like being suicidal.

Quote:

And a snippet from

Quote:
(R1.22B) MANEUVER LIMITATIONS: ...Monitors cannot be assigned by players as convoy escorts. This did happen rarely, however, and a published senario might portray such an event.
A monitor could almost never be used to attack an enemy base. It would take so long to reach the base (due to it's slow speed) that the enemy would be able to move reinforcements to the base and defeat the attack.

I think monitors should be used by the scripers to make some more interesting missions and maybe spice up some of the one's we already have, but not be available to the players (unless called for in the script). Some suggestions are:

1) Use them to guard the LP in the Data Recovery mission. I know from NW Agent Recovery version of the mission that ships can be made to stay in the vicinity of he LP and not engage until a ship gets near them, i.e. they don't go out to meet the enemy as it were. As slow as monitors are, it would be stupid anyway.

2) Write a mission where they are placed to guard a Science Station (SBS), a Base Station(BS) (we all know they are wimpy anyway) or a BATS/SB under construction. Just the BATS/SB would be the "under constuction" theme, SBS abd BS would have them permantly there for extra firepower. Again, program them to stay in the vicinity of the base during the mission. They would be in addition to any ships generated to defend the installation (the one's that go out to die horribly by our hand).

3) They could be added to the Scan Planet mission that NW wrote as the ship that is the "hositle" and have it orbit the planet intead of having a ship "in the vicinity we have to deal with too". I'm not saying all the time, it might be a random generated thing: sometimes the ship, sometimes the monitor.

4) They could be added (again randomly) to any of the Planet or Base Assault (on either side, but on the defending side mostly) scripts just for some spice.

5) A special Convoy Raid/ Escort mission could be written to include one. It would be rare as the quote above states. In the escort one, you would be assigned to pilot the monitor much like in NW Training mission.

6) In OP they could be placed in the Asteroid Base Assault/ Defense missions as per above for the othe Assault/Defense scripts.

7) They could be added to the Shipyard Assault/Defense (on either side, but on the defending side mostly) scripts just for some spice.

8) Anywhere else you talented mission writers can place them as long as it seems reasonable that there would be one around.

Fell free to add your ideas to the list. Hopefully we can find a cool use for them without them clogging up the shipyards and keeping ships we want out of the list.

Thank you for reading this.
       

The only problem is that these scripts would only work for shiplists that include Monitors.

-- Luc

[Corbomite]

I know FS, I'm not laying blame or pointing fingers, just trying to head it off at the pass. And yes, if the missions are to be used, the monitors would have to be there in the first place. I'll leave that for the scripters and admins to hash out though.

[FPF_TraceyG]

Some good suggestions there, Corb. Actually, even the stock Taldren scripts will require 'something' from a shiplist. A base assault won't work if there are no bases in the shiplist. So, it's not too much of a hassle requiring the shiplist to have certain ships in it, imho.