Big Storms

Ed Kolis · #1 October 29th, 2002, 11:40 PM

Storms are pretty meaningless until Stellar Manipulation is developed, since they generally occur in open space where they are easily avoided. What if storms were bigger and took up more than one sector - this could be done by having it so that when a storm is specified in SystemTypes.txt, it also takes a size parameter, size being a number from 1 to 169 (the number of sectors in a system) and defining the number of adjacent storms to actually generate. (Or, add a way to generate one stellar object a certain distance from another... currently you can generate another object in the same sector or orbit, but not a certain distance away...)

Arkcon · #2 October 30th, 2002, 03:31 PM

When you can make storms, you can put 4 or more together to get a bigger one. Maybe if you mod the number of storms that appear and their positions in the data file, they'd be more likely to be touching when generated and work like a bigger storm? Dont't let the fact that they're different types discourage you. Happens in SciFi all the time -- different parts of an obscuring part of space haveing different properties.

It would be nice if things could take up more than one sector in SE5. Then you could have built up planets as a smaller, earlier, ringworld.

[ October 30, 2002, 13:34: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

rdouglass · #3 October 30th, 2002, 04:57 PM

Storms are IMO not meaningless. Many times I've set up bases of operations deep in enemy territory inside a storm. It's quite effective when you can build a few SY's and replenish fighters, sats, etc.; refuel / resupply; or just build up an attack force within the enemy's territory.

I 'discovered' this by accident a LONG time ago. I got one of those 'spacial anomolies' that transported a SpaceStation with an SY half way across the map early in the game. Didn't (at the time) know what to do with it so I started building. Of course, I couldn't do any diplomacy or intel untill we had a Warp Point connection, but I still could raid 'em...

Growltigga · #4 October 30th, 2002, 05:12 PM

I agree. It took me a fair while on a hotseat game with the cat to wonder how on earth he kept on slipping light cruiser squadrons into my rear systems and playing merry havoc with my commerce.

Pondered that one for ages until I discovered that base space yard lurking in a storm the little rascal.

The other tactic storms are good for is where you have a border system with a storm 2 or 3 sectors away from the warp point to the enemy sector. Plant a minelayer in the storm, watch his ships sneak through to raid your systems and meanwhile, lay a nice field on the warp point. It is a right laugh when he sneaks back through right into your minefield.

If I have a storm near an inhabited planet, I also like trying to sucker the enemy to attack that planet by maintaining stacks of fighters and warships in the storm.

Pax · #5 October 30th, 2002, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ed Kolis:
[...]this could be done by having it so that when a storm is specified in SystemTypes.txt, it also takes a size parameter, size being a number from 1 to 169 (the number of sectors in a system) [...]

Better. Make the storn's size defined by a number from 0 to 6 ... said being the number of squares of "Radius" from the centerpoint. A 0-radius storm would be the current, one-sector-only storm. A 6-radius storm would be the whole sector (the center, 6 to each side, that's 13x13).

Round storms would be best, ofc, but ... *shrug* ...

Wardad · #6 October 30th, 2002, 06:52 PM

oops, I forgot which color storms are good hiding against which sensor level.

Fyron · #7 October 30th, 2002, 08:09 PM

The color is independant from the abilities. It is completely random.

geoschmo · #8 October 30th, 2002, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ed Kolis:
(Or, add a way to generate one stellar object a certain distance from another... currently you can generate another object in the same sector or orbit, but not a certain distance away...)

I am pretty sure you could add several storms and give them all an exact position. Like one at 2,3, one at 2,4, one at 3,3, and one at 3,4. This would give you a storm the size of four sectors.

And I think you can even make it a special storm type in the sector abilities file so it will aways be the same picture, if you want the storm to look consistant accross it's whole size.

But it wouldn't be a random size and placement the way you want it to be.

Geoschmo

capnq · #9 October 30th, 2002, 09:11 PM

Quote:

I forgot which color storms are good hiding against which sensor level

You're thinking of nebula systems, not storm sectors.

Fyron · #10 October 30th, 2002, 10:52 PM

Geo, make the special multi-sector storms be a different size than Medium (which is the size of all default storms). Change all the normal storm sizes in SystemTypes.txt from Any to Medium. Then
to make a multi-sector storm, you have 4 sizes you can call upon. Have 1 entry for a Tiny, a Small, a Large and a Huge storm in SectType.txt. You can use 4 tiles (one for each size) to design the multi-sector storm in SystemTypes.txt. You can then tell the storms to be a different storm type than Normal Storm. Make 4 entires, for each of the tiles in StellarAbilityTypes.txt. You can give rach part whatever ability you want it to have, with a 1000 chance to occur. Or, you could get rid of the normal single sector storms, and have 5 tiles to use for multi-sector storms.