New Mod: The Art of War Mod

[Pax]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
More details to follow. If you have any suggestions by all means feel free. I wont promise I will use them, but I will listen.

Geoschmo

Well, if you'd like, I'll gladly write up a mQNP mount package, if you want to use that system for movement (yes, this is essentially a shameless plug for my idea, heh). Obviously you'd have to let me know if you plan to change any ship sizes, and, let me know what sort of WNP massopulsion ratio you might want.

I also suggest looking at the mount ideas in Deathstalker's mount mod, many of them are IMO quite fun.

From later int eh thread, also posted by Geo
What I have planed, and this may end up getting modified or scrapped altogether, is a system similer to what was used for SEIII. As the ships get larger, the Engines per move goes up, but not as quickly as with QNP. And engines will always have one standard movemnet point, but with the higher level ones getting the bonus movement as is the current stock system. My idea is that the escort with level 1 engines to go a speed of 6 has 6 engines, and has 40% of it's mass dedicated to engines. That's percentage for a movement of 6 I want to remain steady as the ships get larger.

And, what's better, mQNP can do this.

The concept is, each engine produces an increasing numbr of movement points (for my own Exodus mod, I'm planning on 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, for each successive level of propulsion). No engine produces bonus movement points.

You then decide what % of a ships mass will be needed to produce that speed form a single engine; with the engine component itself godawfully huge (Exodus will have engines massing 1,000kT each!), you then use MOUNTS to bring the final engine size down to what a given ship size needs to have.

For example, if you chose 10%, and used 1,000kT engiens ... a 200kT Frigate would use a mount that reducesthe engine size, cost, supplies used, and so on ... by 98%. The mount would specify 200kT as both the maximum AND minimum size of ship that could utilise that mount; each ship size would therefor have it's very own mount for engines.

The only trick is, the beginning escort would need to be reduced to 100kT in size, as I don't believe mounts can use fractional % reductions ...

Also, you can have multiple mounts -- an armored Version, or a normal Version. Each variation of engine you want to model with a mount, simply requires another "Set" of engine mounts. For example, taken from Exodus:

(Note, the Comp Family entry is blank as I haven't yet assigned specific family numbers to the various engine types).

A normal engine mount, intended for the 100kT Escort hull:

code:

---

Long Name                      := A Series Engine Mount

Short Name                     := A Series

Description                    := Engine mount for 100kT hulls

Code                           := A

Cost Percent                   := 1

Tonnage Percent                := 1

Tonnage Structure Percent      := 1

Damage Percent                 := 0

Supply Percent                 := 1

Range Modifier                 := 0

Weapon To Hit Modifier         := 0

Vehicle Size Minimum           := 100

Vehicle Size Maximum           := 100

Comp Family Requirement        := 

Weapon Type Requirement        := none

Vehicle Type                   := Ship

---

An armored mount, intended for the same hull:

code:

---

Long Name                      := Armored A Series Engine Mount

Short Name                     := Armored A Series

Description                    := Armored Engine mount for 100kT hulls; +100% cost/structure.

Code                           := ArA

Cost Percent                   := 2

Tonnage Percent                := 1

Tonnage Structure Percent      := 2

Damage Percent                 := 0

Supply Percent                 := 1

Range Modifier                 := 0

Weapon To Hit Modifier         := 0

Vehicle Size Minimum           := 100

Vehicle Size Maximum           := 100

Comp Family Requirement        := 

Weapon Type Requirement        := none

Vehicle Type                   := Ship

---

That shows the smallest mount available (resulting in 10kT engines, so engines in use at the game's start will be a familiar size to SE4 players ... as the ships get bigger, the engines get bigger but the speeds remain the same).

At the other end of the scale are the M-class engines:

code:

---

Long Name                      := M Series Engine Mount

Short Name                     := M Series

Description                    := Engine mount for 2500kT hulls

Code                           := M

Cost Percent                   := 25

Tonnage Percent                := 25

Tonnage Structure Percent      := 25

Damage Percent                 := 0

Supply Percent                 := 25

Range Modifier                 := 0

Weapon To Hit Modifier         := 0

Vehicle Size Minimum           := 2500

Vehicle Size Maximum           := 2500

Comp Family Requirement        := 

Weapon Type Requirement        := none

Vehicle Type                   := Ship

---

Now you might wonder why M-Class engiens don't simply form the basic size; the intent is to pretty much force players to use the mounts, either through sheer unusable size (originally, Exodus was to use 4,000kT engines, which would NEVER fit un-mounted, in any mobile hull), or through costliness.

Now, the thing is (and thanks for the idea), one can now make an armor component that is also a 0-movement ENGINE. It can have -both- properties, serving as normal armor, and as an engine, to absorb engine-destroying weapons fire (call it Polarised Armor or whatever). No move-bonus conflicts whatsoever, but still the "feel" of QNP-style movement ... with minimal player installing-gobs-of-engines just to move speed 1 (P&N's Battlemoons are -annoying- ... 30+ engines for speed 1 ... sheesh!).

Say the word, give me a list of ship sizes and mass ratios, I'll write up similar style mounts for you.

Posted yet LATER in the thread, still by Geo:
I will have to work on that. Perhaps the master comp will have tech reqs in computers and ship construction, and the higher levels of ships construciton, you will get a master comp with a better maint reduction. Keep it equal to the same level of engineering section. That could work. Of course then you'd have people using master computers on small ships and getting free maint. Maybe I don't want to do that afterall.

Or, a parallel to the Master Computer -- "Automated Maintenance System" or "Automated Engineering" ... no control-component abilities, but a maintenance reduction, based on similar techs to the Master Computer ... ?

[EDIT]
Had some more to put in, andonly now realised how old the thread is, and that Dumbluck is looking to resurrect it. Oh well, the offer still stands.
[/EDIT]

[ November 03, 2002, 11:13: Message edited by: Pax ]