Give UEF and Aeon t3 scouts sonar
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The Omni range is about 1/5th the size of the sonar range on cybran and seraphim scouts. It makes avoiding scouts very easy
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Just realized, this does make a difference when scouting for underwater targets, such as Coms and whatnot.
It's easier to spot them as they or whatever is underwater, remains shown for a longer period of time because of the sonar.Example:
~ Stryker
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Fun fact:
--**************************************************************************** --** --** File : /cdimage/units/UEA0302/UEA0302_script.lua --** Author(s): Jessica St. Croix, David Tomandl --** --** Summary : UEF Spy Plane Script --** --** Copyright © 2005 Gas Powered Games, Inc. All rights reserved. --**************************************************************************** local TAirUnit = import("/lua/terranunits.lua").TAirUnit -- The torpedo is a temporary implementation of the ability to launch sonar buoys. -- Currently, a torpedo is dropped into the water that transforms into the buoy. -- Once we get proper "alt abilities", we can switch the buoy creation to use that system. local TANTorpedoAngler = import("/lua/terranweapons.lua").TANTorpedoAngler ---@class UEA0302 : TAirUnit UEA0302 = Class(TAirUnit) { -- Disabling for now, while Design decides whether they want this functionality -- Weapons = { -- BuoyLauncher = Class(TANTorpedoAngler) { -- FiringMuzzleBones = {'Projectile',}, -- }, -- }, } TypeClass = UEA0302They were experimenting with the UEF spy planes to be able to drop sonar buoys
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That's pretty cool!
Any idea of what it actually looked like in-game?
Would it be possible to bring back?
~ Stryker
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Apparently this is the buoy:
It instantly crashes the game to desktop when I try to spawn it
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Why don't these scouts have sonar, to begin with?
Is it due to it being like a faction ability of sorts?
Or balance?
~ Stryker
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I suspect it is because it has always been like this, nothing too special.
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We need to find Jessica St. Croix and David Tomandl immediately
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Honestly, just give it slightly bigger omni radar as compensation for lack of sonar.
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How much larger?
Because I don't think that a slighter larger Omni radius would help solve the lack of sonar situation.
It would have to be a considerably larger radius. 15 - 20% or larger, I imagine.
~ Stryker
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The issue is actually quite simple - intel ranges are spherical - and you need to account for the altitude of the air unit - and the depth of the naval units. This has always been the case, which is why the attempt was made to implement something like sonar buoys - unfortunately, it littered the game with many more entities, which choked performance, so it was never revisited.
To properly utilize sonar, on the air scouts - the sonar range would need to take the above mentioned values into account - and it would look very wrong, as far as the range rings are concerned. The best implementation I have seen, comes from BrewLAN, which creates an invisible appendage attached to the air unit, but simply hanging well below - and a sonar entity is attached to that.
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Hanging appendage ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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It would be really cool to see if these buoys could make a return, but it seems unlikely, as @Jip mentioned.
In hindsight, however...
I don't think it'll actually be as useful as having the sonar on the unit itself, as the plane can move much faster and therefore be able to cover a larger area quickly.That is, unless the Spy plane is dropping a buoy that covers the size of a 10 x 10 km area or even just multiple buoys.
Nevertheless, if this ability is ever brought back to life somehow - obviously with some tweaking and all - I'm sure it'll make a great addition to FAF.
~ Stryker
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If we want it as a community then it is possible. But it requires to determine how it should function.
A work of art is never finished, merely abandoned
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It should function as intended -
I imagine it is just like placing down a temporary T1 Sonar, no?
~ Stryker
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for temporary part, it could use fuel passively and destroy itself once it runs out, like mercies
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@jip said in Give UEF and Aeon t3 scouts sonar:
If we want it as a community then it is possible.
Where can I throw in my vote?!
Count mine in!
@mach said in Give UEF and Aeon t3 scouts sonar:
for temporary part, it could use fuel passively and destroy itself once it runs out, like mercies
Sounds like a really neat idea.
Though, I imagine they should be destroyable by units, too - unless it's a completely passive thing like T1 Walls?
(Where enemies can't auto-attack but can manually target, perhaps?)
~ Stryker
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Cybran has radar stealth, give UEF T3 scouts jamming, give the Seraphim scouts a temporary vision bubble where they crash, give Aeon scout a larger Omni radius.
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At the very least I think giving sonar to these spy planes would be reasonable.
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