Ambrosia Software Web Board: Tactical Wars Progress Log - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Let me first say that this addon is going to be a multiplayer-only scenario pack, with expanded tactical options. It's not just going to be build a fleet of cruisers, meet opponent, battle to the death. I've spent a lot of time with my friends trying to make this, but now that hera 1.0 is final, I think I'll give it one more shot.

Tactical wars will include many different types of ships and weapons, such as:

-Defence grid ships: These will be completly static at all times (I finally found out how! E-Mail me if you want to know). They will be pretty strong, but they can not be sent to attack ships, they must remain in the same place at all times. They will not be built by a base, instead a base would build transport-like carriers that a player must use to position them in a desired location.

-Repair and re-arm ships: These ships would be slow and unarmed, but would range in features from repairing ships, to putting on different weapons. Also, similarly equiped bases are a plan.

-Traps: Space mines, stealth defences, and my personal favorite, a stealth portal, that, when hit with anything, destroys what hits it and releases some ships for defence. Surprise!!

-Anti-fleet weapons: Super expensive weapons that can destroy an entire FLEET!!! These will be as expensive as several heavy destroyers, but would be able to destroy a fleet of the same resource value of cruisers.

-Construction ships: Ships that would build bases, as well as large stationed weapons. They would be sent in groups, each one would have a marker dropper that would mark an area as a construction site, and a construction team that would make it partialy built. After finished, there would be a variety of ships that would 'complete' the structure, and change it into a spesific object.

-ACTUAL astromining!!!!

These features are hard to make, but I know how to make every single one already. It's going to take a lot of work, and help is welcome. If anyone can make sprites or sound, and is willing to contribute, please email me at Madmanjeff@Hotmail.com

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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

5/19/01

After much frustration and testing, I got the defence grid ships right. Defence drones and transports to carry them. The same methods I used in making the 'new' defence drones would be the same thing I would use in certain traps I have planed, so I guess that's what I'll work on next.

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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

I'll be glad to help with the sprites. Is Tactical Wars going to use the standard Ares races?

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GR Name: Patrick Cavanaugh
The Next Big Thing:
[url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum13/HTML/000216.html"]Wrath Of The Fallen[/url]
Ares TC

5/20/01

-Fixed a problem that caused static defence ships to just spin arround instead of fire weapons.

-Expanded on static ships, added the 'ECM Station' that electjams and fires on ships that get too close.

-Hit a wall in astromining. I will probably drop it t unless I can figure out how to get it right.

Patrick: Tactical Wars will use the origional races from ares, but they will be mostly balenced out into levels. Audemedon would be a fair match for sarilian, ishiman for cantharian, etc. Although all races would have the same abilities in certain key areas, such as astromining and long range weapons.

---------------later on---------------

-Patrick gave me a suggestion that allowed me to get thiiiiiisssss close to perfecting super long range missiles. I'm almost there, but there's a funny problem. I'll try all of my options before I ask for help.
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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

[This message has been edited by Madman (edited 05-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Madman (edited 05-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Madman (edited 05-22-2001).]

Some of those things sound nice, but the defense grids or whatever are nothing new, I use them in SETR.

The repair and re-arm ships sound great, but I don't know if you can get it working well without having to use 'alter object type', and the ammo boxes would have to cater therefore for individual ships, something which might defeat the purpose. I recommend making an energy station, that lets off energy to nearby ships instead.

Traps are nice, but I don't like the stealth portal.

Don't ever use, in my opinion, a ship which costs as much as a whole fleet of cruisers or hvd's. Not that it's impossible, but who would build them in a normal game? Or for that matter get that much resources? My opinion is, anyone who can afford 4+ hvd's has won.

Construction ships are a nice idea, if you can program it not using the mission conditions.

Mining is impossible I think.

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"War? I'd better go and get the washing in!"

5/21/01

-Discovered a new way of astromining, but as with every other idea I've gotten to work, there's a catch. You must either pilot the astrominer yourself or keep telling your miners to fire weapon (can you see where I'm going?). I've got a few ideas as to how I can smooth that out, but I also sent a letter to Nathan Lamont reporting a few problems, and I included a few questions. I'm hoping I made some mistake along the way and it IS possible to astromine directly for resources.

-I'm experimenting with (very) long range guided weapons, but I can't seem to get them right. They keep missing by a hair, which I've also noticed with normal guided weapons in other user made scenarios, and even in normal ares. I included that in the email to Nathan Lamont.

-Added some effects like sparks

-Spent 3 hours trying to figure out why my friggin' missiles never hit anything

Count: There will be many super-expensive things in tactical wars, and ways to fund them. I'll probably scale it down though...... Wouldn't want everyone building a fleet of cruisers. There are many ways of implementing construction ships, my main choice for now is to use the alter base object feature.

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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

[This message has been edited by Madman (edited 05-21-2001).]

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Do you mean that the astrominers aren't attacking the asteroids on their own? If they aren't, check their engage flags (in the "build flags" thingy) and compare them to those of standard Ares astrominers. If there are any differences, make them the same.

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What do you mean by "a hair"? What looks like a hair from long range, or what looks like a hair from up close? Long range hairs can actually be pretty large distances. If it's a long range hair, do the missiles turn at all? If they don't, it's because they never actually get close enough to "see" enemy ships and try to kill them. To fix this, give them a weapon that fires something that's invisible and can't touch anything, and give that weapon VERY high range. If they do turn, try cranking up their turning rates, or try the weapon thing, or both.

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"Thou shalt not be a loser."
[url="http://"http://www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net"]www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net[/url]
Reviews are appreciated.

Hmmm... sounds quite similar to something I was planning right about the same time as b1

There should be something a ways back in the Engineering Dept. called "Yet another Plugin Announcement" by caalaklael (my old self)

Feel free to pillage any ideas, I'll tell you how they work.

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What others can travel so far into so many universes yet remain so deeply rooted in their own?
[url="http://"http://marathon.invasion.tripod.com"]M:Inv[/url] and the [url="http://"http://pub61.ezboard.com/bmarathoninvasion"]M:Inv Webboards[/url]

ill just warn you right now madman, just because something works theorecticly(sp?) in hera doesnt mean it actually works. Hera 1.00 isnt really fully operational, its a7 tooled up some...

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just take my post, and imagine everything is speeled right.

Never mind I got long range missiles to work and they're all I wanted them to be o.O

I'd say tactical wars is now about 20% done.

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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

5/24/01

-Smoothed out all bugs with long range weapons, they now work perfectly though with some intentionally set 'limitations'.

-Experemented with 'alter absolute cash' only to find out that I have no clue what it really does, if anything.

-Tried to add some new scaling and changing features only to learn that the right sequence actions in hera had not been implemented.

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George W Bush is the anti-christ!
http://www.geocities..._92627/Bush.htm

Theoretically, Alter Absolute Cash changes resource amounts for players.
I'm not sure if it's really implemented.

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What others can travel so far into so many universes yet remain so deeply rooted in their own?
[url="http://"http://marathon.invasion.tripod.com"]M:Inv[/url] and the [url="http://"http://pub61.ezboard.com/bmarathoninvasion"]M:Inv Webboards[/url]

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its never worked for me

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just take my post, and imagine everything is speeled right.

5/28/01

Sadly, I think I have to re-write tactical wars yet again, or at least start from one of my backups. I've found numerous bugs (can someone tell me what email address to send ares bugs to? I forgot.) and there seems to be no way to fix them. Features that have worked since I have stopped changing them no longer work, and scenarios have ships where I didn't put them. Even ships that I didn't put in at all. Well.... there goes another week's work.

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Bush-Bash link of the week:
http://gwbush.com/wdance/index.htm
The W. Dance

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aresbugs@AmbrosiaSW.com


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GR Name: Patrick <East>
[url="http://"http://www.obain.f2s.com/eastlegion.html"]Eastlegion HQ[/url]
My upcoming Ares TC:
[url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum13/HTML/000216.html"]Wrath Of The Fallen[/url]

After much thought, I won't be re-writing TW, I've got something new planned. After playing a few more cruiser-war games, I noticed that it was actually pretty fun . I'm just going to make something that kiiinnndaa spices up the whole fleet idea. More power stations, more flack drones, more defences, and most of all, more reasons to save up and make a carrier!

Moderators, here is the key. Please lock up when you leave, I'm going home early.

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Bush-Bash link of the week:
http://gwbush.com/wdance/index.htm
The W. Dance

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Shoot. Oh well, I guess some else will write something similar to TW eventually.

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GR Name: Patrick <East>
[url="http://"http://www.obain.f2s.com/eastlegion.html"]Eastlegion HQ[/url]
My upcoming Ares TC:
[url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum13/HTML/000216.html"]Wrath Of The Fallen[/url]

By your command.

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