Fractal Softworks Forum

Starsector => Suggestions => Topic started by: conorano on March 08, 2013, 03:02:15 PM

Title: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: conorano on March 08, 2013, 03:02:15 PM
just something simple for lazy people like me and others. when you hold shift and a or d you enter a form where your ship aims and turns to where your cursor is pointing, i really like this way of moving with frontal designed ships and almost always use it. the problem is, when you do that it is not only annoying that you have to hold the shift key but its also annoying that you cant switch weapons becouse it then only toggles autofire (this isnt a major problem becouse you could just un shift for a sec but still).
all i ask is a simple toggle key that sets it on something like gunship mode so you dant have to hold shift all the time. (this could be really hard to add in i really have no idea)
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: Decer304 on March 08, 2013, 03:08:17 PM
I think there was a post about this before, mouse controlled ships. I think Alex might add it in as an option, but he did say that he personally didnt like it and using the mouse doesnt feel as good as using the keys to turn, in terms of stake and authenticity.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: Gothars on March 08, 2013, 03:09:20 PM
From the manual:

There is a “autoturnMode:false” setting in starsector-core/data/config/settings.json. If you bind turn left/turn right to shift-A/D, and set "autoturnMode":true, you'll always turn to follow the mouse unless you're actively turning or holding down shift. So it's the opposite of the current behavior.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: conorano on March 08, 2013, 03:13:45 PM
hmm that seems good. but it would be nice if this would be in in a more accesible way so like ingame, if this isnt something major to code ofcourse.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: Wyvern on March 08, 2013, 03:17:38 PM
Hm... You know what might be neat for some ships?  Robotron mode!  (In case you're not aware, that means: aim with mouse, wasd keys move you in that direction - so, regardless of facing, 'w' makes you move north, etc.  Should work well for ships that are good at strafing; likely would work rather poorly for larger slower ships with limited side-to-side mobility, as robotron mode only allows you to thrust in 8 different directions, and if none of those 8 match up to "forwards"...)

Still.  Would likely be fun to play with, especially for some of the zippier frigates.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: Chancellor Meatsteak on March 08, 2013, 04:38:00 PM
...but its also annoying that you cant switch weapons becouse it then only toggles autofire ...

I get around that by rebinding my 'toggle autofire' keys from Shift# to Ctrl#. I think they should be Ctrl# by default since control isn't used for anything and having them be Shift# runs into the aforementioned problem.

I personally don't find continuously holding shift down to be annoying but I guess I'm just used to it now and I can definitely see how some people would want it as a toggle.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: JT on March 09, 2013, 03:14:27 AM
Hm... You know what might be neat for some ships?  Robotron mode!  (In case you're not aware, that means: aim with mouse, wasd keys move you in that direction - so, regardless of facing, 'w' makes you move north, etc.  Should work well for ships that are good at strafing; likely would work rather poorly for larger slower ships with limited side-to-side mobility, as robotron mode only allows you to thrust in 8 different directions, and if none of those 8 match up to "forwards"...)

Still.  Would likely be fun to play with, especially for some of the zippier frigates.

While I don't hate the idea outright, it just feels too... dual-stick-shooter to me. ;-)
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: BillyRueben on March 09, 2013, 05:25:26 AM
Hm... You know what might be neat for some ships?  Robotron mode!  (In case you're not aware, that means: aim with mouse, wasd keys move you in that direction - so, regardless of facing, 'w' makes you move north, etc.  Should work well for ships that are good at strafing; likely would work rather poorly for larger slower ships with limited side-to-side mobility, as robotron mode only allows you to thrust in 8 different directions, and if none of those 8 match up to "forwards"...)

At first, I also thought that would be a cool control scheme. There are a few problems however: It would be difficult to control an omni shield, and it would also be difficult to use your turret weapons against another ship that isn't in front of you.
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: JT on March 09, 2013, 01:32:29 PM
I dunno, that part of the problem might not be a problem -- just use the AI's own "where I want to go" (http://fractalsoftworks.com/2011/07/08/thoughts-on-ai-collision-avoidance/) behaviour for determining where to point the ship based on where you want the ship to move, and then the mouse cursor becomes "where I want my guns/shields to point" (like normal), not necessarily where the ship's nose points. The more "insistently" you hold a specific direction key (i.e., holding down a specific direction or combination of directions without adjustments), the more likely the AI will cause you to whip around and bring the main thrusters into line with your desired direction. But in general, the AI would take over attempting to bring the best weapons to bear and your job would just be to give strategic-level input on desired position and desired firing direction.

If AI ships behave like player ships, there's nothing stopping the opposite from being true.

Of course, again, I'm not sure I like the idea of the game becoming a dual-stick shooter. =)
Title: Re: gunship mode ''toggle''
Post by: Wyvern on March 09, 2013, 02:18:46 PM
Hm... You know what might be neat for some ships?  Robotron mode!  (In case you're not aware, that means: aim with mouse, wasd keys move you in that direction - so, regardless of facing, 'w' makes you move north, etc.  Should work well for ships that are good at strafing; likely would work rather poorly for larger slower ships with limited side-to-side mobility, as robotron mode only allows you to thrust in 8 different directions, and if none of those 8 match up to "forwards"...)

At first, I also thought that would be a cool control scheme. There are a few problems however: It would be difficult to control an omni shield, and it would also be difficult to use your turret weapons against another ship that isn't in front of you.

Oh, certainly, it's not good for every ship (hint: front shield emitter is useful!), and even some of the ships it could work for, you wouldn't always want it on.  But it'd work well with (at least some builds of) Eagle, Apogee, Brawler, Falcon, Hyperion, Aurora, etc. - essentially, any ship with a good front shield (or that can, like the Aurora, be modded to have a good front shield), and with armament consisting of fixed-forward weapons or turrets you can reasonably leave on autofire.