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Author Topic: A toggle to let AI manage shields  (Read 4623 times)

Bastion.Systems

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A toggle to let AI manage shields
« on: December 01, 2016, 01:58:28 AM »

AI seems to handle omni-directional shields far better than I ever could. I can't shoot my weapons and change shield direction at the same time but the AI is perfect at it.
Maybe a hullmod or a skill that makes the AI turn the shields for you?
I am a captain for god's sake, surely I can find a crewmate to manage turning just like I can put weapons on autofire.
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TaLaR

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2016, 03:08:20 AM »

With current controls it is impossible to manually fire a weapon group and effectively manage an omni-shield.
I'm not sure any control scheme could manage that (at least on keyboard + mouse), just too many input axis.

At best you can use turn-to-cursor + forward facing weapons (mostly hardpoints) and keep shield forward, even then omni-shield doesn't quite maintain perfect sync with ship facing like fixed one (it turns slower). The only benefit of omni in such scenario is ability to occasionally use it to block salamander to the back (but you won't be able to fire manually in process).

Omni-shield is quite good on larger (at least DE) ships that use only auto-fire weapons though.

Auto-managed shield would definitely be at least an option worth considering (though it probably should not manage whether shield is on/off, only it's direction). Another option would be locking shield to particular direction (lock/unlock key).
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Midnight Kitsune

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2016, 03:11:55 AM »

I'm pretty sure that locking the shield and having the AI manage it have been asked before and have been shot down by Alex
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Bastion.Systems

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2016, 03:24:23 AM »

I'm pretty sure that locking the shield and having the AI manage it have been asked before and have been shot down by Alex

That's a shame, well at least I have my trusty Front Shield Emitter hullmod. But if anyone can mod this in I will pay 15€ as a bounty.
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King Alfonzo

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2016, 04:11:00 PM »

I wonder if you could have a 'null' weapon, where you go into that weapon group, and all you have to deal with is the shield, leaving the weapons on autofire? Not exactly a good work around, but still a possibility.

Thaago

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2016, 04:37:00 PM »

I wonder if you could have a 'null' weapon, where you go into that weapon group, and all you have to deal with is the shield, leaving the weapons on autofire? Not exactly a good work around, but still a possibility.

This is what I do almost all the time - I haven't manually aimed a weapon in ages. Although usually instead of an empty group its the missile group and I'm ready to fire them.

I think the OP was asking for the AI to handle the shields. One way I can think of is have it be another 'weapon' group (the UI would loooove that /sarcasm), where toggling it on removes player control of shield direction, leaving us to flicker it on and off with RMB.
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Sy

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2016, 08:55:45 PM »

I wonder if you could have a 'null' weapon, where you go into that weapon group, and all you have to deal with is the shield, leaving the weapons on autofire? Not exactly a good work around, but still a possibility.
you can already do that by just leaving one weapon group empty. if you use only 4 groups in total, you can select the empty 5th one and let the AI handle all weapons. switching to a missile group that you don't want on autofire anyway also works, but selecting the empty one has the advantage of still showing firing arcs of whichever group you had selected before, so you can still see where your weapons will be able to hit an enemy.
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Linnis

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2016, 11:51:56 AM »

But I do have to say. The AI sucks at using shields, while weapons are a little less worse.

Energy weapons the AI do not leave on, while sometimes its best to sweep them to the next target instead of re-firing them.

Ballistic weapons the AI will act like holding down the trigger all the time, racking up all the recoil, while the best option is to shoot in bursts with halts in between.

Shields the AI is a mess... And I dont blame Alex, when to use shields and when not to is one of the major factors of strategy in this game.
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Bastion.Systems

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2016, 12:43:46 PM »

I understand that non-officer AI is deliberately programmed to use shields suboptimally.
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Megas

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Re: A toggle to let AI manage shields
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2016, 01:43:24 PM »

There were times I would have loved shields to be controlled by AI, to rotate or to flicker more effectively than any human can do.  I see it no different than AI controlling weapons.  It would be useful for ships like Tempest, Vigilance, or Medusa where you want to point ships one way and let AI move shields independently of what you do.

Shields the AI is a mess... And I dont blame Alex, when to use shields and when not to is one of the major factors of strategy in this game.
This is why Power Grid Modulation 10 is gold for officers.  Hard flux dissipation works wonders with the current AI of always keeping shields up when enemies are detected.
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