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Suggestions / Potential solution for the PD problem--and more
« on: March 19, 2012, 06:21:15 AM »
Maybe I've been having too much Red Storm Rising, Harpoon and Aurora lately, but here's a potential solution to those problems with point defence, some others, and -probably- a new layer of gameplay, if Alex hasn't already got something similar planned:
More extensive modeling of fire-control systems.(Or: Aegis IN SPACE)
Which means the incorporation of a few elements of real-world surface-to-air defence into the game, which includes: search sensor, fire-control sensor with simulated target channels, and associated computer routine to control them.
Search Sensor
The current implementation of target detection in combat is pretty simple, with every type of ship and fighter having exactly the same detection range, and nigh-clairvoyance outside of combat. A bit of variety here, perhaps when Alex implements more (component-based?) systems on ships for EMP weapons to play with, would probably help as we cannot really expect the same sensor capability on Hound and Odyssey, or Talon and Thunder for that matter. These enhanced search sensors could also, in a more involved way, provide initial target vectors and priority to the Control Routine, which will then append the target with a priority number calculated with a scoreboard system involving target type, range and actual threat for--
Dedicated Fire-control Sensors
--to develop a target solution including range, bearing and speed, which would make lead calculation a cakewalk and solve the problem with non-beam weapons on crossing/kiting targets, and, also depending on user preference, assign correct type and number of weapons on the correct arc on each of them. These measures will, at least, most likely increse the usefulness of, say, a few banks of pulsed PD lasers tenfold by stopping them from wasting all their shot on the first missile in a salvo, and let them engage these missiles one-by-one, while retaining their ability to blot individual fighters out of the darkest sky by concentrated salvo with no missile around, all within the limit of the--
Target Channels(The number of the targets, missiles included, the fire control sensor, thus the ship, is able to engage at once)
--to stop things from getting too ridiculous. A frigate like Hyperion would need at most two channels for its two light turret mount for PD, and another to provide leading cue for its hardpoint weapons on the current pilot selected target, an odyssey would probably need much more than that to reasonably utilize its impressive bank of light energy turrets, missile pods and heavy energy weapons, while a Hound would probably have to make do with one, or none at all, given its technology. Basically, the problem will change from the allocation of individual weapons to the allocation of fire-control target channels, which will likely improve weapon efficiency.
Control Routines and Target Priorization
This is the difficult part, but also the essence of the current real-world air defence magic, which, when implemented into the laser-and-nebula world of Starfarer, will work even better than it does in real life given the reliability of weapons in-game. The basic idea is to ration the available firepower onto individual targets depending on threat to achieve maximum efficiency. Take the example of two wings of Piranhas on a bombing run against an Targeting Unit and PD AI-modded, Tactical Laser equipped Odyssey in 0.51a: While the Piranhas would still make nice targets for the Odyssey's now 900 range PD laser on ingress and egress, things will be different when some twenty bombs start their final flight which should take the heat off the bombers, although some of them will miss, and pose no threat whatsoever to the Odyssey herself and should not be targeted, while a few Reaper torpedos, if they're there and they're going to hit, should be the first things to shot down even if those bombs are still out there. For this purpose, as said, a configurable scoreboard system, with different parameters for different types of weapon, with regards to target type, range and vector will work.
Further Expansion, and Complications
With a detailed sensor and fire control in place, further expansions from upgradable sensor and fire-control components and differenated detection range for different ship types will be easy to implement if necessary, and other concepts like electrical warfare, which includes only EMP weapons as of now, would also be more feasibly integrated.
However, a significant change like this will almost surely tip the balance of the game, if only by improving the effectiveness of point defence and longer ranged ballistic weapons to the point of requiring full saturation attack on every sufficiently equipped capital ships, reducing the efficiency of fighters and frigates, and rendering things like Pilum missiles even more obsolete. From a programmer's point of view and depending on existing code, this would be difficult-especially the threat scoreboards and target selection algorithm- at best, or next to impossible by requiring rewrite in large sections at worst. Constant calculation of every fire-control channel in use and tracking for every object in every ship's sensor scope would also eat up the available processing power.
Any thoughts?
More extensive modeling of fire-control systems.(Or: Aegis IN SPACE)
Which means the incorporation of a few elements of real-world surface-to-air defence into the game, which includes: search sensor, fire-control sensor with simulated target channels, and associated computer routine to control them.
Search Sensor
The current implementation of target detection in combat is pretty simple, with every type of ship and fighter having exactly the same detection range, and nigh-clairvoyance outside of combat. A bit of variety here, perhaps when Alex implements more (component-based?) systems on ships for EMP weapons to play with, would probably help as we cannot really expect the same sensor capability on Hound and Odyssey, or Talon and Thunder for that matter. These enhanced search sensors could also, in a more involved way, provide initial target vectors and priority to the Control Routine, which will then append the target with a priority number calculated with a scoreboard system involving target type, range and actual threat for--
Dedicated Fire-control Sensors
--to develop a target solution including range, bearing and speed, which would make lead calculation a cakewalk and solve the problem with non-beam weapons on crossing/kiting targets, and, also depending on user preference, assign correct type and number of weapons on the correct arc on each of them. These measures will, at least, most likely increse the usefulness of, say, a few banks of pulsed PD lasers tenfold by stopping them from wasting all their shot on the first missile in a salvo, and let them engage these missiles one-by-one, while retaining their ability to blot individual fighters out of the darkest sky by concentrated salvo with no missile around, all within the limit of the--
Target Channels(The number of the targets, missiles included, the fire control sensor, thus the ship, is able to engage at once)
--to stop things from getting too ridiculous. A frigate like Hyperion would need at most two channels for its two light turret mount for PD, and another to provide leading cue for its hardpoint weapons on the current pilot selected target, an odyssey would probably need much more than that to reasonably utilize its impressive bank of light energy turrets, missile pods and heavy energy weapons, while a Hound would probably have to make do with one, or none at all, given its technology. Basically, the problem will change from the allocation of individual weapons to the allocation of fire-control target channels, which will likely improve weapon efficiency.
Control Routines and Target Priorization
This is the difficult part, but also the essence of the current real-world air defence magic, which, when implemented into the laser-and-nebula world of Starfarer, will work even better than it does in real life given the reliability of weapons in-game. The basic idea is to ration the available firepower onto individual targets depending on threat to achieve maximum efficiency. Take the example of two wings of Piranhas on a bombing run against an Targeting Unit and PD AI-modded, Tactical Laser equipped Odyssey in 0.51a: While the Piranhas would still make nice targets for the Odyssey's now 900 range PD laser on ingress and egress, things will be different when some twenty bombs start their final flight which should take the heat off the bombers, although some of them will miss, and pose no threat whatsoever to the Odyssey herself and should not be targeted, while a few Reaper torpedos, if they're there and they're going to hit, should be the first things to shot down even if those bombs are still out there. For this purpose, as said, a configurable scoreboard system, with different parameters for different types of weapon, with regards to target type, range and vector will work.
Further Expansion, and Complications
With a detailed sensor and fire control in place, further expansions from upgradable sensor and fire-control components and differenated detection range for different ship types will be easy to implement if necessary, and other concepts like electrical warfare, which includes only EMP weapons as of now, would also be more feasibly integrated.
However, a significant change like this will almost surely tip the balance of the game, if only by improving the effectiveness of point defence and longer ranged ballistic weapons to the point of requiring full saturation attack on every sufficiently equipped capital ships, reducing the efficiency of fighters and frigates, and rendering things like Pilum missiles even more obsolete. From a programmer's point of view and depending on existing code, this would be difficult-especially the threat scoreboards and target selection algorithm- at best, or next to impossible by requiring rewrite in large sections at worst. Constant calculation of every fire-control channel in use and tracking for every object in every ship's sensor scope would also eat up the available processing power.
Any thoughts?