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[Lortus]

Recently it has come to my (and some others on discord's) attention that some of the tagging on missiles are a bit questionable.

Sabots have the GUIDED_POOR tag, which seems odd as they are perfectly fine to be fired off bore.

Squalls have USE_VS_FRIGATES which seems a bit odd because that is usually the worst target for squalls (I could be misunderstanding the tag). It also has missile spread which I am not sure what the purpose of is either, but doesn't make much sense just from it's name.

Finally, the best for last, the one that inspired me to make this post, Breaches. Breaches have both the DO_NOT_AIM and DIRECT_AIM tag, which directly contradict each other. Some folks have tested it out and it seems that removing the DIRECT_AIM tag allows the ship to actually use breaches. There was also some debate whether the CONSERVE_ALL tag was necessary when it already has CONSERVE_FOR_ANTI_ARMOR but I suppose it is there to make the AI use breaches more carefully.

Even with fixed breach missile AI, it would still be barely usable, but at least the AI would actually use it now.

P.S. The AI is still pretty bad at breaches because it can't figure out how to use it against armor only.

[Grievous69]

I also saw that talk on Discord but it didn't make much sense to me (like come on, someone else would figure it out by now if if was such a fatal mistake), so here's some info on Breaches I asked Alex about on Twitter:

Spoiler

[close]

Use vs frigates probably means it's ok to shoot at them, not to prioritize them as targets.

I'm no coder but at least I'm not brave enough to make assumptions.

[Alex]

*cracks knuckles*

Sabots have the GUIDED_POOR tag, which seems odd as they are perfectly fine to be fired off bore.

They can be fired off-bore, but it reduces their effective range by quite a bit. All in all I think it does better with the tag.

Squalls have USE_VS_FRIGATES which seems a bit odd because that is usually the worst target for squalls (I could be misunderstanding the tag).

This one's left over from when the Squall had the STRIKE tag, I believe - it just means the weapon is *allowed* to be fired vs frigates in normal (i.e. non-panic-fire) circumstances. Without the STRIKE tag, this tag actually does nothing.

It also has missile spread which I am not sure what the purpose of is either, but doesn't make much sense just from it's name.

It's a setting that affects the behavior of the individual missiles.

Finally, the best for last, the one that inspired me to make this post, Breaches. Breaches have both the DO_NOT_AIM and DIRECT_AIM tag, which directly contradict each other. Some folks have tested it out and it seems that removing the DIRECT_AIM tag allows the ship to actually use breaches. There was also some debate whether the CONSERVE_ALL tag was necessary when it already has CONSERVE_FOR_ANTI_ARMOR but I suppose it is there to make the AI use breaches more carefully.

Ah! DIRECT_AIM has no effect whatsoever on the decision to fire or not fire the missiles. It's a setting the AI of the missile uses, and it tells it not to weave while approaching the target. Any observed effect on firing behavior is 100% confirmation bias.

P.S. The AI is still pretty bad at breaches because it can't figure out how to use it against armor only.

Yep - I've made some changes to this in the dev build, a while back. It should be better, though it's still a bit tricky, especially because of its short range, so the AI may have trouble working it into the rotation. I've got a note to have another quick look at it.

Edit: partially ninja'ed, but meh.

[Lortus]

I see!
Thanks a lot.
I feel perhaps the GUIDED_POOR could have more degrees of poorness. It certainly isn't as bad when fired off bore as an atropos.