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Author Topic: Weapon Heat  (Read 3144 times)

xenoargh

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Weapon Heat
« on: August 09, 2012, 12:14:55 PM »

Weapon parameters; if weapon is in continuous use for HeatLimit seconds, it would shut down for OverHeat seconds.  Cumulative, would need a HeatLoss parameter to gradually "cool off".

Hard to convey that via the UI as it is, so I won't be surprised if this one gets shot down, but it'd be nice to have controls over high-ammo, rapid-fire weapons besides burst controls, which are pretty awkward, or Flux, which is very inflexible.
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Faiter119

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2012, 12:28:28 PM »

This is what we have flux for.
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BillyRueben

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2012, 12:29:45 PM »

I'm looking for the difference between what you are suggesting, and flux, which is already in the game. If you really wanted a weapon to shut off after a hard set amount of time, use charges, like the Autopulse Laser does.
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xenoargh

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2012, 12:36:38 PM »

I want it for weapons that don't generate Flux, or generate so little that a sufficiently-powerful ship can fire them all day long.
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Faiter119

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2012, 12:37:42 PM »

No.

Unnecessary complications = Bad for new players

Would also destroy the meaning of vents.
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K-64

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2012, 12:41:10 PM »

Isn't that what the chargedown line is for?
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xenoargh

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2012, 12:46:15 PM »

Quote
Isn't that what the chargedown line is for?
No, that basically just forces the weapon to keep firing for X seconds.  What I want is something that if you don't fire it in short, controlled bursts, that's a valid choice, but it'll "jam up" on you, even if you have plenty of Flux.

I doubt it'd be too terrible; it'd probably be possible to add a heat bar area in the weapon UI above the cycle timer and play an effect / sound when the weapon overheats  :)

Anyhow, just a thought; Flux is such a catch-all variable right now and going outside that box creates some issues with weapons with high cyclic rates.

Another solution would be to let people implement it themselves through an OnFire() function that gets called when the weapon fires, and some sort of game-frame function to alert end-users via sound / text that their weapons have overheated.  I'd rather see it implemented into the game engine, though, because it's going to be hard to work around the AI consequences otherwise.
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Reshy

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2012, 01:00:10 PM »

Why not add a Charged-Based weapon that has no flux cost to fire?
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Thaago

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2012, 01:03:57 PM »

If you want short, controlled bursts why not just have the gun fire in short bursts? I thought that kind of represented heat/loading considerations anyways.
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xenoargh

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2012, 01:07:39 PM »

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Why not add a Charged-Based weapon that has no flux cost to fire?
Well, for rapid-fire weapons, it would either have to:

1.  Recharge at a crazy rate.  Kind of gets rid of the "overheat" scenario there.
2.  Recharge at a slow rate.  So you'd basically get to fire its ammo once (presuming that burst weapons start with full ammo), then "overheat"... then it'd fire veeeeeery sloooooowly.

Instead, I want a weapon that's OK if you fire it in short, controlled bursts, but if you go crazy and fire it for a second or three, it overheats.  Like, for example, the Vulcans; it'd be nice to drop their Flux requirements entirely, give them lots of ammo, and give them a fairly serious weakness, vs. Flux-powered PD- they'd quit shooting after a few seconds of continuous fire.

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If you want short, controlled bursts why not just have the gun fire in short bursts? I thought that kind of represented heat/loading considerations anyways.
Because I want it to be a user choice, not force-built into the weapon's design.  IRL, machineguns aren't usually limited on how long you're allowed to fire them; that's up to the discretion (and desperation) of the end-user.
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Gothars

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Re: Weapon Heat
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2012, 02:06:18 PM »


Quote
If you want short, controlled bursts why not just have the gun fire in short bursts? I thought that kind of represented heat/loading considerations anyways.
Because I want it to be a user choice, not force-built into the weapon's design.  IRL, machineguns aren't usually limited on how long you're allowed to fire them; that's up to the discretion (and desperation) of the end-user.


But if the player chooses to not fire it in short bursts the weapon will not work. Wheres the choice in that? oO
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