Sentry Drones

Think a turret... but it moves. The Sentry Drone would be some kind of circular floating ball with an HP bar that looks like a ship's. It would aim like a turret at any target, and use the same weapon turrets do. If it has no HP it stops moving until repaired, and can be flown past (so you don't have a dead drone blocking the way).

Making one in the editor would come with a little line that can be edited to make a path. The drone follows the path, switching direction at the endpoint, possibly unless the first and last points intersect. It can be set to a team and can have auto-repair like a turret.

As for Engineering Drones? I don't know. Perhaps they can float to the nearest object and orbit it, or float in the direction the Engineer is facing bouncing off walls... I'm thinking Engineered Drones can be moved past freely.

Questions to be answered if this is implemented:
-Do Drones switch direction if the first and last points of their path are joined? (Wondering if this is hard to implement or not.)
-How will Engineered Drones work? (Bounce off walls? Orbit an object? Chase enemies down? Not engineerable in the first place?)
-Can turrets target drones?
-Can drones target turrets?
-Can drones stop to shoot at Forcefields?
-If a drone collides with a barrier, forcefield, etc. then does it keep moving like a moron in that direction or turn around and go the other way? Can drones move through forcefields of enemy teams?
-Is this ridiculously hard to implement?

Questions? Comments? Scathing rebukes?

[Little_Apple]

So basically it's a engineerable turret you don't need to place on a wall?

Drones would be nice, but bitfighter isn't ready for drones yet. We need to improve and update other things before drones because drones can get pretty complex, like how they will react to certain situations. Plus you have many unsure ideas and questions about the idea. Having a "pet" with you in bitfighter seems unneeded in bitfighter. It's like saying we add 1 bot per player. It would change the battle, but both teams are fighting fairly, if even # of players total. We should be more concern with game modes, weapons, modules, and maybe even the energy system.


"So basically it's a engineerable turret you don't need to place on a wall?"

Um no because his idea of a drone moves, it doesn't stand still I think.

Quote, "...If it has no HP it stops moving until repaired, and can be flown past (so you don't have a dead drone blocking the way)..."

I like the drone idea. Having a clone.bot is cool, but for actual combat, it's impractical. A drone orbiting you around would be cool! It's like having your own pet! Who dosnt like pets?

I like the drone idea. Having a clone.bot is cool, but for actual combat, it's impractical. A drone orbiting you around would be cool! It's like having your own pet! Who dosnt like pets?

Tell me what's the significance of a pet in bitfighter? Bitfighter isn't a mmorpg. What do you wanna build a house and feed your pet also? Have a wife and a few kids? This isn't a tycoon game or sims game. BitFighter is a 2D space ship shooting game, it's that simple. Pets are in mmorpg and other games so that customers/kids buy them. It's just content like having a plant, painting, sculpture, or a vase in your home. Human beings are used to having pets and owning something; so the game businesses use this psychology as an advantage over the customers to make money. If you want a pet, go buy one and feed it and love it. Otherwise blow up space ships in bitfighter. Why you think people cut people's heads off in games and not in reality?

It's like having your own pet!

I like the drone idea. Having a clone.bot is cool, but for actual combat, it's impractical. A drone orbiting you around would be cool! It's like having your own pet! Who dosnt like pets?

Cool it's BitPlanets now...

[Little_Apple]

It's funny how serioisly people take things here...

It's funny how serioisly people take things here...

Are you BB's little or bigger brother, cuz you always come to his aid indirectly.

[Little_Apple]

I am neither. But I am not the same age as he. But yet, I am his brother.

I like the drone idea.

[Skybax]

I had an idea like this a while back.
I can't find it though.
It involved floating turrets that didn't need walls to operate.

I dislike the drone idea.

I wasn't thinking of a pet. The drone doesn't orbit you specifically (on purpose at least), it just follows a set path and acts as a moving turret.

[ZoombeR]

ok. so what happened to robots? they're not drones? what are they then?

Basically they want a drone ("pet") to orbit around their ship because they think it looks cool and they're bored. It honestly just adds more content and not much influence to the battle system of BF. DarkOrbit has drones...it's not really useful in my opinion.

http://en.darkorbit.com/big/17/?aid=331&aig=22

[karamazovapy]

OP didn't want a pet. He wanted turrets that would patrol waypoints.

[ZoombeR]

im not so against it.
Maybe they can be drone placers, instead of engineered items?
a full separate weapon or module for the sentry drone?
the only issue here is spawning a drone and re-spawning..Maybe a 1 minute rate of fire that transfers over after death.

[Skybax]

Wait wait wait. _k's post just totally changed my view.
A moving turret that would follow a set path, return, and repeat. You could totally use my floating turret design. When you shoot it's health away, it just stops moving and firing, and begins again when it gets healed.
You could set it's path using keyframes in the editor.
I totally dig this idea now. I want it.

Wait wait wait. _k's post just totally changed my view.
A moving turret that would follow a set path, return, and repeat. You could totally use my floating turret design. When you shoot it's health away, it just stops moving and firing, and begins again when it gets healed.
You could set it's path using keyframes in the editor.
I totally dig this idea now. I want it.

How fast would it move, should it be slower than ships? Also, what if it blocks an actual path (like in a small map)?

[Skybax]

Maybe have it be five seconds between each keyframe. Longer distance between keyframes = faster movement. And vice versa.
Blocking a path could be a level design strategy.... You could only go down this certain corridor if you enter at a specific time and don't stop.
Multiple moving turrets in a circle with a gap could be used as a revolving door.
I am loving this idea more and more.

Maybe have it be five seconds between each keyframe. Longer distance between keyframes = faster movement. And vice versa.
Blocking a path could be a level design strategy.... You could only go down this certain corridor if you enter at a specific time and don't stop.
Multiple moving turrets in a circle with a gap could be used as a revolving door.
I am loving this idea more and more.

DaMn talk about more map features...
Still I'm concerned about the blocking a path...
Force shields had to be changed and sometimes messed up the game when one team's flag is untouchable. It says so in your own signature.

I think when certain, specific drones are dead (0 hp) you can move pass them. To prevent areas that have paths that could be blocked by the drone.

[Skybax]

Okay. You couldn't engineer a moving turret because you can't set keyframes in game. So if a moving turret blocked a flag permanently, it would be a broken level via failed level editor skills. Not stupid players.
EDIT: However, if a level designer made it so the turret would occasionally block the path to the flag, it would make it so players would have to take into account timing when flag running. They could get caught and zapped because the path they needed to quickly travel was momentarily blocked by a moving turret. You could even make moving turret mazes.

If there were only one mini hallway/pathway to get the flag, then if it's blocked, you can't get the flag. I'm talking about a blockade on the opening formed by normal walls. I guess what you could do is heal it to make it your own, but what if it belongs to the enemy team like some permanent turrets.

[Skybax]

So you mean, like… say, if my team was ahead. I could technically kill my own moving turret in a specific spot so that I essentially locked myself in with the flag. Yeah I could see how that could be taken advantage of. Maybe make it so that once the turrets were dead, they could be pushed along their path by ships? Or even weapons. This would make it necessary to show the moving turret's paths in-game.

So you mean, like… say, if my team was ahead. I could technically kill my own moving turret in a specific spot so that I essentially locked myself in with the flag. Yeah I could see how that could be taken advantage of. Maybe make it so that once the turrets were dead, they could be pushed along their path by ships? Or even weapons. This would make it necessary to show the moving turrets paths in-game.

GENIUS!!!
You just like Exploded something...

THIS IDEA HAS TO HAPPEN

[Skybax]

So now do you share my love of this idea?

[karamazovapy]

You'll be able to program bots to do all of this once we add a few new bot features like Bot Spawns and Hostile Bots.

I think they're in the pipeline.

You'll be able to program bots to do all of this once we add a few new bot features like Bot Spawns and Hostile Bots.

I think they're in the pipeline.

But it ain't the same thing...

[karamazovapy]

It's functionally almost identical.

You could even program the bots to block every shot fired at them, but to stop firing back after a certain number of times. Or stop flying. Or change direction when fired upon. Imagine the puzzles.

It's functionally almost identical.

You could even program the bots to block every shot fired at them, but to stop firing back after a certain number of times.

But the bot gets destroyed, the drone doesn't...that's what his details says from skybax

[karamazovapy]

The only reason bots aren't invincible is that we've programmed them that way. We could easily modify them to be unkillable.

The only reason bots aren't invincible is that we've programmed them that way. We could easily modify them to be unkillable.

So when their health bar is 0, their "dead body/ship" is still there?

Wait wait wait. _k's post just totally changed my view.
A moving turret that would follow a set path, return, and repeat. You could totally use my floating turret design. When you shoot it's health away, it just stops moving and firing, and begins again when it gets healed.
You could set it's path using keyframes in the editor.
I totally dig this idea now. I want it.

[karamazovapy]

No. If we give them infinite energy, we could make them shield continuously and stop moving or firing back after being hit a certain number of times.

No. If we give them infinite energy, we could make them shield continuously and stop moving or firing back after being hit a certain number of times.

Wouldn't it be confusing to tell the difference between a s_bot and a bot (that looks exactly the same) that is suppose to be a map feature? That's why it's a drone and not a ship because it's a map feature like a moving wall. I mean a ship acting like a wall doesn't make sense nor looks right on a map.

[sam686]

"Sentry Drones" sounds like either a moving wall with a turret on the moving wall? Or a turret moving sideways on the wall?

Turrets don't have energy, only health, and it fires bullets at enemy.

"Sentry Drones" sounds like either a moving wall with a turret on the moving wall? Or a turret moving sideways on the wall?

Turrets don't have energy, only health, and it fires bullets at enemy.

It's a turret that doesn't require to be placed on a wall and can act as an obstacle. When 0 hp, it stops moving/firing like a normal turret, except the original turrets obviously cannot move. Also, the drone moves in a certain path like skybax explained. Skybax came up with more details/ideas on it, he could probably explain it better.

[sam686]

It's a turret that doesn't require to be placed on a wall and can act as an obstacle. When 0 hp, it stops moving/firing like a normal turret, except the original turrets obviously cannot move.

That sounds like you want a turret that can float in the middle without being attached to walls, and can fire at any direction. Bouncy turrets?

Also, the drone moves in a certain path like skybax explained. Skybax came up with more details/ideas on it, he could probably explain it better.

That part can be a bit harder to program into editor, how should the editor look like for drone (moving turret) paths?

It's a turret that doesn't require to be placed on a wall and can act as an obstacle. When 0 hp, it stops moving/firing like a normal turret, except the original turrets obviously cannot move.

That sounds like you want a turret that can float in the middle without being attached to walls, and can fire at any direction. Bouncy turrets?

Also, the drone moves in a certain path like skybax explained. Skybax came up with more details/ideas on it, he could probably explain it better.

That part can be a bit harder to program into editor, how should the editor look like for drone (moving turret) paths?

Skybax POST HERE!!!IT"S YOUR IDEA!
I guess white lines will be the paths of the turret. IDK I thought it was a neat idea, but if it seems hard to program it, it probably isn't worth the trouble, unless something needs to be fixed, which nothing does except bugs that are out of this topic.

[karamazovapy]

I'm officially done responding to ridiculous posts as if they were serious.

If you don't want to figure it out, I'm not going to waste time trying to explain it.

I'm officially done responding to ridiculous posts as if they were serious.

If you don't want to figure it out, I'm not going to waste time trying to explain it.

Sorry dude I did all I can do. I didn't came up with the idea skybax did. Read his previous posts...It probably ain't going to happen like I implied in the previous post...No reason to be mad bro.

[Skybax]

Bouncy turrets? What?
In the editor, I was thinking that the path of the moving turret could look a lot like the green line that goes from warp to drop point, but without an arrow at the end, and more keyframes. Keyframes being the waypoints along the line that would shape it. Like a wall.
Yes, it's basically a turret that doesn't have to be on a wall, and can patrol a set path. A bot doing this job would be weird because, not only would you confuse it with normal bots, but wouldn't it show up on the player list as well?
I'm going to recycle the image I had for floating turrets.

[Skybax]

Why did the conversations stop once I answered the questions? xD

[sam686]

Skybax's drawings kind of looks like a turret that is floating in the middle that could bounce around like a bouncy object.

So a turret going sideways on a rail? That could be useful to make moving turrets harder to fire at. Should turret rail show?

I dislike the bouncy idea. It's just a round, circle turret instead of the original semi-circle turrets.

I think the turret is moving along a rail and can turn 360 degrees like a ship. Original turrets can only turn 180 degrees.

[Skybax]

Yes, it's going on a rail. Yes, the rail should show. I think it should be a green line.

What about a grey line with brown stripes? To look like a rail

[Skybax]

I don't think there are rusty train rails in space… besides, it would be kind of hard to see. Everything else in this game is practically neon.

What about a green line with spikes or green thin-planks on it.

Kinda like that except the planks intercept the line:

l l l l l l l
----------
l l l l l l l

More like this:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Skybax]

No.