Laser Deflector Shields and Missile-Deavtivating EM Fields

bwansy · Post by **bwansy** » 02 May 2006, 20:57

I have an idea. If there are plasma repulsors, wouldn't it be good to have laser deflector shields that reflect laser bolts and/or beams (perhaps even back at the enemies?), and missile-deavtivating EM fields that prevents missiles from detonating so that the damage would be reduced? Missiles within the EM field would lose their guidance systems as well. Then other weapons like rail guns or other metallic shells, flame throwers, lightning guns, etc. would have their use.
I think the laser shield would be especially suitable for SWTA and other Sci-fi mods.

Zenka · Post by **Zenka** » 02 May 2006, 21:10

Support for multyple types of shield would be cool.
But unless you are going to code it yourself, it ain't going to happen in the near future.

AF · Post by AF » 02 May 2006, 21:15

the missile thign could eb done with antimissile projectiles that didnt need stockpiling and had no visible model but did have an EMF like wierd effect on explosion

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 02 May 2006, 21:21

there was a guy who programmed a bunch of stuff relating to the shields and such... maybe he's familiar enough with the code to do what your looking for... I know this is a frequent request, we should probably MTR it.

bamb · Post by **bamb** » 02 May 2006, 22:18

and then there needs to be anti-shield-cannons that fire through them damn shields and then anti-shield-cannon-shields to prevent those and...

AA/XTA is already as complex as it is. If there's a counter and re-counter for everything, it just makes games last even longer than they already do.

Dunno, just my noobish 2 cents.

Maybe even the deflector and anti-nuke are already "going too far".

wizard8873 · Post by **wizard8873** » 02 May 2006, 23:03

kinda a bad idea. if a person builds all three in one spot, how are you going to get through there? it would be cool to see small units used those shields but at the same time, they couldn't fire. kinda like a decoy as other units attack from the flanks.

i don't think the deflector is going too far. the deflector takes energy to counter a plasma shot and missiles and laser can get through so it isn't all the powerful.

the anti-nuke is annoying but good at the same time. when you're going up against it, its annoying but its the best thing ever if it's on your side. more shields just means more porcing to drag the game on. its fine as i see it now

cyclerboy · Post by **cyclerboy** » 02 May 2006, 23:04

then porcers, like me, would just build a ton of defence and sheilds and no one would ever penetrate te he base\
that would suck

Gnomre · Post by **Gnomre** » 02 May 2006, 23:19

Laser deflectors would be nice for Jedi :)

Kixxe · Post by **Kixxe** » 02 May 2006, 23:33

Oh bah, it would be cool. Just make em run off a ton of energy, and then send a bunch of AK's/Peewees and all the other shit and BAM. No E, no sheilds, no annhilators/hlt/llt.

Soulless1 · Post by **Soulless1** » 03 May 2006, 01:10

Yes, I think that functionality for these abilities would be a very good idea.

But, like the other posters, I can see how any modder would have to be very careful with how they used that functionality.

So definately yes, stick it in the engine! Then people can bug the modders about specific features :)

bwansy · Post by **bwansy** » 03 May 2006, 02:16

Actually I came up with this idea because I think that SWTA would not be complete without laser shields. Destroyer droids, jedis and AT-ATs should really have them to make the mod realistic (I am a SW fan). Maybe the strength (hitpoint) of the shield can be set by the modder. When the shield gets hit, it would be weakened (proportional to laser's power) until it falls, but it will also be slowly restored. In such way, high power lasers or continuous laser bombardment can shoot through shields with ease (of course no shield can stop superlasers). And of course, I think it should take a decent amount of energy to keep the shield up. Also, shields can be set (by the modder) to be directional or non-directional. Directional shields should be equipped by individual units so that they can shoot out laser (like the destroyer droid), while directional shields are like the plasma repellor towers that protect an area, so that it is necessary to manually lower the shield if you want to shoot back (or wait until the shield is down because of enemy fire or energy outage^_^). The "missile shield" is... well, forget about it. Flares are already good enough.

Kixxe, you're absolutely right. A couple of Peewees can use up all the energy simply by shooting near the plasma repellor. Personally, I think the amount of energy used to repel a shell should be proportional to its mass (damage). It would make more sense if it takes a whole lot more energy to repel a plasma shell from an LRPC than an EMG bullet. I don't know if the programmers have thought about this.

BTW I think the visual effect of laser shields would be awesome.

Sheekel · Post by **Sheekel** » 03 May 2006, 02:27

cyclerboy wrote:no one would ever penetrate the base

SinbadEV · Post by **SinbadEV** » 03 May 2006, 02:45

ALL YUOR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

Maelstrom · Post by **Maelstrom** » 03 May 2006, 08:50

This would be good to include. Not for XTA or AA or anything, but for mods like SWTA that want to use it. Plus, it has been requested a few times now, so it would be good to get it out of the way.

Warlord Zsinj · Post by **Warlord Zsinj** » 03 May 2006, 08:51

Star Wars Spring has been nudging for laser reflection for a while. We want shields to be laser reflecting, as well as putting it on the Jedi.

Noone, as yet, has put up their hand to code it in for us. It is not as simple as recoding the plasma repulsor stuff, because lasers aren't gravity based. Having proper laser reflection would require calculations of the angle of incidence, and determining the angle of reflection, etc.

bwansy · Post by **bwansy** » 03 May 2006, 14:40

Calcuating the angle of incidence etc. requires highschool maths only. One of my friends from highschool did write a program involving something like snooker, but not exactly snooker nor billard. Anyway, if the shields are spherical (as they should be), it would be easy to calculate all the angles, slope, etc. I notice that beam-type lasers use a physical model and visual effect that makes it unbendable. In such case, we may assume that it is blocked by the shield instead of reflected.

Rayden · Post by **Rayden** » 03 May 2006, 20:55

Why do we need reflection? I guess absorbtion is enough.

Btw. how would you destroy and building within a anti-plasma, anti-missile and anti-laser shield?

Just overload the shield till the enemy has no energy anymore!?!

Soulless1 · Post by **Soulless1** » 03 May 2006, 21:34

presumably the modders wouldn't put all 3 in...

Admo · Post by **Admo** » 03 May 2006, 23:26

for the missle thing, it would be more entertaining if the missle just flew off in a random dirrection. like in battlstar galactic where they shoot at the mining station and the auto guidance is messed up and they just fly off in the the sky...

if this could be made into some sort of anti nuke/cruise missle system that made them fly askew and hit random targets i would be high entertained... but it's just thoughts.

bwansy · Post by **bwansy** » 04 May 2006, 00:19

Please read all of my posts carefully and patiently before posting comments. Not just the first one. The second post of mine tells the details of the laser shield. Remember, these shields are NOT invincible. Laser shields can ONLY give you temporary protection and WILL fall under fire power!!! There are other restrictions to shields so that they are not overpowered. For instant, shields can only deflect laser from OUTSIDE of the shield. Laser shots fired from inside of the shield are NOT affected at all (have you ever watched Star Wars?). Also shields need constant supply of energy to stay up, whether they are being hit or not. Laser shields are like bubbles, while plasma repulsors which are like force fields (those in real life, not in science fiction). These fields are fundamentally different in effect and practical use.

Why deflecting laser bolts instead of simply absorbing them?
1. Because this ides was initially for SWTA. Jedis and Sith Lords need this effect, as well as Trade Federation Destroyer Droids, various vessels, AT-AT walkers...
2. Because it is cool. It will create chaos among your the enemies if they find out that their laser bolts are coming back for them.

Maybe modders can choose between deflection and absorbtion.

Spring RTS Engine

Laser Deflector Shields and Missile-Deavtivating EM Fields

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Laser Deflector Shields and Missile-Deavtivating EM Fields