Spring RTS Engine

Is it possible, while in FPS mode, to instruct a unit to keep firing in a specific direction?
It should go on firing like this even if I exit the FPS mode.

Perhaps doable with LUA?

Should be possible in Lua atm to give it an order to attack the ground at a given point XYZ, yes. Only works if Avoid behaviors aren't happening.

Slightly off topic, but why is it that when you FPS a aircraft, that it goes back to the orriginal spot it started from after you go back to normal view.

Argh wrote:Should be possible in Lua atm to give it an order to attack the ground at a given point XYZ, yes. Only works if Avoid behaviors aren't happening.

I was thinking of using this during llt fights when the enemy llt is slightly out of range. I guess "attack ground" will only work if there is ground behind the llt.

Spawn_Retard wrote:Slightly off topic, but why is it that when you FPS a aircraft, that it goes back to the orriginal spot it started from after you go back to normal view.

If it is only with aircraft, I think we have a bug. Mantis it.

zerver wrote:

Argh wrote:Should be possible in Lua atm to give it an order to attack the ground at a given point XYZ, yes. Only works if Avoid behaviors aren't happening.

I was thinking of using this during llt fights when the enemy llt is slightly out of range. I guess "attack ground" will only work if there is ground behind the llt.

It specifically will only work when there is ground at most 8 or so elmos below your line of fire within the range of the unit. There used to be an exploit with CMD.DGUN but that was fixed.

FPSmode is one big source of exploits and not useful outside of debugging IMO.

llts can shoot outside their range without bothering to enter fps mode or using lua :)

aegis wrote:llts can shoot outside their range without bothering to enter fps mode or using lua :)

I suspected that... it explains why I lose my LLT battles

If it can be done automatically with LUA, I would classify it as a cheat.

But if you aim manually using FPS, then it is skill.

i thought FPSing a llt to pwn nubs was meant to be a sacred rule not to speak of.

no, that was FPSing a Blt...

zerver wrote:But if you aim manually using FPS, then it is skill.

How so? Much like turning metal makers on and off, pointing llts at enemy units takes no thought, no reflexes, and merely time. It's even easier to automate than trying to get metal makers to run smoothly.

Tricking spring into ignoring unit range is an exploit.

It is an exploit that being said, I do know most gundam fans love that they can hop in their favorite mobile suit. I can always tell though .

smoth wrote:no, that was FPSing a Blt...

alas, what has our world become when not even a strip of bacon, soothingly ensconced in lettuce and tomatoes, is given respect?

smoth wrote:no, that was FPSing a Blt...

Meh, I can only pick one target at a time, the BLT can target 3 different ones.

lurker wrote:

zerver wrote:But if you aim manually using FPS, then it is skill.

How so? Much like turning metal makers on and off, pointing llts at enemy units takes no thought, no reflexes, and merely time. It's even easier to automate than trying to get metal makers to run smoothly.

Tricking spring into ignoring unit range is an exploit.

I thought this was intentional, and meant to give FPSed units a slight advantage over non-FPSed ones. But if you can automate it we have a problem.

And I don't agree that it requires no skill to aim with FPS. You may not even know where the enemy is... It's like guessing where that guardian is located based on where the shells are coming from. There is definitely skill involved.

zerver wrote:

lurker wrote:

zerver wrote:But if you aim manually using FPS, then it is skill.

How so? Much like turning metal makers on and off, pointing llts at enemy units takes no thought, no reflexes, and merely time. It's even easier to automate than trying to get metal makers to run smoothly.

Tricking spring into ignoring unit range is an exploit.

I thought this was intentional, and meant to give FPSed units a slight advantage over non-FPSed ones. But if you can automate it we have a problem.

And I don't agree that it requires no skill to aim with FPS. You may not even know where the enemy is... It's like guessing where that guardian is located based on where the shells are coming from. There is definitely skill involved.

It is not intentional. Wherever Spring is described, the FPS mode is mentioned as a "quirk" or "gimmick" of the engine. In other words, something that was programatically simple enough to add (simple relative to the rest of the engine's development), just for a bit of fun but not part of the design.

Unfortunately we get a lot of people trying to create FPSs in Spring due to this, when it's not designed to be an FPS engine. But more power to them.

zerver wrote:I thought this was intentional, and meant to give FPSed units a slight advantage over non-FPSed ones.

Considering all the effort engine and mod developers have put into making sure units don't shoot past their range in FPS mode I think noone agrees.

The only use for it that I've found outside of range exploits is blanketing an area with laser bullets in SimBase when you know there's a laptop battery crawling through but radar inaccuracy means you don't know where it is exactly.

I agree that severe exploits such as the Moho Exploiter (suitable name btw) shooting through the whole map must be prevented.

But if FPSed units reach just slightly longer than non-FPSed ones, and also make less damage when out of range (like with the LLT) I think it is a good thing because it adds a new aspect to gameplay. Without this bonus, the FPS mode would be pretty useless.

zerver wrote:But if FPSed units reach just slightly longer than non-FPSed ones, and also make less damage when out of range (like with the LLT) I think it is a good thing because it adds a new aspect to gameplay. Without this bonus, the FPS mode would be pretty useless.

This is like saying units should do 10% more damage if your mouse pointer is over them.

The FPS mode requires far more attention than that, and you cannot control anything else while FSPing, so I stick to my opinion that the bonus is justified.

But I'm not going to implement this feature anyway since so many ppl seem to disagree.

zerver wrote:I agree that severe exploits such as the Moho Exploiter (suitable name btw) shooting through the whole map must be prevented.

But if FPSed units reach just slightly longer than non-FPSed ones, and also make less damage when out of range (like with the LLT) I think it is a good thing because it adds a new aspect to gameplay. Without this bonus, the FPS mode would be pretty useless.

As I said, the only use for FPSing is exploits and debugging.