Spring RTS Engine

I saw that the model of the core metal extractor had a small pin in the middle (in the middle of the hole where the three arms fit in), which is I suppose meant to go up too when the arms of the metal extractor go up.
Also, the arm keeper seems to have such a thing too. Opposite to the "attachment" of the big part of the model is something that looks like it can be opened. Would it be nice if (for example) that part opens when the shield is turned on, and closes when the shield is turned off?

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So I looked a bit into this, and not knowing anything about animating units, but using what I saw in UpSpring:
if the dish part of the keeper is, when the shield is turned on, rotated to 120 degrees around the x-axis, and at the same time the door part is rotated for 120 degrees around the x-acis, followed by the plate part moving up about 17.5 units up to the y-axis, you get this result: Then, the metal extractor: do not make the arm part move up, but instead the stand part. That gives this result: And that is assuming that when you animate one objectm all the other objects will follow the first one, like they do in upspring.
Don't hestitate calling me a noob at this stuff btw , but I am eager to learn about this stuff anyways

In my opinion: looks much nicer, doesn't it?
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hehe :D cool
i agree the metal extracter looks better this way.. kind of like using a magnetic field or so, to let the rotating part go upwards.
The shield.. you mean the model contians the ability to open like this already?? strange it is not used but.. it kind of does not fit to a shield when open, looks more like a sattelite uplink, eg: why would the dish go one direction like this, and the shield half-sphere is totally unrelated to the direction the dish points to?

it actually does, for some weird reason :)
try opening the 3do model in upsrping, selecting the part named 'dish' in the object tab, and entering 120 in X rotation. Then it opens up like this.
I personally think that it looks a bit nicers this way. It seems to shoot the shield into the air, in a way =)
Otherwise you could only let the pin open up (see the other side of the model). That would give a nice animation too: first the door part opens up, and the pin (or gun as the part is called) comes up.
It are just suggestions, really :)

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I found another model that contains something similar: the core overseer.
Not sure if it would be nice to have thise one open up itself, but this would be the result if it would do so: Also, would it be nice to give the core advanced solar collector a similar script (qua movement) as the wind generator?
I'd really like to see that dish moving around, trying to collect sun
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I'm pretty sure there are at least 4 units on unituniverse that have these models scripted as such. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a Spring mod where they're scripted to open up.

true.
As far as I know at least the keeper opens up in NOTA, where it serves as an orbital launhing facility

I added a bit of COB in the scripts for the core metal extractor and the arm keeper.
I uploaded it as a test mutator to springfiles:
http://www.springfiles.com/show_file.php?id=2318
And here is a screen showing the result: