Viability of an all air based mod/unitset... (Long)
Posted: 16 Sep 2005, 10:08
Okay, here's my thought... (Actually I had this back in the good old OTA days...) But I was wondering, is it possible in Spring to have a base that's totally airborne? Extractors are probably ground based or use a mining beam or something. Not nessessary with metal makers. But I was just wondering about aircraft factories that fly themselves. Maybe not nessessarily move around on their own, (as that would mess up rally points.)
But I'd like to see enough flying base units to A) provide players with the option of an all air base with flying stationary defences and such. (I ask this cause TA's got all land, and all sea, so why not all air bases?) Or B) Create a race or two that's all air (not my perfered option but I suppose someone might like that). I personally would just like to see flying versions of the usual fixed defenses, radars aren't nessessary, (Planes already do that just for saving time.) But resource producers such as power and metal makers would be nessessary, even if they're compound metal energy makers.
As a balancing issue it might be that the flying base units all require a certain and constant supply of power to stay up in the air. This means that cut the power, ground the base, though if it's over lava that might mean death? So I dunno, it's a thought though, but if that's the case it's a reasonable outcome.
I'm not sure if fixed implacements are going to have to be built on the ground below, (I'd hope not, or if so that they could be built on just about any ground.)
Flying Aircraft plants, advanced, normal and sea plane varieties can provide a number of things. But I think also that some new construction planes would have to be made.. A Crazy idea that IS actually possible in Spring would be to create a unit maker plane. Instead of a tank factory a plane would fly out and lathe the tanks, boats or kbots right there on the ground. (I know you can in Spring, I've done it before. The line function makes this really easy.)
I guess the flying air plants would have to have 3 or 4 construction planes. Maybe more...
Basic Flying Aircraft Plant
1) A regular construction aircraft (as it exists)
2) A plane for making kbots on the ground
3) A plane for making tanks on the ground
4) A plane for making flying buildings/guns/resources what have you.
-Then your usual assortment of flying things, transports, fighters, bombers and so on. (A transport for spiriting the commander away where he's not paralized so he can help in building too while he's flying also?)
Advanced Flying Aircraft Plant:
1) Regular Advanced Construction Plane (As exists)
2) A level 2 K-bot builder
3) A level 2 Tank builder
4) A level 2 flying base builder (basically the same guns and junk only in a flying format.)
-And then the usual stealth fighters and bombers and junk.
-Probably need a couple extra just for taking down flying bases spesifically. (Such as a unit that fires rockets up into the air that explode up in the air? Like fireworks? Only painful. This could be a level 1 or 2 it doesn't matter. Air to air explosive missiles. Which do almost no damage to grounded stuff or non-flying aircraft because of the altitude.)
Flying Sea Plane Factory:
1) Regular Construction Sea Plane
2) Advanced Construction Sea plane (optional)
3) Basic Ship/sub builder
4) Advanced Ship/sub builder
-Regular assortment of sea planes.
Types of flying base structures: (These might be able to move through the air very slowly I think... Maybe... But not the factories for sure. Unless it were possible for the factory to guard another unit and thereby follow it around.. Woo... Creepy...) Generalized units needed for a flying base:
-Flying storage silos, of course.
-Flying wind generators?
-I think that a compound power generator and metal maker setup could work out well, say it makes +400 and uses -300 when making metal and outputs +6 metal or something. Then make and advanced version to serve both as metal maker and fusion (turn some off for a balanced metal and energy economy.)
-Flying versions of the usual plasma, flak, missile and laser batteries? (Flying Annihilators and Guardians and what not.)
-I think a flying vulcan or bertha should have a large thruster blast out the back end to give the visual look of counteracting recoil.
-Nukes and anti-nukes of course... Be really creapy if they were the same building? But that's probably not a good idea game play wise...
Nukes should still hit it if you actually nailed a building itself, the spash damage would still affect any near by structures.
An alternative to the fixed flying base would just be to have a bunch of regular air craft that look like buildings and just fly out of a flying factory made for building that stuff. Which ever way's cooler or more work able.
As for how to get to this stage... I dunno, build a flying base construction plane form a Krogoth Gantry? Or perhaps something else? I'd just like to see a player be capable of inhabiting an otherwise uninhabitable section of a map. Like say a lava field or a really rocky mountain area. Have them hovering over a mine field or something.. I dunno. I've just always wanted to see this in TA... And I just wanna know how viable it is with Spring (cause it sure wasn't in regular TA.)
But I'd like to see enough flying base units to A) provide players with the option of an all air base with flying stationary defences and such. (I ask this cause TA's got all land, and all sea, so why not all air bases?) Or B) Create a race or two that's all air (not my perfered option but I suppose someone might like that). I personally would just like to see flying versions of the usual fixed defenses, radars aren't nessessary, (Planes already do that just for saving time.) But resource producers such as power and metal makers would be nessessary, even if they're compound metal energy makers.
As a balancing issue it might be that the flying base units all require a certain and constant supply of power to stay up in the air. This means that cut the power, ground the base, though if it's over lava that might mean death? So I dunno, it's a thought though, but if that's the case it's a reasonable outcome.
I'm not sure if fixed implacements are going to have to be built on the ground below, (I'd hope not, or if so that they could be built on just about any ground.)
Flying Aircraft plants, advanced, normal and sea plane varieties can provide a number of things. But I think also that some new construction planes would have to be made.. A Crazy idea that IS actually possible in Spring would be to create a unit maker plane. Instead of a tank factory a plane would fly out and lathe the tanks, boats or kbots right there on the ground. (I know you can in Spring, I've done it before. The line function makes this really easy.)
I guess the flying air plants would have to have 3 or 4 construction planes. Maybe more...
Basic Flying Aircraft Plant
1) A regular construction aircraft (as it exists)
2) A plane for making kbots on the ground
3) A plane for making tanks on the ground
4) A plane for making flying buildings/guns/resources what have you.
-Then your usual assortment of flying things, transports, fighters, bombers and so on. (A transport for spiriting the commander away where he's not paralized so he can help in building too while he's flying also?)
Advanced Flying Aircraft Plant:
1) Regular Advanced Construction Plane (As exists)
2) A level 2 K-bot builder
3) A level 2 Tank builder
4) A level 2 flying base builder (basically the same guns and junk only in a flying format.)
-And then the usual stealth fighters and bombers and junk.
-Probably need a couple extra just for taking down flying bases spesifically. (Such as a unit that fires rockets up into the air that explode up in the air? Like fireworks? Only painful. This could be a level 1 or 2 it doesn't matter. Air to air explosive missiles. Which do almost no damage to grounded stuff or non-flying aircraft because of the altitude.)
Flying Sea Plane Factory:
1) Regular Construction Sea Plane
2) Advanced Construction Sea plane (optional)
3) Basic Ship/sub builder
4) Advanced Ship/sub builder
-Regular assortment of sea planes.
Types of flying base structures: (These might be able to move through the air very slowly I think... Maybe... But not the factories for sure. Unless it were possible for the factory to guard another unit and thereby follow it around.. Woo... Creepy...) Generalized units needed for a flying base:
-Flying storage silos, of course.
-Flying wind generators?
-I think that a compound power generator and metal maker setup could work out well, say it makes +400 and uses -300 when making metal and outputs +6 metal or something. Then make and advanced version to serve both as metal maker and fusion (turn some off for a balanced metal and energy economy.)
-Flying versions of the usual plasma, flak, missile and laser batteries? (Flying Annihilators and Guardians and what not.)
-I think a flying vulcan or bertha should have a large thruster blast out the back end to give the visual look of counteracting recoil.
-Nukes and anti-nukes of course... Be really creapy if they were the same building? But that's probably not a good idea game play wise...
Nukes should still hit it if you actually nailed a building itself, the spash damage would still affect any near by structures.
An alternative to the fixed flying base would just be to have a bunch of regular air craft that look like buildings and just fly out of a flying factory made for building that stuff. Which ever way's cooler or more work able.
As for how to get to this stage... I dunno, build a flying base construction plane form a Krogoth Gantry? Or perhaps something else? I'd just like to see a player be capable of inhabiting an otherwise uninhabitable section of a map. Like say a lava field or a really rocky mountain area. Have them hovering over a mine field or something.. I dunno. I've just always wanted to see this in TA... And I just wanna know how viable it is with Spring (cause it sure wasn't in regular TA.)
