[Blaze]

Feedback on TORPEDOES, TORPEDOES, TORPEDOES (DEV LOG 6).
If torpedoes are fired in a straight line, it should be quite simple for a computer to calculate where the torpedo will be at any given time. That would allow the ship to fire at it or at the position where it will be at a specific moment, even with another torpedo. Vice versa, aiming with a torpedo should be left to a computer, since the computer can easily calculate the vector of the target, and know where will it be if it continues moving at the same speed or increasing (or decreasing) it's speed at a constant rate.

If the torpedoes can be navigated by the ship or the Tactical Officer, the torpedo can do some very interesting actions, such as avoiding collisions on course to it's target or entering a vent shaft of a space station.

[Mark]

Ships in UNION are entirely physics based, and are very rarely travelling at a constant speed in one direction, especially in a combat situation. When a ship turns it keeps a lot of it's momentum in the direction it was travelling in, which complicates targeting even more. I could make really accurate torpedoes, but that removes need for the Tactical officer to use his/her skills in firing them. Instead I have gone with a kind of dumb tracking system, which is quite effective but not infallible.

I'm not sure what "navigated by the ship or the Tactical Officer" means? Do you mean that the player takes direct control in a first person view?

Thanks!

[Blaze]

I could make really accurate torpedoes, but that removes need for the Tactical officer to use his/her skills in firing them. Instead I have gone with a kind of dumb tracking system, which is quite effective but not infallible.

I agree with you. Since this is a game, it makes much more sense to rely on the skill of the player. Though in a real world spaceship (yeah, ok, this sounds ridiculous), I don't think that something like this will be left in the hands of a human.
With "navigated by the ship or the Tactical Officer" I didn't mean that the Tactical Officer would take control in a first person view, but would be able to take direct control as if looking from the ship and navigating the torpedo, moving it in three dimensions. You've basically answered it when you mention the skill of the player as a Tactical Officer.

[Mark]

Currently the ship does control the torpedoes remotely. If the ship loses sensor lock on the target, or the ship is destroyed, the torpedo will fly off in the direction it was heading.

I have been considering allowing Tactical to change he torpedo's target while it is in-flight, which could lead to some interesting moments. What do you think?

[Blaze]

I think that allowing the Tactical to change torpedo's target while it is in-flight would be a style of advanced play that a skilled player could really do something with. I would just add a limit on the maneuverability (the torpedo shouldn't be able to make sharp turns) and the fuel (it shouldn't be able to fly for minutes and minutes of game time).

[Mark]

The flight time of a torpedo is set by the Operating Power Level of the launcher. The higher the power, the longer the Torpedo can fly, which gives it a greater chance of hitting... something.

The turning radius of a torpedo is set by the torpedo's thruster strength, it's all down to the physics.