Exavier,

I can confirm for you that the T4 gattling is causing FF. I just watched as several escorting Titans were gunned down because they crossed the stream of bullets.

Well duh, you're not supposed to cross the streams!

From what I understand the friendly fire issues with the UEF Gatling gun and Cybran EMP gun are well known.

But, if I have been reading the recent posts correctly they (BO mod guys) have at last pinned down just what the problem is!

So you're telling me that if I have two UEF ACU's and I get them to fire at the same target that I will win by destroying the evil transdimensional demons? Then why the hell did we need a black sun in the main campaign?

Thanks for the heads up Fury. I'll get the projectiles corrected on those so that they don't do that in the next version

Achronus, hehe I try. For every bug you squish another one eventually takes its place but as long as I am still around I do try to keep a can of raid handy

zinetwin, because my ACUs didn't exist in their current form in vanilla

Not really complaining, so much as happy this particular bug has been made paste.

Will a new BO:ACUs be released with the new impending release of BO:U?

Yes, simply because some of the scripts being updated in BO:U are also contained in BO:ACU (for standalone capability). If I don't update those scripts here as well then we end up with compatability issues which would be bad

Its also the same reason that even though the next version of BO:ACUs will pretty much be bugfix (thus pure minor code changes that are easy to make) it can't be released before the BO:U release is ready. Though to be honest as simple as the bugfixes are I still need time away from RL to code them

If you're interested, it's possible to use exactly the same method I used for the teleport code in all of the mods' other shared code, to insure that whichever is the latest is the only one that gets applied.

That way you'd only need to do a simultaneous release when you change something enough that it completely breaks compatibility (which AFAIK has never happened with the shared cloak field etc code).

Exavier,

I've noticed something else about the UEF ACU's gattler. When it destroy's a target it has been firing at and there are no other targets in range, as the torso is resetting itself it continues to fire the gattler for the end of its firing cycle (the Ravager I believe will actually stop firing, but that isn't the main issue I'm reporting). Even with the projectiles' BPs fixed with those missing 'PROJECTILE' tags (which does solve the FF issue when actively firing at a target), the projectiles will collide with friendly units.

So, basically, the missing 'PROJECTILE' in the BPs does solve the FF issue except when the ACU has killed off everything in range and the gattler is just running through the rest of its firing cycle.

Fury,
Yep thats already been corrected for the next version. Actually after looking through my various projectiles for others with the same issue i realized this wasn't exactly a bug. The removal of the "projectile" was intentional though it was a rather quick and stupid way of doing what I was initially after.

Due to Aeon & Cybran ACUs having beam weapons and for reasons of balance I wanted the Seraphim & UEF also to have a weapon that can cut through lambda so that an ACU wasn't rendered completely obsolete by the field. So I made it so the gattlings which are close in damage balance to the beams also could cut through the fields (since the AoE weapon upgrades usually detonate in range to hit even if lambda diverts them anyway).

So I added the projectile category back but added the strategic category which lambda is also set to ignore so the projectiles still pass through.

Note: Yes there are some other weapons with the strategic category that can also pass through lambda... UEF T3 Bombers for one though I have no idea why GPG didn't add strategic to ALL T3 Bomber's projectiles

I am not all worried about the shutdown phase if the ACU runs out of targets. Unless your using the ACU aginst scouts there usually isn't enough charge in the chaingun to seriously damage too much even if it is still hitting friendlies. Hazards of war

ACU brainstorming ideas

Idea's such as upgrading the commander to a completely more unit.

Oh dear god, that's a HORRIBLE idea. See, I think we're all missing the basic point here. The Armored Command Unit was designed as a method to transmit a single unit through the Quantum Network, and once at the battlefield on the other side, it would construct an army COMPLETELY UNAIDED to appropriately decimate the enemy. By requiring the summoning of additional ACU frames for new purposes, not only is one engaging in crippling overspecialization, you are vastly increasing the logistical requirements of any operation.

The versatility of an ACU has always been its strength. Whether the threat was coming from land, sea, or air, the BO ACU could quickly apply the appropriate upgrades to counter the threat. If anything, they could have more versatility applied to them. Maybe be able to transform like the commanders from Herzog Zwei?

*has the mental image of an Aeon ACU transforming into a sub, or a UEF ACU backflipping several times while transforming into a jet* ....

NEED.....NOW....

+1

I LIKE that.

Silly, Silly...

UEF do tracks and hovercraft! Hover ACU!

Cybran do spider walkers and stealth!... All terrain ACU?

Heh as I said in the BO:Unleashed thread... Not gona happen.

Having the commander transform into different movment types would be neat if the engine made this easy. Yes there are ways I could pull it off with say unit substitution however I don't have enough drive left for the massive code rewrite on the project it would require.

As for upgrading into multiple new chassis... that sorta defeats the point of having the upgrades directly on the ACU.

That's because it all starts with the ACU. Being completely unaided means that you don't warp in an experimental at the beginning. Aided means outside help. Everything on the battlefield after that came from the ACU, so it still did the work alone.

This is what I was more thinking along the lines of:
Original Chassis:
More widely used
Only one capable of traveling through the Quantum network
Transportable
Generally lighter, but much more versatile

Second Chassis:
Generally more advanced, much heavier
Too heavy to be transported maybe
Excels much more than the original chassis but is very narrow in what it can do, attack ACU that can't build
Can't go through the Quantum network, which is why you always start with original Chassis first
Acts more like a SC2 ACU but is much slower, like as fast as an experimental
Slower rate of fire, but is incredible damage

Of course BO ACU's are already experimental capable, so this would be alot of reworking the old ACU's and balancing and modeling and what not. And I like how it was explained in Dotswarlock's books where building a new frame was very easy but it is the actual nuclear core that costs so much. ACU's should only build frames too because I'd hate when an engineer is stolen and the aeon is walking around in a UEF ACU.

Why would you bother with trying to create a second type of ACU frame when there are massive world-shatteringly powerful experimental units which can be constructed on site using materials which are readily available. I'd much rather have the ultimate military mash-up machine, the Fatboy, over an improved Armored Command unit. My ACU mostly just sits under a shield back at the main base anyway.

But when I said completely unaided, yes, an ACU has to be fired into the battlefield via portal gun, but everything afterward is done by the ACU with no outside support save maybe a little tactical information from HQ.

And Support ACU's.

If SACUs are being sent from some outside source, why does the ACU that is receiving them need to spend resources? I didn't bother to think about that until now.....

Your building the SCU... what comes through the gate (thus long building times) is the lifesupport module & human pilot

Thats also way there is no massive explosion like when the ACU comes through... Less mass means less energy to bleed off on exit.

There is also the Quantum Gate to help stabilize the "connection" as well, with the ACU there's nothing on the receiving end, making for a mores spectacular entrance.

Mike

I'm not sure about the physics of it, but seeing as how mass can neither be created nor destroyed (save for the 20% thats lost when a unit is destroyed, and those pesky physics breaking Mass fabs) when an ACU gates in to a world, all the air and whatnot that occupied its original space has to go somewhere, right? Hence its spectacular entrance.

Also, it just looks effing cool.

I always thought that paying mass for SCUs was a stupid idea.

I would have much preferred a system where you'd pay a mass up front energy cost (like Overcharge, but on crack) and get the SCU instantly. Further, you could only have a finite number of SCUs at a time - say, one at a time.

The idea behind costing mass and energy is simple. You don't get 'support' from a support commander until higher ups are happy.

Otherwise, gate (w/ stabilizers) = wtfpwnd everything on the map (much like the quantum arch).

so, i was told to bring my acu idea here from BO:U forum, so here it is.
take away most higher level upgrades from acu's except for their building, and instead, allow them to make a new chassis, preferably of experimental size, that has all the higher level upgrades, and there are multiple types of new chassis. one is for higher attack and defense and one is for intel/support.
once a new chassis is built, the acu has to "sacrifice" itself to activate it, both chassis can be built at once, but only one can be activated at a time. while inactive, the chassis take less damage, don't go nuclear, and have a higher regen rate. once they are active, they go nuclear when they die because the ACU core is required to run them. with the new chassis comes a chance to also have commanders other than just bipedal, human-like shapes. the adavanced chassis could be tanks, spider bots, or bipedal.
now, the descriptions of the different chassis
UEF:
attack-omni radar, flame thrower cannons, AA guns, torpedoes, massive, missiles, heavy particle cannon, personal shields, and health comparable to a high veterancy goliath
the advanced attack chassis creates less resources for the commander, but gives it higher survivability in combat. (tank)
support: omni radar, light AA, heavy resource generation, shield field, higher construction speed, and some light defensive weaponry
the advanced UEF support ACU chassis is good for commanders who dont like to wade into the middle of battle. This chassis is good for those who like to sit in their base expanding, and sending out waves of units to crush their enemy. (bipedal)
Cybran:
Attack: Heavy microwave laser, personal stealth, personal cloak, AA sams, heavy particle chaingun, radar jamming, Omni radar, High Health and armor, massive, fast.
For cybran commandos who enjoy seeing the fear in their enemies eyes first hand, this advanced chassis, originally designed for Commander Dostya before her tragic death in battle, boasts heavily advanced weaponry, but sacrifices any resource generation. this chassis is also incredibly fast, as to allow it to attack an enemy, and quickly escape. (spiderbot)
Support:Heavy resource generation, light defensive weaponry, high resource generation, improved construction abilites(cheaper, faster construction), omni radar, no AA, stealth field, med. health.
The cybran advanced support chassis privides the best possible building efficency in the cybran military. the support walker chassis allows the cybran commander to expand his base of operations, and produce more units quicker by producing many more resources than the primary ACU unit, or the Attack walker Chassis. (bipedal)
Aeon:
Attack:GC laser, AA sams, hover, torpedo defense, torpedoes, heavy shield field, chrono dampner, tac missile defense, tac missile launcher, omni radar.
the aeon advanced attack ACU allows the Aeon commander to wade into the center of battle, rack up plenty of kills, and still be home in time to pray. the advanced attack chassis is the ultimate expression of Aeon Might. (hover tank)
support: SUPER resource generation, Omni radar, advanced construction abilites(see cybran support ACU), Powerful AA, no anti-land weaponry, shield field, high health, regeneration field.
The aeon support chassis, though lacking any almost any defense, provides the greatest ability to produce resources of any of the factions Support ACUs. this small, bipedal chassis is designed to be hard to hit, but provide optimum resource, and construction capabilites, as well as high health. (bipedal)
Seraphim:
Advanced ACU chassis:
heavy energy gatling cannons, Tac missile defense, tac missile, Heavy AA, Lambda field, Med. resource generation, med. construction facilities, hover, depth charges, regen field, Radar Jammer, Omni radar, heavy, long range energy particle cannon (dubbed the thothum).
The seraphim, just beginning to return to their long, break from war, have seen the advanced chassis of the other factions at work, and have decided to attempted to create their own. they came up with a slightly better resource and construction system than found on their standard issue ACU, but the tank-chassis also hold heavier weapons than the standard acu, and hovers instead of having to submerge. the Seraphim advanced ACU is the best of both worlds of support, and firepower.(normal tank on land, hover tank over water)


i tried to keep with what i think the different factions would do as to thier ACU's, and i tried to think of ways to balance it. it was always a problem for me that an ACU could hold experimental weapons, when it takes an experimental to use them usually. i mostly did this so that that damned Cybran commander doesn't get a huge cannon coming out of an ominous hole in his chest, while a monkeylord has to lug around what is practically a cannon.
[edit]
i notice that my idea has already been linked from the BO:U forums. well, seeing as to how everyone has rejected it already, just forget about this post.