Detonate Mines

[Spud Nick]

Have the right mouse button detonate the mines. The zoom is not that useful on this gun and it would be a great feature to add to this gun.

[Dutch Vanya]

I'd like this. There would probably have to be some kind of restriction like an amount of time after deploying by which you can detonate them. Otherwise they wouldn't really be mines but more like a manually detonated cannonball.

[Eukari]

I think it could work if you did two things- added a "loading time" until the mines would explode manually (maybe five seconds?), and make it so you explode all your mines at once. Essentially, it's all or nothing- you can't keep any mines around if you detonate manually, reducing their passive effects (area denial) by increasing your control.

[JaegerDelta]

Mines already destroy faces. all the faces. this would just make them even more powerful by being able to reset your 5 mine manually  or pull off smaller chain reactions that will be ultimately devastating.  the way it is now placement failure matters, with this you remove that and thus remove any semblance of balance. furthermore the detonation after 5 is there for performance issues and balance, if you add manual wireless detonation you imply a level of tech that hasn't been shown in anything else.

[Imagine]

You can already set your mines of by firing the gun itself...

[Cheeseycom]

Perhaps this could be balanced by substantially reducing the explosive yield of manually detonated mines (to 1/2 or even 1/4 of its originally strength), or even changing the explosive type to something less damaging (say the scuttling charge doesn't detonate the bomb but rather just shatters it, so the debris acts like a flak/carronade hit against a balloon, but is less effective on hull)? So even if a ship gets caught in your trap, it doesn't mean instant death.

Manual detonation would make the mine layer slightly more interesting, since it could actively be used as a weapon rather than just for area denial.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

If it had a larger explosion radius then yeah this feature would be godlike. But if you are to manually detonate after it has it's bag blown then you aren't changing the ranges any. It would need remote detonation capability during the flight. Which wouldn't make it OP unless you are within the range of it. Then it would be "ZOMG EVERYTHING IS BLOWING UP!!"

[Cheeseycom]

I just had another thought - rather than detonating the mine explosive itself, how about the ability to pop the balloons on command?
It would be tricky to time it right, but you could shoot a load of mines over someones ship and then get them to drop from above.

It would also help eliminate some (but not all) of the balance problems created by allowing players to detonate their own mines to refresh their stock, since if the popped mine didn't hit anything, they would have to wait for it to reach the ground and explode before they got it back.

[Zenark]

I honestly think a manual detonation would make it overpowered. I love the Mine launcher and those I fight against know how devastating it can be when used right. The times I miss my shots are when I don't cater to our ship's movement, or they're just out of range. With a remote detonation, I'd probably be hitting 70% more of my shots, and it only takes two mines to really ruin someone's day.

The fact that they only explode when hit by a ship or another mine gives it a requirement of experience, timing and trigonometry. It's difficult to use, and therfore, balanced, not to mention fun.

[HamsterIV]

The mine is a very high risk/reward weapon. Giving it the ability to manually detonate would substantially lower the risk of using it while taking away none of the reward. It can be frustrating dumping mine after mine just meters outside the detonation range of an enemy ship, but that is the cost of bringing a mine launcher to a gun fight.

One thing I wouldn't mind changing is the amount of damage a mine can take before detonating to direct fire. I would prefer it to be less. One direct hit by a merc or artimis should be enough to set off a mine, right now I think it takes two merc hits, and I don't know how many artimis hits.

[Cheeseycom]

It could always be a new weapon, rather than a modification of the old one.
There's more than one kind of rocket launcher, so why not a mini-mine launcher that allows detonation but does less damage?

[Letus]

A detonation would be fun, but if you do it right, you can easily make a wall near the ships with five mines, and with the sixth shot...make three of those mines go off onto the enemy ship as they try to avoid....
And you get hit by those three...well saying that two is a world of pain...

It's a tough gun to read, but once you're able to read it well...the need for a remote detonation becomes less a need...other than to remove your own mines that aren't being used.

[Captain Phil]

You can detonate your mines. 2 merc shots will blow a mine field and any ship near it up. Had a few mines in front of my Spire to stop a pyra from ramming me, and when the pyra went to go around the mines I blew the mines up for some nice damage.

[Letus]

You can detonate your mines. 2 merc shots will blow a mine field and any ship near it up. Had a few mines in front of my Spire to stop a pyra from ramming me, and when the pyra went to go around the mines I blew the mines up for some nice damage.

or...you can use your ally ship...
Cruel?  Yes.  Effective?  Yes.  Hilarious?  Yes.

[Captain Smollett]

I've piloted intentionally before into my own mines before to detonate a mine field and finish a weakened enemy.