Community > The Docks
Harpoon Research Division
-Muse- Cullen:
Well, here's the data we collected from our brief R&D. The main ship will be referred to as A, and the target ship will be referred to as B. A was a Squid, while B was a Junker and a Pyra. I have included the conclusions I have come to in accordance with the data. These things were tested more than once, so I feel more confident calling them properties of the harpoon. The theories that I have listed are things that I have observed, but we did not pursue them with more experiments.
Once hit, B could not turn away from A, but it could turn towards the rope; it could only turn towards A without difficulty.
Once hit, A had extreme difficulty turning away from B, but could turn towards the rope.
Conclusion: The harpoon can restrict the turning of an enemy ship when attached on its broadside.
Theory: When A is directly behind B, and the harpoon is attached on the bow or stern, the turning difficulty is mildly lessened, but is still definitely a noticeable restriction.
At complete stand-stills, and no one at the helm, Pyra B shot A with two harpoons. Both crafts began to reel in towards each other, but the Pyra's speed was increased drastically more than the Squid. When A shot Pyra B with one harpoon, both ships moved at about the same speed toward each other. At higher and lower elevations, the target ship would be pulled toward the main ship. It would also gain or drop altitude.
Conclusion: The harpoon has a 'reeling in' effect that brings both ships closer to each other.
A squid's armor can be destroyed with two harpoon shots.
Theory: Two harpoons increase the speed of the main ship, not the target.
The size of a ship does not impact pulling force.
After ramming into a ship attached with a harpoon, the rammer would bounce away from the target a short distance, but the target would only turn- not shift location.
Conclusion: Ramming a hooked target will prevent it from absorbing ram momentum and spinning away.
From a close distance, A shot B Junker and put on full reverse throttle with moonshine. The reeling in effect increased exponentially the farther out the rope moved, eventually slingshotting both ships to switch places- the squid hit 88MPH and the junker hit warp speed.
Conclusion: The harpoon's 'reeling in' effect is exponential- The longer the rope gets after the initial hit, the stronger the pull force is.
The 'Hug' maneuver mentioned earlier in this topic was attempted, and worked. However, both ships narrowly missed each other as the main ship dropped. Both ships were moving at a medium speed, which would have guaranteed medium collision damage.
Conclusion: The 'Hug' maneuver is possible.
Other conclusions without a story involved:
There is a max distance that the rope can cover- it seems to be about half a square.
The harpoon's rope lasts a long time- I would wager between 8 and 15 seconds- long enough to pull a maneuver when within half a square of distance.
There were many cases, though, where things didn't seem to be able to be recreated. Therefore, I also conclude that the harpoon has strange properties that takes all variables into account- distance when fired, distance away from target after initial hit, altitude, both ship's momentum, and area of the ship harpooned.
-Muse- Cullen:
--- Quote from: awkm on March 18, 2013, 11:06:27 pm ---My first thoughts is that it needs to not pull you in but maintain range where it doesn't let someone get further away... not just always pull someone in.
--- End quote ---
I would love it if a harpoon could attach to a ship, and then the gunner on the weapon could choose to keep both targets stuck at that maximum distance, or reel the target in. As of now, its very random, and its exponential, rubber bandy nature makes it difficult to use with calculations- it requires just as much luck as positioning.
N-Sunderland:
--- Quote from: Cul on March 18, 2013, 11:15:48 pm ---
--- Quote from: awkm on March 18, 2013, 11:06:27 pm ---My first thoughts is that it needs to not pull you in but maintain range where it doesn't let someone get further away... not just always pull someone in.
--- End quote ---
I would love it if a harpoon could attach to a ship, and then the gunner on the weapon could choose to keep both targets stuck at that maximum distance, or reel the target in. As of now, its very random, and its exponential, rubber bandy nature makes it difficult to use with calculations- it requires just as much luck as positioning.
--- End quote ---
I like that idea. You're not going to be doing any zooming in with the harpoon anyways, so mouse button 2 could be assigned to reeling in.
awkm:
--- Quote from: Cul on March 18, 2013, 11:12:53 pm ---There were many cases, though, where things didn't seem to be able to be recreated. Therefore, I also conclude that the harpoon has strange properties that takes all variables into account- distance when fired, distance away from target after initial hit, altitude, both ship's momentum, and area of the ship harpooned.
--- End quote ---
Yes, while the harpoon physics is modeled after reality... currently there are too many things to keep track of and makes it too unpredictable to use. The aim is to gamify it more and make it simpler. To me, the greatest benefit would be to keep ships in range or drag ships around. You could get your harpoon ship to stop a Squid while another person opens fire on it. That could be very interesting and promote team tactics and maneuvers. Maybe even interrupt long range strategies.
-Muse- Cullen:
--- Quote from: awkm on March 19, 2013, 12:30:07 am ---...currently there are too many things to keep track of and makes it too unpredictable to use. The aim is to gamify it more and make it simpler.
--- End quote ---
If the harpoon were to be fixed, it would add a new game play style, which is always acceptable in my books. I'd also end up using it a ton, haha. I hope that our research division made an impact on pushing for its change!
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