Guns Of Icarus Online

Info => Feedback and Suggestions => Topic started by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 02:29:55 am

Title: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 02:29:55 am
Design and concept for a new medium weapon.

Had this idea come up the other day but I now want to type it up after its been in my mind awhile.

Weapon mount: Medium
Range: Long
Rate of fire: Slow
Reload: Very Slow
Ammo capacity: 4-6 shots
Primary damage: Piercing
Secondary damage: Explosive

Yes, thats right, it is a armor piercer. Now here is the concept behind it. You basically have a large revolver or clip fed weapon with a tube that fires one torpedo at a time. The torpedo will likely be rocket powered, not propeller so it can have a smoke trail effect. Like when a torpedo has a trail in the water, this would have one in the air. The ammo is long range ammo which you can shoot from afar but it will travel slow.

Another concept in the ammo I have been pondering is that it would have it's own balloon. A tiny one, just enough to keep it afloat. Considering that the ammo will be very heavy as well as long. Adding a small pop up balloon that carries it to it's destination might look rather unique and like something this world would design. Also this would mean the shot could be shot down before impacting. But picture this, a long slender torpedo with a small slender angular pointed balloon sitting on top. If you've seen old concept art for this game, think the one with that very pointed looking balloon. Not like a Pyra, but actual balloon shape.

Rate of fire is a question I toy with. I think making it slow would make the most sense as the weapon would have to be lifting another heavy torpedo into the barrel before firing. If the concept of a heavy gun works then it would also need a slow turn rate and not a whole lot of range of movement.

Balancing could be done a lot of ways. But the question of why use this when you have other guns and small mount armor piercers? Because simply, it would be something new. Folks get tired of mercs or gats on the side of Galleons. Also this could change up the weapon placement on Spires allowing them to put more hull killer weapons on the small mounts vs armor piercers. Also it would look neat seeing a streaking torpedo heading towards an enemy. They would have time to dodge if they caught it, but if not it would devastate a ship unaware. Specially if it had an aoe factor with burst ammo where multiple parts would get damaged at once like with mines. Plus you'd have a lot of call outs of "TORPEDO!!! LOOK OUT!!! HARD TO STARBOARD!!!" Come on, that would be awesome fun! On Zuka ships it would be Zukpedo so that works too.

Issues I see...could the game engine handle it? Would the smoke trail be a bit too much? Would it need an arming timer? Would it be even neater if the gunner could manually set the arming timer like old torpedoes did have? Lot of concepts, so I throw it before you all. Have at it!!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 04:26:23 am
Another concept would be adding some magnetization ability to the tip. Giving the torpedo some minimal tracking capability if it manages to get close to a ship. I kinda tossed this idea out as it I figured it might make it a bit too powerful. Also implementing such a system could be problematic because you don't want it to turn suddenly in the air and then plant itself into a ship. It would have to be a slow turn. I'm sure it is doable but it would be an extra addition that I don't think would be totally necessary.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 04:49:57 am
A long-range, self-powered mine with a restricted guidance mode?

Could be fun, as long as it's friendly-fire enabled.  Thinking of the final scene on THFRO between Red October, Dallas and the Alpha, where the Alpha becomes the target of his own torpedo.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 06:22:26 am
Kinda, that is when the concept really hit me. Playing with the mines in the dev app. Why not stop at mines? Make a form of aerial torpedo!

I had tossed around the idea of aerial torpedoes awhile back but I didn't know how it would work. The only concept I had to go on was the torpedoes in Skies of Arcadia which fire more like a boomer sub's missile. They fire upwards and then come in from high altitude down on a target. Actually makes it a long range artillery with guidance capability. Didn't see it ever working in Guns. Then playing with the mines, I saw a possibility.

Now, could go with a gun where all the torpedoes are already loaded. Which would make it not a single barrel but a quad or hex barrel. So you would have torpedo doors which would open and close. One would open when it was time to fire, and then close on reloading or on torpedoes not able to be fired yet. The weapon loading system would be more like the hwacha where it loads from underneath. But then you'd be cutting down torpedo sizes. Ideally need something big enough so it is visible aside from the telltale cloud streak behind it.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 06:51:03 am
A destroyer style mount would work..

(http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/destroyers/photos/farragut_class_1957_weapons/05_mk32_torpedo_tubes_dewey.jpg) (http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/destroyers/class_overviews/farragut_class_1957_weapons_page_1.htm)

Or something like an ASROC launcher.  Like the mine it's fired in an arc, with an arming time before the balloon deploys and the motor kicks in.  That way there's also the skill element of judging the altitude at which it deploys.  Can't have it too easy to use.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 07:06:39 am
Yep exactly, that was another idea I was pondering. That launcher is a simpler version of one I had in mind but basically that is it.

Now if you made something like that rotating and had at least one of the barrels always under the deck, then you could say the reload system is underneath. Which would mean to reload it would have to physically rotate one at a time for all the tubes. So hwacha you got about 14 sec reload. For a torpedo system like this it would be completely reasonable to give it a 15-20 second reload. Could go less but I wonder on the balancing.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Echoez on July 06, 2013, 08:12:07 am
Anything that can possibly be a major threat to those damned Galleons camping spawn all day is welcome in my scope. This looks like an interesting idea too, plus since we have mines and ships, why not torpedoes right?
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 09:02:47 am
Could be a good anti-sniper tool.. at least encouraging them to move rather than sit stationary as a stable gun platform.

Give it a clip of either 2 or 3 torpedoes (it doesn't need to rotate barrels) with a 10-30 rpm firing rate (2-6 seconds between shots) with the animation/sound indicating that compressed air pressure is being built up in the air reservoir in preparation for launch.  And give it a 15-20 second reload (or allow only 2 or 3 torpedoes in the air per launcher, i.e. one clip).  It shouldn't be torpedo spam.  I'm not sure if it should be damage scaled for a heavy/medium weapon or as a light weapon.  I favour making it less damaging and having it as a light weapon with a limited horizontal firing arc.

Perhaps it doesn't have to be guided.  For breaking up snipers it just needs a large AoE and proximity detonation, with shatter damage as the secondary.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Sgt. Spoon on July 06, 2013, 09:36:39 am
I actually love the idea of this. I'd imagine it to have 1 or maybe two torpedoes in one clip, making them quite slow firing, low velocity, heavy hitters that'll rack your armor with a single heavy blow. Of course you need the arming time, and I'm also a fan of the stinger like (and a lot of other RPG's) launch mechanism to eject it and once it's armed it ejects the balloon and starts the rockets/propellers.

I can't help to want it with a propeller as the means to move it though, which would make it a bit different from just being a big missile. Though the only reason I can think of as to why they'd want to use a propeller instead of rockets would be the less noticeability of the propeller.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 10:41:47 am
You can still have a smoke trail with a prop-drive, it's just an oily, smokey engine driving it.

Just don't let the art department do anything silly, like a triple contra-rotating prop (as on the Galleon).
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: James T. Kirk on July 06, 2013, 11:49:45 am
I just have this image of four Goldfish holding down B point on King of the Flayed Hills. Each captain is firing his torpedos one after another in a glorious act of teamwork and awesome.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Mattilald Anguisad on July 06, 2013, 01:37:34 pm
Nice Idea, but I'd replace either weapon types with something else, becouse Piercing Explosive combo on a single weapon would be too powrfull. Other alternative to make it a very slow destroyable object (no more than 40-45 m/s)
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: naufrago on July 06, 2013, 01:58:15 pm
Something that might be fun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrojet

Basically, it accelerates after leaving the barrel, but after its fuel is burned up it continues at a fairly constant speed. Would make it hard to lead properly at close range, but could be fun at long range. They were technically developed in the 1960s, but eh, alternate history.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 02:42:26 pm
Yeah I considered other damage types but then I considered what torpedoes were meant to do. Simply, sink ships. Having explosive/explosive would be just another flak cannon. We already have that on medium gun mounts. Same with shatter and flecette. Only one not used is piercing. Course it could be an Explosive/Piercing weapon since we don't have one of those. Now yes I considered it might get OP, which is why I thought of a slower traveling projectile along with slower loading/etc. This weapon wouldn't be meant to leap across the map. It would be meant to be visible and fill a captain with dread knowing they have to evade it at all cost or suffer a massive hit that would expose them.

If used in tandem with hwachas you could have a hwacha barrage go first. As the rockets streak, a torpedo fires behind them. With a ship's engines disabled they would have little means of avoiding the torpedo they suddenly see at the last second since they'd be busy repairing/rebuilding.

I would be all for a prop driven weapon delivery system if it satisfied the in visual effect of the device. Also, it would be extra moving parts on a weapon. Having the draw a tiny spinning propeller for ammo that will soon explode, I dunno if that would cause a whole new set of bugs/problems. Perhaps Muse will eventually chime in and let us know if this is any bit feasible.

The picture of goldfish firing torpedoes...exactly the thought I had in mind last night. Think they would look awesome firing from those. Like torpedo boats in the sky!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 03:37:32 pm
You don't have to animate it rotating, just have it flip between two positions 60 degrees apart (three-bladed prop) and flash these positions up alternately every quarter second or so.  Just get the wagon wheels in the western movie effect.

I favour an AoE disabler, shatter and flechette.  Not a ship killer, but something that will disable a sniper long enough for you to close on them.  With a proximity fuse it will never actually hit the target, just detonate within a half-AoE radius of the first ship it encounters.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 04:48:40 pm
That is an idea. A long range disabler. But there is already jack and hwacha for that. Do we need another? Ehh. Personally I'd rather have another piercing option and ship killer. Mostly because the medium flak just sucks.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Mattilald Anguisad on July 06, 2013, 04:54:29 pm
Problem with that combo is that one is very sfficcient at stripping armor and other extremely efficient at destroying permahull. So if it has to have both that it should be slow enough for players to be able to destroy one.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: James T. Kirk on July 06, 2013, 04:58:59 pm
Hawcha?
A long range disabler?
Even with telling my gunner to bring heavy, I must be using mine wrong...
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 05:23:15 pm
Its medium-long but yeah you can get some very deadly hits at range with hwacha with a good gunner. Similar to the medium flak atm. Flak originally used to be like Merc shots. You could hit those things clear across the map easily before the nerf. So Barracudas would fit into these ranges but be capable of hitting in lumberjack range.

Mattilald that is the idea. Torpedoes would not be fast movers. The whole concept is having something that packs a punch but moves slow enough so that it is not super OP. Requires good awareness from pilots and also gunners to plan the trajectory of the torpedo.

All the weapons have some form of animation for reloading as well as firing. Can't just have a stack of tubes sitting there with only sounds to tell if its reloading. So really it would need a form of animation at least showing torpedoes being loaded. Which refers to the ammo box underneath idea with rotating barrels if you went with that approach. Or you'd just have a single box like turret with torpedo openings on the other end. Then when it reloads you see through cracks in the side of it, torpedoes being lifted and brought into position maybe being belt fed up from the ammo box.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 06, 2013, 06:19:35 pm
That is an idea. A long range disabler. But there is already jack and hwacha for that. Do we need another? Ehh. Personally I'd rather have another piercing option and ship killer. Mostly because the medium flak just sucks.

They're both medium.  There isn't a light option for disabling at long range.

The lack of an effective long-range piercing weapon in the medium category is perhaps a separate problem.  The Mercury already has this covered for the light weapon category.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: N-Sunderland on July 06, 2013, 06:32:03 pm
There isn't a light option for disabling at long range.

The merc is a perfectly good disabler.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 06, 2013, 07:51:27 pm
Yeah the merc is a fine disabler on the light gun mount. Currently what we have is a lot of mercs getting put onto galleons and spires for armor pen and disabling. Bringing in a medium mount armor piercer would open up a new build possibility. Hence what this is all about.

I've thought about like a giant ballista weapon for similar use but ultimately, it just doesn't excite me much in the end. Just mounting a huge crossbow with possible harpoon features. Just ehh. Harpoon physics as they are doesn't impress much either. So here is a solution. Sky Torpedoes.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 07, 2013, 04:59:02 am
I'm not sure how anyone with a merc will disable a sniper with two (or now four) mercs camping at the end of a map.  The merc doesn't have the AoE general disabling abilities of the Hwacha or Lumberjack.  It will knock out one or two components, whereas the hwacha is good for disabling an opposing broadside plus any engines in view.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Mattilald Anguisad on July 07, 2013, 02:09:21 pm
I belive banshe is tehnicaly long, and I know Artemis is long range (Artemis has mere 25m less range than hawacha, withm much more accuracy). Beside mine launcher would probably have to be a heavy weapon, considering the range and dealyness (piercing-explosive combo).
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Captain Smollett on July 07, 2013, 04:29:34 pm
Why not just give it impact damage like mines?  Then it can destroy everything.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 07, 2013, 05:27:25 pm
That is an idea. I'm just not sure if Muse is going to nerf mines or not. Right now they are literally a do everything weapon and I love them for it. Armor, disabling, flames...I'd love torpedoes to have this capability but mostly I want that piercing damage. Having a new weapon on medium mounts that does something different would be nice. So yeah, if it behaved like mines on impact, that would be awesome. I'd just wonder about balancing. But, with a slow fire rate, reload, and travel speed...ya know you got a point. Having that impact do everything damage on a torpedo would be sweet!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Machiavelliest on July 07, 2013, 10:28:41 pm
An aerial unguided torpedo is a rocket. An aerial guided torpedo is a missile (barring an in-depth technical discussion).  We're basically talking about a bigger Artemis, aren't we?
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 07, 2013, 10:54:55 pm
Then just put a propeller on it if your stuck on that. Gah, you technical freaks and your refusal to ignore logic! 1...it needs to be big. 2...it needs to have a contrail when it fires so it looks cool. 3...it needs to make a large enough impact that captains will freak out and attempt to either shoot it down or evade. 4...Torpedo sounds a heck of a lot better than another plain rocket. 5...the Guns world doesn't make much sense anyways.

Think about the lore. WWI era did have torpedoes so what happens to all of them in this world? Get turned into sky torpedoes! The device could come from Arashi league or Anglean areas. Like someone took a big submarine torpedo, and converted it for aerial use. So its big, its long, slow traveling, and it packs a punch!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: HamsterIV on July 08, 2013, 01:25:31 am
Some what related to the guidance concept: What if the torpedo was guided by flares? If there are no flares in the air the torpedo flies strait. If there is one flare in the air within a 30 degree cone of the torpedo's forward vector, the torpedo will turn towards the flare. If there are multiple flares the torpedo turns towards the one most recently shot (hottest). This could lead to some interesting tactics like having a squid paint a target for a brace of torpedo's from a galleon, or shooting flares to distract a torpedo if it is inbound.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 08, 2013, 06:19:34 am
But would heatseekers really fit in with the world? From what we've seen I'd say likely no. Why I was thinkin if there was a tracking capability, have them be magnetic. That would be a neat idea tho if they were combined with flares. You would suddenly have an all new purpose and reason for having flares.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Sgt. Spoon on July 08, 2013, 06:45:58 am
That flare guidance sounds rather interesting actually. You'd just have to make sure that it dosen't turn into the missile sling madness again.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 08, 2013, 08:34:10 am
That would make it then an Anglean tech? All we know in the lore is that they have a lot of tech but no resources. Being raiders...hmmm. Yeah they'd be the type to utilize a torpedo weapon. Question is would they be advanced enough to have developed a heat tracking weapon? One of these times it would be nice to get some Muse input and see if the idea has either been considered or would it even be possible.

If they used it, probably would carry another name. Barracuda was just what popped in first when I was thinking of a torpedo with armor piercing properties. They are long slender fish like a torpedo but with sharp teeth. So, like an armor cutter. Actually caught one once. Suckers are fast and tough. Put up great fights.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Sgt. Spoon on July 08, 2013, 09:37:04 am
Question is would they be advanced enough to have developed a heat tracking weapon? One of these times it would be nice to get some Muse input and see if the idea has either been considered or would it even be possible.

Well as a matter of fact, the missile sling (artemis, rocket launcher or whatever) used to be heatsinking. The seeking was later removed on account of it being incredibly OP, spamming missiles that targeted and wrecked everyones engines in seconds. So lore-/world- wise it wouldn't really be a problem.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 08, 2013, 10:23:07 am
An aerial unguided torpedo is a rocket. An aerial guided torpedo is a missile (barring an in-depth technical discussion).

[pedant]

It's a valid term.  The Miriam-Webster dictionary includes its application to "a guided missile capable of powered flight (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerial%20torpedo)".  The OED is less accommodating and only refers to aerial torpedo as an air-dropped underwater torpedo (also included in M-W as one of four possible meanings).  Online articles refer to the Kettering Bug of 1918 and the Mistel of 1943 as aerial torpedoes, amongst other guided aerial weapon examples.  Contemporary recollections of WW2 frequently refer to the V1 as an aerial torpedo.

Besides, it's sounds far more interesting than missile.  And distinguishes what's being proposed from the existing rockets and missiles in the game.  It's less a "bigger Artemis" and more the bastard love child of the Artemis and Mine Launcher.

[/pedant]
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: HamsterIV on July 08, 2013, 12:47:24 pm
But would heatseekers really fit in with the world? From what we've seen I'd say likely no. Why I was thinkin if there was a tracking capability, have them be magnetic. That would be a neat idea tho if they were combined with flares. You would suddenly have an all new purpose and reason for having flares.

It doesn't have to be heatseaking, there could be a hamster inside trained to move onto a pressure plate when it sees a green light. I am all for weaponizing hamsters, we they are cheep, replaceable, and have almost no sense of self preservation.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Captain Smollett on July 08, 2013, 01:32:07 pm
At one point early on in the thread the weapon had a balloon attached.  For something to be traveling slowly and to float like a torpedo I think this would be a must.

Oh and it would be cool as heck.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 08, 2013, 01:39:22 pm
Part of the point of it is that it would have to be insanely slow, you'd see it coming and either have to be boxed into a corner, stubborn or daft not to get out of its way.  It should be the ideal too to break-up a stalemate.  For example, when Red has set up camp in the northern arm of Canyon and is sniping with Mercury and Lumberjack as soon as Blue try and push into the open to rush them.  Or break a camp on the CP point when Labyrinth is heading for a shut-out victory.

Here's an odd idea.. what if the guidance mode only worked as long as the original gunner (not Gunner) that fired it remains on the weapon and does not fire a second torpedo?  If the gunner gets off the weapon, or fires a second torpedo, the original loses all guidance and cruises along in the current direction of travel.  Possibly with a time-delay fuse initiated so it explodes 5 seconds after losing communication.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Captain Smollett on July 08, 2013, 01:42:23 pm
Or.... what if the gunner could guide it?
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 08, 2013, 05:37:08 pm
The torpedo still has a balloon attached. That never left.

One qualm I did think up with flare guidance setup is that the flares would not be limited to one side. The opponent could use flares to dupe torpedoes and keep them away. Yeah that is nice and realistic, but the flares last long enough where more can be shot out the moment the reload is up. So you'd have a literal flare war making sure the torpedoes never find their target. Sorta makes the weapon trivial in competition because competitive teams would be using flares like this. Maybe some tuning here would change this.

Now a guidance between firing idea. That is interesting. Promotes less spam fire. Course it will be slow firing anyways but that would add another factor.

Oh I know how to make them propeller powered and still have a contrail. Goes with that idea earlier but I hadn't pictured the mechanism yet. They will have...*drumroll*...a mini steam pipe exhaust that pops up from the back of the torpedo near the propeller and balloon. So internally it has a tiny steam/diesel engine powering the propeller.

Ok so run down story so far...Torpedoes will be:

-Long range->very long range
-Do impact damage like mines. All the damage types rolled into one.
-Warheads are like long torpedoes and are heavy. Will require a medium weapon mount
-Propeller driven so speed will be slower, also has slow reload
-Has a thin balloon to match it's profile to help keep it in the air
-Has a contrail effect in the air generated from it's own drive exhaust system
-Unguided but will have an activation time before the engine and balloon pop out. Gunners will have to compensate for it because the torpedo will drop a little in the air. This is time before the mini engine on board gets online.
-Can be shot down
-Basic model will be unguided

Undecided:

-Tracking system. Magnetic, heat, or other.
-Weapon mount appearance. Tube or more box shape like hwacha, animations for reloading,  ammo capacity
-Different name?
-Anything else?
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Andrej Peribosky on July 09, 2013, 07:38:06 am
I think this would change the game for the better.
Even if 1 in 5 shots hits, it promotes movement, and like another poster said, icarus lacks reasons for movement.
Flare lock-on is bad for gameplay however, and also difficult to code.
Magnetic or heat guidance is basically the same under a different name. I think we don't want heat seeking missiles.

This is unreal engine right? In that case, "follow the crosshairs" guidance is hardcoded into it. That could be used, but with very slow turn rate. If another missile is fired, previous missile becomes dumb-fire.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Pickle on July 09, 2013, 08:33:39 am
This is unreal engine right? In that case, "follow the crosshairs" guidance is hardcoded into it. That could be used, but with very slow turn rate. If another missile is fired, previous missile becomes dumb-fire.

No, it's the Unity engine.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 09, 2013, 08:39:25 am
Its Unity engine.

Yeah if 1 in 5 Torpedoes hit and they do massive mine damage on multiple components, armor, and hull...people are going to move when they see them coming. Combining this with mines might make things interesting. Mines could be used to screen torpedoes but also to buy a torpedoed ship time to rebuild/repair before attackers rush in to finish off.

But I don't think it would completely kill long range engagements. They'd still happen. But it would provide a way for a cover fire situation so an attacker could get close. Even if both ships suddenly rose up to take down the attacker, the threat of torpedoes may make their counterattack end quickly. All it would take is that one torpedo strike and you'd have armor gone. With an attacker in close range that is like a death sentence. They'd be forced to move or sit there getting pounded by the attacker. Imagine if it was a Jackfish. It could just lob shots over cover without taking a heavy risk and could pull out fast enough if something went wrong. All the while a galleon is keeping the torpedoes buzzing the position.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Andrej Peribosky on July 09, 2013, 10:38:12 am
Yeah the more i think about it, the more i like it.
This can lead to very interesting games.
We need to notify muse of this, maybe they will like it too!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Captain Smollett on July 09, 2013, 02:34:07 pm
Now don't get me wrong.  I really like this weapon but to be honest it sounds like it encourages more long range engagements not less.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 09, 2013, 05:22:36 pm
Don't think theres really anything we can do to encourage more close range outside of rebuffing CQC guns. Or heck maybe buffing hulls so much as to make long range engagements near pointless. But then folks will all complain about boring combinations again. Whether teams long range engage or not just comes down to the judgement of the pilots.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on July 10, 2013, 11:17:28 pm
Talked with ressorius today a little on this. Asked if he'd forward this to muse in some way. But he did like the idea of a torpedo in game. Wasn't sure on a tracking function but liked a magnetic ability so there would be a friendly fire risk potential.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: James T. Kirk on July 11, 2013, 12:27:01 pm
Maybe the friendly fire aspect could merely act as a minor ram.

We don't want to make it too easy on those nasty trolls.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: The Churrosaur on August 07, 2013, 03:06:35 am
Bit of a necro here.

But re-reading the thread, I noticed somebody mentioned the possibility of an adjustable arming time....

Ooh, idea. What if arming the warhead of the torpedo somehow popped its balloon, turning it into a rapidly arcing slugs of death.could add a whole new level of challenge to gunning them.

Would also let me drop them as bombs in a pinch. :p
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on August 07, 2013, 07:02:10 am
lol slugs of death. Like it but it might be a bit too difficult for gunners to handle.

Oh update, I did contact Muse directly on it and it has been noted.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Captain Rico on August 12, 2013, 02:07:04 am
stay with the armorpiercing thing.
give it impact
reduce the the explosion damage drastically but give it a big explosion radius. Hitting all modules at once, but not strong enough to destroy them.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on December 06, 2013, 03:33:57 pm
For those that question if Sky Torpedoes would fit the lore and world, I give you...the aerial torpedo design developed in WWI: http://io9.com/the-first-drones-used-in-world-war-i-453365075

Never saw completion unfortunately and was pretty much lost to history but the fact that there was ideas for it is nice. This however is more of a radio controlled rocket that the guy was inventing back then. Love that its actually called an "aerial torpedo."
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Crafeksterty on December 07, 2013, 02:55:07 am
Im all for making snipers move more, but having a gun better than the lumber jack and the heavy flak in many ways is really problematic.

I would definetly want the new medium gun to have impact damage. And i do support how this could be used. But if anything, ide give this weapon a very bad vertical aim, but very wide horizontal aim.
Forcing the ship to be on the same level as the other ships.

And a Wide AOE. So that if it hits, it has a chance to also hit a neighboring ship. Or yourself if point blank.



With these adjustments you can make the torpedo go much quicker (much quicker), but add in one more nerf.  People are able to destroy the torpedo mid flight (Enemies can destroy it that is).
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Coldcurse on December 07, 2013, 04:56:07 pm
this idea reminds me of strapping three lumberjacks together and fire them all at once.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Sylas Firehammer on December 07, 2013, 07:25:00 pm
Haven't seen this mentioned yet, but could the torpedoes be shot down and dodged? I know you mentioned dodging, but what if they could be shot down as well? They could behave kind of like the target practice ships in Sandbox except just delivering a payload. Launch your torpedo, hope it hits, and if not it could draw enemy fire or distract the captain for the split second you may need. Or perhaps a Hwacha barrage followed by a torpedo for pure destruction because no one can shoot it down?!
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on December 07, 2013, 10:16:15 pm
Either in this thread on one of the pages, or the other one I made in the gameplay forum. But yeah, shooting them down was a design concept.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: The Sky Wolf on December 07, 2013, 10:31:14 pm
Imagine setting mines to your left... then... mines to your right... Then unleashing a barrage of slow-moving Barracuda Air-Torpedoes into the clouds to seek and destroy that camping Spire.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Locutus of borg on December 08, 2013, 12:15:48 am
If we are trying to make it a good counter sniper (which I like) maybe we could have it bounce your ship around, just like the mines do, cause nothings worse that having your galleon spun the wrong way round right when your hwatcha gunner starts his burst
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Squidslinger Gilder on December 08, 2013, 02:48:32 am
That is what Impact damage does which is what the design calls for. Initial design was for armor piercing but a page or two in it changes to impact.
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Cheesy Crackers on December 08, 2013, 11:40:00 pm
I can see some very scary and funny moments going in with a tracker torpedo that could end up firing on a friendly...
Continuing on that ^ imagine mines that could track ships that draw too close or that simply drift around aimlessly in the general direction you fired them
Title: Re: The Barracuda Sky Torpedo
Post by: Sylas Firehammer on December 09, 2013, 02:30:47 pm
That actually makes me wonder, what DOES happen if you miss the target? Does the torpedo just continue on into whatever it hits next or does it go haywire due to the tracking? Or does it have an explosive timer after so far?