Author Topic: Mirror Launcher/Camera Launcher two cool but probably impossible ideas  (Read 7360 times)

Offline Sammy B. T.

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(Inspired by optical shot an ammo suggestion by Richard LeMoon)

Both launchers work in the same way mine launchers work though with longer range.

Mirror Launcher, shoots mirrors attached to balloons, either cylinders or rotating flat shapes, these would allow you (and the enemy) to see around corners. Also giving them shatter damage could be hilarious for those who accidentally run into them (I can't get on the gun, its covered in broken mirror shards!) Lets you shoot x amount of mirrors before they shatter themselves.

Major problem, I don't know much about coding for games, but I have a feeling that mirrors are pretty hard.



Camera Launcher, shoots a camera attached to the balloon out into the field. Give it tiny little thrusters to allow it to slowly spin on its axis. But wait, you cry, this is steam punk we can't wireless control this thing! That is why a second shot is needed, the cable shot. Basically after you've set up a camera, you have to hit it again with a cable shot, I think having it be an ammo type would be the best way to differentiate between shooting or possibly a piloting tool as after all, these have a similar role to spyglasses and range finders. Once you're connected boom start sending images back to the ship. Now because this is steam punk and for balance, these images need to be bad. Black and white, blurry, hell maybe even upside down as they've not been processed. I'm sure inventive types could come up with a solution.

Offline Dementio

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Why not have the cable attached from the very beginning? And when you move your ship around you move the little camera around. Does making a picture with camera to lighting? It could light up clouds for this very second and help spotting ships.

Coding mirrors is weird.

Offline Tanya Phenole

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 Mirror idea is awesome and more interesting , then camera, I think. (it is fucking steampunk game, no electronics pls) .

It might be not a really precise mirror we could see, but we should be able to see shades and lights reflections.
Which also :  gives more control over clouds if combined with flare. Allows to control "blind zones" of airships - you see the reflection of moving ship, it is not allowing to shake the spot

Offline redria

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Mirrors would be really difficult to code if they aren't already part of the infrastructure I'm sure.

However, there is an alternative. We are primarily using this to help us spot ships, yes?

Launch a silvery globe about the size of a mine. This is your "mirror".

Anyone can use a spy glass on it. Using a spyglass on the mirror will attempt to spot in every possible direction from the mirror. So the effect is the same as if you were to stand where the mirror is and spin around, clicking in every possible spot with your spy glass. In essence, you can use the mirror to spot any ship visible to the mirror at once.

Anyone can use the range finder on it. Using the range finder will give ranges to every spotted ship simultaneously.

As long as you have line of sight with a deployed mirror, you can spot anything within line of sight of the mirror.

Interesting would be chains of mirrors, allowing you to instantly spot any ship within line of sight of any of the mirrors as long as each mirror has line of sight of the next mirror.

Yes? :D

Offline Omniraptor

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+1 for disco mines. Maybe combine with flares for awesome light shows?

Seriously, I kind of like redria's idea for chains of reflective mines that can auto-spot ships, they would be helpful for resolving marco-polo situations, but I don't see how they could provide a tactical advantage to the ship that fired them- sight (clouds+flares excepted) pretty much always works both ways.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2014, 02:32:48 am by Omniraptor »

Offline redria

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Perhaps they could be smaller than mines, difficult to see. As the ship that launched it, you would have an advantage in knowing where it is, along with the fact that it is there. The other team might know you have a mirror mine somewhere, but unless they can find it, they can't use it to try to spot you in return.

Offline Sammy B. T.

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Why not have the cable attached from the very beginning?

That literally never occurred to me.

Offline Richard LeMoon

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This is actually a Dieselpunk game with Steampunk aesthetics. Some electronics are fine.

Also, three words: Bioshock Security Bot.

Offline Squidslinger Gilder

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Maybe if they finally got rid of the dumb sonar. Otherwise its a very niche tool that would take up a spot better used for something that would help in combat.

Offline Sammy B. T.

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Pyras, Mobulas, Goldies, and Spires quite often have guns barely used for combat. This game could use more utility weapons other than the flare.