Guest Shingen Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 I checked the current VCF and did a search, but didn't find anything pertaining to this issue. When deploying drones/OCs on planets, they will sometimes be inverted. The tracks will be showing through the planets surface and the main body of the drone/oc will be upside-down moving through the terrain. I can enter the OC and drive it, but it's still inverted and the view is also upside-down. I have screenies of both inverted drones and OCs. I also have a save-game as well. Using UC 1.00.02 RC4 - enter planet's atmosphere - CALS - TacOps -> set waypoints / proceed to next - deploy drone/oc - launch shuttles - after deployment and RTB, some drones and/or OCs are displayed on VDD inverted, and can be tracked either with an exterior view, or approached ( stationary OCs) in FP. This happens in SNGs and in save-games. [ 05-02-2004, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]
Supreme Cmdr Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 This will happen if you deployed the units on a hill and they don't have time to adjust to the terrain height. Nothing I can do about it atm, but send me the save game (from RC4 I assume) with a copy of this report please. btw, did you get my email (and the saved game attachment) about your missing drone? EDIT: I can't view those shots. Yahoo is displaying a message that they are not available. Send them via email in JPEG format.
Guest Shingen Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 Yeah, I got the email and attached file. Thanks. The mining drone I lost the first time was also deployed inverted. I thought it was a video card issue, so I let it go ahead and mine ( the other three MDs that I were able to retrieve were not inverted at that time ). This could've been the reason that the drone was destroyed and not updated, but I'm just speculating. Perhaps a way to resolve this is to allow the shuttles to deploy at an altitude of say 150m, without having to land first. I will forward the save-game file and report if you want it. [EDIT] Forwarded to [email protected] Zipped file contains save-game and zipped JPG images. [ 02-25-2004, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Shingen ]
Supreme Cmdr Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Shingen: Perhaps a way to resolve this is to allow the shuttles to deploy at an altitude of say 150m, without having to land first. No. Deployment ops can only be performed when the craft has landed on the terrain.
Guest Shingen Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 OK.. I've tried something, but I don't know if it's relevent. If I'm deploying drones and/or OCs while my CC is in orbit, they all seem to deploy correctly ( tried it three times seperately before I was destroyed by a rogue Garid ).
Supreme Cmdr Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 No, that has nothing to do with it at all. The problem is that they will end up under the terrain if they were deployed on a steep incline (think angle as sharp as the sides of a pyramid) or if they are moving over terrain and they end up intersecting a steep incline. The undercarriage model uses a 3-point system and I never got around to doing a 4-point model - and I don't plan on it this time around. The reason that you can deploy them correctly now, is the same reason that not everyone has experienced this - they do deployment on relatively flat terrain as indicated in the manual, on the forums etc etc
Guest Shingen Posted February 25, 2004 Report Posted February 25, 2004 Ok Thanks for the help. In future, I'll be sure to set waypoints accordingly.
wolf1705 Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 i had all my drones deployed on the planet. when i went to retrieve them they were gone. I reload my game to earlyer point and went to see them in tacops and before my eyes they diappeared i guess into the ground. Now i have no drones and i can't replace them because it tells me that they are at 100% on the planet. What can i do?
Supreme Cmdr Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Well then, go have a good cry about it.
scorchedearth Posted February 29, 2004 Report Posted February 29, 2004 quote:Originally posted by wolf1705: What can i do? It sounds like you need to make sure that you deploy drones on a FLAT (or flatter) surface. If you do that, you'll be set. Deploy them on a steep incline (which, realistically, is kinda silly) and the 3-point system SC is talking about will not assess the surface correctly. -if I understand it correctly.
Supreme Cmdr Posted February 29, 2004 Report Posted February 29, 2004 Yes Blerm is correct. I thought my previous post to Shingen would be clear to everybody. But no, what was I thinking? Hence my post above. If I find time, I will implement a 4-point system which will alleviate this problem, but fixing the issues in the support structure code is far more critical than worrying about drones - which will work just fine if deployed correctly. Posting in the same damn thread about the same known issue, is silly, counter-productive and stupid. So, DON'T DO IT. Its not going to fix it.
Guest Shingen Posted April 30, 2004 Report Posted April 30, 2004 I've just now seen this thing again. Only this time, the drones all deployed correctly (none of them were inverted). I did notice something when I was leaving the planet in my CC. One of the drones while targeted in the Tacscan/VDD, appeared to be elevated above the ground ( as indicated by the TLL ). Upon returning to the planet some time later, I was able to extract two of the four drones without problem, however two drones are still showing as active in Tactical/Drones, but cannot be located in the TacScan or in TacOps/zoom/support. I do have a savegame if you want it. (Using UC RC7.)
street228 Posted April 30, 2004 Report Posted April 30, 2004 I have run into it too Shingen, Only seems to happen to me, when I deploy 2 or more, and the longer I leave them out, the more likely I am to have one vanish. Maybe the GPS is acting up, but they're still out there...lol. I have been putting one out at a time. slow, but I do my mining, while I sleep at night..so it really isnt much of a setback for me. I like spending four days sitting around mining. The real time process of the game is what I like the most. If you really think about it, real life would'nt be so different. Sh*t happens...right? NOT EVERYTHING that happens..is an issue...just like life: "ROLL/ROLE with the punches"
Supreme Cmdr Posted April 30, 2004 Report Posted April 30, 2004 How many times do I have to explain what is going on and to say that there isn't a DAMN thing I can do about it? The drone - like everything else - has its own dynamics model, if it goes over a ridge that causes it to go inverted, underground etc etc, there's nothing I can do about it. If there was (a) it would be in the VCF as an issue ( I would be investigating it. This ranks up there with getting trapped inside a blown out building. Live with it as there is nothing that I can do about it. If it bothers you so much, either (a) don't mine ( mine only on moons, which have a relatively flat surface [ 04-30-2004, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ]
Guest Shingen Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: How many times do I have to explain what is going on and to say that there isn't a DAMN thing I can do about it? The drone - like everything else - has its own dynamics model, if it goes over a ridge that causes it to go inverted, underground etc etc, there's nothing I can do about it. If there was (a) it would be in the VCF as an issue ( I would be investigating it. This ranks up there with getting trapped inside a blown out building. Live with it as there is nothing that I can do about it. If it bothers you so much, either (a) don't mine ( mine only on moons, which have a relatively flat surface Sorry, but the problem wasn't about the drones being inverted, it was about them being displayed in Tactical as Active, but not being able to FIND them anywhere in the game. Be it in TacScan or in TacOps. Nevermind.
Supreme Cmdr Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 If they are active, it means they exist. Until they are actually DESTROYED, their status will remain active. So, they do exist but you can't find them because they are probably stuck on some ridge or have gone inverted, ended up under the ground and making it impossible to locate (since the camera will prevent terrain intersection most of the time). The event that reports the status of an object is the same used for ALL objects in the game. So, if it says that the drone is active, then it is. The fact of the matter is, short of warping the drone back on to the terrain (which will only result in it getting into the same condition at another time), I can't think of any remedy for this quirk. Yet.
Joel Schultz Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 Ah... so that's where my drone went while I was in the bathroom that evening. One minute it's there, the next it's not, can't find it and my CC says it's still alive. I really hope you figure out this one. As it is, now I only mine when my CC is parked and I can watch the drones like a hawk, saving every 15-30 minutes so I don't have to replay as much if I lose one (and I have time to quickly dispatch a shuttle to pick up a drone and drop it someplace more level). A slightly inconvenient workaround, but useful to have. Keep up the thinking, SC!
Supreme Cmdr Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 Well, a workaround would be, well, try mining on relatively flat terrain and ensure that the shuttle lands and deploys the drone on a similar terrain. Don't just fire up Tacops and pick any random spot on a whim.
Zane_Marlowe Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 It also occurs to me that if you DO have an inverted OC or drone, then you might just have the shuttle extract and redeploy as a temporary fix, although from what I understand it seems that they may just get into that trouble again later.
Supreme Cmdr Posted May 1, 2004 Report Posted May 1, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Zane Marlowe: It also occurs to me that if you DO have an inverted OC or drone, then you might just have the shuttle extract and redeploy as a temporary fix, although from what I understand it seems that they may just get into that trouble again later. Yep. Anyway, I have opened a trouble ticket about it in the event that I can come up with a wat to prevent it from happening - or a recovery method of sorts.
Joel Schultz Posted May 2, 2004 Report Posted May 2, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Well, a workaround would be, well, try mining on relatively flat terrain and ensure that the shuttle lands and deploys the drone on a similar terrain. Don't just fire up Tacops and pick any random spot on a whim. True, true. But those drones have a tendency to wander pretty far over time. The furthest one ever ended up from my drop point was 40 km -- I had originally set it down in a nice level spot (a city) and during its Brownian walk it traveled to and beyond another nearby city. Those things encounter all sorts of hilly terrain once they wander off far enough. Hence why I like to keep a close eye on them. Your moon comment is interesting, though. I'll have to go down and investigate one sometime and check out the relative hilliness of the terrain. The problem with moons are that they tend to be a bit dull. On planets, there's nothing like hopping out of the CC in a city and jet-packing to the top of some skyscraper to truly appreciate the scale of your cruiser parked downtown, while killing time waiting on some drones. Or taking some crew out for waypoint practice maneuvers. /me giving crew shore-leave orders "OK everyone, remember where we parked!" (with apologies to Captain Kirk)
Supreme Cmdr Posted May 2, 2004 Report Posted May 2, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Joel Schultz: But those drones have a tendency to wander pretty far over time. The furthest one ever ended up from my drop point was 40 km -- I had originally set it down in a nice level spot (a city) and during its Brownian walk it traveled to and beyond another nearby city. Those things encounter all sorts of hilly terrain once they wander off far enough. Hence why I like to keep a close eye on them.There are no limits on where they can/cannot go. They have a roving algorithm which is completely autonomous.
Guest Shingen Posted May 2, 2004 Report Posted May 2, 2004 Would it help if you reduced the speed of drones? Maybe that way they would have a better time adapting to the changing terrain. There's really no need for fast mining drones anyhow. Just a thought.
Supreme Cmdr Posted May 2, 2004 Report Posted May 2, 2004 Its not speed related. No matter how fast its going, if it encounters a ridge with a very sharp angle, it may end up under it. In BCM/G, the speed of the drone was 100 m/s. In UC it is 30 m/s and I recently reduced it (so that shuttles/personnel can better keep up with them). I have already described what I think is happening, in the VCF. You might want to read it.
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now