Add Jumpdrive block actions/PB API
Hello keen,
As a prelude, I do have to say that I have been thoroughly enjoying the recent batch of updates. The combination of warfare 2, Automatons and now Contact has revitalized the core game capabilities in a way never before seen. With new world encounters, the factorum battles, the various inclusions new new blocks and AI drones, the scale of engineering, grid-count, and multi-ship battles have become ever more of a possibility
Though as a result, there is some elements of the game which have become more limiting than they used to. One of which being the jumpdrive.
With the game opening up with more reasons to travel far, wide, and with various ships/fleets, the limitation of the JD being only manually operated from the toolbar has become evermore constraining. And with the addition of gridAI enabling things like automated patrols/cargo for long range, it is disappointing to see that the JD remains unusable due to the inability to trigger a jump with either a timer, event controller, AI path event or PB command.
I think it would be time to enable that functionality to push automation and fleet battles to ever greater heights.
Moreover, old concerns pretty much no longer apply. The risk of "losing" a grid because of an un-planned jump is no longer relevant with both the addition of long range beacons (a grid would need to at least jump further than 200km to be out of range of a max range locator beacon, and the ability to create a recovery contract to have a rough location of the grid even if lost in deep space with no signal and no AI telling it to go back. There will not be a risk of player "rage" at a loss of grid due to a miscalculation on their part, which to be honest is just something that can happen over the course of regular gameplay (well why of course I did just connect my LG ship on a piston connector, what could go wrong?)
This is, therefore, my list of suggestions based on what is already possible in the game or already done with mods:
- Initiate a jump using blocks and PBs. A jump initiated with the toolbar action of a cockpit would still display the confirmation window, one done through a block or script would simply activate. The JD would jump to the pre-selected GPS/Beacon that was selected in the control panel, or a blind jump if it is left empty.
- Set a specific value for the jump slider, using the same "set value" methodology used for action relays, pistons, rotors and hinges.
- A PB API to initiate a jump with a set of coordinates as its input. (Optional) returns a true/false depending of if the jump is being executed or not. (even more optional) return depends on what is causing the jump to not be executed.
- (Optional) An action to halt a jump, if executed all ongoing jumps will be cancelled
- (Optional) an event controller setting that checks if a drive is currently in the process of jumping. This could be usable to enable behaviors/warnings or even to use as a sort of safety system from accidental jumping by, for example having a system that would then halt the jump depending on grid logic in case it was accidentally activated.
I hope this has been informative and in any case, thanks for this great game and great updates
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