Sirius Business - a C# Aurora forum game. v2.5

[blue emu]

My next attempt will be to just carry the mines out to the spot I want to deploy them and then simply dump them out of the launchers without targeting them on anything. Maybe that will prevent the warheads from firing.

I'll have to go back for another load, though. I'm just using a single FAC running out from Earth to the Proxima jump point and conducting the test there.

 

[blue emu]

In other news...

We're going to need more pops in Harmony.

We've already got a thousand Infrastructure and some Colonists on the way there.

 

[blue emu]

That five-day hack gave us enough Mk2's to run a second test... this time we will test simply dumping the mines overboard without targeting them.

 

[blue emu]

Test #2 : Firing off a full rack of mines, with our fire control computer in neutral setting (no target assigned).

Result : Another failure. The mines refuse to leave the racks unless I assign a target for the fire control computer.

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So the obvious test #3 will be to place the waypoint, fire the mines, and then INSTANTLY remove the waypoint, before the mines have a chance to detect it.

Since our mines refused to leave the racks in test #2, we still have a full load. Let's try it.

 

[blue emu]

Test #3 : Firing at a waypoint, but removing the waypoint immediately, before the mines activate.

Place the waypoint, fire the mines, and remove the way point.

Five seconds later:

Rat-Boogers!

Result : Another failure.

The Mk3 is nearly researched, and I'll start looking at designing a Mk4.

 

[blue emu]

Anti Ship Mines

Anti Ship Mines

aurora2.pentarch.org

 

[blue emu]

Test #4 (LOL) will be trying to place immobile mines OUTSIDE their detonation distance (ie: "fire" them at a waypoint that is too far away to trigger them).

Heading back to Earth to reload now.

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This screen shot is from Test #3, not Test #4, but it is illustrative of the problem.

The mines are placed but immediately release their warheads despite the fact that no enemy is present. Then the warheads run out of fuel and vanish.

Going to try "placing" mines by not placing them... by firing off immobile mines (ie: mines that have no engine and cannot move) from a distance toward the waypoint. Naturally, they won't actually GO anywhere... they have no engine.

In theory, the mine will never stop "being placed" because it isn't yet within detonation distance of the waypoint... and it can't move any closer (no engine).

So it should be stuck, half-deployed. Forever. In theory.

 

[blue emu]

BuOrd (Bureau of Ordnance) Petard Test #4.

We'll be "firing" an immobile mine at a distant target waypoint. Naturally it won't actually go anywhere,,, the idea is to "freeze" the mine, half-deployed.

We've set up a Test Site directly on top of the spot where we really want the minefield. The Cutlass FAC will sit on top of that Test Site waypoint.

But then we'll pretend that we actually want the mines placed 2 million km away, at a spot marked Test Target. We "fire" them at that target.

Note that the mines' triggering range is 1.6 million km. So we are "firing" them at a spot beyond triggering range.

So the mines must close within 1.6 million km of the Test Target before they can trigger... but they can't move because they have no engine.

Hopefully this Catch-22 situation will leave the poor mines completely stumped, and they'll just sit there looking embarassed until an enemy comes by and sets off the proximity fuse.

 

[blue emu]

We aim at the distant waypoint, and fire.

Two hours later... the mines are still there!

Sitting stationary at the Test Site waypoint, staring longingly at the distant target!

 

[blue emu]

We don't yet have this issue beat, because there's no guarantee that the mines will actually detonate when an enemy comes by. The mines might still be stuck in "Deploy" mode instead.

... but I think we've turned the corner, into the home stretch.

So what I'm going to do is to BUILD a special-purpose mine-layer (I was trying to avoid this, but meh) with bigger tubes, so it can lay bigger mines.

Those bigger mines have enough room that they can be equipped with re-targeting avionics, which will allow the missile or mine to choose a new target (or wait for a new target) if the original target disappears.

... and then we remove the target waypoint. And THAT should do it. The mine should then sit and wait for a new target.

 

[blue emu]

Bureau of Ordnance has been busy.

 

[randakar]

Well done. Wasn't sure this was fixable without actually upgrading the game.

Which of course is a no-go, given the database would then also need an upgrade, thus throwing away the game data.

( I actually have the background to know how to fix a thing like this in software, but it's something you need to plan for and requires specialised libraries, which Steve obviously isn't using )

 

[blue emu]

Well done. Wasn't sure this was fixable without actually upgrading the game.

Still not entirely sure we have it fixed... how do we test it, without an enemy?... but we're giving it our best shot.

 

[Wagonlitz]

actually have the background to know how to fix a thing like this in software, but it's something you need to plan for and requires specialised libraries, which Steve obviously isn't using

How would fixing mines require a specialised library?

 

[Wagonlitz]

Still not entirely sure we have it fixed... how do we test it, without an enemy?... but we're giving it our best shot.

Given this is a case of bug fixing I say you can use all tools available.
So perhaps save the game, then boot it up in space master and summon some jerx to appear at the mind field, as if they jumped through. See if it works.
Then close game without saving.
Reload save from before space master test and either keep reworking mines as they didn't work or start laying in earnest.

 

[Nikolai II]

We're going to need more pops in Harmony.

Or, since they said "detected any" - we just need noisier pops?

 

[son of liberty]

Or, since they said "detected any" - we just need noisier pops?

Send in the hippies

 

[randakar]

How would fixing mines require a specialised library?

Upgrading the database so that players aren't stuck on a specific version of the game. Or at least, so that it happens less.

Which would make it possible to update the game with a fix in the code.

 

[blue emu]

... summon some jerx to appear at the mind field...

There is no way to do this in SpaceMaster mode.

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We are now researching size-8 box launchers, preparatory to designing a mine-layer.

 

[blue emu]

Uh-oh...