"PDmod" ICX Overhaul View Mod
Screenshot * Brand-new targeting algorithm for ICX-type devices, prioritizing missiles calculated to be on an inbound vector, instead of default behavior which always targets the closest one (which is probably flying away from the ship after a miss)

* "Escort mode" for defending a target from incoming projectiles, firing at those projectiles while never taking shots that could hit the defended target. Perfect for escort or defense missions (ROM for switching to this mode sold separately).

* Many new ICX-type devices, ranging from the mundane ICX+, to the homing Interceptor area-defence system, to the esoteric anti-beam attenuator.

All comments welcome, bug reports are highly appreciated, and feel free to use this mod whichever way, no attribution required.

This mod overwrites the ICXs in "stdDevices.xml". This release is for 1.1 stable.

Click on the image for a demo movie.
Categories Prior Mods of the Month, Misc, Featured,
Recommended Mods, Quality approved, Devices,
Development, Balance approved, A.I./Behavior
Author TVR
Rating 11   0
Added (Last modified) 19.07.2012 (25.06.2014)
Game Version 1.1 RC1
Filesize 50.65 KB
Downloads 3992
Download Download
TVR 20.07.2012 07:49

Reuploaded at 8 downloads, t+00:10:00

Found a duplicate UNID that would prevent ammo for the Interceptor missile launcher from spawning. The updated .xml can be used to replace the previous .xml on the same save file with no problems or conflicts.

RPC 20.07.2012 15:07

Looks nice TVR!

:D :D :D

mistere 20.07.2012 20:20

Awesome stuff!

TVR 20.07.2012 23:36

This screenshot doesn't do having 3 ICX+'s while surrounded by 10 Hurin Destroyers justice. I'll replace it with an animated .gif sometime.

Shrike 27.07.2012 11:59

I'm very interested in this targeting algorithm....AutoDefenseDevices are a serious weak spot in the vanilla code.

TVR 28.07.2012 21:46

I'll upload some technical documentation soon, but the gist of it is:

1) AutoDefenceDevice triggers the algorithm when something nearby is detected.

2) The algorithm creates a list of nearby spaceObjects according to criteria.

3) The algorithm finds the first object that can be hit according to the relative vector. (via (ab)use of SysCalcFireSolution)

4) A shot is fired at that object.

TVR 04.08.2012 01:51

Reuploaded at at 56 downloads, t+15d

* Added "Escort mode" functionality to more devices.

* Fixed a rarely encountered power consumption bug.

* Aegis auton now activates "Escort mode" by default, meaning no more friendly fire.

* Added 2 more ICX-type devices, LaLuminere Advanced Defence System & Turbo-ICX Station Defence System.

TVR 04.08.2012 05:45

One more thing I forgot to mention:

* Extensive technical documentation now available in the form of inline comments on the ICX+ system & turret.

WillyTheSquid 14.08.2012 08:24

does this work well with autons built with the assembly hangar (if I build them with an ICX device)?

TVR 15.08.2012 08:32

The ICX-type devices will function correctly on any spaceObject, but currently, AI ships other than the Aegis auton won't activate escort mode, so friendly fire is a possibility.

WillyTheSquid 25.08.2012 14:19

That's what Prophet's FFAS (Friendly Fire Avoidance System) device is for... right? :)

TVR 25.08.2012 19:51

Not quite - FFAS protects the auton, "Escort" mode protects the player ship.

The limitations of FFAS were one of the things that inspired the targeting algorithm; whereas FFAS uses an overlay to absorb damage and make shots disappear, this simply doesn't fire the shot in the first place.

ThePrivateer 20.09.2012 11:03

Wow! I love this! :D Nice work, and +1!

TVR 24.09.2012 03:57

Reuploaded at 158 downloads, t+65d

beta3/MotM Edition (2012/09/23):

* Major gameplay change: "Escort" mode is now accessible through invokable (usable) ROMs installed with every ICX device, other modes available too.

* Fixed a couple menu image errors.

* Created a sample ICX itemtype to make it easier to create new ICXs with these algorithms, just swap the weapon UNID and go.

* Removed the ability to mount ICX turrets as weapons, because they appeared far, far too frequently in weapon shops, even given the "veryrare" tag.

* Added the Longreach Duo and ARK-15 Patriot... heh, that Longreach Duo took forever to debug.

* A lot of miscellaneous polish.

* Created this readme for the first time.

* Included 3 versions of the mod, "beta1" has the most features and polish, but requires 1.08b, while "106" runs on 1.06, and "basic" only includes changes to targeting algorithm, meaning it should be acceptable to reasonable vanilla purists.

TVR 27.09.2012 16:20

Reuploaded at 162 downloads, t+66d

Beta 3.1 (2012/09/24)

* There was a bug involving the script to check for installed ROMs not functioning, and installing multiple version of the same ROM - fixed now. The other one involved a sample weapon appearing with the attribute 'common', instead of the intended 'notrandom'. - fixed too. The 106 version still has these bugs, I recommend not using the 106 version for the time being... apologies to those who downloaded between 158 and 162 downloads.

TVR 17.12.2012 04:59

Reuploaded at 351 downloads, t+146d

Release Candidate for 1.1RC1 (2012/12/17)

* Many, many changes and bug-fixes.

* Finalized the weaponEffects for the Interceptor ADS and SmartCannon-AM PDS

* Introduced many improvements and new modes to the various ICX-type devices, for example, the Anti-Beam Attenuator now has a total of 6 operation modes, configurable with usable ROMs.

* Fixed a bug relating to the appearance of the sample ICX appearing for order at a Trading Post.

* In order to fix a bug related to power use, removed mode 3 ("Attack mode") functionality from all ICX-type devices.

* With pm912's instruction, made the mod more compatible with Auton Assembly. ICX-type devices will automatically activate mode 1 ("Escort mode") when installed on any auton.

* This release technically remains a drop-in replacement for all previous versions, however, all "ICX" missile defence systems have been converted to "Turbo-ICX", and vice-versa. This means any traces of the "ICX", installed or in inventory, have been replaced with the "Turbo-ICX".

* Removed the last of the debug code.

* Probably a lot of other things that I forgot.

schilcote 21.12.2012 20:59

Hmm. I think the attack mode is just a little bit overpowered- having two basic ICX turrets blows away smaller ships before you even notice they're there.

Maybe it isn't though- at that point, my main gun would have done the same thing.

Maybe make it so that you can only have one ICX in attack mode at a time.

TVR 23.12.2012 23:21

I agree that mode 3 ("Attack mode") is overpowered, having a stackable, omni-directional laser turret with regular fire rate.

The difficulty comes from trying to address that, as arbitrarily limiting mode 3 to one turret at a time is impossible to justify and fairly pointless, as stray shots from PD will continue to strike the enemy ships regardless.

Nerfing the weapon stats is equally futile, as the PDmod "ICX" already does far less damage than the stock "ICX" (1d4 @ 6/sec vs. 1d8+4 @ 3.8/sec), while sharing all other stats, such as slot use and power consumption, except range, with the stock "ICX".

As of now, the only disadvantages to installing PD are that lasers and mass drivers become obsolete as anti-ship weapons at higher tech levels, and that they do not benefit from enhancers. Anti-missile turrets that are installed as weapon devices, that can make full use of attack mode, and can be enhanced are available for special order at Trading Posts though, for ships with linked fire slots or limited non-weapon device slots. Nonetheless, "Attack mode" for PD system was changed to "Counterattack mode", because the conditions required made the PD systems less effective at detecting incoming missiles.

schilcote 06.01.2013 04:26

Sure, but stray shots striking enemies is seriously different than perfect-aim stacking lasers of doom.

Maybe enabling Mode 3 can be a "hack", forcing the turret to do something it isn't designed to, and therefore risking damage to the turret.

That way, instead of a guaranteed free extra laser beam, it's instead a risky gamble, to be used only in emergencies. That makes it both more fun and less unbalanced.

Codewise, every time Mode 3 is enabled on each turret, there would be a 50% chance it makes the turret damaged (I assume damaged ICX devices already can't fire). Simple, elegant, and effective.

RPC 25.01.2013 06:48

Great mod, but I have a couple of requests:

-Can the ICX not shoot stations?

-If that's too hard, can it be automatically turned off if you're within ~20 light seconds of a station?

-Can ICX weapons not shoot shots that won't hit you? It seems like they try to destroy everything within a ~7-10 lightsecond radius, even projectiles that will completely miss.

-lock onto missiles from 'friendlies'. Basically I accidentally destroyed a corp station and wanted my ICX weapon to destroy the gothas. 5 minutes later, the Corp Cruiser is trying to hack at my ship and my ICX isn't responding. D:

TVR 26.01.2013 21:12

@schilcote

One of the reasons I'm so reluctant to impose restrictions is because of future plans for a full automatic mode where the ICX freely engages the greatest threat in the area, from incoming missiles to enemy ships. This can't happen if there is risk associated with targeting a ship.

@RPC

I currently have a prototype algorithm that is guaranteed not to fire at friendly stations. Unfortunately, it's a prototype because it has O(n^2) efficiency. I should have a O(n) system up during this weekend. For now, there's a quick shortcut to disable ICX, "u" + "9", to re-enable, use "u" + "0".

If you need to defend a station or ship from enemy fire, and need the ICX to be careful with friendly fire, use "Escort" mode, "u" + "1".

There are many reasons why the ICX shoots at incoming missiles that will miss, one of them is that even if the ICX holds fire, it doesn't save any power - power is consumed every time an autoDefenceDevice detects a target (this is a bug). Another is because there is an hard-coded 'cooldown' time imposed by autoDefenceDevice, meaning it cannot fire again for a certain number of ticks after a target is detected, even if no shots were fired at it. So if it's an enemy missile, might as well make the best use of DPS and attempt to destroy it, but if the powerUse bug is fixed, I can implement a 'conserve power/ammo' mode.

Heh, in base Transcendence, the two hostile friendly ships, the Molotok and the Corporate Cruiser, use a lot of missiles... it's almost as if they were designed to exploit a backdoor in ICX. "For liability reasons, ICX devices are unable to track targets broadcasting a friendly IFF." But in all seriousness, yes, I'll implement that, but the side effect is that friendly missiles will interfere with the detection of enemy missiles.

TVR 28.05.2013 02:53

Reuploaded at 643 downloads, t+313d

In short, all of RPC's above suggestions were implemented.

Beta 4 (2013/05/28)

* Introducing true F.F.A.S. (Friendly Fire Avoidance System), now most ICX-type devices are able to selectively hold fire if a friendly could be caught in the crossfire and redirect fire at another target if found. This means it is possible to use ICX-type devices near stations and other crowded areas without friendly fire.

* Multi-stage target acquisition with auto- and manual-prioritization implemented, bringing ICX-type devices the ability to automatically choose the best target-type. For example, shooting at enemy ships if there are no incoming missiles in range. Prioritization of targets is also manually adjustable via provided ICX mode control ROMs.

* Additional control options introduced for the Longreach Duo and Anti-Beam Attenuator, allowing the toggling of doubleshot mode and delayed detonation respectively.

* Fixed a (subtle) bug with the Interceptor missile's flight model. Also implemented a maximum operation time for those missiles.

* ICX-type devices can now target and intercept any incoming missile, regardless of IFF status, meaning an ICX in mode 6 will automatically engage Molotok Bounty Hunter MAGs and Corporate Cruiser Gotha-10s.

* The ICX mode control ROMs will now be automatically uninstalled if there are no ICX-type devices installed.

* Probably some other things.

RPC 28.05.2013 05:00

Sweet, thanks TVR!

digdug 29.05.2013 00:02

awesome!

RPC 02.07.2013 04:41

One incompatibility with Visible Damage. ICX devices target all weapon effects, and visible damage particles are weapon effects -- this means that ICX weapons might accidentally destroy damaged friendly ships.

Can I request ICX devices to not fire in the direction of friendly ships (or alternatively I can do a fix to Visible Damage but I don't know how to replicate the damage effect without using weaponsfire-- maybe look into sysCreateEffect instead?).

TVR 18.08.2013 11:13

Reuploaded at 789 downloads, t+426d

Beta 4.1 (2013/08/18)

* Mostly just some minor tuning to the FFAS algorithms, to reduce the chance of friendly fire when used in conjunction with Visible Damage.

* The Gravitometric Repulsor Field Generator can now be found in standard gameplay, but as a rare, expensive, unidentified alien device.

RPC 18.08.2013 19:28

Wooo gravity repulsor :3

Llwch 12.09.2013 04:01

Awesomeness. +1

TVR 25.11.2013 02:34

Reuploaded at 945 downloads, t+500d

> Beta 5 (2013/11/24)

* This version is needed for compatibility with Transcendence 1.2

* Updated all weapon fire effects to their 1.2 version.

* Updated the Anti-Beam Attenuator to function under the new passthrough= behavior in 1.2

* FFAS now also considers the size of friendly ships when calculating the possibility they could be hit. This addresses the issue where proximity and large size would often cause CSCs to be hit by friendly point defence fire.

* Added the Kinesis AMS, NAMI's new entry-level anti-missile system based on the A/RK15 with a cheaper light recoilless.

Peter 14.05.2014 09:01

Nice mod! Thanks TVR :D

I saw your message on the forums for adding me to the UNID database :D

Thank you!

TVR 25.06.2014 23:56

Reuploaded at 1204 downloads, t+712d

Beta 5.1 (2014/06/25)

* Fixed a critical crash bug during game start caused by fire control ROMs being installed during initial system generation.

* Fixed a critical bug with the Smartcannon AMS and Interceptor missile that prevented them from doing damage in 1.2

* Updated FFAS algorithm with improved version from Omni+.

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