More flying building expiramentation Options

[Team Black]

We know that we can't use actual aircraft, since they don't follow deploy logic- but there are a few ways to make aircraft out of vehicles:

1st idea: adjust the hover locomotor. Reading through Jah's heli research, I thought I'd give my own shot at it (I wasn't expecting to succeed where he had failed - rather, just to know for myself what does and doesn't work)

By adjusting the HoverHeight for the hover loco, you can make a convincing looking aircraft, with the ability to deploy. There are many minuses (which are described in Jah's thread), but they can all be overcome with some tweaking. However, there is a key issue that remains: cliff passability.
By making the terrain

CODE

; cliffs
[Rock]
Foot=0%
Track=0%
Wheel=0%
Float=0%
Hover=100%
Amphibious=0%
Buildable=no

it does not enable the unit to descend or ascend cliffs, only to move on them in the same level.
 livin_on_the_edge.PNG ( 96.67K ) Number of downloads: 4

This also causes some compliance issues with hover units- it's difficult to get them to go places, especially if a cliff is involved in the process.

VERDICT: using the hover logic is phayl.

2nd idea: make the vehicle fly. this is done by giving it an aircraft's locomotor, SpeedType=winged, and MovementZone=fly.
This method allows for aircraft to support every logic that vehicles support: deploying, passengers, hva animation, shp, turrets, etc.
The cons:
It is invincible during flight - unless it runs into a firestorm wall (not even hunter-seekers can get em)
It can't reveal shroud while in flight - but this might not be a big problem, if we make them MoveToShroud=no.
it can be picked up by carryalls - but I wouldn't really see that as a gameplay-threatening issue
 invincible_balloon.PNG ( 40.93K ) Number of downloads: 3

The invincibility thing might be balanced if we make em go really really slow, but even then, ehhhhhhh
If we were to make mobile buildings though, this would be the best way to do it (unless the exe hackers feel like getting planes able to deploy/undeploy. . .)

MY VERDICT: flying buildings in TS would be great, but it isn't going to happen. Even if it did work, it would already throw the game's balance to heck.

So what now? I'd hate to say it, but I'm leaning towards ditching the mobile buildings altogether, but I'm going to need some feedback before I decide anything...

[Lightstorm]

i would use the same carryall for everything, it would be a longish unit that has things on the bottom that lock into "Slots" on the ships, it was just be attached to the top and it would look like spaceship engines or a spaceship itself, and yeah I'd force carryalls to be used, maybe the deployable weapons could move on their own (slowly) but i'd say the structures require carryalls. yeah you can build more carryalls too. mabye if we really need to we can use 2 carryalls but more then that becomes stupid and we'd have to code it so only certain buildings can be moved by certain carryalls, nah I'd just use one and figure out how to make it look good on everything.

one way i was thinking to do that is making the carryall the size of a limpet mine that just attaches to the top of the building. call it the "flight module"