Probes, mines, and other small stuff

[travists]

OK, I I'm still working on guns, but here is a missile launcher for the above emplacement.

Thoughts before I finalize? Please rember I have no textures added and little texturing experiance.

[pheonixstorm]

sounds like something we both should learn. If the file isn't too large attach it. If not, upload to the tools svn so I can work on trying to (learn) texture it myself. Might as well since there seem to be a lot of models that need texture work around here...

That kinda looks like a rocket pod, is that the idea you were crafting?

[travists]

Yep! It will be the individual instance whether it is a rapid-fire rocket pod or a missile launcher with several ports. It is .3ds right now, if you can't convert that let me know.

[pheonixstorm]

blender can import 3ds.

[travists]

No downloads yet, did you see my attachment? Still waiting for some feedback before I remove the end caps and such to make the final version.

[pheonixstorm]

haven't had a chance to grab it or look. Will do so today though if the kids let me

[travists]

As my mom would say: "Kids, gotta love them because its illegal to shoot them." Have fun, in the end family is all you really have.

[TBeholder]

Ya, it does have a funny feeling, but it also makes a lot of sense.
Big overpowered guns need big radiators very close to heat sources. I think the funny feeling may be gone if the thing is textured appropriately. Anyway, with the heat sink idea, you could replace the coils with more heat sink-ish stuff?

Well, yeah, except to be of any use in vacuum that isn't liquid and cold they have to be more or less black (slightly bluish, tops) and consist of something other than parallel plates perfectly catching each other's radiation. Sawtooth-profile ("/\/\/\/\" or "/\_/\_/\_/\") design would do, though.

[pheonixstorm]

The problem with heat sinks (radiators, whatever) in space is to be of any use they can't be facing the sun. Or so i've read so far. You would think to absorb heat you would use black but not as a means to radiate heat. Doesn't make sense to use a color that normally holds heat to radiate heat. At least not in most situations...

[travists]

Not to mention that with no air to conduct heat, radiation is the only way to dissipate it; hence the use of liquid systems and blankets in space.

It is also hard to have "parallel plates perfectly catching each other's radiation" around a cylinder.

--Yes I just built this, color of fins where per TB--

From an engineering standpoint a ringed Coke bottle works well. (Cooling rings, large body for compressors and firing equipment, and a narrow focusing chamber with an emitter at the end.) It just doesn't look menacing. But then few real world lasers do, Even if they can punch through a tank in six seconds flat!

[pheonixstorm]

and are the size of a large bedroom to boot

[TBeholder]

The problem with heat sinks (radiators, whatever) in space is to be of any use they can't be facing the sun.

Unless the drone is free to rotate as it wants, this issue is best solved by enduring. The valves to overheated panels close, ones colder than the coolant at the moment (on the other side) go on. Section shut-offs are necessary anyway, just in case of hypervelocity dust breaking a tube.

You would think to absorb heat you would use black but not as a means to radiate heat. Doesn't make sense to use a color that normally holds heat to radiate heat.

I wouldn't. About the Universe making little sense, though, no point to tell me. I swear, it wasn't myself who made electromagnetic interactions reversible in more ways than one. Well, at least not on my own memory.

It is also hard to have "parallel plates perfectly catching each other's radiation" around a cylinder.

Still normals are very close... It's 4 fins for a black body, with tricky coating maybe 6.
Also, under sawtooth i meant in case ribs aren't along the axis.

Atomic Rockets site reminds about the unrolling cross design and whatnot. Another good point from there: there may be a need in two radiator systems, red-hot for engines and rather cold for electronics.
Of course, dumping coolant is an option too. Tactical drones may get away with relatively greater mass losses: all will be refilled back on the mothership (if there's still any) after a fairly short mission. Even better if the coolant doubles as propellant so there's no need to manage two resources. And it may risk much more: even if one got cooked anyway - "hey, that was just a drone".

[travists]

Half thinking this way again... two or three thoughts:

Where are the models used for the buy screen images, I've been playing PU again recently and they have the gun models mounted (apparently as sub units) this could give some variety to gun emplacements.

How is work on using probes coming? That model seemed to be well liked, and could be fun to use one.

Mines... what should they even look like, is a gun mine really realistic, how are they used? A basic mine is simple enough to implement, it is a missile with no propulsion and a long life. when fired from a ship it is given a small kick to the aft. Limited use in small numbers, but it sends a definite "no tailgating allowed" message!

Edit: and I know the gun pictures are just that, but they are clearly CG so must have a model somewhere

[TBeholder]

Half thinking this way again... two or three thoughts:

Where are the models used for the buy screen images, I've been playing PU again recently and they have the gun models mounted (apparently as sub units) this could give some variety to gun emplacements.

Currently subunits are controllable only as AI or cockpit, so if you can fire it manually without switching cockpit to subunit, it's a normal mount.
Gun models (with animation, if the file has it) are drawn if you set "draw_weapons"=true in config and "mountlocation" directory is set right (="mounts" for data/meshes/mounts/).
But most models are either absent or got horribly wrong size or orientation. There are also a few models with wrong names.
Try to rename or symlink massdriver.bfxm to a correct weapon name - it's good one. Or try to install razor to see the problem.
Not all ships has mounts set up for this (should have both xyscale and zscale non-zero), so try on Gawain, don't try on Dos.

[travists]

My thinking was more that if we could import the models used for the guns in the images into the game and use the "draw guns" feature on a generic gun emplacement then every type would look slightly different, and there seems to be a slew of cool looking guns already made. (Far better than I could do.)

But that may end up creating far to much work elsewhere...