Unstable Space Fleet Operations notes

I wanted to post an update on the Fleet Operation work that I have been coding. I wanted to post a design document, but the ideas are changing too fast as I build and discard prototypes. But enough has become stable that I feel everyone should hear about it.

The whole concept of Fleet Operations has been a major breakthrough in the Meta Game design and pretty exciting to me.

Station Turns

There is a station update task that runs each day. This task finishes stations that are under construction and sets them to normal operations. It also grows back station guards which have been killed.

The most important job of the task is to spawn new fleet operations.

See tStationRules.pog for update and operation spawning.

Spawning Fleet Operations

The station update task checks each station to see if has lost any Fleet Operations and if it has capacity to spawn more. Some stations, like Pirate Bases host a bunch of operations. And some stations, like Habitats, host none.

If there is room for another Operation, a timer is set for the number of days it takes to build the operation. When the timer is up, the operation is created and placed at the station.

This is a very simple and CPU efficient system. If operations are destroyed, they will slowly return.

See prod_data.ini file for details on which operations are produced by which station.

Operation Features

Every operation is represented by a Ship and a Name. So when the player encounters the same operation twice, it is easy to recognize.

Every operation keeps track of how strong its fleet is in “threat points�. When PS built EoC they assigned every ship type a “threat� value that indicates how strong it is. When the player encounters an operation, the number of ships in the fleet will be determined by the operation threat level / threat value of each ship.

If a ship in the operation fleet is destroyed, then its threat value is subtracted from the operations total. Thus the operation remembers combat damage. A player can hit and run damage down a strong operation.

See tLFleet.pog for tracking threat values.
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Operation Turns[/b]

Operations get a chance to update once every few days. The number of days between turns will depend on CPU limits, because the action AI is fairly processor intensive.

During a turn the Operation chooses where it will move next. It will return home if damaged. It will move to chase a player. It might just sit still (such as a pirate fence happily earning money). The actions are dependent on the kind of operation.

Operations can also attack other operations located at the same station. Or even attack the station guards and the station itself.

See tsFleetOpUpdate.pog for more details.
See tsFoEmbezzle.pog for fence example behavior.

Operation Combat

Operations can attack and destroy each other. When two dislike or hostile operations are on the same station, they will fight. Fleet strength is compared directly, and some fleets are destroyed from each. (For now a flat percentage is used for each attack).

Non-combat operations (such as fences) will flee from any combat. Most fighting operations will not attempt to flee until they are badly damaged.

If an operation loses all of its fleets, it is destroyed and removed from the game.

See tsFleetOpCombat.pog for more details.

Station Combat

Operations can attack stations. If there are no defending operations remaining, an operation can attack the station guards. The guards get an attack bonus from the station guns. And they get a defense bonus (they can flee a short distance to repair while the attackers are focused on the station).

If all the station defenders are killed, then the station is either captured, destroyed, or abandoned. The exact effect depends on the attacking faction. A corporation can capture the stations of another corporation, but cannot capture pirate stations.

(Station destruction won’t be supported in Unstable Space. Soon however.)
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Player and Operations[/b]

So far I have described the virtual life of operations far from the player view. But this is all for the fun of the player.

Most of the operations are designed to interact with the player. Embezzle operations fence stolen cargo. Pirate protection rackets charge the player fees to cross lpoints and visit stations. And navy customs tolls charge the player taxes. These behaviors are all taken from the Middle States code.

The player can now attack and destroy these operations. Destroying a member of the operation fleet will deduct it from the operation total. Some operations can be destroyed by just destroying the central ship (such as fences).

The new reputation system gives strong penalty for destroying an operation.

See tsPilotSetup.pog for details on subtracting fleets and destroying operations on ship death.

Planned Operations

Given the limited time until US releases, there won’t be time to code many new operations. Here is a list of those that I would like to see finished.

Station Guards

Stations are protected by light combat ships and fighters. They patrol around the station looking for hostiles to attack. They will answer short range distress calls from very close freighters. The number of guards will be based on the type of station. Mines have very few and navy bases have many.

tPcGuards.pog for the implementation of the physical station guards.

Police and Security Patrols

These patrols move around friendly stations that are near the police base. They drive away pirates and other disliked operations. They answer short range distress calls. Small in number, they are more for patrolling than for fighting major combats.

Customs Patrols

The government stations spawn these tax collects to patrol the lpoints and other stations and collect funds from passing traffic. They only charge the player once during a visit to the same system. They have stronger numbers than police patrols.

tPcCustomsToll.pog for the implementation of the customs ships.

Navy Guards

Navy stations spawn these larger defensive fleets. They will move to non-pirate stations where they see pirates. (pirate stations are assumed to be hidden). They guard the Lpoints and move from station to station when they don’t see pirates nearby.

Pirate Fences

Pirate fences deal in stolen cargo for the player. The player will want to help keep these operations alive and well if they intend to survive as in a pirate career. These ships flee at the first sight of trouble. And they are happy to find a production station where they can launder stolen property. They don’t move until someone chases them off.

tsFoEmbezzle.pog for the operation behavior.
tPcEmbezzlOp.pog for the ship behavior.

Pirate Protection Rackets

The Protection rackets replace the Pirate Tolls of Middle States. They park on Lpoints and stations. They move fairly often between the non-hostile stations in the system. It is hard to know when you will meet up with one.

The protection rackets charge the player a fee depending on how well they like the player.

tPcPirateToll.pog for the ship behavior.

Pirate Thugs

Pirate thugs patrol the stations near a pirate base and drive away police, corporate security and other pirates. They are a large and well armed bunch of trouble makers. Thugs will pick a fight with the player who has a below friendly standing. They move from station to station fairly often. They don’t visit hostile stations.

Pirate Raiders

Pirate raiders do visit hostile stations. They hang way out on the edges and attack cargo ships that try to visit the station. Actually, they act much like pirate players. If the player gets hit with an LDSI missile, this is the reason. They shoot at ships that get too close, so it will be worth the players while to pick a careful route into and out of stations. Best upgrade your sensors, too.

Initial implementation will just have the pirate attack. Possibly later they will collect up cargo and leave when full.

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