Howdy All:

I was waiting to post this in the HLP SCP forum, but since this is here, I might as well. I've noticed since FS2_retail, that if you dock a small ship with a small mass, to a large ship with a large mass, and then fire weaponry at the small ship, the fact that they are docked together will cause the large ship to spin around like a propeller. Just dock an Isis to a Typhon and see what I mean. Is it possible to alter the code, so that 2 ships docked together will behave as one with the mass of the 2 combined?

Later!

ive noticed that too. i used cheat codes and got the shivan super laser (lucifer thingey) and shot an elysium docked to a fenris. i was veyr confused as the fenris flew away... i was in a nebula with limited sensor range, so it took me a while to find it again. it flew like 6-8k away

it was HILARIOUS!!!

Yes, that makes no sense, TP, and it should be changed if possible...

And this is different from FS2 to FSO?

Its the same in FS2_retail as in FSO. I just think that its unrealistic. I had a real problem in a mission I was FREDing, where a disabled cruiser would seem to be able to jump out anyway. I eventually learned that it was the fact that the escape pod I had docked to it was being fired upon. Since the escape pod was of low mass, it caused the cruiser to be accellerated to sufficient speed to jump out. The way things are now, I don't think that any cannon or existing mission would be severely affected if this physics error was corrected, and it would elimitate problems for FREDers in the future, who have to specifically script a mission around bugs like this.

Later!

Is there something as a set_mass SEXP? If so, you can do, as a FREDder: on_dock set_mass <light ship name> <mass of heavy ship>

NOTE: not a FREDder myself, just thinking in psuedo code.

fraid there isnt

We asked for that some time ago in a thread about multi-docking or at least faking it... Would be usefull... Or a 'lock-position' sexp, so that no matter what, a ship with it on, won't move from colisions/weapons...

...but what if the larger ship has to move as part of a mission scripting, while the smaller ship is still docked to it? I'd advise either a change to the physics, or a nullify-inertia sexp, that would be FREDed to coincide when the smaller ship docks to the larger one. While it is under the influence of this sexp, no weaponry, shockwave, or impact upon the smaller vessel will affect it.

When
-has-docked-delay
--Satis 1
--PVD Typhon
--0
-nullify-inertia
--Satis 1

Then:

When
-has-undocked-delay
--Satis 1
--PVD Typhon
--0
--1 (number of times docked)
-restore-inertia
--Satis 1

Later!

Ehhh...better to just build that in to the physics engine if possible, otherwise it's just ONE MORE WAY for us FREDders to mess up a mission.

Gah...double post. How exactly do I kill it?

Actually, quite the contrary. Make it as flexable as possible, and rely on those who wish to use it to use it correctly. Actually the mass issue should be fixed with dockers/dockees, but we could really use an option to fix absolute position/orientation in the mission design, preferably in combination (but not relying on) static, non-tabled objects in a mission.

Since the escape pod was of low mass, it caused the cruiser to be accellerated to sufficient speed to jump out.

Heh - that's pretty funny.

I don't think anyone's seriously looked at that code yet. Put it in Mantis, and maybe we can make a flag for it.

If I read the blurb that Bobboau posted on the moment of inertia, it should be possible to work out a new moment of inertia for 2 docked ships as a single object using a calculation..

Though, to be honest, I wouldn't even begin to know how to do the math