Friday Facts #345 - Unit group collision mask & Artillery shell particle

[FactorioBot]

Here it is! (beep boop)

https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-345

[CakeDog]

That shellcasing is just

𝓣𝓪𝓼𝓽𝔂

[seePyou]

You guys do great work!
So many others would go "Mod problem, ask the modder to sort it" but you never seem to say that! Congrats!
I also love the artillery shells! Are they actually directional? If the artillery fires to a target above it, will the shell go to the right? And if the artillery fires a target bellow it, will the shell fire off to the left? Have you also added a "port" for the shell to shoot out from?

[steinio]

Hmm sorry but the pathfinding works incorrect in my eyes.

Why not let the water biters take the shortcut over water in the mixed group?

[MarvinCZ]

So if I "wall" myself with water trench even the bugs that could normally walk over water won't reach me now?

[JakubW]

Hmm sorry but the pathfinding works incorrect in my eyes.

Why not let the water biters take the shortcut over water in the mixed group?

If all bitters attack at the same time then the damage dealt is bigger, so it's better for them to join and attack together instead of attacking one by one.
Moreover I think that finding path for one group is faster then finding almost the same path for two separated groups, but this is not a case when one of the group can fly and another cannot.

[TwoD]

This looks great! I assume that if a mixed group can't all reach their destination those who do will split off and form a new group?

The shell ejection looks great but please add a small delay to it spawning. Now it feels like the shell is ejected at the same time it's being fired and no when the recoil force would cause a reload.

[EFLFE]

Please add a flying biters

[Cgeta]

Ooh amazing!

I really wish the devs of Starbound did fixes like that. There's so many tiny problems in it with modding that makes so many things impossible to do without unknowingly breaking other things, or having to use very awkward workarounds

[Serenity]

Why not let the water biters take the shortcut over water in the mixed group?

It's called defeat in detail

[Gemma]

Excellent work on the pathfinding! (And everything in general.)

I just thought I would mention that with modern artillery, there is no external ejection of shell casings. This only exists in older guns like the famous Big Bertha (from WW1). I suppose most people won't know this, so it's probably fine, but it does look a bit silly.

[Serenity]

I suppose most people won't know this, so it's probably fine, but it does look a bit silly.

Since you don't see the breech where the shell is loaded - that part is inside the turret - this is probably the best solution

I suppose you could have inserters extract empty casings and then recycle them

[Matthias_Wlkp]

What would happen, if the shell lands on the conveyor?

- stay in place?
- disappear? (covered by conveyor)
- move on the conveyor?

[Amarula]

It would be pretty cool if the ejected shell was an actual item, like a used nuclear fuel cell, with a recipe to re-use it to make a new shell out of fewer materials.

[EnerJi]

The shell ejection looks great but please add a small delay to it spawning. Now it feels like the shell is ejected at the same time it's being fired and no when the recoil force would cause a reload.

I agree. Something looks off with the current animation. The shell should be ejecting maybe a quarter second after the artillery fires.

[BattleFluffy]

Shell casing looks great :> Unit collision group stuff is cool also. If I collect enough fish will I be able to unlock that water bitter? :D

[plepper1]

Very cool!

[Quarnozian]

Looks like I'm not the only one that wants a slight delay to be added to the shell casing ejection.

As for the pathing, that looks great, but my only concern whether they stay as a group when they change to attack mode. Hopefully they act as individuals when attacking so the unobstructed ones can rush the target.

[meganothing]

Great visuals with the artillery shells. You did handle the case differently when the shells land on water, right?

[St_Vitruvius]

Empty casings from small arms and gun turrets as well?

Maybe set a graphics option to allow for a build up of casings, as long as it is firing? If idle for, say 5 s, then cases could disappear in like 10 s or so...

Never mind the added draw on ups, mind you..

On the timing of arty case ejection:
I agree with others.. It looks weird, that it's simultaneously with firing of the gun.. I'm a soldier, and I know of no guns working like that..

But I do know of guns working without casings! Most large caliber naval guns don't /didn't use casings, but worked by stuffing bags of cordite, nitrocellulose or similar behind the grenade. I actually thought that was how the arty turret was designed to work..

Description of the Dreadnought: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BL_12-i ... _naval_gun

Video of the 16" main guns of the Iowa Class battleships
https://youtu.be/0OmOQs0ziSU