Modular Combat Robots

[neetzow]

First: Congratulations Devs for this great game!
Seccond: I`ve not found a similar suggestion. The closest thing is the "Combat Robots" post (https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... bat+Robots, a great idea by the way!), but, if it is elsewhere, feel free to do whatever is needed to keep the Forum neat.

Now, my suggestion:
Although I liked the Combat Robot thing, I would rather want to make a robot platoon for offensive purposes.

So, My idea is splitable in two parts (sorry ssilk), that i feel like putting together, because of the interdependence...

1st - The robots themselves
Long lasting military robots are a need (at least i feel this way). But how should they be? I suggest modular.

So, first you get a frame. There can be:

-Flying Robot frame (FR) (the actual one we use)
-Heavy Armored frame (HA) (like a tank, move on ground)

-Carrier Frame (CF) (that, ladies and gentlemen is my idea of military roboport... see on part 2).

After this, you create a military robot (maybe with a processor);

Then, you attach to it weapon modules (can be the weapons themselves, to make it simpler), and some other add-ons you want (Like extra batteries - as the frame already have it in the recipe - power generators (specially for the Carrier Frame), radars, etc...).

Now, how you attach this stuff, I leave open. I see two ways: either you attach the stuff, like you do with the modular armor, or (my favorite) you could have dedicated slots, according to the frame: 1 weapon slot and 2 devices for FR, 2w/3d for HA, 4w/6d for CF, or something like that). So you simply put stuff there (pretty much like your tool and weapon slots, or maybe the fuel and ammo slots from the train, the car and the tank).

2nd - The Platoon
The platoon would be a group of combat robots designed under a Command Robot (the Combat Robot made from the Carrier Frame).
So, now I get to the Combat Robot discussion (link in the beginning) and use bobingabout`s area of effect idea as the actual control area of the Commander Robot. The platoon moves around (when and if out) around this area. If the Commander moves, they follow (if outside, of course).

The Commander Robot would have the following features:
-It stacks loads and loads of Ammo, and provide it to the other robots, according to their needs.
-The Robots would sleep in it (not sure about the Havies on that one) when idle.
-It recharges the other robots.
-It receives orders (see next).

About how to give orders, two ways: either you create a set of orders,as we see in RTS like patrol, attack, guard; or you would need a special kind of blueprint for it... I prefer the first one.
You could give some behavior parameters (through an menu, with predefined options) to tell the robots, through the commander, what weapons use on what, when to run away, etc...).

Also, when/if they implement the command center, you could give orders to the Commander Robots from distance.

I`m also leaving lots of blank spaces... I don`t want to define every single aspect of it... I`m just not a fan of fighting alone these nasty creatures, and in the other hand, I don`t like to Just kill them with a blueprint of laser turrets (my actual strategy... very effective, not delightable all the time).

[Alfdaur]

this is a interessting idea. But I would like to have the carriers as an end game content. For the mid-game, I would prefer building large relay towers. These towers should be quite expansive and would act as the roboport.

[Kasilibum]

i like your idea, if i understood right its about independently acting (patrolling?) combat units with customizable loadout. i have
ideas that suit both yourmodular combat robots and the general factorio game style:

+ modular/customizeable loadout
what about building the robot like you build a factory in factorio? i imagine right-clicking the robot and just like the power
armor an inventory pops up where you build all the robots internal structure. it needs power: build a boiler one steamengine
plus inserter and a special fuel chest (this will later be the storage for everything burnable we insert into the robot). now the
robot has power so we could add an electric motor or two to be faster but maybe the robot now has barely enough power to
move so we add a regular turret plus inserter plus ammo-chest. this chest can be filled with ammo from outside; by logistic
bots or by inserter... i think everybody gets where i'm going with this idea: dont just throw special robot stuff into the modular robot, but build it with all the basic factorio content and with the typical factorio related restrictions of space and connectability.

+ acting independently
ok with the above paragraph we built a hardcore killing machine powered by coal, but this stupid piece of metal doesnt know
what to do. so i want to suggest a simple robot language which will be built with circuits in small portions.
example: [go_home] [if] [health] [<] [50%];
[attack] [enemy] [if] [health] [and] [ammunition] [>] [90%]

and again there could be space restrictions for programming and more sophisticated bits of language can be researched.

with these additions we could start an figure out efficent ways of building and programming our defense and offensejust like building and structuring the factory

edit: sorry for the strange layout, wrote this with my mobile