Questions conserning "Upgrades"

[Lordtac]

I've got a few questions concerning upgrades. More specifically is it possible for any building, unit, weapon or otherwise to have "Multiple" upgrades at once. (like a fork in a tech tree)

Here's a really simple example.
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What if I wanted a gun-tower that has 3 tech levels and 1 fork. The fork is at tech 2 (where there are 2 tech three upgrade options)

option 1 is to make it a tall tower with 2 plasma cannons

option 2 is to make it a short tower with 2 Hornet missile launchers.
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It seems possible I've gotten the game to allow the 2 # structures (Factory and armory) and the tech center to be upgraded.

But "is it" possible? I don't see anything in the change-logs that suggest or deny it so I'm asking here.

[TheJamsh]

You can't have a fork in the upgrade tree.

[Nielk1]

I've come up with a way around this but it uses DLL.

[TheJamsh]

you code monkey

[GSH]

As discussed on irc last night, it is certainly possible to have a fork. Use limits on classes.

Consider this thought experiment: the whole point of a tech center is to unlock some units/weapons, right? You can make things so that Factory + TechCenter1 = Units1, and Factory + TechCenter2 = Units2. Just make TechCenter 1 & 2 mutually exclusive -- due to the limits -- and you can have a fork.

-- GSH

[Lordtac]

I've figured out how I'm going to accomplish these forks in the tree's.

By using "taps" (like fury power gens) I can attach a limited number of extra parts to buildings, and by doing this I can then have yet another constructor that exclusively builds each tap for each building (an upgrader)

and sense you can demolish a tap without demolishing the hole building, players won't be so ready to rewrite their tech tree at the cost of 100's of B-metal.

unfortunately for this to happen, I'll have to separate gun-towers into 2 haves (pole and gun) to allow the tap I'll also have to change the armory and the factory to allow 1 tap each.

the most annoying thing about this hole thing is that taps are separate from the actual building, if the tap is destroyed it can be replaced just as quickly this goes for all the taps and towers.

so it will be harder to kill towers because of their "split personality"

I also now have one more question.

Is it possible to effect the armor class or amount of HP (hp MAX) of a unit from a building/tap through research.

if no I'll just make a few different versions of the same unit so it appears the armor is being upgraded

[AHadley]

No. You would have to effect an upgrade on said building in order to increase its health.

[TheJamsh]

i thought you meant choose from a selection of upgrades for a building, which isn't possible at all Unless via .dll, and even then at a stretch.

[mrtwosheds]

Interesting concept GSH, can have only 1 techcenter, but can build 2 types...So you could have two types of bomber!

[Lordtac]

well I recently discovered taps won't work at all. so skipping that idea, just gonna use building requirements and limits like multiple tech centers.

[Avatar]

Taps will work, just not quite the way you're thinking.  Hint, you can upgrade a tapped 'lung'.  Read the last line here for the answer...

the most annoying thing about this hole thing is that taps are separate from the actual building, if the tap is destroyed it can be replaced just as quickly this goes for all the taps and towers.

Create a building just to hold the taps.  Tap off whatever you want as the default or 'basic' setup (GT, Sensor, Power, whatever).  Place the taps inside the collision object of the base building, and make them intangible (cancollide = 0, caninteract = 0).  This makes it so that you look like you're hitting the tapped object but are actually always hitting the base building.

So, it goes:

basic building --> add tapped GT -->add second tap GT --> add third tap GT
.                                     \--upgrade GT to Hornet Tower -->add second tap HT -->add third HT

You can add almost anything as a tap object, and that object can be upgraded and/or have taps of it's own.

So, simply put just use upgrade to branch through the tech tree choices, add tapped objects after the upgrade.

-Av-

[Nielk1]

I'd also like to let you know, I have a modular tech system in the work that uses a base structure with tech giving items deploying on it, and then removed so a new one can go on top. These things can do everything from supply bonus power, to extra scrap, to requirements for units.

This is the project I call NRV.

[Lordtac]

hmmm very interesting. I'll take a look.

Multitaps on towers is VERY interesting, I could change out the basic tower for walls that have taps on top.

And make basic towers cheaper/weaker, the new buildings which will be 1x1 each will be the research techs. each about 50 a piece so they aren't terribly expensive.

I can make the taps upgradable as well.

ballistic tower tap, laser tower tap, and missile tower tap.

Well after testing I discovered that won't work.

What I'm going to have to do is have 1 turret on 3 different taps that can upgrade to be 4 different turrets. unfortunately this lacks diversity in tech but it will work.

[Avatar]

Well, if you work the dependencies right you CAN force branching...

-Av-

[Lordtac]

SRV has what I need.

I will use his research center idea as my tech tree.

I will add him to credits as "used without permission" until I can get a hold of him