cyborg APC (Ground Cyborg Transport)

[XboxJosh]

I've been working on granting this wish on Page 6 of Warzone 2100 wish list - all can contribute_part4, posted by ALiEN987.

[...] also what about a ground transport for cyborgs.. they would make tempting targets so itd have to be strong. instead of firing at an enemy it would just release angry cyborgs at it

Screenshots coming soon....

[whippersnapper]

I've been working on granting this wish on Page 6 of Warzone 2100 wish list - all can contribute_part4, posted by ALiEN987.

quote="ALiEN987" [...] also what about a ground transport for cyborgs.. they would make tempting targets so itd have to be strong. instead of firing at an enemy it would just release angry cyborgs at it

Screenshots coming soon....

Cool. An APC, I likes em and would use. Heck I may even 'borrow' for WS.

Regards, whip

[HLG Dale]

this idea sounds really good, keep up the good work

[Kacen]

What advantage would a ground cyborg transport have over a normal cyborg transport?

The whole reason cyborgs are useful now is because they can be airlifted.

I can't see how a ground cyborg transport would be useful, even if it, say, had way more armor. It still wouldn't outweigh the advantages of the flying transport.

[XboxJosh]

Screenshot as promised... Would post in-game screenies, but Blender's exporter won't work .

And yes, I know, the textures are screwy. I'm still in the process of UV-mapping them.

@Kacen: I dunno, I guess their availability sooner in the game/we could make them cheaper?

[whippersnapper]

Screenshot as promised... Would post in-game screenies, but Blender's exporter won't work .

The attachment GRND_TRANS.jpg is no longer available

And yes, I know, the textures are screwy. I'm still in the process of UV-mapping them.

You mean you can't output to 3Ds format to be able to use the "3Ds 2 Pie" converter ?

I like where your going with your geometry design and look forward to your texture work.

@Kacen: I dunno, I guess their availability sooner in the game/we could make them cheaper?

Yup.... that would be one plus. There are actually at least a handful more solid practical reasons that come to mind off the top of my head, but I'm too lazy to explain. In any case you would have to be a master map-maker, modder and have a deep understanding of just how stock WZ Gpms can work that nobody is really hip to without that active background - not to mention out of the box clever field tactics.. But it will be clearly demonstrated in the WS Map / Mod, along with a bunch of other stuff in that category which I sometimes think to myself as .... ah heck, I won't go there..

Keep going XboxJosh I can guarantee their viability even if i have to make a special map-mod around it apart from WS to demonstrate sooner where of i speak, rather than awaiting WS's release schedule to walk my talk in this regard.

As I have said elsewhere - "Imagination, it's wonderful thing."

Here is a good link on APC's: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m113.htm

And a pic is often worth a thousand words so here is one attached - look closely and you will discern much I merely hinted at...


Regards, whip
.

[wari]

Good first try.....

[XboxJosh]

Good first try.....

Thanks, I hope to create many more models.
This is, in fact, my first modeling venture EVER. I am pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback.

You mean you can't output to 3Ds format to be able to use the "3Ds 2 Pie" converter ?

I hadn't thought of that, I was using the blender scripts that export directly to .PIE ...

And regarding your attachment pic of the APC, is that what you would rather me model? 'Cuz I can try my hand at that...

I also would like to pick everybody's brains for some opinions regarding propulsion type and weapon(s) mounted, if any.

Thanks, XboxJosh

[Olrox]

As I have said elsewhere - "Imagination, it's wonderful thing."

over there! xD
|
V

[Kacen]

Even if they are available earlier I'd have little to no incentive to use them, honestly. Perhaps they could be hover transports but even then it won't come close to the advantage of the later flying transports.

I mean even if you increase the armor of the ground transport heavily you're essentially turning 10 cyborgs into one target, making it more vulnerable to precision strikes. I mean sure it's like that for the air transport but it flies which is a major advantage and perfectly reasonable trade-off.

Both cyborgs and a ground transport are well...on the ground.

I mean I guess if you give the cyborg transport tank armor, so AP weapons aren't effective...but even then, it'll be vulnerable to All Rounders and Anti-Tank.

I just don't think weighing the strengths and weaknesses it would really be worth it; at least I wouldn't use it.

[XboxJosh]

I dunno, ask whipper.

I suppose we could give it it's own type of propulsion, like tracks, but tougher and faster.
And, if source code changes weren't required, i'd also make it so when it was destroyed, it just dropped the cyborgs onto the ground.

[heatwave]

I can see a use for this. They'd be a special vehicle, like the current air transports, right? Meaning that you can't design them yourself? (That's a good thing, as you gain more flexibility as far as modeling goes)

You'd have to set them up like this:
Super-borgs are pretty slow. It'd have to be faster than a super-borg.*
It would have tank armor, making Anti-Personel weak against it.
Lastly, it'd have to be much cheaper than it's winged counterpart.*

*otherwise there'd be little point in using a ground cyborg transport.

[Zarel]

We could make them drop the cyborgs when they die, instead of destroying them...

[whippersnapper]

You mean you can't output to 3Ds format to be able to use the "3Ds 2 Pie" converter ?

I hadn't thought of that, I was using the blender scripts that export directly to .PIE ...

From all I've heard those blender scripts are buggy as hell and rarely work for anyone.

And regarding your attachment pic of the APC, is that what you would rather me model? 'Cuz I can try my hand at that...

Thanks, XboxJosh

Not at all. You're the artist, do what you enjoy, what appeals to you, what ever the results I'm sure it can serve in game ends that are fresh..

The link I posted shows some of the vast variety of APC designs manufactured to this day. Try Googling "Military APC Images" and you'll see for yourself what I mean about that diversity of design.

The only thing I would mention is that APC.s protect their troops in full 360 armor which means they don't have open beds like pick-ups. They are also known to have multiple weapon platforms. The tech also exists to make them multiple terrain able - solid ground, water .... and dealing with "impassable" cliffs too. Not to mention circumventing wall defenses instead of trying to break thru.

I dunno, ask whipper.

I suppose we could give it it's own type of propulsion, like tracks, but tougher and faster.
And, if source code changes weren't required, i'd also make it so when it was destroyed, it just dropped the cyborgs onto the ground.

We could make them drop the cyborgs when they die, instead of destroying them...

An absolutely valid and viable approach.

Let's keep in mind that APC's are quite viable in RL to this day and have been for over a half-century of successful deployments in the modern era of warfare.

Also APC's have been viable in strat-comp games for over a decade - why would WZ be an exception ? A questionable proposition, to say the least, that.

Anybody that has worked on WZ stats-text editing Mods knows that the real challenge is NOT in making APC's viable but rather in introducing them so that they do NOT become part of pre-dominating tactic and unbalance the game. THAT is the GPM challenge... not that they will be useless. This is the problem coming from mental presuppositions alone and not having any real experience working on WZ itself. And believe me - ANYONE can .txt mod WZ to learn where of I speak (I am not saying that anyone can successfully .txt mod for an enduring release - but anyone can do it to LEARN the pragmatics of WZ. But it is work, make no mistake, MP viability-testing iterations being a crux part of the process, not easy to do well, to do extensively, and some just have a fundamental aversion to work of any sort save for flapping their lips and spouting nonsense with no basis in experience - just pure self-serving bias.)

What many do NOT understand about modifying WZ is that tiny, and I mean tiny, changes can precipitate within the overall complex system dynamics matrix that is the unique game itself, EMERGENT BEHAVIOR.... often counter-intuitive, hugely consequential, and totally unpredictable by pure ratiocination alone.

Keep to your creativity, XboxJosh, and, really, more than anything, have fun with it.... the results will be the better for the joy YOU get out of the whole process.

Regards, whip
.

[XboxJosh]

Things are going slowly as I cannot get the pie to work.

Current state of the artwork: (added cover per wippersnapper's idea)

.blend and the stderr attached below.

(You'll need to get texture page 15 from base.wz and drop it in the same directory as the blend)