Group "dock at..." commands (flaky)

[fud]

Apparently, you can't order a group of M4s to dock at a TM.

I'm trying to look at/find the dock at scripts, to see if one can be made specifically for TM/M4s (since it's a pain ordering each one separately).


Any suggestions?

[Alan Phipps]

Homebase them to the TM and tell all fighters to return home or protect the TM?

[fud]

Hmmm..

I suppose that *should* work, but then there's the problem of a group homebase...

I made a Magnetar Sentinel, that holds 8 M4s (just playing around). So if I order 8 ships at a shipyard, I still either have to:

1. Assign their homebase, one at a time.
2. Order them to dock at the TM, one at a time.

So, I suppose I'm either looking for a re-vamped group dock command (I think what the problem is, the stock ego command is M3/M4/M5, and TMs are only equipped with M4 clamps), or, a command that allows you select all docked ships at the shipyard (or anywhere else for that matter) and assign homebase (by class) to all.

I'll check the sticky, maybe there's already a homebase command, it kinda rings a bell anyway.

[Alan Phipps]

You have to do step 1, but for step 2 just tell the TM to undock/fly to sector and order all docked fighters to return home or protect the TM. Why group them anyway? Once homebased and docked you can order them as all docked ships or as all fighters in sector when deployed.

Edit: Do you mean that your modded TMs are limited to M4 docking clamps? Vanilla TMs will take M5/4/4+/3/3+.

[fud]

Interesting. The dummy clamp in the TM scene is "extern_M4_dock".

I just assumed it was M4 only, as there's another "extern_fighter_dock" too.


As for why, I think it's tedious to have to command several ships separately when you could do "groups" and have it done with one.


Edit:

Looking at the sticky, there's a mass set home script, but the ships have to be docked at the ship. That doesn't help.


All I'd like to do, is order N number of ships at a shipyward, and then order those to dock at a waiting TM. TL and M1s work.

[Alan Phipps]

Ok, then that's easy too. Buy and equip your fighters, broadcast all station-docked fighters to dock at waiting TM, script broadcast all TM-docked fighters to group homebase on the TM. Done!

[Bertone]

I made a Magnetar Sentinel, that holds 8 M4s (just playing around).

Very cool, can we see and, possibly, download a mod including this ship?

[fud]

Maybe...

This is another one of my "Why not" mods. I get bored easy, and just make new ships.

Of course, it's the same Ego ship that's there normally, just with double the docking clamps, and a *few* more guns on it. It looks the same as the regular one.

I made it out of the need/want of an escort ship for CAG/CLS/UT/ST pilots.

Thought it would be easier to have one ship (carrying than to have to refuel the 8 all the time.

I'm still tweaking things, so it's not actually in my game yet.

There's still some balance issues, I'm sure. I'll throw up some stats, as soon as I actually have some.

[Alan Phipps]

Just a heads up. If your docked and homebased fighters aren't themselves jump equipped, you are going to get that annoying question about non-jumping followers every time your TM tries to jump.

[fud]

Yeah, just another annoyance to deal with I guess.

I still haven't figured out the group dock thing to TMs though...

[Gazz]

I still haven't figured out the group dock thing to TMs though...

If you call a formation a "group" then it should work. If the leader docks, all escorts will try to dock with the same object.

[fud]

ok. But what I'm specifically talking about:

Buy a TM.

Buy 3-4 M4.

Order the TM to move somewhere (couple km from the SY, whatever).

Then go back the shipyard/landed ships, select one of your new M4s, "Broadcast to all docked ships>dock at..." but the TM doesn't come up as an option.

I'm really not trying to be a pain in the ass about this, it's just something that really annoys me, because it *should* work. I tend to obsess about such things....

It just seems to me there's a lack of several, could-be useful group commands.

[Gazz]

The broadcast commands are all hardcoded so... good luck.

You can script your own broadcast menu, though.
Doubt you can tie it into the broadcast menu because those are not real commands but a hardcoded menu which then executes single commands.

MARS already has a hotkey for "All fighter drones, attack shields, my target".
This is also something that was missing from the broadcast menu although the script exists and you can order that for a single drone.

[fud]

Hmmm.

Maybe I'll use that as a template then...





I figured the broadcast type stuff was "untouchable"... All the good stuff is.

[Gazz]

Maybe you can rig something with command checkscripts tied to one or several commands.

That there is no command in that menu doesn't necessarily mean you can't trace the player's path through the menu and deduct when he is in the broadcast one.

Maybe I'll use that as a template then...

One loop through all drones in sector, start script?
Can't imagine you'd need a template for that.

[Alan Phipps]

If your modded TM with valid empty bays does not come up as a target for docking fighters in the sector map then your mod is broken. All vanilla TMs with space are valid targets for fighter docking by that method. There is something wrong such as your modded docks not being recognised as empty or the modded TM is not set up correctly as a ship carrier.

[fud]

That's it. I can order them to dock individually, and it works fine. It's the group thing that doesn't.

I can order 8 of them, and they dock. I order all 8 at once, and it doesn't show as a dockable option.


I'll test it using only 4 max. Maybe it's something with the extra 4 clamps? Which would seem odd, since they're identical to those on the ship by default (I didn't alter the dummies in anyway, there's just more of them in that scene).

[moggy2]

does the docking command in this alternative set of wing commands work?

[fud]

Do you mean, if I make the M4s in question a wing?

I don't know. I haven't tried that.

I'll do some testing a little later, trying different methods to see what/if anything works.

I'll even use a standard TM as a baseline.